Advance copies of this statement are made available to the
press under lock-up conditions with the explicit
understanding that the data are embargoed until 8:30 a.m.
Eastern Daylight Time.

                              
                        Statement of
                              
                       Philip L. Rones
                     Acting Commissioner
                 Bureau of Labor Statistics
                              
                   Friday, October 6, 2006


     Nonfarm payroll employment held steady in September
(+51,000), and the unemployment rate, at 4.6 percent, was
essentially unchanged.  Payroll employment had increased by
188,000 in August and by 123,000 in July, as revised.  Over
the month, employment rose in health care and in financial
activities and declined in manufacturing.  Employment was
little changed in other major industry groups.  Average
hourly earnings rose by 4 cents, or 0.2 percent, in
September.

     In the service-providing sector, health care added
24,000 jobs in September, in line with the average monthly
gain for the first 8 months of this year.  Since December,
health care employment has expanded by 231,000.

     Employment in financial activities rose by 16,000 over
the month.  Job growth continued in credit intermediation
and in insurance.  Real estate employment was flat over the
month and has shown no net change since April.  Employment
continued to expand in food services and drinking places
(+15,000) and in the durable goods component of wholesale
trade (+9,000).

     Within professional and business services, employment
increased by 10,000 in accounting and bookkeeping services
and by 6,000 in management of companies and enterprises.
Employment in both computer systems design and temporary
help services was little changed in September.  Computer
systems design employment has trended up during the year,
while temporary help employment has been relatively flat.
     
     Elsewhere in the service-providing sector, employment
continued to trend down in retail trade.  In September, job
losses occurred in sporting goods, hobby, book, and music
stores and in department stores.  Over the past 6 months,
employment declines in department stores have totaled
48,000.  The number of jobs in state education declined in
September, and employment in private education edged down
following an unusually large gain in August.
     
     In the goods-producing sector, construction employment
was little changed, following a gain of 23,000 in August.
Since February, employment has grown by a modest 41,000,
largely reflecting job gains in nonresidential specialty
trade contracting that more than offset job losses in
residential specialty trade contracting.

     Employment in mining was flat in September.  In the 12-
month period ending in August, job growth in the industry
totaled 57,000.
     
     Manufacturing employment declined in September
(-19,000).  Job losses continued in wood products,
nonmetallic mineral products, and furniture and related
products--industries related to home building.  Employment
also continued to trend down in a number of nondurable
components, including textile mills, paper and paper
products, and plastics and rubber products.  Manufacturing
hours declined by 0.2 hour to 41.1 hours, and factory
overtime was down by 0.1 hour to 4.3 hours.

     Average hourly earnings for private production and
nonsupervisory workers rose by 4 cents (0.2 percent) in
September to $16.84.  Over the 12-month period ending in
September, average hourly earnings rose by 4.0 percent.

     Most major labor market indicators from our household
survey showed little or no change in September.  Both the
unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons were
essentially unchanged at 4.6 percent and 6.9 million,
respectively.  Thus far this year, the unemployment rate has
held in a narrow range from 4.6 to 4.8 percent.  In
September, both the labor force participation rate, at 66.2
percent, and the employment-population ratio, at 63.1
percent, were unchanged.  Over the year, the labor force
participation rate was unchanged and the employment-
population rate was up slightly from 62.8 percent.

     In keeping with standard practice, this month BLS is
announcing the preliminary estimate for the next benchmark
revision to payroll employment.  The benchmark process
annually revises the payroll survey’s sample-based
employment estimates to incorporate universe employment
counts derived largely from unemployment insurance tax
reports.

     Preliminary tabulations of employment from state
unemployment insurance tax reports indicate that the
estimate of total nonfarm payroll employment for March 2006
will require an upward revision of approximately 810,000, or
six-tenths of one percent.  The historical average for the
benchmark revision over the prior 10 years has been plus or
minus two-tenths of one percent.  BLS currently is
researching possible sources for this larger-than-normal
expected revision.  The final CES benchmark revision will be
incorporated into the payroll survey on February 2, 2007,
with the publication of the January 2007 Employment
Situation news release.