November 2010 Employment Situation — 2010-12-03

The unemployment rate edged up to 9.8 percent in November, and nonfarm payroll employment was little changed (+39,000), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Temporary help services and health care continued to add jobs over the month, while employment fell in retail trade. Employment in most major industries changed little in November. The number of unemployed persons was 15.1 million in November. The unemployment rate edged up to 9.8 percent; it was 9.6 percent in each of the prior 3 months. (See table A-1.) Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (10.0 per- cent), adult women (8.4 percent), whites (8.9 percent), and Hispanics (13.2 per- cent) edged up in November. The jobless rate for blacks (16.0 percent) showed little change over the month, while the rate for teenagers declined to 24.6 per- cent. The jobless rate for Asians was 7.6 percent, not seasonally adjusted.