November 1996 Employment Situation

Historical release narrative reproduced from the official public-domain source. Statistical tables, standard technical appendices, administrative material and attendance rosters are omitted; formatting is adapted for reading. Figures retain the release's historical context and may have been revised. Consult the linked source for the complete document.

Nonfarm payroll employment increased in November, and the unemployment rate edged up to 5.4 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Payroll employment rose by 118,000, with modest but widespread gains occurring throughout the private sector. Average hourly earnings rose by 9 cents over the month, following a decline of 1 cent in October.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

About 7.2 million persons were unemployed in November, 273,000 more than in the previous month. The increase was concentrated among those unemployed for fewer than 5 weeks. The unemployment rate was 5.4 percent in November, up slightly from 5.2 percent in October. The rate for whites edged up to 4.6 percent, while rates were essentially unchanged for blacks (10.6 percent) and Hispanics (8.3 percent), as well as for adult men (4.5 percent), adult women (4.8 percent), and teenagers (17.0 percent). (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-5.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Total employment was 127.6 million in November, little different from the previous month. The employment-population ratio--the proportion of the population 16 years and over that is employed--was essentially unchanged in November at 63.3 percent, but was 0.6 percentage point higher than a year earlier. The civilian labor force stood at 134.8 million in November, and has grown by 2.3 million over the past year. (See table A-1.)

In November, 3.9 million persons worked part time for economic reasons, 361,000 fewer than in October. These are workers who prefer full-time work but are unable to find it, or whose schedules have been reduced to part time. (See table A-3.)

About 8.5 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one job in November. These multiple jobholders comprised 6.6 percent of the total employed, compared with 6.1 percent a year earlier. (See table A-9.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

About 1.5 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached to the labor force in November--that is, they wanted and were available for work but had stopped looking for jobs sometime in the prior 12 months. Of this total, 346,000 were discouraged workers--persons who were not looking for work specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them. (See table A-9.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 118,000 in November to 120.4 million, after seasonal adjustment. This gain was in line with the average increase over the prior 2 months, but it was only about half of the average monthly increase that had occurred this year through August. (See table B-1.)

Employment in the services industry rose by 70,000 in November, continuing its pattern of slower growth that began in June. Employment declined by 32,000 in help supply services in November, following 2 months of little change. Motion pictures lost 12,000 jobs. In contrast, health services added 32,000 jobs, with hospitals showing strong increases in 2 of the past 3 months. Employment in private education rose by 14,000 in November, about the same magnitude as in the prior month. The long-term growth pattern continued in computer and data processing services and in engineering and management services in November.

Employment in finance, insurance, and real estate rose by 16,000 over the month. Within finance, job growth continued in commercial banks, security brokerages, and mortgage brokerages. The insurance industry has added 10,000 jobs over the past 3 months, after showing some weakness during the summer. Real estate employment continued to expand in November.

Following a substantial rise in October, retail trade employment rose modestly in November (17,000). The November increase was held down by declines (after seasonal adjustment) in department stores and apparel and accessory stores; job gains in these industries had been larger than usual in October. Employment rose in most other types of retail establishments. Wholesale trade employment was little changed in November, following substantial gains in the prior 3 months.

Manufacturing employment, which had been on a downward trend since March 1995, has risen by 9,000 in each of the past 2 months. In November, a gain of 10,000 occurred in food and kindred products, after seasonal adjustment, but this increase reflected fewer seasonal layoffs this fall, following lighter-than-usual summer hiring. Aircraft continued to add workers. In contrast, motor vehicles has lost 22,000 jobs over the past 3 months; the small November decline reflected plant shutdowns for retooling and parts shortages. Employment in the apparel industry continued to decline and has fallen by 149,000, or 15 percent, over the past 2 years.

Construction employment rose by 14,000 in November, continuing its recent pattern of slow but steady growth. November job growth was held down by unseasonably cold weather across much of the country.

Employment in transportation increased by 8,000 over the month. Job gains in air transportation, transportation services, and local transit were partially offset by a decline in trucking and warehousing, in which employment has fallen by 20,000 since June. Government employment declined by 22,000 in November, with small losses at all levels of government.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.2 hour in November to 34.5 hours, seasonally adjusted, recouping half of October’s decline. The manufacturing workweek was 41.7 hours for the fourth consecutive month. Factory overtime edged up by 0.1 hour to 4.5 hours. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of private production or nonsupervisory workers on nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.4 percent, seasonally adjusted, to 137.6 (1982=100) in November. The manufacturing index was about unchanged at 106.0. (See table B-5.)

Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)

Average hourly earnings of private production or nonsupervisory workers on nonfarm payrolls rose 9 cents in November to $11.99, seasonally adjusted, following a decline of 1 cent in the prior month. Average weekly earnings increased by 1.3 percent in November to $413.66. Over the past year, average hourly earnings rose by 40 cents, or 3.5 percent, and average weekly earnings rose by $14.96, or 3.8 percent. (See table B-3.)

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