—
Job growth surged in November, an expected rebound after hurricanes and striking workers heavily distorted the October data.
The US economy added 227,000 jobs last month, as striking and weather-waylaid employees went back to work and bolstered a steady stream of employment gains, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday.
The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2% from 4.1%.
Economists were anticipating 200,000 jobs were added and a jobless rate remaining at 4.1%, according to consensus estimates on FactSet.
November’s report was expected to be a palate cleanser after October was muddied by temporary job losses due to back-to-back hurricanes as well as a large labor strike at Boeing.
October’s net jobs added, which tallied 12,000 in the first estimate, were revised higher to 36,000 — the lowest monthly increase since December 2020. Job growth in September also was revised higher, by 32,000, to a new total of 255,000 jobs, according to the report.
Through November, the US economy has added an average of 180,363 jobs per month, which is considerably cooler growth than what was seen during the post-pandemic rebound; however, the current monthly average is right in line with what was seen during 2010 to 2019 (the longest period of job expansion on record).
And this current labor market is also becoming historic: With November’s gains, the US has added jobs for 47 consecutive months, making it the third-longest period of employment expansion on record.
This story is developing and will be updated.
