Unemployment rate drops with 178,000 new jobs created in November

The Labor Department reported Friday that 178,000 new jobs have been created in November, up from 142,000 in October. Unemployment was 4.6 percent, down from October's 4.9 percent. A steady job market signals employers were willing to keep hiring in the days before and after the Nov. 8 presidential election. “The labor market is still healthy, and perhaps operating at or beyond capacity,” said Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York. “Wages can be volatile month to month. I’d tend to put a little more weight on the unemployment rate when thinking about future developments and wage inflation.”