EconoIndicators

Employment Situation At a Glance

• Total Employment: 146.7 million
• Nonfarm Payroll Employment: 138.467 million
• Monthly Change: Up 94,000
• Previous Month Revision: Drop 48,000 Jobs
• Unemployed Persons: 7.2 million
• Unemployment Rate: 4.7%
• Change: None

Technorati Tags: employment, situation, unemployment, report

THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: NOVEMBER 2007

Nonfarm payroll employment continued to trend up in November (94,000), and
the unemployment rate held at 4.7 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Job growth continued in professional
and technical services, health care, and food services. Employment continued to
decline in manufacturing and also fell in several housing-related industries,
including construction, credit intermediation, and real estate. Average hourly
earnings rose by 8 cents over the month.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons (7.2 million) was about unchanged in November,
and the unemployment rate was 4.7 percent for the third month in a row. A year ear-
lier, the number of unemployed persons was 6.8 million, and the jobless rate was 4.5
percent. (See table A-1.)

Unemployment rates for the major worker groups–adult men (4.1 percent), adult
women (4.1 percent), teenagers (16.3 percent), whites (4.2 percent), blacks (8.4
percent), and Hispanics (5.7 percent)–showed little or no change in November.
The unemployment rate for Asians was 3.6 percent, not seasonally adjusted. (See
tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

In November, total employment increased by 696,000 to 146.7 million. The em-
ployment-population ratio rose by 0.3 percentage point to 63.0 percent; it was
still below its most recent peak of 63.4 percent in December 2006. The civilian
labor force rose to 153.9 million over the month, and the labor force participa-
tion rate edged up to 66.1 percent. (See table A-1.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Nearly 1.4 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached
to the labor force in November, about the same as a year earlier. These indi-
viduals wanted and were available to work and had looked for a job sometime dur-
ing the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had
not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. Among the marginally
attached, there were 349,000 discouraged workers in November, unchanged from a
year earlier. Discouraged workers were not currently looking for work specifi-
cally because they believed no jobs were available for them. The other 1.0 mil-
lion persons marginally attached to the labor force in November had not searched
for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school attendance
and family responsibilities. (See table A-13.)

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Table A. Major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
_______________________________________________________________________________
| | |
| Quarterly | |
| averages | Monthly data | Oct.-
Category |_________________|__________________________| Nov.
| | | | | | change
| II | III | Sept. | Oct. | Nov. |
| 2007 | 2007 | 2007 | 2007 | 2007 |
_________________________|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
HOUSEHOLD DATA | Labor force status
|_____________________________________________________
| | | | | |
Civilian labor force ….| 152,807| 153,195| 153,464| 153,253| 153,870| 617
Employment …………| 145,956| 146,054| 146,257| 146,007| 146,703| 696
Unemployment ……….| 6,851| 7,142| 7,207| 7,245| 7,167| -78
Not in labor force ……| 78,675| 79,015| 78,997| 79,462| 79,069| -393
|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
| Unemployment rates
|_____________________________________________________
| | | | | |
All workers ………….| 4.5| 4.7| 4.7| 4.7| 4.7| 0.0
Adult men ………….| 4.0| 4.2| 4.2| 4.3| 4.1| -.2
Adult women ………..| 3.9| 4.1| 4.0| 4.1| 4.1| .0
Teenagers ………….| 15.6| 15.7| 16.0| 15.6| 16.3| .7
White ……………..| 4.0| 4.2| 4.2| 4.2| 4.2| .0
Black or African | | | | | |
American …………| 8.4| 7.9| 8.1| 8.5| 8.4| -.1
Hispanic or Latino | | | | | |
ethnicity ………..| 5.6| 5.7| 5.7| 5.6| 5.7| .1
|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
ESTABLISHMENT DATA | Employment
|_____________________________________________________
| | | | | |
Nonfarm employment…….| 137,864| 138,143| 138,203|p138,373|p138,467| p94
Goods-producing (1)….| 22,447| 22,360| 22,309| p22,287| p22,254| p-33
Construction ……..| 7,665| 7,621| 7,595| p7,586| p7,562| p-24
Manufacturing …….| 14,064| 14,011| 13,986| p13,971| p13,960| p-11
Service-providing (1)..| 115,417| 115,783| 115,894|p116,086|p116,213| p127
Retail trade (2)…| 15,385| 15,386| 15,383| p15,368| p15,392| p24
Professional and | | | | | |
business services .| 17,879| 17,936| 17,954| p18,018| p18,048| p30
Education and health | | | | | |
services ……….| 18,301| 18,470| 18,505| p18,549| p18,577| p28
Leisure and | | | | | |
hospitality …….| 13,524| 13,595| 13,630| p13,676| p13,702| p26
Government ……….| 22,233| 22,254| 22,280| p22,318| p22,348| p30
|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
| Hours of work (3)
|_____________________________________________________
| | | | | |
Total private ………..| 33.8| 33.8| 33.8| p33.8| p33.8| p0.0
Manufacturing ………| 41.2| 41.3| 41.3| p41.2| p41.3| p.1
Overtime …………| 4.2| 4.1| 4.1| p4.1| p4.1| p.0
|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
| Indexes of aggregate weekly hours (2002=100)(3)
|_____________________________________________________
| | | | | |
Total private ………..| 107.4| 107.7| 107.8| p107.9| p108.0| p0.1
|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
| Earnings (3)
|_____________________________________________________
Average hourly earnings, | | | | | |
total private ………| $17.32| $17.50| $17.54| p$17.55| p$17.63| p$0.08
Average weekly earnings, | | | | | |
total private ………| 586.11| 591.39| 592.85| p593.19| p595.89| p2.70
_________________________|________|________|________|________|________|________

1 Includes other industries, not shown separately.
2 Quarterly averages and the over-the-month change are calculated using
unrounded data.
3 Data relate to private production and nonsupervisory workers.
p = preliminary.

