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XPO Executive Chairman Brad Jacobs discusses his new company specifically designed to make acquisitions in the industrial space on ‘Making Money.’
U.S. job growth continued to chug along at a healthy pace in November, suggesting the labor market remains resilient even in the face of higher interest rates, stubborn inflation and other economic uncertainties.
Employers added 199,000 jobs in November, the Labor Department said in its monthly payroll report released Friday, as striking autoworkers and actors returned to work. That was slightly above the 180,000 jobs forecast by Refinitiv economists.
The unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 3.7% after rising for three straight months, a drop that was driven by a sizable drop in the jobless rate for teenagers.
The report also contained modest downward revisions to job growth at the beginning of fall. Gains for September were revised down by a total of 35,000 jobs to 262,000, the government said, suggesting that the labor market is weaker than it previously appeared. October’s gain was unchanged at 150,000 jobs.
WORKERS NOW DEMANDING NEARLY $80K TO START NEW JOB
“Today’s jobs report shows a continued stabilization following the hot summer hiring season, leading to a New Year reset,” said Becky Frankiewicz, chief commercial officer of ManpowerGroup. “We’ve anticipated a stabilization, and we’re moving toward it slowly but surely.”
The Federal Reserve has signaled it is closely watching the report for evidence the labor market is finally cooling after more than a year of interest rate hikes. Policymakers voted last month to leave their benchmark rate unchanged for a second straight time in order to assess the cumulative impact of previous increases.
FED LEAVES INTEREST RATES UNCHANGED DESPITE STILL-HIGH INFLATION
Many economists believe the Fed is done with its tightening campaign, although Chair Jerome Powell warned last week that it would be “premature” to assume there are no more rate hikes – and to speculate on when policy may ease.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 36219.78 | +102.40 | +0.28% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 14394.184553 | +54.19 | +0.38% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 4600.01 | +14.42 | +0.31% |
In another welcome sign for the Fed, average hourly earnings — a key measure of inflation — increased 0.4% for the month and remain up 4% from the same time one year ago. The monthly increase came in slightly ahead of the 0.3% estimate, but the annual figure was in line with expectations.
The labor market has remained historically tight over the past year, defying economists’ expectations for a slowdown. However, Friday’s report suggests that cracks are appearing after last year’s blistering pace of growth.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
