Strong US Economy Could Send Interest Rates Soaring

WASHINGTON, Dec 2 (Reuters) – U.S. employers boosted hiring in November and the unemployment rate dropped to a more than nine-year low of 4.6 percent, making it nearly certain that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates later this month.

Employers in the USA added 178,000 non-farm jobs in November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday.

At the regional level, the western province of Alberta, hit in the spring by massive forest fires and a drop in oil production, lost 13,000 jobs last month, with the unemployment rate jumping 0.5 point to 9 percent.

“It partly reflects people who are no longer looking for work… they are counted as “not in the labour force” rather than unemployed”, Mr Walker told the BBC.

As far as adult men are concerned, the unemployment rate declined to 4.3 percent.

Wages rose 2.5 percent in November from a year ago, though that marked a slight slowdown from October.

The economy has added a monthly average of 180,000 net new jobs this year, down from an unusually strong 229,000 monthly average in 2015. But average hourly earnings slipped by 0.1 percent. Earnings are up at a 2.5% annual rate.

The first employment report after a contentious presidential election in which the candidates expressed diverging views of the health and direction of the economy showed a job market that is continuing to steadily strengthen from the recession. Over the past 12 months, the sector has added 407,000 jobs, some of which will probably drive demand for former retail space, as new clinics and other care facilities open in smaller, community-oriented locations. Madowitz notes the labor force participation rate still has an uphill climb despite the positive growth in employment. “Still, the report provided no impediments for a rate hike from the Fed later this month, and a quarter-point increase is now a certainty”.

Construction jobs (often a sign of economic growth) are also up for the third straight month, by 19,000 jobs for November (and 59.000 jobs since September – primarily for residential construction work).

Wall Street had forecast a 200,000 increase in nonfarm payroll growth for the month, according to a MarketWatch survey.

Government employment gained 22,000 jobs.