U.S. economy added 151,000 jobs in October

First monthly increase since May; nation’s jobless rate still 9.6 percent

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updated 1 hour 29 minutes ago 2010-11-05T15:06:08

WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added a better-than-expected 151,000 jobs in October, the first monthly increase since May, but the gain was less than the 200,000 needed to start returning the 15 million unemployed Americans to work.

Private employers hired 159,000 workers last month, the Labor Department reported Friday in its monthly employment report, about double the amount expected, while the nation’s unemployment rate remained at 9.6 percent for a third straight month.

Government at all levels shed only 8,000 jobs in October, a much better showing than September’s sharp drop. And job loss data for August and September were revised to show 110,000 fewer workers were lost than previously thought.

Giving his first reaction to the October jobs report Friday morning, President Barack Obama pointed to the fact that the country has seen several months of private-sector job growth. But he added that the economic recovery still has a long way to go.

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