# E.J. Antoni, "Labor Market Roared in October" (Townhall, 7 Nov 2026): recompute, 8 Nov 2026

This supports the column. Every number in it matches the October jobs report as BLS published it on 6 November: 165,000 payroll jobs, upward revisions that bring the total to 249,000, household employment up 463,000 in the month and 1.44 million since July, and full-time work up 1.54 million while part-time fell.

The sentences: "Friday's monthly employment report not only shows an additional 165,000 jobs, but also revises upward the previous two months. Including those revisions, the total increase is just under a quarter million jobs." "This survey showed that 463,000 more Americans were employed in October than September, and 1.4 million more than July." "Since July, full-time jobs are now up a whopping 1.5 million while part-time jobs have declined." "More than 96 percent of October's job growth came from the productive private sector. The government added only 6,000 jobs, all of which came from state governments while the federal bureaucracy added no jobs at all." "manufacturing jobs are at their highest level since December 2024." College graduates' "employment level shot up by 422,000 in October," "more than 2 million higher than in July."

Our path: the BLS series behind each figure, read from FRED on 8 Nov 2026, and the payroll series as first published on 2 Oct (ALFRED) for the revisions.

| Claim in the column | Recount | |
|---|---|---|
| 165,000 jobs | Payrolls +165,000 | Holds |
| Prior two months revised up; just under a quarter million with revisions | August +53,000, September +84,000; October level minus September as first published: +249,000 | Holds |
| Household employment +463,000 in October, +1.4 million since July | +463,000; +1,438,000 | Holds |
| Participation and employment-to-population up three straight months | 61.4, 61.6, 61.8, 61.9%; 58.9, 59.1, 59.2, 59.3% (July to October) | Holds |
| All net job growth full-time; part-time down; fewer multiple jobholders | Full-time +714,000, part-time −242,000, multiple jobholders −181,000 | Holds |
| Full-time +1.5 million since July, part-time down | +1,537,000; part-time −260,000 | Holds |
| Over 96% private; government +6,000, all state; federal none | Private +159,000 of 165,000 (96.4%); government +6,000 = state +8,000, federal −1,000, local −1,000 | Holds (on net) |
| Manufacturing highest since December 2024, after declining 2023–2025 | 12,681,000, highest since December 2024 (12,693,000); 12,903,000 in January 2023 to 12,580,000 in December 2025 | Holds |
| College graduates +422,000 in October, over 2 million since July | Bachelor's degree and higher, 25+: +422,000; +2,035,000 | Holds |

Two things worth having ready, before someone uses them against the column:

- The household survey and the payroll survey disagree on size. Since July, household employment is up 1.44 million and payrolls are up 411,000. The household survey is a sample of about 60,000 households, and BLS publishes a confidence interval for the payroll change (±122,000 a month) but warns household changes are less precise. The column's three-month household figures are the strongest part of the case and also the easiest to challenge.
- The same day's Heritage piece with Peter St. Onge says the economy "only added about 50,000 jobs per month" in the third quarter. That was right as first published (51,000). After Friday's revisions it is 79,000.

Not covered: the real weekly earnings comparison (October's consumer prices are not out yet, so October real earnings are an estimate, as the column says), and the investment and policy arguments.

Files: analyze.py (all figures above), results.txt (its output), data/ (FRED and ALFRED series as read; fred_jobs_extra and alfred_payems_vintages were transcribed from the FRED/ALFRED downloads), SHA256SUMS.