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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 5, 2007
                              
                              
     Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 110,000 in
September, and the unemployment rate was essentially
unchanged at 4.7 percent.  Health care, food services, and
professional and technical services all continued to add
jobs, while employment in manufacturing, construction, and
employment services remained on a downward trend.  Average
hourly earnings rose by 7 cents over the month.

     The estimates of payroll employment change for July and
August were revised upward.  The July change rose from
+68,000 to +93,000 and the August change from -4,000 to
+89,000.  After incorporating these revisions, average
monthly job growth for June through September is 90,000,
compared with an average of 147,000 for the first 5 months
of the year.
     
     Nearly all of the August revision reflected an upward
adjustment to government employment, particularly local
education.  As noted last month, employment estimates for
local government education can be volatile, particularly
during the summer months.  Initial estimates of employment
in local education typically are based upon a smaller
percentage of survey responses than in other sectors.  This
lower initial response can make estimation more problematic
in months when school sessions begin and end.
     
     In September, health care employment continued to grow,
rising by 33,000.  The food services industry also continued
to add jobs, with a gain of 25,000 over the month.
Together, these two industries have accounted for about one-
half of all nonfarm employment growth in 2007.  Over the
month, employment rose by 37,000 in professional and
technical services; notable job gains occurred in management
consulting and in accounting services.  Social assistance
employment increased by 12,000.
     
     Elsewhere in the service-providing sector, employment
in the credit intermediation industry, which includes
mortgage lending and related activities, continued to
decline.  Since February, employment in the industry has
fallen by 46,000.  Employment services lost 35,000 jobs in
September; employment in this industry has fallen by 203,000
since peaking last December.  Within retail trade, building
supply stores lost 17,000 jobs in September.
     
     In the goods-producing sector, manufacturing employment
was down by 18,000, with small declines scattered across the
industry.  Over the year, manufacturing has shed 223,000
jobs.  Over the month, factory hours and overtime were
unchanged at 41.4 and 4.1 hours, respectively.
     
     Employment in the construction industry continued to
trend down in September; since peaking a year earlier,
employment has declined by 112,000.  Over the year, job
losses occurred in residential building and among
residential specialty trade contractors.  In contrast,
employment in nonresidential and heavy construction
industries has been relatively flat.
     
     Average hourly earnings for private sector production
and nonsupervisory workers were up by 7 cents, or 0.4
percent, in September.  Over the year, average hourly
earnings have increased by 4.1 percent.

     Turning to measures from the survey of households, the
unemployment rate was 4.7 percent in September, essentially
unchanged from the previous month and over the year.
Unemployment rates for the major worker groups showed little
or no change in September.

     Total employment and the civilian labor force both rose
over the month, after edging down in August.  Both the
August and September changes reflected large movements in
the highly seasonal teen labor force.  In September, the
overall labor force participation rate was 66.0 percent and
the proportion of the population that was employed was 62.9
percent.  Both measures remained below their recent peaks
reached in December 2006.
     
     In keeping with standard practice, this month the
Bureau of Labor Statistics is providing a preliminary
estimate of the next benchmark revision to nonfarm payroll
employment.  Each year the Bureau revises, or benchmarks,
the payroll survey’s sample-based employment estimates to
reflect comprehensive employment counts derived largely from
state unemployment insurance tax reports.

     Preliminary tabulations of employment from the state
tax reports indicate that the March 2007 payroll employment
estimate will require a downward revision of 297,000, or two-
tenths of one percent of total nonfarm employment.  Annual
benchmark revisions for the past 10 years have averaged plus
or minus two-tenths of a percent of employment.  This year,
the Bureau also is providing preliminary benchmark estimates
by major industry sector; see table 1 in this month’s
Employment Situation news release for this information.  The
final benchmark will be incorporated into payroll survey
data on February 1, 2008, with the publication of the
January 2008 Employment Situation.
     
     In summary, nonfarm payroll employment increased by
110,000 in September, and the unemployment rate was
essentially unchanged at 4.7 percent.