The US unemployment rate dropped to a five-year low of 4.4 per cent in October as employers added 92,000 new jobs.
The latest report, released today by the Labor Department, showed that the civilian unemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage point from 4.6 per cent in September. It marked the third month in a row that the politically prominent jobless rate declined.
The tally of new jobs added to the economy in October fell short of economists' expectations for an increase of around 125,000 positions, however.
Nonetheless, job gains in both August and September turned out to be much stronger than previously estimated - and that took a lot of the sting out of October's less-than-expected payroll performance.
Economists were expecting the unemployment rate to hold steady in October or possibly edge up slightly. Today's report provided the last snapshot of the nation's employment scene before next week's elections.
Workers' average hourly earnings climbed to $16.91 in October, a sizable 0.4 per cent increase from September. That increase was bigger than the 0.3 per cent rise economists were expecting. Over the last 12 months, wages grew by 3.9 per cent.
How voters view job availability, wage growth and other economic conditions is likely to play a role in the balloting nationwide on Tuesday. Republicans, fighting to retain control of Congress, say Americans are mostly better off. Democrat rivals disagree, saying low- and middle-income workers are struggling.