U.S. Economy Adds 56,000 Jobs in October

WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy added 56,000 Jobs in October, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 5.0 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 8 cents over the month.

Both the number of unemployed persons, 7.4 million, and the unemployment rate, 5.0 percent, were little changed in October. The unemployment rate has ranged from 4.9 to 5.1 percent since May.