US Unemployment Rate Edges Higher

The U.S. labor market added another 171,000 jobs in October even as the country's jobless rate edged higher.

The government reported Friday that as more workers looked for work, the unemployment rate hit 7.9 percent, up a tenth of a percentage point from September.

This is the last major economic report before Tuesday’s presidential election, during which the candidates have focused heavily on which candidate can cut the jobless rate and boost the country's sluggish economy.

When the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent in September, it was the lowest level during the White House tenure of President Barack Obama.  The rate was 8 percent or worse for 44 straight months.  Since World War Two, no U.S. president has won reelection with an unemployment rate above 7.4 percent. 

Friday, Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney said the one-tenth of a percentage point increase in the unemployment rate is a reminder that "the economy is a "virtual standstill."   

A top economic adviser to Obama said the report is further evidence that the economy is healing from the worst recession in decades. Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Alan Krueger, said the economy gained more than two million jobs over the past year, as the pace of job growth increases. ---VOA News