The U.S. economy added jobs in November as economic uncertainty continued to dampen activity in the labor market.
The Labor Department on Tuesday reported that employers added 64,000 jobs in November, a figure that was above the 50,000 estimate of economists polled by LSEG.
The unemployment rate ticked higher to 4.6% for November, which was higher than the 4.4% rate expected by economists.
Job gains in the two prior months in which the employment report was released were both revised down. Employment in August was revised down by 22,000 from a loss of 4,000 jobs to a loss of 26,000 jobs; while September was revised down by 11,000 jobs from a gain of 119,000 jobs to 108,000 jobs.
Taken together, employment in August and September was 33,000 jobs lower than previously reported.
November’s jobs report was originally scheduled for release on Dec. 5, but was delayed by the 43-day government shutdown that stretched into November and impacted the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ data collection. The shutdown also precluded the release of the October jobs report, though the BLS included some data from that month in the latest release.
Employment in October declined by 105,000 jobs, with the private sector adding 52,000 jobs and the government shedding 157,000 jobs for the month. Federal workers who accepted deferred buyouts earlier in the year, such as those put forward by DOGE, were counted as employed until they were officially recorded as leaving their jobs in October. BLS was unable to produce an unemployment rate for October.
Private payrolls added 69,000 jobs in November, above the LSEG estimate of 45,000.
Government payrolls in November shrank by 5,000 jobs, following the larger decline in October. That included a loss of 6,000 federal jobs and 2,000 local government jobs, declines that were partially offset by the addition of 3,000 state government jobs.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Read the full article here
