Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 292,000 in
December, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.0 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. Employment gains occurred in several industries, led
by professional and business services, construction, health care, and food
services and drinking places. Mining employment continued to decline.
Household Survey
Data
The number of unemployed persons, at 7.9 million, was
essentially unchanged in December, and the unemployment rate was 5.0 percent
for the third month in a row. Over the past 12 months, the unemployment rate
and the number of unemployed persons were down by 0.6 percentage point and
800,000, respectively. (See table A-1.)
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for
blacks declined to 8.3 percent in December, while the rates for adult men (4.7
percent), adult women (4.4 percent), teenagers (16.1 percent), whites (4.5
percent), Asians (4.0 percent), and Hispanics (6.3 percent) showed little or no
change. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27
weeks or more) was essentially unchanged at 2.1 million in December and
accounted for 26.3 percent of the unemployed. The number of long-term
unemployed has shown little movement since June, but was down by 687,000 over
the year. (See table A-12.)
The civilian labor force participation rate, at 62.6
percent, was little changed in December and has shown little movement in recent
months. In December, the employment-population ratio, at 59.5 percent, changed
little. (See table A-1.)
The number of persons employed part time for economic
reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was little
changed at 6.0 million in December but was down by 764,000 over the year. These
individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were working part
time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find
a full-time job. (See table A-8.)
In December, 1.8 million persons were marginally attached
to the labor force, down by 427,000 from a year earlier. (The data are not
seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and
were available for 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. (See table A-16.)
Among the marginally attached, there were 663,000
discouraged workers in December, little changed from a year earlier. (The data
are not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not currently
looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. The
remaining 1.2 million persons marginally attached to the labor force in December
had not searched for work for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities.
(See table A-16.)
Establishment
Survey Data
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 292,000 in
December. Employment rose in several industries, including professional and
business services, construction, health care, and food services and drinking
places. Mining employment continued to decline. In 2015, payroll employment
growth totaled 2.7 million, compared with 3.1 million in 2014. (See table B-1.)
Employment in professional and business services
increased by 73,000 in December, with temporary help services accounting for
34,000 of the gain. In 2015, professional and business services added 605,000
jobs, compared with a gain of 704,000 in 2014.
Construction showed strong job growth for the third
consecutive month, gaining 45,000 jobs in December. Job gains occurred among
specialty trade contractors (+29,000) and in construction of buildings
(+10,000). Over the year, construction added 263,000 jobs, compared with a gain
of 338,000 jobs in 2014.
In December, health care employment rose by 39,000, with
most of the increase occurring in ambulatory health care services (+23,000) and
hospitals (+12,000). Job growth in health care averaged 40,000 per month in
2015, compared with 26,000 per month in 2014.
Food services and drinking places added 37,000 jobs in
December. In 2015, the industry added 357,000 jobs.
Employment in transportation and warehousing rose by
23,000 in December, with a gain of 15,000 in couriers and messengers.
Within the information industry, motion pictures and
sound recording added 15,000 jobs in December, offsetting a decline of 13,000 in
the prior month.
Employment in mining continued to decline in December
(-8,000). After adding 41,000 jobs in 2014, mining lost 129,000 jobs in 2015,
with most of the loss in support activities for mining.
Manufacturing employment changed little in December,
though its nondurable goods component added 14,000 jobs. In 2015, manufacturing
employment was little changed (+30,000), following strong growth in 2014
(+215,000).
Employment in other major industries, including wholesale
trade, retail trade, financial activities, and government, changed little over
the month.
The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm
payrolls was unchanged at 34.5 hours in December. The manufacturing workweek
edged down by 0.1 hour to 40.6 hours, and factory overtime edged up by 0.1 hour
to 3.3 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees
on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.7 hours.
(See tables B-2 and B-7.)
In December, average hourly earnings for all employees on
private nonfarm payrolls, at $25.24, changed little (-1 cent), following an
increase of 5 cents in November. Over the year, average hourly earnings have
risen by 2.5 percent. In December, average hourly earnings of private-sector
production and nonsupervisory employees, at $21.22, changed little (+2 cents).
(See tables B-3 and B-8.)
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for
October was revised from +298,000 to +307,000, and the change for November was
revised from +211,000 to +252,000. With these revisions, employment gains in
October and November combined were 50,000 higher than previously reported. Over
the past 3 months, job gains have averaged 284,000 per month.
Table
A-7. Employment status of the civilian population by nativity and sex, not
seasonally adjusted
Source: BLS
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