# U.S. Adds 165,000 Jobs in October as Earlier Hiring Is Revised Higher

The unemployment rate was 4.1%, while August and September payroll gains were revised up by a combined 84,000 jobs, the Labor Department reported.

By Will Langan | 24X7 News
Published: 2026-11-06T15:06:40.756Z
Updated: 2026-11-06T15:13:50.775Z
Section: Money
Format: News
Canonical: https://24x7news.us/articles/us-october-jobs-payrolls-unemployment-november-6-2026

U.S. employers added 165,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in October, and the unemployment rate was 4.1%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported November 6.

The gain exceeded the average monthly increase of 48,000 over the preceding 12 months. Professional and business services, health care, and transportation and warehousing accounted for much of October’s hiring.

The report also revised earlier hiring estimates upward. August’s increase rose to 186,000 from 133,000, while September’s gain increased to 60,000 from 29,000. Together, those revisions added 84,000 jobs to the previously reported totals. The agency said revisions reflect additional employer reports and recalculated seasonal factors.

Professional and business services added 70,000 jobs in October. Health care gained 42,000, including increases at hospitals and in home health care. Transportation and warehousing added 25,000, with couriers and messengers accounting for 17,000 of that gain.

Manufacturing employment continued to trend upward, increasing by 19,000. Other major industries, including construction, retail trade, leisure and hospitality, and government, showed little monthly change.

Average hourly earnings for private-sector employees rose 14 cents, or 0.4%, to $38.00. Earnings were 3.1% higher than a year earlier. The average private-sector workweek remained at 34.4 hours.

The separate household survey showed 7.1 million people unemployed. The agency described both that total and the 4.1% unemployment rate as little changed. Labor-force participation was 61.9%, also little changed.

One measure of underemployment worsened: the number working part time for economic reasons increased by 339,000 to 4.8 million. Those workers wanted full-time employment but had reduced hours or could not find full-time work, the agency said.

Payroll employment and unemployment come from different surveys. The employer survey measures jobs, hours and earnings, while the household survey measures people’s employment status. The figures describe the national labor market rather than the experience of every worker or region.

Sources:
Bureau of Labor Statistics — Employment Situation, October 2026, Released November 6 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
Bureau of Labor Statistics — November 2026 Release Schedule
https://www.bls.gov/schedule/2026/

## Sources
- BLS: October 2026 Employment Situation, Released November 6 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
- BLS: Official 2026 Release Schedule: https://www.bls.gov/schedule/2026/
- Image provenance: Ajay Suresh, CC BY 4.0; archive photograph: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frances_Perkins_Building_-_Department_of_Labor_(55256126078).jpg