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Payroll employment up 204,000 in October 2013

November 12, 2013

In October 2013, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 204,000. Job growth averaged 190,000 per month over the prior 12 months. Job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, retail trade, professional and technical services, manufacturing, and health care. Federal government employment continued to trend down. There were no discernible impacts of the partial federal government shutdown on the estimates of employment, hours, and earnings from the establishment survey.

Over-the-month change in nonfarm payroll employment by industry, seasonally adjusted, October 2012–October 2013
Industry Oct 2012 Nov 2012 Dec 2012 Jan 2013 Feb 2013 Mar 2013 Apr 2013 May 2013 Jun 2013 Jul 2013 Aug 2013 Sep 2013(p) Oct 2013(p)

Total nonfarm

 160,000 247,000 219,000 148,000 332,000 142,000 199,000 176,000 172,000 89,000 238,000 163,000 204,000

Total private

 217,000 256,000 224,000 164,000 319,000 154,000 188,000 187,000 194,000 100,000 207,000 150,000 212,000

Goods-producing

 16,000 43,000 58,000 41,000 75,000 14,000 -17,000 -4,000 6,000 -12,000 20,000 27,000 35,000

Mining and logging

 -6,000 12,000 7,000 3,000 4,000 2,000 -3,000 2,000 3,000 2,000 4,000 5,000 5,000

Construction

 16,000 24,000 38,000 24,000 48,000 16,000 -7,000 -1,000 10,000 3,000 1,000 18,000 11,000

Manufacturing

 6,000 7,000 13,000 14,000 23,000 -4,000 -7,000 -5,000 -7,000 -17,000 15,000 4,000 19,000

Durable goods

 1,000 17,000 11,000 5,000 12,000 1,000 -1,000 1,000 -2,000 -13,000 23,000 10,000 12,000

Nondurable goods

 5,000 -10,000 2,000 9,000 11,000 -5,000 -6,000 -6,000 -5,000 -4,000 -8,000 -6,000 7,000

Private service-providing

 201,000 213,000 166,000 123,000 244,000 140,000 205,000 191,000 188,000 112,000 187,000 123,000 177,000

Trade, transportation, and utilities

 73,000 97,000 49,000 14,000 25,000 -4,000 34,000 35,000 55,000 40,000 57,000 66,000 39,000

Wholesale trade

 7,800 9,800 6,500 13,700 4,700 3,400 3,800 7,300 6,500 14,100 6,400 14,300 -5,400

Retail trade

 52,100 69,600 6,200 22,400 25,800 -2,800 22,400 32,600 45,300 41,000 38,300 22,300 44,400

Transportation and warehousing

 13,700 20,200 34,800 -22,200 -5,300 -4,100 6,500 -5,700 2,400 -13,600 12,300 29,500 0

Utilities

 -300 -2,100 600 600 0 -300 1,300 300 1,000 -1,300 -600 0 400

Information

 1,000 14,000 -9,000 4,000 18,000 3,000 -9,000 3,000 -7,000 12,000 -21,000 4,000 5,000

Financial activities

 11,000 5,000 9,000 7,000 15,000 6,000 14,000 7,000 11,000 14,000 -1,000 -1,000 7,000

Professional and business services

 53,000 55,000 35,000 46,000 93,000 59,000 69,000 70,000 64,000 35,000 42,000 32,000 44,000

Education and health services

 34,000 14,000 36,000 15,000 31,000 48,000 36,000 20,000 23,000 16,000 57,000 6,000 23,000

Leisure and hospitality

 22,000 21,000 40,000 31,000 63,000 31,000 60,000 43,000 43,000 -3,000 49,000 13,000 53,000

Other services

 7,000 7,000 6,000 6,000 -1,000 -3,000 1,000 13,000 -1,000 -2,000 4,000 3,000 6,000

Government

 -57,000 -9,000 -5,000 -16,000 13,000 -12,000 11,000 -11,000 -22,000 -11,000 31,000 13,000 -8,000

Footnotes:
(p) = preliminary.
 

Leisure and hospitality employment rose by 53,000 in October. Within the industry, employment in food services and drinking places increased by 29,000, the same as its average monthly gain over the prior 12 months. 

In October, employment in retail trade increased by 44,000, compared with an average monthly gain of 31,000 over the prior 12 months. Job growth was widespread within the industry, with gains in food and beverage stores (+12,000), electronics and appliance stores (+10,000), sporting goods and hobby stores (+8,000), general merchandise stores (+8,000), and building material and garden supply stores (+7,000). Clothing and clothing accessories stores lost 13,000 jobs. 

Professional and business services employment rose in October (+44,000) and has grown by 644,000 over the past 12 months. Within the industry, employment in management and technical consulting services rose by 8,000 in October. 

In October, manufacturing added 19,000 jobs, with job growth occurring in motor vehicles and parts (+6,000), wood products (+3,000), and furniture and related products (+3,000). On net, manufacturing employment has changed little since February 2013.

Federal government employment declined by 12,000 in October. Over the past 12 months, federal government employment has decreased by 94,000. Federal employees on furlough during the partial government shutdown were still considered employed in the payroll survey because they worked or received pay for the pay period that included the 12th of the month. 

These data are from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program and are seasonally adjusted. Data for the most recent two months are preliminary. To learn more, see "The Employment Situation — October 2013," (HTML) (PDF) news release USDL‑13‑2120. For more information on the classification of workers affected by the partial federal government shutdown, see "Frequently asked questions: The impact of the partial federal government shutdown on the Employment Situation for October 2013," (PDF).  More charts featuring CES employment data can be found in Current Employment Statistics Highlights: October 2013.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Payroll employment up 204,000 in October 2013 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2013/ted_20131112.htm (visited March 11, 2026).