Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release — 2015-09-04

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 increased by 173,000 in August, and the unemployment rate edged down to 5.1 percent. Employment rose in health care and social assistance and in financial activities, while manufacturing and mining employment declined. Incorporating revisions for June and July, which increased nonfarm payroll employment by 44,000, monthly job gains have averaged 221,000 over the past 3 months. In the 12 months prior to August, employment growth averaged 247,000 per month. Health care and social assistance employment rose by 56,000 over the month. Health care accounted for 41,000 of the gain, with ambulatory health care services and hospitals adding 21,000 and 16,000 jobs, respectively. Employment in social assistance, which includes child day care services and services for the elderly and disabled, was up by 16,000.