Category: Monthly BLS Report

BLS Employment Situation Report: January 2013

In January, total employment grew by 157,000 positions, while the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 7.9 percent. Revisions were also released for all of 2012, showing an additional 647,000 jobs were added throughout the year, including 150,000 in the fourth quarter.

BLS Employment Situation Report: December 2012

Unemployment in December remained unchanged at 7.8 percent, according to the Labor Department, while 155,000 new jobs were created. In the private sector, 168,000 new jobs were created while 13,000 government positions were lost, mostly in local education.

BLS Employment Situation Report November 2012

According to the Labor Department, 146,000 jobs were created in November and the U.S. unemployment rate fell from 7.9 to 7.7 percent. While the number of jobs added exceeded the consensus economist estimate of 86,000, the decline in unemployment was…

BLS Employment Situation Report: October 2012

The Labor Department reported that 171,000 jobs were added in October while the unemployment rate rose from 7.8 to 7.9 percent as workforce participation increased. Positive revisions to September and August also added a combined 84,000 positions to the previously reported levels. During the first 10 months of 2012, employment growth has now averaged 157,000 jobs per month, about 32,000 positions a month faster than the U.S. workforce grew over the same period last year.

Analysis of October 2011 Employment Report

According to the Labor Department, 104,000 private sector jobs were added to the U.S. economy in October, while state governments were largely responsible for a loss of 24,000 positions in the public sector. Nonfarm payroll employment rose 80,000 in October and the unemployment rate fell from 9.1 to 9.0 percent. While the total job gain was lower than that of the last few months, there have been substantial upward revisions in recent months. September’s private sector gain, for example, was originally reported at 137,000 and was subsequently revised up to 191,000 in the Labor Department’s most recent report.

BLS Employment Situation Report: September 2012

Total unemployment in the U.S. fell, according to the Labor Department, from 8.1 to 7.8 percent in September, while the economy added 114,000 jobs. Revisions to past months showed more than 60,000 more jobs were added over the previous two months than initially reported. The participation rate, which can create an illusion of falling unemployment rates when discouraged workers leave the workforce, in September actually grew by 0.1 percent while the number of discouraged workers fell by 42,000.

BLS Employment Situation Report: July 2012

Total employment in the U.S. grew by 163,000 positions in July as the unemployment rate grew from 8.2 to 8.3 percent, according to the Labor Department. Forecasts by economists estimated only 100,000 jobs would be added during the month. Job growth was at its highest level in five months, and if trends hold, could signal the beginning of a more robust period of job growth going into the end of the year.