US economy adds 171,000 new jobs

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US economy adds 171,000 new jobs

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The US economy added 171,000 new jobs in October, which was much more than had been expected.

04 November,2012 10:52 pm

But the official figures from the Labor Department showed that the unemployment rate still rose to 7.9%, having fallen to 7.8% in September, as more workers resumed the search for jobs.Only people who are currently looking for a job count as unemployed.Unemployment is one of the key issues ahead of Tuesdays presidential election.The figures were the last major set of economic data scheduled before the election and the Republican candidate, Mitt Romney, has made the state of the jobs market one of the central planks of his campaign.The number of jobs created in the previous two months was revised upwards, with an extra 34,000 jobs added in September and 50,000 added in August.Weve made real progress, Barack Obama told a crowd in Ohio. But weve got more work to do.Analysts said both candidates could take something from the figures.President Obama can point to faster job creation, while Governor Romney can say that the unemployment rate is higher now than in January 2009 when the president took office, said Nigel Gault, chief US economist at IHS Global Insight.Despite the new jobs, Barack Obama will still go to the polls with the highest rate of unemployment of any president seeking re-election since Franklin D Roosevelt.The unemployment rate edged up slightly because the number of people looking for jobs increased. These were people who had previously given up hope of finding work, but who now think they may have a better chance. As a result, this increase may be seen as a sign of confidence in the economy, analysts say.The total workforce, which is the number of people either working or looking for jobs, rose 578,000 in October.