U.S. adds 165,000 jobs in October as unemployment holds near 4%
Friday’s federal report showed hiring picked up before the midterms, with the next inflation reading due Nov. 10.
U.S. employers added 165,000 jobs in October, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The unemployment rate was 4.1%, down from 4.2% in September. The bureau characterized that change as small and said the rate has stayed between 4.1% and 4.3% since March.
October payroll growth exceeded the average gain of 48,000 a month over the previous year. The bureau also revised August and September upward by a combined 84,000 jobs, bringing the September estimate to 60,000.
Where employers added jobs
Professional and business services added 70,000 jobs, the largest gain among the industries highlighted in the report. Health care added 42,000, and transportation and warehousing added about 25,000. Average hourly pay for private nonfarm workers rose 0.4% in October and 3.1% from a year earlier.
The report also showed that about 4.8 million people worked part time for economic reasons, up by 339,000. Those workers wanted full-time work but had their hours cut or could only find part-time jobs. The bureau counts them as employed in the survey it uses to calculate the unemployment rate.
What the Federal Reserve will see next
The Fed held its benchmark interest rate range at 3.75% to 4% on Oct. 28. Its policy committee said inflation remained elevated. Friday’s jobs report gives policymakers another reading on the employment side of their mandate before they meet again Dec. 8 and 9.
The bureau will publish October consumer prices and inflation-adjusted earnings on Nov. 10. Those figures will help show how much of October’s increase in hourly pay translated into greater purchasing power.