The U.S. economy delivered a blockbuster jobs report for October, with nonfarm payrolls rising by 165,000 — more than double economists’ expectations of around 65,000 — while the unemployment rate edged down to 4.1% from 4.2%.
The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics released the figures Friday morning. September’s gain was revised sharply higher to 60,000 from an initially reported 29,000, and August was lifted by 53,000 to 186,000, for a combined upward revision of 84,000 jobs over the prior two months. The October increase was well above the average monthly gain of 48,000 over the prior year.
Job gains were broad-based. Professional and business services led with 70,000 positions added (well above its recent average), followed by health care (+42,000), transportation and warehousing (+25,000), and manufacturing (+19,000). Private payrolls rose by about 159,000. Average hourly earnings increased 0.4% to $38.00, up 3.1% from a year earlier. The labor force participation rate ticked up to 61.9%.
The resilient labor market, marked by historically low layoffs and a recent rise in job openings, gives the Federal Reserve additional room to prioritize inflation pressures linked to the Middle East conflict rather than employment concerns, according to Reuters. Economists noted the economy needs only roughly 40,000 jobs a month to keep pace with working-age population growth, given a smaller labor force.
Upward revisions and sector breadth, including strength in professional services that often overlaps with tech, reinforce signs of American labor-market resilience. The next jobs report, for November, is scheduled for December 4th.
MacDailyNews Take: The blockbuster jobs report arrives against a backdrop of ongoing hiring at major technology companies. Apple, which recently posted a record September quarter under new CEO John Ternus with strong iPhone and Mac sales despite price increases, continues to post hundreds of open roles, particularly in engineering, machine learning, and product development. A tight labor market with solid wage growth also supports consumer spending power, a key driver for Apple’s hardware and services revenue, even as the company navigates elevated component costs such as memory chips.
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