Volatility Continues in the U.S. Labor Market

Today, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released data for November and partial data for October, following a six-week blackout in official labor market data caused by the federal government shutdown which ended on November 12. U.S. employers added 64,000 jobs in November, according to a survey of businesses by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. November job additions were up from the 105,000 jobs lost in October, which was primarily due to steep losses in Federal Government positions (-162,000 jobs). The November jobs report was also above economists’ expectations of a gain of roughly 40,000 jobs. However, the August estimate was revised down by 22,000 jobs to show a net loss of 26,000 jobs, while the September figure was revised down by 11,000 jobs, for a gain of 108,000 jobs. With those revisions, employment in August and September combined came in 33,000 jobs below the previously reported figures. The October data was first published today and thus there are no revisions for the month. Only four of the 11 major industries added jobs in November, with the largest increase in Education/Health Services (+65,000 jobs). Notable job losses were seen in the Trade/Transportation/Utilities and Leisure/Hospitality Services sectors, both down by 12,000 jobs. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate (U3 or headline unemployment rate, which is seasonally adjusted and is a survey of households) registered at 4.6% in November, which was the highest reading since September 2021. The October unemployment rate was not released due to furloughed federal workers unable to conduct the usual household survey, marking the first time in nearly eight decades that a monthly unemployment rate was not published.

This post is part of a series analyzing employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For more on this data, read previous posts on Job Growth.