White House Will Release October’s Jobs Report—After Saying Data Would ‘Likely Never’ Publish

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said Thursday the delayed jobs data for last month will be partially released, as Wall Street prepares for the release of a tranche of delayed key economic reports that it expects will show a declining labor market and high inflation. Hassett said the October jobs report—originally scheduled for release on Nov. 7—will include data on the number of jobs added in the month, but will not include the unemployment rate because a household survey was not conducted during the government shutdown. He did not specify a release date for the data on jobs added in October, but noted the report for September, which was also delayed due to the government shutdown, has “already been cooked” and could potentially be released next week.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics postponed the release of these economic reports during the government shutdown, among others:

• September’s jobs and unemployment report, originally scheduled for Oct. 3
• September’s consumer price index report, postponed until Oct. 24
• September’s consumer expenditures report, originally scheduled for Oct. 30
• October’s jobs and unemployment report, originally scheduled for Nov. 7
• October’s CPI report, originally scheduled for Nov. 13

Read more at Forbes

AI Puts The Squeeze On New Grads — And The Colleges That Promised To Make Them Employable

A college degree is often considered the ticket to a well-paying career, and more than three million new graduates enter the workforce every year banking on that promise. However, this year, those armed with a newly minted diploma have faced one of the toughest job markets in a decade. And next year could be as bad or worse. As the artificial intelligence boom reshapes the workforce at an unprecedented pace, some large employers have said they’re replacing workers with AI in order to streamline operations and cut costs. Concerns about the economy, persistent inflation and a slowdown in consumer spending are also likely contributors to a reduced hiring outlook, other research shows.

The integration of AI has “rendered moot certain types of skills that were once good currency in the labor market, and a number of entry-level jobs are going to continue to be, at the very least, crimped,” said Joseph Fuller, a professor of management practice at the Harvard Business School. That puts direct pressure on colleges and their career services departments, he said. “The pathways to get into certain careers are going to be narrower and the burden of credentials will be steeper.” Already, postings for entry-level jobs in the U.S. sank 35% since January 2023, according to labor research firm Revelio Labs, with AI playing a big role.

Read more at CNBC

AI Hasn’t Cratered Jobs, New Yale Study Says

A new study from the Budget Lab at Yale University that argues AI has not led to vast economy-wide negative effects. Yet. “Overall, our metrics indicate that the broader labor market has not experienced a discernible disruption since ChatGPT’s release 33 months ago, undercutting fears that AI automation is currently eroding the demand for cognitive labor across the economy,” the report says.

The report, however, also acknowledges “possible AI impacts on specific occupations and sub-populations, such as early career workers.” In other words, some specific sectors or types of jobs face more danger from AI than others. The report looks at workplace disruption due to computers and the internet and concludes “even if new AI technologies will go on to impact the labor market as much, or more, dramatically, it is reasonable to expect that widespread effects will take longer than 33 months to materialize.” “While anxiety over the effects of AI on today’s labor market is widespread, our data suggests it remains largely speculative,” the report said. “While generative AI looks likely to join the ranks of transformative, general purpose technologies, it is too soon to tell how disruptive the technology will be to jobs.”

Read more at the Budget Lab at Yale

Middle East

• Hamas Quietly Reasserts Control In Gaza As Post-War Talks Grind On – Reuters
• Heavy Rainfall Devastates Displaced Palestinians In Gaza -CNN
• US Support For ‘A Pathway To Palestinian Statehood’ Angers Israeli Right – Vin News
• Netanyahu Insists On No Palestinian State Ahead Of UN Vote - AP
• US Navy ‘Actively Monitoring’ Tanker Seizure by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard - Newsweek
• Iran's Foreign Minister Says The Nation Is No Longer Enriching Uranium At Any Site In The Country - PBS
• Tehran Taps Run Dry As Water Crisis Deepens Across Iran - Reuters
• Interactive Map- Israel’s Operation In Gaza – Institute For The Study Of War
• Map – Conflicts in the Middle East – Live Universal Awareness Map

