Initial Unemployment Claims

December 19, 2024 Initial unemployment claims rose 17 thousand in the week ending December 7 to 242 thousand after climbing 10 thousand in the previous week.   This series has risen slightly in the past six months.  The 4-week average of claims was 210 thousand at the...

Payroll Employment

December 6, 2024 Payroll employment rebounded in November by 227 thousand after having risen just 36 thousand in October.  The September and October data were revised  upwards by a total of 56 thousand.  In the past three months the average increase has been 173...

Private Employment

December 6, 2024 Private sector employment rebounded in November by 194 thousand after having declined 2 thousand in October.  The September and October data were revised  upwards by a total of 56 thousand.  In the past three months the average increase has been 138...

Unemployment Rate

December 6, 2024 The unemployment rate rose 0.1% in November to 4.2% after having been unchanged in October.  In November the labor force fell 193 thousand..  Employment declined 355 thousand.  As a result, the number of unemployed workers rose by 161 thousand and the...

Nonfarm Workweek

December 6, 2024 In any given month employers can boost output by either additional hiring workers or by lengthening the number of  hours that their employees work.  Payroll employment jumped by 227 thousand in November.   At the same time the nonfarm workweek rose...

Average Hourly Earnings

December 6, 2024 Average  hourly earnings rose 0.4% in November to $35.61 after increasing 0.4% in October. Earnings growth has slowed from 4.3% at the end of  last year to 4.0% currently.  The earlier decline in earnings appears to reflect the flood of workers from...