US adds 266,000 jobs in hiring surge, unemployment falls to 3.5%

Dec 07, 2019

The US economy added 266,000 jobs in November, far outpacing expectations as thousands of striking auto workers returned to work, new employment figures show.

The unemployment rate ticked down from 3.6 percent to 3.5 percent — matching a 50-year low, the data show.

Economists predicted that non-farm payrolls would add at least 180,000 gigs last month, up from 128,000 initially reported in October. The numbers got a boost from more than 40,000 General Motors employees returning to their jobs after a monthlong strike that ended in late October.

The end of the strike helped the manufacturing sector add 54,000 jobs last month after dropping 43,000 in October, the US Department of Labor report said. The health care and leisure and hospitality industries also saw big gains with 45,000 additional jobs each.

Average hourly wages grew about 0.2 percent month over month and 3.1 percent over the last year.

The Labor Department also revised job growth upward for the two prior months by 41,000 gigs. The agency increased October’s total by 28,000 jobs to 156,000 while September’s rose 13,000 jobs to 193,000.

President Trump crowed about the numbers on Twitter. He has touted the strength of the US economy as he faces impeachment for his dealings with Ukraine.

“GREAT JOBS REPORT!” Trump tweeted Friday before taking a shot at Democrats.

“Without the horror show that is the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats, the Stock Markets and Economy would be even better, if that is possible,” he wrote.

All three major stock indexes jumped on the news.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up nearly 267 points, or 0.9 percent, at $27,939.04 as of 10:27 a.m. The S&P 500 was recently up 26.73, or 0.8 percent, at $3,144.16, while the Nasdaq was up 73.86 points, or 0.8 percent, at $8,644.56.

The revisions indicate businesses are adjusting to the ongoing trade tensions between the US and China, which have been a source of consternation for the stock markets, according to Wells Fargo senior economist Sarah House.

“It shows that the trend in hiring has actually picked up since the summer despite the fact that there’s still a lot of uncertainty in the economy surrounding trade,” House told The Post.

Job growth has slowed this year amid the nation’s longest-ever economic expansion despite November’s stronger-than-expected numbers. Payrolls have grown by an average of 180,000 jobs a month in 2019, down from 223,000 on average last year.

The latest job figures came ahead of the Federal Reserve’s rate-setting meeting next week and the looming imposition of new US tariffs on about $156 billion in Chinese imports set for Dec. 15.

The job growth validates the Fed’s decision to leave interest rates alone until next year after cutting them three times this year, according to House. But the extra tariffs could put pressure on an economy that has so far shown resilience to the US-China trade war, she said.

“That’s a whole other wave and I think it’s going to be hard for businesses to absorb those costs fully,” House said. “… There’s probably some pain to come if we don’t get a resolution.”

 

Source: NEW YORK POST