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

Philip L. Rones

Acting Commissioner

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Friday, September 1, 2006

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 128,000 in August, 

and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 4.7 

percent. The employment increase was about in line with 

the average monthly gain of 117,000 for the 4-month period 

from April to July. During the 12-month period ending in 

March, job growth averaged 169,000 per month. Average 

hourly earnings rose by 2 cents, or 0.1 percent, in August.

In the service-providing sector, education and health 

services employment grew by 60,000; health care contributed 

35,000 of the net increase, and social assistance added 

13,000 jobs. Over the year, health care employment 

expanded by 286,000. Within health care, hospitals added 

14,000 jobs over the month. Employment also increased in 

doctors’ offices, home health care services, and outpatient 

care centers. 
2

Several other service-providing industries contributed 

to job growth in August. Employment in food services and 

drinking places continued to trend up, although the pace of 

job growth has moderated in recent months. Employment 

growth also continued at a slower pace in financial 

activities. 

Within professional and business services, employment 

continued to trend up over the month in management and 

technical consulting; computer systems design; and 

architectural and engineering services. Employment in 

temporary help services, however, has shown little change 

thus far this year. 

In retail trade, job losses continued in department 

stores in August (-9,000). Over the past 5 months, 

department stores have shed 47,000 jobs. 

In the goods-producing sector, construction employment 

edged up in August (+17,000), following several months in 

which employment was little changed. Employment in

nonresidential specialty trade contracting continued to 

expand over the month. However, other components of the 

construction industry have shown little or no job growth in 

recent months. Employment in mining rose by 5,000 in 

August, mostly in oil and gas extraction and in related 

support activities. 
3

Manufacturing employment edged down over the month, 

largely due to job losses in motor vehicles, wood products, 

and furniture and related products. Manufacturing hours 

were down 0.1 hour to 41.3 hours, and factory overtime held 

at 4.5 hours.

Average hourly earnings for private production and 

nonsupervisory workers rose by 2 cents (0.1 percent) in 

August, following gains of 8 cents in July and 7 cents in 

June. Over the 12-month period ending in August, average 

hourly earnings have risen by 3.9 percent.

Most major labor market indicators from our household 

survey showed little or no change in August. Both the 

unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons were 

essentially unchanged at 4.7 percent and 7.1 million, 

respectively. The labor force participation rate held at 

66.2 percent, and the employment-population ratio was 63.1 

percent.

In summary, payroll employment rose by 128,000 in 

August, and the unemployment rate was about unchanged at 

4.7 percent.