WASHINGTON (AP) — Three days after voters registered their sourness about the U.S. economy, the government said Friday that employers added a solid 214,000 jobs in October, extending the healthiest pace of hiring in eight years. The burst of hiring lowered the unemployment rate to 5.8 percent from 5.9 percent.
– The unemployment rate ticked down from 5.9% to 5.8% last month, its lowest level since July 2008, the AP reports. And 214,000 jobs were added; 233,000 had been expected, per the Wall Street Journal's forecast, with the unemployment rate expected to stick at 5.9%. August and September numbers were also revised upward: August saw 203,000 new jobs added (up from 180,000), and September saw 256,000 (up from 248,000). That means the economy has added 200,000 or more jobs per month for nine consecutive months, the longest stretch since 1995, the AP notes. Even though the new jobs number for October doesn't look great when compared to what was expected, the AP points out that it extends "the healthiest pace of hiring in eight years." And Michael J. Casey at the Journal explains why today's jobs report is actually pretty good news: "Unemployment dropped, including in the U-6 broader measure of joblessness. And it came with a higher participation rate. Along with the upward revision in the September payrolls number, all of this means the net takeaway ain't as bad as the headline jobs number suggests."