The presidential election has, finally, come and gone, and now the U.S. is preparing for a new administration to take control in January. Everyone knows that changes are coming down the line, but there are also several holidays coming up as well! With all of that going on, November’s job report has come out and is causing a big stir. After the two hurricanes that blew through the southern U.S. and the strike at Boeing in October, it seems that last month made great strides in erasing those losses.
With an additional 227,000 jobs added in November, this morning, the Dow opened 86 points higher, and it seems that the S&P and Nasdaq made forward movements as well. Unemployment did rise to 4.2% from 4.1%, but that does not seem to be making any waves at this time, particularly with the Federal Reserve. Their statement to November’s report seems to echo the sigh of relief felt by many economic experts. October’s numbers were called “an aberration” by the current Acting Labor Secretary, due to the chaos coming from the previously mentioned storms and strikes. The number of jobs in the Transportation and Warehouse industries stayed roughly the same for November. As usual, we’ll have more on that sector below!
October's Job Opening and Turnover Survey
In October, the Job Opening and Turnover Survey showed few changes in the number of openings, up minimally to 7.7 million jobs. However, after all of the changes were brought in and sifted through last month, job openings drastically increased for the Professional and Business Services industry by 209,000. Accommodation and Food Services jobs also saw an increase by 162,000, while the Information industry saw an 87,000 job gain. There was a small decrease in the number of Federal Government jobs of 26,000, and that is a trend that is now expected to continue into the new year. The quit rate for October did go up to 3.3 million, while layoffs decreased to 1.6 million.
November's Jobs Report
For the month of November, Non-farm payrolls grew by the surprising amount of 227,000 jobs, completely obliterating the numbers from October. These improved numbers come in as a huge sigh of relief after the struggle of the previous month with the strike at Boeing in early October and Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Recovery has been a top priority, and the new numbers showcase this. November’s report shows unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.2%. The labor force participation rate for November decreased a miniscule amount, settling at 62.5%.
Last month, November 2024, the Healthcare industry, which has been steadily adding small numbers of jobs every month for the past year, added another 54,000 jobs. In Government, new jobs came in with another gain of 33,000, but there was a surprising, sizeable decrease in Retail jobs (-28,000). Coming in around the winter holiday, this drop in the number of retail jobs will need to be considered with a closer look if it repeats in January. The Transportation and Warehousing industries, again, have not been making great increases or decreases. For more on the outlook for the trucking and transportation industry, see our blog next week as I cover what to look out for in 2025!
Conclusion
The November Jobs Report and the October Job Opening and Turnover Survey came out today, coming back after an abysmal October with some great new numbers for the economy. While many are already looking towards January and a new presidential administration, the bulk of Americans are just hoping to finish 2024 as smoothly as possible. Even the Federal Reserve seems poised to lower interest rates again before the end of the year due to the newest job numbers. Stay tuned to the LZ Blog and our Lionzone social media to follow the job market!
Are you still looking for the right employees for your company? Finding the right candidates may seem daunting, but, with the right recruitment marketing team on your side, you can be successful! Employer Branding, Recruitment Marketing, and Employee Retention can all be handled by the experts at LZRecruit! Do you need assistance meeting your retention goals? Contact the LZRecruit Network today! Lower your Cost Per Lead and Time to Hire. We offer 100% direct leads. For more information on the LZRecruit Network, contact us at 615-928-2540, or check us out at LZRecruit.com.
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Meaghan Goldberg covers recruitment and digital marketing for Lionzone. A Patterson, GA native, after graduating from both Valdosta State University and Middle Tennessee State University, Meaghan joined Lionzone in 2018 as a digital recruitment strategist before becoming the social media manager.
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