The following is the unedited transcript of the news release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.


Nonfarm payroll employment held steady (+51,000), and the unemployment rate (4.6 percent) was essentially unchanged in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Job growth continued in health care and financial activities, while employment declined in manufacturing. Employment was little changed in other major industry sectors.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons (6.9 million) and the unemployment rate (4.6 percent) were essentially unchanged in September. Thus far in 2006, the jobless rate has ranged from 4.6 to 4.8 percent.

Over the month, the unemployment rates for most major worker groups—adult women (4.2 percent), teenagers (16.4 percent), whites (4.0 percent), blacks (9.2 percent), and Hispanics (5.4 percent)--showed little or no change. The jobless rate for adult men (3.8 percent) declined in September. The unemployment rate for Asians was 2.8 percent, not seasonally adjusted.

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Total employment, at 144.9 million, was essentially unchanged in September. Over the month, both the employment-population ratio (63.1 percent) and the labor force participation rate (66.2 percent) held steady. Over the year, the employment-population ratio was up slightly, and the labor force participation rate was unchanged.

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 September, down from 1.4 million a year earlier. These individuals 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. Among the marginally attached, there were 325,000 discouraged workers in September, about unchanged from a year earlier. Discouraged workers were not currently looking for work specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them. The other 975,000 marginally attached had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities.

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Total nonfarm payroll employment was little changed (+51,000) in September at 135.6 million. This followed job gains of 123,000 in July and 188,000 in August (as revised). Over the month, employment rose in health care and financial activities and declined in manufacturing.

Health care employment continued to grow, with a gain of 24,000 in September. Within the industry, ambulatory health care services (which includes doctors'' offices and home health care) and hospitals added jobs. Since December, health care employment has increased by 231,000.

Financial activities gained 16,000 jobs in September, as employment continued to trend up in credit intermediation and insurance. The over-the-month gain was about in line with the industry''s average monthly gain during the past year. Real estate employment was flat over the month and has shown no net change since April.

Within professional and business services, accounting and bookkeeping services added 10,000 jobs in September, and employment in the management of companies and enterprises grew by 6,000. Temporary help services employment was little changed over the month and has been relatively flat thus far in 2006. Professional and business services employment has risen by 416,000 over the past 12 months.

Elsewhere in the service-providing sector, employment in food services and drinking places edged up in September (+15,000). Over the month, employment continued to trend up in the durable goods component of wholesale trade. Within the retail trade industry, sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores lost 8,000 jobs, as did general merchandise stores. Since its most recent peak in August 2005, retail trade employment has declined by 116,000.

In the goods-producing sector, employment in mining was flat in September. Reflecting the continued slowdown in the housing market, employment in construction was little changed over the month. Job losses in residential specialty trade contracting nearly offset gains in nonresidential specialty trade contracting and in heavy construction. Job gains in construction have averaged 6,000 per month since February of this year compared to increases of 27,000 per month during the 12-month period ending in February.

Manufacturing lost 19,000 jobs in September. Within durable goods, factory job losses occurred in several industries that are related to home building- wood products, nonmetallic mineral products, and furniture. Employment continued to trend downward in a number of nondurable goods manufacturing industries, including textile mills, plastics, and paper products.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.8 hours in September, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek decreased by 0.2 hour to 41.1 hours, and factory overtime was down by 0.1 hour to 4.3 hours.

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls declined by 0.1 percent in September to 105.0 (2002=100). The manufacturing index fell by 0.7 percent to 96.0.

Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)

Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 4 cents, or 0.2 percent, in September to $16.84,seasonally adjusted. Average weekly earnings increased by 0.2 percent in September to $569.19. Over the year, both average hourly and weekly earnings increased by 4.0 percent.


Available at:

http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm