US employers added 165,000 jobs in October
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What the chart shows
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday that nonfarm payrolls rose by 165,000 in October. It also revised August and September up by a combined 84,000, so a September that read 29,000 a month ago now reads 60,000.
Laid out month by month from January 2022, the run is a long cooling. The 2022 columns tower over everything after them, 2024 thins out, and 2025 and early 2026 dip below zero again and again. August, September and October, at 186,000, 60,000 and 165,000, sit well clear of that.
Pay grew slowly, so inflation is the open question. October's consumer prices arrive on Tuesday, and that reading will decide how seriously to take the bond market's bet on a December rate rise.
The story behind it
America added 165,000 jobs in October, and the bond market heard a December rate rise Read the edition →On the calendar
The US releases that move markets, in New Zealand and Australian time. Economic calendar →The numbers
Jobs added or lost in the US each month, January 2022 to October 2026, as revised. September, first reported at 29,000, now stands at 60,000.
| Jobs added or lost in the month | Dot | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2022 | 190k | |
| Feb 2022 | 819k | |
| Mar 2022 | 490k | |
| Apr 2022 | 308k | |
| May 2022 | 301k | |
| Jun 2022 | 434k | |
| Jul 2022 | 714k | |
| Aug 2022 | 290k | |
| Sep 2022 | 220k | |
| Oct 2022 | 357k | |
| Nov 2022 | 303k | |
| Dec 2022 | 100k | |
| Jan 2023 | 434k | |
| Feb 2023 | 290k | |
| Mar 2023 | 68k | |
| Apr 2023 | 241k | |
| May 2023 | 280k | |
| Jun 2023 | 225k | |
| Jul 2023 | 163k | |
| Aug 2023 | 218k | |
| Sep 2023 | 156k | |
| Oct 2023 | 159k | |
| Nov 2023 | 127k | |
| Dec 2023 | 154k | |
| Jan 2024 | 175k | |
| Feb 2024 | 206k | |
| Mar 2024 | 228k | |
| Apr 2024 | 64k | |
| May 2024 | 78k | |
| Jun 2024 | 87k | |
| Jul 2024 | 53k | |
| Aug 2024 | 9k | |
| Sep 2024 | 155k | |
| Oct 2024 | 33k | |
| Nov 2024 | 134k | |
| Dec 2024 | 237k | |
| Jan 2025 | −48k | |
| Feb 2025 | 42k | |
| Mar 2025 | 67k | |
| Apr 2025 | 108k | |
| May 2025 | 13k | |
| Jun 2025 | −20k | |
| Jul 2025 | 64k | |
| Aug 2025 | −70k | |
| Sep 2025 | 76k | |
| Oct 2025 | −140k | |
| Nov 2025 | 41k | |
| Dec 2025 | −17k | |
| Jan 2026 | 160k | |
| Feb 2026 | −156k | |
| Mar 2026 | 214k | |
| Apr 2026 | 148k | |
| May 2026 | 63k | |
| Jun 2026 | 31k | |
| Jul 2026 | −10k | |
| Aug 2026 | 186k | |
| Sep 2026 | 60k | |
| Oct 2026 | 165k |
58 rows: scroll the table for the rest.
How we make these charts: one chart a day from a story in the edition, drawn from the figures the story names and checked against the sources named on the chart before it is published. General information only, not financial advice.
