News by Levels · Level 3 · Student worksheet

Stronger US Payroll Growth Coexists With Unwanted Part-Time Work

In this lesson: Apply the definition of unwanted part-time work and interpret a comparison between industries.

Name: __________________________ Date: __________________

Read the story

US nonfarm payrolls increased by 165,000 in October, exceeding the average monthly gain of 48,000 over the preceding year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics published its report on November 6.

Professional and business services added 70,000 jobs, while health care added 42,000. The unemployment rate changed little at 4.1%.

The household survey also recorded 339,000 more people working part time for economic reasons, bringing the total to about 4.8 million. They wanted full-time employment, but their hours had been reduced or they could not find full-time positions.

Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2026-11-06. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/empsit_11062026.htm

Read and practise

1. Which example fits the group described in the final paragraph?

   1. A worker wants full-time hours but has had their hours reduced.
   2. A worker freely chooses shorter hours and does not want full-time work.
   3. A person has no job and is searching for full-time work.

2. How does “while” connect the two industry figures?

   1. It says the health-care increase caused the other increase.
   2. It says all business-service hiring occurred before health-care hiring.
   3. It places the gains in the two industries side by side for comparison.

Your turn

Explain how stronger job growth and more unwanted part-time work can appear in the same report. Support your explanation with two figures.

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Read online: https://newsbylevels.com/news/us-october-jobs-report-full-time-hours-november-2026/level-3/