Employers added 263,000 jobs in November, according to the Labor Department, giving many newly employed workers a reason to celebrate this holiday season.
The leisure and hospitality sector added the most, picking up 88,000 new jobs, with bars and restaurants accounting for 62,100 of those newly added positions. Still, the sector remains 5.8% below its pre-pandemic employment level of 980,000.
Good news for the hospitality industry as we head into the holidays! @BLS_gov data shows leisure & hospitality led job gains in Nov. including ⬆️62K at food & drinking places. Let’s keep it going! pic.twitter.com/hRrnjcsGVV
— Lisa Hawkins (@lisa_lhawkins) December 2, 2022
Health care came in second with 44,700 jobs added, and the government itself hired 42,000 workers in November, adding the third-most jobs for the month. But not every industry saw gains.
Even with the holiday shopping season underway, jobs in the retail trades fell 29,900 last month, with a 21,800 drop at department stores and 10,300 job losses at general-merchandise stores. It wasn't all bleak, however, as auto dealers hired 6,900 workers and food and beverage stores added 4,500 positions.
