READY TO RISE?

Job jump, unemployment fall ‘seals’ Fed action

The unemployment rate fell to a nine-year low of 4.6 percent in November as the US economy added 178,000 jobs in the month, continuing a steady, if undramatic, expansion.

The report Friday by the Labor Department — marking the 74th straight month of job creation — was generally in line with Wall Street expectations and left most economists convinced the Federal Reserve will lift rates on Dec. 14 after its two-day meeting.

“This probably seals the deal for a rate hike by the Fed,” said New York University economics professor Joe Foudy. “The election is over; the job market is solid, if unspectacular; and there really is no more reason to wait.”

The Fed raised its interest rate last December for the first time in nearly a decade.

The unemployment rate’s decline from 4.9 percent was aided by 226,000 people who dropped out of the workforce.

Their exit helped lower the labor force participation rate to 62.7 percent — the lowest since June — while the ratio of employment to the entire population held steady at 59.7 percent.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said in the past that the US economy needs to create just under 100,000 jobs a month to keep up with growth in the working-age population.

Economists attributed much of the drop in the labor force participation rate to retiring baby boomers, who began leaving their jobs in 2008.

Average hourly earnings fell by 3 cents in November, to $25.89 — but that was after an increase of 11 cents in October.

“The economy never moves in a straight line, and the slightly slower pace of wage growth is one of the detractors within the No- vember employment report,” said Mark Hamrick, Bankrate.com’s senior economic analyst.

Despite last month’s decline, average hourly earnings are up 2.5 per cent for the year — a trajectory economists expect to resume should the labor market continue to strengthen.

To that end, Presidentelect Donald Trump announced the formation of the President’s Strategic and Policy Forum (detailed in the story below).

Deeper into the November jobs report, Labor reported:

Employment in professional and business services showed the strongest gain, with a 63,000 increase in November, boosting its year-to-date total to 571,000.

Health-care employment also rose by 28,000, while construction continued its upward climb with a net gain of 19,000.

The number of jobs cre- ated in September and October was revised to show 2,000 fewer jobs created than previously reported.

Manufacturing jobs, the subject of many of Trump’s crusades, fell by 4,000 jobs in November, declining for a fourth straight month.

Retail sector payrolls, reflecting the move by Americans to purchasing goods online, fell 8,300, their second straight monthly decline.