Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release — 2009-09-04

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. Nonfarm payroll employment fell by 216,000 in August, and the unemployment rate rose to 9.7 percent. Since the recession began in December 2007, payroll employment has dropped by 6.9 million, and the unemployment rate has increased by 4.8 percentage points. Job losses have moderated in many industry sectors in recent months. Construction employment fell by 65,000 in August, about in line with the trend since May. From November to April, construction job losses averaged 117,000 per month. Since December 2007, employment in the industry has fallen by 1.4 million. Thus far in 2009, job losses in nonresidential and heavy construction combined have exceeded losses in the residential components. In 2008, the residential components accounted for a majority of construction's decline. Employment in manufacturing declined by 63,000 in August.