December 2007 Employment Situation

Historical release narrative reproduced from the official public-domain source. Statistical tables, standard technical appendices, administrative material and attendance rosters are omitted; formatting is adapted for reading. Figures retain the release's historical context and may have been revised. Consult the linked source for the complete document.

The unemployment rate rose to 5.0 percent in December, while nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged (+18,000), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Job growth in several service-pro- viding industries, including professional and technical services, health care, and food services, was largely offset by job losses in construction and manufacturing. Average hourly earnings rose by 7 cents, or 0.4 percent.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons increased by 474,000 to 7.7 million in December and the unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percentage point to 5.0 percent. A year earlier, the number of unemployed persons was 6.8 million, and the jobless rate was 4.4 percent. (See table A-1.)

In December, unemployment rates rose for several major worker groups--adult men (to 4.4 percent), adult women (4.4 percent), whites (4.4 percent), and Hispanics (6.3 percent). The unemployment rates for teenagers (17.1 percent) and blacks (9.0 percent) were little changed. The unemployment rate for Asians was 3.7 percent, not seasonally adjusted. Most major worker groups experienced increases in their jobless rates over the year. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Both total employment, at 146.2 million, and the employment-population ratio, at 62.7 percent, decreased in December following increases in November. Total employment was essentially unchanged over the year, while the employment- population ratio declined by 0.7 percentage point over the same period. The civilian labor force was essentially unchanged in December at 153.9 million. The labor force participation rate, at 66.0 percent, was unchanged over the month, but was 0.4 percentage point lower than a year earlier. (See table A-1.)

The number of persons who worked part time for economic reasons, at 4.7 million in December, was little changed over the month but was up by 456,000 over the year. This category includes persons who indicated that they would like to work full time but were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find full-time jobs. (See table A-5.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

About 1.3 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached to the labor force in December. These individuals wanted and were available to work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. Among the marginally attached, there were 363,000 discouraged workers in December, up from 274,000 a year earlier. Discouraged workers were not currently looking for work specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them. The other 981,000 persons marginally attached to the labor force in December had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities. (See table A-13.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Total nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged at 138.5 million in December following gains of 159,000 in October and 115,000 in November. In 2007, payroll employment rose by 1.3 million compared with a gain of 2.3 million in 2006. In December, job growth continued in professional and technical services, health care, and food services, while employment in construction and manufacturing continued to decline. The retail trade and information industries also lost jobs over the month. (See table B-1.)

Employment in professional and technical services was up by 33,000 in December and by 322,000 over the year. Within this industry grouping, employment continued to trend up in December in architectural and engineering services (8,000) and in management and technical consulting services (12,000). Within administrative and support services, services to buildings and dwellings added 19,000 jobs.

In the health care industry, job growth continued in December with a gain of 28,000. The industry has added 381,000 jobs over the year. In December, job gains occurred in hospitals (10,000) and ambulatory health care services (13,000). Employment in food services continued to expand over the month with a gain of 27,000. Over the year, the food services industry has added 304,000 jobs. The gains in health care and food services combined accounted for about two-thirds of all private sector job growth in 2007.

Mining employment rose by 5,000 in December following a gain of 4,000 in November. In 2007, the industry has added 36,000 jobs.

In December, employment in construction fell by 49,000, with losses occurring throughout the industry. Since its peak in September 2006, construction employ- ment has fallen by 236,000, with the residential components accounting for the decline.

Within financial activities, credit intermediation lost 7,000 jobs in December, bringing the total job loss since the industry’s peak in February 2007 to 79,000.

Manufacturing employment continued to decline in December (-31,000), with generally small but widespread losses among the component industries. Notable declines occurred in motor vehicles and parts (-6,000), wood products (-4,000), electrical equipment and appliances (-3,000), and textile mills (-2,000). Factory employment has declined by 212,000 over the past year.

Retail trade employment was down by 24,000 in December following an increase in the prior month. Over the year, employment in retail trade was essentially flat.

In December, employment in the information industry fell by 13,000; losses occurred in motion picture and sound recording industries (-12,000) and in broadcasting, except Internet (-4,000). Information employment was essentially unchanged over the year.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

In December, the average workweek for production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls remained at 33.8 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek fell by 0.2 hour to 41.1 hours, and factory overtime also fell by 0.2 hour to 3.9 hours. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged in December at 108.0 (2002=100). The manufacturing index decreased by 0.7 percent to 94.5. (See table B-5.)

Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)

Average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 7 cents, or 0.4 percent, in December to $17.71, sea- sonally adjusted. This followed a 7-cent gain in November. Average weekly earnings also grew by 0.4 percent in December to $598.60. Over the year, aver- age hourly earnings rose by 3.7 percent, and weekly earnings rose by 3.4 percent. (See table B-3.)

2006 2007 Employment status, sex, and age

Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.

TOTAL

Men, 20 years and over

Women, 20 years and over

Both sexes, 16 to 19 years

1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation. NOTE: Seasonally adjusted data have been revised to reflect updated seasonal adjustment factors.