Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release — 2011-09-02

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 was unchanged in August, and the unemployment rate held at 9.1 percent. Average job growth over the last 4 months has been markedly lower than during the first 4 months of the year. In August, employment changed little in most major industries. Health care added 30,000 jobs over the month, with most of the gains occurring in ambulatory health care services and in hospitals. In professional and business services, employment in computer systems design and related services increased by 8,000. Mining employment continued to trend up. In the information sector, employment fell by 48,000 over the month, largely reflecting a strike by 45,000 telecommunications workers. Manufacturing employment was essentially unchanged in August.