Dollar rises on strong US jobs data

[November 03, 2012]  NEW YORK (AP) -- The dollar is rising against most major currencies after U.S. employers added more jobs last month than economists had expected.

The Labor Department says that employers added 171,000 jobs in October, and hiring was stronger in August and September than first thought. The unemployment rate edged up to 7.9 percent from 7.8 percent as more people started looking for jobs.

The euro fell to $1.2842 in afternoon trading from $1.2939 late Thursday. The British pound fell to $1.6027 from $1.6125.

The dollar rose to 80.51 Japanese yen from 80.18 Japanese yen and to 0.9396 Swiss franc from 0.9321 Swiss franc.

Canada also released a jobs report, saying that employees in the country added just 1,800 jobs last month. The dollar fell to 99.38 Canadian cents from 99.62 Canadian cents.

[Associated Press]

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