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 

Erica L. Groshen 

Commissioner 

Bureau of Labor Statistics 

Friday, December 5, 2014

 Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 321,000 in November, 

and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.8 percent. The 

increase in employment was widespread, led by gains in 

professional and business services, retail trade, health care, 

and manufacturing. 

 Incorporating revisions for September and October, which 

increased total nonfarm payroll employment by 44,000, monthly 

job increases have averaged 278,000 over the past 3 months. In 

the 12 months prior to November, employment growth averaged 

224,000 per month. 

 Employment in professional and business services rose by 

86,000 in November. Within the industry, accounting and 

bookkeeping services added 16,000 jobs. Employment continued to 

trend up in temporary help services (+23,000), management and 

technical consulting (+7,000), computer systems design (+7,000), 
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and architectural and engineering services (+5,000). Over the 

year, employment in professional and business services has 

increased by 696,000. 

 Retail trade employment grew by 50,000 in November. Job 

gains occurred in motor vehicle and parts dealers (+11,000); 

clothing and accessories stores (+11,000); sporting goods, 

hobby, book, and music stores (+9,000); and nonstore retailers 

(+6,000). Employment in retail trade has increased by 290,000 

over the year. 

 Health care added 29,000 jobs in November, and employment 

is up by 261,000 over the year. In November, employment 

continued to trend up in offices of physicians (+7,000), home 

health care services (+5,000), outpatient care centers (+4,000), 

and hospitals (+4,000). 

 Employment in manufacturing grew by 28,000 in November. 

Durable goods employment accounted for 17,000 of the increase. 

In nondurable goods, plastics and rubber products added 7,000 

jobs. Over the past 12 months, manufacturing added 171,000 jobs, 

largely in durable goods. 

 Financial activities employment rose by 20,000 in November 

and by 114,000 over the year. Within the industry, insurance 

carriers and related activities gained 10,000 jobs in November 

and 70,000 jobs over the year. 
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 Transportation and warehousing added 17,000 jobs in 

November, including 5,000 jobs in couriers and messengers. 

Employment continued to trend up in food services and drinking 

places (+27,000) and in construction (+20,000). 

 Average hourly earnings of all employees on private 

nonfarm payrolls rose by 9 cents to $24.66 in November. Over the 

12 months ending in November, average hourly earnings grew by 

2.1 percent, in line with the recent trend in the series. From 

October 2013 to October 2014, the Consumer Price Index for All 

Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased by 1.7 percent. 

 Turning to the survey of households, the unemployment rate 

held at 5.8 percent in November, and the number of unemployed 

persons was about unchanged at 9.1 million. The number of 

unemployed persons who had been jobless for 27 weeks or more was 

little changed at 2.8 million. These individuals accounted for 

30.7 percent of the unemployed. 

 Both the labor force participation rate, at 62.8 percent, 

and the employment-population ratio, at 59.2 percent, were flat 

in November. The labor force participation rate has been 

essentially unchanged since April. The employment-population 

ratio is up by 0.6 percentage point over the year. 

 Among the employed in November, the number of people 

working part time for economic reasons, at 6.9 million, changed 

little over the month. (These individuals, also referred to as 
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involuntary part-time workers, would have preferred full-time 

employment, but had their hours cut or were unable to find fulltime work.) 

 Among people who were neither working nor looking for work 

in November, 2.1 million were classified as marginally attached 

to the labor force, essentially unchanged over the year. (These 

individuals 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.) The number of discouraged 

workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that 

no jobs were available for them, was 698,000 in November, little 

changed over the year. 

 In summary, nonfarm payroll employment increased by 

321,000 in November, and the unemployment rate held at 5.8 

percent.