Strong U.S. Jobs Data Lifts December Fed Hike Bets as NVIDIA Board Opens Probe

October hiring beat expectations, lifting market-implied odds of a December Federal Reserve rate increase to about 80% and returning inflation control to the center of the policy outlook.

U.S. employers added 165,000 jobs in October, compared with expectations of 65,000. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, while August and September payrolls were revised up by a combined 84,000.

Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% from the previous month and 3.1% from a year earlier. The number of people working part time for economic reasons increased by 339,000, pointing to differences in job quality and employment structure.

Market pricing implied about an 80% chance of a 25-basis-point increase at the Fed’s December meeting. The Nov. 10 consumer price index report is the next key test for the renewed focus on inflation control.

Separately, NVIDIA’s board opened an independent investigation and expressed support for founder 黄仁勋’s continued leadership, adding a corporate-governance development in the AI sector.