Employment Situation Summary
Technical information:
Household data: (202) 691-6378 USDL 04-2408
http://www.bls.gov/cps/
Establishment data: 691-6555 Transmission of material in this release
http://www.bls.gov/ces/ is embargoed until 8:30 A.M. (EST),
Media contact: 691-5902 Friday, December 3, 2004.
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: NOVEMBER 2004
Employment rose in November, and the unemployment rate, at 5.4 percent, was
essentially unchanged, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of
Labor reported today. Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 112,000 over the
month, with job gains in several service-providing industries.
Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
Both the number of unemployed persons, 8.0 million, and the unemployment
rate, 5.4 percent, were about unchanged in November. The jobless rate has been
either 5.4 or 5.5 percent in each month since July. This is slightly below the
rates that prevailed in the first half of 2004.
In November, the unemployment rates for the major worker groups--adult men
(4.9 percent), adult women (4.8 percent), teenagers (16.6 percent), whites (4.7
percent), blacks (10.8 percent), and Hispanics or Latinos (6.7 percent)--showed
little or no change over the month. The unemployment rate for Asians was 4.2
percent in November, not seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)
Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
Total employment in November grew by 483,000 to 140.3 million, and the em-
ployment-population ratio--the proportion of the population age 16 and over
with jobs--edged up to 62.5 percent. The civilian labor force rose by 439,000
in November to 148.3 million; the labor force participation rate was 66.1 per-
cent. (See table A-1.)
Over the year, the number of persons who held more than one job increased
by 346,000 to 7.6 million, not seasonally adjusted. These multiple jobholders
represented 5.4 percent of total employment in November. (See table A-13.)
Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
There were 1.5 million persons who were marginally attached to the labor
force in November, essentially the same as a year earlier. (Data are not
seasonally adjusted.) These individuals wanted and were available to work
and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not
counted as unemployed, however, because they did not actively search for
work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. Among the marginally attached,
there were 392,000 discouraged workers in November, about the same as a year
earlier. Discouraged workers were not currently looking for work specifically
because they believed no jobs were available for them. The other 1.1 million
marginally attached had not searched for work for reasons such as school or
family responsibilities. (See table A-13.)
- 2 -
Table A. Major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
______________________________________________________________________________
| Quarterly | |
| averages | Monthly data |
|_________________|__________________________| Oct.-
Category | 2004 | 2004 | Nov.
|_________________|__________________________|change
| II | III | Sept. | Oct. | Nov. |
_________________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
HOUSEHOLD DATA | Labor force status
|____________________________________________________
Civilian labor force.....| 146,998| 147,681| 147,483| 147,850| 148,289| 439
Employment.............| 138,793| 139,607| 139,480| 139,778| 140,261| 483
Unemployment...........| 8,205| 8,074| 8,003| 8,072| 8,027| -45
Not in labor force.......| 75,975| 75,999| 76,458| 76,342| 76,133| -209
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Unemployment rates
|____________________________________________________
All workers..............| 5.6| 5.5| 5.4| 5.5| 5.4| -0.1
Adult men..............| 5.1| 5.0| 5.0| 4.9| 4.9| .0
Adult women............| 4.9| 4.8| 4.7| 4.8| 4.8| .0
Teenagers..............| 17.0| 17.1| 16.6| 17.2| 16.6| -.6
White..................| 5.0| 4.7| 4.7| 4.7| 4.7| .0
Black or African | | | | | |
American.............| 9.9| 10.5| 10.3| 10.7| 10.8| .1
Hispanic or Latino | | | | | |
ethnicity............| 7.0| 6.9| 7.1| 6.7| 6.7| .0
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
ESTABLISHMENT DATA | Employment
|____________________________________________________
Nonfarm employment.......| 131,125| 131,515| 131,660|p131,963|p132,075| p112
Goods-producing 1/.....| 21,869| 21,934| 21,958| p22,020| p22,028| p8
Construction.........| 6,897| 6,937| 6,958| p7,023| p7,034| p11
Manufacturing........| 14,385| 14,406| 14,407| p14,405| p14,400| p-5
Service-providing 1/...| 109,256| 109,580| 109,702|p109,943|p110,047| p104
Retail trade 2/......| 15,047| 15,039| 15,031| p15,048| p15,032| p-16
Professional and | | | | | |
business services..| 16,417| 16,519| 16,548| p16,648| p16,676| p28
Education and health | | | | | |
services...........| 16,874| 16,949| 16,980| p17,036| p17,067| p31
Leisure and | | | | | |
hospitality........| 12,324| 12,346| 12,353| p12,364| p12,398| p34
Government...........| 21,548| 21,618| 21,652| p21,676| p21,684| p8
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Hours of work 3/
|____________________________________________________
Total private............| 33.7| 33.8| 33.8| p33.8| p33.7| p-0.1
Manufacturing..........| 40.9| 40.8| 40.8| p40.6| p40.5| p-.1
Overtime.............| 4.6| 4.6| 4.6| p4.5| p4.5| p.0
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Indexes of aggregate weekly hours (2002=100) 3/
