Originally Published at wsj.com Unemployment rate held at a 49-year low in October; wages increased 3.1% By Eric Morath WASHINGTON—Strong hiring and low unemployment are delivering U.S. workers their best pay raises in nearly a decade. Employers shook off a September slowdown to add 250,000 jobs to their payrolls in October, above monthly averages in...Continue Reading

Originally Published at TheNewYorkTimes.com Trying to solve an economic mystery. By Ernie Tedeschi Lots of measures are telling us that the United States labor market is doing well. In some cases, very well. Most prominently, the unemployment rate has fallen steadily over the last nine years. It dipped to 3.7 percent in September, and it has averaged 4...Continue Reading