What's going on?

This isn�t the holly jolly Christmas the US had planned: fresh data out on Friday showed the States added just 245,000 new jobs in November � far fewer than economists predicted.

What does this mean?

That figure is bleak, but investors might not actually have paid much attention to it: the update didn�t include employment data from the last two weeks of November. That means they�re still missing crucial clues about hiring in the lead-up to the all-important holiday shopping season, which helps indicate how the retail industry�s doing this quarter.


The unemployment rate did fall from 6.9% in October to 6.7% last month, sure, but that�s not worth getting excited about either. That�s because it was partly driven by a drop in the number of Americans who count themselves among the workforce. In other words, when fewer people declare themselves available for work, the percentage of those who are working appears to rise.

Why should I care?

The bigger picture: Labor force be with you.

62% of the adult US population is currently in the �labor force� � that is, in a job or looking for one. That�s around 2% lower than in February, and near its lowest level since the �70s (tweet this). And while labor force participation usually drops in a recession, there are no guarantees it�ll bounce back like in past downturns: the pandemic has forced some boomers into early retirement and some parents into full-time childcare, after all. That�s worrying: workers are the building blocks of an economy, and a dwindling number of them risks the US�s growth next year and beyond.

Zooming out: Nope-ioids.

The US�s 62% labor force participation is much lower than both the UK and eurozone�s roughly 80% rates. Some economists have blamed the difference on America�s workforce-crippling opioid epidemic � and if they�re right, solving that crisis could bring people back into gainful employment and help boost economic growth too.