Jobs Report Today Shows 165,000 Jobs Added and Unemployment at 4.1%
The jobs report showed US employers added 165,000 jobs in October, more than the 59,000 economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected, and unemployment fell to 4.1% from 4.2%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says a month’s count can miss by 122,000 jobs either way, so that gain stands out from the survey’s usual error.
The short answer. Employers added 165,000 jobs in October, with a jobless rate of 4.1% and yearly pay growth of 3.1%. It is one of the last big readings on jobs and pay before the Fed’s December 9 rate decision. That decision sets the tone for what people pay on loans and card balances. October’s gain is larger than the survey’s usual margin of error, while five of the nine earlier first readings this year fell within it.
The October 2026 jobs report in three numbers
Show the data
| Item | Low | High | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2026 | 8K | 252K | 130K |
| Feb 2026 | -214K | 30K | -92K |
| Mar 2026 | 56K | 300K | 178K |
| Apr 2026 | -7K | 237K | 115K |
| May 2026 | 50K | 294K | 172K |
| Jun 2026 | -65K | 179K | 57K |
| Jul 2026 | -145K | 99K | -23K |
| Aug 2026 | 40K | 284K | 162K |
| Sep 2026 | -93K | 151K | 29K |
| Oct 2026 | 43K | 287K | 165K |
On this page
- What did the jobs report show today?
- Is the jobs report accurate?
- How many jobs has the US added in 2026 compared with 2025?
- What was the October unemployment rate?
- Is pay keeping up with prices?
- What does the jobs report mean for the Fed’s December rate decision?
- The jobs report and the stock market after Thursday’s selloff
- Frequently asked questions
What did the jobs report show today?
Employers added 165,000 jobs in October and the unemployment rate fell to 4.1%. The payroll change is large enough to stand out from the survey’s noise.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, part of the Labor Department, released the October jobs report at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday, November 6. BLS said payrolls rose by 165,000 in October. That is above the 59,000 gain that economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected, as CNBC reported on November 4. Private employers added 159,000 jobs.
In BLS’s words, “Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 165,000 in October, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.1 percent.” BLS said the gain was “higher than the average monthly gain of 48,000 over the prior 12 months.”
Professional and business services added 70,000 jobs, health care 42,000, transportation and warehousing 25,000 and manufacturing 19,000. Construction, retail, leisure and hospitality and government showed little change, BLS said.
Average hourly pay for private workers rose to $38.00 in October. Over the past year it rose 3.1%. BLS first put September’s yearly rise at 3.0%, but September’s pay is now revised up to $37.86, which puts that rise at about 3.2%, so the yearly pace eased slightly.
BLS also revised the two months before, which together are now 84,000 jobs higher than previously reported. September now shows a gain of 60,000 instead of 29,000, and August a gain of 186,000 instead of 133,000.
| Measure | August 2026 | September 2026 | October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Change in nonfarm payrolls | +186,000 | +60,000 | +165,000 |
| Change in private payrolls | +142,000 | +78,000 | +159,000 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.1% | 4.2% | 4.1% |
| Labor force participation rate | 61.6% | 61.8% | 61.9% |
| Average hourly earnings, private workers | $37.76 | $37.86 | $38.00 |
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation summary tables A and B, October 2026, with the usual seasonal swings taken out. September 2026 and October are preliminary.
Is the jobs report accurate?
The jobs number comes from a survey of employers, and BLS says one month’s change can miss by about 122,000 jobs either way. October’s change is larger than that. Of this year’s ten first readings, five were inside it.
BLS asks about 119,000 businesses and government agencies each month how many people they employ. The answers are a sample, so the payroll change is an estimate. The Employment Situation technical note puts its size in BLS’s own words: “the confidence interval for the monthly change in total nonfarm employment from the establishment survey is on the order of plus or minus 122,000.”
BLS is 90% confident the true change falls inside that range. So for a reported gain of 50,000, BLS’s own example, the true change most likely lay between a loss of 72,000 and a gain of 172,000.
