The United States created 151 000 jobs in October, much better than expected amid a weak recovery, while the unemployment rate was unchanged at 9,6% for the third consecutive month, official data showed Friday.
The jobless rate matched expectations, while the number of new jobs was more than double the 60 000 forecast by most analysts.
Driving the robust non-farm payrolls number were job gains in mining and some service-providing industries, the Labour Department said.
The rebound came after the economy shed a revised 41 000 jobs in September. The initial estimate was 95 000 job losses.
The private sector built 159 000 jobs, sharply offsetting the loss of 8 000 government jobs.
The consensus forecast was for 60 000 new private-sector jobs. The department hiked its original September estimate of 64 000 private payrolls to 107 000.
The jobs report suggested a stronger recovery was underway in the private sector than previously believed.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve made persistently high unemployment a prime argument for announcing it would pump an additional $600-billion into the banking system through the middle of next year.
Stock markets around the world cheered the bold decision, driving Wall Street on Wednesday to highs last seen before the Lehman Brothers collapse in 2008 accelerated the global financial crisis. — AFP