US non-farm payroll: US adds 178,000 jobs in November as wages rise and unemployment falls
US non-farm payroll data has shown that the US added 178,000 jobs in the month that saw Donald Trump win the Presidential election.
Market experts had been expecting an increase of 165,000 in November, slightly above the 161,000 reported for October.
Unemployment dropped to 4.6 per cent and wages were up 2.5 per cent.
The jobs data comes less than two weeks ahead of the next Federal Reserve policy meeting, when it's expected to hike interest rates.
"Today's number is pretty much “Goldilocks” – not too hot and not too cold," said SpreadCo's David Morrison.
"In other words, good enough for the Fed to tighten later this month, but not too strong to worry that the US economy was beginning to run away with itself.
"There are some concerns that the Fed is letting itself get behind the curve when it comes to monetary tightening. The latest readings on US GDP and Manufacturing have surprised to the upside. Add in the additional stimulus of Trump’s proposed tax cuts and infrastructure spending and it’s easy to see how inflation could soon soar past the Fed’s two per cent target."
Jobs were a big element of Trump's election campaign – the former reality TV star has set a goal of creating 25m jobs over the next decade, and said he intends to pursue an “America’s infrastructure first” policy, refocusing on domestic investment over the “Obama-Clinton globalisation agenda”.
The President-elect's job plans centre on the construction, steel manufacturing and other sectors, and he also wants to make America “energy independent”, aiming to create millions of new jobs in this area.