Transmission of material in this statement is embargoed until
8:30 a.m. (ET) Friday, December 2, 2022.
Statement of
William W. Beach
Commissioner
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Friday, December 2, 2022
Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 263,000 in November, and
the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.7 percent. Notable job
gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, health care, and
government. Employment declined in retail trade and in
transportation and warehousing.
The November gain in nonfarm payroll employment was roughly
in line with average growth over the prior 3 months (+282,000).
Monthly job growth thus far in 2022 has averaged 392,000,
compared with 562,000 per month in 2021.
Leisure and hospitality continued to add jobs in November
(+88,000), with most of the gain occurring in food services and
drinking places (+62,000). Employment in leisure and hospitality
has grown by an average of 82,000 per month thus far in 2022,
less than half of the 2021 average monthly increase of 196,000.
Leisure and hospitality employment is down by 980,000, or 5.8
percent, from its pre-pandemic February 2020 level.
In November, health care continued to add jobs (+45,000),
with gains in ambulatory health care services (+23,000),
hospitals (+11,000), and nursing and residential care facilities
(+10,000). So far in 2022, health care employment has increased
by an average of 47,000 per month, well above the average
monthly gain of 9,000 in 2021.
Government employment grew by 42,000 in November, mostly in
local government (+32,000). Government employment is down by
461,000, or 2.0 percent, since February 2020.
The other services industry added 24,000 jobs in November,
with a gain in personal and laundry services (+11,000). Other
services employment has increased by an average of 15,000 per
month so far this year, compared with 24,000 per month in 2021.
Employment in other services is below its February 2020 level by
186,000, or 3.1 percent.
In November, employment in social assistance rose by
23,000, returning to its February 2020 level. Within the
industry, individual and family services added 17,000 jobs over
the month. Employment in social assistance has increased by an
average of 18,000 per month so far this year, compared with the
2021 average of 13,000 per month.
Construction employment continued to trend up in November
(+20,000). Within the industry, nonresidential building added
8,000 jobs. Construction has added an average of 19,000 jobs per
month thus far this year, little different from an average of
16,000 per month in 2021.
Information employment rose by 19,000 in November.
Employment in information has increased by an average of 14,000
per month thus far this year, in line with an average of 16,000
per month in 2021.
Manufacturing employment continued to trend up in November
(+14,000). Employment has increased by an average of 34,000 per
month thus far this year, little different from an average of
30,000 per month in 2021.
Employment in financial activities continued its upward
trend in November (+14,000). Job gains occurred in real estate
and rental and leasing (+13,000) and in securities, commodity
contracts, and investments (+6,000), while employment fell in
credit intermediation and related activities (-9,000).
Employment in financial activities has increased by an average
of 12,000 per month thus far this year, the same as in 2021.
Retail trade employment fell by 30,000 in November. Job
losses occurred in general merchandise stores (-32,000),
electronics and appliance stores (-4,000), and furniture and
home furnishings stores (-3,000). Motor vehicle and parts
dealers added 10,000 jobs. Retail trade employment has fallen by
62,000 since August.
In November, transportation and warehousing employment
declined by 15,000. Job losses continued in warehousing and
storage (-13,000) and in couriers and messengers (-12,000),
while air transportation added 4,000 jobs. Employment in
transportation and warehousing has declined by 38,000 since
July.
Employment in professional and business services changed
little in November (+6,000). Within the industry, an employment
gain of 28,000 in professional and technical services was
partially offset by a decline of 11,000 in business support
services. Job growth in professional and business services has
averaged 58,000 per month thus far in 2022, down from 94,000 per
month in 2021.
Employment changed little over the month in mining and
wholesale trade.
In November, the average workweek for all private-sector
workers declined by 0.1 hour to 34.4 hours. The average workweek
for manufacturing declined by 0.2 hour to 40.2 hours.
Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm
payrolls increased by 18 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $32.82 in
November. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have
increased by 5.1 percent.
Turning to the labor market indicators from the household
survey, the unemployment rate remained at 3.7 percent in
November and has been in a narrow range of 3.5 percent to 3.7
percent since March. The number of unemployed people, at 6.0
million, was essentially unchanged over the month.
In November, the unemployment rates for adult men (3.4
percent), adult women (3.3 percent), teenagers (11.3 percent),
Whites (3.2 percent), Blacks (5.7 percent), Asians (2.7
percent), and Hispanics (3.9 percent) showed little or no
change.
Among the unemployed, the number of permanent job losers
increased by 127,000 to 1.4 million in November.
The number of people unemployed for 27 weeks or more, at
1.2 million in November, changed little. These long-term
unemployed accounted for 20.6 percent of all unemployed people.
Both the labor force participation rate, at 62.1 percent,
and the employment-population ratio, at 59.9 percent, were
little changed in November. These measures have shown little net
change since early this year and are each 1.3 percentage points
below their pre-pandemic values in February 2020.
In November, the number of people working part time for
economic reasons was 3.7 million, virtually unchanged from the
prior month.
The number of people not in the labor force who currently
want a job was little changed at 5.6 million in November. This
measure remains above its February 2020 level of 5.0 million.
Among those who were not in the labor force but wanted a
job, the number of people marginally attached to the labor
force, at 1.5 million, was unchanged in November. (People who
are marginally attached to the labor force had not actively
looked for work in the 4 weeks prior to the survey but wanted a
job, were available for work, and had looked for a job within
the last 12 months.) The number of discouraged workers, a subset
of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were
available for them, at 405,000 in November, changed little.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is discontinuing this
publication, the monthly Commissioner's Statement on the
Employment Situation. (The Employment Situation news release
will continue to be published.) The final Commissioner's
Statement will be issued on January 6, 2023, with the release of
employment and unemployment statistics for December 2022. The
content of the Commissioner's Statement largely repeats the
analysis presented in The Employment Situation. In addition, BLS
website traffic data indicate that few people view the
Commissioner's Statement in any given month. (Archived
Commissioner's Statements on the Employment Situation for 1994-
2022 can be found on our website at www.bls.gov/bls/news-
release/jec.htm.)
In summary, nonfarm payroll employment increased by 263,000
in November, and the unemployment rate held at 3.7 percent.
United States Department of Labor
