Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation — 2003-01-10

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 declined by 101,000 in December, following a loss of 88,000 jobs in November (as revised). The unemployment rate held at 6.0 percent, after increasing in November. Despite modest growth in the spring and summer of 2002, payroll employment showed a net loss of 181,000 over the year. The recent weakness partly reflects steeper job losses in manufacturing. In December, employment in the nation�s factories declined by 65,000. Job losses in the industry deepened in recent months following more moderate declines in the spring and early summer. The bulk of the employment reductions in manufacturing have been in durable goods production, notably in the electrical equipment, fabricated metals, industrial machinery, and transportation equipment industries. Nondurable goods industries, however, have not been immune to job loss.