Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release — 2020-12-04

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 245,000 in November, and the unemployment rate edged down to 6.7 percent. These improvements reflect the continued resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed due to the coronavirus (COVID- 19) pandemic and efforts to contain it. However, the pace of improvement in the labor market has moderated in recent months. In November, private nonfarm employment rose by 344,000, while employment in government declined by 99,000. In the private sector, notable employment gains occurred in transportation and warehousing, professional and business services, and health care, while retail trade lost jobs. The November increase in nonfarm payroll employment marked the 7th consecutive month of job gains, although the magnitude was considerably lower than in the prior 6 months. Employment is down by 9.8 million (or 6.5 percent) since February, before the onset of the pandemic in the United States.