Jobless Rate Stays Frozen at 7.1% but Women Gain

The nation’s unemployment remained frozen at 7.1% in October as a record number of women gained jobs and service-oriented businesses posted large gains, the government reported today.

Employment last month reached another record level, 107.9 million workers, a gain of 325,000 over the September level, the Labor Department said.

Unemployment among teen-agers rose sharply to 20.1% compared to a 17.8% jobless level the previous month.

At the White House, presidential spokesman Larry Speakes said, “The rise in employment is a clear signal that rapid expansion is under way, adding yet another indicator of substantial, sustainable growth in the fourth quarter.”

But Sen. William D. Proxmire (D-Wis.), chairman of the congressional Joint Economic Committee, predicted at a hearing that unemployment will rise in the coming months, with record budget deficits and President Reagan pursuing expansionist economic policies.

Recent declines in automobile sales and housing starts and soaring foreign trade deficits are “all signs of an economy that seems to be going nowhere,” Proxmire said.

Identical to September Figure

The 7.1% October jobless rate matched the September level, which was a slight deterioration from the 7% jobless rate in August. That figure had been the lowest level reached during the Reagan Administration.

Even with the improvement, unemployment has been stuck at historically high levels for a recovery that is about to enter its fourth year.

Part of the reason has been the battering the country’s manufacturers have taken from foreign competition.

The department said the country’s depressed manufacturing industries registered an increase of 60,000 jobs in October, but the gain still left employment in this important sector 270,000 below where it stood in January.

The fast-growing service sector of the economy posted another large job gain last month, growing by 324,000. Thus, in one month the service sector of the economy added as many jobs as the industrial sector has lost in the last year.

Adult Women Gained

The unemployment rate for adult women dropped to 6.4%, down from 6.8% in September. The department said 51.4% of adult women held jobs in October, a new high.

The percentage of the total population with jobs edged up to 60.3% in October, matching the all-time record reached last March.