New Jobs Report Stronger Than Expected

America's job market rebounded in November—a solid recovery from October, when the effects of strikes and hurricanes had sharply diminished employers' payrolls.

• Main number: Employers added 227,000 jobs, slightly above expectations of 214,000, reports CNBC. The figure also is up considerably from a meager gain of 36,000 jobs in October, per the AP.
• The rate: The nation's unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2% from 4.1%, as expected.

• The markets: Wall Street seems happy with the better-than-expected report. Dow futures rose modestly, about 50 points, after its release. The thinking is that the numbers are solid, but not so strong that they will deter the Federal Reserve from cutting rates at a meeting later this month.
• Context: Friday's report from the Labor Department provided the latest evidence that the job market remains durable even though it has lost significant momentum from the 2021-2023 hiring boom, when the economy was rebounding from the pandemic recession, writes the AP's Paul Wiseman.

(More unemployment stories.)