November may have marked the return the retail options trader. According to the Options Industry Council (OIC), year-over-year monthly options trading volume in November rose 33%. The OIC noted that more than 352 million options contracts changed hands during the month. That’s a lot of trading volume, but what’s more important than just the pure options volume is the type of contracts that witnessed the most growth.

Rather than seeing volume gains in index options such as the CBOE Market Volatility Index (aka the VIX), which has seen modest year-over-year growth of 5%, the big gains have come in single-stock options. That segment saw trading volume gains of 35% in November, and it’s a clear sign that the retail options player has indeed returned.

Because single-stock options are generally favored by speculative traders and individual investors, the surging volume in this sector relative to the more professionally traded index options can be interpreted as a sign that individual options players are placing their bets in increasing numbers.

Of course, individual options investors only make up about one-fifth of the market, according to most estimates, but if you trade options it’s important to know that it is investors just like you who are responsible for the biggest percentage growth in the options market in November.

One month does not a trend make, so we probably shouldn’t read too much into the November data. However, if December’s trading volume comes in similar to what it did in November, we may be able to confidently proclaim that the retail options player has indeed returned — and that means more liquidity and more opportunities for investors to make big money.