U.S. Job Growth Exceeds Estimates In November After October Slump

(RTTNews) - Employment in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of November, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Tuesday, although the job growth followed a notable decrease in employment in October.

The report said non-farm payroll employment climbed by 64,000 jobs in November after tumbling by 105,000 jobs in October. Economists had expected employment to rise by 50,000 jobs.

The Labor Department noted the November jobs data was delayed and the October jobs report was cancelled because of the government shutdown.

"The firmer private sector employment figures support the Fed taking a pause in its rate-cutting cycle for some period," said Nationwide Chief Economist Kathy Bostjancic.

She added, "We continue to expect the pause to extend to June, allowing for inflation to peak and the new Fed Chair to take the helm, before they cut rates another 50bps by year-end 2026."

The stronger than expected job growth in November reflected increases in employment in the healthcare and construction sectors, which added 46,000 jobs and 28,000 jobs, respectively.

Meanwhile, the report showed the federal government continued to lose jobs, with federal government employment edging down by 6,000 jobs in November after plunging by 162,000 jobs in October.

The Labor Department also said the unemployment rate rose to 4.6 percent in November from 4.4 percent in September. The unemployment rate was expected to tick up to 4.5 percent.

Average hourly employee earnings crept up by $0.05 or 0.1 percent to $36.86 in November after climbing by $0.16 or 0.4 percent to $36.81 in October, the report said.

The annual rate of growth by average hourly employee earnings slowed to 3.5 percent in November from 3.7 percent in October.