Jobs report shows U.S. economy added 165,000 jobs in October, exceeding experts' expectations

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The much-anticipated October jobs report was released on Friday morning.

The October jobs report offered the first glimpse of labor market strength after the 2026 midterm election.

The report showed that hiring accelerated last month.

The U.S. economy added 165,000 jobs in October, which is more than was expected, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Labor market experts expected the economy to add around 60,000 jobs in October.

The unemployment rate dipped to 4.1%, from 4.2%, according to the BLS.

“Over the last three months, the average number of jobs added each month is 137,000, and that’s a really strong number, and that tells us the labor market is healthy,” Rice University’s Baker Institute, Director, Center for Tax and Budget Policy John Diamond, Ph.D. said.

Professional business services, healthcare, along with transportation and warehousing saw the largest employment gains, according to the BLS.

The new data arrived as the U.S. Federal Reserve is grappling with rising inflation. Economists believe Friday’s jobs report gives the Fed the ability to tackle inflation without seeing major effects on the labor market.

“I think the economy is rolling along at a stable pace, and that’s a good thing because we have issues that we need to work on, like debt and deficits being one of the biggest, and then bringing inflation down,” Diamond said.