The U.S. economy added 165,000 jobs in October, shattering expectations and suggesting new strength in the labor market.
The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1 percent, near the same low levels over the past year, according to a Labor Department report released Friday.
Forecasters had expected jobs gains of about 59,000.
The rosy jobs report figures were unexpected, as soaring prices fueled by the Iran war, tariffs and immigration enforcement have dampened employers’ hiring plans this year.
But paired with low unemployment levels, the strong job gains reflect a stable labor market. That’s because fewer jobs are needed to keep the unemployment rate low as immigrants and baby boomers exit the workforce, economists say.
Plus, consumer spending fueled by upper income households flush with stock market gains have been propping up the economy.
“The job market right now is in an unusual spot,” said Daniel Zhao, chief economist at the jobs site Glassdoor. “The unemployment rate is low and the job market is stable overall but at the same time workers’ sentiment about the job market is extremely poor.”
Indeed, many middle and lower-income Americans have been feeling gloomy about the labor market and the economy, as war-fueled inflation outpaces workers’ wage gains. Americans viewed the state of the economy as the top issue in midterm elections, in which voters delivered a wholesale rejection of President Donald Trump and his policies on Tuesday.
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