The US non-farm private sector employment rose by 178,000 in November, the Department of Labor reported.
Economists had expected 175,000 new jobs in November with employment rate at 4.9%. Meanwhile, September and October figures were revised down by 2,000 jobs.
The probability of the Fed’s interest rate hike later in December also increased because of the unemployment decline to 4.6%, the lowest level for more than nine years.
Average hourly earnings dropped by 0.1% in November after a 0.4% increase in the previous month. The pace of jobs growth slowed down to 180,000 month-on-month this year from 229,000 in 2015. This is due to the US labor market approaching full employment.
Earlier, Fed Chairman Janet Yellen said that the US economy must add slightly less than 100,000 new jobs every month so that to balance new jobs and the number of working-age population.
In case the plan of President-elect Donald Trump to increase infrastructure spending and cut taxation is fulfilled, this could encourage companies to boost hiring, thus accelerating US GDP growth in the coming years.