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.
Soros-backed DA accused of going easy on illegal immigrants gets squeezed by House GOP
House Dem Debbie Dingell places Trump’s Lake Ontario name change in the crosshairs
Maine and Georgia could test whether ticket-splitting is making a comeback
Dems derided Trump’s midterm gamble — until he ended up winning big
Mail-voting crackdown moves ahead as Trump court win opens door to federal action
Brutal Cheap Shot: Video Captures Amazon Driver Sucker Punching Elderly Man Over Parking Dispute
Brexit isn’t what’s dragging Britain down
There’s little brilliant about Netflix’s ‘My Brilliant Career’
Norway’s King Harald dies peacefully at 89, son Crown Prince Haakon to succeed him
New Hampshire man allegedly steals rescue truck from firefighters battling his burning home
Federal judge again blocks Trump’s mail ballot order just before midterms
California authorities identify final unknown victim of ‘Happy Face Killer’ Keith Jesperson after 34 years
New York Gov Hochul rejects Trump’s ‘Lake America’ renaming with blunt message
Maine meteorologist suffers giggle attack on live TV after prank backfires spectacularly
Defense Claims Lindsay Clancy ‘Never Did Anything Wrong in Her Life’ in Closing Argument
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.
