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 

Erica L. Groshen 

Commissioner 

Bureau of Labor Statistics 

Friday, February 1, 2013

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 157,000 in January, 

and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 7.9 

percent. In 2012, job gains averaged 181,000 per month. In 

January, employment rose in retail trade, construction, health 

care, and wholesale trade but edged down in transportation and 

warehousing. 

Retail trade employment grew by 33,000 over the month and 

has increased by 213,000 over the past 12 months. In January, 

employment continued to trend up in clothing and accessories 

stores (+10,000), motor vehicle and parts dealers (+7,000), and 

electronics and appliance stores (+5,000). 

Construction employment increased by 28,000 in January. 

Since reaching a low in January 2011, construction employment 

has grown by 296,000, with one-third of the gain occurring in 

the last 4 months. However, the January 2013 level of 
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construction employment remained about 2 million below its 

previous peak level in April 2006.

In January, health care added 23,000 jobs, about in line 

with the average monthly gains in this industry during 2012. 

Over the month, ambulatory health care services, such as 

doctors’ offices and outpatient care centers, added 28,000 jobs, 

while employment in nursing and residential care decreased by 

8,000. 

Wholesale trade added 15,000 jobs in January, mostly in 

nondurable goods. Since the recent low point in May 2010, 

wholesale trade has added 291,000 jobs.

Transportation and warehousing employment edged down by 

14,000 in January. Couriers and messengers shed 19,000 jobs over 

the month, partially offsetting job gains in November and 

December. 

Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm 

payrolls rose by 4 cents in January to $23.78. Over the past 12 

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

December 2011 to December 2012, the Consumer Price Index for All 

Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased by 1.7 percent. 

In accordance with annual practice, the establishment 

survey data released today reflect the incorporation of 

benchmark revisions. Each year, BLS re-anchors the sample-based 

survey estimates to full universe counts of employment, 
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primarily derived from administrative records of the 

unemployment insurance tax system. The level of nonfarm payroll 

employment in March 2012 was revised up by 424,000 (not 

seasonally adjusted) or 0.3 percent. The average benchmark 

revision over the past 10 years was plus or minus 0.3 percent. 

(Further information about the benchmark revision and its impact 

is contained in our news release and on our Web site at 

www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cesbmart.htm.) 

I also would note that, as is our annual practice, we have 

incorporated new population controls into the household survey 

estimates. Data beginning in January 2013 reflect population 

controls based on updated information on net international 

migration, updated vital statistics and other information, and 

some methodological changes in the estimation process. This 

year, the impact of the new controls on the unemployment rate 

and other major household survey measures is negligible. 

(Additional information can be found in our news release and on 

our Web site at www.bls.gov/cps/cps13adj.pdf.) 

Returning to the data for January, the unemployment rate, 

at 7.9 percent, and the number of unemployed persons, at 12.3 

million, were essentially unchanged over the month. The 

unemployment rate has shown little or no change since September. 

The labor force participation rate, at 63.6 percent, and the 
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employment-population ratio, at 58.6 percent, were unchanged in 

January. 

Among persons who were neither working nor looking for work 

in January, 2.4 million were classified as marginally attached 

to the labor force, down 366,000 from a year earlier. These 

individuals had not looked for work in the 4 weeks prior to the 

survey but 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, was 804,000 in 

January, down by 255,000 from a year earlier. 

In summary, nonfarm payroll employment increased by 157,000 

in January, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged 

at 7.9 percent.