The unemployment rate was 6.9% in October, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The decline of one percentage point from the previous month is steeper than the half percentage point drop between August and September —but the unemployment rate was still double the 3.5% rate reported in February. Job growth was comparable to September, with another 638,000 jobs added to payrolls.
The unemployment rate for women seeking work dropped to 6.7%, falling below that of men for the first time since March, and an estimated 300,000 women also reentered the labor market between September and October. But women still make up 58.2% of those who have left the workforce since February and have not returned.
