Non-farm Payrolls: Record job growth and wage increases in the United States

In November, 227,000 new jobs were created in the United States, the Labor Department said. This turned out to be higher than the expectations of analysts, who predicted an increase of 220 thousand. At the same time, the unemployment rate rose from 4.1% to 4.2%.

Earlier, the data for October were revised, and instead of the originally announced 12 thousand new jobs, the real figure was 36 thousand. The estimate for September was also increased, which led to an overall increase in the number of jobs in September and October by 56 thousand compared to previous estimates.

In the private sector, the number of jobs increased by 194 thousand, while in the public sector – by 33 thousand. The healthcare and social security sectors showed the largest growth – 54 and 19 thousand respectively, while retail trade decreased by 28 thousand. 

The average hourly wage in the private sector increased by 0.4% compared to the previous month, reaching $35.61. In annual terms, the average salary increased by 4%, which is also higher than forecasts. The average working week in November was 34.3 hours, an increase from the revised level of 34.2 hours.