Employers added 120,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate dropped slightly to 8.6%, the Labor Department reported Friday.
Of the 13.3 million unemployed people in November – down from 13.9 million in October — 5.7 million had been without jobs for 27 weeks or more, the Labor Department said.
It is the second consecutive monthly drop in unemployment. In October, the unemployment rate was 9% and it had been 9.1% in July, August and September.
There were job gains in professional business services, retail and health care while government employment declined. And there was no change in the construction sector.
Congress is considering a number of proposals to stimulate job creation, including raising the cap on member business loans from 12.25% of assets to 27.5%.
In separate letters to the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, both CUNA and NAFCU renewed their push for the legislation.
“During the economic crisis, credit unions continued to lend when the banks pulled back lines of credit. And, despite the difficulties of the last few years, credit union charge-off and delinquency rates on business loans have been lower than similar rates by banks,’’ CUNA President/CEO Bill Cheney wrote.
“Raising the cap would create jobs without spending a single dime of taxpayer money. It is also worth noting that the Treasury Department and the National Credit Union Administration have signed-off on this common-sense proposal,” NAFCU President/CEO Fred Becker wrote.
