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The job market is struggling to regain its balance after getting knocked over by Hurricane Katrina. Employers, coping with high energy prices and shaken by two other hurricanes, showed caution in hiring in October. Following September's job loss -- the first decline in employment in two years -- employers boosted payrolls by just 56,000 last month. The rebound lacked oomph, falling well short of the roughly 100,000 jobs gains many economists were forecasting. "Elevated energy prices, questionable holiday spending and the rising interest rate environment are sending yellow caution flags around many corporate board rooms," said Richard Yamarone, economist at Argus Research. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, edged down to 5 percent in October as some people opted to leave the civilian labor force for any number of reasons. The jobless rate in September had crept up to 5.1 percent.
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