U.S. adds 156,000 jobs in October, unemployment steady at 4.1%

Orphe Divounguy, The Center Square's chief economist, expected lower growth in October. He estimated an additional 86,000 jobs, well below what the bureau reported. 

Healthcare, a reliable hiring industry, exceeded expectations with an additional 42,000 jobs in October. On average, the industry recruited 31,000 jobs per month over the last year. 

The transportation and warehousing industry added 25,000 jobs in October, driven by couriers and messengers. Divounguy said the industry is an important one to keep an eye on as hiring increases ahead of the holiday season. 

"The important comparison is whether they hire more or fewer workers than usual for this season.," Divounguy told The Center Square. "Because the headline figures adjust for normal seasonal patterns, employers can add holiday workers while recording a seasonally adjusted decline if hiring falls short of the usual buildup."

The transportation and warehousing industry added 104,000 jobs since a recent low in February, according to the report. 

Average hourly earnings increased by 14 cents or 0.4% in October, allowing wage growth to tick up slightly to 3.1%. Divounguy said inflation remains a core issue for meaningful wage growth. 

"For households, the problem is that inflation has outpaced those gains: inflation-adjusted hourly earnings were down 0.7% from a year earlier in September," Divounguy said. 

Long-term unemployment accounted for 27.6% of all unemployed people. Roughly two million people have been jobless for 27 weeks or more, according to the report. 

"Long-term unemployment concerns me most," Divounguy said. "If you are out of a job, finding one has become difficult, and more people risk getting stuck in unemployment for longer."

The labor force participation rate, at 61.9%, changed little from January. The participation rate of prime-age adults remained consistent over the last several months. 

"Those figures support my view of a broadly stable labor market for workers in their prime working years," Divounguy said. "Monthly household-survey figures can swing, so I’ll watch whether these gains hold over the next few reports rather than read too much into any one month."