Employers in the United States added 64,000 jobs in November, following a loss of 105,000 jobs in October. The unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, marking its highest level in more than four years, according to delayed federal data released on Tuesday.
The latest figures show an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the last reported unemployment rate of 4.4% in September. There was no official unemployment rate provided for October due to a government shutdown that lasted from October 1 to November 12.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revised previous hiring data downward for August and September by a total of 33,000 jobs. August’s job losses were adjusted from -22,000 to -26,000, while September’s job gains were revised down from 119,000 to 108,000.
In November, healthcare and construction sectors saw employment increases of 44,000 and 28,000 jobs respectively. Federal government employment declined by 6,000 jobs in November after a significant loss of 162,000 jobs in October. Since January, federal employment has decreased by a total of 271,000 positions.
Employment in transportation and warehousing fell by 18,000 in November—mainly due to job cuts among couriers and messengers—and is down by 78,000 since its peak earlier this year in February.
Manufacturing lost another 5,000 jobs during the month after losing 9,000 positions in October.
Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by five cents (0.1%) to $36.86 in November. Over the past year, average hourly earnings have risen by 3.5%.
Stock indexes declined slightly on Tuesday morning as investors responded to the mixed news: job growth returned but was accompanied by rising unemployment.
