Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation — 2005-09-02

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 rose by 169,000 in August, following a gain of 242,000 in July (as revised). The unemployment rate, at 4.9 percent in August, was little changed; the jobless rate has decreased by 0.5 percentage point since February. Payroll employment has increased by 2.2 million over the year. In August, job growth continued in several industries, with notable gains in health care, accommodations and food services, and construction. Manufacturing employment edged down over the month. (Hurricane Katrina struck Florida and the Gulf Coast after the August survey reference period, and therefore did not affect August estimates from the payroll and household surveys.) Health care added 26,000 jobs in August. Employment in the industry has increased by 264,000 over the year.