Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release — 2010-10-08

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 edged down (-95,000) in September, and the unemployment rate held at 9.6 percent. Private-sector employment continued to trend up modestly (+64,000). Government employment continued to fall (-159,000), partly reflecting the loss of 77,000 temporary Census 2010 jobs. In September, 6,000 temporary decennial census workers remained on the federal government payroll. Elsewhere in the government sector, local government employment fell by 76,000. Within the private sector, health care employment continued to expand (+24,000) in September, primarily in ambulatory health care services. Employment services added 28,000 jobs; most of the gain was in temporary help services. Employment in food services rose by 34,000 over the month. Other major service- providing industries showed little change.