Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release — 2020-01-10

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 rose by 145,000 in December, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.5 percent. Notable employment gains occurred in retail trade and health care, while mining lost jobs. In 2019, payroll employment growth totaled 2.1 million, compared with a gain of 2.7 million in 2018. Incorporating revisions for October and November, which decreased payrolls by 14,000, monthly job gains averaged 184,000 over the past 3 months. In December, employment in retail trade increased by 41,000, with job gains in clothing and accessories stores (+33,000) and in building material and garden supply stores (+7,000). For both industries, the December increase followed a decline in November. In 2019, retail trade employment changed little on net (+9,000), the second year of little employment change in the industry.