Employers Added 165,000 Jobs in October, Far More Than Expected

Employers added 165,000 jobs in October, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday, November 6, far above the roughly 60,000 economists expected, and the unemployment rate edged down to 4.1 percent from 4.2 percent. Hiring was led by professional and business services, which added 70,000 jobs, health care, with 42,000, and transportation and warehousing, with 25,000. August and September were revised up by a combined 84,000 jobs; September now shows a gain of 60,000.

Average hourly earnings rose 14 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $38.00, and are up 3.1 percent over the past year, below the 3.7 percent inflation rate in September. A broader measure of underemployment that includes discouraged and involuntary part-time workers rose to 7.9 percent, and 2 million people have been out of work for 27 weeks or more. Treasury yields rose after the report, Reuters reported, and some analysts said it raised the odds of another Federal Reserve rate increase in December. The November report is due December 4.