Here's the latest.

Hiring and unemployment figures for October will provide an update on a work force that has added jobs at a slow, steady pace for months. See more of our coverage in your search results. The latest reading on what has been a relatively stagnant labor market will come in the monthly jobs report to be released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employers have generally added workers at a slow but steady pace for months, though the headline payroll numbers have been volatile. The unemployment rate has stayed low, hovering in a narrow range just above 4 percent for the last two years. Layoffs are at historically low levels. Workers are reluctant to leave their jobs. "We really do just remain in this low-hire, low-fire environment," said Laura Ullrich, the director of economic research at Indeed, the job search website. The stability has allowed consumers to keep spending, buoying the economy overall. But for those without jobs, opportunities have been more limited. And even people who do have jobs have been losing leverage, as wage growth has slowed and inflation has eroded their spending power . Here's what to watch in the report: There have been some tentative signs that the labor market may be perking up. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey this week showed that the quits rate rose in September, a sign that workers may feel more confident in their ability to get new jobs.