Overview
- Nonfarm payrolls increased by 64,000 in November while the unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, the highest since September 2021.
- October payrolls declined by 105,000, reflecting about 162,000 federal employees coming off government payrolls after deferred buyouts.
- Previous estimates were trimmed, with August and September employment revised down by a combined 33,000 jobs.
- Average hourly earnings rose 0.1% on the month and 3.5% year over year, as hiring concentrated in health care (+46,000) and construction (+28,000) and manufacturing shed 5,000 jobs.
- The BLS cautioned that November household estimates have higher variance due to altered collection and weighting, and the Fed remains cautious after three rate cuts with a final benchmark revision due in February.