October employment increases by 271K

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 271,000 in October, and the unemployment rate held steady at 5 percent, according to a Nov. 6 report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Job gains were realized in professional and business services, health care, retail trade, food services and drinking places and construction, according to the BLS report.

Employment in professional and business services rose by 78,000 last month, compared with an average gain of 52,000 per month over the prior 12 months. The health care industry added 45,000 jobs in October, and employment in retail trade climbed by 44,000. Food services and drinking places added 42,000 jobs and construction employment increased by 31,000 during the month.

Employment in the mining industry continued its downward trend losing 5,000 jobs in October. Mining has lost 109,000 jobs since reaching an employment high water mark last December, the BLS reports.

In October, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 9 cents to $25.20, following a slight bump of 1 cent in September. Hourly earnings rose by 2.5 percent January-October.

According to the BLS, the number of unemployed persons remained essentially unchanged last month at 7.9 million. The number of long-term unemployed stayed flat at 2.1 million in October, and the civilian labor force participation rate was unchanged at 62.4 percent.