The jobless rate unexpectedly fell in October while employersadded fewer jobs than forecast, illustrating the “frustratinglyslow” progress cited by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernankethis week.

The unemployment rate fell to a six-month low of 9 percent from9.1 percent, even as the labor force expanded. The 80,000 increasein payrolls followed gains in the prior two months that wererevised up by 102,000, Labor Department figures showed today inWashington.

The crisis in Europe and a looming deadline on U.S. budget talksmay be prompting companies to delay hiring on concern failure toreach resolutions will put the global recovery at risk. Fed policymakers project the jobless rate won't drop below 8 percent until2013 at the earliest, one reason why Bernanke this week saidadditional stimulus “remains on the table.”