March 07, 2005 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Payroll employment in February 2005

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 262,000 in February 2005 to 132.8 million, seasonally adjusted, following smaller gains in the prior 3 months.

[Chart data—TXT]

Employment in a number of service-providing industries grew between January and February 2005. Professional and business services employment expanded by 81,000 in February. Retail trade employment increased by 30,000 in February, with small gains distributed throughout this industry. 

Within the financial activities sector, employment growth continued in credit intermediation and related activities. Health care employment rose by 23,000 over the month. Since February 2004,this industry has gained 262,000 jobs.

In the goods-producing sector, construction employment rose by 30,000 in February 2005. This followed no change in January, when unusually severe weather conditions in some areas of the country limited construction activity. 

Manufacturing added 20,000 jobs in February, with motor vehicles and parts accounting for about half of the job gain. The increase in motor vehicles employment (11,000) reflected the return of auto workers from larger-than-usual temporary layoffs in January.

These employment data come from the BLS Current Employment Statistics program. To learn more, see "The Employment Situation: February 2005" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 05-345. Data for the most recent two months are preliminary.