WorldatWork Today News Bytes for Nov. 6, 2026

U.S. Added 165,000 Jobs in October, Strongly Beating Projections

The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday, Nov. 6, issued its October 2026 jobs report, which revealed the U.S. economy added 165,000 nonfarm payroll jobs during the month, strongly beating Wall Street's expectations. Economists polled by major financial networks had predicted a meager gain of just 59,000 to 65,000 jobs.

The payroll additions represent a massive rebound from the sluggish growth seen over the summer and early fall, signaling a highly resilient labor market.

U.S. Private-Sector Jobs +86,000 for October; Pay Gains at 3.2%

U.S. private-sector employment increased by 86,000 jobs in October and pay was up 3.2% year-over-year, according to the ADP National Employment Report, released Wednesday, Nov. 4. The payroll processing firm noted hiring showed solid growth for a second consecutive month and pay gains were steady. On the flipside, professional and business services lost jobs for the third straight month.

Among the goods-producing industries:

Construction, +13,000
Manufacturing, -1,000
Natural resources/mining, -8,000

In the service-providing industries:

Trade/transportation/utilities, +39,000
Education/health services, +28,000
Leisure/hospitality, +19,000
Financial activities, +15,000
Other services, +10,000
Information, -2,000
Professional/business services, -27,000

Regarding compensation, base pay increased 3.0% year-over-year for job-stayers and 4.8% for job-changers. Gross pay rose 4.4% year-over year for job-stayers and 7.6% for job-changers.

“Employers of all sizes were hiring last month, and our data suggests that job-changers were lured by a combination of bonuses, overtime and more hours in addition to higher base pay,” said ADP chief economist Nela Richardson. “Taken together, earnings growth for these workers hit its fastest pace since March 2024.”

American Job Openings Jumped in September

The number of U.S. job openings rose to 7.52 million in September, up 333,000 from August, according to the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), released Tuesday, Nov. 3, by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Job openings increased in state and local government, excluding education (+104,000).

Among the survey’s key findings:

The number of hires changed little, at 5.4 million, while the rate was 3.4%. Hires increased in accommodation and food services (+158,000).
The number and rate of total separations remained unchanged, at 5.3 million and 3.3%, respectively. Total separations increased in accommodation and food services (+195,000).
The number and rate of quits increased to 3.4 million and 2.1%, respectively. Quits decreased in wholesale trade (-34,000) and in state and local government education (-21,000). Quits increased in accommodation and food services (+197,000) but decreased in arts, entertainment and recreation (-19,000). Over the year, total nonfarm quits increased by 375,000.
The number and rate of layoffs and discharges were changed little, at 1.6 million and 1.0%, respectively. Layoffs and discharges decreased in healthcare and social assistance (-70,000).
The number of other separations was little changed, at 313,000.

Instacart to Pay $5 Million in Discrimination Lawsuit

Maplebear Inc., the parent company of grocery delivery service Instacart, recently agreed to pay $5 million to settle a federal investigation into claims that the subsidiary company discriminated against American workers through its recruiting and hiring practices.

According to the Oct. 20 announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Instacart created additional burdens on U.S. workers to apply for job opportunities by requiring that applications be physically mailed for positions advertised as part of the “Permanent Labor Certification” — also known as Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) — recruitment process. According to legal experts, the PERM program allows employers to sponsor temporary visa holders for permanent residence status as long as they made good-faith efforts to recruit U.S. workers. This practice departed from Instacart’s standard recruitment process, which allowed electronic applications. As a result, many of the U.S. workers who applied were not timely considered.

Under the terms of the settlement, Instacart will establish a settlement fund of up to $4 million to affected people who applied for jobs between December 2023 and February 2026. In addition, Instacart will pay $1 million in civil penalties to the United States.

U.S. Job Seekers Seek Transparency with ‘Ghost Job’ Postings

Ninety-two percent of job seekers in America said they believe employers and job platforms should be legally required to disclose whether a publicly advertised posting represents a current, approved vacancy. This is according to the 2026 Job Seeker Bill of Rights Report by employment website Monster, which stated a “ghost job” is a job posting for a position an employer isn’t actively trying to fill.

Although ghost job postings aren’t automatically illegal, misleading listings may violate applicable laws and some lawmakers are trying to target them.

When asked what specific information should be required on every posting, job seekers prioritized the status of the hiring process:

60% want to know whether the employer is actively accepting applications.
44% want to know whether the employer is actively interviewing candidates.
39% want to know whether the position is currently approved and funded.
34% want the expected time frame for filling the role.
28% want disclosure if a posting is only collecting resumes for future openings.
27% want an anticipated start date.

Seventy-six percent of the respondents said a ghost job listing should be removed or updated within 48 hours after a position has been filled, canceled or paused indefinitely, including:

37% who said it should happen immediately.
39% within 48 hours.
15% within one week.
4% within two weeks.
2% within 30 days.
3% said no deadline should be required.

When asked what should happen when an employer, recruiter or job platform repeatedly publishes misleading job listings:

60% of the respondents said the listings should be removed.
37% supported a formal warning.
33% said listings should carry a public warning label.
32% said employers or recruiters should be temporarily prohibited from posting jobs.
28% said affected applicants should be notified.

Figures and Facts of the Week

60,000: The number of Microsoft employees who are eligible for a new buyout program in the U.S., Canada, India and the United Kingdom (UK). The tech giant made the announcement on Oct. 26, citing the reason behind the voluntary exit offer was due to its costly artificial intelligence (AI) build-out. The effort affects about 27% of the company’s total workforce of 223,000 people.
30,000: The number of entry-level roles online retail and technology giant Amazon said it planned to create for young people in the UK by 2030. According to news reports, the announcement came as the government rolled out access to tech sector work placements for 10,000 young people across the country.
74: The percentage of talent acquisition leaders who said they believe more than a quarter of applications contain AI-generated or AI-assisted content, according to The State of AI in Hiring for 2027 survey by recruiting platform Recruitics.
68: The percentage that the long-term unemployed American population has grown since 2023, according to an analysis by career website MyPerfectResume. It rose from an average of 1.1 million in 2023 to 1.9 million in 2026.
58: The percentage of U.S. workers who said they are not confident in their ability to adapt as the skills their careers demand continue to change, according to the 2026 Skill Security Report by consulting firm Addison Group.
48: The percentage of American workers who said they are worried that AI could make some or all of their job duties obsolete, according to the 2026 Work in America survey by the American Psychological Association. It is the highest rate recorded since that survey series started asking this question in 2023.
39: The percentage of U.S. adults who said they could maintain their current standard of living for at least three months if they lost their primary source of income, according to a new study by employment website Monster.

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