Jobs Report Comes In Stronger Than Expected

The Labor Department is out with a stronger-than-expected jobs report, one that makes it tough to call whether the Fed will raise interest rates in December. The Labor Department says the economy added 271,000 jobs in October, far higher than the forecast of 183,000, as the unemployment rate dropped to a seven-year low of 5%, reports the AP.

"Does it mean everything is suddenly OK? Of course it doesn't," writes Paul Vigna at the Wall Street Journal. "But it will put at least some fears to rest." The last two months had been under the 200,000 mark, and another weak report in October would have made it difficult for the Fed to act. The AP thinks the new numbers are "likely strong enough" for Janet Yellen to raise rates, while the Journal says the question is "unanswerable" at the moment. (More unemployment stories.)