Hiring and unemployment figures for October will provide an update on a work force that has added jobs at a slow, steady pace for months. See more of our coverage in your search results. The latest reading on what has been a relatively stagnant labor market will come in the monthly jobs report to be released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employers have generally added workers at a slow but steady pace for months, though the headline payroll numbers have been volatile. The unemployment rate has stayed low, hovering in a narrow range just above 4 percent for the last two years. Layoffs are at historically low levels. Workers are reluctant to leave their jobs. "We really do just remain in this low-hire, low-fire environment," said Laura Ullrich, the director of economic research at Indeed, the job search website. The stability has allowed consumers to keep spending, buoying the economy overall. But for those without jobs, opportunities have been more limited. And even people who do have jobs have been losing leverage, as wage growth has slowed and inflation has eroded their spending power . Here's what to watch in the report: There have been some tentative signs that the labor market may be perking up. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey this week showed that the quits rate rose in September, a sign that workers may feel more confident in their ability to get new jobs.

Carney said the E.U. and Canada are working toward “the deepest possible partnership, short of accession." The move comes as the Canadian Prime Minister pursues international alliances to reduce Canada's reliance on the U.S.

How is the US economy really doing under President Trump? President Donald Trump has been boasting about the performance of the US economy ahead of the midterm congressional elections, claiming he has boosted incomes, reduced inflation and created jobs. Trump has repeatedly said: We have the hottest country anywhere in the world. While the overall US economy is faring better than many expected after Trump launched his sweeping Liberation Day tariffs in 2025, there's evidence those import taxes and the impact of the US-Israel war with Iran have pushed up inflation, with the harmful effects felt by most American households. The US economy is also being helped by an AI investment boom, and could falter if that spending were to dry up. So how does all this feel for the average American?

US inflation rose by more than expected in the year to September, according to official figures, in the final data release before the midterm elections next month. The pace of price rises increased to 3.7%, up from 3.4% in the 12 months to August. Inflation was above forecasts, driven by higher gasoline prices which have spiked following disruption to Middle East energy supplies due to the US-Israel conflict with Iran. The elections are being fought over cost of living pressures across the US. Inflation is the rate at which the price of products or services increase over time.

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The cuts will bring relief to a wide range of goods, from billiard balls to dolphins, although experts caution it’s not a major breakthrough in trade relations.

Trump-Xi summit: Here's what's on the agenda, and why it matters Share Trump-Xi summit: Here's what's on the agenda, and why it matters on social media China's leader Xi Jinping is expected to hold highly anticipated talks with United States President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday, as both sides seek to ease trade tensions and discuss increasingly capable artificial intelligence (AI) systems. On Wednesday evening, Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump greeted Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, with a rare red carpet welcome. No US president had previously welcomed a visiting guest personally at the base in six decades. Earlier in the day, China's state broadcaster CCTV reported that Xi and Peng were being accompanied by the president's closest aide and adviser, Cai Qi, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The White House said the talks scheduled for Thursday would mark "a significant milestone in the relationship between the two countries".

Trump and Xi summit may just be a'horse and pony show', experts say Share Trump and Xi summit may just be a'horse and pony show', experts say on social media As United States President Donald Trump rolled out the red carpet for Chinese President Xi Jinping with a rare personal welcome at the airport, to be followed by a state banquet and a military flyover, experts warn to temper expectations as the summit is more focused on "re-establishing trust" rather than having any meaningful deals announced at the end of it. The US and China have been locked in a trade war since Trump's first term as president when he introduced levies on imports of certain industrial goods, and Beijing retaliated with tariffs on a range of US exports including soya beans, pork and electric vehicles. Some of those policies continued under Trump's successor, President Joe Biden, who also introduced other measures, including curbs on chip exports. While both sides have since stepped back from that cliff after the two leaders met in late October in Busan on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea, US tariffs are still at a hefty average of 36.5 percent, while China's tariffs on US goods average out to 31 percent. "This is not a bargaining summit," Reza Hasmath, academic faculty adviser at The China Institute at the University of Alberta, told Al Jazeera.

As Xi meets Trump, who's winning their trade war? Share As Xi meets Trump, who's winning their trade war? on social media Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to hold talks with United States President Donald Trump at the White House during his state visit - the first by a Chinese leader in more than a decade - as the world's two largest economies are locked in an ongoing tussle over trade and artificial intelligence. Trump is expected to welcome Xi on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews outside the US capital, Washington, DC, in a rare gesture for a high-stakes three-day visit by the Chinese leader. He ramped up tariffs on Chinese goods after returning to power in 2025, and has since imposed curbs on the sale of AI chips to Beijing as the two nations compete for supremacy in the AI race. The future of their fragile trade truce will be high on the agenda when the two leaders meet on Thursday.

What's the US-China AI'hotline' that Trump plans to pitch to Xi Jinping? Share What's the US-China AI'hotline' that Trump plans to pitch to Xi Jinping? on social media The United States wants a new "notification mechanism" with China to warn each other when an artificial intelligence incident becomes serious enough to threaten national security. The proposal, effectively an "AI hotline", was discussed on Sunday during talks in New York between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, ahead of a summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington this week. The initiative comes amid an intensifying contest for AI supremacy between the world's top two economies, together with increasing warnings from tech giants that guardrails are necessary around the ever-growing technology. So, what do we know about this so-called hotline, and where is the AI battle between the US and China headed?