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, February 6, 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 labor market continued to weaken dramatically in 

January. Total nonfarm payroll employment fell by 598,000, and 

the unemployment rate rose from 7.2 to 7.6 percent. January's 

sharp drop in employment brings job losses to 3.6 million since 

the start of the recession in December 2007 (as determined by 

the National Bureau of Economic Research). About half of the

decline occurred in the past 3 months. Job losses in January

were large and widespread across the major industry sectors. 
2

Manufacturing employment fell by 207,000 over the month,

bringing the job loss in this industry to 1.1 million since the 

start of the recession. Nearly half of the loss occurred in the 

past 3 months. In January, employment declines were spread 

throughout the sector but were especially large in fabricated 

metal products (-37,000), motor vehicles and parts (-31,000), 

and machinery (-22,000). 

Construction shed 111,000 jobs over the month. The pace of 

job loss in this sector has accelerated in recent months.

Employment has declined by 781,000 since the beginning of the 

recession, with about 40 percent of the decrease occurring in 

the past 3 months. 

In January, job losses continued throughout most of the 

service-providing sector. Since the start of the recession, this

sector has lost 1.8 million jobs, with over half of the decline 

occurring in the past 3 months. Employment in temporary help 

agencies fell by 76,000 in January and has declined by 605,000 

since December 2007. Other large over-the-month job losses

occurred in retail trade (-45,000), transportation and 

warehousing (-44,000), financial activities (-42,000), wholesale 

trade (-31,000), and professional and technical services

(-29,000).
3

Private education and health care added jobs in January. 

Employment in health care was up by 19,000 over the month

compared with an average of 30,000 a month in 2008.

Average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory 

workers in the private sector rose by 5 cents, or 0.3 percent, 

in January. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings 

have increased by 3.9 percent. From December 2007 to December 

2008, the seasonally adjusted Consumer Price Index for Urban 

Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) fell by 0.7 percent.

Measures from our household survey also reflected the weak 

labor market conditions in January. The unemployment rate rose 

from 7.2 to 7.6 percent, bringing the total number of unemployed 

persons to 11.6 million. Since December 2007, the rate has risen 

by 2.7 percentage points, with the increase widespread across 

demographic groups.

In January, the employment-population ratio dropped to 60.5 

percent, 2.2 percentage points lower than at the beginning of 

the recession. This is the lowest level since May 1986. The 

labor force participation rate, at 65.5 percent in January, has 

edged down in recent months. 

This morning, on our Web site, the Bureau of Labor 

Statistics began publishing monthly estimates of the employment 

status of persons with a disability. In January, the 

unemployment rate for these persons was 13.2 percent, compared 
4

with a rate of 8.3 percent for persons with no disability (not 

seasonally adjusted). The employment-population ratio for 

persons with a disability was 20.0 percent, compared with 65.0 

percent for those with no disability. The collection of these

important data is sponsored by the Department of Labor's Office 

of Disability Employment Policy. 

Before closing, I would note there were routine annual 

adjustments to the data from our two surveys. The establishment 

survey data released today reflect the incorporation of annual 

benchmark revisions. Each year, we re-anchor our sample-based 

survey estimates to full universe counts of employment, 

primarily derived from administrative records of the 

unemployment insurance tax system. Household survey data for 

January reflect updated population estimates from the U.S. 

Census Bureau. Further information about the impact of these

adjustments is contained in our news release and on our Web

site. 

Summarizing labor market developments for January, nonfarm 

payroll employment fell by 598,000, and the unemployment rate 

rose to 7.6 percent. Since the start of the recession in 

December 2007, job losses have totaled 3.6 million, with about 

half of the decrease occurring in the last 3 months. 

My colleagues and I now would be glad to answer your 

questions.