Symbolic imageUS hiring beats forecasts, strengthening bets on a December Fed hike
US employers added 165,000 jobs in October, far above forecasts, and unemployment fell to 4.1%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday. Markets now see a Federal Reserve rate hike in December as more likely.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected only 65,000 new jobs. Unemployment was 4.2% in September. According to The American Conservative, hourly earnings rose 0.4% on the month and 3.1% on the year, and the figures for September and August were revised up by 31,000 and 53,000. Handelsblatt notes that September now stands at 60,000 jobs, after an initial 29,000.
Gains across sectors
Le Monde reports 70,000 new jobs in professional and business services, 56,000 in health care and social assistance, 25,000 in logistics and warehousing and 19,000 in manufacturing. The paper adds that the data arrive despite very high inflation and as Democrats prepare to retake control of Congress.
Fed hike bets rise
Alexander Krüger, chief economist at Bethmann HAL, told Handelsblatt that the Fed can keep its full focus on prices and that another rate increase in December looks likely. Bloomberg reports that Treasuries fell, and Reuters that yields rose and traders raised their bets on a hike.