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US job creation soars in November, boosting Trump
WASHINGTON, Dec 7, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – US job creation soared last month as
hospitals, hotels and schools raced to add new workers, a shot in the arm for
Donald Trump’s economic stewardship as he faces impeachment and a bitter
fight for reelection.
The surprise jump in hiring wiped away fears that November would be a
lackluster month and suggested the American economy so far is holding up
despite a global slowdown.
Payrolls also got a boost as autoworkers were back on the job after a six-
week nationwide strike at General Motors plants, according to Labor
Department data released Friday.
US firms added a massive 266,000 net new positions, shattering economists’
expectations, while the jobless rate fell a tenth of a point to 3.5 percent.
This matched the 50-year low set in September but the November drop was
mainly because of a small decline in the workforce.
Job gains in September and October also were revised upward by a total of
41,000, underscoring the strength of labor markets.
“This is wild,” Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics said in a note
to clients, warning that a downward revision was possible.
Economists in recent days had begun to worry that America’s appetite for
workers was on the wane, as some signs pointed to slackening demand for labor
as well as a dwindling supply of workers.
But the continued hiring bonanza should bolster the Federal Reserve’s
decision to keep the benchmark interest rate stable after three cuts this
year, with central bankers believing more stimulus is unnecessary.
On Twitter, Trump hailed the “GREAT JOBS REPORT” while top White House
economic aide Larry Kudlow said the numbers showed good times were getting
better.
“The basic theme here: America is working,” he told CNBC.
– Job creation slowed in 2019 –
Job creation has slowed this year, however, as employers on average have
added 180,000 workers a month, down from the 223,000 average monthly gains in
2018.
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Average hourly wages crept 0.2 percent higher compared to October, but
that was slower than forecast. Compared to a year ago, however, the increase
was 3.1 percent, well above the rate of consumer inflation.
The wage gains are unlikely to alter the Fed’s view, said economist
Rubeela Farooqi of High Frequency economics.
“As for the Fed, these data should support the ‘on hold’ stance, at least
for the time-being.” she said in an analysis.
Meanwhile, the dip in the jobless rate came with a drop in labor force as
people left the job hunt or retired.
The mining and logging sector, which includes an oil industry hit by
recent low prices, had another bad month, shedding 7,000 jobs.
There also were cuts in wholesale trade while retailers added a paltry
2,000 workers ahead of the holiday shopping period.
But good news far outweighed the bad. The numbers of people working part
time for economic reasons, those not working or looking for work and those
who had given up hope of finding a job were all down from their year-ago
levels.
Economists say the strong labor market is almost single-handedly holding
up the world’s largest economy, keeping workers optimistic and leaving them
with money to spend.
This has helped offset persistent weakness in the manufacturing and
agricultural sectors while businesses have slowed their investments, amid
concerns about Trump’s multi-front trade wars.
Wall Street rose back into record territory on the jobs numbers, with the
benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average up about one percent shortly before
1600 GMT.
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