US Economy Adds 211000 Jobs In November, Unemployment Rate Stays At 5%

WASHINGTON | The U.S. economy generated another month of solid hiring in November, making it highly likely that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates from record lows this month. It would be the first interest rate hike in almost a decade. September and October data was revised to show 35,000 more jobs than previously reported. The U.S. unemployment rate is still at a 7 1/2-year low of 5 percent, and average hourly earnings rose in November by about 0.2 percent and were about 2.3 percent higher than a year ago.

The economy produced another sturdy gain in new jobs in November, all but guaranteeing the Federal Reserve will raise USA interest rates later this month in response to a tightening labor market.

“It was encouraging that job growth has become more broad-based”, said Ryan Sweet, director of real time economics at Moody’s Analytics. “A December rate hike now looks to be in the bag”.

Professional services added 27,000 jobs and government payrolls increased 14,000 last month. Wall Street has been watching the employment picture closely for clues as to whether the Federal Open Market Committee and Chair Janet Yellen will sign off on the first rate increase in nine and a half years. The median outlook was for four quarter-point hikes next year, while their views of the long-term normal level range from between 3 percent and 4 percent.

Other labour market measures that Fed officials are eyeing as they consider lifting the benchmark overnight interest rate from near zero were mixed.

In addition, jobs gains registered in the last two months were revised up. The continuation of the country’s more than six years of economic expansion rests on a delicate balance.

Mining has been walloped by low oil prices, shedding 11,000 jobs last month.

The moderate growth pace “will be sufficient to generate additional increases in employment, further reductions in the remaining margins of labor market slack, and a rise in inflation to our 2 per cent objective”, she said.

“Still, economists expect the creation of millions of new jobs and a falling unemployment rate to put more upward pressure on wages in the near future”, MarketWatch said.

With more jobs and long-awaited, if still modest pay increases, Americans are spending more on costly items like cars and homes. We won’t be at full employment until we see durable acceleration of wage growth, and only once we have achieved full employment will all workers be able to get the jobs they need and the hours they want, and be better positioned to negotiate for higher pay. The rate is a key gauge of the percentage of working-age Americans now employed and is also coming under close scrutiny as analysts try to determine whether large numbers of workers are still leaving the workforce each month either due to retirement or out of frustration in finding a decent job.

Stronger consumer spending, especially on long-lasting durable goods, has bolstered growth at the Michigan-based appliance maker, which is hiring “in just about every US location”, said James Keppler, the company’s vice president for integrated supply chain and quality for North America.