(PRZOOM - Newswire) —  Washington, DC, United States, 2005-11-05 - Nonfarm payroll employment was stagnant (+56,000) in October, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 5.0 percent (U.S. Bureau of Labor).

U.S. EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: October 2005

Total employment, 142.6 million, and the civilian labor force, 150.1 million. The employment-population ratio (62.9 percent) and the labor force participation rate (66.1 percent) were little changed.

"Elevated energy prices, questionable holiday spending and the rising interest rate environment are sending yellow caution flags around many corporate board rooms," said Richard Yamarone, economist at Argus Research.

Contruction & financial activities increased respectively by +33,000 and +22,000 with new jobs. Over the month, construction employment increased by 33,000, with much of the gain (20,000) occurring in residential specialty trade contracting. Prior to October, construction employment had been expanding by an average of 21,000 per month in 2005. Employment in financial activities continued to grow in October, rising by 22,000. Employment gains in credit intermediation accounted for about half of the over-the-month increase.

Retail trade employment was essentially unchanged in October following a large decline in September. In October, there were job losses in department stores (-18,000) and automobile dealers (-9,000).

Source: Labor Force Statistics

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