US adds 261,000 jobs in continued sign of robust labor market

As the historically tight labor market once again displayed resilience in the face of the Federal Reserve's aggressive efforts to curb demand, US jobs growth increased at an unexpectedly rapid clip in October, defying expectations for a larger slowdown.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday that the economy added 261,000 jobs in November, exceeding consensus expectations of 200,000.

The amount was lower than the upwardly revised estimates of 292,000 in August and 315,000 in September. In comparison to a monthly increase of 562,000 in 2021, the economy has added 407,000 jobs on average each month this year.

Despite these improvements, the unemployment rate increased slightly to 3.7%, just above its low before the pandemic.

After the Federal Reserve decided to increase the federal funds rate by 0.75 percentage points for the fourth consecutive time on Wednesday, Fed Chair Jay Powell referred to the labor market as "overheated" in a press conference, citing recently revealed statistics that demonstrated both a stabilization in labor prices and an unexpected increase in job openings.