November 2023 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.

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 199,000 in November, and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in health care and government. Employment also increased in manufacturing, reflecting the return of workers from a strike. Employment in retail trade declined.

This news release presents statistics from two monthly surveys. The household survey measures labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The establishment survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. For more information about the concepts and statistical methodology used in these two surveys, see the Technical Note.

Household Survey Data

The unemployment rate edged down to 3.7 percent in November, and the number of unemployed persons showed little change at 6.3 million. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for teenagers (11.4 percent) edged down in November. The jobless rates for adult men (3.7 percent), adult women (3.1 percent), Whites (3.3 percent), Blacks (5.8 percent), Asians (3.5 percent), and Hispanics (4.6 percent) showed little or no change over the month. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

In November, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) edged down to 1.2 million. These individuals accounted for 18.3 percent of all unemployed persons. (See table A-12.)

The employment-population ratio increased by 0.3 percentage point to 60.5 percent in November. The labor force participation rate was little changed at 62.8 percent and has been essentially flat since August. (See table A-1.)

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons decreased by 295,000 to 4.0 million in November. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs. (See table A-8.)

In November, the number of persons not in the labor force who currently want a job was 5.3 million, little different from the prior month. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job. (See table A-1.)

Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of persons marginally attached to the labor force changed little at 1.6 million in November. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, was 421,000 in November, essentially unchanged from the previous month. (See Summary table A.)

Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 199,000 in November. Employment growth is below the average monthly gain of 240,000 over the prior 12 months but is in line with job growth in recent months. In November, job gains occurred in health care and government. Employment also increased in manufacturing, reflecting the return of workers from a strike. Employment in retail trade declined. (See table B-1.)

In November, health care added 77,000 jobs, above the average monthly gain of 54,000 over the prior 12 months. Over the month, job gains continued in ambulatory health care services (+36,000), hospitals (+24,000), and nursing and residential care facilities (+17,000).

Government employment increased by 49,000 in November, in line with the average monthly gain of 55,000 over the prior 12 months. Employment continued to trend up in local government (+32,000) and state government (+17,000) over the month.

Employment in manufacturing rose by 28,000 in November, reflecting an increase of 30,000 in motor vehicles and parts as workers returned from a strike. Employment in manufacturing has shown little net change over the year.

In November, employment in leisure and hospitality continued to trend up (+40,000), almost entirely in food services and drinking places. Leisure and hospitality had added an average of 51,000 jobs per month over the prior 12 months.

Employment in social assistance continued to trend up in November (+16,000). The industry had added an average of 23,000 jobs per month over the prior 12 months. Over the month, employment continued to trend up in individual and family services (+9,000).

Retail trade employment declined by 38,000 in November and has shown little net change over the year. Employment decreased in department stores (-19,000) and in furniture, home furnishings, electronics, and appliance retailers (-6,000) over the month.

In November, employment in information changed little (+10,000). Motion picture and sound recording industries added 17,000 jobs, mostly reflecting the resolution of labor disputes in the industry. Overall, employment in the information industry has declined by 104,000 since reaching a peak in November 2022.

Employment in transportation and warehousing changed little in November (-5,000). A job loss in warehousing and storage (-8,000) was partially offset by a gain in air transportation (+4,000). Employment in transportation and warehousing has declined by 61,000 since a peak in October 2022.

Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; wholesale trade; financial activities; professional and business services; and other services.

In November, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 12 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $34.10. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 4.0 percent. In November, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 12 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $29.30. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1 hour to 34.4 hours in November. In manufacturing, the average workweek was unchanged at 40.0 hours, and overtime remained at 2.9 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1 hour to 33.8 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for September was revised down by 35,000, from +297,000 to +262,000, and the change for October remained at +150,000. With these revisions, employment in September and October combined is 35,000 lower than previously reported. (Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.)