Report from Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that non-farm payrolls jumped in November, beating expectations by 82 percent.

The Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that non-farm payrolls jumped in November by 146,000.  The result was 82 percent higher than economists’ expectations for 80,000 new jobs.  Although the result was a decline from October’s 171,000-job advance, the drop was much less significant than what was anticipated.  The unemployment rate fell from 7.9 percent to 7.7 percent – its lowest level since December of 2008.

From the report:

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 146,000 in November, and the unemployment rate edged down to 7.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.  Employment increased in retail trade, professional and business services, and health care. 

Household Survey Data

The unemployment rate edged down to 7.7 percent in November. The number of unemployed persons, at 12.0 million, changed little. (See table A-1.)

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The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed at 4.8 million in November. These individuals accounted for 40.1 percent of the unemployed. (See table A-12.)

The civilian labor force participation rate declined by 0.2 percentage point to 63.6 percent in November, offsetting an increase of the same amount in October.  Total employment was about unchanged in November, following a combined increase of 1.3 million over the prior 2 months.  The employment-population ratio, at 58.7 percent, changed little in November.

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Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 146,000 in November. Since the beginning of this year, employment growth has averaged 151,000 per month, about the same as the average monthly job gain of 153,000 in 2011.  In November, employment rose in retail trade, professional and business services, and health care.

Friday’s good news from the Bureau of Labor Statistics was offset by the preliminary Reuters / University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for December, which fell to 74.5 from November’s reading of 82.7.  The final report will reveal what drove the figure down, although for the mean time, most analysts are assuming that concern about the fiscal cliff was the likely cause.  Inflection Points

The major ETFs expected to respond to the November non-farm payrolls report and the preliminary Reuters / University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for December are:

Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLP)  +0.67%

SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSEARCA:XRT)  +0.11%

Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLY)  +0.36%

iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSEARCA:IWM)  +0.11%  Learn More About iShares ETFs

Vanguard REIT ETF (NYSEARCA:VNQ)  +0.28%  ETFs Move Higher as Fiscal Cliff Ticks Closer

Bottom line:  The surprising result in the November non-farm payrolls report – that 146,000 new jobs were added in November – still falls short of the level of payroll expansion needed to restore employment to pre-recession levels.  To achieve that goal in five years, we will need to add approximately 250,000 new jobs per month.

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About John Nyaradi (http://www.wallstreetsectorselector.com) John Nyaradi is Publisher of Wall Street Sector Selector: Your Home For ETF Investing! John writes a weekly guest column, John Nyaradi’s ETF Edge for MarketWatch.com and his investment articles have appeared in many online publications including Trading Markets, Money Show, Yahoo Finance, Investors Insight, Fidelity, ETF Daily News, iStock Analyst , among many others. His book, Super Sectors: How to Outsmart the Market Using Sector Rotation and ETFs, is published by John Wiley and Sons and included among the Years Top Investment Books in the 2011 Stock Trader’s Almanac.