WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. employers cut far fewer  jobs than expected last month in the best showing for the  labor market since the recession began, lifting the  beleaguered U.S. dollar as investors bet a sustainable  recovery was building.

The economy shed only 11,000 jobs in November, well below  the 130,000 loss financial markets had braced for, while the  unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 10 percent from  October’s 10.2 percent, government data showed on Friday.

The data from the Labor Department signaled a broad-based  improvement in the job market. In addition, job losses in  September and October were revised down by a total of 159,000,  contributing to the report’s strong tenor.

“It suggests that the labor market is much closer to its  trough and more synchronized with broader measures of economic  growth,” said Brian Fabbri, chief North America economist at  BNP Paribas in New York.

Traders speculated the data could lead the Federal  Reserve, which next meets on Dec. 15-16, to raise interest  rates sooner than had been thought.

That sent the dollar soaring and pushed down prices for  U.S. government debt. Against a basket of currencies, the  dollar posted its biggest gain in nearly a year. <.DXY>

U.S. and European stocks jumped on the data. But the U.S.  market later retreated slightly. The three major U.S. stock  indexes ended higher, but off the 15-month highs hit earlier  in the day, as investors began to fret over the potential  dampening impact of higher rates.

“The economy is lifting at a much greater rate than  expected,” said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at  Bank of Tokyo/Mitsubishi UFJ in New York.