October - December 2012
December payroll employment up 155,000 (SA), unemployment flat at 7.8%
January 4, 2012 (BLS News Release)
Seasonally adjusted (SA) total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 155,000 in December. For 2012, employment growth averaged 153,000 per month, the same as the average monthly gain for 2011. For December, the unemployment rate was unchanged at 7.8%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In December, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was essentially unchanged at 4.8 million and accounted for 39.1% of the unemployed. Employment increased in health care, food services and drinking places, construction, and manufacturing. Construction added 30,000 jobs in December, led by employment increases in construction of buildings (+13,000) and in residential specialty trade contractors (+12,000). In December, manufacturing employment rose by 25,000, with small gains in a number of component industries. In 2012, factory employment increased by 180,000; most of the growth occurred during the first quarter.