150,000 jobs added to the U.S. economy in October

The total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 150,000 jobs in October, slightly lower than consensus estimates and below the average monthly gain of 258,000 during the prior 12 months. The unemployment rate bumped up slightly from 3.8 percent to 3.9 percent.

The largest employment-adding sectors were health care (58,000 jobs), employment in government (51,000 jobs) and construction employment (23,000 jobs).

Social assistance (19,000 jobs), leisure and hospitality (19,000 jobs) and professional and business services (15,000 jobs) also saw gains.

Sectors that saw decreases in employment were transportation and warehousing (-12,000 jobs) and information employment (-9,000 jobs). Employment in manufacturing also decreased by 35,000 jobs in October, reflecting the United Auto Workers’ strike.

The average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.2 percent (7 cents). During the past 12 months, those average hourly earnin