Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release — 2014-12-05

Advance copies of this statement are made available to the press under lock-up conditions with the explicit understanding that the data are embargoed until 8:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 321,000 in November, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.8 percent. The increase in employment was widespread, led by gains in professional and business services, retail trade, health care, and manufacturing. Incorporating revisions for September and October, which increased total nonfarm payroll employment by 44,000, monthly job increases have averaged 278,000 over the past 3 months. In the 12 months prior to November, employment growth averaged 224,000 per month. Employment in professional and business services rose by 86,000 in November. Within the industry, accounting and bookkeeping services added 16,000 jobs. Employment continued to trend up in temporary help services (+23,000), management and technical consulting (+7,000), computer systems design (+7,000), and architectural and engineering services (+5,000).