Obama Brings the U.S. unemployment rate (8.6%) to its lowest level in more than 2 and a half years.

[웃 910]

- 21 Straight Months of Private Sector Growth

The unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage point to 8.6 percent in November, andnonfarm payroll employment rose by 120,000, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statisticsreported today. Employment continued to trend up in retail trade, leisure

andhospitality, professional and business services, and health care. Governmentemployment continued to trend down.Household Survey DataIn November, the unemployment rate declined by 0.4 percentage point to 8.6 percent.From April

through October, the rate held in a narrow range from 9.0 to 9.2 percent.The number of unemployed persons, at 13.3 million, was down by 594,000 in November.The labor force, which is the sum of the unemployed and employed, was

down by alittle more than half that amount. (See table A-1.)Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for adult men fell by 0.5percentage point to 8.3 percent in November. The jobless rate for whites (7.6percent) also

declined, while the rates for adult women (7.8 percent), teenagers(23.7 percent), blacks (15.5 percent), and Hispanics (11.4 percent) showed littleor no change. The jobless rate for Asians was 6.5 percent, not seasonally adjusted.(See

tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)In November, the number of job losers and persons who completed temporary jobsdeclined by 432,000 to 7.6 million. The number of long-term unemployed (thosejobless for 27 weeks and over) was little changed

at 5.7 million and accountedfor 43.0 percent of the unemployed. (See tables A-11 and A-12.)The civilian labor force participation rate declined by 0.2 percentage point to64.0 percent. The employment-population ratio, at 58.5 percent,

changed little.(See table A-1.)The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referredto as involuntary part-time workers) dropped by 378,000 over the month to 8.5million. These individuals were working part

time because their hours had beencut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job. (See table A-8.)In November, 2.6 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force,about the same as a year earlier. (The data are not

seasonally adjusted.) Theseindividuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, andhad looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted asunemployed because they had not searched for

work in the 4 weeks preceding thesurvey. (See table A-16.)Among the marginally attached, there were 1.1 million discouraged workers inNovember, a decrease of 186,000 from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonallyadjusted.)

Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work becausethey believe no jobs are available for them. The remaining 1.5 million personsmarginally 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 or familyresponsibilities. (See table A-16.)Establishment Survey DataTotal nonfarm payroll employment increased by 120,000 in November, in line with theaverage gain

for the prior 12 months (+131,000). The private sector added 140,000jobs, as employment rose in a number of service-providing industries. Governmentemployment continued to trend down. (See table B-1.)Employment in retail trade rose

by 50,000 in November, with much of the increaseoccurring in clothing and clothing accessories stores (+27,000) and in electronicsand appliance stores (+5,000). Since reaching an employment trough in December 2009,retailers have

added an average of 14,000 jobs per month.Employment in leisure and hospitality continued to trend up in November (+22,000).Within the industry, food services and drinking places added 33,000 jobs. This gainmore than offset a loss of

12,000 jobs in the accommodation industry. In the last12 months, leisure and hospitality added 253,000 jobs, largely driven by employmentincreases in food services and drinking places.Employment in professional and business services

continued to trend up in November(+33,000). Modest job gains continued in temporary help services.Health care employment continued to rise in November (+17,000). Within the industry,hospitals added 9,000 jobs. Over the past 12

months, health care has added an averageof 27,000 jobs per month.Manufacturing employment changed little over the month and has remained essentiallyunchanged since July. In November, fabricated metal products added 8,000 jobs,

whileelectronic instruments lost 2,000 jobs.Construction employment showed little movement in November. Employment in theindustry has shown little change, on net, since early 2010.Government employment continued to trend down in

November, with a decline in the U.S.Postal Service (-5,000). Employment in both state government and local government hasbeen trending down since the second half of 2008.The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm

payrolls was unchanged at34.3 hours in November. The manufacturing workweek was down by 0.2 hour to 40.3hours, offsetting a 0.2 hour gain in the previous month. Factory overtime remainedat 3.2 hours in November. The average

workweek for production and nonsupervisoryemployees on private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 hour to 33.6 hours. (Seetables B-2 and B-7.)Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls decreased

inNovember by 2 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $23.18. This decline followed a gain of 7cents in October. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by1.8 percent. In November, average hourly earnings of private-sector

production andnonsupervisory employees increased by 2 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $19.54. (Seetables B-3 and B-8.)The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for September was revised from+158,000 to +210,000, and the change for

October was revised from +80,000 to +100,000.

_____________The Employment Situation for December is scheduled to be released on Friday,January 6, 2012, at 8:30 a.m. (EST).

http://www.bls.gov/n.../empsit.nr0.htm

Edited December 2, 2011 by Lord Infamous

[slim 1,530]

Without reading that whole thing... uh, isn't this just because we're seeing more temporary employment? Those numbers will spike again in January/February when the temps all lose their jobs.

[웃 910]

Without reading that whole thing... uh, isn't this just because we're seeing more temporary employment? Those numbers will spike again in January/February when the temps all lose their jobs.

Hater!

Still, 13.3 million Americans remain unemployed. And a key reason the unemployment rate fell so much was because roughly 315,000 people had given up looking for work and were no longer counted as unemployed.

Private employers added a net 140,000 jobs last month. Governments, meanwhile, shed another 20,000 jobs, mostly at the local and state level. Governments at all levels have shed almost a half-million jobs in the past year.

More than half the jobs added were by retailers, restaurants and bars, a sign that holiday hiring has kicked in. Retailers added 50,000 jobs, the sector's biggest gain since April. Restaurants and bars hired 33,000 new workers. The health care industry added 17,000.

In the past three months, the economy has added an average of 143,000 net jobs per month. That's enough to keep up with population growth and better than the previous three months, when the economy averaged just 84,000.

Other recent economic reports have been positive, too.

Factory output expanded last month. Retailers reported a strong start to holiday sales over the Thanksgiving weekend, consumer confidence surged in November to the highest level since July, and Americans' pay rose in October by the most in seven months.

Car sales also rose sharply in November, normally a lackluster month for the auto industry. Chrysler, Ford, Nissan and Hyundai all reported double-digit gains on Thursday, compared to a year ago.

http://www.usatoday....mber/51577788/1

Thank God for the stimulus!!! Without it we would be lost.

Edited December 2, 2011 by Lord Infamous

[B_J 2,752]

More than half the jobs added were by retailers, restaurants and bars, a sign that holiday hiring has kicked in.

Without reading that whole thing... uh, isn't this just because we're seeing more temporary employment? Those numbers will spike again in January/February when the temps all lose their jobs.

[Hank_ 9,174]

That is the one I believe - And a key reason the unemployment rate fell so much was because roughly 315,000 people had given up looking for work and were no longer counted as unemployed.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I wouldn't give obama much credit for it beyond the stimulus. The republicans are still slashing government jobs as part of their master plan to cripple government's effectiveness.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Good news

Except it happened because 330,000 people gave up looking for work and 120,000 got seasonal retail jobs. 3/4 of the "improvement" is people who gave up finding a job.

Check back in February.