Summary: The United States economy added 214,000 jobs for the month of October, which is the ninth consecutive month where the economy added 200,000 jobs or more.
The Labor Department announced its latest job numbers on Friday, saying that the economy gained 214,000 for the month of October, according to The Associated Press.
The department also changed its estimates for August and September, saying that 31,000 more jobs were added in those months than originally thought.
For the last nine months, employers have added at least 200,000 jobs, which is the best stretch since 1995.
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With the added jobs, the unemployment rate has dropped to 5.8 percent from 5.9 percent. This is the lowest rate since July of 2008. The average hourly pay for workers only increased slightly.
During the mid-term elections on Tuesday, voters said their top concern was the economy.
The average hourly pay increased by three cents in October to $24.57. This amount is just two percent higher than the average wage 12 months ago and is only 1.7 percent ahead of the inflation rate.
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“While the labor market is improving and in many respects has already healed, employee bargaining power remains virtually nonexistent,” Dan Greenhaus, an analyst at the brokerage firm BTIG LLC, said.
More people began looking for a job last month and 267,000 people who were out of work, said that they now hold jobs. The hiring of those people dropped the number of unemployed people to under 9 million.
There were 27,100 jobs added in retail, while restaurants, hotels and entertainment added 52,000 jobs.
There were 15,000 jobs added in manufacturing, which is an increase of 9,000 from September. Transportation added 13,300 jobs and professional and business services added 37,000 jobs.
A survey from the Institute for Supply Management found that manufacturers in the United States are expanding at the quickest pace in three years.
Sales of homes rose at the quickest rate this year in the month of September, which means the industry could rebound after performing poorly most of the year.
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