October U.S. jobs gain of 165,000 beats forecasts as AI-linked consultant hiring surges
Friday’s Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose by 165,000 in October, far above the 59,000 gain economists polled by Dow Jones had forecast. A little-noticed slice of that surprise is challenging the idea that artificial intelligence is already destroying American jobs: management, scientific and technical consulting employment jumped 17,300 from September to October, the largest month-on-month rise in nearly two years and about 25 percent of professional and business services hiring. That workforce has added more than 45,000 jobs over the past year, lifting the total past 1.9 million for the first time on record after hiring had largely stalled since 2023.
Wall Street had questioned whether AI would curb demand for consultants. Gartner shares have lost more than half their value over three years; Accenture and FTI Consulting have fallen about 18 percent and 9 percent even as the S&P 500 rose roughly 74 percent. Some economists now link the rebound to firms hiring help to adopt AI. Gartner forecast in September that worldwide AI spending would reach $2.7 trillion in 2026, up nearly 50 percent year over year. Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial, said the AI buildout should keep technical consultants employed, recalling double-digit growth in the late 1990s internet boom. Moody’s Analytics estimates AI has created a net 786,000 jobs since ChatGPT launched in November 2022, partly via data-center construction. Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi said the risk of later job losses remains, but for now AI is adding to growth.
Temporary-help payrolls rose 18,600 in October, one of the largest monthly gains since 2022 and about 27 percent of the same sector’s increase. Headcount is still well below 2022 records but has grown roughly 3 percent since December, returning to levels last seen in April 2025, when President Donald Trump’s steep-tariff plan put companies on alert. Economists treat temp hiring as a leading indicator that can precede permanent jobs, though year-end holiday staffing could also explain the jump and may not last into January.
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