US jobs report for October could show solid hiring as Fed watches for signs of inflation pressures

By PAUL WISEMAN
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers likely kept hiring at a healthy pace last month, defying high interest rates, rising pressure on consumers and labor strikes that idled big swaths of the nation’s auto industry. The government’s October jobs report is expected to show Friday that companies and government agencies added 184,000 jobs, a solid showing, though down sharply from a blockbuster 336,000 gain in September. The unemployment rate is expected to stay at 3.8%, a couple of notches above a half-century low. The job market has remained surprisingly strong even as the Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark interest rate 11 times to try to slow the economy, cool hiring and tame inflation, which hit a four-decade high last year.