October’s first estimate, a gain of 165,000, is larger than 122,000, so even the low end of BLS’s range, a gain of 43,000, shows jobs grew. Of the ten first estimates BLS has published this year, five were inside it: February, April, June, July and September.
The beat is less certain than the gain. October’s count topped the 59,000 forecast by about 106,000 jobs, less than the 122,000 the survey can miss by, so by BLS’s range the survey cannot say for sure that the true gain beat the forecast.
The numbers also change after they come out. BLS revises each month twice, in the next two reports, as late survey forms arrive and seasonal patterns are recalculated.
From January to August 2026, the third estimate differed from the first by about 42,000 jobs on average, up or down. BLS’s revisions table puts the long-run average at 51,000 a month since 2003.
Show the data
| Item | First estimate | Latest estimate | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2026 | 130K | 160K | +30K |
| Feb 2026 | -92K | -156K | -64K |
| Mar 2026 | 178K | 214K | +36K |
| Apr 2026 | 115K | 148K | +33K |
| May 2026 | 172K | 63K | -109K |
| Jun 2026 | 57K | 31K | -26K |
| Jul 2026 | -23K | -10K | +13K |
| Aug 2026 | 162K | 186K | +24K |
| Sep 2026 | 29K | 60K | +31K |
A bigger correction comes once a year, when BLS checks the survey against unemployment insurance tax records. Its preliminary benchmark, published August 28, put employment in March 2026 79,000 lower than the survey showed. The final number arrives with the January jobs report in February 2027.
How many jobs has the US added in 2026 compared with 2025?
Employers have added about 86,000 jobs a month in 2026, through October. That compares with about 9,000 a month in the same months a year earlier.
With the revisions in the October report, payrolls grew by 861,000 from December 2025 to October 2026. Over the same ten months a year earlier they grew by 92,000, a total pulled down by a loss of 140,000 jobs in October 2025.
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh made the same point at his October 28 press conference: “payroll growth is noticeably above last year’s pace.”
The Fed does not need a fast pace. Fed Governor Michael Barr said in a September 29 speech that “lower net immigration has reduced the number of new jobs needed to keep pace with growth in the labor force.” He put this year’s job creation near 80,000 a month, “close to reasonable estimates of its breakeven pace.” In plain words, that is about the pace that keeps unemployment steady. This year’s pace through October, about 86,000 a month, is close to it.
Show the data
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Jul ’25 | 64K |
| Aug ’25 | -70K |
| Sep ’25 | 76K |
| Oct ’25 | -140K |
| Nov ’25 | 41K |
| Dec ’25 | -17K |
| Jan ’26 | 160K |
| Feb ’26 | -156K |
| Mar ’26 | 214K |
| Apr ’26 | 148K |
| May ’26 | 63K |
| Jun ’26 | 31K |
| Jul ’26 | -10K |
| Aug ’26 | 186K |
| Sep ’26 | 60K |
| Oct ’26 | 165K |
What was the October unemployment rate?
The unemployment rate fell to 4.1% in October from 4.2%. It is still low by the standard of the last 78 years.
The unemployment rate comes from a different survey, of about 60,000 households. It counts people without a job who looked for one in the past four weeks. BLS says the survey can miss a one-month change in the rate by about 0.3 percentage point, so a move of 0.1 point is within the survey’s noise. BLS said the rate “has remained in a narrow range of 4.1 percent to 4.3 percent since March,” and the number of unemployed people changed little at 7.1 million.
By history that band is low. October’s rate of 4.1% was lower than in about four of every five months since 1948. It matched July and August and was the lowest since January 2025, when the rate was 4.0%.
One measure did move. The number of people working part time who would have preferred full-time work, because their hours were cut or they could not find a full-time job, rose by 339,000 to 4.8 million, BLS said.
The participation rate, the share of adults working or looking for work, was 61.9% in October. BLS said it has shown little net change since January. It was 62.5% in September 2025; BLS has no October 2025 figure, because its household data for that month were not collected during the federal government shutdown.
Is pay keeping up with prices?
Hourly pay rose 3.1% over the year to October, and prices rose 3.7% over the year to September, the latest reading. Pay is still growing more slowly than prices.
