(WASHINGTON POST) Chico Harlan December 4, 2015 — U.S. companies in November continued their robust hiring, adding 211,000 new jobs, according to government data released Friday, providing a signal of economic health that will likely spur the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates later this month.

The unemployment rate held at 5 percent, a 7½-year low, even as more Americans began job searches in a sign of labor market confidence.

The new numbers released by the Department of Labor show a resilient U.S. economy that has been driven by consumer spending and job creation, even amid the turbulence of weak commodity prices and a strong dollar.

Source: U.S. economy added 211,000 jobs in November; unemployment rate holds at 5 percent – The Washington Post