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Imagen alusiva: trabajadores al inicio de la jornada, en un mes de fuerte creación de empleo en Estados Unidos. · EPM

October hiring beats forecasts with 165,000 jobs and jobless rate at 4.1%

The United States added 165,000 jobs in October, more than double expectations, with unemployment at 4.1%, upward revisions of 84,000 jobs and broad gains in…

--- The context --- The October jobs report arrived amid doubts over whether the United States economy was starting to lose momentum under tighter financial conditions. The roundup of reactions published on November 6 by the White House collects assessments from economists, strategists and Cabinet members who, read the data as a sign of strength rather than a slowdown. --- The facts --- The economy added 165,000 jobs in October, more than double what experts expected, and the unemployment rate fell to 4.1%. August and September figures were revised upward by a total of 84,000 jobs, and the three-month moving average climbed strongly from July, reaching its strongest level since May according to one of the assessments collected in the roundup. The gains were broad across sectors. There was a strong surge in professional and business services hiring, with contributions also from health care, education, trade and transportation. Manufacturing added 19,000 jobs in October and now stands more than 100,000 higher since the president returned to office, while average hourly earnings rose 3.1% from a year earlier and initial jobless claims fell to 189,000, matching the lowest level since 1969 according to the secretary of Labor. --- The positions --- Global strategist Seema Shah said in attributed indirect remarks that the report was a strong rebuttal to fears of a meaningful slowdown, because job creation remains broad-based. Chief economist Gregory Daco assessed the outcome as being as good as it could be, and senior economist Dan North indicated that it was hard to find anything to dislike in the report and that the overall picture was stronger than expected. Jason Furman, a former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, suggested in indirect remarks that the bigger picture might be one of the best job markets ever measured by its ability to deliver jobs for people who want them. In the Cabinet, Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling highlighted that more than 1.25 million private sector jobs have been added since the president took office, and the small business administrator, Kelly Loeffler, stressed that manufacturing added 19,000 jobs in October. One strategist cited in the roundup cautioned, however, that the underemployment rate moved a bit higher, even though the rest of the underlying data was solid. --- What remains unknown --- It remains to be seen whether this breadth will hold in the coming months and whether the slightly higher underemployment rate noted in one reaction is a one-off move or the start of a trend. --- Unanswered questions --- Can the three-month moving average hold the strong climb it has shown since July? Does the slight rise in the underemployment rate point to hidden strains beneath the report's overall strength? Will previous months keep being revised upward as August and September were? How far does this broad hiring go in easing pressure on households that still face elevated everyday costs? --- EPM analysis --- A progressive reading of this report emphasizes breadth: hiring was not carried by a single sector, but by professional services, health care, education, transportation and manufacturing together, with participation improving and wages advancing according to several reactions. The caution is also inside the source itself: the underemployment rate moving a bit higher is a reminder that aggregate strength does not erase pockets of fragility that deserve close attention in the months ahead. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, the October report is solid because of its breadth and because of the upward revisions to previous months, and it deserves recognition without overstating what a single month can prove about the full course of the economy. Hiring spread across services, health care and manufacturing, together with unemployment at 4.1%, depicts a market that keeps creating real opportunities for people looking for work. Prudence requires watching underemployment, wage trends and whether this pace continues in the data ahead before treating any debate about slowdown or lasting strength in the American jobs market as fully settled today.
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