The November jobs report came in above expectations, with economists projecting the U.S. would add 180,000 jobs and the jobless rate would hold steady at 3.9 percent.
The latest jobs numbers come ahead of the Federal Reserve’s final meeting of the year next week. The central bank is widely expected to hold interest rates steady at a range of 5.25 percent to 5.5 percent after keeping rates flat at its past two meetings.
The Fed repeatedly raised rates throughout much of 2022 and 2023 to tame stubborn inflation that peaked at 9.1 percent last summer. Inflation has since fallen to 3.2 percent as of October but remains well above the central bank’s target of 2 percent.
Despite widespread predictions last year that the U.S. economy would soon tip into a recession, it has remained surprisingly resilient. The economy has grown at an annualized rate of at least 2 percent every quarter for the last five quarters, and unemployment has remained below 4 percent despite rising interest rates.
However, consumers are not nearly as optimistic about the state of the economy as experts. Nearly 6 in 10 Americans said in a recent Bankrate survey that they feel the U.S. is currently in a recession, with little variation across different generations and income levels.
Negative views on the economy could spell trouble for President Biden in the lead-up to next year’s election, especially as he campaigns on his administration’s economic policies under the “Bidenomics” slogan.
The Hill’s Julia Shapero has more here.
