Non-farm payrolls rise more than expected in November
The US economy added more jobs than expected in November, according to data released on Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Non-farm payrolls rose by 199,000 following an unrevised 150,000 jump in October. Analysts were expecting a 180,000 increase.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate ticked down to 3.7% in November from 3.9% the month before, versus expectations for it to remain unchanged.
Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% for the month and 4% on the year. The monthly jump was ahead of expectations of 0.3%, but the yearly rate was in line.
The figures showed that job gains occurred in healthcare and government. Employment also rose in manufacturing, reflecting the return of workers from a strike. Employment in retail trade declined.
Nancy Vanden Houten, lead US economist at Oxford Economics, said: "Payroll gains were inflated by returning strikers in November, but the underlying pace of job growth has slowed in recent months.
"That's encouraging for the Fed, which has likely ruled out further rate increases. However, the details in the rest of the report were robust enough in our view to keep rate cuts off the table for several more months."