The number of jobs created by the U.S. economy in October was the lowest in five months and more Americans began to work part-time, underscoring the challenge the next President faces in sustaining the economy's recovery from the pandemic as fiscal stimulus runs out and COVID-19 cases surge across the country. Friday's employment report from the Labor Department also showed that 3.6 million people have been out of work for more than six months. Some American scholars said: "Without fiscal stimulus and with COVID-19 worsening, it will be more difficult to achieve job growth in the future." Non-farm payrolls rose by 638,000 last month, after rising by 672,000 in September. That was the smallest gain since the employment recovery began in May, and was 10.1 million jobs below its peak in February. "The employment rate is still only where it was at the end of 2015," said Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC Financial. "At October's rate, it would take about 16 months for employment to return to pre-outbreak levels." Some analysts believe that the US election has delayed the government's opportunity to launch another pandemic relief plan this year. Even if more fiscal stimulus is agreed, it is likely to be smaller than expected before the election.