Payrolls Rise by 337,000 in October; Manufacturing Loses Jobs

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he Labor Department said Friday that employers added 337,000 workers during October, boosted by a hurricane-related increase in construction jobs. The jobless rate rose to 5.5% from 5.4% as more people returned to the labor force.

The payroll increase was the largest since March. Labor also raised payroll growth for September by 43,000 jobs to 139,000.

Labor said the manufacturing sector lost 5,000 jobs during the month, compared with a decline of 14,000 in September. The manufacturing workweek fell by six minutes to 40.7 hours and overtime fell by the same amount to 4.5 hours.

Hurricanes in the U.S. Southeast last month contributed to a 71,000 increase in construction in October, the biggest increase since March 2000, as well as other jobs related to clean-up efforts.

Employment in service-producing industries, which include retailers, banks and government agencies, rose 272,000 last month after a 143,000 increase in September. The increase was the biggest since April.

The U.S. has added 1.98 million jobs this year through September while remaining down 371,000 workers since Bush took office in January 2001.