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.

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.)

Continue reading THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- DECEMBER 2012