Upbeat job report sparks debate over recovery

Upbeat job report sparks debate over recovery:

"A surprisingly upbeat unemployment report suggests that the U.S. job market is finally on the mend, but the detailed survey issued Friday will fuel debate about how quickly the economy can put 15.4 million jobless Americans back to work."

In an early holiday gift, the Labor Department said the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 10 percent in November from 10.2 percent in October.

Total payroll employment declined by 11,000 jobs, the smallest loss since the recession began in December 2007.
"If the bottom is not quite here, it will be no later than the first quarter of 2010," said economist Nigel Gault, with IHS Global Insight.

But the report also highlighted the plight of the unemployed, whose average job hunt of 28 weeks is the longest on records dating back to 1948.

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