For Delivery: 9:30 A.M., E.D.T. — 2005-10-07

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 Daylight Time. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the September employment and unemployment statistics that we released this morning. Nonfarm payroll employment was little changed (-35,000) in September, and the unemployment rate increased from 4.9 to 5.1 percent. September labor market developments reflected both the impact of Hurricane Katrina and ongoing job market trends. Over the 12-month period prior to September, nonfarm employment increased by an average of 194,000 per month, and the unemployment rate trended down from 5.4 to 4.9 percent. Before looking at the data in greater detail, I'd like to briefly review the extraordinary efforts the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Census Bureau, and our state partners undertook to obtain information from our sample establishments and households in the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.