Robust Jobs Report

Report All but Guarantees Fed Will Raise Rates.

Consider it a done deal.

American employers expanded their payrolls at a robust pace in November, the government reported Friday, all but guaranteeing policy makers at the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade when they meet later this month.

In addition to 211,000 new hires last month — a bit more than Wall Street had expected — the Labor Department also revised upward its earlier estimate of job creation in September and October by a total of 26,000. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 5 percent.

The labor market strength evident in the November data removes the last major uncertainty before the Fed decision.

“This is a green light from our perspective,” said Phil Orlando, chief equity strategist at Federated Investors.

Wall Street, which in the past has sold off after strong jobs data and the prospect of higher interest rates, greeted the report with enthusiasm, perhaps because it removes any remaining uncertainty about the Fed’s plans. In midday trading on Friday, stocks reversed Thursday’s losses and rose by nearly 2 percent; bond yields fell very slightly.

The report on Friday echoes other recent positive data on job openings, new weekly claims for unemployment benefits and private payroll surveys, Mr. Orlando added. “This is a good number for liftoff,” he said, referring to the expected move by the central bank, which has held rates near zero since Dec. 2008.

Over all, the Labor Department data painted a picture of an economy that is growing steadily and creating jobs at a healthy pace, even as wage gains remain subdued and many Americans are still stuck on the sidelines of the recovery.

If hiring continues at a healthy pace next year, as most economists now predict, could also blunt Republican criticism in the presidential campaign of Democratic economic policies, which have been a prominent target for the current crop of G.O.P. candidates.

With an average monthly payroll increase of 210,000 so far this year, the 211,000 gain in November — though still subject to revision — has a metronomelike element of consistency. It is also near the average monthly increase of 199,000 in 2013 and 260,000 in 2014.

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