The number of net jobs created in August and September were revised up by nearly 100,000.
Fabio Magliano, right, fills out a job application as he stands in line at a job fair in Miami. According to government reports released today, the U.S. economy added 171,000 jobs in October, and the unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9 percent.
About 171,000 nonfarm jobs were added, but the unemployment rate went from 7.8 percent to 7.9 percent as the number of unemployed also went up in October, according to statistics released at 8:30 this morning.
The rate dropped from 8.1 percent to 7.8 percent in September.
Superstorm Sandy had no effect on October employment rates, the department said.
Overall, employment rose about 578,000, while unemployment increased about 170,000 to 12.258 million. Job participation ticked up again from 63.6 percent to 63.8 percent of the potential workforce. Total employment rose 410,000 for the month, the department reported. Long-term unemployment stayed about 5 million.
Those doing part-time work for economic reasons dropped by 269,000 to 8.3 million, balancing a surprising September increase of 582,000.
Unemployment for blacks went up to 14.3 percent, while most other ethnic categories were changed little.
The jobs figures for August were revised up from 142,000 to 192,000 and the September estimates were increased from 114,000 to 148,000, the department reported.
About 51,000 jobs were added in October in professional and business services, about 31,000 in health care, about 36,000 in retail, about 28,000 in leisure, and about 17,000 in construction, according to the report. Manufacturing was little changed, the report summary said.
The labor force population increased by 211,000.
Earnings fell a penny to $23.58.
Lehigh Valley unemployment rose in September to 8.8 percent, while New Jersey dipped to 9.8 percent and Pennsylvania came in at 8.2 percent.