Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation — 2002-12-09

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. The job market remained weak in November. The unemployment rate rose from 5.7 to 6.0 percent and nonfarm payroll employment was little changed (-40,000). There has been very little employment growth since the spring of this year, as evidenced by both our household and establishment surveys. In fact, payroll employment has shown no net growth over the past 3 months, after edging up in the spring and summer. At 6.0 percent in November, the unemployment rate matched the level last reached in April of this year. From May through October, the jobless rate remained within a range of 5.6 to 5.9 percent. The November rise in unem- ployment was concentrated among adult men, whose jobless rate increased from 5.2 to 5.7 percent.