U.S. added 161,000 new jobs in October, according to government report

Wages also increased by 10 cents on average last month.


The U.S. added 161,000 new jobs in October, with workers seeing strong growth in wages, according to the monthly jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Hourly earnings rose 10 cents over last month, a higher increase than anticipated. In total, wages — now averaging $25.92 an hour — are up 2.8 percent year over year.

That's the strongest annual growth in wages recorded since the recession, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The jobs growth was slightly under expectations — economists had predicted around 175,000 new jobs, NPR's John Ydstie reports.

But the report also revised upward the job growth for August and September. August had been pegged at 167,000 new jobs and is now at 176,000; September had been reported as 156,000 and is now 191,000.

To read the full story, click here.

 Photo: Dreamstime.com