The U.S. unemployment crept downward to 5% in October as a fewer new jobs than expected were created last month.

The U.S. Labor Department said October non-farm payrolls increased by 56,000 jobs. Economists had called for an increase of 124,000 jobs.

Despite the weaker-than-expected job creation, October’s figures were still seen as signs the U.S. economy was still on its feet following hurricane Katrina’s beating of the Gulf Coast.

The September jobless figure was 5.1%.

The U.S. government said September’s job losses were not as bad as initially thought. The Labor Department said the economy shed 8,000 positions, a revision from the 35,000 job losses it initially reported a month ago.