The US Economy added 638,000 jobs and the unemployment rate dropped to 6.9 percent in October both were better than expected.

The Federal Reserve held short-term borrowing rates near zero in a decision that characterized the economy as growing but not near where it was before the coronavirus pandemic hit.  As markets widely expected, the Fed kept its benchmark interest rate anchored in a range between 0%-0.25%, where it has been since an emergency cut seven months ago in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

New applications for unemployment benefits fell slightly in late October, but they are only declining very slowly and signal ongoing stress in the U.S. labor market.  Initial jobless claims filed through state programs fell by 7,000 to 751,000 in the seven days ended Oct. 31.  Altogether, the number of people receiving benefits from eight separate state and federal programs declined by are still 21.5 million. 

Mortgage rates sank to another low for the 12th time this year, according to Freddie Mac, a government-sponsored agency that backs millions of mortgages.  The rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 2.78%, down from 2.80% last week, which was the previous low on records tracing back to 1971. A year ago, the rate was at 3.69 percent.
 
With Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management, I’m Tyler Simones