The US November jobs data are generally stronger than expected. The non-farm payrolls rose 203k and the private sector added 196k jobs. These numbers are only slightly above the long-term averages. The unemployment rate fell to 7.0% from 7.3% in Oct. This reflected a 818k rise in the household survey (offsetting in full the 735k decline in Oct). The participation rate actually rose to 63.0 from 62.8. The closure of the government and the re-opening suggests a two month average offers a more accurate read, which as we noted, is fairly steady job growth in the US. The other details are nothing to write home about. ... (full story)