US employers shrugged off virus and stepped up hiring

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers boosted their hiring in October, adding a solid 531,000 jobs, the most since July and a sign that the recovery from the pandemic recession is overcoming a virus-induced slowdown. The unemployment rate fell to 4.6% last month from 4.8% in September. The jobs report also showed that the gains in August and September weren’t as weak as initially reported: The government revised its estimate of hiring for those two months by a hefty combined 235,000 jobs. All told, the figures point to an economy that is steadily recovering from the pandemic recession, with healthy consumer spending prompting companies in nearly every industry to add workers.