US employers added 94,000 jobs in November, the government said today in a report underlining a slowdown in job creation in recent months that raises chances for a modest cut in interest rates next week.
The Labor Department said the national unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.7 per cent in November, but it substantially revised its estimates for job growth in the two prior months to show a less vigorous pace of hiring.
The department revised its estimate for October job creation to 170,000 instead of 166,000 it reported a month ago but slashed its estimate for September new jobs to 44,000 from 96,000 - a net decrease of 48,000 over the two months.
That made the revised September job-creation figure the weakest monthly gain in more than 3-1/2 years, since 31,000 jobs were added in February 2004, department officials said.
Nonetheless, the November new jobs total came in slightly ahead of forecasts by Wall Street economists for 90,000 jobs.
Stock futures rose after the jobs report was published and the dollar initially gained against other major currencies, reflecting relief that the closely watched report did not signal a sharp falloff in US economic activity. The dollar later shed its gains.
US government bond prices declined as investors bet the continued job gains reduced the odds for a larger cut in official interest rates.
Federal Reserve policy-makers are widely expected to cut interest rates by at least a quarter percentage point when they meet next Tuesday and some analysts speculate the US central bank might trim rates a more aggressive half percentage point.