Mortgage rates fell for the third week in a row on signs that businesses are reluctant to hire.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 14 basis points to 6.11% APR in the week ending Oct. 16, according to rates provided to NerdWallet by Zillow. A basis point is one one-hundredth of a percentage point.

Just three weeks ago, the average rate was almost a quarter of a percentage point higher, at 6.35%.

What's been moving rates

This year, mortgage rates have been pushed and pulled in opposite directions by two economic forces. Inflation has pushed mortgage rates upward, while unsteady job creation has pulled rates lower. They fought to a draw for the first seven months of the year.

But the outlook has changed since the beginning of August. A slowdown in hiring has been a

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