Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release - 2022 M11 Results — 2022-12-02

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 263,000 in November, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.7 percent. Notable job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, health care, and government. Employment declined in retail trade and in transportation and warehousing. The November gain in nonfarm payroll employment was roughly in line with average growth over the prior 3 months (+282,000). Monthly job growth thus far in 2022 has averaged 392,000, compared with 562,000 per month in 2021. Leisure and hospitality continued to add jobs in November (+88,000), with most of the gain occurring in food services and drinking places (+62,000). Employment in leisure and hospitality has grown by an average of 82,000 per month thus far in 2022, less than half of the 2021 average monthly increase of 196,000. Leisure and hospitality employment is down by 980,000, or 5.8 percent, from its pre-pandemic February 2020 level.