Economy Added 165,000 Jobs in October, Far Above the 65,000 Forecast, and Unemployment Fell to 4.1%, Fox Business and the Washington Examiner Report
The Bureau of Labor Statistics report beat forecasts, and August and September were revised up by 84,000 combined. The Examiner says wages still trail inflation and the Fed is weighing another rate hike in December.
The U.S. economy added 165,000 jobs in October, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. Fox Business says economists polled by LSEG expected 65,000. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, below the 4.2% they expected.
The details. Fox Business says August was revised up by 53,000 to 186,000 jobs and September by 31,000 to 60,000, so the two months are 84,000 higher than first reported. Private payrolls grew by 159,000, against 64,000 expected. Manufacturing added 19,000 jobs, where 5,000 was forecast. The federal government shed 1,000 jobs, state governments added 8,000 and local governments cut 1,000.
The Examiner's read. A Washington Examiner analysis says the three-month average of job gains rose to 137,000, far more than the economy needs to keep up with population growth because of the immigration crackdown. It says prime-age employment held at 80.7%, the Sahm Rule recession signal is not triggered, and factory employment is now 8,000 above where it was when Trump took office. Federal employment is down about 333,000 since he took office. Construction fell by 3,000.
The caution. A separate Examiner report quotes Allianz Trade economist Dan North calling the report a sign of strength, but North noted that wage growth lags inflation, which cuts living standards even for people with jobs. The Examiner says the Federal Reserve held rates last week but most investors expect a hike in December. It also ties higher prices to energy costs from the Iran war.
Why it matters here. Prices and the economy drove the vote on Tuesday. Strong job numbers help the president's case, but voters said they felt squeezed, and today's data does not address wages against inflation.
What we could not check. We did not open the BLS release. The figures come from Fox Business, which said its story would be updated, and from two Examiner reports. The December rate-hike expectation is the Examiner's reading of investors.