Nonfarm payrolls increased 210,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said in its highly anticipated employment report released Friday.
Economists polled by Reuters had predicted that payrolls would incorporate 550,000 jobs, with estimates ranging between 306,000 and 800,000 jobs.
November was the second full month after the expiration of federally funded unemployment benefits. Data for October was revised up to show an employment increase of 546,000 jobs, up from 531,000 reported.
The unemployment rate fell to 4.2%, the lowest since February 2020, from 4.6% in October. Wages went up even more.
The report came a few days after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told lawmakers that the US central bank should consider accelerating the reduction of its massive bond purchases at the December 14-15 monetary policy meeting. .
Modest increases in employment could dampen expectations that the economy will grow stronger this quarter, after having suffered a slump in the third quarter.
