The mistake caused chaos in financial markets, which had expected a much bigger increase of 178,000.

It also prompted a government investigation into how the leak had occurred.

The lower-than-expected figure boosted US bonds as traders said it increased the chance of another interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

The Fed has already cut interest rates twice in the last five weeks to head off a crash-landing for the US economy, which is widely expected to slow down further next year due to the effects of turmoil elsewhere in the world.

Embarrassing mistake?

The figures were hurriedly removed after a brokerage stumbled across them and told the bureau about the error. It had, of course, informed its clients first.

The department replied by putting out selected parts of the report out on the web and promising the full release, including the unemployment rate for October, for later in the day.

Shocked dealers jammed the department's phone lines, desperate for more information.

Bill Parks, assistant to the commissioner of the bureau of labour statistics, initially said he had no idea what had happened.

"We're going to institute rigid procedures to make sure this doesn't happen again."

The department later said the release of the report ahead of schedule was not a deliberate leak and was caused by human error.

"I am sure it was a mistake and not anything that was deliberate," said bureau of labour statistics commissioner Katherine Abraham.

Economy slowing

Economists said the figures confirmed expectations that the US economy was slowing in the fourth quarter of the year.

September's increase in non-farm payroll employment was revised up to 157,000 from the originally reported 69,000.

Manufacturing jobs suffered from the decline in exports to Asia, falling by 52,000.