Unemployment rate falls to 50-year low as nation hits 110 consecutive months of positive job growth
The United States economy added 266,000 jobs in November greatly surpassing economists’ predictions of only a 185,000 positive monthly jobs gain. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) also indicated the national unemployment rate fell to a fifty-year low of 3.5%.
“This is positive news for the American economy. Our nation’s 30 million small businesses are expanding, raising wages and increasing their workforce. More than 7 million jobs have been created under President Donald Trump and almost 160 million people are working – the highest amount in our nation’s history,” said SBA New England Regional Administrator, Wendell G. Davis who oversees the operations of the U.S. Small Business Administration in New England including offices in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
BLS revisions also added a net total gain of 41,000 jobs for September and October, bringing the three-month average positive job growth gain statistic to 205,000, a ten-year high. Further, the average monthly job growth figure for 2019 jobs is a net positive of 180,000 according to the BLS. Since 2017, 2.1 million prime-age workers have joined the labor force.
December marks two years since President Trump signed the landmark Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) into law, putting the focus back on the economy and its job creators – small businesses. As a result, unemployment has reached historic low levels and unemployment in minority communities such as African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans have reached their lowest levels ever.
Small businesses are attesting to the TCJA’s economic incentives and increased options for health coverage, international trade, and training program expansions by entering new global markets, raising wages, and hiring more employees.
