Job growth bounced back in November before the Fed's last interest-rate decision of the year
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- The US added 227,000 jobs in November, greater than the expected gain of 202,000.
- Unemployment ticked up as expected from 4.1% to 4.2%.
- The job market's strength in October was clouded due to hurricanes and strikes impacting data collection.
The US added 227,000 jobs in November, more than the consensus expectation of 202,000.
Unemployment increased as expected, from 4.1% in October to 4.2% in November. The rate has been at least 4% since May. While that's low compared to historical averages, the overall labor market has cooled due to a hiring slowdown.
The new jobs report gives the Federal Reserve better information about the state of the labor market after October's report was hampered by the effects of hurricanes and strikes. Friday's report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed October's preliminary gain was revised up — from 12,000 jobs to 36,000. September's growth was also revised upward, from 223,000 to 255,000.
"Some of the story in November is post-hurricane bounce back," Ernie Tedeschi, the director of economics at The Budget Lab at Yale, wrote on X.
Tedeschi said the revisions for October and September increased the three-month moving average job growth to 173,000 a month. That's in line with this year's trend, suggesting that the weak October report was indeed a hurricane- and strike-fueled outlier.
Slightly fewer people were working or looking for work in November. Labor force participation dropped from 62.6% in October to 62.5%.
Wage growth remained steady, with average hourly earnings increasing 4% year-over-year in November, matching October's rate.
The Fed's two most recent interest-rate decisions were both cuts, a 50-basis-point cut in September and a 25-basis-point cut in November. Americans will know if there will be one more rate cut this year on December 18.
The CME FedWatch tool, which shows what traders think Fed rate decisions will be, showed a roughly 90% chance of a 25-basis-point cut in December after the BLS release, up from around 70% before the report.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.