Statistics from two monthly surveys measure labor force status, including unemployment
In November, total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 227,000, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.2%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Where did employment trend upward:
- health care
- leisure and hospitality
- government
- social assistance.
According to the report, Retail struggled losing jobs in November.
“Retail trade lost 28,000 jobs in November, after showing little net employment change over the prior 12 months,” according to the report. “… Employment declined in general merchandise retailers (-15,000), while electronics and appliance retailers added jobs (+4,000).”
Statistics from two monthly surveys, the Household Data Survey (HSD) which measures labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics and the Establishment Survey (ES) measure nonfarm employment, hours and earnings by industry established the losses and gains last month.
The HSD shows both the 4.2% unemployment rate and the number of unemployed people(7.1M) didn’t change much.
“These measures are higher than a year earlier, when the jobless rate was 3.7%, and the number of unemployed people was 6.3 million,” according to the report.
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate were as follows:
- Blacks (6.4%), edging up
- Adult men (3.9%)
- adult women (3.9%)
- teenagers (13.2%)
- Whites (3.8%)
- Asians (3.8%)
- and Hispanics (5.3%) showed little or no change over the month
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) changed little at 1.7M, up from 1.2M earlier in the year during the month while long-term unemployed accounted for 23.2% of all unemployed people. The labor force participation rate sat at 62.5%.
That is mostly unchanged since December 2023 when the number sat at 62.5%. The employment-population ratio was at 59.8%, down by 0.6 percentage points over the year, and the number of people employed part time for economic reasons changed little at 4.5 million, up 4 million a year earlier.
“These individuals would have preferred full-time employment but were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs,” according to the release.
The number of people wanting a job but not in the labor force sat at 5.5 million. That number remained basically the same in the month.
“These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the four weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job,” according to the report.
Among those marginally attached to the labor force was unchanged, according to the numbers.
“These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked for work in the four weeks preceding the survey,” according to the report. “The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, changed little at 396,000 in November.”
The ESD showed total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 227,000 and payroll employment had increased by an average of 186,000 per month over the 12 months before. Employment also increased in transportation equipment manufacturing, “reflecting the return of workers who were on strike.”
Health care added 54,000 jobs which is “in line with the average monthly gain of 59,000 over the prior 12 months.”
Ambulatory health care services added 22,000 jobs, led by a gain of 16,000 in home health care services while employment increased in hospitals and nursing and residential care facilities, according to the report.
Other numbers:
- Employment in leisure and hospitality added 53,000 jobs
- Over the month, employment improved by 29,000 in food services and drinking places
- Employment increased by 32,000 in transportation equipment manufacturing
- reflecting the return of workers who were on strike.
- Employment in social assistance edged up by 19,000
- Over the month, individual and family services added 17,000 jobs
“Leisure and hospitality have added an average of 21,000 jobs per month over the prior 12 months,” according to the report. “In November, government employment continued to trend up (+33,000), in line with the average monthly gain over the prior 12 months (+41,000). Over the month, employment continued to trend up in state government (+20,000).”
Employment showed little or no change over the month in other major industries, including:
- mining
- quarrying
- oil and gas extraction
- construction
- wholesale trade
- transportation
- warehousing
- information
- financial activities
- professional and business services
“In November, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 13 cents to $35.61. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 4.0%. In November, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 9 cents or 0.3%, to $30.57,” according to the report.
Copyright 2024 The Upper Cumberland Business Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Other stories you may want to check out:
