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The U.S. economy added 228,000 jobs in November, according to the monthly jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.1 percent, unchanged from October.
"Employment growth has averaged 174,000 per month thus far this year, compared with an average monthly gain of 187,000 in 2016," the agency's acting Commissioner William J. Wiatrowski said of the report.
The number of unemployed people was "essentially unchanged at 6.6 million," the bureau said. Of that number, 1.6 million are considered to be long-term unemployed — workers who have not had jobs for 27 weeks or more.
"Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for teenagers increased to 15.9 percent in November," the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Other groups saw little change from the previous month.
As for wages, the agency says, "In November, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 5 cents to $26.55. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 64 cents, or 2.5 percent."
Responding to the news, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said, "We're especially pleased to see the manufacturing sector roaring back to life, adding a total of 159,000 jobs since President Trump took office after averaging a loss of more than 1,000 jobs per month during the last year of the previous administration."
Results for both September and October were revised. The bureau initially said that 261,000 jobs were added in October; the new tally dips that number to 244,000. And the September figure, which were seen as suffering from effects of catastrophic hurricanes, was revised upwards, from an 18,000 gain to 38,000.
The labor force participation rate remained at 62.7 percent in November; the BLS said that the employment-population ratio, which stands at 60.1 percent, has changed little since early 2017.
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