October jobs blow past expectations: 165,000 added, unemployment falls to 4.1%

U.S. employers added 165,000 jobs in October — more than double Wall Street's forecast — and the unemployment rate edged down to 4.1%, the Labor Department reported Friday.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics figure crushed the roughly 65,000 consensus estimate. Private payrolls rose by 159,000. August and September were revised up by a combined 84,000 jobs. Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% on the month and 3.1% over the year.

Manufacturing added 19,000 jobs, professional and business services 70,000, and health care about 42,000. After the print, markets priced a higher chance the Federal Reserve raises rates at its December meeting.