Unemployment Falls to 7% in November

Washington, DC, Dec. 6, 2013 -- Nonfarm payrolls increased by 203,000 new jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell to 7%, the Labor Department said.

The unemployment rate fell from 7.3% to its lowest level since November 2008 as some federal workers who were counted as unemployed in October went back to work after the government shutdown.

Economists had expected payrolls to increase 180,000 last month and the unemployment rate to fall to 7.2%.

Job gains for September and October were revised to show 8,000 more jobs created than previously reported.