The job market rebounded in November, with U.S. employers adding 227,000 jobs—above economists’ expectations—according to the latest employment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The strong data comes after October’s report found that U.S. employers added just 12,000 new jobs, with payroll growth slowing to its weakest pace since December 2020. October’s figure, which was impacted by hurricanes and labor strikes, was revised to 36,000 from the initial count of 12,000, the BLS reported Dec. 6.
The unemployment rate in November ticked up slightly to 4.2%, from 4.1% in October. That’s higher than a year ago, when the jobless rate was 3.7%.
The November jobs report shows the labor market is starting to stabilize, “consistent with moderating labor demand that we’ve observed this year, and resembling what the labor market looked like prior to the pandemic,” said Sydney Ross, junior economic researcher at SHRM.
“The labor market is still tight by historic standards, but steadily cooling and healthy overall,” she said. “This week’s JOLTS summary shows labor demand is still high, but fewer employers are laying off workers at a large scale. Employers appear to be facing hiring difficulty across certain industries. The most recent ADP employment report suggests job growth appears to be slowing down, particularly impacting employers in manufacturing, leisure/hospitality and financial service industries. The recent JOLTS summary confirms that hiring in October decreased across these three industries, with the overall hiring rate dipping to 3.3% in October.”
Industry Breakdown
The November jobs report shows that employment trended up in health care, leisure and hospitality, government, and social assistance. Retail trade lost jobs, the BLS reported. Health care added 54,000 jobs in November, in line with the average monthly gain of 59,000 over the prior 12 months. In November, ambulatory health care services added 22,000 jobs, led by a gain of 16,000 in home health care services. Employment also increased in hospitals, adding 19,000 jobs, and nursing and residential care facilities (12,000 jobs).
Employment in leisure and hospitality also rose in November, with an increase of 53,000 jobs, as did employment in food services and drinking places (29,000 jobs). Leisure and hospitality added an average of 21,000 jobs per month over the prior 12 months, the BLS reported. Government employment also rose by 33,000 jobs in November.
Retail trade lost 28,000 jobs in November.
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