The unemployment rate grew to 9.8% in November, and nonfarm payroll employment increased by 39,000 (less than the expected 150,000), 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. The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for September was revised from -41,000 to -24,000, and the change for October was revised from +151,000 to +172,000.

The unemployment rate has now remained above 9% for more consecutive months since data has been gathered since 1940.

There are now 15.1 million unemployed in the USA. Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (10.0 %), adult women (8.4%), and teenagers (24.6%).

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) was little changed at 6.3 million and accounted for 41.9%. The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was little changed over the month at 9.0 million. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.

Among the marginally attached, there were 1.3 million discouraged workers in November, an increase of 421,000 from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. The remaining 1.2 million persons marginally attached to the labor force had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities.

Total nonfarm payroll employment changed little in November (+39,000). Job gains continued in temporary help services and in health care, while employment fell in retail trade. Since December 2009, total payroll employment has increased by an average of 86,000 per month.

Within professional and business services, employment in temporary help services continued to increase in November (+40,000) and has risen by 494,000 since September 2009.

Related: USA Economy Adds 151,000 Jobs in October and Revisions Add 110,000 More – Over 500,000 Jobs Disappeared in November, 2008 – Manufacturing Employment Data – 1979 to 2007

Health care continued to add jobs over the month, with a gain of 19,000. Much of the increase occurred in hospitals (+8,000). Employment in mining continued to trend up over the month. Support activities for mining added 6,000 jobs in November and has added 74,000 jobs since October 2009. Retail trade employment fell by 28,000 in November. Job losses occurred in department stores (-9,000) and in furniture and home furnishings stores (-5,000).

Employment in manufacturing fell by 13,000. Following job growth earlier in 2010, employment has been relatively flat, on net, since May.

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls held at 34.3 hours in November. The manufacturing workweek for all employees also was unchanged, at 40.3 hours, and factory overtime remained at 3.1 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls decreased by 0.1 hour to 33.5 hours.

In November, average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 1 cent to $22.75. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 1.6 percent. In November, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees were unchanged at $19.19.

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