The U.S. added 321,000 jobs in November to mark the biggest gain since January 2012, and wage growth also accelerated, in one of the strongest employment reports since the Great Recession ended more than five years ago.
Economists had expected a gain of 235,000 non-farm jobs. Hiring was also revised up by a combined 44,000 in the prior two months, the U.S. Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, remained unchanged at 5.8% as more people entered the labour force in search of work.
Average hourly wages jumped nine cents, or 0.4%, after two weak readings, although the 12-month increase was little changed at 2.1%. Year-over-year increases have stuck to a tight range of 1.9% to 2.2% since 2012.
The amount of time people worked each week, matched a post-recession high of 34.6 hours. The government said 243,000 new jobs were created in October, up from a preliminary 214,000.
September's gain was raised to 271,000 from 256,000. So far in 2014 the economy has gained an average of 239,000 jobs a month - the fastest rate in at least 15 years.
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