U.S. added jobs in October, first time since May

U.S. economy added 151,000 jobs in October, a welcome change after four months of job losses but still not enough to make a dent in unemployment.

Private companies have been expanding their payrolls throughout 2010, according to a Labor Department report released Friday. Private job growth had been overwhelmed by the elimination of temporary decennial Census jobs and layoffs by state and local government during the summer and early fall — until October.

Companies added 159,000 jobs last month, after a gain of 107,000 jobs in September. Governments cut 8,000 jobs following losses of 148,000 positions in September. October was much stronger than expected — most forecasts were for a gain of 60,000 jobs.

The report also revised the numbers for August and September. The August data was revised to reflect a loss of 1,000 jobs instead of 57,000, and September was revised to 41,000 losses instead of 95,000.

“The big picture from this report and some of the others recently all points to a pickup in growth in the beginning of the fourth quarter,” said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics. “The notion that economy might be double-dipping can now be safely tossed out.”

Still, the economy has a long way to go before the world brightens for many Americans. Nearly 15 million people are out of work and actively looking, and the unemployment rate, which remained steady at 9.6 percent, has been relatively flat since May.

A broader measure of unemployment, which includes people who are working part-time because they cannot find full-time jobs and people who have given up looking for work, ticked down slightly to 17 percent from 17.1 percent in September.

The economy last added jobs in May, when more than 400,000 workers were hired by the federal government to help with the Census.

In the absence of congressional action, the last tier of unemployment benefits is also set to expire soon. With little prospect of employment in the near future, many of the nation’s long-term unemployed, whose numbers hover around record highs, have become increasingly desperate.

“I hope that Congress can become human and forget about being Democrats or Republicans and just be human beings to see what it’s like for us,” said Annette Tornberg, 50, of Sacramento. Tornberg was laid off from her job at a printing company in 2009 and has been unable to find work. “We’re human beings, and all we want is for you to help us out.”

(source:sltrib.com)