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Job growth was stronger than expected in October despite Federal Reserve interest rate increases aimed at slowing what is still a strong labor market . Nonfarm payrolls grew by 261,000 for the month while the unemployment rate moved higher to 3.7%, the Labor Department reported Friday. Those payroll numbers were better than the Dow Jones estimate for 205,000 more jobs but worse than the 3.5% estimate for the unemployment rate. Average hourly earnings grew 4.7% from a year ago and 0.4% for the month, indicating that wage growth is still likely to pressure inflation. The yearly growth met expectations while the monthly gain was slightly ahead of the 0.3% estimate. The new figures come as the Fed is on a campaign to bring down inflation running at an annual rate of 8.2%, according to one government gauge. Earlier this week, the central bank approved its fourth consecutive 0.75 percentage point interest rate increase, taking benchmark borrowing rates to a range of 3.75%-4%. Those hikes ar...

On paper, the average hourly wage Americans have earned has steadily climbed over the past year, from $30.76 to $32.36. But when inflation is taken into account, that increase seems to evaporate. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans have effectively experienced a 12-month pay cut of $0.31 per hour. Combined with a decrease in hours worked, Americans' inflation adjusted average weekly pay has decreased by only $13.20 from one year ago. The BLS released data Tuesday showing that monthly inflation had picked up 0.1%, while annualized inflation had climbed 8.3%. The data led markets to tank as investors forecast that the Federal Reserve would maintain its aggressive monetary policy as it works to bring down inflation. "Clearly the high inflation is undermining Americans’ purchasing power ," Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's, told NBC News. While inflation moderated to 8.3% on an annual basis in August, it is still higher than the 5.2% hourly ea...