Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release — 2012-12-07

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 increased by 146,000 in November, and the unemployment rate edged down to 7.7 percent. In 2012, job gains have averaged 151,000 per month, essentially the same as in 2011. In November, employment rose in retail trade, professional and business services, and health care. Before providing the details of this month�s data, I would like to comment on the impact of Hurricane Sandy on our November estimates. On October 29, the storm made landfall on the Northeast coast, causing severe damage in some states. Nevertheless, response rates in the affected states were within normal ranges in November. Our analysis leads us to conclude that Hurricane Sandy did not substantively impact the national employment and unemployment estimates for November.