US takes heart from stronger job figures
November 5, 2011, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE US economy added 80,000 jobs last month, and job growth in the two previous months was much stronger than first thought.
The unemployment rate dropped to 9 percent in October from 9.1 percent, the first time it has fallen since July, the government said yesterday.
"Those are pretty good signs," said Michael Hanson, senior economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. "We are hanging in there."
Economists surveyed by FactSet, a provider of financial data, had expected a gain of 100,000 jobs. It takes a gain of about 125,000 jobs a month to keep up with population growth, more to bring down the unemployment rate.
The private sector added 104,000 jobs for the month.
The overall jobs figure was the smallest in four months but there were smaller, more encouraging signs in the government's monthly snapshot of unemployment, one of the most closely watched economic reports.
The US Labor Department said the economy added 102,000 more jobs in August and September than first thought. And the ranks of the long-term unemployed, people out of a job for at least six months, fell sharply to 5.9 million.
Hiring last month was broad. Professional and business services, which includes accounting, engineering and temporary help, added 32,000 jobs. Hotels, restaurants and entertainment companies added 22,000. Healthcare added 12,000.
The construction sector cut 20,000 jobs for the month, the most since January. That industry is examined closely because a pickup in the housing market could add force to an economic recovery.
The number of discouraged workers - those who have given up looking for work and are no longer counted as unemployed - fell.
The US economy grew at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the July-September quarter, its best performance in a year.
The unemployment rate dropped to 9 percent in October from 9.1 percent, the first time it has fallen since July, the government said yesterday.
"Those are pretty good signs," said Michael Hanson, senior economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. "We are hanging in there."
Economists surveyed by FactSet, a provider of financial data, had expected a gain of 100,000 jobs. It takes a gain of about 125,000 jobs a month to keep up with population growth, more to bring down the unemployment rate.
The private sector added 104,000 jobs for the month.
The overall jobs figure was the smallest in four months but there were smaller, more encouraging signs in the government's monthly snapshot of unemployment, one of the most closely watched economic reports.
The US Labor Department said the economy added 102,000 more jobs in August and September than first thought. And the ranks of the long-term unemployed, people out of a job for at least six months, fell sharply to 5.9 million.
Hiring last month was broad. Professional and business services, which includes accounting, engineering and temporary help, added 32,000 jobs. Hotels, restaurants and entertainment companies added 22,000. Healthcare added 12,000.
The construction sector cut 20,000 jobs for the month, the most since January. That industry is examined closely because a pickup in the housing market could add force to an economic recovery.
The number of discouraged workers - those who have given up looking for work and are no longer counted as unemployed - fell.
The US economy grew at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the July-September quarter, its best performance in a year.
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