Posted on 12/07/24
| News Source: The Hill
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.”