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US loses 12,300 temp jobs in November, but overall jobs up by 211,000

December 04, 2015

The US lost a record 12,300 temp jobs in November, according to seasonally adjusted data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, data in this report is frequently revised in later reports. October’s gain in temp jobs was revised upward to 28,100 from 24,500, the biggest month-over-month gain in a year.

The number of temp jobs rose 2.6% on a year-over-year basis in November, down from 4.2% in October and 3.5% in September.

The temp penetration rate — temp jobs as a percent of total nonfarm jobs — slipped to 2.04% in November compared to 2.05% in October.

For total nonfarm employment, the US added 211,000 jobs in November. The increase is in line with the average monthly gain of 237,000 over the prior 12 months, according to the BLS.

Job gains occurred in construction, professional and technical services, and health care. Mining and information lost jobs.

The unemployment rate in November held steady at 5.0%, unchanged from October. The jobless rate for those with a bachelor’s degree or higher was 2.5% in November, also unchanged from the previous month.

The increase exceeded the median forecast, which called for a 200,000 advance, according to Bloomberg.

“It was a broad-based gain across all sectors, and that’s absolutely essential,” said John Silvia, chief economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, NC, whose forecast for payrolls was among the closest, told Bloomberg. The jobs report “is a bright green signal for the Fed to go ahead and move in December,” and indicates future rate increases should proceed at a “moderate pace.”

Only a terrible job report would have been enough to prevent the Fed from raising rates in 12 days, Gad Levanon, managing director, economic outlook and labor markets at The Conference Board said in a statement.

“November’s gain of 211,000 jobs, coupled with upward revisions to October and September, confirms the Fed’s view that the labor market remains robust and that wage growth could accelerate in 2016,” Levanon said. “With such solid job growth, a second rate hike could soon follow.”

“As the labor markets gets tighter, the downward trend in the unemployment rate is naturally becoming more moderate, yet we still expect the rate to reach 4.5% a year from now,” he said. “We expect wage growth to significantly accelerate in such a scenario. The trajectory for the Federal Funds rate may be less gradual than many expect.”

The US unemployment rate was 5.0% in November, unchanged from October. The college-level unemployment rate, which can serve as a proxy for professional employment, was also unchanged month over month at 2.5%.

“As the labor markets gets tighter, the downward trend in the unemployment rate is naturally becoming more moderate, yet we still expect the rate to reach 4.5% a year from now,” Levanon said. “We expect wage growth to significantly accelerate in such a scenario. The trajectory for the Federal Funds rate may be less gradual than many expect.”

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