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 

John M. Galvin 

Acting Commissioner 

Bureau of Labor Statistics 

Friday, January 4, 2013

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 155,000 in 

December, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 7.8 

percent. In 2012, job gains averaged 153,000 per month, the 

same as in 2011. In December, employment rose in health care, 

food services and drinking places, construction, and 

manufacturing. 

Health care employment increased by 45,000 over the month, 

with gains in ambulatory health care services (+23,000), in 

hospitals (+12,000), and in nursing and residential care 

facilities (+10,000). Health care added 338,000 jobs over the 

past 12 months. 

Employment in food services and drinking places rose by 

38,000 in December. In 2012, the industry added an average of 

24,000 jobs per month, essentially the same as in 2011. 
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Construction employment rose by 30,000 in December, with 

gains in construction of buildings (+13,000) and in residential 

specialty trade contractors (+12,000). 

In December, manufacturing employment grew by 25,000, with 

small gains in a number of component industries. In 2012, 

manufacturing added 180,000 jobs; most of the growth occurred 

during the first quarter of the year. 

Within retail trade, employment in clothing and accessories 

stores fell by 19,000 in December, following gains that totaled 

55,000 over the prior 3 months. In December, employment 

continued to trend up in automobile dealers and in food and 

beverage stores. 

Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm 

payrolls rose by 7 cents in December to $23.73. Over the past 

12 months, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.1 percent. 

From November 2011 to November 2012, the Consumer Price Index 

for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased by 1.8 percent. 

Most major indicators from the survey of households showed 

little or no change in December. The unemployment rate held at 

7.8 percent; the rate has been at or near that level since 

September. In December, the number of unemployed persons was 

little changed at 12.2 million. Among the unemployed, 39.1 

percent had been jobless for 27 weeks or more. The employmentpopulation ratio, at 58.6 percent, also was essentially 
3 

unchanged over the month, and the labor force participation rate 

held at 63.6 percent. 

Among persons who were neither working nor looking for work 

in December, 2.6 million were classified as marginally attached 

to the labor force, about unchanged from a year earlier. These 

individuals wanted a job, were available for work, and had 

looked for a job within the last 12 months. The number of 

discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who 

believed that no jobs were available for them, was little 

changed in December from a year earlier at 1.1 million. 

Data users are reminded that seasonal adjustment factors 

for the household survey are updated each year with the release 

of the December data. Seasonally adjusted estimates going back 

5 years--to January 2008--were subject to revision. 

In summary, nonfarm payroll employment rose by 155,000 in 

December, and the unemployment rate held at 7.8 percent.