(Bloomberg) -- US hiring in October was the weakest since 2020, reflecting the impact of severe hurricanes and a strike at Boeing Co.

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Nonfarm payrolls increased 12,000 last month, and hiring over the previous two months was weaker than previously thought, suggesting the underlying labor market continues to cool. The data keep the Federal Reserve on track to lower interest rates by a quarter-point next week, and it's the last major data point on the economy before the US presidential election.

Here are some of the charts that appeared on Bloomberg this week on the latest developments in the global economy, markets and geopolitics:

US

US hiring advanced at the slowest pace since 2020 while the unemployment rate remained low in October, a month distorted by severe hurricanes and a major strike at Boeing Co. Nonfarm payrolls increased 12,000 last month, and hiring over the previous two months was weaker than previously thought, suggesting the underlying labor market continues to cool.

The next US president will inherit an economy that's humming, powered by American consumers who continue to spend despite years of high prices and interest rates. According to the so-called misery index, which adds up the inflation rate and unemployment rate, Americans shouldn't be miserable at all. The widely used welfare gauge is lower than in any recent election year, except for 2016.

Nestled among the corn fields of Pataskala, Ohio, Illuminate USA's sprawling new solar factory is buzzing. It's part of the clean energy manufacturing boom promised by the Biden administration, the result of sweeping incentives designed to restore national prowess in a market dominated by China. In reality, what looks like a domestic triumph is also a win for America's primary industrial and geopolitical rival.

Europe

The euro area's economy expanded in the third quarter by more than expected -- with even Germany avoiding the recession it was widely tipped to endure. Growth in France accelerated and stayed strong in Spain.

Rachel Reeves unveiled £40 billion ($51.8 billion) of tax rises -- the most in decades -- and ramped up borrowing, both seismic moves designed to meet Labour's pledge to "rebuild" the UK that still yielded only modest projected boosts to growth and public spending.