UPDATE - US adds 261,000 jobs in October, unemployment rises to 3.7%

UPDATES WITH QUOTES FROM US PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - The US economy added 261,000 jobs in October, above the market estimate, while the unemployment rate rose to 3.7%, the Labor Department announced on Friday.

The market expectation for nonfarm payrolls was a 200,000 gain in October.

Job additions for September was revised up by 52,000 from 263,000 to 315,000, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The unemployment rate, on the other hand, unexpectedly rose to 3.7% in October, from 3.5% in September.

The market expected the figure to come in at 3.6%.

The number of unemployed people in the US rose by 306,000 to 6.1 million in October from 5.8 million the previous month, according to the Labor Department.

The labor force participation rate stood at 62.2% in October.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, more than 22 million people in the world’s largest economy lost their jobs in March and April 2020.

US President Joe Biden later said in a statement that figures show jobs recovery in American economy remains strong.

Stressing that inflation is his administration's top economic challenge, Biden said: "The global inflation that is raging in other countries is hitting us as well. I’ve got a plan to bring costs down, especially for health care, energy, and other everyday expenses."

He noted that price of gasoline at the pump is down over $1.20 a gallon (4.54 liters) since summer.

Before the key mid-term elections on Tuesday, Biden said Republicans want to increase costs of prescription drugs, health insurance and energy, and provide more tax breaks to big corporations and the wealthy.

"Here’s the deal: cutting corporate taxes and allowing big pharma to raise prices again is the Republican inflation plan and it’s a disaster," he said.