November 2020 Economic Report

Job growth has slowed significantly. Although 245,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy in November, these gains are weak in comparison to October (610,000), September (711,000), August (1.5 million), July (1.8 million), June (4.8 million), and May (2.7 million). The number of unemployed persons fell to 10.7 million in November from 11 million in October. This is about 4.9 million higher than its February level.

Amtec Tip of the Month

It’s unfortunate when candidates choose to lie or exaggerate, and many do so either on their resume or in person, according to Eric Barton of BBC.com.  Forming your impression of someone solely based on how he or she answers your questions isn’t foolproof or scientific. The challenge in your hiring process is how to really get to know your candidates and uncover any lies before actually hiring them to work alongside your team.

Fortunately, there is a proven method called behavioral interviewing that, while not entirely foolproof, really can help you get an accurate picture of who your candidate is. It’s based on the premise that a person’s past performance is the best predictor of future behavior. Asking open-ended questions that begin with, “Tell me about a time when…”, an interviewer can avoid giving away the answer he or she wants to hear, and avoid receiving hypothetical answers that don’t reveal how the candidate is truly likely to behave.

Read more about how to really get to know your candidates here.

Additional Information

If you’re unable to view our November 2020 Economic Report or would like additional information, read below:

• The unemployment rate declined by 0.2% to 6.7% in November. The number of unemployed persons fell by 10.7 million. About 4.9 million higher than its February level.

• Total employment increased by 245,000 in November after rising by 638,000 in October.

• Transportation and warehousing added 145,000 jobs.
• Professional and business services added 60,000 jobs.
• Education and health services added 54,000 jobs.
• Leisure and hospitality added 31,000 jobs.
• Construction added 27,000 jobs.
• Manufacturing added 27,000 jobs.
• Financial activities added 15,000 jobs.
• Wholesale trade added 10,400 jobs.
• Other services added 7,000 jobs.
• Information added 1000 jobs.
• Mining and logging added 1,000 jobs.
• Utilities lost 100 jobs.
• Retail trade lost 34,700 jobs.
• The government lost 99,000 jobs.

• Average hourly earnings for all employees rose by 9¢ to $29.59.

Note: Data below represents changes from different months.

• Job openings rose 1.32% in September to 6.4 million openings.

• Dow Jones rose a whopping 11% in November with a high of 30,116.51 points and a low of 26,691.28 points.

• Housing starts dropped by 4.9% to 1,530,000 in October.

• Consumer price index did not change in October.

• The federal prime rate remained at 3.25% in November after dropping from 4.25% in March.

• Retail inventories rose 1.7% in September to $608 billion.

• Manufacturing hours worked per week dropped 0.49% to an average of 40.3 hours in November.

• Manufacturing new orders rose by 1% to $481 billion in October.

The information for this report was developed using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, Yahoo Finance, and FedPrimeRate.com.