U.S. job growth increased by the most in 10 months in November confirming that the U.S. economy remains on an expansion path.
The Labor Department’s closely watched monthly employment report on Friday showed steady wage gains and the unemployment rate falling back to 3.5%.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 266,000 jobs last month, with manufacturing recouping all the 43,000 positions lost in October, the government’s survey of establishments showed. Employment growth was also boosted by a gain of 60,200 healthcare workers. That lifted job growth well above its monthly average of 180,000 this year… The economy created 41,000 more jobs in September and October than previously estimated.
The tight labor market is generating steady wage gains. Average hourly earnings rose seven cents, or 0.2%, after increasing 0.4% in October. Wages rose 3.1% in November from 3.2% in October.
Sarah Chaney and Amara Omeokwe for The Wall Street Journal:
Employers added 266,000 jobs in November and unemployment matched a 50-year low of 3.5%, signs the U.S. economy is withstanding a global slowdown. Wages advanced 3.1% from a year earlier… U.S. employers have picked up the pace of hiring. Jobs have grown an average 205,000 per month in the three months through November.
Hiring was strong in health care, restaurants and transportation jobs. In November, manufacturers added 54,000 jobs, 41,000 of which were in auto manufacturing. General Motors Co. workers, who were on strike in October, helped drive the bounceback. The stronger pace of hiring could help juice up the broader U.S. economy, which is still expanding but at a slower pace than last year.
MacDailyNews Take: Full employment and rising wages certainly bode very well for makers of coveted goods like Apple!