November’s headline employment number came in well above economists’ estimates for the month, as employers added 266,000 workers versus expectations of an increase of 180,000, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. 266,000 additional workers is the most since January. On a rolling three-month basis, employers are adding an average of 205,000 workers per month. Net revisions to the previous two months added 41,000 jobs. Manufacturing gained 54,000 jobs. Private hiring, which excludes government agencies, surprised to the upside as well, adding 254,000 jobs versus expectations of an increase of 178,000, while last month’s number was revised upward to 163,000 from 131,000 initially reported. The unemployment rate ticked back down to 3.5%, the lowest level since 1969. Additionally, the labor force participation rate, the proportion of the population that is in the labor force, also ticked down to 63.2%. One of the most watched numbers in the data, Average Hourly Earnings, came in slightly below economists’ estimates at 0.2% for the month, versus expectations of a 0.3% increase. However, year-over-year wage growth moved up to 3.1%. Average hourly earnings increased $0.07 over last month’s number to $28.29 per hour. Average weekly hours remained flat at 34.4 hours, the same as the last three months. The so-called U6 underemployment rate, which includes part-time workers who would prefer a full-time position and people who want work but have given up looking, ticked back down to an 18-year low to 6.9%. Market participants watch this number to monitor slack in the labor market. 10-year U.S. Treasuries, which traded as high as 3.24% eleven months ago and 2.55% at the time of this report six months ago, started today’s trading at 1.79%.
Yields moved 5-8 bps higher across the curve following the release:
Below is a link to the full statistical summary provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
http://content.zieglercap.com/e/674333/Bureau-of-Labor-Statistics/njnq/25863539?h=aNn7_aBUwIYaIYVlYDRjd2uPvAed7WRD53e5QmD1x00
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