Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release — 2014-10-03

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 rose by 248,000 in September, and the unemployment rate declined to 5.9 percent. Employment increased in professional and business services, retail trade, and health care. Incorporating the revisions for July and August, which increased total nonfarm payroll employment by 69,000 on net, monthly job increases have averaged 224,000 over the past 3 months. In the 12 months prior to September, employment growth averaged 213,000 per month. Professional and business services added 81,000 jobs in September, compared with an average monthly gain of 56,000 over the prior 12 months. In September, job gains occurred in employment services (+34,000), management and technical consulting services (+12,000), and architectural and engineering services (+6,000). Retail trade employment rose by 35,000 in September.