US adds 250K jobs in October, unemployment rate steady

Over 250,000 new jobs were added to the US economy in October and the unemployment rate remained steady at 3.7 per cent, official figures stated Friday.

The average hourly earnings, a closely watched measure of worker pay in the US, also rose 0.2 per cent from September, putting wages 3.1 per cent above the year-ago level -- the fastest gain since April 2009, according to a Bureau of Labour Statistics monthly report.

The unemployment rate remained at 3.7 per cent in October and the number of unemployed persons was little changed at 6.1 million, it said.

Over the year, the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons declined by 0.4 percentage point and 449,000, respectively, it said.

"Wow! The U.S. added 250,000 Jobs in October - and this was despite the hurricanes. Unemployment at 3.7%. Wages UP!" Trump tweeted immediately after the report was released.

"These are incredible numbers. Keep it going, Vote Republican!" Trump said in an apparent effort to get political mileage out of the positive jobs report.

The Wall Street Journal said the accelerated hiring in October and the unemployment rate held at a 49-year low are "signs of a strengthening labour market" that delivered US workers the best pay raises in nearly a decade.

The average hourly earnings for all private-sector workers increased five cents last month to USD 27.30, it said.

US Senator Rob Portman said the year-over-year wage growth moved above three per cent for the first time since the Great Recession.

"This report is great news for our economy, and it shows that tax reform is working to boost economic growth, job creation, and wage growth across the country," he said.

"Not only did we see strong job gains and stronger wage growth, we saw more than 700,000 Americans return to the workforce, which is critically important to our efforts to help Americans who have been on the sidelines get back to work and achieve their God-given potential," Portman said.

Opposition leader Senator Chuck Schumer said the latest jobs numbers may look good but one must not forget they co-exist with a huge deficit-ballooning GOP tax break that went mainly to the wealthy for which US will pay a price for down the road.

"When the average family sees their health care costs go up because of Republican actions, these numbers will mean little," Schumer said.