January 2006 payroll employment

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 193,000 in January 2006. Job gains occurred in several industries, including construction, mining, food services and drinking places, health care, and financial activities.

[Chart data—TXT]

In January, construction employment increased by 46,000; over the year, construction employment has risen by 345,000. Elsewhere in the goods-producing sector, manufacturing employment was little changed for the second month in a row. Mining continued its upward trend in January, adding 6,000 jobs.

In the service-providing sector, employment in health care and social assistance rose by 38,000 in January. Health care employment has increased by 287,000 over the year. Employment in professional and business services continued to trend up over the month (24,000); the number of jobs in the industry has increased by 515,000 over the year. Financial activities employment was up by 21,000, following little change in December.

These employment data come from the BLS Current Employment Statistics program and are seasonally adjusted. To learn more, see "The Employment Situation: January 2006" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 06-160. Data for the most recent two months are preliminary.