September 2008 Employment Situation — 2008-10-03

Nonfarm payroll employment declined by 159,000 in September, and the unemployment rate held at 6.1 percent, the Bureau of Labor Sta- tistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Employment continued to fall in construction, manufacturing, and retail trade, while mining and health care continued to add jobs. The unemployment rate (6.1 percent) was unchanged in September, following a 0.4 percentage point rise in August. The number of unemployed persons was little changed at 9.5 million. Over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed persons has increased by 2.2 mil- lion and the unemployment rate has risen by 1.4 percentage points. (See table A-1.) The unemployment rates for adult men (6.1 percent) and blacks (11.4 percent) rose in September. The jobless rates for teenagers (19.1 per- cent), whites (5.4 percent), and Hispanics (7.8 percent) were essen- tially unchanged. The unemployment rate for adult women declined to 4.9 percent, partly offsetting an increase in August.