Employment Blog November 2021

This report is taken from the U S Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 531,000 in October, and the unemployment rate edged down by 0.2 percentage point to 4.6 percent. Job growth was widespread, with notable job gains in leisure and hospitality, in professional and business services, in manufacturing, and in transportation and warehousing. Employment declined in public education over the month. Incorporating revisions for August and September, which increased nonfarm payroll employment by 235,000, job growth has averaged 582,000 per month thus far in 2021. Since April 2020, employment has increased by 18.2 million but is down by 4.2 million, or 2.8 percent, from its level before the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in February 2020.

Employment in leisure and hospitality rose by 164,000 in October, with gains in food services and drinking places (+119,000) and accommodation (+23,000). Employment in leisure  and hospitality is down by 1.4 million, or 8.2 percent, from February 2020.

Employment in professional and business services rose by 100,000 in October. Employment in the professional and technical services component rose by 45,000 over the month and is 298,000 higher than in February 2020. Within professional and technical services, management and technical consulting services (+14,000), other professional and technical services (+9,000), scientific research and development services (+6,000), and legal services (+5,000) added jobs in October. Employment in the administrative and waste services component rose by 49,000 over the month, with most of the gain in temporary help services (+41,000). Employment in administrative and waste services is 434,000 lower than in February 2020.

Manufacturing added 60,000 jobs in October, with gains in motor vehicles and parts (+28,000), fabricated metal products (+6,000), chemicals (+6,000), and printing and related support activities (+4,000). Since February 2020, employment in manufacturing is down by 270,000.

Employment in transportation and warehousing increased by 54,000 in October and is 149,000 above its February 2020 level. In October, job growth occurred in warehousing and storage (+20,000), transit and ground passenger transportation (+16,000), air transportation (+9,000), and truck transportation 3 (+8,000). Employment in couriers and messengers fell by 5,000 over the month but is 172,000 above its February 2020 level.

In October, construction added 44,000 jobs, with gains in nonresidential specialty trade contractors (+19,000) and in heavy and civil engineering construction (+12,000). Employment in construction is 150,000 lower than in February 2020.

Employment in health care increased by 37,000 in October but is 460,000 lower than in February 2020. In October, home health care services added 16,000 jobs. Employment in nursing care facilities increased by 12,000 over the month but is down by 225,000, or 14.2 percent, since February 2020.

Employment in retail trade rose by 35,000 in October but is down by 140,000 since February 2020. In October, job gains occurred in food and beverage stores (+16,000), general merchandise stores (+15,000), health and personal care stores (+8,000), and electronics and appliance stores (+6,000). Building material and garden supply stores lost jobs (-10,000).

Employment in the other services industry increased by 33,000 in October, with most of the gain in personal and laundry services (+28,000). Since February 2020, employment in other services is down by 169,000.

Employment in financial activities rose by 21,000 in October and has returned to its February 2020 level. Over the month, job gains occurred in real estate and rental and leasing 4 (+12,000) and in securities, commodity contracts, and investments (+11,000). Commercial banking employment declined by 4,000 in October.

 Employment in wholesale trade increased by 14,000 in October, with all of the gain in the durable goods component. Wholesale trade employment is 158,000 lower than in February 2020.

Mining employment continued to trend up in October (+5,000). Employment in the industry is down by 87,000 from a peak in January 2019.

In October, employment decreased by 43,000 in local government education and by 22,000 in state government education. Employment changed little in private education (+17,000). Recent employment changes in public and private education are challenging to interpret, as pandemic-related staffing fluctuations have distorted the normal seasonal hiring and layoff patterns. Since February 2020, employment is down by 370,000 in local government education, by 205,000 in state government education, and by 148,000 in private education.

Employment in information changed little in October (+10,000) and is 122,000 lower than in February 2020.

Real average hourly earnings for all employees decreased 0.5 percent from September to October, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This result stems from an increase of 0.4 percent in average hourly earnings combined with an increase of 0.9 percent in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). Real average weekly earnings decreased 0.9 percent over the month due to the change in real average hourly earnings combined with a decrease of 0.3 percent in the average workweek.