THE ECONOMY ADDED 151,000 jobs in October, but the unemployment rate held steady at 9.6 percent, the Labor Department says. Because new workers are always entering the labor market, the nation needs to create about 200,000 jobs a month to lower the unemployment rate.
Private sector employment now has risen in each month of 2010, for a total increase of more than 1.1 million jobs so far this year. Government payrolls have fallen by a total of 241,000 jobs, resulting in a net gain of 874,000 jobs in the economy. Even so, 14.8 million workers remained unemployed in October, compared with 15.6 million jobless workers a year earlier.
Overall employment in Canada remained virtually unchanged in October for a second consecutive month, Statistics Canada reports.
