Crude oil prices started Friday in relatively flat territory as investors searched for clues in the latest monthly jobs data from the United States.

Crude oil prices are up more than $5 per barrel over the last week as sector confidence builds up behind a proposal last month from members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to keep production steady. An oversupplied market helped drag oil prices below $30 per barrel this year as supply-side strains persisted, though the U.S. market has shown steady declines in crude storage levels in recent weeks in a sign of a shrinking gap between supply and demand.

The U.S. Labor Department reported non-farm payrolls increased 156,000 in September, slightly less than analysts had expected. The total rate of unemployment ticked up slightly to 5 percent. Wage growth, meanwhile, was slightly better than inflation over the last year, though the Labor Department said employment gains were worse than last year.

"Thus far this year, job growth has averaged 178,000 per month, compared with an average of 229,000 per month in 2015," the monthly report read.

After more than a week of strong gains, crude oil prices drifted between small gains and small losses in early trading in New York. The price for Brent crude was down 0.25 percent to start the day at $52.38 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark price for oil, was down 0.2 percent to open at $50.33 per barrel.

Investors may be looking for clues in the jobs data for how the U.S. Federal Reserve will act on short-term interest rates. A rate hike, which may be contingent on the strength of the labor sector, would lift the value of the U.S. dollar and make oil more expensive for those traders who do business in other currencies.

Meanwhile, data from Baker Hughes published Friday show a recovery may be underway in the North American energy sector as rig counts there outpace growth elsewhere in the world. Higher crude oil prices could in theory lift production prospects in North America and mute the price support from last week's OPEC production proposal.