Unemployment drops to lowest rate in nine years

While U3 is close to pre-recession unemployment levels, U6 remains high for this late in a recovery, indicating that despite more hiring there is still considerable ground to be gained by people who want full-time jobs but can’t find them. It’s the lowest number since 2007, as the government reports a gain of 178,000 jobs. It was the second-straight month the labor force shrank. The unemployment rate among Whites was reported at 4.2 percent.

Workers with just a high school diploma also fared better last month.

Recent veterans didn’t do so well.

The jobless rate eased to 6.8 per cent last month from 7 per cent in October.

The Labor Department said non-farm payrolls increased by 178,000 jobs last month, up from a downwardly revised 142,000 in October.

“However, the drop in the unemployment rate was not all good news; it fell in part because of a contraction in the labor force of 226,000, with the labor force participation rate declining to 62.7 percent, its lowest since June”. While the seasonally-adjusted figures show a gain of 9,000 full-time and 118,000 part-time jobs, non-adjusted data shows a 628,000 drop in full-time employment in November, offset by 678,000 part-time jobs, mostly in retail.

Job growth was fastest in the services sector, especially in finance, insurance and real estate, but declined sharply in the manufacturing and construction sectors. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, average hourly earnings declined by 3 cents to $25.89.

Donald Trump’s presidential victory may have caused some employers to hit the pause button, but not many.

The solid overall jobs numbers also clear the way for the Federal Reserve to raise its key interest rate on December 14 when its two-day meeting ends.

While payroll additions were steady, he said the drop in hourly earnings offset some previous gains.

The Fed’s benchmark rate was hiked by a quarter of a percentage point in December 2015 but has since remained unchanged. Center for American Progress economist Michael Madowitz notes the growth points to a strong labor market. More than 250,000 jobs will be lost this year due to plant closing announcements, according to Challenger, Gray and Christmas.