The Employment Situation: October 2004 — 2004-11-05

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 337,000 in October, and the un- employment rate was about unchanged at 5.5 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Construction em- ployment rose sharply over the month, and several service-providing indus- tries also added jobs. Both the number of unemployed persons, 8.1 million, and the unemployment rate, 5.5 percent, were essentially unchanged from September to October. The jobless rate has held fairly steady thus far this year and remains below its most recent high of 6.3 percent in June 2003. In October, the unemployment rates for the major worker groups--adult men (4.9 percent), adult women (4.8 percent), teenagers (17.2 percent), whites (4.7 percent), blacks (10.7 percent), and Hispanics or Latinos (6.7 percent)-- showed little or no change over the month. The unemployment rate for Asians was 4.8 percent in October, not seasonally adjusted.