President Trump just received a major economic report that the so-called experts did not see coming.
American employers added 165,000 jobs in October, more than double the roughly 65,000 positions economists expected. The unemployment rate held near historic lows at 4.1 percent.
Even better, 159,000 of those new jobs came from the private sector. Government payrolls accounted for only 6,000.
The surprise was obvious when the numbers hit television Friday morning.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that October payroll growth was far above the average monthly gain of 48,000 over the previous year. Professional and business services led the way with 70,000 new positions, including 33,000 in professional, scientific and technical services, a dramatic acceleration in high-skill private employment.
Health care added 42,000 jobs. Transportation and warehousing added 25,000, including a 17,000-job jump among couriers and messengers.
Manufacturing gained 19,000 positions in one month. Computer and electronic-product manufacturing added 7,000 jobs, machinery manufacturing gained 4,000 and primary metals added another 4,000.
Those are the kinds of jobs that build things, move things and keep the real American economy running.
The government survey also found that the average workweek remained steady at 34.4 hours, while manufacturing overtime edged up to 3.1 hours.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the report reflects a private-sector economy gathering strength through American investment and reindustrialization.
The report also rewrote the recent economic picture in a much stronger direction.
August job growth was revised upward by 53,000, from 133,000 to 186,000. September was raised by 31,000, from 29,000 to 60,000.
Together, those revisions mean employers created 84,000 more jobs in August and September than the government first reported.
The household survey delivered more good news. The labor force grew by 421,000 people, employment rose by 463,000 and the number of unemployed Americans fell by 41,000.
Average hourly earnings increased 14 cents in October to $38.00. That was a 0.4 percent monthly gain and a 3.1 percent increase over the past year.
The report was not perfect. The number of people working part time because they could not find full-time work or had their hours reduced rose by 339,000 to 4.8 million.
The headline result is impossible to dismiss: the economy created 100,000 more jobs than forecasters expected, and nearly all of them came from private employers.
The Joint Economic Committee Republicans highlighted the 159,000 private-sector jobs, the 0.1-point rise in labor-force participation and the broad gains in business services, education and health. Their monthly update also noted that leisure and hospitality lost 13,000 positions and construction declined by 3,000.
That is a serious report, not a campaign slogan. It shows where the gains occurred and where work remains.
The committee also tracked the broader U-6 unemployment measure, which includes people working part time for economic reasons. That figure rose to 7.9 percent, a reminder that a strong top-line month does not mean every American worker has the hours or position he wants.
Small Business Administration chief Kelly Loeffler focused on the manufacturing surge and the small businesses behind most American manufacturers.
The White House assembled reactions from economists across the spectrum who described the report as exceptionally strong. Analysts pointed to the combination of higher payroll growth, upward revisions, a lower unemployment rate and broader participation as evidence that the labor market accelerated in October.
President Trump’s economic program has always aimed at more than a rising stock ticker. The real test is whether American companies invest, factories expand and workers find productive jobs.
October delivered exactly that kind of progress.
The experts expected a weak report. American businesses delivered something much bigger.
The post October Jobs Report Blows Past Forecasts as Private Sector Delivers 159,000 New Positions appeared first on 100PercentFedUp.com.
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[H/T 100PercentFedUp]
