The Employment Situation: August 2006 — 2006-09-01

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 128,000 in August, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.7 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Payroll employ- ment grew notably over the month in education and health services; several other industries had modest increases. Average hourly earnings rose by 2 cents, or 0.1 percent, in August following larger gains in the prior 2 months. The number of unemployed persons (7.1 million) and the unemployment rate (4.7 percent) were essentially unchanged in August. A year earlier, the number of un- employed persons was 7.4 million, and the jobless rate was 4.9 percent. Over the month, the unemployment rates for most major worker groups--adult men (4.1 percent), adult women (4.1 percent), teenagers (16.2 percent), whites (4.1 per- cent), and Hispanics (5.3 percent)--showed little or no change. The jobless rate for blacks declined to 8.8 percent in August.