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Sunday, November 8, 2026

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Jobs · Sunday, November 8, 2026

Employers added 165,000 jobs in October

The File desk · Nov. 8, 2026, 6:41 a.m. ET

Confirmed2 primary sourcesAdded 6:41 a.m. ET, Nov. 8

Status

Confirmed. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Situation for October 2026, USDL-26-1632, says total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 165,000 and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.1 percent. The release was embargoed until 8:30 a.m. (ET) Friday, November 6, 2026. The bureau's public data series match those monthly changes.
  • Confirmed
    The payroll change, the unemployment wording, the revisions, and the next release date are the sentences in USDL-26-1632.
  • Confirmed
    Series CES0000000001 lists October at 159,293 thousand, September at 159,128, and August at 159,068. Series LNS14000000 lists October at 4.1 and September at 4.2.
Employers added 165,000 jobs in October, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.1 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. The report was embargoed until 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday, November 6, 2026.1
The release is built from two monthly surveys. The establishment survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry, which is the payroll count. The household survey measures labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics, which is where the 4.1 percent rate comes from.1
The 165,000 gain was higher than the average monthly gain of 48,000 over the prior 12 months. Employment increased in professional and business services, in health care, and in transportation and warehousing.1
August's payroll change was revised up by 53,000, from 133,000 to 186,000. September's was revised up by 31,000, from 29,000 to 60,000. With those revisions, employment in August and September combined is 84,000 higher than previously reported.1
Why it matters (Estimate). Estimate. A payroll gain is the establishment survey's count of jobs on employer rolls, and the unemployment rate is the share of people in the household survey who are looking for work and do not have a job. The bureau's own words are that the rate changed little. The next official count is Friday, December 4, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. ET.
The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls remained at 34.4 hours. The next Employment Situation, for November, is scheduled for Friday, December 4, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. ET.1
How we know

Notes

  1. 1.Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Employment Situation — October 2026, USDL-26-1632. Transmission embargoed until 8:30 a.m. (ET) Friday, November 6, 2026. "Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 165,000 in October, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.1 percent." "The household survey measures labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The establishment survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry." "higher than the average monthly gain of 48,000 over the prior 12 months." Professional and business services +70,000. Health care +42,000. Transportation and warehousing +25,000. Manufacturing continued to trend up (+19,000). Unemployed people 7.1 million, changed little. The rate has remained in a narrow range of 4.1 percent to 4.3 percent since March. Long-term unemployed 2.0 million, 27.6 percent of unemployed people. Labor force participation rate 61.9 percent. Employment-population ratio 59.3 percent. People employed part time for economic reasons increased by 339,000 to 4.8 million. Average hourly earnings increased by 14 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $38.00, and by 3.1 percent over the past 12 months. Average workweek remained at 34.4 hours. August revised up by 53,000, from +133,000 to +186,000. September revised up by 31,000, from +29,000 to +60,000. Combined, August and September are 84,000 higher than previously reported. Next release: Friday, December 4, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. (ET). Retrieved 6:20 a.m. ET. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
  2. 2.Bureau of Labor Statistics public data API, series CES0000000001, retrieved 6:15 a.m. ET. October 2026, 159293; September 2026, 159128; August 2026, 159068; July 2026, 158882. Those levels are thousands of jobs. October minus September is 165. September minus August is 60. August minus July is 186. Series LNS14000000: October 2026, 4.1; September 2026, 4.2. The difference is 0.1 percentage point. The news release says the rate changed little. https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v1/timeseries/data/CES0000000001

What is still unknown or disputed

  • Whether a summary table prints the unemployment change as −0.1. The release text says the rate changed little. The public data series lists 4.2 for September and 4.1 for October. This desk did not open a separate summary-table page.
  • A state-by-state breakout. This story uses the national release.

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    The Employment Situation — October 2026

    U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · November 6, 2026

    Payroll employment rose by 165,000 in October, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.1 percent. Embargoed until 8:30 a.m. (ET) Friday, November 6, 2026. USDL-26-1632.

    https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

  2. Source 2

    Public data API, CES0000000001 and LNS14000000

    U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · November 8, 2026

    October payroll level 159,293 thousand. September 159,128. August 159,068. Unemployment series LNS14000000 lists October at 4.1 and September at 4.2.

    https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v1/timeseries/data/CES0000000001