Economists forecasted a gain of more than 500,000 jobs for the month.
On Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released a jobs report for November. Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 210,000 in November, and the unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage point to 4.2%. The number of unemployed persons fell by 542,000 to 6.9 million.
Both the unemployment rate and the number of unemployment persons are down from their highs at the end of the February-April 2020 recession, but remain above their levels prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, America’s employers added just 210,000 jobs, 340,000 below the expected number. This is the lowest monthly gain in nearly a year.
U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh issued a statement on the November 2021 Employment Situation Report, saying:
“The President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will drive more job growth in the months and years ahead, and at the Department of Labor we are focused on making sure those new jobs are good jobs with access for all through proven pathways like Registered Apprenticeship. Moving forward, the President’s Build Back Better plan is the key to both reducing the biggest costs working families face and increasing equity in our labor market by investing in the care needs that keep so many women, especially Black women, from fully participating in our economy. We are committed to supporting all workers and their families morning, noon and night.”
The White House attempted to spin the report in a more favorable light, focusing more on the unemployment rate and a monthly average of jobs created. President Joe Biden posted a tweet saying, “America is back to work, and our jobs recovery is going strong.”
Today, we have incredible news that our unemployment rate has fallen to 4.2% – a level experts didn’t expect us to achieve until 2024.
We’ve created 588,000 jobs per month on average this year – a record.
America is back to work, and our jobs recovery is going strong.
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 3, 2021
In a comparison between September 2020 and September 2021 in Mississippi, the Jackson metro experienced a decrease from 6.4% to 4.3%. Nationally, there has been a 3.1% decrease.
In August, Mississippi was ranked 10th in nation in the percent of jobs recovered from the pandemic losses.
The RNC reported that Republican-led states are the ones creating jobs and leading the economic recovery. Through October, 17 of the top 20 states for jobs recovered since the pandemic are led by Republican governors. The top 10 states with the lowest unemployment rates are all Republican-led.
You can read the full November 2021 jobs report below.
The Employment Situation — November 2021 by yallpolitics on Scribd
Anne Summerhays
