November employment report released better than expectedThe data shows that this growth is coming from several different areas of the U.S. economy.
Health care and social assistance once again led the way last month, with 72,300 new jobs added in the field. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This was done in the group Biggest contribution in October.
If private education is included in the health care category, as some economists do, the growth in this group increases further, to 79,000.
The leisure and hospitality industry was the second largest contributor last month, adding 53,000 jobs. This also marks a significant increase compared to October’s results. November’s gain was driven by employment in food services and drinking establishments, which rose by 29,000.
Meanwhile, government – the second-largest contributing category two months ago – trailed only leisure and hospitality last month. In November, the group added 33,000 jobs.
More notably, there was a clear rebound in manufacturing and professional and business services – two sectors that suffered significant losses in October due to the economic crisis. Boeing mechanics go on strike for seven weeks and the impact of hurricanes Helena and Milton. Last month, jobs in these categories increased by 22,000 and 26,000, respectively.
While other sectors such as construction have seen some growth, ZipRecruiter’s Julia Pollak noted that growth was “very concentrated,” telling CNBC that growth in manufacturing was actually smaller than she expected.
The retail industry, which lost 28,000 jobs, was also a major weakness in the report. Pollack believes overall job growth will “slow further” unless other industries pick up soon.
“Some people are calling it a rebound, but I don’t think people should be misled by what appears to be healthy wage growth,” the firm’s chief economist said in an interview. “We’ve known all along that this report would overstate the labor market. Potential strength, and will be inflated by strikes and the return of workers after the storm.”
Meanwhile, Pollack pointed to financial activity in particular as a bright spot. In November, this group added 17,000 jobs.
“Banks have become very optimistic and excited about the Trump administration, which is thought to be likely to loosen financial regulations and take a more favorable approach to mergers and acquisitions,” she said. “So this is definitely an industry where we’re seeing more optimism and more hiring in some places.”
