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Technical information:
Household data: (202) 691-6378 *
cpsinfo@bls.gov *
www.bls.gov/cps
Establishment data: (202) 691-6555 *
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PressOffice@bls.gov
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- JANUARY 2012
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 243,000 in January, and the
unemployment rate decreased to 8.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. Job growth was widespread in the private
sector, with large employment gains in professional and business
services, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing. Government
employment changed little over the month.
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| |
| Changes to The Employment Situation Data |
| |
|Establishment survey data have been revised as a result of the |
|annual benchmarking process and the updating of seasonal |
|adjustment factors. Also, household survey data for January 2012 |
|reflect updated population estimates. See the notes at the end of|
|the news release for more information about these changes. |
| |
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Household Survey Data
The unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage point in January to
8.3 percent; the rate has fallen by 0.8 point since August. (See table
A-1.) The number of unemployed persons declined to 12.8 million in
January. (See the note and tables B and C for information about annual
population adjustments to the household survey estimates.)
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men
(7.7 percent) and blacks (13.6 percent) declined in January. The
unemployment rates for adult women (7.7 percent), teenagers (23.2
percent), whites (7.4 percent), and Hispanics (10.5 percent) were
little changed. The jobless rate for Asians was 6.7 percent, not
seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)
In January, the number of job losers and persons who completed
temporary jobs fell to 7.3 million. The number of long-term unemployed
(those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed at 5.5 million
and accounted for 42.9 percent of the unemployed. (See tables A-11 and
A-12.)
After accounting for the annual adjustments to the population
controls, the employment-population ratio (58.5 percent) rose in
January, while the civilian labor force participation rate held at
63.7 percent. (See table A-1. For additional information about the
effects of the population adjustments, see table C.)
The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons, at 8.2
million, changed little in January. These individuals were working
part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were
unable to find a full-time job. (See table A-8.)
In January, 2.8 million persons were marginally attached to the labor
force, essentially unchanged from a year earlier. (The data are not
seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force,
wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime
in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because
they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.
(See table A-16.)
Among the marginally attached, there were 1.1 million discouraged
workers in January, little different from a year earlier. (The data
are not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not
currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available
for them. The remaining 1.7 million persons marginally attached to the
labor force in January had not searched for work in the 4 weeks
preceding the survey for reasons such as school attendance or family
responsibilities. (See table A-16.)
Establishment Survey Data
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 243,000 in January.
Private- sector employment grew by 257,000, with the largest employment gains
in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and
manufacturing.
Government employment was little changed over the month. (See table B-1.) Professional and business services continued to add jobs in January
(+70,000). About half of the increase occurred in employment services
(+33,000). Job gains also occurred in accounting and bookkeeping
(+13,000) and in architectural and engineering services (+7,000).
Over the month, employment in leisure and hospitality increased by
44,000, primarily in food services and drinking places (+33,000).
Since a recent low in February 2010, food services has added 487,000 jobs.
In January, health care employment continued to grow (+31,000). Within
the industry, hospitals and ambulatory care services each added 13,000
jobs.
Wholesale trade employment increased by 14,000 over the month. Since a
recent employment low in May 2010, wholesale trade has added 144,000
jobs.
Employment in retail trade continued to trend up in January. Job gains
in department stores (+19,000), health and personal care stores
(+7,000), and automobile dealers (+7,000) were partially offset by
losses in clothing and clothing accessory stores (-14,000). Since an
employment trough in December 2009, retail trade has added 390,000
jobs.
In January, employment in information declined by 13,000, including a
loss of 8,000 jobs in the motion picture and sound recording industry.
In the goods-producing sector, manufacturing added 50,000 jobs. Nearly
all of the increase occurred in durable goods manufacturing, with job
growth in fabricated metal products (+11,000), machinery (+11,000),
and motor vehicles and parts (+8,000). Durable goods manufacturing has
added 418,000 jobs over the past 2 years.
Employment in construction increased by 21,000 in January, following a gain of 31,000 in the previous month. Over the past 2 months, nonresidential specialty trade contractors added 30,000 jobs.
Mining added 10,000 jobs in January, with most of the gain in support
activities for mining (+8,000). Since a recent low in October 2009,
mining employment has expanded by 172,000.
Government employment changed little in January. Over the past 12
months, the sector has lost 276,000 jobs, with declines in local
government; state government, excluding education; and the U.S. Postal
Service.
The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was
unchanged in January. The manufacturing workweek increased by 0.3 hour
to 40.9 hours, and factory overtime increased by 0.1 hour to 3.4
hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory
employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1 hour to 33.8
hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)
In January, average hourly earnings for all employees on private
nonfarm payrolls rose by 4 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $23.29. Over the
past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 1.9 percent.
In January, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and
nonsupervisory employees edged up by 2 cents, or 0.1 percent, to
$19.62. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for November was
revised
from +100,000 to +157,000, and the change for December was
revised from
+200,000 to +203,000. Monthly revisions result from
additional sample reports and the monthly recalculation of seasonal
factors. The annual benchmark process also contributed to these
revisions.
