US job growth has increased solidly in November in a show of the economy's resilience, which most likely paves the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this month for the first time in nearly a decade.
Nonfarm payrolls increased 211,000 last month, the Labor Department said on Friday. September and October data was revised to show 35,000 more jobs than previously reported.
The unemployment rate held at a 7.5-year low of 5 per cent, even as people returned to the labour force in a sign of confidence in the jobs market. The jobless rate is in a range many Fed officials see as consistent with full employment and has dropped seven-tenths of a percentage point this year.
The closely watched employment report came a day after Fed Chair Janet Yellen struck an upbeat note on the economy when she testified before lawmakers, describing how it had largely met the criteria the US central bank has set for the Fed's first rate hike since June 2006.
Yellen said the economy needs to create just under 100,000 jobs a month to keep up with growth in the working age population. The Fed's policy-setting committee will meet on December 15-16.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast nonfarm payrolls rising 200,000 last month and the unemployment rate steady at 5.0 per cent.
The second month of strong job gains should allay fears the economy has hit a soft patch, after reports showing tepid consumer spending in October and a slowdown in services industry growth in November. Manufacturing contracted in November for the first time in three years.
Though wage growth slowed last month, economists say that was mostly payback for October's outsized gains, which were driven by a calendar quirk. Anecdotal evidence, as well as data on labour-related costs, suggest that tightening job market conditions are starting to put upward pressure on wages.
Average hourly earnings increased four cents or 0.2 per cent from 0.4 per cent in October. That lowered the year-on-year reading to 2.3 per cent from 2.5 per cent in October. The average work week, however, dipped to 34.5 hours from 34.6.
Employment gains in November were broad-based, though manufacturing shed 1000 positions and mining lost 11,000 jobs.
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