By Sylvan Lane
The U.S. job market rebounded in November after a major slowdown, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department.
The U.S. added 227,000 jobs last month and the jobless rate ticked slightly higher to 4.2 percent, marking a significant improvement from a weak October jobs report. The U.S. added just 24,000 jobs in October, according to revised figures released Friday.
Economists expected the U.S. to add roughly 200,000 jobs in November and for the jobless rate to hold at 4.1 percent, according to consensus estimates.
The November jobs report comes a week before the Federal Reserve is set to meet for the final time this year. Fed officials are expected to cut interest rates one more time before the end of a year in which inflation fell sharply back toward the central bank’s 2 percent target.
The September jobs number was revised up by 32,000 to 255,000, and October was increased by 12,000 to 36,000 for a combined 56,000 additional jobs than previously reported in those two months, the Labor Department said.
Economists noted the continued strength in the labor market Friday and the fact that the October slump was driven by temporary factors like strikes and weather events.
“The latest jobs data says the labor market is still going strong,” Elise Gould, senior economist with the Economic Policy Institute, wrote in a post on social media. “After the softer numbers in October from the weather and striking workers, November bounces back with strong job growth along with upward revisions.”
Across the last three months, the economy added 173,000 jobs per month on average, Gould said.
Average hourly earnings increased by 4 percent over the last year to $35.61 from $34.23, Labor Department numbers show. That’s compared to a 2.5 percent increase in the headline consumer price index, which moved to 315.5 from 307.5 between October of last year and this year.
Some economists were concerned Friday by a slowing in the employment rate for workers in their prime working years between 25 and 54.
“The prime-age employment rate fell for the second straight month by a sizable chunk. Down to 80.4 percent in November from 80.9 percent in October,” Skanda Amarnath, director of the Employ America think tank and advocacy organization, commented in a post on social media.
The unemployment rate for Black workers rose by 0.7 percent to 6.4 percent overall, tying the highest level since February 2022. The unemployment rate for women rose to 4.2 percent, also the highest level since February 2022.
The industries that added the most jobs in November were health care at 72,300, hospitality at 53,000 and durable goods manufacturing at 26,000.
The Fed has been lowering interest rates to spur economic growth after cranking them up over 2022 and 2023 in response to elevated inflation. Markets expect a quarter-point drop to a range of 4.25 to 4.5 percent at the central bank’s next meeting later this month.