Figures out Friday show U.S. employers added 161,000 jobs in October, while the unemployment rate dipped to 4.9% from 5%.
Experts say it was the final major report on a lukewarm but durable economy before Americans choose a new president next week.
The U.S. Labor Department reported that average hourly pay took a big step higher last month, rising 10 cents an hour to an average $25.92 U.S. That is 2.8% higher than a year ago and is the biggest 12-month increase in seven years.
The steady hiring and low unemployment rate have also put the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates next month for the first time this year.
Still, the economy is growing at the slowest pace of any in a recovery since World War II. Growth picked up to a 2.9% annual rate in the July-September quarter, much faster than the 1.1% pace for the first half of the year.
