Employers shed 11,000 jobs in November, the smallest monthly job decline in two years, as the unemployment rate inched down to 10.0%, signaling that the worst post-WWII recession may be over, the Labor Department reported Friday.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters expected employers to shed 130,000 jobs and for the jobless rate to remain 10.2%, according to the median estimate.
Payrolls for October were revised to a decline of 111,000 from a 190,000 decline initially reported. The September figure was also revised to a decline of 139,000 nonfarm payroll jobs from a decline of 219,000 reported last month.
Average hourly earnings increased to $18.74 from $18.73 in October. The average work week increased to 33.2 hours from 33.0 in October.
Economists expected average hourly earnings to be unchanged in November and for the average work week to decline to 32.9 hours, according to the median Thomson Reuters estimate.
