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.
South Carolina fitness trainer’s autopsy raises more questions about mysterious death
Chaos erupts on American Airlines flight as unruly passenger allegedly bites fellow traveler midair
Olympian charged in Reflecting Pool vandalism tied to Dem fundraising giant
Obama-era inspection flaws in Iran could persist as experts warn of nuclear blind spots
Survey Report Shows 10x as Many Strong GOP Voters Are Sure of God Than Strong Dem Voters
Watch: Celebrating Colombians Fill Streets as Trump-Endorsed Candidate Takes Presidency
Daily on Energy: Hormuz traffic up, Interior cuts public comment, and Chevron powers huge Texas data center
AIPAC accuses Van Hollen of fanning ‘antisemitic tropes’ in new social media campaign
Watch: Emotional ‘Sharia Law Survivor’ Begs Schools to Keep Out Islamism, as Lib Teen Mocks Him Literally Behind His Back
Six prime ministers, nine lives: Downing Street’s ‘chief mouser’ Larry the cat outlasts another leader
NYT’s Gonna NYT: Paper Uses Father’s Day to Pretend Being Trans Can Make a Woman a ‘Father’
A timeline of Trump’s $14 million Reflecting Pool makeover
Cops could be forced into race-based guessing game after Supreme Court move, Thomas joins dissent
Judge rejects accused WHCA dinner shooter’s bid to disqualify Blanche and Pirro
Chicago’s deadly Juneteenth weekend leaves 7 dead as Trump shames Dem gov for inaction
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.
