The US added 211,000 jobs in November, the Labor Department said Friday.
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The unemployment rate remained at 5 percent for the second straight month as more Americans entered the workforce to look for jobs.
Though unemployment at 5 per cent is at or near the level many policymakers consider to be full employment, Ms. Yellen said that high levels of discouraged workers, part-time employment and other job market measures show there is still room for progress. October’s payroll gain of 298,000 was revised up from an initially reported 271,000.
Mark Tenniswood/Getty Images/iStockphoto There were big job gains in construction in November, according to the Labor Department.
For-hire trucking gained 2,300 jobs; however, the October figure was revised to reflect a loss of 900 jobs, instead of the 400-job gain when the employment data was released November 6.
“We will be looking, of course, carefully at tomorrow’s jobs report”, Janet Yellen, the head of the Federal Reserve, said Thursday while testifying before the US Congress joint economic committee.
But overall the report indicated a firming of the jobs market and a resilience in growth that would allow the Fed to begin raising its benchmark federal funds rate after keeping it locked near zero for almost seven years, economists said.
“However, it would now be a surprise if we didn’t see the first increase in interest rates since 2006”, Mr Mould added. “As the year comes to an end, there are tantalizing hints that wage growth is taking hold”. Among those, the construction sector showing particularly strong growth, adding 46,000 jobs.
That comes despite a strong contraction in the mining industry, due to the plunge in oil prices, where jobs continue to bleed, down 123,000 since December.
“As the labor markets gets tighter, the downward trend in the unemployment rate is naturally becoming more moderate, yet we still expect the rate to reach 4.5% a year from now”, he said. Over the past year, average hourly earnings have risen 2.3%, in line with the pace of increases through much of the expansion.
The report suggests employers have shrugged off recent stock market turmoil and economic weakness overseas, including a slowdown in China. This is why the solid jobs report should dispel any doubts about December hike, experts believe.
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In November, average hourly wages rose 2.3 percent from 12 months earlier to $25.25.
