Economy Adds 321,000 Jobs In November

by Alan Pyke Posted on

"Economy Adds 321,000 Jobs In November"

hiring sign 3:2

CREDIT: AP/Paul Sakuma

The American economy added 321,000 jobs in November, according to the monthly employment report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday. The unemployment rate held steady at 5.8 percent.

The job gain exceeded both economist expectations and recent economic performance. Economists had forecast a gain of about 235,000 jobs, barely above the 224,000 monthly average job growth the economy has shown over the past year.

The economy also created 44,000 more jobs in September and October than the BLS had previously reported. The unemployment rate has fallen by 1.2 percentage points since the beginning of the year, the BLS said.

The retail sector added 50,000 jobs, second to the 86,000 added in the professional and business services category. Health care jobs rose by 29,000, manufacturing jobs rose by 28,000, and the food service sector added 27,000 jobs. The financial and construction industries added 20,000 jobs each, and the logistics, warehousing, and transportation sector added 17,000.

Friday’s report drives total job growth for 2014 to about 2.65 million, which puts the economy on track for its strongest jobs year since 1999. But wage growth has been slack over that period with earnings rising at a 2.1 percent annual rate over the past 12 months despite a surge in November.

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