The US added 321,000 nonfarm jobs in November — the largest monthly increase since January 2012 — and the number of US temporary help services jobs rose by 22,700, according to seasonally adjusted numbers from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The temp penetration reached another new high of 2.12 percent.

However, the year-over-year growth rate in temporary jobs slowed to 8.52 percent in November from 9.15 percent in October.

The US unemployment rate of 5.8 percent in November was unchanged from October. However, the college-level unemployment rate, which can serve as a proxy for professional employment, rose to 3.2 percent in November from 3.1 percent in October.

 “This job report is an especially strong one because it combines with an increase in hourly earnings at 9 cents, which is consistent with the acceleration in wages in the Employment Cost Index, reported last month,” The Conference Board stated. “As the labor market continues to tighten in the coming year, we expect to see further improvement in wage growth. The unemployment rate paused at 5.8 percent but it doesn’t change our view that we are only a few months away from reaching the natural rate of 5.5 percent. Even with low inflation numbers, labor market conditions are pressuring the Fed to raise rates in the first half of 2015.”

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