Jamie Cox, managing director at Harris Financial Group, analyzes the post-Thanksgiving market, retail, employment sectors, and Bitcoin's rally.
After a lackluster October jobs report reflected labor disruptions from hurricanes and union strikes, U.S. job growth rebounded in November with strong pay increases.
The Labor Department reported Friday that employers added 227,000 jobs in November, exceeding LSEG economists' expectations.
The unemployment rate was 4.2%, up from 4.1% last month, also in line with expectations.
Job growth numbers for the past two months have all been revised upwards, with job creation in September increasing by 32,000 from 223,000 to 255,000, and October's job creation from 12,000 to 36,000. The figure was revised upward by 24,000 due to an increase in the number of people.
Private sector payrolls rose by 194,000 people in November, just short of the 200,000 jobs forecast by LSEG economists.
Manufacturing jobs rose by 22,000 in November, including a 32,000-job gain in transportation equipment manufacturing as striking workers returned.
Approximately 33,000 unionized machinists at Boeing went on strike from early September to early November, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the strike activity was mainly in the transportation equipment manufacturing sector. This follows a decline in manufacturing employment of 46,000 jobs in October.
The healthcare sector added 54,000 jobs in November, matching the sector's average monthly increase of 59,000 over the previous 12 months. In this sector, outpatient health services added 22,000 jobs, including 16,000 in home health services, as did hospitals (up 19,000) and nursing/residential care facilities (up 12,000).
Employment in the leisure and hospitality industry increased by 53,000 in November, although there was little change from the previous month. This number is higher than the average of 21,000 jobs added in the industry over the past 12 months, with most of the increase occurring in restaurants and food service (+29,000).
Government employment increased by 33,000 people in November, with the growth concentrated in state government (up 20,000 jobs). The increase in the government sector was roughly in line with the 12-month average increase of 41,000 jobs.
Employment is in the construction industry (+10,000 people), finance industry (+17,000 people),
This is a developing story. Please check back for the latest information.
