U.S. jobs continued to rise at a steady pace in October and wagegains accelerated, signs that the labor market and economy madesteady progress at the start of the fourth quarter.

Payrolls climbed by 161,000 last month following a 191,000 gainin September that was larger than previously estimated, a LaborDepartment report showed Friday. The median forecast in a Bloombergsurvey called for 173,000. The jobless rate fell to 4.9 percent,while wages rose from a year earlier by the most since June2009.

The figures are likely to keep the Federal Reserve on track toraise borrowing costs next month for the first time in 2016.Underlying the steady gains in employment is a balance betweenhiring managers' need to keep up with stable domestic demand andthe struggle to match more limited labor to skilled-jobvacancies.