US professional and business services added 70,000 jobs in October
Written by AI
US professional and business services added 70,000 jobs in October, against an average monthly gain of 15,000 over the previous year. Economists disagree on whether the figure says anything about AI’s effect on white-collar work.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) published its October employment report on Friday 6 November. Of the 70,000 new jobs in professional and business services, 33,000 came in professional, scientific and technical services. Administrative and support services added 28,000 jobs and management of companies and enterprises 9,000.
The sector includes, for example, legal services, consulting and research services, Business Insider said. The sector has added 269,000 jobs since October 2025, when employment there hit a recent low, BLS said.
Some of the growth came from temporary work: temporary help services added 18,600 jobs after losing 5,600 in September. Nicole Bachaud, an economist at ZipRecruiter, said this shows employers are starting to take on new business without hiring more full-time staff.
The table shows that information and financial activities lost jobs in August and September. Figures for a single month are uncertain. Even for total payroll employment, the 90 per cent confidence interval for the monthly change is about ±122,000 jobs, BLS said. The figures for the two most recent months will also be revised.
| Industry | August | September | October |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional and business services | +30,000 | +8,000 | +70,000 |
| – of which temporary help services | +15,500 | −5,600 | +18,600 |
| Information | −21,000 | −11,000 | −1,000 |
| Financial activities | −6,000 | −14,000 | +7,000 |
Source: BLS, seasonally adjusted changes from the previous month. September and October figures are preliminary.
Economists disagree on AI’s impact
Business Insider quotes written commentary from Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union: ‘The bounce back in professional and business services is a good reminder that AI isn’t wiping out white-collar jobs.’ Long said hiring of administrative assistants was also clearly higher than before.
Cory Stahle, a senior economist at Indeed, told Business Insider that he doubted the growth would last. Stahle said the sector still has fewer jobs than its long-term trend implies, and some of the growth may be closing that gap. ‘It’s too early though from a single report, especially on a noisy industry, to draw any conclusions about AI or knowledge workers,’ Stahle said.
Bachaud said AI is changing job requirements and the skills employers want. Employers may look for AI skills or, for example, critical thinking rather than traditional technical skills. Bachaud expects job-switching to become more common, causing employment to swing in professional and business services, financial activities and information.
Payrolls rose by 165,000 in total
Total payroll employment rose by 165,000 in October. The unemployment rate was 4.1 per cent. BLS revised its August and September figures up by a combined 84,000 jobs. Health care added 42,000 jobs, transportation and warehousing 25,000 and manufacturing 19,000.
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