November 2007 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 continued to trend up in November (94,000), and the unemployment rate held at 4.7 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Job growth continued in professional and technical services, health care, and food services. Employment continued to decline in manufacturing and also fell in several housing-related industries, including construction, credit intermediation, and real estate. Average hourly earnings rose by 8 cents over the month.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons (7.2 million) was about unchanged in November, and the unemployment rate was 4.7 percent for the third month in a row. A year ear- lier, the number of unemployed persons was 6.8 million, and the jobless rate was 4.5 percent. (See table A-1.)

Unemployment rates for the major worker groups--adult men (4.1 percent), adult women (4.1 percent), teenagers (16.3 percent), whites (4.2 percent), blacks (8.4 percent), and Hispanics (5.7 percent)--showed little or no change in November. The unemployment rate for Asians was 3.6 percent, not seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

In November, total employment increased by 696,000 to 146.7 million. The em- ployment-population ratio rose by 0.3 percentage point to 63.0 percent; it was still below its most recent peak of 63.4 percent in December 2006. The civilian labor force rose to 153.9 million over the month, and the labor force participa- tion rate edged up to 66.1 percent. (See table A-1.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Nearly 1.4 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached to the labor force in November, about the same as a year earlier. These indi- viduals wanted and were available to work and had looked for a job sometime dur- ing the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. Among the marginally attached, there were 349,000 discouraged workers in November, unchanged from a year earlier. Discouraged workers were not currently looking for work specifi- cally because they believed no jobs were available for them. The other 1.0 mil- lion persons marginally attached to the labor force in November had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school attendance and family responsibilities. (See table A-13.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Total nonfarm payroll employment continued to trend up (94,000) in November to 138.5 million, following little change in September (44,000) and a gain of 170,000 in October. In November, job growth continued in several service-pro- viding industries, while employment in construction and financial activities declined. Manufacturing employment continued to trend down. (See table B-1.)

Employment in professional and technical services grew by 24,000 in November and has risen by 312,000 over the year. In November, job gains continued in computer systems design and related services (12,000) and in management and technical consulting services (6,000).

Health care employment continued to grow, but the gain of 15,000 in November was less than half the average increase (34,000) for the prior 12 months. In November, hospitals and offices of physicians added 8,000 and 7,000 jobs, re- spectively. Employment in social assistance increased by 10,000 in November and by 94,000 over the year.

Within leisure and hospitality, employment in food services and drinking places continued to trend up in November (17,000). Food services has added 306,000 jobs over the year. Employment in accommodations edged up in November (11,000).

Employment in retail trade edged up in November (24,000). Job gains occurred in clothing stores, health and personal care stores, electronics and appliance stores, and furniture and home furnishings stores. Employment in general merchan- dise stores, which include department stores, fell by 11,000 over the month.

In November, employment declined in several industries related to home building and financing. Construction employment declined by 24,000 with job losses occurring in residential building (-7,000) and in residential specialty trade contractors (-13,000). Within financial activities, employment in credit intermediation (which includes mortgage lending and related activities) con- tinued to contract (-13,000). Credit intermediation has lost 75,000 jobs since its peak in February. Real estate employment declined by 8,000 in November.

Manufacturing employment continued to trend down in November. Job losses persisted in two industries that provide construction materials--wood products and nonmetallic mineral products (such as concrete and glass). Machinery manu- facturing added 4,000 jobs over the month.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

In November, the average workweek for production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.8 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek increased by 0.1 hour to 41.3 hours, and factory overtime was unchanged at 4.1 hours. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 0.1 percent in November to 108.0 (2002=100). The manufacturing index increased by 0.2 percent to 95.2. (See table B-5.)

Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)

Average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 8 cents, or 0.5 percent, in November to $17.63, sea- sonally adjusted. This followed a 1-cent gain in October. Average weekly earn- ings also grew by 0.5 percent over the month, to $595.89. Over the year, both average hourly and weekly earnings rose by 3.8 percent. (See table B-3.)

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