Unemployment Stuck at 9.6%

US employers added the most jobs in five months in October, with the education and health care sectors leading the way. But the unemployment rate, measured by a separate survey of households, refused to budge. It remained stuck at 9.6% for the third straight month.

The Labor Department says its survey of employers showed a net gain of 151,000 jobs last month, the most since May. Wall Street analysts expected a smaller gain. Private employers hired 159,000 workers, while governments at all levels shed only 8,000 jobs, a much better showing than September's sharp drop. (More unemployment stories.)