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Economic News Release
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Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release

Transmission of material in this statement is embargoed until 
8:30 a.m. (ET) Friday, October 7, 2022.


                            Statement of

                          William W. Beach
                            Commissioner
                     Bureau of Labor Statistics

                      Friday, October 7, 2022


      Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 263,000 in 
September, and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.5 percent. 
Notable job growth occurred in leisure and hospitality and in 
health care. Monthly job growth has averaged 420,000 thus far in 
2022, compared with 562,000 per month in 2021. 
      
      Employment in leisure and hospitality increased by 83,000 
in September, in line with its average monthly gain for the 
first 8 months of this year. Food services and drinking places 
added 60,000 jobs in September. Employment in leisure and 
hospitality is below its pre-pandemic February 2020 level by 1.1 
million, or 6.7 percent.
      
      Health care added 60,000 jobs in September, with growth in 
ambulatory health care services (+28,000) and hospitals 
(+28,000). Health care has returned to its February 2020 
employment level.
      
      Employment in professional and business services continued 
its upward trend in September (+46,000). Thus far in 2022, job 
growth in this industry has averaged 72,000 per month. In 
September, employment in temporary help services continued to 
trend up (+27,000). Job gains occurred in investigation and 
security services (+9,000) and in scientific research and 
development services (+5,000). Job losses occurred in business 
support services (-12,000), legal services (-5,000), and 
advertising and related services (-5,000). 
      
      Manufacturing employment continued to trend up in September 
(+22,000), with job gains in motor vehicles and parts (+8,000), 
fabricated metal products (+6,000), and electrical equipment and 
appliances (+3,000). Printing and related support activities 
lost 4,000 jobs over the month. Manufacturing employment has 
increased by an average of 36,000 per month thus far in 2022.
      
      In September, employment in construction continued to trend 
up (+19,000), in line with average monthly job growth over the 
first 8 months of the year. Specialty trade contractors added 
18,000 jobs in September. 
      
      Wholesale trade employment continued to trend up in 
September (+11,000). Thus far in 2022, the industry has added an 
average of 18,000 jobs per month.
      
      In September, employment in financial activities changed 
little (-8,000). Declines in insurance carriers and related 
activities (-9,000) and nondepository credit intermediation 
(-7,000) were partially offset by a job gain in depository 
credit intermediation (+5,000).
      
      In September, employment changed little in transportation 
and warehousing (-8,000). A job loss of 11,000 in truck 
transportation was partially offset by a gain of 3,000 in air 
transportation.
      
      Employment showed little change over the month in other 
major industries, including mining, retail trade, information, 
other services, and government.

      In September, the average workweek for all private-sector 
workers was 34.5 hours for the fourth month in a row. The 
average workweek for manufacturing was unchanged at 40.3 hours.
      
      Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm 
payrolls increased by 10 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $32.46 in 
September. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have 
increased by 5.0 percent.
      
      Turning to the labor market indicators from the household 
survey, the unemployment rate edged down to 3.5 percent in 
September, returning to its July level. The number of unemployed 
people edged down to 5.8 million in September. 
      
      In September, the unemployment rate for Hispanics declined 
to 3.8 percent. The jobless rates for adult men (3.3 percent), 
adult women (3.1 percent), teenagers (11.4 percent), Whites (3.1 
percent), Blacks (5.8 percent), and Asians (2.5 percent) showed 
little change.
      
      Among the unemployed, the number of permanent job losers 
decreased by 173,000 to 1.2 million in September. This decline 
offset an increase in the prior month.
      
      By duration of unemployment, the number of people 
unemployed for 27 weeks or more was little changed at 1.1 
million in September. These long-term unemployed accounted for 
18.5 percent of all unemployed people.
      
      The labor force participation rate, at 62.3 percent, 
changed little in September, and the employment-population ratio 
was unchanged at 60.1 percent. Both measures are below their 
February 2020 values by 1.1 percentage points.
      
      In September, the number of people working part time for 
economic reasons declined by 306,000 to 3.8 million.
      
      The number of people not in the labor force who currently 
want a job was little changed at 5.8 million in September. This 
measure remains above its February 2020 level of 5.0 million.
      
      Among those who were not in the labor force but wanted a 
job, the number of people marginally attached to the labor 
force, at 1.6 million, was little changed in September. (People 
who are marginally attached to the labor force had not actively 
looked for work in the 4 weeks prior to the survey but wanted a 
job, were available for work, and had looked for a job within 
the last 12 months.) The number of discouraged workers, a subset 
of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were 
available for them, rose by 119,000 to 485,000 in September.
      
      Looking at the supplemental pandemic-related measures from 
the household survey (these supplemental data are not seasonally 
adjusted), the share of employed people who teleworked because 
of the pandemic was 5.2 percent in September, down from 6.5 
percent in the prior month. In May 2020, the first month that 
these data were collected, 35.4 percent of employed people 
teleworked because of the coronavirus pandemic. These data refer 
only to employed people who teleworked or worked at home for pay 
at some point in the last 4 weeks specifically because of the 
pandemic; they do not include all instances of telework.
      
      In September, the number of people who reported that they 
had been unable to work because their employer closed or lost 
business due to the pandemic was 1.4 million, down from 1.9 
million a month earlier. This measure is down from 49.8 million 
in May 2020. (These individuals did not work at all or worked 
fewer hours at some point in the last 4 weeks due to the 
pandemic.) Among those who reported in September that they were 
unable to work because of pandemic-related closures or lost 
business, 21.4 percent received at least some pay from their 
employer for the hours not worked, essentially unchanged from 
August.
      
      Among those not in the labor force in September, 452,000 
people were prevented from looking for work due to the pandemic, 
little changed from the prior month. In May 2020, the first month 
these data were collected, 9.7 million people were prevented 
from looking for work due to the pandemic. (To be counted as 
unemployed, by definition, individuals must either be actively 
searching for work or on temporary layoff.)
      
	These supplemental data come from questions added to the 
household survey from May 2020 through September 2022 to help 
gauge the effects of the pandemic on the labor market. New 
questions will be asked beginning in October 2022. More 
information is available online at www.bls.gov/cps/effects-of-
the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic.htm.

	Hurricane Ian had no discernible effect on the employment 
and unemployment data for September. Household survey data 
collection was completed before the storm made landfall in 
Florida, and establishment survey data collection rates were 
within normal ranges nationally and for the affected areas.

      In summary, nonfarm payroll employment increased by 263,000 
in September, and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.5 
percent.




Last Modified Date: October 07, 2022