US: Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 261,000 in October

"Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 261,000 in October, and the unemployment rate edged down to 4.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today," the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday.

Key highlights

The unemployment rate edged down by 0.1 percentage point to 4.1 percent in October, and the number of unemployed persons decreased by 281,000 to 6.5 million.

In October, the number of long-term unemployed was little changed at 1.6 million and accounted for 24.8 percent of the unemployed.

The labor force participation rate decreased by 0.4 percentage point to 62.7 percent in October but has shown little movement on net over the past 12 months. 

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) declined by 369,000 to 4.8 million in October.

In October, 1.5 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, little changed from a year earlier. 

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 34.4 hours in October. 

Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls, at $26.53, were little changed in October (-1 cent), after rising by 12 cents in September.