WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- The U.S. economy added 321,000 jobs in November, the largest monthly increase in several years, the Labor Department reported Friday.
Payroll growth was far higher than the 230,000 that Wall Street analysts had predicted. It was accompanied by other good news, including a .4 percent increase in average hourly wages and an upward revision of payroll growth in the two previous months of 44,000.
The unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.8 percent.
JJ Kinahan, chief strategist for TD Ameritrade said payroll growth was higher in November than even the most optimistic predictions.
This is a home run in terms of jobs created," he told Forbes.
The department reported 86,000 new jobs in professional and business services, which had averaged 57,000 new jobs a month in the previous year. There were 50,000 new retail jobs, 29,000 in healthcare, 28,000 in manufacturing and 20,000 in finance.
The average hourly wage rose 9 cents to $24.66.
