Jobless rate 7.7%; 146,000 new jobs

Paul Davidson, USA TODAY | USA TODAY

Employers added a better-than-expected 146,000 jobs in November, providing further evidence of an economy that continues to show resilience despite Superstorm Sandy and budget battles in Washington.

The unemployment rate fell to a four-year low of 7.7% from 7.9% as 350,000 Americans left the labor force, which includes people working and looking for work, the Labor Department said.

Businesses added 147,000 workers, while state, local and federal governments cut 1,000. Retailers, professional and business services and leisure and hospitality led the job gains.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the storm "did not substantively impact" employment in the Northeast.

The government revised down job gains for September and October by a total 49,000. September's additions were revised from 148,000 to 132,000 and October's, from 171,000 to 138,000.

Bloomberg's consensus forecast of economists estimated that non-farm employers added 87,000 jobs last month, with businesses adding 93,000 and state, local and federal governments cutting 6,000. Several economists had estimated the storm likely reduced job gains by as much as 80,000 to 90,000.

In light of the Labor Department's view that Sandy's effects were more muted, the overall job gains were fairly modest, says Bob Baur, chief global economist of Principal Global Investors.

"I think it shows businesses are delaying hiring because of concerns about the fiscal cliff," Baur says.

The fiscal cliff is the package of tax increases and spending cuts looming Jan. 1. They could push the U.S. back into the recession if Congress can't agree on how to soften their impact.

Instead of hiring more workers, Labor figures show businesses are piling more overtime on existing employees. Productivity, or output per labor hour, rose a solid 2.9% in the third quarter -- a trend that Baur says can't continue and will likely lead to more hiring next year after the fiscal cliff is resolved.

Meanwhile, the continuing sharp drop in the unemployment rate -- from 8.3% to 7.7% since July -- is surprising and at least partly reflects retiring Baby Boomers, says Chief U.S. Economist Jim O'Sullivan of High Frequency Economics.

"What's happening here is the demographics have changed," he says.

He says monthly job gains of about 75,000 are likely enough to keep the jobless rate from rising, down from 100,000 to 150,000.

A shrinking labor force, however, does not bode well for economic growth because retirees have less spending power.

Other barometers of the labor market were mixed. The average workweek in November was unchanged at 34.4 hours for the fifth straight month. As workloads increase, employers typically increase the hours of employees before adding new ones. And average hourly earnings rose four cents to $23.63.

More encouraging was the addition of 18,000 temporary workers. The growth of such contingent workers also tends to foreshadow a pickup in hiring.

The underemployment rate -- a broader measure of joblessness that includes the unemployed as well as part-time workers who prefer full-time jobs and discouraged workers who stopped looking -- dipped to 14.4% from 14.6%. .

And the number of people out of work at least six months fell by 216,000 to 4.8 million. These long-term unemployed still represent 40.1% of all jobless Americans.

Retailers led job gains with 53,000, indicating strong holiday hiring. Professional and business services added 43,000 jobs, leisure and hospitality added 23,000 and education and health services added 18,000

But the construction industry cut 20,000 jobs and manufacturers, which have seen their exports fall amid the economic slowdown in Europe, trimmed 7,000.

Monthly job gains have averaged 151,000 this year, in line with 153,000 in 2011.

Recent economic reports have been mixed. Manufacturing activity contracted in November, but service activity picked up, reports this week showed. Rising home prices have helped buoy consumer confidence and retail sales.