US economy adds 531,000 jobs in October, unemployment falls to 4.6%

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - The US economy added 531,000 jobs in October, coming strong to beat market estimates, and the unemployment rate fell to 4.6%, the Department of Labor announced on Friday.

The market estimate for nonfarm payrolls was an increase of 450,000, while job additions for September were revised up by 118,000, from 194,000 to 312,000, according to data by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

With strong job additions, the unemployment rate decreased 0.2 percentage point to 4.6% in October, also beating the market expectation of 4.7%. It stood at 4.8% in September.

The number of unemployed individuals in the US has also continued to decline, by falling to 7.4 million last month.

The results are positive for American economy and its labor market, as strong jobs additions would accelerate recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Due to COVID-19, more than 22 million people in the world's largest economy lost their jobs in March and April 2020.