Job Market Alive And Kicking: Jobless Rate Slips To 9-Year Low Amid Robust Payroll Gains

Testifying to the strength of the jobs market, the Labor Department released a report on Friday showing strong job gains and a slip back in the jobless rate to a nine-year low. The Fed now has its task cut out for it as it prepares to meet next week to discuss its monetary policy stance.

Robust Job Gains

Non-farm employment rose by 178,000 in November, above the 170,000 job gains forecast by economists. Revision to the October headline number trimmed the previously reported figure by 19,000 to 142,000, while upward revision to the September payrolls increased the originally reported reading by 17,000 to 208,000.

The average monthly job gain thus far this year has been 180,000 compared to 229,000 in 2015. The average for 2016 was marred by an anomaly in May, which saw a mere 25,000 job gains.

Private payrolls expanded 156,000, roughly in line with the 155,000 job gains expected by economists. The private goods producing sector added 17,000 jobs, as the construction sector added 19,000 jobs. On the other hand, the manufacturing sector lost 4,000 jobs. The job gains in the service providing sector accelerated to 139,000 from 128,000 in October. About 22,000 jobs were added by the government.

Jobless Rate's Surprise Slip Back To 9-Year Low

In a surprise of sorts, the jobless rate slipped 0.3 percentage points to 4.6 percent. This is a noteworthy change, as the metric has remained largely unchanged since August 2015.

The labor force participation rate was at 62.7 percent, little changed.

Wage Inflation Prevalent

Average hourly earnings fell by $0.03 to $25.89 in November after increasing by 11 cents in October. The measure is up 2.5 percent year-over-year, signaling some pricing pressure.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was up 0.01 percent at 219.59 in pre-market trading. Meanwhile, the SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) GLD was up 0.28 percent at 111.54.