Overview
- The U.S. added 165,000 payroll jobs in October, a much larger gain than economists expected, and the unemployment rate slipped to 4.1 percent.
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics revised August and September jobs upward by a combined 84,000, boosting the recent trend in hiring.
- Average hourly earnings rose 3.1 percent year over year, which is below recent inflation and means most workers are still losing ground in real terms.
- Financial markets reacted quickly with Treasury yields rising and traders raising the probability of a Federal Reserve rate hike in December.
- By contrast, Canada lost 4,700 jobs in October and saw its unemployment rate rise to 6.7 percent, a pattern that eases near-term pressure for Bank of Canada rate increases.