U.S. payrolls rise by 165,000 in October as jobless rate reaches 4.1%

U.S. payrolls increased by 165,000 in October, above the 65,000 forecast, TokenPost reported. The outlet said the unemployment rate was 4.1%, down from 4.2% the previous month. TokenPost described the jobs figure as 100,000 higher than expected.

The job gains were reported in professional and business services, health care, and transportation and warehousing, according to TokenPost. The outlet also reported that earlier payroll estimates were revised upward: September’s increase was adjusted to 60,000 from 29,000, while August’s was raised to 186,000 from 133,000. Taken together, the revisions added 84,000 jobs to the previously reported totals for those two months, TokenPost said.

TokenPost reported that the October unemployment rate was below a 4.2% forecast. It said the figure could inform investors’ assessments of Federal Reserve policy expectations and market risk appetite, including in crypto markets, but added that the rate alone does not determine the Fed’s next move.

Accounts differed on whether the jobless rate was lower or unchanged. TokenPost reported a decline from 4.2% to 4.1%, while Black Chronicle described the rate as steady at 4.1%. Black Chronicle said the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the employment report on Friday. A separate TokenPost report also said the rate had been 4.2% previously and came in below the forecast.

The October payroll gain exceeded the forecast, while the revisions raised the reported job growth for both August and September, according to TokenPost. Those figures provide a more complete picture of the reported monthly changes, although the reports differ on how to characterize the unemployment rate’s movement. The outlets’ accounts agree that October unemployment was 4.1%, while their descriptions of the change from the preceding month do not match.