How Many Jobs Were Created in December 2011?

The following report is for the month of December 2011.  Current reports can be found HERE.

The following numbers are for December 2011.  For current reports, please click the link above.

200,000 new jobs were created in the month of December 2011.

The private sector generated 212,000 new jobs, but the government sector continued to shed jobs, 12,000 jobs, in December 2011.


176,000 more people reported themselves as working in December 2011. 

Latest (all 2011, 2012, & 2013) reports linked HERE!!

The unemployment rate dropped one-tenth of one percent to 8.5%, declining from 8.6% (or a revised 8.7%) in November.  The unemployment rate exceeded or equaled 9.0% for 8 months this year.  The last time that the unemployment rate was at or below 8.5% was February 2009.  Most of the decrease this month was due to people finding work, not to people dropping out of the work force, which is definitely a positive trend.

How many more or fewer people are working this month?  How many more or fewer jobs are there this month?  Were jobs lost or gained?

How many more jobs are there in November than there were in October 2011?


Let's look:

• 200,000 MORE jobs in seasonally-adjusted numbers were reported by employers now than in November.
• 219,000 FEWER jobs in "raw" actual numbers not adjusted for seasonal variations were reported by employers now vs. November.

How many more private sector jobs are there in December than there were in November 2011?

• 212,000 MORE private-sector jobs in seasonally-adjusted numbers were reported by employers now than in November.
• 80,000 FEWER private-sector jobs in "raw" actual numbers not adjusted for seasonal variation were reported by employers now than in November.  (In other words, private employers are saying that they have actually employed 80,000 fewer people in December than in November.  Despite a decline in "real" jobs, seasonally adjusted numbers show an increase because jobs almost always decrease between November and December.  Jobs this month have decreased much less than is usual for a December.)   

How many more (or fewer) government jobs are there in December than in November 2011?

• 12,000 FEWER government jobs in seasonally-adjusted numbers were reported by government employers at all levels (federal, state, and local) now than in November.
• 139,000 FEWER government jobs in "raw" actual numbers not adjusted for seasonal variations were reported by government employers at all levels now than in November.  

How many more people are reporting themselves as working in December than in November 2011?

• 176,000 MORE people reported themselves as working in seasonally-adjusted numbers than were working in November.
• 389,000 FEWER people reported themselves as working in "raw" actual numbers not adjusted for seasonal variations than were working in November.

(Note:  All of my employment number reports are based on monthly reports and data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Monthly numbers reports are based on the monthly Employment Situation Report.  The Employment Situation report includes month over month and year over year jobs numbers.  My analysis is taken from the monthly BLS data copied to an Excel spreadsheet every month.  I calculate detailed percentage increases/decreases, 3 month numbers, 2011 to date numbers, and I compare jobs numbers to those at the time of Obama's inauguration and at the "trough" of the recession.)