OAN Staff James Meyers
8:43 AM – Friday, December 6, 2024
U.S. job growth fought back in November with strong payroll gains after a poor October jobs report.
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The Labor Department reported on Friday that employers added 227,000 jobs in November, beating expectations by LSEG economists.
The unemployed rate increased to 4.2%, which is up from 4.1% a month ago, which met economists expectations.
The number of jobs added in the previous two months were both revised higher, with job creation in September revised up by 32,000 from a gain of 223,000 to 255,000, while October was revised up by 24,000 from a gain of 12,000 to 36,000.
Meanwhile, private sector payrolls added 194,000 jobs in November, falling just short of the 200,000 estimated by LSEG economists.
The manufacturing sector saw employment increase by 22,000 jobs in November, including an increase of 32,000 in transportation equipment manufacturing following the return of workers who were on strike.
That follows a decline of 46,000 manufacturing jobs in October, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics attributed largely to strike activity in the transportation equipment manufacturing sector, as close to 33,000 unionized machinists at Boeing were on strike from early September to early November.
Additionally, health care added 53,600 jobs in November, which is in line with the sector’s average monthly gain of 59,000 over the prior 12 months. Within the sector, ambulatory health care services added 22,400 jobs, including 16,000 jobs in home health care services, while employment also rose in hospitals (19,300) and nursing and residential care facilities (+11,900).
Leisure and hospitality employment rose by 53,000 jobs in November after it was little changed from the prior month. That figure is above the average of 21,000 jobs added per month in the sector over the last 12 months, with most of the gain occurring at food services and drinking places (+28,900).
Government employment rose by 33,000 jobs in November, with the growth mainly in state government (+20,000). The government sector’s gains are mostly in line with the 12-month average gain of 41,000.
The social assistance sector added 18,700 jobs in November, of which 17,200 jobs were in individual and family services.
The labor force participation rate was 62.5% in November, which is little change from a small range of 62.5% to 62.7% from December 2023.
Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 13 cents, or 0.4%, to $35.61.
November’s jobs report comes as the Federal Reserve is scheduled to meet in mid-December to discuss a potential rate cut. The market’s expectations that the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points rose following the jobs report release, with the probability rising from 71% a day ago to 87% as of Friday morning, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
“The economy continues to produce a healthy amount of job and income gains, but a further increase in the unemployment rate tempers some of the shine in the labor market and gives the Fed what it needs to cut rates in December,” said Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.
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