Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation — 2006-12-08

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. Payroll employment rose by 132,000 in November, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 4.5 percent. The November employment gain followed increases of 203,000 in September and 79,000 in October (as revised). Over the month, employment rose in several service-providing industries. Job losses continued in construction and manufacturing. Employment in professional and business services continued to grow in November (43,000). Over the year, the industry has added 426,000 jobs. Growth has occurred during this period in a number of the component industries, including architectural and engineering services, management consulting services, and computer systems design. Health care employment rose by 28,000 in November, bringing the increase over the year to 309,000. In November, job growth continued in hospitals and in ambulatory health care services, which includes doctors' offices.