President Joe Biden hailed a surprising drop in the nation’s unemployment rate, with hiring still below expectations and November being the worst month for job growth this year.
The Labor Department report showed that private employers and businesses added only 210,000 jobs in November, which is well below the 550,000 predicted gain by Refinitiv economists. It is also less than half the October gain of 546,000 and is a worrying sign that hiring has slowed since the introduction of the new omicron Coronavirus variant.
Other aspects of the report showed a more optimistic outlook. As more than a 1.1million Americans claimed that they had found work last month, the unemployment rate fell to 4.2% from 4.6%. The month’s labor force participation rate rose to 61.8%.
Biden did not mention the headline number of jobs in his remarks. Instead, he focused on the much better-than-expected fall in unemployment. He said that we received the amazing news that our unemployment has fallen to 4.2% and, at this stage in the year, are looking at the sharpest one-year decline in unemployment. Biden claimed that the bottom line is that Americans are back at work, and recovery in jobs is very strong.
The Labor Department uses two surveys to compile the final jobs report.
A survey of households found that 1.1 Million more people had reported finding a job in the last month. This is how the unemployment rate was calculated. Another survey of employers, which includes approximately 150,000 large businesses and government agencies, found that only 210,000 new jobs were created last month.
Economists anticipate that the surveys will be more aligned.
Economist Joe Brusuelas stated that they expect the topline establishment survey to be revised upwards over the next 2 to 3 months and will look more similar to what the household survey shows: the labor market tightening and wages rising in what has been the best labor market since the late 1990s.
After a summer-induced slowdown, the labor market was gaining momentum. The latest number represents a significant decline from October’s revised upwardly revised 546K and September’s revised 379K. The number of jobs available is still around 3.9M lower than it was in February before the crisis.
Biden stated how America is back at work because they’ve made extraordinary strides and can look forward to a brighter and happier New Year. He also acknowledged widespread concern over the economy’s state, partly due to an increase in inflation. Last month, the government reported that consumer goods prices were at an all-time high for 31 years. Prices for everything from gasoline and groceries to cars have soared.
Biden stated that American families are doing better even when they take into account higher prices. He said that even after taking into account rising prices, American families have more money than last year.
