Nonfarm payrolls rose much more than expected in November, the Labor Department said Friday, sending stock index futures higher.
- The U.S. economy created 266,000 jobs last month, compared with expectations for a rise of 186,000, according to forecasts compiled by . The unemployment rate ticked down to 3.5% from 3.6%.
- Average hourly earnings rose 0.2%, versus expectations for a rise of 0.3%, again showing few signs of wage inflation, but ticking up to a gain of 3.1% on an annual basis, from 3.0% in the last two months.
- S&P 500 futures spiked to up 0.45% after the report came out. They were up about 0.2% just before the numbers hit.
