The Unemployment Rate Fell Slightly In October To 4.1%

The Labor Department released it monthly unemployment report on Friday. It showed the economy produced about 165,000 jobs in October. While not great, that was better than past months, and caused the unemployment rate to drop from 4.2% to 4.1%.

Here are the relevant statistics for October:

SIZE OF THE CIVILIAN WORK FORCE:

170,683,000

OFFICIAL NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS:

7,068,000

OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

4.1%

DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN OF OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT:

Adult men...............3.9%

Adult women...............3.6%

Teens (16-19)...............13.9%

Whites...............3.7%

Blacks...............6.6%

Asians...............2.8%

Hispanics...............4.7%

Less than HS diploma...............5.8%

HS graduate...............3.8%

Some college...............3.9%

Bachelor's deg or more...............2.6%

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

1,639,000

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

8,707,000

MORE REALISTIC UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

5.1%