The U.S. economy created 261,000 nonfarm jobs in October, while the unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage point from the previous month to 3.7 percent, the Labor Department said Friday.
Growth in nonfarm payrolls exceeded the market consensus of an increase of 200,000.
The department revised upward the nonfarm payrolls growth reported for September from 263,000 to 315,000, while revising downward that in August from 315,000 to 292,000.
In October, private industry generated 233,000 jobs and the government added 28,000 jobs.
Notable job gains occurred in sectors including health care and manufacturing, which rose by 53,000 and 32,000, respectively.
Hourly pay in the private sector, a key factor behind consumer spending, averaged $32.58, up from $32.46 the previous month.
