:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/44280566/flag2_800x600.0.0.jpg)
On the surface, today's jobs report was great news — employers added 321,000 jobs in November.
Dig a little bit deeper, though, and you see even more good news.
- Revisions: Both the September and October employment estimates were revised upwards, adding another 44,000 jobs.
- Wages: Average hourly wages for private sector workers rose 9 cents, a nice boost to people's living standards.
- Hours: The average workweek got slightly longer, boosting up to 34.6 hours, a further indicator of labor force demand.
- History: November jobs reports are normally subject to unusually large upward revisions in subsequent months, so this could be an undercount.
- Oil: This report surely reflects some of the upside to the US economy from the collapse in oil prices, but that really happened too recently to be a big driver. When that cheap gas hits the economy, though, it's going to add fuel to the fire.