The yearly pay figure had a high bar to clear. In October 2025, average pay jumped 15 cents in one month, so this October started from a high base.
Pay needed about $37.94 an hour to keep the 12-month figure at 3.0% and about $37.98 to reach 3.1%. It came in at $38.00, 19 cents above September’s first figure of $37.81, where 13 cents was needed, and 14 cents above September’s revised $37.86.
The price side of the comparison comes next week. Consumer prices rose 3.7% in the 12 months to September, according to the September CPI report. BLS publishes the October index on November 10.
What does the jobs report mean for the Fed’s December rate decision?
The Fed’s next rate decision comes on December 9. Its last statement said job gains have kept pace with the workforce and inflation remains elevated. By BLS’s own range, October’s count cannot be told apart from the 59,000 forecast or from the average of about 80,000 a month that Governor Barr said in September was close to the breakeven pace.
On October 28 the Fed held its target range, the band it sets for its key overnight rate, at 3.75% to 4.00%. Its statement said: “Job gains have kept pace with the workforce, and the unemployment rate has changed little.” It also said: “Inflation remains elevated.” The statement called job gains steady and inflation still elevated. Two officials, Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack, voted to raise rates by a quarter point instead.
Warsh described the job side of the Fed’s mandate as “quite positive” and said it is the Fed’s “responsibility to get inflation down.” In the Fed’s September projections, 16 of 18 officials expected at least one more quarter-point increase by the end of 2026.
Before the December 8 and 9 meeting, the Fed also gets the October consumer price index on November 10 and the November jobs report on December 4. StockTitan’s article on the October 28 decision covers how the Fed reached its hold.
The jobs report and the stock market after Thursday’s selloff
The jobs report came out the morning after what CNBC called the worst day for all three major US stock indexes since April 2025. Jobs data can change what traders expect for interest rates and for company profits.
On Thursday, November 5, the S&P 500 fell 4.36% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 5.52%, CNBC reported at 4:18 p.m. ET. AI chip stocks led the selling, as StockTitan’s report on the selloff explains. The jobs report measures employment in the pay period that includes October 12, weeks before Thursday’s selloff.
On Friday morning, before the regular session, SPY, a fund that tracks the S&P 500, traded at $734.83 at 8:47 a.m. ET. QQQ, which tracks the Nasdaq-100, traded at $657.42, up 1.6% from its Thursday close, according to StockTitan real-time Nasdaq data.
Unemployment news carries two signals for stocks, one about future interest rates and one about future company profits, according to a study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. More jobs and lower unemployment usually point to a stronger economy, which can help profits. They can also point to higher interest rates, which can weigh on stocks. The Fed’s own two goals are maximum employment and stable prices.
Which signal matters more changes over time. The paper found that news of rising unemployment was, on average, “good news” for stocks during economic expansions and “bad news” during contractions. Its authors, John Boyd, Ravi Jagannathan and Jian Hu, tie the difference to the state of the economy.
Rates are part of the picture this week. The 2-year Treasury yield, the interest the US government pays to borrow for two years, was 4.58% on November 4, the latest reading, above the top of the Fed’s range, according to Fed data on StockTitan’s economy page. That yield tends to follow what traders expect from the Fed.
October’s report gives that picture a clear gain in jobs. How far hiring beat forecasts is a smaller question the survey cannot settle, and the next answers come with October prices on November 10 and the November jobs report on December 4.
What to watch
- October consumer prices, the other half of the pay comparison: BLS consumer price index, November 10 at 8:30 a.m. ET.
- Whether October’s payroll number holds: BLS revises it in the November jobs report on December 4 and again on January 8.
- The Fed’s next rate decision and new projections: the Fed’s rate-setting committee, December 8 and 9.
- How far the yearly benchmark moves 2026 employment: BLS, with the January jobs report in February 2027.
Our numbers
These figures are our calculations from the sources linked in this article. The 122,000 is BLS’s approximate 90% sampling range for any month’s change, not a month-specific measure of all error.
