U.S. economy adds 151,000 jobs

The American economy put on its biggest job-creation show in five months in October, adding 151,000 positions, the U.S. Labour Department said Friday.

The unemployment rate, however, remained stuck at 9.6 per cent for the third straight month.

Wall Street analysts had forecast a more modest gain of 60,000 non-farm jobs.

Private-sector employment rose by a better-than-expected 159,000, more than offsetting a drop of 8,000 government jobs.

So far this year, the U.S. economy has added 874,000 jobs. But that came after it lost more than eight million jobs during 2008 and 2009.

Economists were cautiously optimistic. "This is not a gangbusters report, but it is very important," said Carl Riccadonna, an economist at Deutsche Bank. "It shows us that the momentum in employment is building."

'Encouraging news': Obama

In a statement at the White House, U.S. President Barack Obama hailed the jobs report as "encouraging news" but said the country can't afford two more years of partisan political gridlock. 

He said he was "open to any idea, any proposal" to boost the economy — an attempt to reach out to his Republican opponents who now control the House of Representatives. 

The dismal performance of the economy was widely blamed for significant Democratic losses in Tuesday's midterm elections. Almost 15 million Americans are out of work.

This week, the U.S. Federal Reserve embarked on a $600-billion US bond-buying campaign to stimulate the economy. It's already lowered its key interest rate to virtually zero.