The imaginary recession of 2019 is over.
The U.S. economy added 266,000 jobs for the month and the unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent, matching the lowest level in 50 years.
Economists had expected the economy to add 187,000 jobs and for unemployment to remain unchanged at 3.6 percent, according to Econoday.
Adding to the picture of strength for the labor market, previous jobs numbers were revised up. September’s figure was revised up by 13,000 to 193,000. October was revised up by 28,000 to 156,000. Together, that adds 41,000 more jobs than previously reported.
The Friday report on nonfarm payrolls makes it clear that the economy is much stronger than thought by those who were predicting U.S. growth would slow dramatically or contract near year end.
Bill Barr calls on Senate GOP to confirm Todd Blanche for attorney general
New limited-edition US passport features Trump’s image and a warning
Judge Shuts Down Tyler Robinson’s Attempt to Dodge Death Penalty
Trump Says Iran Just Committed ‘a Foolish Violation of Our Ceasefire Agreement’
House Democrat lashes out when grilled on whether socialist victories would threaten Dem unity
Trump commission unveils 12-point blueprint to expand US religious liberty protections
Former youth pastor, Vegas yoga instructor charged in wife’s mystery death kills himself in custody: officials
Watch: JD Vance Has Hilarious ‘Note to Protesters’ Yelling at Him in a Foreign Language
DHS Delivers Bad News for 300,000 Haitians in the US: ‘It’s Closing Time’
New York City pours $15M into sex change initiatives as Mamdani accuses federal government of intimidation
Socialists sweep NYC as Americans balk at movement’s brutal catch: ‘Talk to immigrants’
Emailer in Nancy Guthrie case claims to possess video of ‘main guy’ with Savannah Guthrie’s mother
Clinton judge orders DOJ to unseal the Epstein files it has been keeping hidden
Pilot Teams Up with Daughter on His Final Flight for Southwest
Luigi Mangione’s team fires back at plea deal report, calls leaks threat to fair trial
Hiring in November was strong across the board. Manufacturing, which had been a source of weakness in earlier reports, added 54,000 jobs. This was boosted by the end of the strike at General Motors, with autos adding 41,000. But economists, whose estimates were meant to reflect the end of the strike, had predicted just 15,000 extra jobs.
Healthcare added 45,000 jobs, as did leisure and hospitality. Employment in professional and technical services grew by 31,000.
Average hourly wages are up 3.14 percent compared with last year, above economist expectations. In manufacturing, the average workweek increased by 0.1 hour to 40.5 hours. Average hourly ages of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 7 cents in the month to $23.83, a 0.22 percent gain.
The labor force participation rate was little changed at 63.2 percent in November. The employment-population ratio was 61.0 percent for the third consecutive month. Both numbers would ordinarily be declining to do the expected retirement of baby-boomers. Holding steady indicates that the strong labor market is enticing workers to stay on the job.
Story cited here.