Ukraine

• Ukraine Seeking Exchange Of 1,200 Prisoners With Russia – Reuters
• Russia’s Wartime Economy Loses Steam As Oil Revenues Fall And The Budget Deficit Grows – France 24
• Ukraine Scrambles To Limit Damage From Blockbuster Corruption Scandal - Politico
• Ukrainian Energy Workers In Endless Race To Repair Damage From Russian Strikes - Reuters
• ‘Not Very Optimistic:’ Finland’s Stubb Plays Down Prospects Of Ukraine Ceasefire Soon - Politico
• Putin Ally Attacks ‘Colonial Power’ US Over Venezuela Strikes - Newsweek
• Interactive Map: Assessed Control Of Terrain In Ukraine – Institute For The Study Of War
• Map – Tracking Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine – Live Universal Awareness Map

Other Headlines

• As Nations Push For More Ambition At Climate Talks, Chairman Says They May Get It – AP
• Britain Is Preparing Tens Of Billions In New Taxes—Again - WSJ
• China's Top Memory Chip Maker YMTC To Build 3rd Plant, Eyeing 2027 Start – Nikkei Asia
• Chinese Hackers Used Anthropic’s AI to Automate Cyberattacks - WSJ
• Thousands Protest Crime And Corruption In Mexico City As ‘Gen Z’ Protests Gain Momentum - Politico
• Japan's Sakurajima Volcano Erupts, Ashfall Cancels Flights - Reuters
• 10 Years After Bataclan Massacre, Paris Is Still Scarred By Islamic State Attacks – France 24
• Trump Says He Will Sue BBC For Up To $5B - Politico
• China Has Big Ambitions In Space And The Arctic. Should The West Be Worried? - SCMP
• India Arrests Kashmir Resident Over Deadly Delhi Car Blast – Reuters

The Government Shutdown Is Over. The Air Traffic Controller Shortage Is Not

The U.S. has been scrambling to hire more air traffic controllers for years. The longest-ever federal government shutdown might have made that even harder. “We need more of them to come into the profession, and this shutdown is going to make that more difficult for us to accomplish that goal,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. The shortage of air traffic controllers delayed or canceled thousands flights during the shutdown, affecting the travel plans of more than 5 million people, according to Airlines for America, an industry group that includes American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and others.

A government tally last year showed the U.S. was short 3,903 fully certified air traffic controllers of a goal of 14,633. Shortages have been particularly severe at busy facilities like those where controllers guide planes in and out of airports in the congested New York area, adding to flight disruptions and frustrating airline executives and customers. Lawmakers earlier this year approved $12.5 billion to improve air traffic control, though the industry said it needs billions more to modernize the system in the U.S.

Read more at CNBC

Hochul Delays New York's All-Electric Building Law That Was Set To Take Effect Next Year

Gov. Kathy Hochul has delayed implementation of a controversial all-electric building law that was set to take effect on Jan.1 of next year. Hochul signed the bill into law in 2023. It requires new construction buildings that are below seven stories tall have electric heat and appliances. The law also applied to commercial buildings with 100,000 square feet or more. The law would then expand to include taller residential buildings and commercial building in 2029. The law included several exemptions, including for restaurants, hospitals and more. Existing structures were not covered by the new law - only new developments.

Wednesday, however, attorneys for the state agreed to suspend the law's implementation until an appeals court rules on a lawsuit filed by various trade groups and unions who challenged it. A judge initially ruled against them in July, and they are now appealing. "The governor remains committed to the all-electric-buildings law and believes this action will help the state defend it, as well as reduce regulatory uncertainty for developers during this period of litigation. Governor Hochul remains resolved to providing more affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy for New Yorkers," said Ken Lovett, Hochul's senior communications advisor on energy and environment. Environmentalists and advocates are blasting the decision to delay implementation of the law.

