The U.S. economy added 250,000 jobs in October, well above estimates, as the labor market maintains its momentum ahead of Tuesday's midterm elections.



The unemployment rate held at 3.7 percent, the lowest level since December 1969, the Labor Department reported on Friday.

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Wow! The U.S. added 250,000 Jobs in October - and this was despite the hurricanes. Unemployment at 3.7%. Wages UP! These are incredible numbers. Keep it going, Vote Republican! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 2, 2018 "The U.S. labor market is in excellent shape in October," said Bill Adams, PNC's senior economist.



"The unemployment rate is the lowest since 1969, wage growth is the strongest since 2009, and the number of job openings has exceeded active jobseekers since March," he said.



"Some of October’s strong payroll growth is catch-up after the impact of Hurricane Florence, but the trend in 2018 has been strong."



The economy has added jobs for 97 straight months, beginning in October 2010 under former President Obama. It is the longest streak of monthly jobs growth on record. The president touted the numbers in a Friday morning tweet, telling his 55.6 million followers to "vote Republican!""The U.S. labor market is in excellent shape in October," said Bill Adams, PNC's senior economist."The unemployment rate is the lowest since 1969, wage growth is the strongest since 2009, and the number of job openings has exceeded active jobseekers since March," he said."Some of October’s strong payroll growth is catch-up after the impact of Hurricane Florence, but the trend in 2018 has been strong."The economy has added jobs for 97 straight months, beginning in October 2010 under former President Obama. It is the longest streak of monthly jobs growth on record.

"All told, the labor market keeps expanding at a robust pace," wrote University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers on Twitter.



"Indeed, jobs growth this rapid with unemployment this low might be hard to sustain," Wolfers added.



The economy grew at a 3.5 percent annual clip in the third quarter, slower than the 4.2 percent in the April-to-June quarter, the Commerce Department reported last week.

Economists had estimated growth of about 208,000 jobs last month after gains averaged 218,000 over the past three.

October’s job growth occurred across health care, manufacturing, construction and transportation and warehousing.



Employment in manufacturing increased 32,000, with the sector adding 296,000 jobs over the past year.



Construction employment rose 30,000 in October, and by 330,000 jobs in the past 12 months.



"The numbers released today show U.S. manufacturers continue to grow and hire despite facing challenges, including a massive worker shortage and global uncertainty," said Chad Moutray, chief economist for the National Association of Manufacturers.



"With nearly half a million open positions in the industry, the worker shortage remains the biggest challenge manufacturers face.”



Health care tacked on 36,000 jobs while transportation and warehousing added 25,000 jobs last month.



Employment in leisure and hospitality rose 42,000, while professional and business services added 35,000 last month and 516,000 jobs over the past year.



Mining jobs have continued to increase, adding 5,000 in October. The industry has added 65,000 jobs over the year, with most of the gain in support activities for mining.

—Updated at 9:53 a.m.