As the year is starting to come to an end, most job seekers are hopeful for new beginnings and opportunities as the new year approaches. Learn more about employment expectations for the new season based on data from our latest employment summary. Staff Solve strives to assist employers and job seekers with information and process hiring, but the overall economic picture of employment trends in the United States and possible factors involved.

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose 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.

Both the labor force participation rate, at 62.8 percent, and the employment-population ratio, at 60.5 percent, changed a little in November. The number of persons employed part-time for economic reasons, at 4.0 million, changed little 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.

The number of persons employed part-time for economic reasons, at 4.0 million, changed little 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. Employers are often more willing to hire part-time workers because it involves less commitment and risk than hiring full-time employees. Part-time employees may not receive the same benefits (like health insurance or retirement plans) as full-time employees, which can make part-time positions more attractive for employers to cut costs.

In November, the number of persons not in the labor force who currently want a job was  5.3 million, a 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.

Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of persons marginally attached to the labor force changed a little to 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, also changed a little over the month to 421,000.

Employment showed little change over the month in 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. The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1 hours to 34.4 hours in November.  The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1 hours to 33.8 hours.

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.

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