Job creation in November rebounded from a near-standstill the prior month as the effects of a significant labor strike and violent storms in the Southeast receded, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 227,000 for the month, compared to an upwardly revised 36,000 in October and the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 214,000.
The unemployment rate, however, edged higher to 4.2%, as expected. The unemployment rate rose as the labor force participation rate edged lower and the labor force itself declined. A broader measure that includes discouraged workers and those holding part-time jobs for economic reasons edged higher to 7.8%.
Job gains were focused in health care (54,000), leisure and hospitality (53,000) and government (33,000), sectors that have consistently led payroll growth for the past few years.
At the same time, retail trade saw a decline of 28,000 heading into the holiday season. With Thanksgiving coming later than usual this year, some stores may have held off hiring.
Worker pay continued to rise, with average hourly earnings up 0.4% from a month ago and 4% on a 12-month basis. Both numbers were 0.1 percentage point above expectations.
Stock market futures edged higher after the report while Treasury yields were lower.
The report comes with questions over the state of the labor market and how that will impact Federal Reserve decisions on interest rates.
Traders accelerated their bets on a rate cut following the payrolls release, with market-implied odds rising above 88% for a quarter percentage point reduction. when central bank policymakers make their next decision on Dec. 18.
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Employment is up, but the number of employed people are down?
Does anyone want to try to reconcile that?
@SenateSeatBartGreen1yr1Y
either disenfranchised, or cycled to another employer, or just gave up completely
Best to track full-time employment because that gives a much better picture of the real health of the labor market, especially from the workers perspective. Unadjusted we lost over 500k full-time jobs compared to October. Biden's economy peaked in July '22 at 135.86m full-time jobs, we are now over 2.5m below that level. To compare, in his first 3 years Trump's economy was growing full-time employment by 2m jobs a year.
@MAGA_Deplorable1yr1Y
The FBI lied about crime statistics. They tried to make it look better than it was. Remind me again why I should trust the government to give me an accurate report on the economy when it's repeatedly lied to me with its statistics?
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