Economy adds 64,000 jobs after October drop; Unemployment up

(Bloomberg) — U.S. job growth remained sluggish in November and the unemployment rate rose to a four-year high, pointing to a continued cooling in the labor market after a weak October.

Nonfarm payrolls increased 64,000 in November after declining 105,000 in October, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data out Tuesday. The unemployment rate was 4.6% last month, up from 4.4% in September. The BLS had to forgo publishing an October jobless rate because it was unable to retroactively collect that data following the government shutdown.

The decline in October payrolls, which was the largest since the end of 2020, was due to a 162,000 contraction in federal government employment as workers who took part in the Trump administration's deferred resignation program officially dropped off payrolls.

The advance in November payrolls, following an October pullback, adds to the choppiness seen in the labor market in recent months. The unemployment rate, however, continued its upward climb, as layoff announcements rose and many out-of-work Americans struggled to land new jobs. While the data come with caveats, the report will help inform investors' expectations for the path of interest rates next year.

The Federal Reserve lowered interest rates for a third straight meeting last week to support what Chair Jerome Powell called a "gradually cooling" labor market with "significant" downside risks. However, the decision and accompanying projection materials showed substantial divisions among officials for not only last week's meeting but also policy going forward. The median projection from officials pointed to one rate cut in 2026, while traders have been counting on two.Following the report, stock futures dipped and Treasury yields dropped. The dollar remained weaker.

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The advance in November payrolls was driven by health care and social assistance as well as construction. Private payrolls increased by 69,000 in November after adding 52,000 jobs the prior month. Employment fell in transportation and warehousing as well as leisure and hospitality. 

Shutdown Impact

The BLS canceled the October jobs report and combined that month's payrolls with the November release because of the record-long government shutdown. While it wasn't able to conduct the household survey retroactively to produce an unemployment rate for October, the payrolls number is derived from a separate survey of businesses that many firms independently report online.

The government shutdown impacted the figures in other ways too.Federal payrolls fell another 6,000 in November after the outsize drop in October. About 144,000 federal employees took the administration's deferred resignation offer, the Office of Personnel Management said last week, which allowed them to leave early in the year but still be paid through the end of September.

The agency also extended the collection periods for both the household and establishment surveys for November. The November report was originally due Dec. 5.

BLS said the November household numbers are slightly more variable than usual, due to a lower response rate and analysis over a two-month period instead of the typical one. Because the government reopened before the end of the November reference week, federal government workers were counted as employed.

"It is not possible to precisely quantify the effect of the federal government shutdown on household survey estimates for November," the agency said.