The Employment Situation: September 2006 — 2006-10-06

Nonfarm payroll employment held steady (+51,000), and the unemployment rate (4.6 percent) was essentially unchanged in September, the Bureau of Labor Sta- tistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Job growth continued in health care and financial activities, while employment declined in manufac- turing. Employment was little changed in other major industry sectors. The number of unemployed persons (6.9 million) and the unemployment rate (4.6 percent) were essentially unchanged in September. Thus far in 2006, the jobless rate has ranged from 4.6 to 4.8 percent. Over the month, the unemployment rates for most major worker groups--adult women (4.2 percent), teenagers (16.4 percent), whites (4.0 percent), blacks (9.2 percent), and Hispanics (5.4 percent)--showed little or no change. The jobless rate for adult men (3.8 percent) declined in September. The unemploy- ment rate for Asians was 2.8 percent, not seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.) Total employment, at 144.9 million, was essentially unchanged in September.