Gallup Good Jobs Rate Down Slightly

The November Gallup Good Jobs (GGJ) rate in the U.S. was 44.9 percent, down slightly from the rate measured during the past three months (45.3 percent) but still the highest Gallup has measured for any November since tracking began in 2010. The percentage of U.S. adults participating in the workforce in November was 67.5 percent. This is down only slightly from the rate in October (67.7 percent) and is the same as in September.

Gallup's unadjusted U.S. unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in November, statistically even with October's 5.6 percent and the lowest in any November since Gallup began tracking the measure in January 2010. Gallup's U.S. unemployment rate represents the percentage of adults in the workforce who did not have any paid work in the past seven days, either for an employer or themselves, and who were actively looking for and available to work.

Gallup's measure of underemployment in November was 14.6 percent, up 0.8 points from October. However, this rate is still lower than in any November since Gallup began tracking it daily in 2010. Gallup's U.S. underemployment rate combines the percentage of adults in the workforce who are unemployed (5.7 percent) with those who are working part time but desire full-time work (8.9 percent).

While unemployment was almost unchanged in November, the rate of "involuntary" part-time work rose by 0.7 points. This rate has risen more than a full point since September, when it was the lowest Gallup had measured since tracking began in January 2010 (7.8 percent). Involuntary part-time employment has been relatively constant over the past six years, never registering more than 10.1 percent but only once falling below 8.0 percent.