The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 8.6%, the lowest since March 2009. Employers added 120,000 jobs in November, an increase in hiring from October. The government also revised the previous two months to add an additional 72,000 jobs, the fourth straight month the government has revised previous months higher. 13.3 million Americans remain unemployed.
The drop in the unemployment rate can be attributed to people returning to the workforce, while others gave up looking. Roughly 315,000 people gave up looking for work and were no longer counted among unemployed. Additionally, more than half of the jobs added were by retailers, restaurants and bars, as the holiday season kicks in.
