U.S. employers added 165,000 jobs in October, crushing the 59,000 forecast and dropping the unemployment rate to 4.1%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
Job Market Surge Fuels Election Momentum
The combined gain for September and August rose to 84,000, lifting the three‑month total.
Professional and business services led with 70,000 jobs, followed by healthcare (42,000), transportation and warehousing (25,000) and manufacturing (19,000).
Private sector drove the surge, while federal employment fell to its lowest level since 1966 after the administration cut more than a million positions.
Trump touted the cuts on the campaign trail, saying he hated reducing government jobs but needed to “make America great again.”
The Biden administration added 130,000 federal jobs, offsetting some of the reductions.
Wages rose 0.4% in October, pushing average hourly earnings to $38, a 3.1% increase over the past year.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett called the report “one of the best I’ve ever seen,” noting the gain was more than double expectations and upward revisions were “ginormous.”
Hassett added that initial unemployment insurance claims hit a record low, underscoring labor‑market strength.
