US unemployment falls to 5.8 per cent in Oct

WASHINGTON - The US unemployment rate fell again in Oct even if job creation, weaker than expected, was lower than in Sept, according to data published Friday by the Labor Department.

The unemployment rate fell one-tenth of a percentage point to 5.8 per cent, its lowest level since July 2008. The economy churned out a firm 214,000 net new jobs, less than the 235,000 expected.

The Labor Department also revised upward by a total of 31,000 the number of jobs created in the previous two months, for 256,000 in September and 203,000 in August.

For the first time in six years, the number of unemployed fell below nine million, to 8.995 million.

The labour force participation rate, which counts those with jobs and those actively seeking jobs, which had fallen since the 2008 crisis because of demographic reasons, rose barely to 62.8 per cent in October.

Over 12 months, the world's leading economy has generated an average 222,000 jobs a month, according to Erica Groshen of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.