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 jobs report, released Friday morning by the Labor Department, offered a counterpoint to renewed anxieties about an escalating trade war and a weakening global economy.

“I think that this report is a real blockbuster; payrolls smashed expectations,” said Daniel Zhao, senior economist at the career site Glassdoor.

Another 41,000 jobs were added to September and October’s employment totals after revisions. A broader measure of unemployment, which includes part-timers who would prefer full-time jobs and people who are too discouraged to look for work, inched down to 6.9 percent.

Stocks rose following the report, with the S&P 500 up by more the 0.7 percent in early trading.