U.S. payrolls growth slows while wage gains accelerate in October

U.S. job market slowed expansion pace, while jobless rate edged down to 4.9 percent, and wage growth accelerated in October.

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 161,000 in October, following revised gains of 191,000 in September, said the Labor Department on Friday. Job gains in the month were slightly below market expectation of about 170,000.

The Labor Department revised up the job gains in August and September, with the combined employment gains in the two months 44,000 more than previously reported. Over the past three months, job gains have averaged 176,000 per month.

The jobless rate edged down to 4.9 percent from September's 5 percent, close to the level of full employment.

The labor force participation rate, the share of the working-age population employed or looking for a job, went down slightly to 62.8 percent in the month from September's 62.9 percent.

Average hourly earnings for all employees increased 10 cents to 25.92 U.S. dollars, following an 8-cent increase in September. The average hourly earnings have risen by 2.8 percent over the year, the fastest 12-month pace since the recovery began.

Total nonfarm employment rose by 161,000 jobs, slightly below the monthly average for 2016 so far but substantially higher than the pace of about 80,000 jobs a month needed to maintain a low and stable unemployment rate, said Jason Furman, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under the White House, on Friday.

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday left interest rates unchanged amid uncertainty about market reactions to the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.

However, the Fed signalled that the central bank could raise rates again as soon as December, because officials saw a pick-up in the U.S. economy and inflation.

Most Fed officials have indicated that they would back another rate hike before the end of the year if the U.S. economy remains on track.

"If the economy stays on its current trajectory...we'll see an interest rate hike later this year," President of Federal Reserve Bank of New York William Dudley said last month, adding that a quarter-point hike this year "is not really that big a deal."

The Fed will hold its next policy meeting, also the final of the year, on Dec. 13-14. About 81 percent of 59 economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal last month expected the Fed would wait until December to raise rates. Endi