US hiring jumped in October, far above the roughly 60,000 economists expected.
Forecasters had expected a weak month, and the US labour market did the opposite. Employers added 165,000 jobs in October, nearly three times the consensus and well above the 48,000 monthly average of the past year. Unemployment edged down to 4.1%, and earlier months were revised higher. Hiring was broad, led by professional services, healthcare and logistics.
This unexpected labor velocity hit right on the heels of the political power shift from the midterm elections and sudden AI infrastructure corrections. Analysts noted that while the core economy remains on sturdy ground, the combination of robust job expansion and sticky wage metrics essentially clears the path for the Federal Reserve. According to market experts this blowout report leaves a quarter-point interest rate hike firmly on the table for the Fed's December meeting as policymakers prioritize containing structural inflation over economic slowdown concerns.