Advance copies of this statement are made available to the press 

under lock-up conditions with the explicit understanding that 

the data are embargoed until 8:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. 

Statement of 

Keith Hall 

Commissioner 

Bureau of Labor Statistics 

before the 

Joint Economic Committee 

UNITED STATES CONGRESS 

Friday, February 1, 2008

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: 

 I appreciate this opportunity to comment on the employment 

and unemployment data that we released this morning. 

 Nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged in 

January, at 138.1 million, as was the unemployment rate, at 4.9 

percent. Employment declined in construction and in 

manufacturing, while the number of jobs increased in health 

care. In 2007, payroll employment grew by an average of 95,000 

per month, compared with an average of 175,000 per month in 

2006. Average hourly earnings rose by 4 cents in January, or 

0.2 percent. From December 2006 to December 2007, average 

hourly earnings rose by 3.7 percent, compared with a rise in the 

Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers 

of 4.4 percent. 
2

 Construction employment decreased by 27,000 in January, 

with the decline concentrated among the residential components. 

Construction has lost 284,000 jobs since its employment peak in 

September 2006; the residential components lost 315,000 jobs 

over that period. 

 Manufacturing employment fell by 28,000 in January, with 

small but widespread declines occurring in both durable and 

nondurable goods industries. Manufacturing has lost 269,000 

jobs over the last 12 months. Both the factory workweek and 

overtime were unchanged in January, at 41.1 and 4.0 hours, 

respectively. 

 In the service-providing sector, employment in health care 

continued to increase in January (27,000). Over the year ending 

in January, this industry added 367,000 jobs, accounting for 

more than one-third of the growth in total nonfarm employment. 

In January, employment rose in ambulatory health care, which 

includes doctors’ offices, and in hospitals. 

 Food services employment also continued its upward trend 

over the month, though employment growth in this industry has 

slowed recently. From November 2007 through January, food 

services added an average of 16,000 jobs per month; the average 

growth during the 12-month period ending in October 2007 was 

28,000 jobs per month. 
3

 Following a large increase in December (49,000), employment 

in professional and technical services was little changed in 

January. In 2007, this industry added 335,000 jobs. Within 

administrative and support services, business support services 

lost jobs in January. 

 Elsewhere in the service-providing sector, retail trade 

employment was little changed, both over the month and over the 

year. Wholesale trade employment has been flat since October 

2007; the industry had been adding jobs for several years. 

Within financial activities, employment in credit 

intermediation, which includes mortgage lending, continued to 

trend down in January and has fallen by 111,000 since its most 

recent high point in October 2006. 

 The establishment survey data released today reflect the 

incorporation of annual benchmark revisions, updated seasonal 

adjustment factors, and a minor revision to the industry 

classification system. Each year, we re-anchor our sample-based 

survey estimates to full universe counts of employment, 

primarily derived from administrative records of the 

unemployment insurance tax system. The benchmark revision 

caused a decrease in the level of nonfarm payroll employment in 

March 2007 of 293,000 (not seasonally adjusted) or 0.2 percent. 

Over the past 10 years, benchmark revisions have averaged plus 

or minus 0.2 percent. 
4

 All seasonally adjusted establishment survey data from 

January 2003 forward have been revised to incorporate updated 

seasonal adjustment factors. Another change effective with this 

release is an update to the 2007 North American Industry 

Classification System (NAICS) from the 2002 NAICS. The update 

to NAICS 2007 resulted in minor definitional changes. All 

affected historical time series data for the establishment 

survey beginning in January 1990 have been reconstructed based 

on NAICS 2007. 

 Turning now to some of our measures from the household 

survey, both the number of unemployed persons (7.6 million) and 

the unemployment rate (4.9 percent) were essentially unchanged 

over the month. However, both measures are up over the past 12 

months. In January, 18.3 percent of unemployed persons had been 

unemployed 27 weeks and over, up from 16.2 percent a year 

earlier. Civilian employment rose in January (after accounting 

for an adjustment to the population controls used in the 

survey), and the employment-population ratio edged up to 62.9 

percent. 

 Household survey data beginning in January 2008 reflect 

updated population controls. As part of its annual review of 

intercensal population estimates, the U.S. Census Bureau 

determined that a downward adjustment should be made to the 

population controls. This adjustment stems from revised 
5

estimates of net international migration and the institutional 

population, along with updated vital statistics information. 

The updated controls would have resulted in a decline of 745,000 

in the estimated size of the civilian noninstitutional 

population age 16 years and over for December 2007. In 

accordance with our usual practice, official estimates for 

December 2007 and earlier months will not be revised. 

 A comparison of December 2007 not seasonally adjusted data 

based on the old and new controls shows that the population 

adjustment caused decreases in the levels for the labor force 

(-637,000), employment (-598,000), and unemployment (-40,000). 

The unemployment rate was unaffected by the new population 

controls; there was a negligible impact on other percentage 

estimates. 

 To summarize January’s labor market developments, payroll 

employment was essentially unchanged (-17,000), as was the 

unemployment rate at 4.9 percent. 

 My colleagues and I now would be glad to answer your 

questions.