Jobless Rate Rises to 9.8 Percent

Companies are still not hiring in America. The jobless rate ticked up to 9.8 percent in November—the highest since April—from 9.6 percent in October. Only 39,000 jobs were added last month. That’s a steep drop from 172,000 new jobs in October. November was the 19th consecutive month that the jobless rate topped 9 percent—a record. The Labor Department report seemed to stun Wall Street, where the widespread expectation by analysts was that the economy would add around 150,000 jobs and the jobless rate would remain unchanged.