The U.S. economy added 128,000 jobs in October and the unemployment rate ticked up to 3.6%, according to new data released Friday, overcoming the drag from a monthlong General Motors strike that ended last week.

The monthly employment report from the Labor Department far exceeded expectations from forecasters, who predicted 75,000 jobs would be created in October, a sharp dip from 136,000 in September. Unemployment was expected to increase slightly to 3.6% from 3.5% last month when the country saw a 50-year low.