By Tom Burnett CFA
On December 8, 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics issued the Employment Report for November, 2023. Employment rose by 199,000 jobs to 158.4 million workers, up 2.8 million from one year ago. The unemployment rate fell to 3.7% from 3.9% in the prior month. This rate has been below 4.0% in every month since February 2022. The number of unemployed job seekers was unchanged at 6.3 million, well below the latest job openings of 8.7 million (BLS Report on December 5, 2023).
Manufacturing employment rose by 28,000 in November, reflecting the settlement of the UAW strike against the auto manufacturers.
Average nonfarm payroll hourly earnings rose by $0.12 to $34.10, up by 4.0% from one year ago.
Revisions to previous reports totaled a combined reduction of 35,000 for September and October.
The next Employment Report will be issued on January 5, 2024.
Tom Burnett CFA is Director of Research