Employment Blog December 2019

By Stephen Singer, December 16, 2019

The Employment Blog is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S.Department of Labor. Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 266,000 in November, and the unemployment rate, at 3.5 percent, was little changed. Notable job gains occurred in health care and in professional and technical services. Manufacturing employment increased as workers in motor vehicles and parts returned from a strike. Incorporating revisions for September and October, which increased nonfarm payroll employment by 41,000, job growth has averaged 180,000 per month thus far in 2019. The average job gain was 223,000 per month in 2018. This information is detailed in Charts 1 and 2 below.

Employment in health care increased by 45,000 in November, with gains occurring in ambulatory health care services (+34,000) and in hospitals (+10,000). Over the past 12 months, health care has added 414,000 jobs.

In November, employment rose by 31,000 in professional and technical services. Over the year, the industry has added 278,000 jobs.

Manufacturing employment was up by 54,000 in November, offsetting a decline of 43,000 in October. Within the industry, employment in motor vehicles and parts increased by 41,000 in November as workers returned from a strike.

Employment in leisure and hospitality continued to trend up in November (+45,000). The industry has added 219,000 jobs over the past 4 months, with about two-thirds of the growth in food services and drinking places (+149,000).

Employment in transportation and warehousing also continued to trend up in November (+16,000). Over the month, job gains occurred in warehousing and storage (+8,000) and in couriers and messengers (+5,000).

Employment in financial activities continued on an upward trend in November (+13,000). Within the industry, credit intermediation and related activities added 7,000 jobs.

Mining employment decreased by 7,000 in November. Employment in the industry is down by 19,000 from a recent peak in May 2019.

Retail trade employment was about unchanged over the month (+2,000). Within the industry, general merchandise stores (which include department stores, warehouse clubs, and supercenters) added 22,000 jobs. Employment in motor vehicle and parts dealers increased by 8,000. These gains were partly offset by a loss of 18,000 jobs in clothing and accessories stores.

Employment in other major industries–including construction, wholesale trade, information, and government–showed little change over the month.

Real average hourly earnings for all employees were unchanged from October to November, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This result stems from an increase of 0.2 percent in average hourly earnings combined with an increase of 0.3 percent in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). Real average weekly earnings were unchanged over the month due to no change in real average hourly earnings or the average workweek.  This information is detailed in Chart 3 below.