Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until USDL-15-2292
8:30 a.m. (EST) Friday, December 4, 2015
Technical information:
Household data: (202) 691-6378 • cpsinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/cps
Establishment data: (202) 691-6555 • cesinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/ces
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- NOVEMBER 2015
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 211,000 in November, and the unemployment
rate was unchanged at 5.0 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
Job gains occurred in construction, professional and technical services, and health
care. Mining and information lost jobs.
Household Survey Data
In November, the unemployment rate held at 5.0 percent, and the number of unemployed
persons, at 7.9 million, was essentially unchanged. Over the past 12 months, the
unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons are down by 0.8 percentage
point and 1.1 million, respectively. (See table A-1.)
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (4.7 percent),
adult women (4.6 percent), teenagers (15.7 percent), whites (4.3 percent), blacks
(9.4 percent), Asians (3.9 percent), and Hispanics (6.4 percent) showed little or no
change in November. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little
changed at 2.1 million in November and has shown little movement since June. In
November, these individuals accounted for 25.7 percent of the unemployed. (See
table A-12.)
The civilian labor force participation rate, at 62.5 percent, changed little in
November. The employment-population ratio was unchanged at 59.3 percent and has
shown little movement since October 2014. (See table A-1.)
The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred
to as involuntary part-time workers) increased by 319,000 to 6.1 million in
November, following declines in September and October. These individuals, who
would have preferred full-time employment, were working part time because their
hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job. Over
the past 12 months, the number of persons employed part time for economic reasons
is down by 765,000. (See table A-8.)
In November, 1.7 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, down
by 392,000 from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) These
individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and
had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as
unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the
survey. (See table A-16.)
Among the marginally attached, there were 594,000 discouraged workers in November,
little changed from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.)
Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe
no jobs are available for them. The remaining 1.1 million persons marginally
attached to the labor force in November had not searched for work for reasons such
as school attendance or family responsibilities. (See table A-16.)
Establishment Survey Data
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 211,000 in November, about in line with the
average monthly gain of 237,000 over the prior 12 months. In November, job growth
occurred in construction, professional and technical services, and health care.
Employment in mining and information declined over the month. (See table B-1.)
Employment in construction rose by 46,000 in November, with much of the increase
occurring in residential specialty trade contractors (+26,000). Over the past year,
construction employment has grown by 259,000.
In November, professional and technical services added 28,000 jobs. Job gains
occurred in accounting and bookkeeping services (+11,000), and employment in
computer systems design and related services continued to trend up (+5,000). Over
the year, professional and technical services has added 298,000 jobs.
Health care employment increased by 24,000 over the month, following a large gain
in October (+51,000). In November, hospitals added 13,000 jobs. Health care
employment has grown by 470,000 over the year.
Employment in food services and drinking places continued to trend up in November
(+32,000) and has risen by 374,000 over the year.
Retail trade employment continued to trend up in November (+31,000) and has
increased by 284,000 over the year. In November, job gains occurred in general
merchandise stores (+12,000) and motor vehicle and parts dealers (+9,000). Over
the past 12 months, these industries have added 85,000 jobs and 71,000 jobs,
respectively.
Employment in mining continued to decline in November (-11,000), with losses
concentrated in support activities for mining (-7,000). Since a recent peak in
December 2014, employment in mining has declined by 123,000.
Information lost 12,000 jobs over the month. Within the industry, employment in
motion pictures and sound recording decreased by 13,000 in November but has shown
little net change over the year.
Employment in other major industries, including manufacturing, wholesale trade,
transportation and warehousing, financial activities, and government, changed
little over the month.
The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged down by
0.1 hour to 34.5 hours in November. Both the manufacturing workweek and factory
overtime were unchanged in November, at 40.7 hours and 3.2 hours, respectively.
The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private
nonfarm payrolls was also unchanged at 33.7 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)
In November, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls
rose by 4 cents to $25.25, following a 9-cent gain in October. Over the year,
average hourly earnings have risen by 2.3 percent. In November, average hourly
earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees, at $21.19,
changed little. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for September was revised from
+137,000 to +145,000, and the change from October was revised from +271,000 to
+298,000. With these revisions, employment gains in September and October combined
were 35,000 more than previously reported. Over the past 3 months, job gains have
averaged 218,000 per month.
_____________
The Employment Situation for December is scheduled to be released on Friday,
January 8, 2016, at 8:30 a.m. (EST).
___________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Household Survey Data |
| |
| In accordance with usual practice, The Employment Situation news release |
| for December 2015, scheduled for January 8, 2016, will incorporate annual |
| revisions in seasonally adjusted household survey data. Seasonally |
| adjusted data for the most recent 5 years are subject to revision. |
|___________________________________________________________________________|
