The Employment Situation

November 2015

The Big Picture 

On December 4th, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released their report for the month of November, 2015. The report stated that the the unemployment rate has held itself at 5.0%, or around 7.9 million people, and went further to state that over the past 12 months, the unemployment rate is down by 0.8%, and the number of unemployed personal has gone down by 1.1 million. (BLS)

The Statistics 

Industry Changes                         Month     Year
Construction             (+46,000) (+259,000)
Professional & Technical (+28,000) (+298,000)
Health care              (+24,000) (+470,000)
Mining                   (-11,000) (-123,000)
Information              (-12,000) (Little Change)

Employment Groups (Unemployed Percentages)
Race 
Blacks (9.4%)     Hispanics (6.4%)     
Whites (4.3%)     Asians    (3.9%)

Age (Unemployed)
Teenagers (15.7%)     Adult Men (4.70%)     Adult Women (4.60%)

Digging down further into the numbers, the report provides much more information regarding the statistics of the employment situation. The report stated that the total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 211,000 in November, which was in line with the average monthly gain of 237,000 during the previous 12 months. (BLS B-1) The report went on further, saying that job gains had occurred in the construction, professional and technical service and health care industries, but that there had been a loss of jobs in the mining and information industries. (BLS A-1) Furthermore, the employment-population ratio has maintained its consistency since October 2014, as it is unchanged at 59.3%. The increase of payroll employment can be partially attributed to new potential workers entering the labor force, which would account for the unmoved employment-population ratio. (BLS A-1) With all the other consistencies this month, the civilian labor force participation rate also saw little to no change in the month of November, sitting at 62.5%. (BLS A-1)

The BLS stated in their report that 1.7 million people were marginally attached to the labor force, which is down by 392,000 from the previous year. (BLS A-16) The individuals included in this group were not in the labor force, but did want to or were available to work, and had searched for a job at some point in the previous 12 months. The BLS did not count them as unemployed, due to the fact that they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks leading up to the BLS survey. (BLS A-16) Out of the 1.7 million people who were marginally attached to the labor force in November, 594,000 were considered discouraged workers, meaning that the individuals were not searching for work, as the believed that there were no job opportunities available for them. (BLS A-16) The remaining  1.1 million individuals had not searched for work due to various reasons, such as school attendance or family responsibilities (BLS A-16)

Overall, the average workweek for an employee on private nonfarm payroll declined by 0.1 hours to 34.5 hours in the month of November, while their average pay rose by another 4 cents to $25.25 in the month of November. (BLS B-3, B-8, B-2 & B-7)

What's Ahead For 2016

We have seen a consistent decline in the mining industry, which can be attributed to the continued dwindling of resource availability, and the push for more eco-friendly alternatives in multiple industries. I expect that this industry will continue to slowly and steadily decline at a relatively constant rate until a much lower threshold is met. While information has seen a decline over the month of November, it has seen little to no change over the course of the year, and I expect that for 2016, we will see similar statistics. I do predict that there will continue to be a consistent increase in the professional and technical and health care industries, but I believe that the increase of jobs in the construction industry will begin to decelerate in comparison to its current increasing rate. The unemployment breakups by race will remain consistent throughout 2016, and I don't see the unemployment rate diving below 5.0% in the coming year. The United States' employment situation is in a relatively healthy position as it stands currently, and I see no foreshadow to drastic changes in 2016. 

Works Cited

The Employment Situation - November 2015. (2015, December 4). Retrieved December 10, 2015, from http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf

Employment Situation Summary. (2015, December 4). Retrieved December 10, 2015, from http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm