Employment & Job News 2014: US Employers Hire 321,000 Employees in November; Latino Unemployment Drops Slightly
U.S. employers hired 321,000 people in November, the latest sign of steady growth and health job gains. The latest job figures mean 2014 is on track to be the strongest year for hiring since 1999, and 10 million jobs were lost during the financial crisis in 2008.
More jobs, 44,000, were added in September and October than had previously been estimated. The Department of Labor said the unemployment rate remained at a six-year low of 5.8 percent.
Economy analysts say job gains will accelerate improvement in the labor market as more industries participate in the recovery. The Labor Department measured a 69.7 percent rate increase in its Diffusion index which measures industry payrolls.
"The labor market recovery is broadening out, and the diffusion index speaks to that," Neil Dutta, head of U.S. economics at Renaissance Macro Research LLC, told Bloomberg News. "You have more people working, they're working more hours and they're earning more money."
In its Monthly Latino Employment Report, the National Council of La Raza said Latino unemployment rates dropped slightly from 6.8 percent to 6.6 percent. Net job gains in retail (+50,200 in November), administrative and waste services (+47,700), accommodation and food services (+27,300) and construction (+20,000) likely contributed to more employment for Latinos.
At the White House, President Barack Obama said, "the American economy is making real progress," and if the job hiring continues and companies keep making profits, corporations need to make "sure their workers are sharing in the that growth.
He said the "pickup in the pace of job growth this year has been in industries with higher wages," and "wages are rising -- a very welcome sign for millions of Americans." Obama added in order for the economy to keep growing, Congress will have to make investments in high paying jobs, supporting exports, infrastructure, streamlining the tax code, immigration reform "and giving minimum wage workers a raise."
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