Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation — 2007-01-05

Advance copies of this statement are made available to the press under lock-up conditions with the explicit understanding that the data are embargoed until 8:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. Payroll employment rose by 167,000 in December, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.5 percent. In 2006, payroll employment increased by 1.8 million, or an average of 153,000 per month. Over the month, there were job gains in several service-providing industries. Employment in construction was about unchanged, and the number of manufacturing jobs continued to trend down. Average hourly earnings increased by 8 cents, or 0.5 percent. Employment in professional and business services rose by 50,000 in December. Over the year, this industry has added 420,000 jobs. Over the month, there were job gains of 13,000 in businesses that supply services to buildings and dwellings and 7,000 in management consulting services. Employment continued to trend up in architectural and engineering services and in computer systems design.