The U.S. job market appears to have continued to slow in recent months as the government caught up on reports that were delayed due to the shutdown in Washington.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 64,000 in November, according to a report released Tuesday morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists’ estimates predicted growth of 50,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate in November rose to 4.6%, compared to 4.4% and 4.4% expected in September.
For the month of October, the economy saw employment decline by 105,000 compared to 119,000 added in September.
Taken together, the reports paint a somewhat bleaker picture of the employment situation than expected.
The price of Bitcoin gave back some of its modest overnight gains in the minutes after the report was released, falling to $87,000.
Before the data was released, markets were pricing in a 75% chance that the Federal Reserve would keep rates steady at its January meeting.
