March 13, 2006 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Payroll employment in February 2006

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 243,000 in February to 134.8 million, seasonally adjusted. Over the year, payroll employment grew by 2.1 million.

[Chart data—TXT]

Construction, mining, and several service-providing industries added jobs in February.

In the goods-producing sector, construction employment increased by 41,000, following a gain of 55,000 in the prior month. Over the year, construction employment has risen by 346,000. Mining continued its upward trend, adding 5,000 jobs over the month.

In the service-providing sector, employment in education and health services rose by 47,000 in February. Financial activities employment grew by 22,000 over the month, following a similar-sized gain in January. Employment in food services and drinking places increased by 21,000.

Professional and business services employment continued to trend up in February (39,000). The industry has added 466,000 jobs over the year. Temporary help services employment was little changed over the month.

These data on employment are from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program and have been seasonally adjusted. More information can be found in The Employment Situation: February 2006 (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 06-396. Data for the most recent two months are preliminary.