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Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Total nonfarm payroll employment continued to trend up (94,000) in November
to 138.5 million, following little change in September (44,000) and a gain of
170,000 in October. In November, job growth continued in several service-pro-
viding industries, while employment in construction and financial activities
declined. Manufacturing employment continued to trend down. (See table B-1.)

Employment in professional and technical services grew by 24,000 in November
and has risen by 312,000 over the year. In November, job gains continued in
computer systems design and related services (12,000) and in management and
technical consulting services (6,000).

Health care employment continued to grow, but the gain of 15,000 in November
was less than half the average increase (34,000) for the prior 12 months. In
November, hospitals and offices of physicians added 8,000 and 7,000 jobs, re-
spectively. Employment in social assistance increased by 10,000 in November
and by 94,000 over the year.

Within leisure and hospitality, employment in food services and drinking
places continued to trend up in November (17,000). Food services has added
306,000 jobs over the year. Employment in accommodations edged up in November
(11,000).

Employment in retail trade edged up in November (24,000). Job gains occurred
in clothing stores, health and personal care stores, electronics and appliance
stores, and furniture and home furnishings stores. Employment in general merchan-
dise stores, which include department stores, fell by 11,000 over the month.

In November, employment declined in several industries related to home
building and financing. Construction employment declined by 24,000 with job
losses occurring in residential building (-7,000) and in residential specialty
trade contractors (-13,000). Within financial activities, employment in credit
intermediation (which includes mortgage lending and related activities) con-
tinued to contract (-13,000). Credit intermediation has lost 75,000 jobs since
its peak in February. Real estate employment declined by 8,000 in November.

Manufacturing employment continued to trend down in November. Job losses
persisted in two industries that provide construction materials–wood products
and nonmetallic mineral products (such as concrete and glass). Machinery manu-
facturing added 4,000 jobs over the month.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

In November, the average workweek for production and nonsupervisory workers
on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.8 hours, seasonally adjusted.
The manufacturing workweek increased by 0.1 hour to 41.3 hours, and factory
overtime was unchanged at 4.1 hours. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production and nonsupervisory workers
on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 0.1 percent in November to 108.0 (2002=100).
The manufacturing index increased by 0.2 percent to 95.2. (See table B-5.)

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Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)

Average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers on private
nonfarm payrolls rose by 8 cents, or 0.5 percent, in November to $17.63, sea-
sonally adjusted. This followed a 1-cent gain in October. Average weekly earn-
ings also grew by 0.5 percent over the month, to $595.89. Over the year, both
average hourly and weekly earnings rose by 3.8 percent. (See table B-3.)

Statement of

Philip L. Rones
Acting Commissioner
Bureau of Labor Statistics

Friday, December 7, 2007

Nonfarm payroll employment continued to trend up in November
(94,000), and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.7 percent.
Job gains continued in professional and technical services, food
services, and health care, while declines continued in industries
affected by problems in the housing market, including
construction and credit intermediation. Average hourly earnings
increased by 8 cents, or 0.5 percent.

Professional and technical services employment was up by
24,000 in November, reflecting growth in computer systems design
and in management and technical consulting. Employment in
accounting and bookkeeping services and in architectural services
also continued to grow over the month. Over the past 12 months,
professional and technical services employment has increased by
312,000.

Food services employment continued to trend up (17,000) in
November. Over the year, the industry has added 306,000 jobs.

Employment in health care grew less in November (15,000)
than the average for the previous 12 months (34,000). Over the
month, employment rose in physicians’ offices (7,000) and in
hospitals (8,000). Employment continued to trend up over the
month in social assistance.

Retail trade employment edged up by 24,000 in November. On
net, employment in the industry has shown essentially no change
since the spring. Over the month, there were employment gains in
clothing stores, health and personal care stores, electronics and
appliance stores, and furniture and home furnishings stores.
Partly offsetting these gains, general merchandise stores lost
11,000 jobs.

Construction employment fell by 24,000 in November and by
163,000 since peaking in September 2006. Reflecting difficulties
in the housing market, job declines continued in the residential
components of the construction industry. In contrast, employment
in nonresidential specialty trades changed little in November,
but the industry has added 48,000 jobs over the past 12 months.

Also reflecting weakness in the housing market and mortgage
lending, employment in credit intermediation declined by 13,000
in November. The industry has lost 75,000 jobs since employment
peaked in February. Real estate employment also declined in
November.

Employment in manufacturing continued its downward trend in
November (-11,000). Job losses continued in two industries
closely tied to housing–wood products and nonmetallic mineral
products (such as concrete and glass). In contrast, machinery
manufacturing continued to add jobs (4,000). Average weekly
hours of production workers in manufacturing edged up by 0.1 hour
in November to 41.3 hours, and factory overtime was unchanged at
4.1 hours.

Average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory
workers in the private nonfarm sector increased by 8 cents, or
0.5 percent, in November. This followed gains of 4 cents in
September and 1 cent in October.

Looking at measures from our survey of households, the
number of unemployed persons was 7.2 million in November, and the
unemployment rate held at 4.7 percent. Total employment rose by
696,000. This measure, which can be more variable than the
measure from our payroll survey, showed little growth, on net,
from December 2006 to October 2007. The employment-population
ratio rose by 0.3 percentage point in November to 63.0 percent;
it was still down from its most recent peak of 63.4 percent in
December 2006.

In summary, payroll employment growth continued in several
service-providing industries in November. These gains continued
to be partly offset by job losses in construction and other
industries affected by the problems in home building and
financing. The unemployment rate held at 4.7 percent.

Employment Situation November 2007 [PDF]

Employment Situation November 2007 [Text]

Source: Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics