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Low November job numbers strain employers, economists say
Dec 3, 2021, 7:07 AM | Updated: 7:14 am
FILE: A "Hiring" sign is displayed during the TechFair LA career fair in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Thursday, March 8, 2018. The U.S. Department of Labor is scheduled to release initial jobless claims on March 15. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Economists say job growth in November is half of what some predicted, putting a strain on employers.
“The challenge for employers is getting enough employees, and right now, they’re struggling to get enough people to work,” explained Robert Spendlove, a Senior economist for Zions Bank.
This month’s job additions stand as the lowest amount added in nearly a year.
An article from CNN with national information is below.
(CNN) — American employers added another 210,000 jobs to the economy in November, far fewer than expected, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
It was the smallest number of jobs added to the US economy since December 2020, when the economy actually shed jobs amid a surge in Covid cases. Economists had expected more than double the number of jobs created in November, forecasting a continuation of the buoyant economic recovery over the past two months. Instead, the November jobs gain was more reminiscent of the pre-pandemic economy, when employers added a smaller but steady number of positions.
Friday’s report was also disappointing because the hires took place before the Omicron variant became a global concern. Some economists expect hiring to slow this month as businesses and employees grapple with the ramifications of the new variant.
The unemployment rate fell to 4.2%, a new pandemic-era low.
Professional and business services, transportation and warehousing, construction, as well as manufacturing, added the most jobs last month.
The retail sector, however, which should be swelling for the holidays, shed jobs.
“It is not clear if this is a seasonal issue, or some sort of shift in terms of the timing of holiday help, but overall the payroll data does not match up with the alternative indicators of labor market activity that we track,” wrote Thomas Simons, money market economist at Jefferies, in a note to clients.
Simons expected to see either retail or leisure and hospitality payrolls to rise. The latter sector added some jobs, but not many, last month.
Overall, the economy is still down 3.9 million jobs from its pre-pandemic levels.
The-CNN-Wire
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- Not as many Utahns quit their jobs in September as the rest of the country
