US economy added 261,000 jobs in October

US C thanks to a recovery in workforce that was affected by the natural disasters occurred during recent months.

The economy added 261,000 jobs in October, driving the jobless rate in the US down to a 17-year low of 4.1%, according to Friday’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of unemployed dropped by 281,000 to 6.5 million.

Economists expected a strong rebound in job creation following the hurricanes in Florida and Texas that put tens or even of thousands of workers away from work in September.

There was a significant rise in employment in the food services and drinking secto, up 89,000 in October following a decrease of 98,000 in September – when many workers were off payrolls due to the hurricanes.

Professional and business services added 50,000 jobs in October, while manufacturing employment rose by 24,000 and health care employment rose by 22,000.

Wage growth was also slower than expected, with hourly earnings were 2.4 percent higher in October than a year earlier – only just keeping above inflation.

In September the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose by 0.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index rose 2.2 percent.

Andrew Chamberlain, chief economist at Glassdoor, told the Washington Post: “It was a bounce back after the weak jobs figures from the hurricanes — the same pattern we saw with Hurricane Katrina in 2005.”

U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta said in a statement Friday:

“Our economy is moving in the right direction, but there is more work to do,” Acosta said. “Lower taxes and a simplified tax code will create the right conditions for increased labor force participation and increased wages.”