US labor market steadies as October hiring beats forecasts
September’s total was revised to 86,000 from an initially reported 90,000, a downward correction that leaves October’s reading flat from the prior month in absolute terms, though the beat against consensus carries its own directional signal.
Services sector drives growth as professional jobs contract
The service sector produced 82,000 of October’s total additions.
Trade, transportation, and utilities led at 39,000 new positions, followed by education and health services at 28,000, leisure and hospitality at 19,000, and financial activities at 15,000.
Construction added 13,000 on the goods-producing side.
Professional and business services shed 27,000 jobs, the third consecutive monthly contraction in that segment, while natural resources and mining fell by 8,000.
