Strong November Jobs Report Counters Anxieties Over Weakening Economy
The Labor Department’s report was much stronger than the one last month, helped in part by the end of a General Motors strike.
■ 266,000 jobs were added in November. Analysts had expected a gain of about 180,000, according to MarketWatch.
■ The unemployment rate was 3.5 percent, down from the previous month.
■ Average hourly earnings rose 0.2 percent, with a year-over-year gain of 3.1 percent.
The return of tens of thousands of striking workers to their jobs at General Motors helped supercharge hiring totals last month.
The reassuring...