America added 165,000 jobs in October. The pay behind them grew more slowly than prices.
Photo: Unsplash (stock image, not the original article’s picture).
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US employers added 165,000 jobs in October, more than twice the forecast, and unemployment fell to 4.1%. But pay rose only 3.1%, slower than prices at 3.7%, so most workers are still falling behind.
The governmentalso revised upits August and September numbers,a revision worth 84,000 jobs.3The summerwas not as weak as first reported.
政府还上修了八月和九月的数字，这次修正值 8.4 万个岗位。这个夏天并没有最初报告的那么弱。
Chart 1 | October hiring beat the forecast by 100,000 jobs and ran more than three times the past year’s monthly average.Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation, October 2026; forecast from a Reuters poll of economists.
PARA 04
Professional and business servicesadded 70,000 jobs,against a normal month of about 15,000.Since its low a year ago,the sectorhas added 269,000 jobs, and it is still hiring.
Professional and business services was the biggest source of new jobs in October, at 70,000 against a normal 15,000.专业与商业服务是十月最大的招聘来源：7 万个岗位，而平常一个月只有 1.5 万。Photo: Unsplash (stock image, not the original article’s picture).
PARA 05
Health careadded 42,000,above its usual 31,000,with hospitals and home care doing most of the hiring.For years,the health-care sector has been the biggest driver of US job growth.
Transport and warehousing added 25,000 jobs, led by couriers, and has added 104,000 since February.运输与仓储新增 2.5 万个岗位，快递员贡献最大；这个行业自二月以来已增加 10.4 万。Photo: Unsplash (stock image, not the original article’s picture).
PARA 07
Factoriesadded 19,000,mostly in computers and machinery,and computer plants had their best month in four years.Manufacturing has added 101,000 jobs since December.
Not every industry hired.Constructionlost 3,000 jobs,leisurelost 13,000,and retail and government were flat, though 57.6% of industries still added workers.
The ratefelleven though 421,000 people joined the labour force.Normally that pushes unemployment up.A rising participation ratemeans more people believe work exists.
Average hourly earnings5rose to $38.00,up 14 cents, or 0.4%, in the month.The monthly gainbeatforecasts.
平均时薪涨到 38.00 美元，当月上涨 14 美分，即 0.4%。月度涨幅高于预期。
PARA 12
Over a year,payrose3.1%,the slowest since 2021.
按年看，工资涨了 3.1%，是 2021 年以来最慢。
PARA 13
Inflation ran at 3.7% in the year to September,6so a typical paycheck buys 0.6% less than a year ago.Economistscall thata fall in real wages,7and it is the number households actually feel.
Chart 2 | Pay grew 3.1% while prices grew 3.7%; the third bar is the gap, so the same paycheck buys about 0.6% less than a year earlier.Pay: average hourly earnings, private sector, October 2026. Prices: CPI-U, year to September 2026. The third bar is the difference between the first two, not a third index.
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One economist put it plainly:“That's the affordability crisis in one stat,”said Brian Jacobsen of Annex Wealth Management.In this week's midterms, voters named food, petrol and housing as their top cost worries.
Pay up 3.1%, prices up 3.7%: at the till, the two numbers become one thing.时薪涨 3.1%，物价涨 3.7%：在收银台前，这两个数字合成同一件事。Photo: Unsplash (stock image, not the original article’s picture).
PARA 15
One number is easy to miss.339,000 more peopleare workingpart-timebecause they cannot find full-time work,a six-month high.
有一个数字容易被忽略。又有 33.9 万人在做兼职，因为找不到全职工作，为六个月来最高。
PARA 16
The number of long-term unemployed stayed at2.0 million,or 27.6% of all jobless people.Long-term joblessness is harder to fix,because skills and contacts go stale.
The median job searchnow lasts11.9 weeks,the longest since 2021,nearly three months without a paycheck.
求职时间的中位数现在长达 11.9 周，2021 年以来最长，将近三个月没有工资。
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Few peoplequitand few firms hire,so many workers feel locked out or stuck in place.Low turnovermakes the labour market feel frozen even when the headlines look healthy.
Data centresare also shapingthe numbers:they support factory work and non-residential building,while information and finance still cut jobs.Goldman Sachs says AI adoption now shows up in weaker hiring across non-manufacturing industries.
Extended note: Payrolls come from a survey of employers; the unemployment rate comes from a survey of households. Two surveys, two samples, so they can move in opposite directions.
2forecast/ˈfɔːkɑːst/点击看中文解释 ↓
The number that economists expect before a report is published.
Why it matters here ▸ The forecast was 65,000; the actual figure was 165,000, a miss of 100,000.
预期：报告公布前经济学家给出的估计值。
拓展知识：「超预期」（beat the forecast）与「不及预期」（miss）是财经报道最常用的框架。但预期本身是中位数：路透这次收到的预测从 3.5 万到 12.5 万，差距极大，说明经济学家自己也没把握。读这类新闻，先看区间，再看中位数。
Extended note: A forecast is a median, not a promise. This month's range ran from 35,000 to 125,000, which tells you how uncertain the underlying data were.
3revision/rɪˈvɪʒn/点击看中文解释 ↓
A change to an earlier figure after more complete data arrive.
Why it matters here ▸ August and September were revised up by 84,000 jobs in total.
Extended note: First estimates rest on incomplete samples. Revisions arrive with late reports, so the direction of the revision matters more than its size.
