Helal Miah, investment research analyst at The Share Centre, explains what the latest set of US unemployment figures mean for investors: “The number of jobs created in the US over the last month rose to 271,000, way above the consensus of the 182,000 economists had anticipated.

“The unemployment rate fell to 5.0% from 5.1% in September, which was in line with expectations. Investors should appreciate that these figures did not follow the weakness of August and September and were a fairer reflection of the jobs numbers over the past 12 months.

“These numbers are now likely to heavily influence the Federal Reserve at their December meeting when they decide whether to raise interest rates for the first time since the financial crisis. As a result, the US dollar has made material gains against other major currencies, up 1% against both the Euro and sterling.”

According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), housing markets in 79 of the 360 US metro areas returned to or exceeded their historic average level of housing activity in the third quarter of 2015. This represents a year-over-year net gain of 17 markets.