Surprising October job gains show off sturdy labor market

People who moved jobs saw wages jump 4.8% — the fastest pace in more than two and a half years.MANHATTAN (CN) — The U.S. labor pool continues to surprise, with 165,000 jobs added last month, well above the previous months and expectations.The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ report released Friday was much better than the roughly 60,000 jobs many analysts had predicted for October. Even the unemployment rate dipped slightly to 4.1% after rising to 4.2% last month.Revisions to the September and August jobs reports also paint a prettier picture of those months, with a total 84,000 more jobs added.“The report was undeniably strong,” Ariane Curtis, senior North America economist at Capital Economics, wrote in an investor’s note, pointing out nearly all the broad-based gains were in the private sector.Professional and business sectors led the pack, gaining 70,000 jobs after previously averaging only 15,000 jobs monthly. As usual, the healthcare sector posted good numbers, adding 42,000 positions in October, and manufacturing eked out another 19,000 jobs.The labor landscape already had looked solid. Earlier in the week, payroll company ADP reported the private sector added 86,000 jobs in October, about 10,000 jobs above the consensus estimate.“Employers of all sizes were hiring last month, and our data suggest that job-changers were lured by a combination of bonuses, overtime and more hours in addition to higher base pay,” Nela Richardson, ADP chief economist, said in a statement.The job gains were split fairly evenly among small, mid-sized and large companies, but some sectors saw lopsided gains or even losses. Experts noted that since the middle of 2025, smaller firms have accounted for more than half of all job gains.Education and health services picked up 28,000 of the final number, while the leisure industry netted 19,000 positions. However, manufacturing lost 1,000 jobs, construction gained only 13,000 positions, and financial activities saw a 15,000-job increase.Wage growth increased at the fastest pace since March 2024, according to ADP, with people changing jobs seeing wages jump 4.8%.Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at One Point BFG Wealth Partners, noted the private sector job gains posted by ADP were far fewer than in the BLS report. “Only revisions in the future will reconcile it one way or another,” he wrote in an investor’s note.Job openings saw a notable increase in September after a decline in August, according to the monthly JOLTS report. But the unmoving firing rate and the latest unemployment claims reinforce the “no hire, no fire” narrative of today’s economy.The JOLTS report, which is delayed an additional month compared with other reports, showed increases in job openings among manufacturing, state and local government, and business services.The jobs report from the National Federation of Independent Business also showed increased hiring, with 18% of small business respondents saying they plan to create jobs.“In a reversal from last month, hiring and compensation picked up for small business owners in October,” NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg said in a statement. “The desire to create new jobs and increase wages is there, but the challenges of finding qualified workers remains a persistent barrier for Main Street.”Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads