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Employment increases in October 2012

November 05, 2012

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 171,000 in October. Employment growth has averaged 157,000 per month thus far in 2012, about the same as the average monthly gain of 153,000 in 2011. In October, employment rose in professional and business services, health care, and retail trade.

Hover mouse pointer over columns to view data.

1-month change in nonfarm payroll employment, by industry, seasonally adjusted, January 2012-October 2012
MonthMining and loggingConstructionManufacturingTrade, transportation, and utilitiesInformationFinancial activitiesProfessional and business servicesEducation and health servicesLeisure and hospitalityOther servicesGovernment

Jan 2012

8000180005200058000-1700010007900031000390008000-2000

Feb 2012

7000-100030000700080007000890007100045000-90005000

Mar 2012

0-1400042000-3000-5000130001800051000430002000-4000

Apr 2012

1000-70001000019000100060004500015000-4000-1000-17000

May 2012

4000-3200013000520004000110001800044000-40006000-29000

Jun 2012

-200040007000-4000-70003000410003000140004000-18000

Jul 2012

-10003000180002000080001000410004000024000900018000

Aug 2012

-40003000-1300040000-30007000240003100049000058000

Sep 2012

-10002000-1400032000-900014000800050000360001000020000

Oct 2012

-9000170001300045000100040005100025000280009000-13000
1-month change in nonfarm payroll employment, by industry, seasonally adjusted, January 2012–October 2012
MonthTotal nonfarmMining
and
  logging  
ConstructionManufacturingTrade,
transportation,
and utilities
Information

Jan 2012

275,0008,00018,00052,00058,000-17,000

Feb 2012

259,0007,000-1,00030,0007,0008,000

Mar 2012

143,0000-14,00042,000-3,000-5,000

Apr 2012

68,0001,000-7,00010,00019,0001,000

May 2012

87,0004,000-32,00013,00052,0004,000

Jun 2012

45,000-2,0004,0007,000-4,000-7,000

Jul 2012

181,000-1,0003,00018,00020,0008,000

Aug 2012

192,000-4,0003,000-13,00040,000-3,000

Sep 2012 (p)

148,000-1,0002,000-14,00032,000-9,000

Oct 2012 (p)

171,000-9,00017,00013,00045,0001,000

Footnotes:
(p) Preliminary
 


1-month change in nonfarm payroll employment, by industry, seasonally adjusted, January 2012–October 2012 (continued)
MonthFinancial
activities
Professional
and
business
services
Education
and
health
services
Leisure
and
hospitality
Other
services
Government

Jan 2012

1,00079,00031,00039,0008,000-2,000

Feb 2012

7,00089,00071,00045,000-9,0005,000

Mar 2012

13,00018,00051,00043,0002,000-4,000

Apr 2012

6,00045,00015,000-4,000-1,000-17,000

May 2012

11,00018,00044,000-4,0006,000-29,000

Jun 2012

3,00041,0003,00014,0004,000-18,000

Jul 2012

1,00041,00040,00024,0009,00018,000

Aug 2012

7,00024,00031,00049,000058,000

Sep 2012 (p)

14,0008,00050,00036,00010,00020,000

Oct 2012 (p)

4,00051,00025,00028,0009,000-13,000

Footnotes:
(p) Preliminary
 

These data are featured in the TED article, Employment increases in October 2012.

 

Professional and business services added 51,000 jobs in October, with gains in services to buildings and dwellings and in computer systems design. Employment in temporary help (a component of professional and business services) changed little in October and has shown little net change over the past 3 months.

Retail trade added 36,000 jobs in October, with gains in motor vehicles and parts dealers, and in furniture and home furnishings stores. Retail trade has added 82,000 jobs over the past 3 months, with most of the gain occurring in motor vehicles and parts dealers, clothing and accessories stores, and miscellaneous store retailers.

Health care added 31,000 jobs in October. Job gains continued in ambulatory health care services and hospitals.

Employment in leisure and hospitality continued to trend up (+28,000) over the month.

Employment in construction edged up in October (+17,000). The gain was concentrated in specialty trade contractors.

Manufacturing employment changed little in October. On net, manufacturing employment has shown little change since April.

Mining lost 9,000 jobs in October, with most of the decline occurring in support activities for mining. Since May of this year, employment in mining has decreased by 17,000.

Employment in other major industries, including wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, and government, showed little change over the month.

Both the unemployment rate (7.9 percent) and the number of unemployed persons (12.3 million) were essentially unchanged in October, following declines in September. Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for blacks increased to 14.3 percent in October, while the rates for adult men (7.3 percent), adult women (7.2 percent), teenagers (23.7 percent), whites (7.0 percent), and Hispanics (10.0 percent) showed little or no change.

These data are from the Current Employment Statistics program and the Current Population Survey and are seasonally adjusted. To learn more, see "The Employment Situation — October 2012," (HTML) (PDF) news release USDL-12-2164. More charts featuring employment data can be found in Current Employment Statistics Highlights: October 2012 (PDF).
 

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Employment increases in October 2012 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2012/ted_20121105.htm (visited March 29, 2024).

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