The civilian labor force participation rate was at 62.5 percent and changed little in November, the Labor Department said. Year over year, average hourly wages rose 2.3% in November, a bit less than the prior month’s growth.
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And while the US unemployment rate was unchanged last month, that was mainly because more people began looking for work. In November, however, payrolls rose by 211,000, the recent report reveals. “It will have to be a disaster for the Fed to delay until 2016”, said Ryan Sweet, senior economist at Moody’s Analytics in Westchester, Pennsylvania.
This week, Fed chair Janet Yellen said the economy appeared to be improving enough to justify a rate hike as long as no major shocks undermined growth before the Fed meets December 15 and 16. If one instead considers the share of prime-age workers who have a job, the picture is less encouraging: As of November, the employment-to-population ratio for 25-to-54-year-olds stood at 77.4 percent, about 1.5 million jobs short of its 20-year average.
JPMorgan Chase & Co analysts think that the feds’ approach may require for the central bank to raise the rate several times next year, which may be even more than both the Street and Fed analysts expect.
“November’s gain of 211,000 jobs, coupled with upward revisions to October and September, confirms the Fed’s view that the labor market remains robust and that wage growth could accelerate in 2016”, Levanon said. Over the year, the figure has risen by 2.3 percent, higher than its level a year ago.
You know the job market’s continued strength makes a Federal Reserve rate increase a go.
So while Fed policy makers are set to raise rates at their meeting later this month, there was nothing in the jobs report to dissuade investors from their belief that further rate increases will be slow coming.
The temp penetration rate – temp jobs as a percent of total nonfarm jobs – slipped to 2.04% in November compared to 2.05% in October.
“They’re back at work at jobs that have a higher than average hourly wage”, says Patrick O’Keefe, former deputy assistant secretary for the Department of Labor, now director of economics at CohnReznick accounting and consulting.
In two weeks, the Federal Reserve is meeting to discuss raising interest rates above zero for the first time in seven years.
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Over the past 12 months, the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons are down by 0.8 percentage point and 1.1 million, respectively. They include a strong dollar, which has made exports pricier overseas and squeezed USA manufacturers, and sinking oil prices, which have led drilling companies to slash orders for steel pipes and other equipment. Employment in mining dropped by 11,000 and is down by 123,000 since December.
