U.S. economy added 165,000 jobs in October, way more than expected; unemployment rate slips to 4.1%
Summary
The United States economy added significantly more jobs than anticipated in October. At the same time, the national unemployment rate experienced a slight decline.
Nonfarm payrolls were expected to increase by 59,000 in October as the unemployment rate was expected to hold steady at 4.2%.
Our Take
The October jobs report was a clear upside surprise: the economy added 165,000 jobs against forecasts of 59,000, and unemployment slipped to 4.1% from 4.2%. After Thursday's selloff, the market took it as good news. SPY opened near $734.80 and is trading around $740 at midday, up about 1%, with QQQ up about 2% and small caps (IWM) up about 0.8%. Long-term Treasuries (TLT) are flat, so the bond market isn't reading this as an inflation scare for now.
A strong labor market supports earnings and makes a recession harder to argue, but it can also give the Fed less reason to cut rates quickly. Levels we're watching on SPY: $742 (today's high) is the first resistance, and above it the $752 to $754 area, where SPY closed earlier this week. On the downside, $734.60 (today's open and low) and $732.70 (Thursday's low) are the supports. A close back below $732.70 would say the jobs bounce didn't hold.
Opinion of Tech & Money Press. Not financial advice.
Source: Read the full story at Economy