WASHINGTON — The unemployment rate fell to 10 percent in November as employers cut the smallest number of jobs since the recession began.

The Labor Department says the economy shed 11,000 jobs last month, an improvement from October's revised total of 111,000. That's also much better than the 130,000 Wall Street economists expected.

But the respite may be temporary, as many economists expect the jobless rate to keep climbing into next year as the economy struggles to generate enough jobs for the 15.4 million people out of work.

If part-time workers who want full time jobs and laid off workers who have given up looking for work are included, the so-called underemployment rate also fell, to 17.2 percent from 17.5 percent in October.