U.S. unemployment rate drops to nine-year low

The U.S. job market continued to steadily expand in November, with the jobless rate down to a nine-year low.

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 178,000 in November, following revised gains of 142,000 in October, said the Labor Department on Friday.

The Labor Department revised up the job gains in September to 208,000, but revised down the job gains in October. The combined employment gains in these two months were 2,000 less than previously reported. Over the past three months, job gains have averaged 176,000 per month.

The jobless rate went down from October's 4.9 percent to 4.6 percent, the lowest level in nine years.

The labor force participation rate, the share of the working-age population employed or looking for a job, went down slightly to 62.7 percent in the month from October's 62.8 percent.

Average hourly earnings for all employees declined by 3 cents to 25.89 U.S. dollars, following an 11-cent increase in October. The average hourly earnings have risen by 2.5 percent over the year, lower than the 2.8-percent growth in the previous month.

Friday's report is expected to reinforce the market expectation that the Federal Reserve would raise the interest rates in its December meeting, as a string of recent data indicated the economy was on a healthy track.

The U.S. central bank in early November left interest rates unchanged amid uncertainty about market reactions to the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. However, the Fed signaled that the central bank could raise rates again as soon as December, because officials saw a pick-up in the U.S. economy and inflation.

Fed governor Jerome Powell said earlier this week that the case for an increase in the federal funds rate has clearly strengthened since the Fed's November meeting, citing that incoming data show an economy that is growing at a healthy pace, with solid payroll job gains and inflation gradually moving up to 2 percent.

The official also warned of the risk of keeping the interest rate low for too long, and said that persistently low interest rates can raise financial stability concerns.

The Fed will hold its next policy meeting, also the final of the year, on Dec. 13-14. Investors widely expect the Fed to raise the rates at the December meeting. Endi