Unemployment rate unchanged at 7.9%

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the unemployment rate remained at 7.9% in October, as nonfarm payroll increased by 171,000. 

Areas that saw gains were professional and business services, health care and the retail trade, according to the bureau. 

The number of long-term unemployed (those who have been jobless for 27 weeks or more) held steady at about 5.0 million. And the employment-to-population ratio was also unchanged at 58.8%. 

Employment in construction edged up in October, with a concetration in in trade contractors, up 17,000.

The bureau also revised upwards its estimates for jobs created in August (from +142,000 to +192,000) and September (from +114,000 to +148,000).