Robust October hiring and drop in unemployment defy expectations

USA Today · , USA TODAY · 2026-11-06 13:43 UTC

U.S. employers added 165,000 jobs in October, surpassing forecasters' expectations and marking a strong gain after months of sharp swings in hiring.

U.S. employers added a surprising 165,000 jobs in October, the Labor Department estimated Nov. 6, surpassing forecasters' expectations and extending recent months' trend of sharp swings in hiring.

Past months' payroll gains were revised up, reflecting a stronger demand for workers than previously estimated. The department now reports U.S. employers added 60,000 jobs in September, up from the initial estimate of 29,000, and that they added 186,000 jobs in August.

Worker pay also ticked up last month, but likely still not enough to outpace inflation. Average hourly earnings for employees on private, nonfarm payrolls, which is calculated as a mean, rose by 14 cents to $38.00 in October. Over the year, they were up 3.1%. In comparison, consumer prices rose 3.7% over the year in September.

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