US added 80,000 jobs in October; jobless rate dips

WASHINGTON (AP) — The American economy added 80,000 jobs in October, and job growth in the two previous months was much stronger than first thought, an encouraging sign as the nation searches for a way out of the jobs crisis.

The unemployment rate dropped to 9 percent from 9.1 percent, the first time it has fallen since July, the government said Friday.

AP Photo/Jim Mone

Clarence Turner of Little Canada, Minn., hands in his resume at the Minneapolis Career Fair held in Bloomington, Minn., where he was looking for a hotel audit job, preferably on the night shift, to help juggle fa...