ISTANBUL

The US economy added 64,000 jobs in November, surpassing market expectations, according to data from the Labor Department released on Tuesday.

The market expectation for nonfarm payrolls last month was set to show a gain of 50,000.

It followed October's 105,000 loss. The October figure was not released on time due to the federal government shutdown.

"Employment rose in health care and construction in November, while federal government continued to lose jobs," the department said.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate rose to 4.6% in November from 4.4% in September, above forecasts.

The number of unemployed people was "little changed" at 7.8 million in November, while the labor force participation rate was at 62.5%.

Meanwhile, the employment-to-population ratio was stable at 59.6% in the same month, according to the Labor Department.

The number of people not in the labor force but currently wanting a job in November was also little changed at 6.1 million.

"These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job," it said.

The average hourly earnings for all employees on non-farm payrolls rose 0.1% to $36.86 in November, compared to September, while it was up by 3.5% on an annual basis.