The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its employment / unemployment report for November on December 8th, 2023.
Employment Up- Unemployment Down
- Adjusted U-3 was 3.7% down from 3.9% in October
- Unadjusted U-3 was 3.5% down from 3.6% in October
- Unadjusted U-6 was 6.7% down from 6.8% in October
- Labor Force Participation was 62.7% down from 62.8% in October
- Unadjusted Employment rose from 157.984 million to 158.461 million
Summary:
Total Employed increased in November, Unemployment was down, and Labor Force Participation was up.
According to the Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:
“Total nonfarm payroll employment increased 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. Employment also increased in manufacturing, reflecting
the return of workers from a strike. Employment in retail trade declined…
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for teenagers (11.4 percent) edged down
in November. The jobless rates for adult men (3.7 percent), adult women (3.1 percent), Whites
(3.3 percent), Blacks (5.8 percent), Asians (3.5 percent), and Hispanics (4.6 percent) showed
little or no change over the month.”
You can read the full BLS report here.
As usual, they are talking about “Seasonally Adjusted Jobs”.
Looking at the Unadjusted Establishment Survey report we see…
Originally the BLS reported employment of 157.984 million for October which uncharacteristically they didn’t adjust in November. They are currently reporting 158.461 million jobs for November which is actually an increase of 477,000 jobs. The LFPR rose from 62.7 to 62.8%.
BLS Source
Current Unemployment Rate Chart
Adjusted Unemployment is slightly above the pre-COVID 2019 cyclical lows of 3.5% as well as above the lows made earlier this year. Current levels are still within the “Green Zone”.
