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Employment growth soars again, U.S. adds 261,000 new jobs

The U.S. economy added 261,000 new jobs in October, while the unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, according to the Labor Department.

Data: BLS; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon / Axios
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Numbers:

  • September job gains were revised to show that 18,000 jobs were added rather than the 33,000 job loss previously reported. Therefore, the economy's streak of 85 months of job growth is alive and well.
  • The industry showing the strongest job growth was "food services and drinking places," with 89,000 new positions.
  • But as Jed Kolko, Chief Economist with Indeed.com points out, this is likely the effect of businesses reopening following severe hurricanes in Texas and Florida.
  • The return of these low paying gigs pulled down the wage growth overall, which was flat last month.

The bottom line: "The jobs market keeps humming along," said economist Justin Wolfers. The U.S. economy is adding jobs at a healthy clip, but not quickly enough to force employers to drastically raise wages.