Unemployment Fell to 4.1%. Involuntary Part-Time Work Jumped.

The October jobs report, released Friday, Nov. 6, was stronger than forecasts, but it did not hand anyone a raise. Employers added 165,000 jobs and unemployment edged down to 4.1%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics figures reported by CNBC, Fox Business, and The New York Times showed. Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% in October and 3.1% from a year earlier.

The less visible count moved the other way. Fox Business said people working part-time for economic reasons rose by 339,000, to 4.8 million. Those workers wanted full-time hours and could not get them. CNBC reported that a broader underemployment gauge, which includes that group, rose to 7.9%.

Professional and business services added 70,000 jobs, so the month was not a healthcare-only gain. None of those national averages rewrites a contract you already have.

Did October’s hiring raise the wage in your current job? No individual raise was announced. Earnings figures are national averages, and involuntary part-time work increased.