New jobs report: "Solid - right direction"

U.S. employers stepped up hiring in October and the jobless rate ticked higher as more workers restarted job hunts, a good sign a lackluster economy is slowly, but steadily improving.

Employers added 171,000 people to their payrolls last month, the Labor Department said on Friday. The government also said 84,000 more jobs were created in August and September than previously estimated.

"We still have a long way to go but this is a step in the right direction," said Stephen Bronars, chief economist of Welch Consulting. Analysts had expected a smaller number of new jobs - around 125,000 - to be added, according to Bloomberg News.

All of the gain in payrolls was in the private sector, which added 184,000 jobs in October, the biggest increase since February. The government shed 13,000 positions.

The jobless rate edged up a tenth of a point to 7.9 percent, but that was due to workers surging back into the labor force. Only people who are looking for a job count as unemployed.

"This report is consistent with the emerging picture of an economic recovery that is continuing to regain traction after grinding to a halt earlier this year," said Millan Mulraine, senior U.S. strategist at TD Securities in Toronto.

(source)