Read more at CBS

IRS Announces 2026 401(K) Contribution Limits, Raises Savings Cap

The IRS has announced new 401(k) contribution limits for 2026. In its release Thursday, the agency increased the employee deferral limit to $24,500 next year, up from $23,500 in 2025. The change applies to 401(k)s, 403(b)s and most 457 plans, along with the federal Thrift Savings Plan.  In 2024, only 14% of participants maxed out their 401(k)s, according to Vanguard’s 2025 How America Saves report, which was based on more than 1,400 qualified plans and nearly 5 million participants. The average combined savings rate, including employer deposits, was an estimated 12%, according to the same report.

The IRS also unveiled 2026 catch-up contribution limits for savers age 50 and older, new individual retirement account savings limits and higher income thresholds for Roth IRA contributions. Starting in 2026, the 401(k) catch-up contribution limit will rise to $8,000 for savers 50 and older, from $7,500 in 2025. But investors aged 60 to 63 can instead save an extra $11,250, based on changes enacted via Secure 2.0. That figure is unchanged from 2025. Both amounts are in addition to the $24,500 deferral limit for 2026. 

Read more at CNBC

• White House Hunts for Ways to Lower the Cost of Living – WSJ
• US Aircraft Carrier Arrives In The Caribbean In Major Buildup Near Venezuela - Politico
• New York Governor Considering Raising Corporate Taxes, Source Says - Reuters
• Trump Backs Vote to Release Epstein Files in Sharp Reversal - WSJ
• SNAP Is Back, But These Cuts And Changes Are Taking Effect Immediately – The Hill
• Trump Buys At Least $82 Million In Bonds Since Late August, Financial Disclosures Show - CNBC
• Democrats Focus On Affordability Over Climate Goals As Midterm Elections Loom – Politico New York
• Oz: Trump Administration Weighing ACA Subsidies Extension – The Hill
• Bill Pulte is Called ‘Little Trump,’ and His Tactics Are Rankling White House Top Brass - WSJ
• Judge Indefinitely Bars Trump From Fining UC Over Alleged Discrimination - NPR
• Trump’s Broadside Against Health Insurers Is A Cautionary Tale For Industry. - Politico

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Canada Loses Its Measles Elimination Status, And The US Is Close Behind

Canada has lost its measles elimination status nearly three decades after it achieved the distinction, under circumstances that closely resemble what’s happened in the U.S. this year.  The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) notified the Public Health Agency of Canada last week that the country no longer holds a measles elimination status.  A country loses its measles elimination status when it experiences 12 consecutive months of transmission. Canada achieved measles elimination status in 1998, two years before the U.S.

“The factors that led to Canada losing its measles elimination status are the exact same that are leading to America,” Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases specialist based out of the Toronto General Hospital, told The Hill.  Chief among these factors is lowered vaccination rates. Health authorities maintain that a 95 percent vaccination rate is key to preventing the spread of measles. The rate fell among kindergarteners in the U.S. to 92.5 percent in the 2024-25 school year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to the PAHO, if measles transmission isn’t halted by Jan. 20, 2026, the U.S. will also lose its measles elimination status. Mexico could follow soon after, having seen sustained transmission since Feb. 1, 2025.

Read more at The Hill

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Trade Wars

• U.S. to Cut Tariffs on Bananas, Coffee and Other Goods From Four Countries – WSJ
• Brazilian Coffee, Beef And Tropical Fruit Will Still Be Tariffed 40%, Says Brazil’s Vice President - AP
• Trump Tariff Rollback Offers Relief For Indian Farmers - Reuters
• Tariffs Could Cause Prices Of Italian-Made Pasta To Surge – The Hill
• U.S., Switzerland Reach Trade Deal, Greer Says - WSJ
• Japan Automakers Suffer $9.7bn Impact From Tariffs In 1st Half – Nikkei Asia
• New Rare-Earths Plant in Europe Shows How Tough Breaking China’s Grip Will Be - WSJ
• USDA Data Casts Doubt On China’s Soybean Purchase Promises Touted By Trump – AP

Regeneron To Expand Into Saratoga Co. With $2 Billion New Facility

A global biotechnology company with roots in the Hudson Valley and Capital Region is expanding into Saratoga County with a new facility. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’ new property on Duplainville Road is set to create 1,000 new jobs in Saratoga County. Empire State Development is supporting Regeneron’s $2 billion investment in the over one million square-foot property with up to $35 million in performance-based Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits. The new facility, formerly a manufacturer of printed materials, is a project that includes the redesign and fit-out of the space.

