U.S. payrolls rise 165,000 in October as unemployment dips to 4.1%, topping economist forecasts
U.S. employers added far more jobs in October than economists had anticipated, according to Friday’s Bureau of Labor Statistics report, underscoring unexpected strength in the labor market. Seasonally adjusted nonfarm payrolls rose by 165,000, well above the Dow Jones consensus of 59,000. The unemployment rate also eased, slipping to 4.1 percent rather than holding at the 4.2 percent level that had been forecast.
The stronger October print was accompanied by large upward revisions to earlier months. August hiring was lifted by 53,000 to 186,000 jobs, and September’s gain was raised by 31,000 to 60,000. Those changes add a sizable number of previously uncounted positions to the recent employment picture and mean the two months before October were stronger than first reported.
Pay growth also outpaced expectations. Average hourly earnings increased 0.4 percent from the previous month and 3.1 percent from a year earlier, compared with forecasts of 0.3 percent and 2.9 percent. For international readers, the combination of a larger-than-expected payroll gain, a slightly lower jobless rate, and faster wage growth points to a U.S. labor market that remained firmer in October than the modest hiring pace analysts had priced in.
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