The US Labour Department revealed that nonfarm payrolls rose 80,000 in October, but failing to meet economists' expectations of a gain of 95,000.

However, figures for August and September were revised to show 102,000 more jobs than previously reported. In addition, the decline in the jobless rate from 9.1 percent in September came even as more people entered the labour force.

While job growth last month was less than expected, details of the report suggested the economy was gaining some momentum.

US stock index futures turned positive after the data and US Treasury debt prices fell. The dollar extended losses against the euro.

The labour market is the Achilles heel of the economic recovery, and progress at putting 13.9 million unemployed Americans back to work remains painfully slow.