A stronger payroll increase
The United States added 165,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in October, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on November 6 at 8:30 a.m. ET, or 13:30 UTC. Professional and business services added 70,000 jobs; transportation and warehousing gained about 25,000.
September’s payroll increase was revised from 29,000 to 60,000. August’s gain rose from 133,000 to 186,000, putting the combined total 84,000 above the previous estimates.
Unemployment and pay
The unemployment rate was 4.1%, compared with September’s 4.2%. BLS described the change as small. About 7.1 million people were unemployed.
Average hourly earnings on private nonfarm payrolls rose 14 cents, or 0.4%, to $38.00. The annual increase was 3.1%. These are average nominal earnings, rather than an inflation-adjusted pay rise for every worker.
What the headline does not show
People working part time because of reduced hours or difficulty finding full-time work increased by 339,000 to 4.8 million. That measure describes a different group from unemployed people.
Payroll jobs and unemployment come from separate establishment and household surveys. Their totals should not be treated as interchangeable. The October payroll estimate is preliminary, so later releases can revise it. The linked tables let readers compare sectors, hours and earnings directly.
