Here are some early reactions from economists to the November jobs report, which showed 178,000 positions created in the month and a drop in the unemployment rate to its lowest level in nine years.

See:Full report on the jobs data

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -1.92% opened 19 points lower in the wake of the report, and the S&P 500 index SPX, -2.37% edged upward from a flat open.

• “The unemployment rate dropped 0.3 percentage point to 4.6 percent, its lowest level since August 2007. However, the drop in the unemployment rate was not all good news; it fell in part because of a contraction in the labor force of 226,000, with the labor force participation rate declining to 62.7 percent, its lowest since June.” — Gus Faucher, deputy chief economist, PNC

• “The jobless rate ... dipped to 4.6% on a drop in the labor force [by 226,000]. The participation rate also dipped to 61.7 from 62.8. The key for me was that hourly earnings dipped by 0.1% for a 2.5% year ago increase. The aggregate hours worked data also came in very weak. The aggregate hours worked in manufacturing tumbled by 0.6% assuring a solid 0.5% decline in industrial production and at most a 0.2% rise in personal income.” — Steven Ricchiuto, chief U.S. economist, Mizuho

• “The uneven pace of growth reinforces our expectation that the Fed will still be taking a gradual approach to rate hikes in 2017. Given the softness in wages, today’s release should be somewhat bullish for longer-term treasuries and negative for the dollar.” — Royce Mendes, CIBC Economics

• Greg McBride, chief economist at Bankrate, said the monthly jobs number and revisions to prior months gave the Fed what it needs to raise interest rates next month:

• “November was a bit of a mixed bag as far as jobs were concerned. While the headline figure for job growth is a positive, both labor force participation and wage growth declined. Still, the report provided no impediments for a rate hike from the Fed later this month, and a quarter-point increase is now a certainty.” — Curt Long, chief economist, National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU)

• “A big question going forward, particularly for the FOMC, is how much slack remains in the labor market due to the still unwound cyclical portion of the drop in the participation rate. The fact that a second tightening move has taken a full year to implement (assuming it occurs in 12 days) indicates that the FOMC believes there is still some slack remaining, thus its lack of urgency in seeking to normalize the yield curve in any meaningful manner.” — Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist, MFR

• House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from San Francisco, said the report showed “progress”:

See:Pelosi survives challenge to remain Democratic leader in the House

• Republican Kevin Brady, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, meanwhile, seized on a reason for the unemployment-rate drop: “While I’m glad to see more gains in employment, it looks like the unemployment rate fell in part because many people gave up looking for work. We need to create more opportunities for all Americans. For eight years, the American people have watched Washington focus on everything but jobs — and that’s about to change.”

Manufacturers weren't happy about job losses in that portion of the economy, underscoring that President Barack Obama’s goals haven't been met: