The Unemployment Rate Climbed Slightly To 3.9% In October

The Labor Department released the unemployment report for October on Friday. It showed the economy produced about 150,000 new jobs for the month. The unemployment rate rose slightly -- from 3.8% to 3.9%. Here are the relevant statistics for October:

SIZE OF THE CIVILIAN WORK FORCE:

167,728,000

OFFICIAL NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS:

6,506,000

OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

3.9%

DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN OF OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT:

Adult men...............3.7%

Adult women...............3.3%

Teens (16-19)...............13.2%

Whites...............3.5%

Blacks...............5.8%

Asians...............3.1%

Hispanics...............4.8%

No HS diploma...............5.8%

HS graduate...............4.0%

Some college...............3.1%

Bachelor's deg. or more...............2.1%

NUMBER OF MARGINALLY-ATTACHED WORKERS (unemployed but not counted):

1,417,000

MORE REALISTIC NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED (official + marginally-attached):

77,923,000

MORE REALISTIC UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

4.7%