Payrolls added 165,000 jobs in October as manufacturing employment rose 19,000
Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 165,000 in October, coming in well above expectations. Meanwhile, the collective job gains in August and September were revised upward by 84,000 jobs from 162,000 to 246,000. The 12-month average stands at 73,750 job gains per month. Healthcare and social assistance continued to exhibit the largest job gains, adding 55,100 jobs in October. At the same time, the unemployment rate edged down 0.1 percentage point from September to 4.1%, while the labor force participation rate rose 0.1 percentage point to 61.9%.
Manufacturing employment advanced by 19,000 in October after increasing by 13,000 in September. In addition, the collective job gains in August and September were revised upward by 10,000 jobs from 24,000 to 34,000. Manufacturing employment is up 101,000 since a recent low in December 2025. Durable goods manufacturing employment climbed by 25,000 in October, while nondurable goods employment fell by 6,000. The largest manufacturing job gain occurred in computer and electronic product manufacturing, which added 6,700 jobs over the month. Meanwhile, the most significant loss occurred in beverage, tobacco, and leather and allied product manufacturing, which shed 2,400 jobs over the month.
The employment-population ratio edged up 0.1 percentage point from September to 59.3% in October. Meanwhile, employed persons who are part-time workers for economic reasons rose by 339,000 from September to 4.8 million in October. Native-born employment declined by 64,000 from September, while foreign-born employment increased by 809,000. Over the month, the native-born unemployment rate dipped 0.1 percentage point over the year to 4.1% in October, while the foreign-born unemployment rate stayed the same at 3.2%.
Average hourly earnings for all private nonfarm payroll employees rose 0.4%, or 14 cents, to $38.00. Over the past year, earnings have grown 3.1%. The average workweek remained unchanged at 34.4 hours for all employees and 40.5 hours for manufacturing employees.
