Economics

Jobs Report Delivers for Trump But Unlikely to Sway Midterms

Annual hourly-wage gains top 3% for first time since 2009
Payrolls rise 250,000, topping median estimate of 200,000

U.S. payrolls increased by 250,000 in October, the unemployment rate held at 3.7 percent. Kevin Cirilli reports.Daybreak: Americas." (Source: Bloomberg)

Provide news feedback or report an error

Confidential tip?

Send a tip to our reporters

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

By Katia Dmitrieva and Sarah Foster

November 2, 2018 at 2:59 PM UTC

Updated on

November 2, 2018 at 6:08 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

President Donald Trump and Republican candidates couldn’t have asked for a better jobs report ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections, but translating to poll gains and sustaining the growth may prove harder.

Nonfarm payrolls rose 250,000 in October from the prior month, Labor Department figures showed Friday, topping the 200,000 median estimate of economists. Average hourly earnings for private workers advanced 3.1 percent from a year earlier, breaching 3 percent for the first time since 2009, while the unemployment rate held at a 48-year low of 3.7 percent.