U.S. job growth accelerated in October, with the private sector adding a seasonally adjusted 171,000 jobs, exceeding most expectations, but the stubborn unemployment rate ticked one-tenth of a percentage point higher to 7.9 percent, as more people resumed looking for work.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a gain of 125,000 in payrolls and a 7.9 percent jobless rate.
Companies also hired more employees in September and August than previously estimated, according to new revisions by the U.S. Department of Labor. The number of new jobs created in September was revised up to 148,000 from a prior estimate of 114,000. And August’s figure was revised to 192,000 from 142,000 to mark the best month of hiring since February.
Jeff Joerres, chairman and chief executive officer of ManpowerGroup, a Milwaukee-based global staffing company, Tweeted, “When ppl who were previously discouraged by lack of jobs see incremental improvement, they begin looking for work again…We’re seeing a gradually improving jobs market and the revisions for August and September are similarly encouraging.”
The largest increases in hiring last month took place in the professional services, health care, retail and leisure and hospitality sectors. Also, manufacturers added 13,000 jobs after shedding workers in the prior two months.
Factory orders rebounded 4.8 percent in September, almost completely reversing a drop in the prior month, the U.S. Commerce Department reported today. Orders in August were revised up slightly to a 5.1 percent fall from an initially reported 5.2 percent decline.
