WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. economy added far more jobs than expected in October, but underlying labor market weaknesses and persistent inflation continued to raise concerns about the economic outlook.
Nonfarm payrolls rose by a seasonally adjusted 165,000, well above economists' forecast of 59,000, while the unemployment rate edged down to 4.1 percent from 4.2 percent in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
September's job gains were revised upward to 60,000 from 29,000, while August's were raised to 186,000 from 133,000.
Professional and business services led hiring with 70,000 new jobs, followed by health care with 42,000, transportation and warehousing with 25,000, and manufacturing with 19,000.
Despite the stronger-than-expected figures, analysts cautioned that the labor market remained fragile.
"The strong job growth in October is definitely an encouraging sign, but it is not reflected in other labor market measures, notably wage growth and the rise in involuntary part-time employment," said Dean Baker, co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
Baker said several months of strong hiring would be needed to produce a noticeable improvement.
Clay Ramsay, a senior research associate at the University of Maryland, also highlighted difficulties facing job seekers.
"Those without a job are spending a very long time getting one. Those with a job are frozen in place. They have no mobility," Ramsay told Xinhua.
The report came days after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections, amid voter frustration over high living costs, exacerbated by the Iran war and the Trump administration's tariffs.
However, analysts warned that Democrats would face significant obstacles in addressing inflation, given the Federal Reserve's control over interest rates and President Donald Trump's veto power.
"High prices will remain a big problem for the foreseeable future," said Darrell West, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
"The jobless rate is low, but people face challenges in terms of gas, food, health, and housing prices," West said.
He added that Democrats could pursue legislation to ease living costs, but Trump might veto some of their proposals.■
