U.S. Adds 80,000 Jobs in October; Unemployment Rate Drops to 9 percent

The United States economy added 80,000 jobs in October, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate ticked down to 9 percent from 9.1 percent in September on the strength of larger-than-expected revisions to jobs growth in the preceding months.

The Labor Department noted that the private sector created 104,000 new jobs in October while governments at all levels shed 24,000 positions, for a net gain of 80,000. Analysts and economists had expected the total net number to be closer to 100,000.

But Labor’s revisions to September and August numbers were unexpectedly high. The revisions added another 102,000 net jobs to the totals for those two months.

Jobs in the professional and business services category increased by 32,000 making it the sector showing the largest improvement. The leisure and hospitality industry added 22,000 jobs, while healthcare added 12,000.

Government jobs decreased by 24,000 in October to lead decliners, followed by construction (-20,000).

The Labor Department’s U-6 unemployment rate – which factors in those discouraged by a job search or forced to work part time against their wishes – fell to 16.2 percent from 16.5 percent in September. The U-6 figured is often referred to as the “real” unemployment rate by many economists.