US employers added 199,000 jobs in November, higher than October's unrevised 150,000 jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday. The unemployment rate declined to 3.7% from 3.9%, it added.
The Bureau's survey of households used to calculate the unemployment rate, showed much more robust job growth of 747,000 and an addition of 532,000 workers to the labor force.
As a key inflation barometer, average hourly earnings increased by 0.4% for the month and 4% from a year ago.
Among sectors or industries, healthcare added the most jobs with government, manufacturing, leisure and hospitality adding 49,000, 28,000, and 40,000 jobs, respectively.
The duration of unemployment fell sharply, dropping to an average 19.4 weeks, the lowest level since February.
The strong jobs data comes just days ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, its last of the year.
The US Treasury yields rose as jobs data forced markets to recalibrate the timing of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note rose 10 basis points to 4.226%.
The two-year U.S. Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, climbed 11 basis points to 4.692%.
On Wall Street, stocks advanced, led by energy shares as oil prices bounced. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 91.27 points, or 0.26%, to 36,207.53, gained 13.96 points, or 0.32%, to 4,598.78, and the gained 53.80 points, or 0.35%, to 14,393.80.
Spot gold fell 1% to $2,008.79 per ounce by 9:55 a.m. ET (1455 GMT), and was down nearly 1% for the week so far. U.S. gold futures also lost 1% at $2,025.10.
With inputs from agencies
