<p>Analysts had forecast that anywhere from 90,000 to 100,000 new jobs would be created last month.<br /><br />The Labour Department said that while private employers added 104,000 new positions in October, 24,000 jobs were eliminated in the public sector.<br /><br />The economy gained 158,000 jobs in September and 104,000 in August, according to the department's revised figures.<br /><br />The official unemployment rate has been above 8 percent since February 2009, the longest period of elevated joblessness in the US since 1948.<br /><br />Though more than 1 million new jobs have been created this year, that is far short of what would be needed to make a significant dent in the unemployment rate.<br /><br />President Barack Obama's $447 billion jobs bill, which envisions higher taxes on the wealthy, has been systematically blocked in Congress by Republicans.</p>
<p>Analysts had forecast that anywhere from 90,000 to 100,000 new jobs would be created last month.<br /><br />The Labour Department said that while private employers added 104,000 new positions in October, 24,000 jobs were eliminated in the public sector.<br /><br />The economy gained 158,000 jobs in September and 104,000 in August, according to the department's revised figures.<br /><br />The official unemployment rate has been above 8 percent since February 2009, the longest period of elevated joblessness in the US since 1948.<br /><br />Though more than 1 million new jobs have been created this year, that is far short of what would be needed to make a significant dent in the unemployment rate.<br /><br />President Barack Obama's $447 billion jobs bill, which envisions higher taxes on the wealthy, has been systematically blocked in Congress by Republicans.</p>