U.S. employment increased by 211,000 in November (2015) and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5 percent. The November numbers, released today (12.4.2015) by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, also included positive revisions for the previous two months:

September | Revised from +137,000 to +145,000
October | Revised from +271,000 to +298,000
218,000 | Average job gains over past three months

(via NYTimes.com)

According to NYTimes.com, economists had been looking for payrolls to rise by 200,000, with no change in the unemployment rate. The robust jobs report “all but guarantees policy makers at the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade when they meet (on December 16),” wrote Nelson Schwartz in the Times.

Key numbers in the 11.2015 Jobs Report

Unemployment rates for major worker groups

(Little or no change in November)

4.7% | Adult men
4.6% | Adult women
15.7% | Teenagers
4.3% | Whites
9.4% | Blacks
3.9% | Asians
6.4% | Hispanics

November jobs growth by industry

+46,000 | Construction
+28,000 | Profession and Technical Services
+24,000 | Healthcare
+32,000 | Food services and drinking places
+31,000 | Retail trade
-11,000 | Mining
-12,000 | Information

Photo: Adam Theo via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)