Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release — 2008-02-01

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. I appreciate this opportunity to comment on the employment and unemployment data that we released this morning. Nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged in January, at 138.1 million, as was the unemployment rate, at 4.9 percent. Employment declined in construction and in manufacturing, while the number of jobs increased in health care. In 2007, payroll employment grew by an average of 95,000 per month, compared with an average of 175,000 per month in 2006. Average hourly earnings rose by 4 cents in January, or 0.2 percent. From December 2006 to December 2007, average hourly earnings rose by 3.7 percent, compared with a rise in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers of 4.4 percent.