The Employment Situation: December 2007

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THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: DECEMBER 2007

The unemployment rate rose to 5.0 percent in December, while nonfarm payroll
employment was essentially unchanged (+18,000), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of
the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Job growth in several service-pro-
viding industries, including professional and technical services, health care, and
food services, was largely offset by job losses in construction and manufacturing.
Average hourly earnings rose by 7 cents, or 0.4 percent.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons increased by 474,000 to 7.7 million in
December and the unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percentage point to 5.0 percent.
A year earlier, the number of unemployed persons was 6.8 million, and the
jobless rate was 4.4 percent.

In December, unemployment rates rose for several major worker groups--adult
men (to 4.4 percent), adult women (4.4 percent), whites (4.4 percent), and
Hispanics (6.3 percent). The unemployment rates for teenagers (17.1 percent)
and blacks (9.0 percent) were little changed. The unemployment rate for Asians
was 3.7 percent, not seasonally adjusted. Most major worker groups experienced
increases in their jobless rates over the year.

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Both total employment, at 146.2 million, and the employment-population ratio,
at 62.7 percent, decreased in December following increases in November. Total
employment was essentially unchanged over the year, while the employment-
population ratio declined by 0.7 percentage point over the same period. The
civilian labor force was essentially unchanged in December at 153.9 million.
The labor force participation rate, at 66.0 percent, was unchanged over the
month, but was 0.4 percentage point lower than a year earlier.

The number of persons who worked part time for economic reasons, at 4.7 million
in December, was little changed over the month but was up by 456,000 over the year.
This category includes persons who indicated that they would like to work full
time but were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because
they were unable to find full-time jobs.