US October nonfarm payrolls increase by 165,000, unemployment rate drops to 4.1%

U.S. October job growth accelerated significantly, and the unemployment rate declined slightly, indicating that the labor market remains robust amid ongoing economic expansion. Data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday showed non-farm payrolls increased by 165,000 in October, with employment figures for the previous two months also revised upwards. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%. So far this year, resilient consumer spending and strong business investment have supported market demand and driven corporate profit growth, prompting companies to increase hiring. Although job growth has varied from month to month, overall hiring remains strong enough to keep the unemployment rate at a low level. Before the Federal Reserve’s next rate-setting meeting in December, officials will receive another employment report along with a complete set of inflation data. After raising rates in September and deciding to hold rates steady in October, investors expect the Federal Reserve to raise rates again in December to curb inflation. Following the release of the data, U.S. short-term interest rate futures fell after the non-farm payroll report, and traders increased their bets on a Fed rate hike in December. Data released on Friday also showed that job growth was broadly distributed across multiple sectors, with professional and business services and healthcare seeing the largest increases in employment.