Source: Sharecast
According to the US Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms non-farm payrolls grew by 227,000 in November.
Economists' median forecast was for an increase of 214,000.
Readings for the previous two months combined meanwhile were marked up by 56,000.
The three-month moving average of payroll gains printed at 173,000.
Average hourly earnings were up at a month-on-month pace of 0.4% (consensus: 0.3%).
The unemployment rate ticked higher by one tenth of a percentage point to 4.2%, which was also in line with economists' forecasts.
The unemployment rate is derived from the Household survey, as opposed to the Establishment survey which generates the readings on payrolls.
The rise in the unemployment rate was driven by a 355,000 decline in the number of employed to reach about 161.14m, while the number of unemployed rose by 161,000 to 7.145m.
Labour force participation ticked lower, from 62.6% in October to 62.5% for November.
"Growth in nonfarm payrolls rebounded more than expected in November, and upward revisions to October and September pushed trend job growth higher," said Nancy vanden Houten, Lead US economist at Oxford Economics.
"The household data was weaker, with employment falling sharply for a second month in a row and the unemployment rate ticking higher. There is nothing in the report to change our call for the Federal Reserve to lower rates by 25bps at the December 18 FOMC meeting, but we expect the FOMC to proceed more cautiously in 2025 and skip cutting rates in January."
For their part, economists at TD Securities noted how the six-month run rate for hiring slowed for a sixth month to reach 143.000 in November.
"In our view, these dynamics are consistent with a labor market that has continued to adjust lower, but it bears watching closely as continued cooling in hiring would be unwelcome."