Officials with the state said expanding into Saratoga County allows Regeneron to double its state manufacturing capacity. Governor Kathy Hochul said Regeneron has been a success story for the state and is doubling down on its job creation and expanding the biotech industry. With the new facility, the biotechnology company can strengthen its ability to develop life-saving medication. “For nearly four decades, New York has been a strong partner to Regeneron, helping us become a leading biotechnology company and the place where we’ve invented some of the most transformative medicines in biotechnology,” Regeneron Co-Chair, President and CEO Leonard S. Schleifer said. “As Regeneron continues to drive forward our mission of using the power of science to bring forward life-changing medicines we can improve the lives of those in New York and around the world.”

Read more at News 10 Albany

Boeing Defense Workers Approve Five-Year Deal, Ending Strike At Fighter Jet Plants

More than 3,200 Boeing employees represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837 voted to ratify the company’s revised contract on Thursday, ending a 101-day strike at the manufacturer’s St. Louis-area fighter jet facilities. In the latest version of the five-year contract, Boeing removed the stock options and retention bonus, increasing the ratification bonus to $6,000, up from $3,000 in the previous offer. The rest of the proposal remains unchanged.

Steve Parker, president and CEO of the company’s defense, space and security segment, said in a message to employees earlier this week. “We’ve taken all of that to heart with a revised offer that incorporates your feedback while continuing to stay within the economic value of our prior offers.” A small number of union-represented workers will return to work Nov. 16, beginning with the third shift, according to Boeing’s website. The company is “pleased with the results” and looks forward to bringing back the full team on Nov. 17 to support its customers, a Boeing spokesperson said in an email.

Read more at CNBC

Boeing Targets Industrial Stability Before New Output Rises

Boeing  aims to stabilize aircraft production at current levels before advancing to the next industrial milestones as it implements safety and quality improvements, its top jetmaking executive said on Sunday. Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stephanie Pope told reporters it was too early to say when Boeing would push 737 jet output to 47 a month, having recently been cleared by regulators to reach 42 a month after the lifting of temporary output curbs. “Getting it better at (the right) pace is better than going fast,” Pope said in a briefing ahead of the Dubai Airshow.

Boeing has fallen industrially well behind Airbus, partly due to the success of its European rival’s A321neo and partly because of a series of safety and industrial mishaps on its 737 series, which generates most of the company’s cash. Airbus is producing 63 of the wider A320neo-family jets per month and plans to reach 75 per month by 2027, although some suppliers have questioned whether this is achievable. Analysts say the production plans are critical for both companies as Boeing repairs its finances and Airbus attempts to build up a war chest for the next generation of planes.

Read more at CNBC

Microsoft Brings Atlanta-Based AI ‘Super Factory’ Online

Microsoft is expanding its ambitious data center build-out with an AI “super factory,” a set of two-story structures in Atlanta aimed at connecting seamlessly with infrastructure in other areas to harness immense computing power. The company is doubling its total data-center footprint over the next two years. One of its most important new sites is the factory in Atlanta that it is unveiling Wednesday. The site, part of its Fairwater network of artificial-intelligence centers, is a new class of Microsoft hubs built for AI training. It will contain hundreds of thousands of Nvidia graphics processing units and dedicated high-speed connections to other Fairwater locations.

OpenAI is one of Fairwater’s largest customers. The site also will be used for training Microsoft’s proprietary models. Microsoft spent more than $34 billion on capital expenditures during its fiscal first quarter and said it would increase its total infrastructure investments over the next fiscal year. It is among several tech companies pouring a combined $400 billion into AI efforts this year, with demand high for AI computing and companies’ saying they need ever more capacity. Microsoft says its Fairwater data centers’ design enables them to achieve a higher degree of efficiency in both speed and power consumption.

