DECEMBER 11, 2023 – 199,000 JOBS CREATED IN NOVEMBER AS UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FALLS
The US economy added 199,000 new jobs in November and the unemployment rate fell to 3.7 percent. Average hourly wages rose 0.4 percent month-over-month and 4 percent year-over-year.
Despite a slowdown in the economy, 199,000 new jobs were created in November, beating economists’ expectations of 190,000 and well up from the 150,000 new jobs created in October. There is a caveat, some of the “new” jobs were workers returning to their jobs after the end of the autoworkers and entertainment strikes, which has also affected the unemployment rate. November’s unemployment rate of 3.7 percent was down from October’s 3.9 percent, a four-month low.
Economists were happy with what they saw. The labor market seems to be working towards its natural equilibrium of 150,000 new jobs per month. That figure will keep the economy moving forward without forcing the Fed to raise interest rates. Economists still feel a slowdown is imminent, with GDP expected to come in at 1.2 percent in Q4 and they are looking at growth of only 1 percent for 2024. Despite the slowing, the Fed is not expected to cut rates before May of next year, when there should be evidence inflation is under control.