Nation's economy adds 151,000 jobs in October

The U.S. economy added 151,000 jobs in October, more than double the number predicted and the first increase since May, according to federal data released Friday.

And once again the overall number was buoyed by the private sector, which added 159,000 jobs. That gain dropped a bit because of the public sector's continued fiscal distress, which led to a loss of 8,000 government jobs last month.

Though good news dominated the report, there was a reminder that the U.S. job market remains wobbly. For example, the unemployment rate was unchanged at 9.6 percent, in large part because previously discouraged job seekers returned to the market.

Long Island's unemployment rate, currently 6.9 percent, has remained considerably below the national rate throughout the recession, according to New York State Labor Department data released last month. The Island's economy has added jobs since April, with the most recent report showing 5,600 more jobs in September than the Island had in September 2009.

Among the major national sectors that expanded, education and health services added the most jobs, 53,000. Retail, the sector that has been growing for several months after bleeding jobs during the recession, added 28,000 jobs. Hiring at car dealerships helped to boost that latter number, a turnaround from the low point during the recession, when the businesses were closing or shrinking. Manufacturing lost the most jobs in October - 7,000.

Mark Calisi, president of Eagle Auto Mall in Riverhead, which sells Kias, Mazdas, Volvos, Chevrolets, and will soon begin selling new Chryslers again, said the parts-distribution side of his business is growing because people are holding onto their cars longer.

He said he had added about a half-dozen workers in that department in the past month, and he hopes to add another 15 by the first quarter of next year. The jobs include counter people, drivers, stockroom help, forklift drivers, dispatchers and sales personnel, he said. The business has about 100 employees, 45 of whom work in the parts department.

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"The parts business is where the growth is," said Calisi, whose dealership distributes parts to vehicle-repair businesses in the metro area.

But not every dealership is hiring. Dick Mullen, the owner of Mullen Motors in Southold has almost 30 employees and hasn't added to that number in three years, he said. Though monthly vehicle sales have been rising since April he doesn't plan to hire.

"There is no big rush for anybody to hire a lot of people in the car industry," he said.

For three months, unemployment has remained at 9.6 percent, just a half-percentage point below the recession's peak of 10.1 percent in October. The United States now has 14.8 million unemployed workers, compared with 7.7 million in December 2007, the start of the last recession.

"The jobless rate remains too high," said economics professor Gregory DeFreitas, who heads Hofstra University's labor studies program. "The job growth, while healthier than at any time in recent months, is still too weak."

He noted that blacks and Hispanics still face double-digit unemployment rates - 15.7 percent and 12.6 percent, respectively. And teens are grappling with a 27.1 percent jobless, one of the highest ever for that group.

A panel of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had predicted a considerably lower job gain for October - 60,000 overall, or nonfarm, jobs, with 80,000 from the private sector.

Revisions of nonfarm employment, which includes both the private and public sectors, showed an overall economy that was stronger than first thought. For example, the original 57,000 August job decline was revised Friday to a loss of just 1,000 jobs.