Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation — 2007-12-07

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 Standard Time. Nonfarm payroll employment continued to trend up in November (94,000), and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.7 percent. Job gains continued in professional and technical services, food services, and health care, while declines continued in industries affected by problems in the housing market, including construction and credit intermediation. Average hourly earnings increased by 8 cents, or 0.5 percent. Professional and technical services employment was up by 24,000 in November, reflecting growth in computer systems design and in management and technical consulting. Employment in accounting and bookkeeping services and in architectural services also continued to grow over the month. Over the past 12 months, professional and technical services employment has increased by 312,000. Food services employment continued to trend up (17,000) in November.