Employers continued to add jobs at fairly robust pace, with 261,000 jobs added in October, but the unemployment rate ticked up from 3.5% to 3.7% as the number of jobless Americans increased by 306,000.
Average hourly wages rose by 4.7% in October compared to a year ago, but down from 5.6% in March as the pace of wage growth continues to cool.
Health care added 52,600 jobs in October, followed by professional and technical services (+42,700), manufacturing (+32,000), local government (+29,000), and accommodation and food services (+25,900). Most other industries were little changed.
The number of job openings rose by 437,000 in September after dropping a revised 890,000 in August. The number of quits also remains near record highs, continuing to challenge employers to retain key employees.