|____________________________________________________
Total private............| 99.8| 100.6| 100.8| p101.1| p100.9| p-0.2
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Earnings 3/
|____________________________________________________
Avg. hourly earnings, | | | | | |
total private..........| $15.63| $15.75| $15.78| p$15.82| p$15.83| p$0.01
Avg. weekly earnings, | | | | | |
total private..........| 526.62| 531.82| 533.36| p534.72| p533.47| p-1.25
_________________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
1 Includes other industries, not shown separately.
2 Quarterly averages and the over-the-month change are calculated based on
unrounded data.
3 Data relate to private production or nonsupervisory workers.
p=preliminary.
- 3 -
Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 112,000 in November to
132.1 million, seasonally adjusted. This followed a much larger increase
of 303,000 in October. In November, employment rose in health care and
social assistance, leisure and hospitality, and other service-providing
industries. (See table B-1.)
Employment in health care and social assistance grew by 28,000 in November.
Over the year, this industry has added 316,000 jobs. In November, employment
increased most notably in hospitals (8,000), nursing and residential care
facilities (7,000), and offices of physicians (6,000).
Leisure and hospitality employment increased by 34,000 over the month
and has risen by 220,000 over the year. Within leisure and hospitality,
employment in accommodations grew by 18,000 in November; about half of the
increase represented the return of workers who had been on strike.
Professional and technical services added 16,000 jobs over the month.
Within this industry, employment rose in computer systems design and re-
lated services (10,000) and in architectural and engineering services
(8,000). Within administrative and support services, employment in the
temporary help industry continued to trend upward.
Within the financial activities sector, employment in credit inter-
mediation and related activities increased by 14,000 over the month.
Commercial banks accounted for 5,000 of the job gain, and growth contin-
ued in mortgage-related industries.
Employment in wholesale trade continued to trend upward. Since its
most recent low point in October 2003, the industry has gained 92,000
jobs.
In the information sector, telecommunications gained 6,000 jobs in
November. Since its peak in March 2001, however, the industry has lost
300,000 jobs.
Manufacturing employment was about unchanged in November. The indus-
try added 82,000 jobs from February through May, but factory employment
has shown little movement since. In November, semiconductors and elec-
tronic components lost 3,000 jobs.
Employment in construction edged up in November (11,000) following
an unusually large increase in October (65,000). October's gain
partly reflected rebuilding and cleanup activity following the four
hurricanes that struck the U.S. in August and September. Construction
employment has expanded by 373,000 since its most recent low point in
March 2003.
- 4 -
Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)
The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on pri-
vate nonfarm payrolls decreased by 0.1 hour in November to 33.7 hours,
seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek also declined by 0.1 hour,
to 40.5 hours. Manufacturing overtime was unchanged over the month at 4.5
hours. (See table B-2.)
The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory
workers on private nonfarm payrolls fell by 0.2 percent in November to
100.9 (2002=100). The manufacturing index declined by 0.3 percent over
the month to 94.2. (See table B-5.)
Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)
Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on
private nonfarm payrolls were up by 1 cent in November to $15.83,
seasonally adjusted, following a 4-cent gain in October. Average
weekly earnings decreased by 0.2 percent over the month to $533.47.
Over the year, average hourly earnings increased by 2.4 percent, and
average weekly earnings grew by 2.1 percent. (See table B-3.)
______________________________
-----------------------------------------------------------------
| In accordance with usual practice, the release of December |
| data in January will incorporate annual revisions in seasonally |
| adjusted unemployment and other labor force series from the |
| household survey. Seasonally adjusted data for the most recent |
| 5 years are subject to revision. |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Employment Situation for December 2004 is scheduled to be released on
Friday, January 7, 2005, at 8:30 A.M. (EST). Release dates for the balance
of 2005 are as follows:
Feb. 4 May 6 Aug. 5 Nov. 4
March 4 June 3 Sept. 2 Dec. 2
April 1 July 8 Oct. 7