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U.S. unemployment drops to lowest in 17 years

HARTFORD — America’s job market got back on its feet in October. The U.S. economy rebounded from the hurricanes and added 261,000 jobs, the best per...
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HARTFORD — America’s job market got back on its feet in October.

The U.S. economy rebounded from the hurricanes and added 261,000 jobs, the best performance of the Trump administration.

Unemployment inched down to 4.1 percent, the lowest since December 2000.

“This labor market is still really firing on all cylinders,” says Scott Anderson, chief economist at Bank of the West in San Francisco.

Wages took a step back. They grew only 2.4 percent in October compared with a year earlier, behind September’s number. The absence of better wage growth and inflation is one of the biggest mysteries in the economy.

The United States has added jobs for 85 straight months, the longest streak on record. The government first estimated that the economy lost 33,000 jobs in September because of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Revised figures show a gain of 18,000 jobs.

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