The report classified 1.7 million people as being “marginally attached” to the labor force, or individuals who were “not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months”. The September number moved up by 8,000, to 145,000, and the October figure improved by 27,000, to 298,000, for a total additional gain of 35,000 jobs.
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Meanwhile, average hourly wages increased 0.2% month-on-month in November, in line with consensus but slightly below the 0.4% gain registered in October.
Labor force participation rate barely changed and came in at 62.5% in November.
FED Chair Janet Yellen said in the past week that the United States economy appeared to be strong enough to justify a possible interest rate hike in December. The dollar rose against a basket of currencies and USA stocks were trading higher.
It’s also worth keeping in mind that with the labor market tightening, many economists expect monthly job gains to slow soon.
The U.S. generated a better than expected 211,000 jobs in November, leading many to expect that the Fed will hike interest rates later this month. Although a 0.25-percentage point increase in mid-December would still leave the Fed’s short-term target rate in stimulative territory, the central bank might not have much leeway beyond that.
“On balance that’s led and I think it will continue to lead to growth that is somewhat above trend and on a continuing path of labour market improvement”, Ms. Yellen said. Spending in that sector has reached its highest level in eight years, boosted by more homebuilding and development of more roads and infrastructure.
The economy’s strengths were evident in last month’s hiring patterns: Construction firms added 46,000 jobs, the biggest increase in two years.
Job creation has been averaging around 200,000 a month this year, a figure Ms. Yellen said was “quite a bit” above the number needed to continue absorbing slack in the labour market.
The numbers exceeded Bloomberg economists’ forecast by 11,000, making it the second month in a row gains surpassed experts’ expectations.
A Fed rise could smooth the path for the Bank of England to start hiking United Kingdom interest rates some time over the next year or so.
The Fed’s policymakers hold very different views of where the central bank’s benchmark rate will end next year, ranging from less than zero to 3 percent, according to projections released in September that were based on their views of appropriate policy. Factory employment has declined in three of the last four months. But factories shed 1,000 jobs.
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But a measure of service-sector employment fell last month and consumer perceptions of job availability were dimmer. The employment-population ratio remained where it was a month ago at 59.3 percent.