- 5 of 10: the first payroll estimates of 2026, through October, that sat inside BLS’s plus or minus 122,000 range, from BLS’s revisions table.
- About 106,000 jobs: how far October’s first estimate topped the 59,000 forecast, less than BLS’s 122,000 range.
- About 42,000 jobs: the average size, up or down, of the change from the first to the third estimate for January to August 2026, from BLS’s revisions table.
- About 86,000 and 9,000 jobs a month: payroll growth from December to October in 2026 and a year earlier, from BLS payroll levels with the revisions in the October report.
- About four of every five months: the share of months since January 1948 with an unemployment rate above 4.1%, from BLS’s monthly rates.
- About $37.94 and $37.98 an hour: the October average pay that keeps the 12-month rise at 3.0% when rounded and the pay that lifts it to 3.1%, from BLS’s October 2025 level of $36.85.
- About 3.2%: September’s 12-month pay rise with September 2026 pay as revised in the October report, $37.86, against the September 2025 level of $36.70 that BLS published in its September report.
Frequently asked questions
What time does the jobs report come out?
BLS releases the jobs report at 8:30 a.m. ET, usually on the first Friday of the month. The October report came out on Friday, November 6, 2026. The November report is scheduled for Friday, December 4, at 8:30 a.m. ET, according to the BLS release schedule.
Did the October jobs report beat expectations?
Yes, on the headline count. Employers added 165,000 jobs in October, while economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected 59,000, CNBC reported on November 4. BLS says one month’s count can miss by about 122,000 jobs either way, so the survey cannot say for sure that the true gain beat the forecast, only that jobs grew.
Why was the jobs report revised?
BLS revises each month’s payroll number twice, in the next two reports, because more employers send in their survey forms after the first deadline and seasonal patterns are recalculated. In the October report, BLS revised August to a gain of 186,000 from a gain of 133,000 and September to a gain of 60,000 from a gain of 29,000. Once a year a benchmark lines the survey up with tax records.
Who creates the jobs report?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, part of the US Labor Department, produces it from two surveys. A survey of about 119,000 businesses and government agencies gives the payroll count and pay. A survey of about 60,000 households gives the unemployment rate.
Is the jobs report good or bad for stocks?
Investors usually read it two ways. More jobs and lower unemployment usually signal a stronger economy and more spending, which can help profits, while strong hiring and fast pay growth can keep Fed rates higher for longer, which can weigh on stocks. An older study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that which signal mattered more changed with the state of the economy. This report came out the morning after the S&P 500 fell 4.36% on November 5, CNBC reported. At 8:47 a.m. ET on November 6, before the regular session, QQQ, a fund that tracks the Nasdaq-100, traded at $657.42, up 1.6% from its November 5 close, and SPY, which tracks the S&P 500, traded at $734.83, according to StockTitan real-time Nasdaq data.
Is the ADP jobs report the same as the BLS jobs report?
No. ADP, a payroll company, publishes its own count of private jobs from its clients’ payrolls two days earlier. Its October report showed 86,000 private jobs added. The BLS report is the official count and also gives the unemployment rate.
Sources
- StockTitan economy page: payrolls, unemployment rate and Treasury yields
- StockTitan: jobs report preview, November 4, 2026
- StockTitan: why AI stocks fell on November 5, 2026
- StockTitan: Fed rate decision, October 28, 2026
- StockTitan: September 2026 CPI report
- ADP National Employment Report, October 2026, on StockTitan
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: The Employment Situation, October 2026
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Situation technical note
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: revisions between over-the-month estimates
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: preliminary benchmark revision, August 28, 2026
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Situation release schedule
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: CPI release schedule
- Federal Reserve: FOMC statement, October 28, 2026
- Federal Reserve: press conference transcript, October 28, 2026
- Federal Reserve: Summary of Economic Projections, September 16, 2026
- Federal Reserve: FOMC meeting calendar
- Federal Reserve: Governor Barr speech, September 29, 2026
- Federal Reserve: the economic goals of monetary policy
- National Bureau of Economic Research: The Stock Market’s Reaction to Unemployment News, Working Paper 8092
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