U.S. payrolls add 171,000 jobs in October

Washington, DC, United States (4E) – The Labor Department reported on Friday that U.S. job growth accelerated in October by adding 171,000 new jobs.

The October payrolls is the final monthly jobs report before Election Day, where it also showed that the U.S. unemployment rate slightly rose to 7.9 percent.

The figure beat estimates by Dow Jones Newswires of 125,000 job gains and an unemployment rate of 7.9 per cent.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics report indicates a modest improvement in the labor market. The data was gathered from surveys earlier in the month and did not include the effect of Hurricane Sandy that caused work stoppages across the U.S. east coast.

The report also showed an upward revision of the number of jobs created in the previous two months with September adding 34,000 jobs while August increased by 50,000.

Government payrolls slightly declined but professional and business services, retail trade and health care saw gains, according to the department.

On Thursday, payroll provider ADP said 158,000 private sector jobs were added, higher than the revised September figure of 114,000.

Both President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney have sparred over the best plan to boost job creation in the country. Both candidates are back on the campaign trail after politics has been overshadowed by the devastation of Hurricane Sandy earlier in the week.

---

---