Labor Market Strong, Despite Jobs Report Miss

Plus: A Warning Shot for Chinese Stocks You are receiving this limited-time email resource as a subscriber to Kiplinger's free e-newsletters. To unsubscribe at any time, simply click the link in the footer below. DECEMBER 3, 2021 [View in browser]( HOW TO PROTECT AND GROW YOUR BUSINESS AND INVESTMENTS NOW Job growth slowed in November at service-oriented businesses like restaurants, likely because of an overall upswing in COVID-19 infections. Jobs also fell at motor vehicle manufacturers because of the ongoing shortage of computer ships. Despite these problems, the unemployment rate dropped to 4.2% (a full percentage point decline since August) and will likely get back to its prepandemic level of 3.5% sometime next year. As an indication of still strong labor demand, wages are still rising at a 6% rate for production workers, the number of part-time workers looking for full time work is declining as more become full time, and more people are joining the labor force to look for work. There are still many reports of shortages of workers. --------------------------------------------------------------- SPONSORED CONTENT FROM SMARTASSET [Hire a Pro: Compare 3 Financial Advisors Near You]( Ready to kick your retirement plan into high gear? Compare fiduciary financial advisors in your area. [READ MORE]( --------------------------------------------------------------- The Federal Reserve is still likely to speed up its reductions in purchases of Treasury and mortgage-backed securities despite the slower payroll gain. Instead, the central bank will focus on measures of labor market tightness, such as the big drop in the unemployment rate. One factor that could complicate the Fed’s decision: The first cases of the omicron variant of COVID-19 have been detected in the U.S. There are eight confirmed cases so far, but likely even more unconfirmed ones, simply because of the delays in testing and sequencing. (The procedures themselves are fairly quick, but shipping samples from place to place takes time.) Didi Chuxing ([DIDI]( a Chinese ride-hailing service comparable to Uber Technologies ([UBER]( continued a monthslong slide this morning after announcing it would “immediately” take steps to delist from the New York Stock Exchange and prepare to list in Hong Kong instead. The move comes less than half a year after a massive $4.4 billion initial public offering that quickly soured as Beijing banned Didi from China’s app stores, presumably out of anger that Didi listed internationally. This is no anomalous incident. Beijing also is trying to close a loophole popular among Chinese companies attempting to go public on foreign bourses. “The end game is likely to be that the trading of Chinese stocks moves from U.S. bourses to Hong Kong,” says BCA Research, which offers up a warning to those currently invested in other Chinese stocks. “Our emerging markets strategists argue that a selloff in these stocks is unlikely to impact Chinese authorities’ decision as it would hurt foreign shareholders and therefore has limited significance for domestic investors or the Chinese economy. The implication for investors is that heightened uncertainty justifies lower equity multiples for Chinese tech companies. Thus, Chinese growth stocks are likely to experience further de-rating.” Free download, [The Kiplinger Letter's Forecast](. No information required from you. SPONSORED CONTENT FROM SMARTASSET [Hire a Pro: Compare 3 Financial Advisors Near You]( Ready to kick your retirement plan into high gear? Compare fiduciary financial advisors in your area. [READ MORE]( RELATED LINKS [3 Cybersecurity Stocks to Buy for Under $100]( [5 Mobile Payments Stocks to Grab Major Growth]( [2021 Holiday Tipping Guide: 18 People You Should Remember]( [12 Best Materials Stocks to Buy for 2022]( [Build a Better Portfolio for 2022 -- Sign Up for Kiplinger's Free Investing E-Newsletters]( [Kiplinger] [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [LinkedIn]( Send this to a friend. [Click here.]( All content ©2021 The Kiplinger Washington Editors 1100 13th Street, NW, Suite 1000 Washington, D.C. 20005 Thank you for subscribing to Kiplinger's A Step Ahead, a free resource to help readers navigate the economic recovery from COVID-19. If you ever wish to stop receiving this service, please [click here to unsubscribe](.