Thread: Unemployment Slips to 8.6% as Private Sector Adds Jobs

DECEMBER 2, 2011, 12:31 P.M. ET.

Unemployment Slips to 8.6% as Private Sector Adds Jobs .

By JOSH MITCHELL And JEFFREY SPARSHOTT

The U.S. labor market made modest gains in November, as private employers continued to add jobs and the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since March 2009.

Kelly Evans leads a News Hub discussion about the U.S. jobs picture in light of the government's announcement that the unemployment rate dipped to 8.6%. AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

Nonfarm payrolls rose by 120,000 last month, the Labor Department said Friday. New data also showed bigger jobs gains for October and September than previously estimated, painting a more positive picture of job growth in recent months than previously thought. The jobless rate, obtained by a separate survey of American households, fell to 8.6% in November from the previous month's 9.0%. The drop, however, was due partly to a shrinking of the labor force, with fewer people seeking jobs.

Economists viewed the figures as a sign the U.S. recovery is on track but with a labor market that remains weak.

The report's political implications could be more significant. Republicans seeking to retake the White House have long pointed to the high jobless rate as evidence of the ineffectiveness of President Barack Obama's economic agenda, but a continued drop in the rate could blunt that argument.

Both parties reacted to the employment news with caution.

"Today's employment report provides further evidence that the economy is continuing to heal from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, but the pace of improvement is still not fast enough," wrote Alan Krueger, chairman of the president's Council of Economic Advisers. "Any job creation is welcome news, but the jobless rate in this country is still unacceptable," House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) said.

Friday's report -- the broadest snapshot of the U.S. jobs market --showed that private-company hiring grew by a combined 140,000 jobs. But the public sector -- federal, state and local governments -- continued to shrink, subtracting 20,000 jobs.

In another positive development, September and October payroll figures were revised upward by a combined total of 72,000 jobs. October was revised to 100,000 from a previously reported 80,000 and September was revised to 210,000 from 158,000.

Some industries fared better than others. Retail trade rose by 50,000 jobs, with much of the increase occurring in clothing and electronics and appliance stores, the Labor Department said. Leisure and hospitality jobs rose by 22,000, and professional and business services saw a gain of 33,000. Healthcare jobs rose 17,000. Manufacturing changed little.

The number of unemployed, according to the household survey, fell by 594,000 to 13.3 million. A broader measure that accounts for both job seekers and part-time workers who would prefer to be working full time -- the so-called underemployed -- fell to 15.6% from 16.2% in October.

The latest figures come less than two weeks before the Federal Reserve's next policy-making meeting. After taking steps in August and September to spur growth, the Fed is expected to pause until next year as it assesses the U.S. economic landscape and follows developments in Europe's financial crisis.

The jobs data are the latest sign that the economy is on firmer footing than it was just two months ago, when a rocky start to the year spurred fears of a double-dip recession.

However, the jobless rate is still very high and threats to the U.S. economic recovery remain, including further turmoil in the euro zone and a weighty federal budget deficit that is driving a push to cut government spending and raise new revenue.

Friday's report shows that Americans' hourly earnings declined by 2 cents to $23.18. Wages are up by 1.8% over the past 12 months, not keeping pace with overall inflation at 3.6%.

Write to Josh Mitchell at joshua.mitchell@dowjones.com and Jeffrey Sparshott at jeffrey.sparshott@dowjones.com

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 30544.html

I saw this coming a few weeks ago.

The Global elites are not happy with the instabilities in the GOP Primary costing them their actors like Rick Perry. They are going to make the economy look better by manipulating stats, lowering gas prices they control, and some other factors to rosy things up for Obama.

W

The labor Department stated the main reason for the drop was hundreds of thousands of Americans gave up the search for work. Labor stats include only those on unemployment insurance or actively looking for work. Look for Obama to milk this for all it's worth falsely claiming his policies are responsible for this latest drop.....