Employers added 227,000 jobs in November as the labor market rebounded

Employers added 227,000 jobs in November as the labor market rebounded from anemic growth in the prior month, when hurricanes and labor disputes dampened hiring. 

The unemployment rate ticked higher to 4.2% from 4.1% in the prior month. The U.S. had been forecast to add 200,000 jobs last month, according to economists surveyed by financial data firm FactSet. The unemployment rate was expected to hold steady at 4.1%. 

While hiring rebounded last month, the job market overall has been weakening in recent months under the strain of the Federal Reserve’s restrictive monetary policy, with the central bank boosting borrowing rates to their highest point in 23 years to combat inflation. It’s also taking longer for hundreds of thousands of out-of-work Americans to find new jobs, signaling cracks within a once-hot labor market as employers continue to cope with the impact of higher borrowing costs. 

“After a prior month of hurricanes and worker strikes, we did get a bounce back in the headline payroll numbers plus positive revisions,” said Bryon Anderson, head of fixed income at Laffer Tengler Investments, in an email. “Jobs creation may not be as robust as in the past years, but we are not seeing a disaster in the job market. “

The end of labor disputes in October, including the Boeing machinists’ strike, could have boosted job growth by almost 40,000, noted Goldman Sachs analysts in a report released ahead of the jobs report. 

October’s jobs report was revised upward to 36,000 new jobs last month, versus the original report that employers had added 12,000 hires that month.

Hiring in November rose in health care, leisure and hospitality, the government sector and social assistance, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. The retail industry shed 28,000 jobs last month, however, it added. 

Layoffs at lowest in two decades

The Fed jacked up interest rates 11 times in 2022 and 2023 to combat the highest inflation in 40 years. Defying predictions, the economy kept growing despite much higher borrowing rates for consumers and businesses, although the job market has been slowing since early this year.

Even so, Americans as a whole have been enjoying unusual job security. This week, the government reported that layoffs fell to just 1.6 million in October, below the lowest levels in the two decades that preceded the pandemic. At the same time, the number of job openings rebounded from a 3 1/2 year low, a sign that businesses are still seeking workers even though hiring has cooled.

The economy grew at a 2.8% annual pace from July through September on healthy spending by consumers. Annual economic growth has topped a decent 2% in eight of the past nine quarters. And inflation has dropped from a 9.1% peak in June 2022 to 2.6% last month. 

Even so, Americans were deeply frustrated by still-high prices under the Biden-Harris administration, and partly for that reason chose last month to return Donald Trump to the White House.

The progress against inflation and the slowdown in hiring, which eases pressure on companies to raise wages and prices, led the Fed to cut its key rate in September and again last month. Another rate cut is expected to be announced when the Fed meets December 17-18.

contributed to this report.