(AP) -
The Labor Department says modest hiring continued in November -- and the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in nearly four years.In its monthly report, it said the U-S economy added 146-thousand jobs in November. Economists were predicting about half that amount.
The Labor Department also reports the unemployment rate is now at seven-point-seven percent, down from October's seven-point-nine percent.
While that's the lowest unemployment rate since December 2008, it fell due mainly to workers dropping out of the labor force.
The department says Superstorm Sandy, which hit in October, did not have a major impact on the national employment and unemployment estimates.
