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US job growth surged in November after being severely hindered by hurricanes and strikes, but a rise in the unemployment rate to 4.2 percent pointed to an easing labour market that should allow the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates again this month. The labour market's resilience is driving the economy through strong consumer spending, with the closely watched employment report from the Labor Department on Friday showing solid wage growth last month. The economy created 56,000 more jobs in September and October than previously estimated. "The report should soothe bears and bulls alike," said Scott Anderson, chief US economist at BMO Capital Markets. "The solid nonfarm payroll gain and strong earnings growth should keep the economic expansion on a sturdy foundation, even as a gradually rising unemployment rate moderates demand and inflationary pressures over time." Nonfarm payrolls increased by 227,000 jobs last month after rising by an upwardly revised 36,000 in October, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls would gain 200,000 jobs following a previously reported rise of 12,000 in October. Job growth averaged 173,000 per month over the past three months. Economists had anticipated a payrolls boost of at least 90,000 from the end of strikes at Boeing and another smaller aerospace company as well as a reversal of the disruptions wrought by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Capital Economics estimated the total contribution was about 70,000, leaving an underlying increase in payrolls of 157,000. "It still implies that underlying employment growth was a touch stronger than October," said Stephen Brown, deputy chief North America economist at Capital Economics. "That matches the message from some of the alternative indicators suggesting that conditions in the labour market are stabilizing at a healthy level." The acceleration in employment gains was led by healthcare, with a rise of 54,000 jobs spread across ambulatory healthcare services, hospitals, nursing and residential care facilities. Leisure and hospitality payrolls increased by 53,000 jobs, which were concentrated at restaurants and bars. Government employment increased by 33,000 positions, lifted by gains in state government. Manufacturing payrolls rebounded by 22,000, with transportation equipment jobs increasing by 32,000 as the striking workers returned to the job. The rise suggests not all of the 38,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers who were on strike in October returned to work. They could be reflected in December's data. Social assistance payrolls increased by 19,000 jobs. Construction employment rose marginally, hinting at slow rebuilding efforts in the areas devastated by the hurricanes. There were also gains in financial activities and professional and business services employment. Temporary help services employment rebounded slightly after dropping by 33,300 jobs in October. But the retail sector shed 28,000 jobs, mostly reflecting losses at general merchandise retailers. A late Thanksgiving holiday also could have delayed hiring. Electronics and appliance retailers, however, added 4,000 jobs. The share of industries reporting job growth rose to 56.2 percent from 53.2 percent in October. Financial markets see a roughly 89 percent chance of a quarter-percentage-point rate cut at the US central bank's Dec. 17-18 policy meeting, up from 72 percent earlier, CME Group's FedWatch tool showed. The Fed has lowered interest rates by 75 basis points since September, when it launched its easing cycle. Its policy rate is now in the 4.50 percent-4.75 percent range, having been hiked by 5.25 percentage points between March 2022 and July 2023. Stocks on Wall Street were mostly trading higher. The dollar advanced against a basket of currencies. Yields on longer-dated US Treasuries fell. A bar chart titled "Monthly change in US jobs by sector" that ranks the major sectors of the economy by the number of jobs added or lost in the most recent month. The increase in the jobless rate after holding at 4.1 percent for two straight months reflected weakness in household employment. The smaller and volatile household survey from which the unemployment rate is compiled showed a decline of 355,000 jobs. Household employment dropped in October as well. Tepid hiring, rather than rising layoffs, is lifting the unemployment rate. Weekly claims for state unemployment benefits are at historically low levels. About 193,000 people left the labor force last month, pushing the participation rate, or the proportion of working-age Americans who have a job or are looking for one, down to 62.5 percent from 62.6 percent in October. The employment-to-population ratio, viewed as a measure of an economy's ability to create employment, dropped to 59.8 percent from 60.0 percent in October. The number of people who have permanently lost jobs increased to 1.893 million from 1.835 million in October. The median duration of unemployment spells rose to 10.5 weeks, the highest in nearly three years, from 10 weeks in October. That aligns with the elevation in continuing claims. Some economists cautioned against putting too much weight on the divergence between payrolls and household employment and the continued fall in participation given the survey's volatility. They also argued that household employment and labor supply should have rebounded after being held down by the storms. "Given everything else we know about the labor market, I feel safe in declaring that these November household survey figures are wholly out of line with the underlying reality," said Stephen Stanley, chief US economist at Santander US Capital Markets. "I would expect a rebound in household employment and a drop of at least several basis points in the jobless rate in December." Average hourly earnings increased 0.4 percent last month, matching October's gain. In the 12 months through November, wages advanced 4.0 percent after rising by the same margin in October. The average workweek increased to 34.3 hours from 34.2 hours in October. Aggregate payroll income jumped 0.8 percent after gaining 0.2 percent in October, which should continue to fuel spending. With the economy expanding at a healthy