Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation — 2007-09-07

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 Daylight Time. Nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged in August (-4,000), and the unemployment rate held at 4.6 percent. Payroll employment has grown little during the past 3 months (44,000 per month on average), following downward revisions to June and July estimates. In contrast, payroll employment growth averaged 147,000 per month for the first 5 months of the year. Continuing job losses in manufacturing and construction, slower job growth in some service-providing industries, and declines in local government education contributed to the recent weakness in payroll employment. In August, manufacturing employment fell by 46,000. Job losses were widespread throughout the industry and included notable declines in motor vehicles, machinery, wood products, and semiconductors.