November 2019 Jobs Report

Unemployment Rate: 3.5%

Jobs Created: 266,000

Employment and Unemployment

1. The Department of Labor reported the unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percentage point to 3.5% in November.

2. Nonfarm jobs grew by 266,000 in November. Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal had expected 187,000 jobs.

3. Job growth for September and October was stronger than originally reported. The department revised the job creation numbers up for those months by a combined 41,000 jobs.  

4. The U-6 unemployment rate, a measure that also includes part-time and discouraged workers, dropped 0.1 percentage point to 6.9%.

Labor Force Participation

1. The labor force participation rate, the share of people employed or looking for work, ticked down 0.1 percentage point to 63.2%.

Wages

1. In November, average hourly earnings for all employees in private nonfarm jobs increased by 7 cents to $28.29. They are up 3.1% from a year ago.