— more to come
Follow all the updates in the live NFP coverage
The US was expected to report an increase of 200,000 positions in November after a robust rise of 250,000 in October (before revisions). Average Hourly Earnings carried expectations for rising by 0.3% MoM after 0.2% beforehand. Year over Year, wages were forecast to increase by 3.1%. The Unemployment Rate was projected to remain at a low level of 3.7%.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell spoke on Thursday and expressed satisfaction with the economy and the labor market in particular. He said that it is doing well be “many measures.” This NFP is the last jobs report before the Federal Reserve convenes to makes its final rate decision for the year.