Though the unemployment rate fell, the number of people in the labor force also decreased (Creative Commons)

Unemployment fell to a four-year low in November despite worries that Hurricane Sandy and talks of the fiscal cliff would impede hiring.

Non farm payrolls added 146,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent, a 0.2 percentage point drop– the lowest since December 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Though November's numbers beat economists' expectations, the jobless rate dropped in large part "because the labor force decreased by 350,000," The Washington Post reported. Also, those who said they had a job decreased by 122,000.

Furthermore, job gains for both September and October were adjusted to show that 49,000 fewer jobs in the government sector were created than had initially been reported.

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"The labor market is not getting worse, but is also not getting much better," said Jacob Oubina to Reuters, a senior U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets in New York.

According to Reuters, November's job gains were in line with the trend that has prevailed all year. Job growth has averaged 151,000 per month since January, just enough to push the jobless rate lower, but only slowly. Economists say roughly 200,000-250,000 jobs per month are normally needed to really make headway.

The industries doing the most hiring in November included retail trade– which added 53,000 jobs, professional and business services– which added 43,000 jobs, and health care– which added 20,000 jobs, especially in hospitals and nursing care facilities, according to the BLS report.

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According to USA Today, 18,000 temporary workers were also hired– and encouraging sign since "the growth of such contingent workers also tends to foreshadow a pickup in hiring."

Though the report stated that Hurricane Sandy did not have a substantial impact on November's unemployment, others aren't so sure.

"Despite the BLS dismissing the impact of Sandy on payrolls, it was notable that, according to the household survey, 369,000 people couldn't work because of the weather last month, compared with about 64,000 in a normal November," said Paul Ashworth, Chief US Economist at Capital Economics to CBS News.

[View the story "November Unemployment: Mixed Reactions" on Storify]

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