US Unemployment Falls to 4.1% as Economy Adds 165,000 Jobs in October
The Labor Department reported 165,000 new jobs and a 4.1% unemployment rate in October, with manufacturing posting its tenth straight month of expansion.
The United States added 165,000 jobs in October and the unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, the Department of Labor reported, with Secretary Keith Sonderling calling the current labor market the strongest in more than half a century.
Manufacturing led sectoral gains, contributing 19,000 of the month's new positions and bringing total manufacturing job creation for 2026 to more than 100,000. Sonderling attributed the sector's performance to what he described as trillions of dollars in domestic investment secured under the current administration, noting the economy has now recorded ten consecutive months of manufacturing expansion.
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Initial jobless claims fell to 189,000 in the most recent weekly reading, matching a level not seen since 1969, according to Sonderling's statement. Since President Trump returned to office, the administration says the private sector has generated more than 1.25 million jobs while the monthly breakeven rate — the number of jobs needed to keep pace with labor-force growth — has doubled.
Sonderling also cited the Working Families Tax Cuts as a contributing factor to what he characterized as broad economic security, alongside reshored production and record levels of capital investment flowing into domestic facilities.
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