U.S. economy added 146,000 jobs in November as the unemployment rate dropped to 7.7 percent, the Labor Department said Friday

source http://main.aol.com/2012/12/07/november-jobs-report-unemployment-rate_n_2257517.html?ir=aol&utm_campaign=120712&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Alert-aol&utm_content=FullStory

From the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. economy added 146,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent, the lowest since December 2008. The government said Superstorm Sandy had only a minimal effect on the figures.

The Labor Department's report on Friday offered a mixed picture for the economy.

Hiring remained steady during the storm and in the face of looming tax increases. But the government said employers added 49,000 fewer jobs in October and September than initially estimated.

And the unemployment rate fell to a four-year low in November from 7.9 percent in October mostly because more people stopped looking for work and weren't counted as unemployed.

There were signs that the storm disrupted economic activity. Construction employment dropped 20,000. And weather prevented 369,000 people from getting to work - the most in almost two years. They were still counted as employed.

Stock futures jumped after the report. Dow Jones industrial average futures were down 20 points in the minutes before the report came out at 8:30 a.m., and just after were up 70 points.

As money moved into stocks, it moved out of safer bonds. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note, which moves opposite the price, rose to 1.63 percent from 1.58 percent just before the report.
Since July, the economy has added an average of 158,000 jobs a month. That's a modest pickup from 146,000 in the first six months of the year.

The increase suggests employers are not yet delaying hiring decisions because of the "fiscal cliff." That's the combination of sharp tax increases and spending cuts that are set to take effect next year without a budget deal.

rest at http://main.aol.com/2012/12/07/november-jobs-report-unemployment-rate_n_2257517.html?ir=aol&utm_campaign=120712&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Alert-aol&utm_content=FullStory