The U.S. job market made a robust recovery in November, adding 227,000 positions and demonstrating resilience after a sharp hiring slowdown in October. According to the Labor Department’s December 6 report, this marks a significant rebound from October’s paltry 36,000 jobs added, a figure hampered by strikes and hurricane disruptions. Additionally, revisions for September and October revealed a combined increase of 56,000 more jobs than previously estimated.
Despite the hiring surge, the unemployment rate nudged slightly upward to 4.2% from October’s 4.1%, while hourly wages saw a 0.4% rise from the prior month and a year-over-year growth of 4%. These wage increases exceeded expectations, underscoring steady earnings growth even amid economic uncertainty.
This latest employment report underscores the durability of the U.S. labor market, even as it shows signs of deceleration following the hiring boom experienced during the post-pandemic economic recovery from 2021 to 2023. The slowdown has been attributed partly to the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes aimed at curbing inflation.
Since 2022, the Fed has raised interest rates 11 times, a move that has elevated borrowing costs for businesses and consumers. While these increases were anticipated to drag the economy into a recession, the economy has defied expectations, continuing to expand as consumer spending and hiring persisted.
Breaking down the November job growth across industries reveals a mixed landscape. The healthcare sector led with 54,000 new jobs, followed by government agencies at 33,000 and bars and restaurants at 29,000. Manufacturing rebounded with 22,000 jobs, buoyed by the resolution of strikes at companies like Boeing. However, not all sectors shared in the gains: retail experienced a contraction, shedding 28,000 positions.
Layoff levels have remained remarkably low, reinforcing a sense of job security for many Americans. In October, layoffs dropped to 1.6 million, the lowest in over two decades before the pandemic. Simultaneously, job openings rose from a 3½-year low, suggesting businesses are still actively seeking workers despite a cooling hiring pace.
The broader economy has continued to show resilience, expanding at a 2.8% annual rate from July through September, driven by robust consumer spending. Over the past nine quarters, annual economic growth has surpassed 2% in all but one, while inflation has sharply declined from a 9.1% peak in June 2022 to 2.6% in November. However, high prices remain a concern for many Americans, influencing political and economic sentiment.
Though fewer Americans are losing jobs, the job search has become increasingly challenging. The average duration of unemployment stretched to 22.9 weeks in October, the longest in 2½ years. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve has begun easing its monetary policy, cutting rates in both September and November, with further reductions expected during the December 17–18 meeting.
Source:
https://www.ttnews.com/articles/us-strong-jobs-november
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