Advance copies of this statement are made available to the press 

under lock-up conditions with the explicit understanding that 

the data are embargoed until 8:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Statement of 

William W. Beach 

Commissioner 

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Friday, December 6, 2019

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 266,000 in November, and 

the unemployment rate, at 3.5 percent, was little changed. 

Notable job gains occurred in health care and in professional 

and technical services. Manufacturing employment increased as 

workers in motor vehicles and parts returned from a strike. 

Incorporating revisions for September and October, which 

increased nonfarm payroll employment by 41,000, job growth has 

averaged 180,000 per month thus far in 2019. The average job 

gain was 223,000 per month in 2018. 

Employment in health care increased by 45,000 in November,

with gains occurring in ambulatory health care services 

(+34,000) and in hospitals (+10,000). Over the past 12 months, 

health care has added 414,000 jobs. 
2

In November, employment rose by 31,000 in professional and 

technical services. Over the year, the industry has added 

278,000 jobs. 

Manufacturing employment was up by 54,000 in November, 

offsetting a decline of 43,000 in October. Within the industry, 

employment in motor vehicles and parts increased by 41,000 in 

November as workers returned from a strike. 

Employment in leisure and hospitality continued to trend up 

in November (+45,000). The industry has added 219,000 jobs over 

the past 4 months, with about two-thirds of the growth in food 

services and drinking places (+149,000).

Employment in transportation and warehousing also continued 

to trend up in November (+16,000). Over the month, job gains 

occurred in warehousing and storage (+8,000) and in couriers and 

messengers (+5,000). 

Employment in financial activities continued on an upward 

trend in November (+13,000). Within the industry, credit 

intermediation and related activities added 7,000 jobs. 

Mining employment decreased by 7,000 in November. 

Employment in the industry is down by 19,000 from a recent peak 

in May 2019.

Retail trade employment was about unchanged over the month 

(+2,000). Within the industry, general merchandise stores (which 

include department stores, warehouse clubs, and supercenters) 
3

added 22,000 jobs. Employment in motor vehicle and parts dealers 

increased by 8,000. These gains were partly offset by a loss of 

18,000 jobs in clothing and accessories stores. 

Employment in other major industries--including 

construction, wholesale trade, information, and government--

showed little change over the month. 

Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm 

payrolls rose by 7 cents in November to $28.29. Over the past 12 

months, average hourly earnings have risen by 3.1 percent; the 

over-the-year percent change has been 3.0 percent or above for 

16 consecutive months. From October 2018 to October 2019, the 

Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 

by 1.8 percent (on a seasonally adjusted basis). 

Most labor market indicators from the survey of households 

continued to show little or no change in November. Both the 

unemployment rate, at 3.5 percent, and the number of unemployed 

people, at 5.8 million, were little changed over the month.

Among the unemployed, the number of people searching for 

work for 27 weeks or more was essentially unchanged at 1.2

million in November. These long-term unemployed accounted for 

20.8 percent of the unemployed. 

The labor force participation rate, at 63.2 percent, was 

little changed in November. The employment-population ratio was 

61.0 percent for the third month in a row. 
4

In November, 4.3 million people were working part time for 

economic reasons (also referred to as involuntary part-time 

workers), little changed from the previous month but down by 

459,000 over the year. 

Among those neither working nor looking for work in 

November, 1.2 million were considered marginally attached to the 

labor force, down by 432,000 from a year earlier. (People who 

are marginally attached to the labor force had not looked for 

work in the 4 weeks prior to the survey but wanted a job, were 

available for work, and had looked for a job within the last 12 

months.) Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally 

attached who believed no jobs were available for them, numbered 

325,000 in November, down by 128,000 from a year earlier. 

In summary, nonfarm payroll employment rose by 266,000 in 

November, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 3.5 

percent.