Read more at Silicon Angle

IFS, Anthropic Partner On AI For Industrial Frontline Workers

Cloud and AI software provider IFS said that it’s teaming up with Anthropic, a large language model developer, to scale artificial intelligence that helps frontline workers detect machinery and systems issues they might otherwise miss. As part of the partnership, IFS is using its industrial program Nexus Black to launch Resolve, a tool that places AI directly in the hands of technicians and field workers across aerospace and defense, manufacturing, energy, utilities and other major industries.

Resolve leverages Anthropic’s Claude LLM to analyze thousands of equipment images, interpret sensor readings and recognize patterns to “catch problems before they become failures,” according to a news release.

Read more at Manufacturing Dive

Hyundai Motors Opens 89,000-Square-Foot Training Center For Training EV Workers

Hyundai Motor Group officially opened its Mobility Training Center of Georgia November 6, cutting the ribbon on an 89,000-square-foot site meant to train future manufacturing workers of electric and hybrid vehicles. According to a company release, the project will create 8,500 jobs by 2031 and, once fully staffed, train up to 824 people at a time in Hyundai’s EV manufacturing processes. The center will be operated by Georgia Quick Start, a workforce development program operated by the state as part of the Technical College System of Georgia. Training will consist of introductory courses in timing and working on a moving production line, lab and VR training in safely handling high voltage battery systems and working with programmable logic controllers. The site also includes six classrooms and labs for paint, robotics, and welding training.

The training center is next to Hyundai’s Metaplant America, where an early-September ICE raid detained almost 500 South Korean employees and caused diplomatic friction between South Korea and the United States. In early October, the South Korean Foreign Ministry announced the United States had agreed to allow South Korean workers to help build U.S. factories on short-term visas.

Read more at Plant Services

Merck Bets On Flu Prevention With $9.2 Billion Deal For Cidara Therapeutics

Merck will acquire Cidara Therapeutics  in a nearly $9.2 billion deal, gaining access to an experimental flu drug in its effort to diversify ahead of patent loss for its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda. Merck, which is set to lose patents for Keytruda later this decade, has nearly tripled its late-stage pipeline since 2021 through in-house development and big deals such as the $11.5 billion purchase of Acceleron for pulmonary arterial hypertension drug Winrevair.

Cidara’s experimental long-acting antiviral drug CD388 is not a vaccine and is expected to be efficacious in individuals regardless of immune status. It has the potential to be a single-dose, universal prevention against all flu strains. “The non-vaccine nature of CD388 is notable given the uncertainty around the FDA and CDC’s views on vaccines,” Harlow said. It aims to protect those at higher risk of flu, with the potential to provide season-long protection. The flu drug belongs to a class known as drug-Fc conjugates that combines zanamivir, the active ingredient of GSK’s FDA-approved influenza drug Relenza, with a clinically validated human antibody fragment. It is being studied in a late-stage trial in adults and adolescents at higher risk of developing complications from influenza.

Read more at CNBC

Ford CEO Jim Farley Laments He Can’t Fill 5,000 Mechanic Jobs Paying $120K Per Year: ‘We Are In Trouble In Our Country’

 Ford has been unable to fill some 5,000 openings for mechanics despite offering a salary of $120,000 a year — prompting the company’s chief executive to warn of a dire shortage of skilled tradespeople in the US. “We are in trouble in our country. We are not talking about this enough,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said on an episode of the “Office Hours: Business Edition” podcast published last week. “We have over a million openings in critical jobs, emergency services, trucking, factory workers, plumbers, electricians and tradesmen.”

It takes about five years to learn the skills needed to pull a diesel engine out of a Ford Super Duty truck — and the country isn’t training enough people to do it, Farley said. “We do not have trade schools,” he fumed. Earlier this year, Ford rolled out a $4 million initiative to fund scholarship for auto technicians. “We are not investing in educating a next generation of people like my grandfather who had nothing, who built a middle class life and a future for his family,” Farley said. His granddad was employee 389 at Ford and worked on the company’s flagship Model T.

Read more at The New York Post

Quote of the Day

"Success represents the 1% of your work which results from the 99% that is called failure."

Soichiro Honda - Japanese Engineer and Industrialist who was born on ths day in 1906.

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