U.S. Non-Farm Employment Growth Surpasses Expectations

Forex - According to the data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, total non-farm employment exceeded expectations in November.

Non-farm employment increased by only 227,000 in November, while the unemployment rate rose from 4.1% to 4.2%. Economists had anticipated an increase of 214,000 in employment.

Total non-farm employment was revised to 36,000 for October and to 255,000 for September.

In November, the unemployment rate increased to 4.2%, with the number of unemployed changing very little to 7.1 million. In the same period last year, the unemployment rate was 3.7% and the number of unemployed was 6.3 million.

Labor force participation in November was 62.5%, a slight drop from 62.6% in October.

In November, employment in the manufacturing sector increased by 22,000, in the public sector by 33,000, and in the private sector by 194,000.

In November, hourly earnings increased by 4.03% year-on-year, reaching $35.61. Average working hours remained unchanged at 34.3.