The November 2021 employment data was mixed. There was disappointing growth in jobs and there was an overall drop in unemployment.

However, despite these perplexing headlines, almost all sectors of the U.S. Economy increased their payrolls in October with business and professional services leading the way.

This industry saw a rise in employment for accountants (7600), business consultants (12000), and workers in the building services (10 400) such as janitors and landscapers.

The November was also a good month for transportation and warehouse, with 49.700 new jobs. This is because millions of Americans bought online in the run-up to Christmas. Last month, the number of couriers and messengers who collect and deliver mail and packages grew by 268,000, while storage and warehousing facilities jumped 8,800.

With a rise of 7,400 job openings in November, food producers, who turn commodities such as sugarcane and livestock into ready for consumption, led the overall manufacturing sector. The manufacturing industry in general added 31,000 jobs in November.

Thanks to broad-based hires, 31,000 construction workers were added in November. Last month saw increases in employment for civil engineers, building contractors and special trade contractors.

Although the November report highlighted strong demand from American consumers for goods and services, it was mixed in other areas.

Last month saw 23,000 new jobs in the leisure and hospitality industry. This sector tends to grow and contract based on severity and prevalence of Covid-19 case. It is a stark contrast to 170,000 payrolls that the sector had in October, and 108,000 in September.

The industry has created 2.4million jobs so far in 2021 in leisure and hospitality, however, employment in this sector is down by 1.3million, or 7.9% since February 2020.

Retail is a sector that often experiences an increase in job openings in the months before the holidays. However, it actually lost some jobs. Last month, the industry lost more than 22,000 jobs. Notable losses were made at department and clothing stores (17700), respectively.

An omicron variant’s arrival is unlikely to have had any significant effect on those industries, given the limited number of cases that have been reported so far in the U.S.

Some economists suggest that the decline in leisure and hospitality could be due to the tight labor markets and the increased earnings potential of cooks and waitstaff, as well other workers at restaurants.

Gus Faucher (chief economist, PNC Financial) stated that wage growth was particularly strong in retail and leisure/hospitality, which indicates that tight labor markets are leading companies to raise pay.

The leisure and hospitality sectors saw the strongest wage growth. The average hourly earning for private employees rose by 0.2% between October and November. However, the hourly wages of workers in leisure and hospitality saw an increase of 0.84%.

—Nate Rattner, CNBC Reporter, contributed reporting.