Health Care and Education Leading the Way for Job Gains

Here's a snippet from last Friday's jobs report. Here's what jumped out at me: the biggest job gains came in health care followed by education. If you're considering an industry change, these two areas seem to be the best bets.

Less than zero, but getting closer

• 11,000: The net total of jobs lost in November
• 111,000: Jobs lost in October
• 139,000: Jobs lost in September
• 691,000: Average monthly loss in first three months of this year
• 7.2 million: Total decline in U.S. payrolls since recession began in December 2007

Unemployment still high

• 10 percent: November's unemployment rate, in double digits for only the second time in 26 years
• 10.2 percent: October's jobless rate, the highest since April 1983
• 10.8 percent: Unemployment rate in December 1982, the highest since World War II

Where the jobs are

• 52,400: The number of temporary jobs added in November, the biggest increase in five years
• 11,100: Jobs added in education
• 21,000: Jobs added in hospitals, nursing and other health care sectors
• 1,000: Jobs added in computer services
• 5,600: Jobs added in management and technical consulting
• 7,500: Jobs added in department stores

Underemployed

• 9.2 million: Number of part-time workers who would have preferred full-time work last month
• 2.3 million: People without jobs who want to work but have stopped looking
• 17.2 percent: "Underemployment" rate in November if you include the above two categories
• 17.5 percent: Underemployment rate in October, the highest in records dating to 1994

The 'he-cession'

• 10.5 percent: Unemployment rate for adult men
• 7.9 percent: Unemployment rate for adult women

November unemployment rate by group

• 11.4 percent: Female heads of households
• 7.3 percent: Asians
• 9.3 percent: Whites
• 12.7 percent: Hispanics
• 15.6 percent: Blacks
• 26.7 percent: Teenagers