The US job-market showed surprising strength as Labor Department data pointed to 227‚000 new jobs in nov-2024 (way above expert predictions of 200k)
Healthcare sector led the way adding 54‚000 positions; while restaurants-and-bars brought in 53‚000 new jobs. Federal Reserve officials noticed a mixed picture - strong hiring but higher jobless numbers at 4.2%. State govt positions grew by 33‚000; manufacturing got back on track with 22‚000 new jobs after recent strike-related issues
- Healthcare facilities added staff across hospitals and care centers
- Food service jobs showed big gains
- Government positions increased notably
- Manufacturing recovered post-strikes
- Retail lost 28‚000 jobs (mostly in big-box stores)
Wage stats showed good news for workers: hourly pay went up 0.4% - thats keeping up with last months growth. The labor-force participation dropped a bit to 62.5%; showing some people stepped back from job hunting
Market experts see an 89% chance of interest-rate cuts at the mid-december Fed meeting. Since early-2022‚ rates went up by 5.25 points but now its looking like changes are coming. Treasury yields dropped after the news came out; while wall street opened higher that day