Data showed the November jobs report was better than expected, with growth coming from several different areas of the U.S. economy.
Health care and social assistance led the way again last month, with 72,300 new jobs added in the field. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The group previously made its largest contribution in October.
If private education is included in the health care category, as some economists do, the growth of this group will increase further, to 79,000 people.
The leisure and hotel industry was the second largest contributor last month, adding 53,000 jobs. This also marked significant growth compared to October’s results. November’s gain was driven by employment in food services and drinking establishments, which increased by 29,000.
Meanwhile, government — the second-largest contributor two months ago — trailed only the leisure and hotel industry last month. In November, the group added 33,000 jobs.
More notably, there was a clear rebound in manufacturing and professional and business services – two sectors that suffered significant losses in October due to the seven-week strike by Boeing machinists and the impact of Hurricanes Helen and Milton. Last month, job opportunities in these categories increased by 22,000 and 26,000 respectively.
While other sectors such as construction have seen some growth, ZipRecruiter’s Julia Pollak noted that growth was “very concentrated,” telling CNBC that growth in manufacturing was actually smaller than she expected.
The retail industry, which lost 28,000 jobs, was also a major weakness in the report. Pollack believes that unless other industries improve soon, overall employment growth will “slow further.”
“Some people are calling it a rebound, but I don’t think people should be misled by what appears to be healthy wage growth,” the firm’s chief economist said in an interview. “We’ve known all along that this report would overstate the labor market. Potential strength, and will be inflated by strikes and the return of workers after the storm.”
On the other hand, Pollack pointed to financial activity in particular as a bright spot. In November, this group added 17,000 jobs.
“Banks have become very optimistic and excited about the Trump administration, which is thought to be likely to loosen financial regulations and take a more favorable approach to mergers and acquisitions,” she said. “So it’s definitely an industry where we’re seeing more optimism and hiring more people in some places.”
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