The Silicon Valley job picture is not too hot, and it's not too cold. Whether it's just right is harder to say.

The South Bay ended three straight months of job losses in October, according to state job figures released Friday. The valley gained 6,900 jobs last month, thanks primarily to an unusually large seasonal surge in state and local educational sectors.

"Educational hiring started to go up in September and we saw them reach their peak last month," said Janice Shriver, a state labor analyst. "It you took that out, the other increases were fairly small."

Santa Clara and San Benito counties had 921,400 jobs in October, up 6,900 from September, and up 11,200 from October 2006.

Based on averages over the past 17 years, the region typically adds about 900 jobs during this period, according to the latest monthly labor report issued by the California Employment Development Department.

The unemployment rate for the valley dipped to 4.9 percent in October, down from 5.0 in September, but up from 4.1 percent a year earlier. The main reason for the decline was that 3,800 people left the valley labor force. That rate compares with an unadjusted unemployment rate of 5.4 percent for California and 4.4 percent for nationwide.

Beyond education, most categories were either stable, or posted modest changes:

• Manufacturing lost 400 jobs last month, but that's less than the average of 900, Shriver said. While housing prices and mortgages are still generating a lot of headlines, the underlying job numbers remain steady. The number of construction jobs remained unchanged. The financial category, which includes lending and real estate, added 200 jobs in October.

• Professional business services, a broad category that includes everything from engineering and research to temp agencies, added 100 jobs.