Nonfarm payrolls increased by 245,000 jobs last month after
rising by 610,000 in October, the Labor Department said on
Friday. That was the smallest gain since the jobs recovery
started in May. The fifth straight monthly slowdown in job gains
left employment well below its February peak.
The closely watched employment report only covered the first two
weeks of November, when the current wave of coronavirus
infections started. Infections, hospitalizations and death rates
have sky-rocketed, leading some economists to anticipate a drop
in employment in December or January as more jurisdictions
impose restrictions on businesses and consumers shun crowded
places like restaurants.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls increasing by
469,000 jobs in November. Hiring peaked 4.781 million in June.
Reports on consumer spending, manufacturing and services
industries have suggested a slowdown in the recovery from the
worst recession since the Great Depression.
The United States is in the midst of a fresh wave of COVID-19
infections. Nearly 200,000 new cases were reported on Wednesday
and hospitalizations approached a record 100,000 patients,
according to a Reuters tally of official data.
A bipartisan, $908 billion coronavirus aid plan gained momentum
in Congress on Thursday as conservative lawmakers expressed
their support and Senate and House of Representatives leaders
huddled.
More than $3 trillion in government COVID-19 relief helped
millions of unemployed Americans cover daily expenses and
companies keep workers on payrolls, leading to record economic
growth in the third quarter. The uncontrolled pandemic and lack
of additional fiscal stimulus could result in the economy
contracting in the first quarter of 2021.
The unemployment rate fell to 6.7% from 6.9% in October. It,
however, has been biased down by people misclassifying
themselves as being "employed but absent from work," keeping the
focus on long-term unemployment and people working part-time for
economic reasons.
Economists are also watching the share of women in the labor
force. Industries that tend to employ women have been hard hit
by the recession. Many women have also quit jobs to look after
children as schools have moved to online learning.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
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