US gained 199K jobs in November; jobless rate falls

The U.S. economy added 199,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate fell to 3.7 percent, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department.

The November jobs report came in above expectations, with economists projecting the U.S. would add 180,000 jobs and the jobless rate would hold steady at 3.9 percent.

The latest jobs numbers come ahead of the Federal Reserve’s final meeting of the year next week. The central bank is widely expected to hold interest rates steady at a range of 5.25 percent to 5.5 percent after keeping rates flat at its past two meetings.

The Fed repeatedly raised rates throughout much of 2022 and 2023 to tame stubborn inflation that peaked at 9.1 percent last summer. Inflation has since fallen to 3.2 percent as of October but remains well above the central bank’s target of 2 percent.

Despite widespread predictions last year that the U.S. economy would soon tip into a recession, it has remained surprisingly resilient. The economy has grown at an annualized rate of at least 2 percent every quarter for the last five quarters, and unemployment has remained below 4 percent despite rising interest rates.

However, consumers are not nearly as optimistic about the state of the economy as experts. Nearly 6 in 10 Americans said in a recent Bankrate survey that they feel the U.S. is currently in a recession, with little variation across different generations and income levels.

Negative views on the economy could spell trouble for President Biden in the lead-up to next year’s election, especially as he campaigns on his administration’s economic policies under the “Bidenomics” slogan.

Biden touted the latest jobs numbers Friday, noting the economy has added 14 million jobs since he took office.

“That’s more than 14 million additional Americans who know the dignity and peace of mind that comes with a paycheck,” he said in a statement.

“On my watch we have achieved better growth and lower inflation than any other advanced country,” Biden added. “A year ago, forecasters said it couldn’t be done.”

However, the president also acknowledged most Americans aren’t feeling particularly positive about the economy and criticized Republicans in Congress for blocking his policies.

“I know prices are still too high for too many Americans,” he said. “So my top economic priority is to lower costs for hardworking Americans.”

Updated at 10:29 a.m.