US jobs recovery fell short of expectations in November

The US labour market added 245K jobs in November vs 480K expected and 610K a month earlier, according to the new NFP report. Growth in the private sector and manufacturing was significantly worse than anticipated.

The fall in the unemployment rate from 6.9% to 6.7% is not good news, as it is due to a reduction in the active labour force from 61.7% to 61.5%.

The employment report is mostly weak, formally preventing the dollar from turning around after a decline of more than 1.5% against its main competitors since the beginning of the week.

On the other hand, the weakness of the dollar and hopes for new stimulus have kept US equities from falling.

It is not surprising to see weaker job recovery due to record US fatalities and new cases last month. What was surprising, however, was the optimism in the expectations of economists. Almost certainly the same enthusiasm permeates market participants and that could be a problem if there will be no additional Fed help or relief package from lawmakers.

The FxPro Analyst Team