Unemployment rate drops to 10 percent in November

Consumers facing debt consolidation and running low on emergency funds received encouraging news on Friday as the national unemployment rate declined for the first time since the late summer.

According to a new report released by the U.S. Department of Labor detailing the employment situation for November, the national unemployment rate dropped slightly as it shed 0.2 percentage points to hit 10 percent.

After averaging a drop of 135,000 jobs from payroll over the last three months, November only saw a loss of 11,000 in nonfarm payrolls employment.
"I am encouraged by the pattern of moderated job loss; however, I will not be satisfied until there are robust job gains, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis said following the release of the figures.

"We are working hard to sustain economic growth and spur renewed hiring for the millions of Americans who need and want work but cannot find it," she added.

The industries that saw the most significant job losses throughout the month were in manufacturing (which shed 41,000 jobs), construction (-27,000) and information (-17,000). However, they were offset by gains in both professional/business services and health care industries, which saw increases in employment of 86,000 and 21,000 respectively.