US Nonfarm Payroll Increases By 227,000 in November; Unemployment Ticks Up to 4.2%

Posted on December 7, 2024

On Friday, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 227,000 in November, following a revised October increase of 36,000 (originally 12,000). This is above the average growth of 186,000 per month over the prior 12 months.

Notable job growth occurred in the following sectors in November:

  • Health care added 54,000 jobs, in line with the average monthly gain of 59,000 over the prior 12 months.
  • Employment in leisure and hospitality added 53,000 positions, following little change in October.
  • Employment in government continued to trend higher, adding 33,000 positions—in line with the average monthly gain of 41,000 jobs over the prior 12 months.
  • Employment increased by 32,000 in transportation equipment manufacturing, reflecting the return of workers who were on strike in October.

These increases were offset by a 28,000 loss in retail trade.

Employment showed little or no change over the month in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; wholesale trade; transportation and warehousing; information; financial activities; professional and business services; and other services

The unemployment rate increased to 4.2% in November, and the number of unemployed people increased to 7.2 million—up from 4.1% and 7.0 million people in October. 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.

Monthly Revisions

Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimate and from recalculations of seasonal factors.

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for September was revised up by 32,000 to 255,000 (originally 223,000), and the change for October was revised up by 24,000 to 36,000 (originally 12,000). With these revisions, employment in September and October combined is 56,000 higher than previously reported.

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