The U.S. economy continued to add jobs at a solid clip in November, as strong hiring in health care and the government helped to boost the overall payroll figure.
Employers added 199,000 jobs in November, the Labor Department said in its monthly payroll report released Friday, beating the 180,000 jobs forecast by Refinitiv economists.
The unemployment rate, meanwhile, unexpectedly fell to 3.7% after rising for three straight months.
US ECONOMY ADDS 199,000 JOBS IN NOVEMBER, UNEMPLOYMENT RATE UNEXPECTEDLY FALLS
“Job gains were fairly narrowly distributed across the economy, with the vast majority of jobs added in health care and government,” said Julia Pollak, ZipRecruiter’s chief economist. “In the rest of the economy, job growth has effectively ground to a halt.”
Health care accounted for the biggest payroll gains last month, with the sector adding 76,800 jobs in November. Hospitals accounted for the biggest percentage of the gains, hiring 23,700 workers last month, followed by nursing and residential care facilities with an increase of 17,300.
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There were also notable gains in the offices of physicians (13,600), home health care services (5,900) and outpatient care centers (5,200).
Hiring in government was the second-biggest contributor to the headline job gain last month. The sector hired 49,000 employees in November, with the biggest gains in local government (32,000) and state government (17,000).
There were also sizable gains within the leisure and hospitality sector last month, with payrolls growing by 40,000. Nearly all the hiring was done by bars and restaurants, with employment jumping by 38,300.
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Hiring also increased in other industries, including manufacturing, which saw payrolls jump by 28,000 as UAW workers ended their strike against Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. Other payroll increases took place in social assistance (16,400) and information (10,000), reflecting the end of the SAG-AFTRA strike.
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However, many sectors of the economy shed jobs or saw hiring fall flat last month. Employment within retail trade tumbled by 38,400 as department stores and furniture, home furnishings and electronics retailers pulled back on hiring, the Labor Department said in the report.
“The retail sector posted losses despite strong holiday season spending to date, likely partly the effect of an accelerating shift to self-checkout,” Pollak said.
There were also job losses in professional and business services (9,000), transportation and warehousing (5,000) and mining and logging (1,000).