Advance copies of this statement are made available to the press 
under lock-up conditions with the explicit understanding that 
the data are embargoed until 8:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.


                            Statement of

                          William W. Beach
                            Commissioner
                     Bureau of Labor Statistics

                      Friday, December 6, 2019


      Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 266,000 in November, and 
the unemployment rate, at 3.5 percent, was little changed. 
Notable job gains occurred in health care and in professional 
and technical services. Manufacturing employment increased as 
workers in motor vehicles and parts returned from a strike.
      
      Incorporating revisions for September and October, which 
increased nonfarm payroll employment by 41,000, job growth has 
averaged 180,000 per month thus far in 2019. The average job 
gain was 223,000 per month in 2018.
      
      Employment in health care increased by 45,000 in November, 
with gains occurring in ambulatory health care services 
(+34,000) and in hospitals (+10,000). Over the past 12 months, 
health care has added 414,000 jobs.
      
      In November, employment rose by 31,000 in professional and 
technical services. Over the year, the industry has added 
278,000 jobs.
      
      Manufacturing employment was up by 54,000 in November, 
offsetting a decline of 43,000 in October. Within the industry, 
employment in motor vehicles and parts increased by 41,000 in 
November as workers returned from a strike.
      
      Employment in leisure and hospitality continued to trend up 
in November (+45,000). The industry has added 219,000 jobs over 
the past 4 months, with about two-thirds of the growth in food 
services and drinking places (+149,000).
      
      Employment in transportation and warehousing also continued 
to trend up in November (+16,000). Over the month, job gains 
occurred in warehousing and storage (+8,000) and in couriers and 
messengers (+5,000).
      
      Employment in financial activities continued on an upward 
trend in November (+13,000). Within the industry, credit 
intermediation and related activities added 7,000 jobs.
      
      Mining employment decreased by 7,000 in November. 
Employment in the industry is down by 19,000 from a recent peak 
in May 2019.
      
      Retail trade employment was about unchanged over the month 
(+2,000). Within the industry, general merchandise stores (which 
include department stores, warehouse clubs, and supercenters) 
added 22,000 jobs. Employment in motor vehicle and parts dealers 
increased by 8,000. These gains were partly offset by a loss of 
18,000 jobs in clothing and accessories stores.
      
      Employment in other major industries--including 
construction, wholesale trade, information, and government--
showed little change over the month.
      
      Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm 
payrolls rose by 7 cents in November to $28.29. Over the past 12 
months, average hourly earnings have risen by 3.1 percent; the 
over-the-year percent change has been 3.0 percent or above for 
16 consecutive months. From October 2018 to October 2019, the 
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 
by 1.8 percent (on a seasonally adjusted basis).
      
      Most labor market indicators from the survey of households 
continued to show little or no change in November. Both the 
unemployment rate, at 3.5 percent, and the number of unemployed 
people, at 5.8 million, were little changed over the month.
      
      Among the unemployed, the number of people searching for 
work for 27 weeks or more was essentially unchanged at 1.2 
million in November. These long-term unemployed accounted for 
20.8 percent of the unemployed.
      
      The labor force participation rate, at 63.2 percent, was 
little changed in November. The employment-population ratio was 
61.0 percent for the third month in a row.
      
      In November, 4.3 million people were working part time for 
economic reasons (also referred to as involuntary part-time 
workers), little changed from the previous month but down by 
459,000 over the year.
      
      Among those neither working nor looking for work in 
November, 1.2 million were considered marginally attached to the 
labor force, down by 432,000 from a year earlier. (People who 
are marginally attached to the labor force had not 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.) Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally 
attached who believed no jobs were available for them, numbered 
325,000 in November, down by 128,000 from a year earlier.
      
      In summary, nonfarm payroll employment rose by 266,000 in 
November, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 3.5 
percent.