The U.S. added 266,000 jobs in November, a notable increase from the 156,000 added in October, the Labor Department reported Friday morning. The numbers crushed analyst expectations of 180,000. However, the strong numbers could make it unlikely the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates for a fourth time this year.
Unemployment in November also matched a 50-year-low of 3.5 percent and wages rose 3.1 percent from a year prior. Wage growth outpaces inflation but is not as high as during other periods of low unemployment.
Hiring was strongest in health care, restaurants, and transportation. Manufacturers added 54,000 jobs in November, 41,000 of which were striking General Motors workers returning to work. Overall, manufacturing has added few jobs this year. Even so, today's news is "definitely a good report, by all means," senior U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank Brett Ryan told Cheddar.
Today's positive report offers reassurance to some that the U.S. can weather a global economic slowdown.
Although Ryan cautioned, "I don't want to say that we are necessarily out of the woods yet."
Ryan said there were a few outliers that boosted numbers in the report, notably that position services hired 16,000, which is the largest that sector has ever hired, and department stores hired 15,000 employees, which is the most hired since 2015.
Even so, U.S. labor market's ability to so far withstand the global slowdown is "really crucial for the Fed and for the economy because what everybody is banking on is the U.S. consumer and consumer spending, in particular, is going to carry the day during this business spending slowdown."
Today's report, which drove up U.S. stocks, may help bolster President Trump as he continues negotiating with China. New tariffs are set to go in effect December 15, and the report "strengthens his hand," Ryan said.
An independent watchdog within the IRS reports that while taxpayer services have vastly improved, the agency is still too slow to resolve identity theft cases. And National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins says those delays are “unconscionable.” Erin M. Collins said in the report released Wednesday that overall the 2024 filing season went smoothly, though IRS delays in resolving identity theft victim assistance cases are worsening. It took nearly 19 months to resolve self-reported identity theft cases as of January, and Wednesday's report states that now it takes 22 months to resolve these cases.
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