US adds 165,000 jobs in October, more than three times the recent average; unemployment at 4.1%, wages up 3.1%

Professional and business services stood out, at more than four times its recent average of 15,000 a month, and it is up 269,000 since a low in October 2025. Health care stayed strong, led by hospitals and home health care. Couriers and messengers drove the rise in transportation. Manufacturing added jobs in computers and electronics, machinery and primary metals, and it has gained 101,000 since last December. Construction, retail, information, finance, leisure and government were little changed.

Why it matters, and where the softer spots are

The headline is strong, but the household survey has weaker signals. The number of people working part time for economic reasons, because they could not find full-time work or their hours were cut, rose by 339,000 to 4.8 million. Long-term unemployment stood at 2.0 million, or 27.6% of all those out of work. That means more than one in four unemployed Americans has been searching for 27 weeks or more. A further 6.0 million people outside the labour force say they want a job, and participation has shown little change since January.

By group, the jobless rate was 3.9% for adult men, 3.6% for adult women, 13.9% for teenagers, 3.7% for White workers, 6.6% for Black workers, 2.8% for Asian workers and 4.7% for Hispanic workers.

So this is a report with two faces. Hiring is up, and earlier months were better than first thought, which weakens the idea that the economy is stalling. Yet a jump in involuntary part-time work is often a sign that employers are cautious about hours even while they add to headcount.

One month is also a noisy measure. September's first reading of 29,000 has just been doubled, and August's has risen by 53,000. Readers should give more weight to three-month trends than to any single release.

What it means for the Fed

The Federal Reserve held its target range at 3.75% to 4% on 28 October, after raising it in September, and two members, Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack, voted for a further increase. Its statement described activity as strong and inflation as elevated.

A better jobs number adds to the case for keeping rates high. Wages rising by 3.1% over the year are not alarming on their own, but the 0.4% rise in a single month, if repeated, would be harder to ignore with energy prices already pushing up costs. On the other hand, the sell-off in technology shares on 5 November, when the Nasdaq Composite fell over 5.5%, tightens financial conditions without any Fed action. Critics of further tightening will point to that, and to the rise in involuntary part-time work, as reasons to wait. The minutes of the October meeting are due on 18 November.

Politics adds another layer. Democrats have just won control of both chambers of Congress, and President Donald Trump's White House will present any good jobs figure as a vindication of its policies. Economists will look past that to the trend.

What it means for India

For India, the American labour market matters through three channels. Higher US rates keep the dollar firm and can draw money away from emerging markets, and that weighs on the rupee, which has been trading above 94 to the dollar. Strength in professional and business services is a mildly positive sign for Indian IT companies, whose biggest clients are in the United States, though it does not guarantee higher technology budgets. And a firm American economy supports demand for India's exports.

Indian markets were closed for the weekend when the data were absorbed, and the Sensex ended Friday at 81,028 after seven straight gains. The next session will show how investors read a stronger American report, set against the technology rout and the price of oil.

The next Employment Situation report, for November, is due on 4 December. Before that, consumer price data and the Fed's minutes will show whether the strength in hiring is feeding into inflation.

This article is for information and is not investment advice.