For Delivery: 9:30 A.M., E.S.T. — 2003-02-07

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 143,000 in January, after seasonal adjustment. This follows a loss of 156,000 jobs in December (as revised). The unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in January, down from December but not much different from the average jobless rate for last year. On a net basis, more than two-thirds of the January employment increase occurred in retail trade, where a job gain of 101,000 (after seasonal adjustment) offset a decline of similar magnitude in December. Much of the over-the- month employment swing was in eating and drinking establishments, an industry frequently subject to large employment fluctuations. Several other retail components, notably department stores and miscellaneous retailers (e.g., toy stores), also showed employment gains over the month after seasonal adjustment.