The number of American jobs did not increase by as much as expected in October, according to the government's monthly jobs report released Friday morning.
Employers added 80,000 jobs. After some recent positive economic news, analysts had expected a gain of between 90,000 and 100,000.
The unemployment rate ticked down to 9 percent from 9.1 percent. It has stayed between 9 and 9.2 percent since April. Nearly 14 million people are officially unemployed.
The job gains offer further evidence that the economy is not currently at risk of slipping back into a recession, as some had feared over the summer. But they also aren't nearly enough to begin significantly cutting into the unemployment rate, and they suggest that the jobs situation remains stuck in a grim stasis--not getting worse, but not getting much better either.