The bottom line

Slow job growth in October

Private companies added just 130,000 jobs last month, down by 15,000 from September, according to payroll company ADP, which cited the role of the 16-day government shutdown in the slowdown.

USA Today

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Small increase in Social Security benefits

Social Security benefits will rise just 1.5 percent next year, marking one of the smallest annual cost-of-living increases ever. The adjustment will add about $19 to monthly Social Security checks, raising the average benefit to $1,294. The small increase is largely due to low inflation, as overall prices rose just 1.2 percent over the past year.

CNN.com

Living close to oil drilling

The boom in hydraulic fracturing means that at least 15.3 million Americans now live within a mile of an oil well that has been drilled since 2000. That’s more people than live in Michigan or New York City.

The Wall Street Journal

Reuters to cut more jobs

Thomson Reuters said it will eliminate 3,000 jobs, cutting its workforce by 5 percent to save on costs. Those cuts come on top of 2,500 announced in February. The company’s third-quarter net income dropped 39 percent from a year earlier, but the results beat Wall Street expectations.

CBSNews.com

Religion-based complaints surge

Religion-based complaints to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have doubled in the last two years, to about 4,000 a year. Part of the surge comes from immigrants and observant employees—Muslims, Seventh-day Adventists, and others—who were denied requests to not have to work on weekly holy days. Conflicts have also erupted over dress codes and alcohol.

WSJ.com