US recovery gathers pace as jobs data beats expectations

The US added 171,000 jobs in October, a higher-than-expected figure that suggests the country's economic recovery remains on track.

In the last payroll report prior to next week's US elections, the Bureau for Labor Statistics also revised up figures for August and September by a collective 84,000, providing a boost to President Barack Obama's quest for re-election. The 171,000 new jobs in October came despite a slight uptick in the unemployment rate from 7.8% to 7.9%. Economists had forecast a gain of around 125,000. Employment growth has averaged 157,000 per month so far this year, the Bureau added, broadly comparable with the 153,000 jobs added monthly in 2011. The news gave US equity markets a boost, the S&P...