U.S. unemployment rate falls to 5.0% in October, 271,000 jobs are added

The U.S. Labor Department released the labour market data on Friday. The U.S. economy added 271,000 jobs in October, exceeding expectations for a rise of 180,000 jobs, after a gain of 137,000 jobs in September. It was the largest increase since December 2014.

September's figure was revised down from a rise of 142,000 jobs.

The increase was mainly driven by a rise in the services sector. The services sector added 241,000 jobs in October, while the manufacturing sector added no jobs.

The strong U.S. dollar weighed on the manufacturing sector.

Professional and business services sector added 78,000 jobs in October.

The U.S. unemployment rate declined to 5.0% in October from 5.1% in September. It was the lowest level since April 2008.

Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged at 5.1%.

Average hourly earnings climbed 0.4% in October, beating forecasts of a 0.2% gain, after a flat reading in September.

The labour-force participation rate remained unchanged at 62.4% in October. It was the lowest level since October 1977.

These figures indicate that the interest rate by the Fed in December is likely if November's labour market data will be strong enough and there will be no surprises.