November 2014: job growth improves substantially

Bureau of Labor Statistics news release, non-farm employment improved by 321,000 new jobs in November, up almost 100,000 from the previous average of 224,000 new jobs per month across all industries. The unemployment rate held steady last month, unchanged at 9.1 million people unemployed, about 5.8 percent. New jobs were available across many fields, as the U.S. saw job growth in all non-farming industries. Those industries included in the release are: professional and business services, retail trade, healthcare, manufacturing, financial activities, transportation, food services, and construction. The largest growth came in the form of business services jobs, which saw 86,000 new jobs added in November, up from its previous monthly average of 57,000. Those new positions are primarily in temporary help, bookkeeping services, and other technical, computer and engineering services. Retailers also saw a spike in new jobs as 50,000 new jobs were created last month, up from its previous monthly average of 22,000. The bulk of those jobs are for car and parts dealerships and clothing stores. The healthcare, manufacturing and food services industries saw job gains of nearly 30,000 each. Most of the manufacturing jobs added in November — and over the past 12 months — have been in durable goods. The construction and financial sectors each added 20,000 jobs in November. Interestingly, of the finance industry’s 114,000 new jobs in the past year, 70,000 of them have been insurance-related positions. In addition to all these new jobs, the average hourly salary for non-farm employees rose 9 cents last month, making the new average $24.66. The average hourly wage has increased by 2.1 percent over the previous year.]]>