U.S. Unemployment 4.9 Percent in October

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that the nation’s unemployment rate for October was 4.9 percent, down from 5.0 percent in September and continuing to hover in the same range it has been in in since August of 2015.

The number of long-term unemployed (jobless for 27 weeks or more) was unchanged at 2.0 million in October,  accounting for just over a quarter of the unemployed.

While unemployment remained largely the same, job creation continued in October with the addition of 161,000 new jobs to nonfarm payrolls.