US Added 165,000 Jobs in October; Treasury Yields Climb
The US economy added 165,000 nonfarm jobs in October, against a consensus of 55,000. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1% from 4.2%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also revised September up to 60,000 from 29,000 and August to 186,000 from 133,000.
Wages accelerated too: average hourly earnings rose 0.4% on the month and 3.1% on the year, versus 0.3% expected. Professional and business services (70,000) and health care (42,000) led the gains. The data eases growth fears, but it shifts the burden onto rates.
The bond market reacted at once: the 10-year Treasury yield rose 6.4 basis points to 4.89%. Before the report, rate futures priced roughly a 70% chance of a 25 basis point Fed hike in December. Strong hiring and wage data support that expectation.
What happened Thursday: the S&P 500 fell 4.36% and the Nasdaq Composite 5.52%, the steepest one-day losses for both since April 2025. The Nasdaq entered correction territory, more than 10% below its record. Micron lost 17.5%, AMD 17.3% and Nvidia 9.3%.
The selling spread to Asia overnight: Korea's Kospi fell more than 6% and Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 5.9%. In the US, chip stocks are rebounding in premarket trading. and are up about 8%, around 12% and more than 3%.
