PHOENIX — The U.S. economy added 165,000 jobs in October, far exceeding Wall Street's expectations of roughly 65,000 new positions, according to the Labor Department.
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Unemployment fell to 4.1 percent, and wages grew 3.1 percent — the first real wage increase since last March.
Despite the strong headline numbers, paychecks are still losing the race with inflation.
The professional sector led job gains, adding 70,000 positions — nearly half of the total monthly increase. Health care came in second with 55,000 new jobs. Transportation, warehousing, manufacturing and government also added jobs.
The sectors that shed jobs included information, construction, and leisure and hospitality, which posted the largest losses.
It has been a rough year for hiring overall, but the trend is improving. Only three of the last 12 months saw negative job growth, and just one of those months was a significant loss.
The unemployment rate fell a tenth of a point from 4.2 percent, with the biggest improvements coming for teenagers and Black workers. Economists closely watch Black unemployment as a recession warning sign — when it falls, recession risk tends to fall with it.
Still, the wage growth number tells a more cautious story.
October's 3.1 percent wage growth remains well below the expected inflation rate of 3.7 percent. For seven consecutive months, any wage gains Americans have seen have been immediately erased by rising prices.
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