The Employment Situation -- November 2021

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The Employment Situation -- November 2021

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The U.S. Department of Labor has issued the following press release: 

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 210,000 in November, and the unemployment rate

fell by 0.4 percentage point to 4.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported

today. Notable job gains occurred in professional and business services, transportation

and warehousing, construction, and manufacturing. Employment in retail trade declined over

the month.

This news release presents statistics from two monthly surveys. The household survey measures

labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The establishment

survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. For more information

about the concepts and statistical methodology used in these two surveys, see the Technical

Note.

Household Survey Data

The unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage point to 4.2 percent in November. The number

of unemployed persons fell by 542,000 to 6.9 million. Both measures are down considerably

from their highs at the end of the February-April 2020 recession. However, they remain above

their levels prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic (3.5 percent and 5.7 million,

respectively, in February 2020). (See table A-1. See the box note at the end of this news

release for more information about how the household survey and its measures were affected

by the coronavirus pandemic.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (4.0 percent), adult

women (4.0 percent), Whites (3.7 percent), Blacks (6.7 percent), and Hispanics (5.2 percent)

declined in November. The jobless rates for teenagers (11.2 percent) and Asians (3.8 percent)

showed little change over the month. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

Among the unemployed, the number of permanent job losers declined by 205,000 to 1.9 million

in November but is 623,000 higher than in February 2020. The number of persons on temporary

layoff decreased by 255,000 to 801,000 in November. This measure is down from the high of

18.0 million in April 2020 and has nearly returned to its February 2020 level of 750,000.

(See table A-11.)

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more), at 2.2 million,

changed little in November but is 1.1 million higher than in February 2020. The long-term

unemployed accounted for 32.1 percent of the total unemployed in November. (See table A-12.)

The labor force participation rate edged up to 61.8 percent in November. The participation

rate is 1.5 percentage points lower than in February 2020. The employment-population ratio

increased by 0.4 percentage point to 59.2 percent in November. This measure is up from its

low of 51.3 percent in April 2020 but remains below the figure of 61.1 percent in February

2020. (See table A-1.)

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.3 million, changed

little in November. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment,

were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find

full-time jobs. This figure was about the same as in February 2020. (See table A-8.)

The number of persons not in the labor force who currently want a job was 5.9 million in

November, little changed over the month but up by 849,000 since February 2020. These

individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for

work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job. (See

table A-1.)

Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of persons marginally

attached to the labor force was little changed at 1.6 million in November. These individuals

wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12

months but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of

discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were

available for them, was essentially unchanged over the month at 450,000. (See Summary

table A.)

Household Survey Supplemental Data

In November, the share of employed persons who teleworked because of the coronavirus

pandemic declined by 0.3 percentage point to 11.3 percent. These data refer to employed

persons who teleworked or worked at home for pay at some point in the 4 weeks preceding

the survey specifically because of the pandemic.

In November, 3.6 million persons reported that they had been unable to work because their

employer closed or lost business due to the pandemic--that is, they did not work at all

or worked fewer hours at some point in the 4 weeks preceding the survey due to the pandemic.

This measure was little different from the level of 3.8 million in October. Among those

who reported in November that they were unable to work because of pandemic-related closures

or lost business, 15.8 percent received at least some pay from their employer for the

hours not worked, little changed from the prior month.

Among those not in the labor force in November, 1.2 million persons were prevented from

looking for work due to the pandemic, little changed from October. (To be counted as

unemployed, by definition, individuals must be either actively looking for work or on

temporary layoff.)

These supplemental data come from questions added to the household survey beginning in

May 2020 to help gauge the effects of the pandemic on the labor market. The data are not

seasonally adjusted. Tables with estimates from the supplemental questions for all months

are available online at www.bls.gov/cps/effects-of-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic.htm.

Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 210,000 in November. Thus far this year, monthly

job growth has averaged 555,000. Nonfarm employment has increased by 18.5 million since

April 2020 but is down by 3.9 million, or 2.6 percent, from its pre-pandemic level in

February 2020. In November, notable job gains occurred in professional and business

services, transportation and warehousing, construction, and manufacturing. Employment

in retail trade declined over the month. (See table B-1. See the box note at the end of

this news release for more information about how the establishment survey and its measures

were affected by the coronavirus pandemic.)

Professional and business services added 90,000 jobs in November. Job gains continued in

administrative and waste services (+42,000), although employment in its temporary help

services component changed little (+6,000). Job growth also continued in management and

technical consulting services (+12,000) and in computer system design and related services

(+10,000). Employment in professional and business services overall is 69,000 below its

level in February 2020.

Employment in transportation and warehousing increased by 50,000 in November and is 210,000

above its February 2020 level. In November, job gains occurred in couriers and messengers

(+27,000) and in warehousing and storage (+9,000).

Construction employment rose by 31,000 in November, following gains of a similar magnitude

in the prior 2 months. In November, employment continued to trend up in specialty trade

contractors (+13,000), construction of buildings (+10,000), and heavy and civil engineering

construction (+8,000). Construction employment is 115,000 below its February 2020 level.

Manufacturing added 31,000 jobs in November. Job gains occurred in miscellaneous durable

goods manufacturing (+10,000) and fabricated metal products (+8,000), while motor vehicles

and parts lost jobs (-10,000). Employment in machinery declined by 6,000, largely reflecting

a strike. Manufacturing employment is down by 253,000 since February 2020.

Employment in financial activities continued to trend up in November (+13,000) and is

30,000 above its February 2020 level. Job growth occurred in securities, commodity contracts,

and investments in November (+9,000).

Employment in retail trade declined by 20,000 in November, with job losses in general

merchandise stores (-20,000); clothing and clothing accessories stores (-18,000); and

sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores (-9,000). These losses were partially offset

by job gains in food and beverage stores (+9,000) and in building material and garden

supply stores (+7,000). Retail trade employment is 176,000 lower than in February 2020.

Employment in leisure and hospitality changed little in November (+23,000), following

large gains earlier in the year. Leisure and hospitality has added 2.4 million jobs thus

far in 2021, but employment in the industry is down by 1.3 million, or 7.9 percent, since

February 2020.

Health care employment was about unchanged in November (+2,000). Within the industry,

employment in ambulatory health care services continued to trend up (+17,000), while

nursing and residential care facilities lost 11,000 jobs. Employment in health care is

down by 450,000 since February 2020, with nursing and residential care facilities

accounting for nearly all of the loss.

In November, employment showed little change in other major industries, including mining,

wholesale trade, information, other services, and public and private education.

In November, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls

increased by 8 cents to $31.03. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have

increased by 4.8 percent. In November, average hourly earnings of private-sector

production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 12 cents to $26.40. (See tables B-3 and

B-8.)

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.1 hour

to 34.8 hours in November. In manufacturing, the average workweek edged up by 0.1 hour

to 40.4 hours, and overtime was unchanged at 3.2 hours. The average workweek for

production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at

34.1 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for September was revised up by 67,000,

from +312,000 to +379,000, and the change for October was revised up by 15,000, from

+531,000 to +546,000. With these revisions, employment in September and October combined

is 82,000 higher than previously reported. (Monthly revisions result from additional

reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published

estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.)

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