Employment Eased in October After Two Gains --- Report Indicates Recovery Is Faltering; Forecasting Gauge Fell in September
WASHINGTON -- The government's report that employment declined in October is the sharpest evidence so far that the economic recovery is faltering.</br></br>After two months of modest increases, payrolls fell by 1,000 jobs in October, the Labor Department said. The unemployment rate inched up by one-tenth of a percentage point to 6.8%.</br></br>Service industries, including the unstoppable health-care business, continued to add workers in October. But employment declined in construction, manufacturing and retailing.</br></br>The government also reported Friday that its primary forecasting gauge, the index of leading economic indicators, dropped 0.1% in September, the first decline since January.</br></br>"The recovery continues to wobble like a kid learning to ride a bicycle," said John Albertine, a Washington economist. "The employment numbers were disappointing."