4unemployment rate/ˌʌnɪmˈplɔɪmənt reɪt/点击看中文解释 ↓
The share of people who want work and are actively looking for it.
Why it matters here ▸ It fell to 4.1% in October, from 4.2% in September.
Extended note: To count as unemployed you must be looking for work. People who give up drop out of the labour force instead, so a falling rate can mean hiring or despair.
Extended note: An average, not a median, and it excludes bonuses and stock. The standard test is wage growth minus inflation, which here gives minus 0.6%.
6inflation/ɪnˈfleɪʃn/点击看中文解释 ↓
The rise in the price of everyday goods and services over time.
Why it matters here ▸ Consumer prices rose 3.7% in the year to September, faster than pay at 3.1%.
Extended note: CPI tracks a fixed basket, weighted roughly one-third housing. Because the basket changes slowly, it can differ from what a household actually buys.
7real wages/rɪəl ˈweɪdʒɪz/点击看中文解释 ↓
Pay measured after inflation, showing what it can actually buy.
Why it matters here ▸ With pay at 3.1% and prices at 3.7%, real wages fell about 0.6%.
To come in far above the number that economists expected. It is stronger than “beat”: the gap, not just the direction, is the point.
Payrolls blew past forecasts by 100,000.
远超预期。比「beat」（高于预期）更强，强调的是差距有多大，而不只是方向。
非农就业比预期高出 10 万。
upward revision/ˈʌpwəd rɪˈvɪʒn/
A change that raises an earlier figure. An upward revision means the first estimate was too low.
August and September got an upward revision of 84,000.
上修：把先前公布的数字调高。意味着初值低估了。
八月与九月合计被上修了 8.4 万。
keep up with/kiːp ʌp wɪð/
To rise as fast as something else. If pay does not keep up with prices, households lose ground even when pay rises.
Pay has not kept up with prices for most of 2026.
跟上、同步上涨。工资跟不上物价，就等于实际收入在缩水。
2026 年的大部分时间里，工资都跟不上物价。
full employment/fʊl ɪmˈplɔɪmənt/
The level of hiring at which almost everyone who wants a job has one. It is a judgement, not a fixed number.
At 4.1%, the Fed treats the market as near full employment.
充分就业：想要工作的人几乎都有工作的状态。它是一个判断，没有固定数字。
在 4.1% 这个水平上，美联储认为市场已接近充分就业。
stuck in place/stʌk ɪn pleɪs/
Unable to move forward, even though nothing is collapsing. Low hiring and low quitting leave people where they are.
Low turnover leaves many workers stuck in place.
卡在原地：没有崩盘，但也动不了。招聘少、辞职少，人就被留在原位。
低流动率让很多工人卡在原地。
soft spot/sɒft spɒt/
A weak part inside something that looks strong overall. In a good report, the soft spot is where the trouble hides.
Involuntary part-time work is the soft spot in an otherwise strong report.
软肋：整体好看的东西里那处薄弱环节。
被动兼职是这份原本强劲的报告里的软肋。
white-collar/ˌwaɪt ˈkɒlə/
Describing office work rather than manual work. The term comes from the white shirts once worn in offices.
Professional services is the white-collar end of the market.
白领的：指办公室工作，而非体力劳动。
专业服务是市场里白领的那一端。
affordability crisis/əˌfɔːdəˈbɪləti ˈkraɪsɪs/
A situation in which ordinary costs rise faster than ordinary pay, so everyday life feels out of reach.
Jacobsen called the gap the affordability crisis in one stat.
生活成本危机：日常开销涨得比工资快，普通生活变得难以负担。
雅各布森把这个差距称作「一个数字里的生活成本危机」。
读后测验 · Check Your Understanding
3 道题。点选项立即判分；解析需要单独点开。
Q1How many jobs did US employers add in October?
正确答案：C
原文第一句就是答案：非农就业十月增加 16.5 万。A 项 6.5 万是路透调查的预期值；B 项 8.4 万是八月与九月合计上修的数量；D 项 33.9 万是被动兼职人数的增量——三个数字都在文中出现过，但都不是当月新增就业。 America's non-farm payrolls rose by 165,000 in October, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday.Only C matches the payroll figure; A is the forecast, B the combined revision, and D the rise in involuntary part-time work.
Q2Why did the unemployment rate fall while more people were looking for work?
正确答案：B
原文写得很清楚：失业率下降的同时，有 42.1 万人加入劳动力。分母变大、比率还降，只能是分子（失业人数）降得更快，也就是找到工作的人多于新进来找的人。C 项描述的机制本身没错，但本文没有用它解释这次下降；A 项是另一件事；D 项与事实相反，兼职者算就业。 The rate fell even though 421,000 people joined the labour force.A larger labour force plus a lower rate means hiring outran new entrants. C is a real mechanism but not the one used here; D is false.
Q3What does “real wages fell” mean in this article?
正确答案：C
实际工资是「扣掉物价之后」的工资。文中 3.1% 是名义涨幅，3.7% 是物价涨幅，两者相减得 −0.6%：工资单上的数字变大了，能买的东西却变少了。A、B 说的是名义金额或税后金额，都不是这个概念；D 项文中没有提。 Inflation ran at 3.7% over the same period, so a typical paycheck buys 0.6% less than a year ago.Real wages subtract inflation from nominal pay. A and B describe nominal amounts; D is not in the text.
