US employers added about 50,000 jobs in October, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday, short of economists' forecasts. The unemployment rate edged up to 4.5%, adding to evidence that the labor market cooled through the autumn. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a gain of roughly 70,000 jobs and a jobless rate holding at 4.2%.

The report extended a year of weak hiring in the world's largest economy. Monthly payroll gains have rarely exceeded 100,000 in 2026. Analysts at Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan have argued that tighter immigration policy has lowered the number of new jobs needed to keep unemployment steady, which makes headline figures harder to read.

Healthcare and social assistance again accounted for most of the gains, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Manufacturing shed jobs for another month as companies cited tariff costs and soft orders. Federal government employment also declined. Average hourly earnings rose about 0.3% on the month, a pace that kept annual wage growth near 3.0%.

Treasury yields fell after the release as traders added to bets that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates again at its December meeting, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool. The dollar weakened against the euro and the yen. Stock index futures on Wall Street were little changed, with investors weighing slower hiring against the prospect of cheaper borrowing.

The figures will feed into the Federal Reserve's final policy decision of the year, due on December 9. Fed officials have said they are watching for signs that a gradual cooling in hiring could turn into outright job losses. Revisions to August and September payrolls, also published on Friday, trimmed earlier estimates and reinforced the picture of a slowing jobs market.