The U.S. economy added 214,000 jobs in October, according to government data released Friday morning.
The national unemployment rate also ticked down to 5.8 percent, the lowest level in six years, even as more workers entered the job market.
The latest numbers keep the nation on pace for its best labor market year since 1999 .Though wage growth has been sluggish in recent years, many Americans — helped by falling oil prices — are seeing their purchasing power rise. And they are now finding jobs with reliability unseen since the Great Recession.
“What we’re seeing in the labor market — it’s not totally recovered yet, but it’s recovering quite nicely now,” Bill Hampel, a chief economist at the Credit Union National Association, told The Washington Post.
The job gains were broad-based, though many lower-paying industries posted especially large increases. Retailers added 27,100 jobs. Restaurants, hotels and entertainment firms gained 52,000. Some higher-paying industries also showed progress. Manufacturers added 15,000 jobs, up from 9,000 in the previous month. Transportation and shipping companies gained 13,300 jobs. And professional and business services, which includes accountants, engineers and other higher-skilled fields, added 37,000 jobs.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday that revised job growth in August and September was actually 31,000 higher than previously reported. The revisions bump the September total to 256,000 jobs and the August total to 203,000 jobs — meaning the U.S. economy has added at least 200,000 jobs for nine consecutive months.
In the meantime, the number of people unemployed for more than 27 weeks has fallen by more than 1 million from last year.
