WASHINGTON—The November jobs report – with 266,000 jobs added – came as a surprise, according to one analyst.
The report, said NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long, "surprised to the upside, with better-than-expected job gains, a drop in the unemployment rate, and continued acceleration in wage growth for non-supervisors." Long attributed some of the gains to the return of striking General Motor workers.
In addition, the September and October gains were revised up by 13,000 and 28,000 jobs, respectively.
Average hourly earnings increased seven cents during the month to $28.29 – up 3.1% over the past year. Long noted wage growth for non-supervisors was 3.7%, which "has strengthened considerably over the past two years," Long said.
"We still see little evidence that this is fueling inflation, and the Fed seems keen to push the labor market to greater levels of utilization," Long said. "Rates should remain anchored at their present level, and recessionary concerns are at their lowest point of the year. The labor market will continue to improve into 2020, providing a sturdy buffer against recession."
Unemployment
The unemployment rate fell 0.1% percentage points to 3.5% in November, while the labor force participation rate decreased slightly to 63.2%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Total private-sector payroll employment increased 254,000 jobs, with the goods-producing sector increasing 48,000 jobs and the service sector increased 206,000 jobs. Public sector employment grew 12,000 jobs in November.
Results among the major industries were mostly positive during the month: The education and health services sector added 74,000 jobs, followed by the manufacturing sector (+54,000), leisure and hospitality sector (+45,000), and professional and business services sector (+38,000), Long said.