US November employment data exceeds expectations, the Federal Reserve faces a dilemma between inflation and employment

【CryptoWorld】The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest employment data. Although the report was delayed due to the government shutdown, it still provided some market insights.

Summary of the data: In November, 64,000 new jobs were added, surpassing the market expectation of 45,000; the unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, higher than expected. Additionally, revised data for October showed a decline of 105,000 non-farm jobs — consistent with Wall Street economists’ previous expectations that after an unexpected increase of 108,000 in September, a pullback would occur in October.

Looking at these figures, the labor market appears to be in a typical “moderate” state: both hiring and layoffs are relatively small, indicating stability. However, this stability also brings new considerations.

For the Federal Reserve, the situation has become more complex. On one hand, they need to prevent the labor market from weakening further; on the other hand, they must contend with persistent inflation pressures — two goals that often conflict. Interestingly, Federal Reserve officials have consistently maintained that the labor market is not the main driver of current inflation, and this employment report somewhat confirms their view. Nonetheless, when formulating the next policy steps, the Fed needs to strike a delicate balance between these two objectives.