Treasury yields jumped following the report and stock index futures remained higher.
The big month for job gains comes off a disappointing September that may have been weighed down by the violent storm season in the Carolinas. That month’s reading fell further, from an initially reported 134,000 to 118,000. However, that decline was completely offset by an upward revision to August’s numbers, from an already strong 270,000 to 286,000.
Over the past 12 months, job gains have averaged a solid 211,000 despite sentiment from the Fed and elsewhere that the economy is at or near full employment.
A broader measure of unemployment that takes into account discouraged workers and those holding jobs part time for economic reasons edged lower to 7.4 percent.
Health care showed some of the biggest gains for the month, adding 36,000. Manufacturing contributed 32,000, thanks to a gain in durable goods and in particular transportation equipment, which added 10,000.
Construction also rose sharply, with an increase of 30,000 while transportation and warehousing jumped by 42,000.
In addition, leisure and hospitality was a strong contributor, with 42,000 new positions after being unchanged in September, due likely to Hurricane Florence, the government report said.
Professional and business services increased by 35,000, bringing its 12-month total gain to 516,000, and mining added 5,000.
Job growth skewed by full-time positions, which rose by 318,000, while part-time jobs increased by 242,000, according to the household survey.
Another closely watched internal metric, the average work week, increased 0.1 hour to 34.5 hours.
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