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

Kathleen P. Utgoff

Commissioner

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Friday, November 5, 2004

 

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 337,000 in October, 

and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 5.5 

percent. The large increase in payroll employment followed 

gains of 139,000 in September and 198,000 in August (as 

revised). In October, there was a substantial job gain in

construction as well as increases in several serviceproviding industries. Since the most recent low in August 

2003, payroll employment has risen by 2.2 million.

Employment in construction rose by 71,000 in October. 

Some of this unusually large gain reflected rebuilding and 

cleanup activity in the Southeast following the four 

hurricanes that struck the U.S. in August and September. 

In the 12 months prior to October, construction employment 

increased by 16,000 per month on average. About threefourths of October’s gain occurred among specialty trade 
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contractors (54,000). Building construction also added 

jobs over the month. 

Elsewhere in the goods-producing sector, manufacturing 

employment was little changed in October. Factory 

employment has held fairly steady over the past 5 months, 

following some improvement earlier this year. The factory 

workweek and overtime hours each edged down by 0.1 hour 

over the month. 

Within the service-providing sector, employment in 

professional and business services increased by 97,000 in 

October. About half of the gain was in temporary help 

services (48,000). Since its recent low point in April 

2003, temporary help services has added 397,000 jobs. 

Employment in architectural and engineering services also 

increased over the month and has risen by 62,000 since June 

2003.

Health care and social assistance added 41,000 jobs in 

October, following a relatively small increase in September 

(10,000). Over the month, there were employment gains in 

doctors’ offices, hospitals, and in social assistance. 

Over the year, health care and social assistance added 

nearly 300,000 jobs, with gains in nearly all of its 

component industries.
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Financial services added 17,000 jobs in October, with 

the gain essentially split between securities and 

commodities brokerages and the credit intermediation 

industry (which includes mortgage brokers and commercial 

banks). Employment in private education and in the 

education component of local government increased in 

October. 

Average hourly earnings for private production or 

nonsupervisory workers rose by 5 cents over the month, 

following a 2-cent increase in September. Over the year, 

average hourly earnings grew by 2.6 percent. 

Turning to our measures from the household survey, the 

unemployment rate was essentially unchanged in October at 

5.5 percent. The jobless rate has been at or near its 

current level thus far in 2004. The civilian labor force 

increased to 147.9 million in October; the labor force 

participation rate remained at 65.9 percent. 

Employment as measured by the household survey edged 

up over the month. The employment-to-population ratio held 

in October at 62.3 percent. This ratio has stayed within a 

range of 62.1 to 62.5 since late 2002. 

In summary, nonfarm payroll employment increased by 

337,000 in October and has risen by 2.2 million since 
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August 2003. The unemployment rate was essentially 

unchanged over the month, at 5.5 percent.