Jobs, Good News | featured news

Employers added the most jobs in five months, but the unemployment rate remained stuck at 9.6 percent for the third straight month.

U.S. companies added to payrolls more than expected in October, slightly boosting optimism about the job market ahead of Friday's government employment report.

New claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to a three-month low, hinting at some improvement in the listless labor market.

Traders tiptoed around stocks early Friday as they absorbed the government's jobs report, but the market flipped a switch mid-morning and settled into a rally mode that pushed the major indexes up to their best levels since May.

New claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week to their lowest level in two months, a hopeful sign for the troubled labor market.

The jobless rate in 39 states and Washington, D.C. fell in June compared to the prior month, the Labor Department said. Just five states saw unemployment rate increases.

Economists say the U.S. recovery continued during the second quarter of this year with more businesses hiring workers and fewer cutting jobs, but the pace of growth has slowed, a new survey shows.

Private employers add 83,000 jobs in June, more than double the rate in May but still below the numbers that would suggest a strong recovery.

In a sign that the state's struggling labor market may be strengthening, 14,200 positions were added by employers in April, the second straight month of expansion.

While improving, the job market still has a long way to go before it can be counted on to provide a base for a sustained economic recovery.