The U.S. economy created far fewer jobs than expected in November, in a sign that hiring started to slow even ahead of the new Covid threat.  Nonfarm payrolls increased by just 210,000 for the month, though the unemployment rate fell sharply to 4.2% from 4.6%, even though the labor force participation rate increased for the month to 62%%, its highest level since March 2020.

 

The Senate passed a short-term government funding bill last night, sending it to President Biden’s desk a day before a Friday deadline to prevent a shutdown.  The president is expected to sign the measure before the end of Friday and prevent a lapse in federal funding.

 

Oil prices dropped more than 4% before rebounding yesterday after OPEC+ announced they would continue their supply hike of 400,000 barrels per day per month, despite the threat of Omicron variant cases.

 

After pulling back on borrowing during much of the pandemic, Americans are ready to pile on the debt as they edge closer to their pre-pandemic spending ways.  27% of Americans said in October that they had applied for a credit card in the past 12 months, according to the Federal Reserve, which marks the highest level since 2019.