U.S. employment expanded more than economists anticipated in November, according to data released Tuesday by the Labor Department, pointing to resilience in the labor market despite recent volatility.
Nonfarm payrolls rose by 64,000 last month, rebounding from a sharp decline of 105,000 jobs in October. The result exceeded expectations for an increase of around 50,000 positions.
The Labor Department also reported that the unemployment rate edged higher, rising to 4.6% in November from 4.4% in September. Economists had been looking for a more modest uptick to 4.5%.
In separate economic data, the Commerce Department said U.S. retail activity showed little momentum in October. Overall retail sales were essentially unchanged during the month, following a small gain of 0.1% in September that was later revised lower.
Market forecasts had called for retail sales to increase by 0.2%, in line with the growth originally reported for the prior month.