December U.S. Unemployment Rate changes little at 3.4%
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION — JANUARY 2023
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 517,000 in January, and the unemployment rate
changed little at 3.4 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job
growth was widespread, led by gains in leisure and hospitality, professional and
business services, and health care. Employment also increased in government, partially
reflecting the return of workers from a strike.
Household Survey Data
Both the unemployment rate, at 3.4 percent, and the number of unemployed persons, at 5.7
million, changed little in January. The unemployment rate has shown little net movement
since early 2022. (See table A-1. See the note at the end of this news release and tables
B and C for more information about annual population adjustments to the household survey
estimates.)
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (3.2 percent), adult
women (3.1 percent), teenagers (10.3 percent), Whites (3.1 percent), Blacks (5.4 percent),
Asians (2.8 percent), and Hispanics (4.5 percent) showed little change in January. (See
tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)
The number of persons jobless less than 5 weeks decreased to 1.9 million in January. The
number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was essentially
unchanged at 1.1 million. The long-term unemployed accounted for 19.4 percent of the total
unemployed in January. (See table A-12.)
In January, both the labor force participation rate, at 62.4 percent, and the employment-
population ratio, at 60.2 percent, were unchanged after removing the effects of the annual
adjustments to the population controls. These measures have shown little net change since
early 2022 and remain below their pre-pandemic February 2020 levels (63.3 percent and 61.1
percent, respectively). (See table A-1. For additional information about the effects of
the population adjustments, see table C.)
The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.1 million, was little
changed in January. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were
working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-
time jobs. (See table A-8.)
The number of persons not in the labor force who currently want a job was 5.3 million in
January, little changed from the prior month. These individuals were not counted as
unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding
the survey or were unavailable to take a job. (See table A-1.)
Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of persons marginally
attached to the labor force, at 1.4 million, changed little in January. These individuals
wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12
months but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of
discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were
available for them, was also little changed over the month at 342,000. (See Summary
table A.)
Establishment Survey Data
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 517,000 in January, compared with an average
monthly gain of 401,000 in 2022. Job growth was widespread in January, led by gains in
leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and health care. Employment
also increased in government, partially reflecting the return of workers from a strike.
(See table B-1. See the note at the end of this new release and table A for more
information about the annual benchmark process.)
Leisure and hospitality added 128,000 jobs in January compared with an average of 89,000
jobs per month in 2022. Over the month, food services and drinking places added 99,000
jobs, while employment continued to trend up in accommodation (+15,000). Employment in
leisure and hospitality remains below its pre-pandemic February 2020 level by 495,000,
or 2.9 percent.
In January, employment in professional and business services rose by 82,000, led by gains
in professional, scientific, and technical services (+41,000). Job growth in professional
and business services averaged 63,000 per month in 2022.
Government employment increased by 74,000 in January. Employment in state government
education increased by 35,000, reflecting the return of university workers after a
strike.
Health care added 58,000 jobs in January. Job growth occurred in ambulatory health care
services (+30,000), nursing and residential care facilities (+17,000), and hospitals
(+11,000). In 2022, health care added an average of 47,000 jobs per month.
Employment in retail trade rose by 30,000 in January, following little net growth in
2022 (an average of +7,000 per month). In January, job gains in general merchandise
retailers (+16,000) and in furniture, home furnishings, electronics, and appliance
retailers (+7,000) were partially offset by a decline in health and personal care
retailers (-6,000).
Construction added 25,000 jobs in January, reflecting an employment gain in specialty
trade contractors (+22,000). Employment in the construction industry grew by an average
of 22,000 per month in 2022.
In January, transportation and warehousing added 23,000 jobs, the same as the industry’s
average monthly gain in 2022. Over the month, employment in support activities for
transportation increased by 7,000.
Employment in social assistance increased by 21,000 in January, little different from
the 2022 average gain of 19,000 per month.
Manufacturing employment continued to trend up in January (+19,000). In 2022,
manufacturing added an average of 33,000 jobs per month.
Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including
mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; wholesale trade; information;
financial activities; and other services.
In January, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose
by 10 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $33.03. Over the past 12 months, average hourly
earnings have increased by 4.4 percent. In January, average hourly earnings of private-
sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 7 cents, or 0.2 percent, to
$28.26. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)
The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 0.3 hour to
34.7 hours in January. In manufacturing, the average workweek increased by 0.4 hour to
40.5 hours, and overtime increased by 0.1 hour to 3.1 hours. The average workweek for
production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.2
hour to 34.1 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for November was revised up by 34,000,
from +256,000 to +290,000, and the change for December was revised up by 37,000, from
+223,000 to +260,000. With these revisions, employment gains in November and December
combined were 71,000 higher than previously reported. (Monthly revisions result from
additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last
published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors. The annual
benchmark process also contributed to the November and December revisions.)
Employment Situation Summary Table A. Household data, seasonally adjusted
Employment Situation Summary Table B. Establishment data, seasonally adjusted
Table A-1. Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age
Table A-2. Employment status of the civilian population by race, sex, and age
Table A-3. Employment status of the Hispanic or Latino population by sex and age
Table A-4. Employment status of the civilian population 25 years and over by educational attainment
Table A-5. Employment status of the civilian population 18 years and over by veteran status, period of service, and sex, not seasonally adjusted
Table A-6. Employment status of the civilian population by sex, age, and disability status, not seasonally adjusted
Table A-7. Employment status of the civilian population by nativity and sex, not seasonally adjusted
Table A-8. Employed persons by class of worker and part-time status
Table A-9. Selected employment indicators
Table A-10. Selected unemployment indicators, seasonally adjusted
Table A-11. Unemployed persons by reason for unemployment
Table A-12. Unemployed persons by duration of unemployment
Table A-13. Employed and unemployed persons by occupation, not seasonally adjusted
Table A-14. Unemployed persons by industry and class of worker, not seasonally adjusted
Table A-15. Alternative measures of labor underutilization
Table A-16. Persons not in the labor force and multiple jobholders by sex, not seasonally adjusted
Table B-1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector and selected industry detail
Table B-2. Average weekly hours and overtime of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted
Table B-3. Average hourly and weekly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted
Table B-4. Indexes of aggregate weekly hours and payrolls for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted
Table B-5. Employment of women on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted
Table B-6. Employment of production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted(1)
Table B-7. Average weekly hours and overtime of production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted(1)
Table B-8. Average hourly and weekly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted(1)
Table B-9. Indexes of aggregate weekly hours and payrolls for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted(1)
