Friday, December 7, 2018

November's Jobs Report

The employment situation slowed a bit in November, according to numbers out this morning from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The economy added 155,000 new jobs for the month, compared with an average monthly gain of 209,000 over the prior 12 months. Nevertheless, the headline unemployment rate remained at 3.7 percent for the third month in a row, the lowest it has been in 49 years.

Still, the economy is on track to produce the most new jobs since 2015. The U.S. has added an average of 206,000 jobs a month through the first 11 months of 2018, above the 182,000 pace during the same period last year.

For November, the increase in jobs was concentrated in health care, manufacturing and transportation. Health care providers hired 32,000 people, manufacturers added 27,000 workers and employment in transportation climbed by 25,000. Retail stores took on more workers for the first time in three months, adding 18,000 jobs. Employment fell slightly in government and in an energy industry reeling from lower oil prices.

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