U.S. Employment Jumps Much More Than Expected In October

(RTTNews) - A closely watched report released by the Labor Department on Friday showed employment in the U.S. increased by far more than anticipated in the month of October.

The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment jumped by 165,000 jobs in October compared to economist estimates for the addition of 62,000 jobs.

The report also showed employment surged by an upwardly revised 186,000 jobs in August and climbed by an upwardly revised 60,000 jobs in September, reflecting a net upward revision of 84,000 jobs.

"The latest jobs data suggest labor market conditions are tightening, and with inflation well above target, that adds to the case for a December rate hike," said Michael Pearce, Chief U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.

He added, "However, given most of the core inflation overshoot we expect is tied to spillovers from higher energy prices and AI-related pressures, continued falls in tech stocks and oil prices could eliminate the prospect of an additional hike in early 2027."

The Labor Department highlighted notable increases in employment in the professional and business services, healthcare and transportation and warehousing sectors.

The report also said the unemployment rate edged down to 4.1 percent in October from 4.2 percent in September. The unemployment rate was expected to remain unchanged.

The unexpected dip in the unemployment rate came as the household survey measure of employment spiked by 463,000 persons, outpacing the 421,000-person surge in the size of the labor force.

The Labor Department also said average hourly employee earnings increased by $0.14 or 0.4 percent to $38.00 in October.

The annual rate of growth by average hourly employee earnings edged down to 3.1 percent in October from an upwardly revised 3.2 percent in September.

Economists had expected the pace of wage growth to slip to 2.9 percent from the 3.0 percent originally reported for the previous month.