The U.S. unemployment rate fell last month to its lowest level in more than 2 1/2 years. More people out of work either found jobs or gave up looking and were no longer counted as unemployed.
The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate dropped sharply to 8.6 percent, down from 9 percent in October. The rate hasn’t been that low since March 2009, during the depths of the recession.
About 13.3 million Americans remain unemployed.