The Employment Situation: November 2001 — 2001-12-07

Employment fell sharply for the second month in a row in November, and the unemployment rate rose to 5.7 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Nonfarm payroll employment dropped by 331,000, following an even larger decline in October. As was the case in October, job losses in November were widespread. The number of unemployed persons increased by 419,000 to 8.2 million in November, and the unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percentage point to 5.7 percent; this followed an increase of half a percentage point in October. The jobless rate in November was at its highest level since August 1995. Since October 2000, when both measures were at their most recent lows, unemployment has risen by 2.6 million and the unemployment rate has increased by 1.8 percentage points, of which 1.4 percentage points have come since the beginning of the recession in March.