The US Department of Labor reported Friday that the nation's labor market added 171,000 new jobs in October, although the unemployment rate edged up 0.1 percent to 7.9 percent due to more people reentering the workforce--only those actively seeking a job count as unemployed. Additionally, government data showed that 84,000 more jobs were created in August and September than original estimates showed.
Also on Friday, Statistics Canada reported that employment in October was unchanged compared to September at 7.4 percent. However, compared with October 2011, employment increased 1.3 percent or by 229,000 jobs.