Unemployment rate up in U.S.A

NEW YORK - The government's monthly labor report threw a curve ball Friday morning as November's job growth came in far lower than expected and the unemployment rate rose to 9.8%. U.S. employers added 39,000 jobs to their payrolls in November, the Labor Department reported. That marks a major slowdown from October, when the economy added an upwardly revised 172,000 jobs. November's numbers also fell short of the 150,000 gain that economists surveyed by CNNMoney.com were expecting.
"The overall pace of job growth is disappointing," said Wells Fargo Chief Economist John Silvia, who had forecast a gain of 130,000 jobs in the month.
While private businesses continued to hire for the eleventh month in a row, they also missed expectations. Companies added just 50,000 jobs to their payrolls in October, falling short of the 175,000 jobs economists had predicted for the sector.
Meanwhile, the government shed 11,000 jobs during the month.
The job market is still reeling from the longest recession since the Great Depression, with 15.1 million Americans still unemployed. On the upside, revisions for September and October showed there were 38,000 additional job gains in those months than previously reported.

Posted in: