US economy adds 266,000 jobs in November, unemployment again at 50-year low Washington Examiner, Dec 6, 2019
November saw 266,000 new jobs in the United States, up from the previous month, according to federal data released Friday.
That beat expectations from forecasters, who anticipated the United States would add between 180,000 and 190,000 new jobs in the wake of October's initial estimate of 128,000 jobs added. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also revised the number of jobs added in October up to 156,000. September's jobs gain was revised up as well, to 193,000, from 180,000.
The uptick in jobs pushed the unemployment rate down to 3.5% in November, from 3.6% in October, matching a 50-year low. Wages were also up, as workers saw an average increase of 7 cents to $28.29 an hour.
The strong November jobs numbers pushed average monthly job growth to 180,000 for 2019, down from the average 233,000 jobs the economy added each month in 2018.
November's numbers were helped in part by the end of a monthlong strike at General Motors in October, which saw more than 41,000 workers added to full-time employment in automotive manufacturing. That drove employment in the manufacturing sector up overall, to 54,000 in November.
Other sectors that saw strong growth were health care and hospitality, each of which added 45,000 jobs in November. Retail remained steady, adding a modest 2,000 jobs, but places that sell clothing and accessories shed about 18,000 workers while retailers who sell general merchandise hired 22,000 employees.
President Trump cheered the economy earlier Friday, pointing to strong gains in the stock market. The three major indexes all opened higher Friday, following three days of gains after a drop early in the week.