The U.S. economy added 228,000 jobs in November, according to the monthly employment report released today by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This seasonally adjusted figure is 6.5 percent lower than October's upwardly revised addition of 244,000 jobs, and marks a 39 percent increase over the previous November, when 164,000 jobs were created. Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have influenced job reports the past two months, with employment dropping significantly in September, and rebounding in October. November's addition of 228,000 jobs exceeds economists' expectations of 195,000, and provides a clearer look at the true state of the labor market.
Unemployment was unchanged in November, holding steady at a 17-year low of 4.1 percent. On a conference call announcing ADP's November national employment report, Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, posited that interest rates controlled by the Federal Reserve are expected to rise more quickly now, due to the strength of the economy. Zandi and other economists polled by the Wall Street Journal anticipate that unemployment will fall below 4 percent next year, for the first time since the tech boom. A tightened labor market could result in the Federal Reserve Board putting an additional, fourth rake hike in place in 2018 (the Fed had initially reported that three rate hikes could be expected in 2018).
Average hourly earnings for employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 5 cents in November, to $26.55. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings for private nonfarm payrolls have increased by 64 cents, or 2.5 percent. Despite a tighter labor market, wage growth has been modest over the past 12 months, and has not exceeded 3.0 percent since January 2012.
Employment in the construction industry grew by 24,000 positions in November to a total of 6,955,000. Employment of nonresidential buildings decreased by 4,500 to 770,700 positions, while residential building construction jobs increased by 4,100 to 772,400 positions. Employment in heavy and civil engineering construction decreased for the second consecutive month, dropping 7,800 positions in November to 953,100.
Employment in the manufacturing industry grew by 31,000 jobs in October, reaching 12,514,000 jobs. According to BLS' press release, manufacturing has increased by 189,000 since hitting its most recent low in November 2016.
Meanwhile, payrolls in architectural and engineering services added 2,600 jobs in November, reaching 1,472,400 positions. Employment in architectural and engineering services has been on the rise for 19 consecutive months, and November's seasonally adjusted figure is 3.4 percent higher than November 2016, when 1,422,000 positions were reported,
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