pace, inflation stuck above the central bank's 2 percent target and uncertainty about the policies of President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration, the outlook for further rate cuts in 2025 is unclear. Business sentiment perked up in the aftermath of Trump's victory in the Nov. 5 election on hopes of less regulation and tax cuts. But his promises to raise tariffs on imports and carry out mass deportations of migrants have raised concerns of higher prices and labor market disruptions. "While these measures can stimulate job growth and raise wages, they need careful implementation to balance potential inflationary risks and fiscal deficits," said Sung Won Sohn, a finance and economics professor at Loyola Marymount University. "Their effectiveness will depend on how they interact with monetary policies and global economic trends."UnitedHealthcare CEO kept a low public profile. Then he was shot to death in New York
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About 75,000 homes with approved development applications across Greater Sydney have not commenced construction, underscoring the state government’s struggle to tackle the housing crisis in the face of tough economic conditions. Weeks after NSW Labor revealed its latest major planning reform, a three-person development authority to expedite approval times, Planning Minister Paul Scully conceded the success of any regulatory change was dependent on economic pressures subsiding. “We acknowledge that macroeconomic conditions are tough at the moment, but the need for more housing is too urgent, and when economic conditions shift, the planning system needs to be at its most effective and efficient,” Scully said. Premier Chris Minns wants to fast-track higher-density development in Sydney. Economic headwinds are undermining his reforms. Credit: The scale of the housing challenge confronting NSW has only intensified since Premier Chris Minns took government in March last year. After committing to build 263,000 homes across Greater Sydney by July 2029, departmental forecasts now expect only 151,670 will be constructed in that time. NSW needs to build 75,000 homes a year for the next five years to meet its commitments under the National Housing Accord. Last month, the Herald revealed only 45 per cent of 895 approved development applications for large-scale housing projects – builds with at least 19 new dwellings – had obtained construction certificates by March this year , according to an analysis by University of Sydney Emeritus Professor Peter Phibbs, reflecting the broad economic challenges faced by the development industry. The stalled applications represented 47,536 dwellings, more than double the net completions in the previous year to June. But further figures obtained by this masthead under freedom of information laws highlight how economic headwinds are not just affecting projects with large capital costs, but all types of housing, showing proponents with approved development applications of all sizes were delaying or jettisoning construction plans. In NSW, 13,687 development applications were approved since 2021-22 but had not begun construction as of March 10, data from the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure shows. The stalled projects would provide 75,205 dwellings. University of NSW City Futures Research Centre director Professor Bill Randolph said the sheer number of approved development applications demonstrated the problem with fixating reform on the planning system, saying there was a greater counter-cyclical role for government to play in delivering affordable housing. “It’s the market, not the planning system, that determines the rate of which stuff gets built. That’s becoming more and more evident,” he said, adding that the current downturn in the economic cycle had been exacerbated by the pandemic, migration, and then inflation. “We’re just chasing our tails if we think reforming the planning system is going to solve this.” The department’s data, updated in late October, showed net completions over the preceding 12 months to June had plunged to just above 21,000, 18 per cent below the previous five financial years’ average. In a bright spot for the government, October experienced the highest number of approvals since May 2023, nearly 35 per cent more than the preceding month. Last month, Minns said that dealing with construction feasibility across Greater Sydney was a “complex issue”, but he noted that access to finance and capital was “harder to get today than it has been for decades”. Scully said the government was doing everything in our remit to “streamline the planning system”, smoothing out kinks in the development pipeline that were slowing down housing delivery. “Of course we want building commencements to align with housing approvals, but this comes down to development feasibility, labour costs, interest rates, building material costs and sometimes consent conditions,” he said. Shadow planning minister Scott Farlow said the problem appeared to be especially affecting Sydney, noting the number of development application approvals not commenced had increased by 18 per cent over the last year while falling in other capital cities. He criticised the government’s imposition of a housing and productivity tax on developments last year, saying it had exacerbated the city’s feasibility crisis as increases in the cost of construction and land outpace apartment prices. Property Council NSW executive director Katie Stevenson said getting shovels in the ground was proving difficult across Greater Sydney, blaming high government taxes and charges, as well as “delays in post-approval decision-making”, such as when acquiring additional approvals and licences from agencies such as Sydney Water. “Without government action to make it economically viable for the property sector to build more homes, the housing crisis is only going to get worse,” she said. “The NSW government can’t control all the costs preventing housing delivery, but one lever they can pull is to put a temporary pause on newly introduced additional taxes and charges on development during the National Housing Accord period to kickstart the housing delivery communities need.” The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here .