[h=3]By JEFFREY SPARSHOTT And ERIC MORATH[/h]WASHINGTON—U.S. job growth picked up and the unemployment rate fell to a four-year low in November as the labor market shrugged off superstorm Sandy, the latest sign of a steady if unspectacular economic recovery.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by a seasonally adjusted 146,000 last month, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate, obtained by a separate survey of U.S. households, fell two-tenths of a percentage point to 7.7%, the lowest level since December 2008.
Friday's report is the first measure of Sandy's impact on payrolls. The storm made landfall Oct. 29 and caused severe damage in New York and New Jersey. Power outages, mass-transit problems and flooding persisted into November, disrupting businesses and keeping workers at home.
Some 369,000 employees were unable to work because of bad weather last month, well above the 10-year November average of 70,000. But the Labor Department said people with jobs who missed work for weather-related reasons are counted as employed, whether or not they are paid for the time off.
"The Sandy effect may be more revealing in the December numbers, with downward revisions to November payrolls and a more complete accounting of the weather effects," said Eric Green, global head of research for rates and foreign exchange at TD Securities.
November's rise in employment was ahead of expectations—economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expected a gain of 80,000 in payrolls and a 7.9% jobless rate. But the improvement followed downward revisions for prior months—September's and October's increases were cut by a cumulative 49,000. Since the beginning of the year, employment growth has averaged 151,000 a month, about the same as 2011.
[h=3]A Historical View[/h]U.S. unemployment since 1948
The lower unemployment rate, meanwhile, largely reflects people leaving the work force.
The White House said the latest numbers show that the U.S. economy is continuing to heal.
The economy appears to be holding steady despite uncertainty generated by the so-called fiscal cliff, a mix of tax increases and spending cuts set to hit in January unless the White House and Congress strike a deal to avert it.
Going over the cliff would likely send the economy back into a recession, and many economists think businesses are already holding back on hiring and investment while tax rates and government spending plans for next year remain unknown.
Private companies added 147,000 jobs during November, accounting for all of the month's gains. Employment increased in retail, professional services like computer-systems design, health care and wholesale trade.
"Cliff or no cliff, companies are hiring, the job gains are real," said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.
The construction industry shed 20,000 jobs last month, while manufacturers cut 7,000 positions.
Governments, meanwhile, trimmed 1,000 jobs—the federal work force fell by 5,000, while states added positions.
Average earnings rose four cents to $23.63 an hour, while the average workweek held steady at 34.4 hours.
A broader measure of unemployment, which includes job seekers as well as those in part-time jobs, fell to 14.4% in November from 14.6% a month earlier.
Slow growth and high unemployment have worried policy makers at the Federal Reserve, which in September launched an open-ended program of bond purchases in an effort to boost the economy. Friday's report is unlikely to alter the Fed's easy-money policies ahead of its meeting next week.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by a seasonally adjusted 146,000 last month, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate, obtained by a separate survey of U.S. households, fell two-tenths of a percentage point to 7.7%, the lowest level since December 2008.
Friday's report is the first measure of Sandy's impact on payrolls. The storm made landfall Oct. 29 and caused severe damage in New York and New Jersey. Power outages, mass-transit problems and flooding persisted into November, disrupting businesses and keeping workers at home.
Some 369,000 employees were unable to work because of bad weather last month, well above the 10-year November average of 70,000. But the Labor Department said people with jobs who missed work for weather-related reasons are counted as employed, whether or not they are paid for the time off.
"The Sandy effect may be more revealing in the December numbers, with downward revisions to November payrolls and a more complete accounting of the weather effects," said Eric Green, global head of research for rates and foreign exchange at TD Securities.
November's rise in employment was ahead of expectations—economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expected a gain of 80,000 in payrolls and a 7.9% jobless rate. But the improvement followed downward revisions for prior months—September's and October's increases were cut by a cumulative 49,000. Since the beginning of the year, employment growth has averaged 151,000 a month, about the same as 2011.
[h=3]A Historical View[/h]U.S. unemployment since 1948
The lower unemployment rate, meanwhile, largely reflects people leaving the work force.
The White House said the latest numbers show that the U.S. economy is continuing to heal.
The economy appears to be holding steady despite uncertainty generated by the so-called fiscal cliff, a mix of tax increases and spending cuts set to hit in January unless the White House and Congress strike a deal to avert it.
Going over the cliff would likely send the economy back into a recession, and many economists think businesses are already holding back on hiring and investment while tax rates and government spending plans for next year remain unknown.
Private companies added 147,000 jobs during November, accounting for all of the month's gains. Employment increased in retail, professional services like computer-systems design, health care and wholesale trade.
"Cliff or no cliff, companies are hiring, the job gains are real," said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.
The construction industry shed 20,000 jobs last month, while manufacturers cut 7,000 positions.
Governments, meanwhile, trimmed 1,000 jobs—the federal work force fell by 5,000, while states added positions.
Average earnings rose four cents to $23.63 an hour, while the average workweek held steady at 34.4 hours.
A broader measure of unemployment, which includes job seekers as well as those in part-time jobs, fell to 14.4% in November from 14.6% a month earlier.
Slow growth and high unemployment have worried policy makers at the Federal Reserve, which in September launched an open-ended program of bond purchases in an effort to boost the economy. Friday's report is unlikely to alter the Fed's easy-money policies ahead of its meeting next week.