February 11, 2003 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Rise in payroll employment in January

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 143,000 in January to 130.8 million, seasonally adjusted. This followed a decline of 156,000 (as revised) in December.

[Chart data—TXT]

Retail trade employment rose by 101,000 over the month, after seasonal adjustment; this increase followed a drop of 99,000 in December. Employment in eating and drinking places accounted for a large share of the change in both months. In addition, holiday hiring in department stores and in miscellaneous retail establishments had been less than usual. As a result, there were relatively small layoffs in January and, therefore, employment increased over the month after seasonal adjustment.

The services industry added 35,000 jobs in January, somewhat below its trend over the prior 12 months. Employment in air transportation increased by 22,000 in January, following a decline of similar size in December. Construction employment increased by 21,000 in January. 

Following a loss of 80,000 jobs (as revised) in December, employment in manufacturing edged down by 16,000 in January. Employment in mining declined by 5,000 in January, following a small gain in December.

Payroll employment data are from the Current Employment Statistics program. The above data are seasonally adjusted. Data for December 2002 and January 2003 are preliminary and subject to revision.  For more information, see "The Employment Situation: January 2003 (PDF) (TXT)", news release USDL. 03-46.