The U.S. economy added more jobs last month than expected, and the unemployment rate touched a record low.
According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 266,000 new positions were added to the economy in November, which well exceeded economists' forecasts of 180,000.
The unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, the lowest since 1969.
Average hourly earnings rose +0.2% on a monthly basis, in line with analysts’ expectations. The year-over-year wage growth rate came in at + 3.1%, above analysts’ forecasts of +3%.
The latest jobs reports potentially spells hope amid uncertainties related to US-China trade relations, slowing business fixed investment and weakening manufacturing output of recent times.
Manufacturing sector added 54,000 positions in November, out of which 41,000 were in auto manufacturing. General Motors workers, who came back from their October strike, helped in boosting job gains.
U.S. job gain figure for October was revised upwards to 193,000 from 180,000. For September, the data was revised to 156,000 from 128,000.