Total nonfarm payroll employment up 321,000 in November; job growth widespread among industries

In November, total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 321,000. The average monthly gain was 224,000 over the prior 12 months. Job growth was widespread, led by gains in professional and business services, retail trade, health care, and manufacturing.

Employment in professional and business services increased by 86,000 in November, compared with an average monthly gain of 57,000 over the prior 12 months. Job growth continued in temporary help services (+23,000), management and technical consulting services (+7,000), computer systems design and related services (+7,000), and architectural and engineering services (+5,000).

Employment in retail trade rose by 50,000 in November, compared with an average gain of 22,000 per month over the prior 12 months. Job gains occurred in motor vehicle and parts dealers (+11,000); clothing and accessories stores (+11,000); sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores (+9,000); and nonstore retailers (+6,000).

Health care added 29,000 jobs over the month. Employment continued to trend up in offices of physicians (+7,000), home health care services (+5,000), outpatient care centers (+4,000), and hospitals (+4,000).

In November, manufacturing added 28,000 jobs. Durable goods manufacturers accounted for 17,000 of the increase, most industries in that group gained jobs. Employment in nondurable goods increased by 11,000, with plastics and rubber products (+7,000) accounting for most of the gain.

Financial activities added 20,000 jobs in November, with half of the gain in insurance carriers and related activities. Transportation and warehousing employment increased by 17,000 in November, with a gain in couriers and messengers (+5,000).

These data are from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program and are seasonally adjusted. Data for the most recent 2 months are preliminary. To learn more, see "The Employment Situation — November 2014" (HTML) (PDF). More charts featuring CES employment data are in Current Employment Statistics Highlights: November 2014 (PDF).