The Employment Situation: September 2007 — 2007-10-05

Employment rose in September, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 4.7 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 110,000 following increases of 93,000 in July and 89,000 in August (as revised). In September, health care, food services, and professional and technical services continued to add jobs, while employment trended down in manufacturing and construction. Average hourly earnings rose by 7 cents, or 0.4 percent. The number of unemployed persons (7.2 million) and the unemployment rate (4.7 percent) were essentially unchanged in September. A year earlier, the number of unemployed persons was 6.9 million and the jobless rate was 4.6 percent. (See table A-1.) Over the month, the unemployment rates for adult men (4.2 percent), adult women (4.0 percent), teenagers (16.0 percent), whites (4.2 percent), blacks (8.1 percent), and Hispanics (5.7 percent) showed little or no change.