December 07, 2004 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Change in payroll employment in November 2004

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 112,000 in November 2004 to 132.1 million, seasonally adjusted. This followed a much larger increase of 303,000 in October.

[Chart data—TXT]

In November, employment rose in health care and social assistance, leisure and hospitality, and other service-providing industries.

Employment in health care and social assistance grew by 28,000 in November. Over the year, this industry has added 316,000 jobs. In November, employment increased most notably in hospitals, nursing and residential care facilities, and offices of physicians.

Leisure and hospitality employment increased by 34,000 over the month and has risen by 220,000 over the year. Within leisure and hospitality, employment in accommodations grew by 18,000 in November; about half of the increase represented the return of workers who had been on strike.

Payroll employment data are from the BLS Current Employment Statistics program. The above data are seasonally adjusted. Data for October and November 2004 are preliminary and subject to revision. To learn more, see "The Employment Situation: November 2004" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 04-2408.