The job market growth remains strong with 178,000 jobs added in November, 2016 – higher than expected. Since February 2010, 15.7 million jobs have been added, one of the longest streaks of overall employment growth in the U.S. on record. Moreover, job growth in the residential construction industry remains very strong with a 3.5 percent increase over 2015, many coming in the home improvement remodeling sector.

Unemployment dropped from 4.9 to 4.6 percent with 400,000 Americans leaving the workforce, largely due to baby boomers retiring.

In addition, despite a slight dip in November, wages are up 2.5 percent over 2015.

Given these factors, many analysts expect the Federal Reserve to increase interest rates in December.