Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation — 2004-02-06

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. Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 112,000 in January and has risen by 366,000 since August 2003. In January, there were job gains in construction and several service-providing industries. While manufacturing employment continued to trend down, the rate of job loss has slowed considerably in recent months. The unemployment rate, at 5.6 percent, was little changed over the month but is down from its recent peak of 6.3 percent in June 2003. Within the goods-producing sector, construction employment was up by 24,000 in January, after seasonal adjustment. Construction employment continues to be buoyed by strength in the housing market. Since March, the industry has added 147,000 jobs. Manufacturing employment edged down in January (-11,000).