Jobless rate for recent vets falls to lowest recorded level

The unemployment rate for recent military veterans fell sharply in October, though not entirely for positive reasons.

The rate for those who have served in the armed forces anytime since September 2001 dropped to 3.6 percent, the lowest level in data going back to 2008. While some found jobs, many others stopped looking for work or didn't want to work and so weren't counted as unemployed.

The unemployment rate for less educated workers —those without high school diplomas — also fell sharply to 5.7 percent from 6.5 percent.

All told, the unemployment rate fell in October to 4.1 percent, the lowest in nearly 17 years. But the drop in the rate occurred mostly because many people stopped looking for work. Employers added a solid 261,000 jobs overall.

The data for demographic groups came from a survey of households that is part of the Labor Department's monthly jobs report.