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

Payroll employment little changed in October

Total nonfarm payroll employment was little changed in October 2005 at 134.1 million. Employment was flat in September, due in part to the effects of Hurricane Katrina.

[Chart data—TXT]

In the first 8 months of the year, payroll employment had increased by an average of 196,000 per month.

In October, construction, financial activities, and health care added jobs, while employment in most other major industries showed little movement.

These data on industry employment are from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program and have been seasonally adjusted. More information can be found in The Employment Situation: October 2005 (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 05-2118. Data for the most recent two months are preliminary.  

Note: For the October CES estimates, several modifications to the usual estimation procedures were again used to better reflect employment in Katrina-affected areas. For details, see http://www.bls.gov/katrina/cpscesquestions.htm.