Employment in manufacturing, construction, mining and wholesale trade changed little over the month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Employment in transportation and warehousing, information, leisure and hospitality and government also changed little. Employment continued to trend up in health care (+31,000), professional and business services (+43,000), and financial activities (+14,000).

Overall, total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 161,000 in October, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.9 percent

The number of persons unemployed less than five weeks increased by 284,000 to 2.6 million in October. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was unchanged at 2 million in October and accounted for 25.2 percent of the unemployed.

In October, 1.7 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, down by 216,000 from a year earlier.