Job Gains Fall Short 

Investors reacted this week to major economic data, Covid headlines, and negotiations in Congress for an additional aid package. Despite the wide range of news, however, it was a relatively quiet week for mortgage markets, and rates remained near record low levels.

The other major areas of the report contained more optimistic news. From a level of 6.9% last month, the unemployment rate fell to 6.7%, matching expectations. Average hourly earnings, an indicator of wage growth, rose 0.3% from October, above the consensus for an increase of 0.1%, and were an impressive 4.4% higher than a year ago. 

Another significant economic report released this week, the national manufacturing index from the Institute of Supply Management (ISM), was in line with expectations. In November, ISM came in at 57.5, the sixth straight month of readings above 50, meaning that the sector is expanding. Since many consumers are spending less money on travel and leisure activities due to the pandemic, they are buying more goods, which has boosted manufacturing activity. 

Looking ahead, investors will continue watching Covid case counts, progress on vaccines, and negotiations for additional government stimulus. Beyond that, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) will come out on Thursday. CPI is a widely followed monthly inflation report that looks at the price change for goods and services. The next European Central Bank meeting also will take place on Thursday.