But other Fed officials think the labor market is improving enough to help fuel solid economic growth and that the risks of inflation justify a relatively steady path of rate increases. These officials accept it as likely that the pace of job growth may swing from month to month in the year ahead, just as it has this year. One major reason is that employers continue to find ways to boost productivity, or output per labor hour, allowing them to expand without as much hiring.
The November payroll increase was about a third of the 303,000 jobs added in October, a hiring burst that partly reflected the post-hurricane cleanup and reconstruction efforts in the Southeast.
Construction and temporary jobs surged in October, as companies across the country provided labor and materials for the cleanup and reconstruction efforts. Both job categories rose by much less in November. All the Labor Department job figures are adjusted for seasonal variation.
Total U.S. job gains have averaged 178,000 a month since September, but some economists expect that rate to fall in coming months as the boost from the hurricanes fades and as economic growth cools slightly.
"The bottom line is payroll job growth is anemic," said Richard A. Yamarone, director of economic research at Argus Research Corp. "Economic growth is moderating, and businesses don't need to pick up the pace of hiring."
Hiring was slower across many industries, with some of the better job growth reported in the leisure and hospitality, education and health areas.
However, those gains were partly offset by job losses in other areas.
Manufacturers shed 5,000 jobs, the sector's third consecutive monthly decline. Automakers, for example, have cut production to reduce bloated inventories.
Retailers actually added nearly 300,000 more workers last month. But hiring was far less robust than usual going into the holiday period: Adjusting for seasonal hiring patterns, the figure represents a decline of 16,000 jobs, according to the Labor Department. It is the fourth year in a row that November retail hiring has fallen on a seasonally adjusted basis. Gasoline stations, department stores and stores selling clothing, sporting goods, books and music all reported declines last month.
The fall reflected several factors, analysts said. Many retailers cut back on holiday hiring as they sensed weakening demand from middle- and lower-income households, whose wages have not kept up with inflation.
The growth in online shopping also has shifted an increasing amount of buying out of the stores, reducing the need for extra holiday retail workers.
But additionally, retailers, like other businesses, are working to hold down labor costs to protect their profit at a time when consumers are resisting price increases, analysts said. Sears, Roebuck & Co., for example, hired 42,000 seasonal workers this year, up from 30,000 last year but fewer than the 50,000 holiday workers it hired in 2001.
Last year, the company reduced its total workforce, including both seasonal and year-round employees, by setting up centralized cash registers and by turning some departments into self-service areas. The company will add cashier stations to areas as needed during peak times, said spokesman Bill Masterson. "It gives us the ability to flex up and down to meet demand."
