The 203,000 total is also consistent with a moderately-growing U.S. economy. However, it's uncertain whether the roughly 180,000-job-gain trend over the past few months will be strong enough to convince the U.S. Federal Reserve to begin to reduce its stimulus program - formally known as quantitative easing.
Further, job increases for two prior months were revised slightly upward – historically another sign of underlying economic momentum. October’s job gain was revised slightly down to 200,000 from 204,000; September's revised upward to 175,000 from 163,000 – good for a net 8,000-job gain over the Labor Department’s initial estimate.
Equally significant, the U.S. unemployment fell to 7.0 percent from 7.3 percent – its lowest level since November 2008. Meanwhile, the workforce participation rate rose to 63.0 percent from 62.8 percent - a sign that some adults who stopped looking for work have re-started their job search.
Also, a broader gauge of unemployment (labeled: U6) - one that includes part-time workers looking for full-time work, and discouraged workers - fell to 13.2 percent from 13.8 percent
Meanwhile, the average workweek rose 0.1 hours to 34.5 hours, and average hourly earnings increased 4 cents to $24.15.
Details to follow.
Jobs Hiring: US Economy Creates 203,000 Jobs In November - Better Than Expected
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