Huge October Payrolls Beat: 128K Jobs Added As Black Unemployment Rate Hits All Time Low

With Wall Street expecting the first double-digit payrolls report since May, largely as a result of over 40K GM jobs not accounted for due to the strike, and with some whispers even hinting at a negative print, moments ago the BLS surprised once again, reporting that in October, the US added 128K jobs, a huge beat to the 85K expected, with the September payrolls report revised sharply higher to 180K from 136K.

The report includes a strike-driven 41,600 decline in automaker payrolls and 20,000 temporary census workers leaving their jobs. The result of the strike led to a 36K drop in manufacturing jobs.

The unemployment rate rose modestly to 3.6% from a half-century low of 3.5%, and in line with expectations, while the unemployment rate for blacks dropped to a fresh all time lows.

Average hourly earnings climbed 3% from a year earlier, matching projections after an upward revision the prior month, though the 0.2% monthly gain was slightly below the 0.3% estimate.

Developing