U.S. Added 227K Jobs in November, Topping Estimates for 200K

The U.S. employment picture rebounded in November after weak data in October that was probably affected by hurricanes in the southeast.

Nonfarm payrolls rose by 227,000 last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economist forecasts had been for a gain of 200,000 jobs. October’s originally reported 12,000 job gain was revised higher to 36,000.

November’s unemployment rate was 4.2% against estimates for 4.2% and October’s 4.1%.

The price of bitcoin (BTC) rose to $98,445 in the minutes following the data.

Friday morning’s jobs numbers are among the last pieces of key economic data the Federal Reserve will see before its Dec. 17-18 meeting. As recently as one month ago, market participants were nearly certain the U.S. central bank would continue to trim its benchmark fed funds interest rate range at that meeting, but strong economic numbers, continuing perky inflation signals, and cautious talk from Fed members have led to a modest reassessment of that thinking.

According to CME FedWatch, traders prior to this jobs print had priced in a 70% chance of a 25 basis point December rate cut, down from 80% one month ago. After the U.S. jobs report, a 25 basis point rate cut is now priced at 88%.