Transmission of material in this release is embargoed                   USDL-13-0001
until 8:30 a.m. (EST) Friday, January 4, 2013

Technical information:
 Household data:       (202) 691-6378  *  cpsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/cps
 Establishment data:   (202) 691-6555  *  cesinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/ces

Media contact:         (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov

                         THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- DECEMBER 2012

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 155,000 in December, and the unemployment 
rate was unchanged at 7.8 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 
today. Employment increased in health care, food services and drinking places, 
construction, and manufacturing.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------
   |                                                                 |
   |      Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Household Survey Data      |
   |                                                                 |
   | Seasonally adjusted household survey data have been revised     |
   | using updated seasonal adjustment factors, a procedure done at  |
   | the end of each calendar year. Seasonally adjusted estimates    |
   | back to January 2008 were subject to revision. The unemployment |
   | rates for January 2012 through November 2012 (as originally     |
   | published and as revised) appear in table A, along with         |
   | additional information about the revisions.                     |
   |                                                                 |
    -----------------------------------------------------------------

Household Survey Data

The number of unemployed persons, at 12.2 million, was little changed
in December. The unemployment rate held at 7.8 percent and has been at
or near that level since September. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult women
(7.3 percent) and blacks (14.0 percent) edged up in December, while
the rates for adult men (7.2 percent), teenagers (23.5 percent),
whites (6.9 percent), and Hispanics (9.6 percent) showed little or no
change. The jobless rate for Asians was 6.6 percent (not seasonally
adjusted), little changed from a year earlier. (See tables A-1, A-2,
and A-3.)

In December, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27
weeks or more) was essentially unchanged at 4.8 million and accounted
for 39.1 percent of the unemployed. (See table A-12.)

The civilian labor force participation rate held at 63.6 percent in
December. The employment-population ratio, at 58.6 percent, was 
essentially unchanged over the month. (See table A-1.)

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons
(sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers), at 7.9
million, changed little in December. These individuals were working
part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were
unable to find a full-time job. (See table A-8.)

In December, 2.6 million persons were marginally attached to the labor
force, essentially unchanged from a year earlier. (These data are not
seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force,
wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime
in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because
they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.
(See table A-16.)

Among the marginally attached, there were 1.1 million discouraged
workers in December, little changed from a year earlier. (These data
are not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not
currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available
for them. The remaining 1.5 million persons marginally attached to the
labor force in December had not searched for work in the 4 weeks
preceding the survey for reasons such as school attendance or family
responsibilities. (See table A-16.)

Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 155,000 in December. In
2012, employment growth averaged 153,000 per month, the same as the
average monthly gain for 2011. In December, employment increased in
health care, food services and drinking places, construction, and
manufacturing. (See table B-1.)

Health care employment continued to expand in December (+45,000). Job
gains occurred in ambulatory health care services (+23,000), in
hospitals (+12,000), and in nursing and residential care facilities
(+10,000). In 2012, health care employment rose by 338,000.

In December, employment in food services and drinking places rose by
38,000. In 2012, the industry added an average of 24,000 jobs a month,
essentially the same as in 2011.

Construction added 30,000 jobs in December, led by employment
increases in construction of buildings (+13,000) and in residential
specialty trade contractors (+12,000).

In December, manufacturing employment rose by 25,000, with small gains
in a number of component industries. In 2012, factory employment
increased by 180,000; most of the growth occurred during the first
quarter.

Employment in retail trade changed little in December, after
increasing by 143,000 over the prior 3 months. Within the industry,
employment in clothing and accessories stores fell by 19,000,
following gains that totaled 55,000 over the prior 3 months. Elsewhere
in retail trade, employment in automobile dealers and in food and
beverage stores continued to trend up in December.

Employment in other major industries, including mining and logging,
transportation and warehousing, financial activities, professional and
businesses services, and government, showed little change over the
month.

In December, the average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm
payrolls edged up by 0.1 hour to 34.5 hours. The manufacturing
workweek edged up by 0.1 hour to 40.7 hours, and factory overtime was
unchanged at 3.3 hours. The average workweek for production and
nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1
hour to 33.8 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)

Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls
rose by 7 cents to $23.73. Over the year, average hourly earnings have
risen by 2.1 percent. In December, average hourly earnings of private-
sector production and nonsupervisory employees increased by 6 cents to
$19.92. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for October was revised
from +138,000 to +137,000, and the change for November was revised
from +146,000 to +161,000.

____________
The Employment Situation for January is scheduled to be released on
Friday, February 1, 2013, at 8:30 a.m. (EST).

  ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
 |                                                                  |
 |            Revisions in the Establishment Survey Data            |
 |                                                                  |
 | With the release of January 2013 data on February 1, 2013, the   |
 | Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey will introduce        |
 | revisions to nonfarm payroll employment, hours, and earnings     |
 | data to reflect the annual benchmark adjustment for March 2012   |
 | and updated seasonal adjustment factors. Not seasonally adjusted |
 | data beginning with April 2011 and seasonally adjusted data      |
 | beginning with January 2008 are subject to revision.             |
 |                                                                  |
  ------------------------------------------------------------------ 

  ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
 |                                                                  |
 |             Upcoming Changes to the Household Survey             |
 |                                                                  |
 | Effective with the release of The Employment Situation for       |
 | January 2013, scheduled for February 1, 2013, new population     |
 | controls will be used in the monthly household survey estima-    |
 | tion process. These new controls reflect the annual updating of  |
 | intercensal population estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau.      |
 | Historical data will not be revised to incorporate the new       |
 | controls; consequently, household survey data for January 2013   |
 | will not be directly comparable with that for December 2012 or   |
 | earlier periods. A table showing the effects of the new controls |
 | on the major labor force series will be included in the January  |
 | 2013 release.                                                    |
 |                                                                  |
  ------------------------------------------------------------------ 

         Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Household Survey Data

At the end of each calendar year, BLS routinely updates the seasonal
adjustment factors for the labor force series derived from the Current
Population Survey (CPS), or household survey. As a result of this
process, seasonally adjusted data for January 2008 through November
2012 were subject to revision.

Table A shows the unemployment rates for January 2012 through November
2012, as first published and as revised. The rates changed by one-
tenth of a percentage point in 2 of the 11 months and were unchanged
in the remaining 9 months. Revised seasonally adjusted data for other
major labor force series beginning in December 2011 appear in table B.

An article describing the seasonal adjustment methodology for the
household survey data and revised data for January 2012 through
November 2012 is available at www.bls.gov/cps/cpsrs2013.pdf.

Historical data for the household series contained in the A tables of
this release can be accessed at www.bls.gov/cps/cpsatabs.htm. Revised
historical seasonally adjusted monthly and quarterly data for
additional series are available on the Internet at
ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/lf/.

Table A.  Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates in 2012 and changes
due to revision, January - November 2012

         Month            As first           As          Change
                          computed         revised

January ...............      8.3             8.3          0.0
February ..............      8.3             8.3           .0
March .................      8.2             8.2           .0
April .................      8.1             8.1           .0
May ...................      8.2             8.2           .0
June ..................      8.2             8.2           .0
July ..................      8.3             8.2          -.1
August ................      8.1             8.1           .0
September .............      7.8             7.8           .0
October ...............      7.9             7.9           .0
November ..............      7.7             7.8           .1

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