US jobless rate hits four-year low as employment increases

U.S. employment grew faster than expected in November, but a drop in the jobless rate to a near-four year low as people gave up the search for work suggested the labor market was still tepid.

Nonfarm employment increased by 146,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said on Friday, defying expectations of a sharp pull back related to superstorm Sandy.

However, job gains for both September and October were revised to show 49,000 fewer jobs created in those months than earlier reported.

The jobless rate fell to 7.7 percent last month, the lowest since December 2008. But the drop was because people gave up the search for work, which does not bode well for the economy.

The government said the storm which slammed the densely populated East Coast had not had a substantive effect on employment last month.

- Reuters