Jobs Report Is Strongest Since the Start of the Recession

In the strongest jobs report since the recession began two years ago, the nation’s employers all but stopped shedding jobs in November, the government reported on Friday, and they appeared to be on the verge of finally rebuilding the work force.

The sudden and unexpected improvement surprised even the most optimistic forecasters. Instead of yet another six-figure job loss, only 11,000 jobs disappeared last month and instead of another rise in the unemployment rate, it went down, to 10 percent from 10.2 percent in October.

“This is an emphatic demonstration that the economy is moving in the direction of a self-sustaining recovery,” said Robert Barbera, chief economist at ITT Investment Technology Group, who joined many other forecasters in predicting that the work force would be growing again by early spring.

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