Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- The pound stayed weaker against the dollar after data showed U.S. employment climbed at the slowest pace in four months.

Sterling was little changed at $1.6017 at 12:43 p.m. after risisng briefly to $1.6044 following the data’s release. The British currency was also little changed, at 86.27 pence per euro.

The 80,000 increase in payrolls in October was less than forecast and followed gains in the prior two months that were revised up by 102,000, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The unemployment rate fell to a six-month low of 9 percent from 9.1 percent even as the labor force expanded.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark McCord at mmccord2@bloomberg.net