November Jobs Report Outperforms Economists Predictions

The U.S. economy added 266,000 jobs in November, performing above projected estimates.

The U.S. unemployment rate, meanwhile, dropped slightly to 3.5 percent, matching a 50-year-low, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday.

Economists surveyed by Refinitiv in October predicted the U.S. would add 180,000 jobs and the unemployment rate would remain steady at 3.6 percent.

Average hourly earnings have gone up by 3.1 percent over the last 12 months, according to the BLS.

Labor participation remained stable at 63.2 percent.

41,300 jobs were added by striking General Motors workers going back to work in late October.

Tony Bedikian, a managing director of Citizens Bank, told Fox Business the latest economic figures were a “blowout number.”

Unemployment rates among various racial groups remained mostly unchanged in November.

The black unemployment rate at 5.5 percent continues to match the historic low, which occurred in August.

November marks the 110th straight month of employment gains.

Tags: economy, jobs report

Job Growth in November Blows Past Economists’ Predictions – 266,000 Jobs Added