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 

Keith Hall 

Commissioner 

Bureau of Labor Statistics 

before the 

Joint Economic Committee 

UNITED STATES CONGRESS 

Friday, December 4, 2009

Madam Chair and Members of the Committee: 

Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the employment and 

unemployment data we released this morning. 

The unemployment rate edged down to 10.0 percent in 

November, and nonfarm payroll employment was essentially 

unchanged (-11,000). Additionally, after revision, the 

estimates of job loss for September and October were smaller 

than reported last month. In November, job losses occurred in 

construction, manufacturing, and information, while employment 

rose in temporary help services and health care. 

Construction employment fell by 27,000 over the month, 

compared with an average monthly decline of 63,000 in the prior 
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6 months. In recent months, most of the decline has occurred in 

the nonresidential components. In manufacturing, employment 

fell by 41,000 in November, about in line with the trend over 

the prior 4 months. There were notable job cuts over the month 

in machinery, computer and electronic products, and printing. 

The factory workweek rose by 0.3 hour and has increased by one 

full hour since May. In November, employment in the information 

industry declined by 17,000, with telecommunications accounting 

for half of the loss. 

Employment in temporary help services rose in November. 

The industry started the year with large job losses, averaging 

69,000 per month through April. Recently, the industry has 

added jobs, with gains averaging 48,000 per month in October and 

November. 

Over the month, employment continued to increase in health 

care, with gains in home health care and hospitals. Since the 

recession began, health care has added 613,000 jobs. 

Average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory 

workers in the private sector were up by 1 cent in November to 

$18.74. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have 

risen by 2.2 percent. From October 2008 to October 2009, the 

Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers 

(CPI-W) declined by 0.4 percent. 
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Turning now to some measures from our household survey, the 

unemployment rate edged down from 10.2 to 10.0 percent in 

November. The rate was 4.9 percent when the recession began in 

December 2007. There were 15.4 million unemployed persons in 

November, down slightly from the prior month. 

The number of persons who were unemployed because of job 

loss declined in November. The number of long-term unemployed 

continued to grow, rising by 293,000 over the month to 5.9 

million. 

The employment-population ratio held at 58.5 percent. When 

the recession began, it was 62.7 percent. Among the employed, 

the number of persons working part time in November who would 

have preferred full-time work was little changed at 9.2 million. 

Among those outside the labor force--that is, persons 

neither working nor looking for work--the number of discouraged 

workers in November was 861,000, up from 608,000 a year earlier. 

These individuals are not currently looking for work because 

they believe no jobs are available for them. 

In summary, nonfarm payroll employment was essentially 

unchanged in November, and the unemployment rate edged down to 

10.0 percent. 

My colleagues and I now would be glad to answer your 

questions.