With the end of the year coming just around the corner, Americans may have more reason to celebrate than just the arrival of the holiday season. Recent findings compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that the nation’s economy could be on an upward trajectory and that the state of employment is already undergoing improvements. Forbes explained that experts are pleasantly surprised by the economy’s performance, as it exceeded their expectations for the second consecutive month.

According to the BLS, the U.S. unemployment rate decreased from 7.3 percent to 7 percent in November. Likewise, the number of unemployed persons declined, now down to 10.9 million.

That last figure, however, may be a reflection of the government employees who returned to work following the partial shutdown during October 2013.

ES November 2013In November, there were fewer Americans who stated that they were temporarily without employment compared to the month prior. This figure dropped by 377,000 persons, while the number representing individuals who were jobless for fewer than 5 weeks was reduced by 300,000. Both of these decreases are believed to be – by and large – the result of furloughed employees re-entering the labor force.

In total, there were 203,000 positions created throughout the U.S. in November. This rise is impressive in and of itself, but it is especially noteworthy when compared to the average monthly growth rate over the past year. There has been a mean of 195,000 positions added to the economy each month. In light of this, Americans can see that November ushered in a steep increase in the expansion of the job market.

Among all of the economic sectors, the manufacturing, health care, transportation and warehousing, and professional and business services appeared to be some of the driving forces behind last month’s job growth. However, the employment condition for those working for the federal government grew worse as the sector eliminated 7,000 positions.

Americans hoping to secure jobs in the business services field could be facing better employment odds. This portion of the U.S. economy generated 35,000 posts in the past month, bringing the average of monthly jobs created over the last year to 55,000. If this industry trend continues throughout the month of December, even more professionals working in this sector could be ringing in the New Year with a new job.

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