The latest employment figures released by the government indicate that the job market in America continues to show strength and stability. Over the past six months leading up to November, employers have been consistently adding an average of 143,000 jobs per month, reflecting a positive trend in job creation.
While unemployment rates have increased slightly compared to a year ago, they still remain at historically low levels. Wage growth has also been robust, outpacing inflation and providing workers with increased purchasing power.
In November, average hourly earnings saw a 4% increase from the previous year, maintaining the momentum from October. However, this growth rate was slightly lower than the 4.3% increase recorded in November 2023. The number of individuals unemployed for more than 26 weeks rose to 1.66 million in November, marking the highest level since January 2022.
On the other hand, the labor force participation rate experienced a decline for the second consecutive month in November, reaching 62.5%. This rate has yet to fully recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which had caused a drop from 63.3% between October 2019 and February 2020.
Unemployment rates among Black and Hispanic workers increased in November compared to the previous month, reaching 6.4% and 5.3%, respectively. In contrast, the unemployment rate for White workers remained stable at 3.8%, while Asian workers saw a decline from 3.9% to 3.7%.
