Event: 

The November Employment Situation, released today by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), indicates that total nonfarm employment rose by +199,000 in November on a seasonally adjusted basis, while temporary help services employment declined by -13,600 jobs. The temporary agency penetration rate was 1.86% in November, down from with its October rate of 1.87%. The national unemployment rate fell to 3.7% in November, from 3.9% in October.

Employment expanded in most industry groups. The group with the largest gain was again Health and social assistance, which added +93,200 jobs; again followed by Government, which added +49,000; and Leisure and hospitality, which added +40,000. Employment declined in the Natural resources and mining, Transportation and warehousing, and Retail trade sectors, as well as in the Temporary help services industry. The greatest decline occurred in the Retail trade sector, which fell by -38,400; followed by Temporary help services, which fell by -13,600; and Transportation and warehousing, which fell by -5,000.

BLS Revisions:

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for September was revised down by 35,000, from +297,000 to +262,000, and the change for October remained at +150,000. With these revisions, employment in September and October combined is 35,000 lower than previously reported.

The change in temporary help services employment in September was revised down from a loss of -8,900 to a loss of -22,300, and the previously estimated increase +6,600 in October was revised down to growth of +200. With these revisions, temporary help services employment in October was -19,800 lower than previously reported.

SIA’s Perspective: 

The US economy added +199,000 jobs in November, exceeding the 187,000 median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The monthly employment gain enjoyed a tailwind from the return of 33,000 striking workers, with the conclusion of both the UAW and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

The unemployment rate decreased by 20 basis points, from 3.9% to 3.7%, while the labor force participation rate increased by 10 basis points, from 62.7% to 62.8%, and the prime age (25-54) labor force participation rate remained at 83.3%.

Despite the overall job growth in the economy, the temporary help services industry shed 13,600 jobs in November. Prior month revisions were again negative, and the October advance, initially estimated at 6,600, was revised down to only 200, suggesting continued weakness in the industry despite strength in the overall economy. In the non-seasonally-adjusted data, year-over-year comps have sequentially but slowly improved since September, and in seasonally-adjusted data, employment comps experienced a trough in October. 

Competitive pressures continue to increase but there are continuing and large opportunities for those staffing firms that have developed a competitive advantage via either their technology, their service offerings, or both.

Members may download this month’s jobs report or access our new interactive tool (beta) below.