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 Daylight Time. 

Statement of 

John M. Galvin 

Acting Commissioner 

Bureau of Labor Statistics 

Friday, November 2, 2012

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 171,000 in October, 

and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 7.9 

percent. Job gains occurred in professional and business 

services, health care, and retail trade over the month. Thus 

far in 2012, employment growth has averaged 157,000 per month, 

about the same as the average monthly gain in 2011 (+153,000). 

Before discussing the details of this month’s report, I 

would note that Hurricane Sandy had no discernable effect on the 

employment and unemployment data for October. Household survey 

data collection was completed before the storm struck the East 

Coast, and establishment survey data collection rates were 

within the normal ranges nationally and for the affected areas. 

Returning to the estimates for October, professional and 

business services employment increased by 51,000. Within the 

professional and technical services component, employment in 
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computer systems design continued to trend up (+7,000). Within 

the administrative and support services component, employment in 

services to buildings and dwellings rose by 13,000. Employment 

in temporary help services changed little over the month and has 

shown little net change over the past 3 months. 

Health care employment rose by 31,000 in October, with job 

gains in ambulatory health care services (+25,000) and in 

hospitals (+6,000). Over the past 12 months, health care has 

added 296,000 jobs. 

Employment in retail trade was up by 36,000 in October, 

with increases occurring in motor vehicle and parts dealers 

(+7,000) and in furniture and home furnishings stores (+4,000). 

Over the past 3 months, retail employment has increased by 

82,000. 

In construction, employment in specialty trade contractors 

rose by 17,000 in October. Elsewhere in the goods-producing 

sector, mining employment declined by 9,000, and manufacturing 

employment was little changed. On net, manufacturing employment 

has shown little change since April. 

Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm 

payrolls edged down by 1 cent in October to $23.58. Over the 

past 12 months, average hourly earnings have risen by 1.6 

percent. From September 2011 to September 2012, the Consumer 
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Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased by 2.0 

percent. 

Turning to measures from the survey of households, the 

unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 7.9 percent in 

October, following a decline in the prior month. There were 

12.3 million unemployed persons in October, little different 

from the prior month. 

The number of involuntary part-time workers declined by 

269,000 to 8.3 million in October; this follows an increase of 

582,000 in September. On net, involuntary part-time employment 

has changed little over the past 3 months. 

The labor force increased by 578,000, and the labor force 

participation rate edged up to 63.8 percent in October. Total 

employment, as measured by the household survey, increased by 

410,000, while the employment-population ratio was little 

changed at 58.8 percent. 

I would note that the household survey and establishment 

survey employment measures often show different month-to-month 

changes. The establishment survey employment series has a 

smaller margin of error than the household survey because of its 

much larger sample size. An over-the-month employment change of 

about 100,000 is statistically significant in the establishment 

survey, while the threshold for a statistically significant 

change in the household survey is about 400,000. However, the 
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household survey has a more expansive scope than the 

establishment survey because it includes the self-employed, 

agricultural workers, and other workers who are excluded by the 

establishment survey. Over longer periods of time, the 

employment measures from the two surveys tend to track more 

closely. Each month, BLS provides a report intended to help 

data users better understand the differences in the surveys’ 

employment measures and trends on our website at 

www.bls.gov/web/empsit/ces_cps_trends.pdf. 

In summary, nonfarm payroll employment rose by 171,000 in 

October, and the unemployment rate, at 7.9 percent, was 

essentially unchanged.