U.S. employers added 165,000 jobs in October, far more than forecasts near 60,000, while unemployment edged down from 4.2% to 4.1%, Labor Department figures released Friday, Nov. 6, showed.
Professional and business services added 70,000 jobs, health care added 42,000, and manufacturing added 19,000. Jobs also grew in transportation and warehousing. The department raised its estimates of payroll gains for August and September by a combined 84,000.
That brought September’s increase to 60,000. Average hourly earnings rose 14 cents to $38, up 0.4% for the month and 3.1% from a year earlier. The average workweek remained at 34.4 hours.
The broader unemployment rate, which includes discouraged workers and people working part time for economic reasons, rose to 7.9%, even as the headline rate eased. The number of people working part time for economic reasons also increased by 339,000, to 4.8 million. The labor force participation rate changed little, at 61.9%.
The figures show stronger hiring than economists expected. They also point to signs that some workers still have difficulty finding full-time work. The October payroll estimate is preliminary and may be revised in later reports.