Solid growth in Oct US employment and wages seals case for Dec rate hike

Washington

US employers maintained a strong pace of hiring in October and boosted wages for workers, which could effectively seal the case for a December interest rate increase from the Federal Reserve.

Non-farm payrolls increased by 161,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said on Friday. August and September data was revised to show 44,000 more jobs created than previously reported. The unemployment rate fell one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.9 per cent, in part as people dropped out the labour force.