By Tom Burnett CFA
Jobs in November increased by 210,000 in November, bringing the monthly average increase per month to 555,000 in 2021. The unemployment rate declined to 4.2%, down from 4.6% in October. The number of unemployed workers fell from 7.5 million to 6.9 million. These figures compare 3.5% and 5.7 million in February 2020, prior to the Covid-19 outbreak that decimated employment and the overall economy. Essentially, employment at the top was 157 million, dropping to 135 million in April 2020, before recovering to 153 million currently. In addition, the labor force participation rate now stands at 61.8%, down from its high rate of 63.3% in February 2020.
Manufacturing employment rose by 31,000 in November, but is still 253,000 below the level in February 2020.
Average hourly earnings rose by $0.08 to $31.03 in November, 4.8% from the level one year ago.
The job figures for September and October were revised upwards by a total of 82,000.
The next report on employment will be issued on January 7, 2022.
Tom Burnett CFA is Director of Research