2017.12.1020:11:00UTC+00Strong November U.S. Employment Growth Bolsters Economic Outlook

U.S. job growth rose at a strong pace in November, boosting the economy's prospects for fourth quarter expansion.

Nonfarm payrolls increase by 228, 000 jobs in the previous month amid broad employment gains as disruptions from the recent string of hurricanes eased, according to the Labor Department's report on Friday. The official revised data for October showed the economy added 244,000 jobs instead of the previously estimated 261, 000 job gains. For the previous month, economists had expected payrolls to rise by 200, 000.

Average hourly earnings increased five cents or 0.2 percent during the month after falling 0.1 percent in October. The gain raised the annual increase in wages to 2.5 percent from 2.3 percent in October.

Workers' average hours also rose last month. The average workweek increased to 34.5 hours in November, the longest in five months and up from the 34.4 hours in October.

The unemployment rate was flat at a seventeen-year low of 4.1 percent amid an increase in the labor force.

The fairly positive report underlined the U.S. economy's health and could increase the criticism directed on efforts by President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans to reduce corporate income tax to 20 percent form 35 percent.