Payroll employment increases by 223,000 in December; unemployment rate edges down to 3.5%

F.P. Report
WASHINGTON: Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 223,000 in December, and the unemployment rate
edged down to 3.5 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Notable job
gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, health care, construction, and social assistance.

This news release presents statistics from two monthly surveys. The household survey 
measures labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The
establishment survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. For more
information about the concepts and statistical methodology used in these two surveys, see
the Technical Note.

 _______________________________________________________________________________________
|											|
|		  Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Household Survey Data 		|
|											|
| Seasonally adjusted household survey data have been revised using updated seasonal 	|
| adjustment factors, a procedure done at the end of each calendar year. Seasonally 	|
| adjusted estimates back to January 2018 were subject to revision. The unemployment 	|
| rates for January 2022 through November 2022 (as originally published and as revised) |
| appear in table A at the end of this news release, along with additional information  |
| about the revisions.									|
|_______________________________________________________________________________________|


Household Survey Data

The unemployment rate edged down to 3.5 percent in December and has remained in a narrow 
range of 3.5 percent to 3.7 percent since March. The number of unemployed persons edged 
down to 5.7 million in December. (See table A-1.) 

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for Whites fell to 3.0 percent in 
December. The jobless rates for adult men (3.1 percent), adult women (3.2 percent), 
teenagers (10.4 percent), Blacks (5.7 percent), Asians (2.4 percent), and Hispanics (4.1 
percent) showed little or no change over the month. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.) 

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) declined by 146,000
to 1.1 million in December. This measure is down from 2.0 million a year earlier. The long-
term unemployed accounted for 18.5 percent of all unemployed persons. (See table A-12.) 

The employment-population ratio increased by 0.2 percentage point over the month to 60.1 
percent. The labor force participation rate was little changed at 62.3 percent. Both measures
have shown little net change since early 2022. These measures are each 1.0 percentage point
below their values in February 2020, prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. 
(See table A-1.) 

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons, at 3.9 million, changed little
in December. 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 fell by 352,000 to 5.2
million in December and is little different from its February 2020 level of 5.1 million. 
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 declined by 231,000 to 1.3 million in December. 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, numbered 410,000 in December, essentially unchanged from the previous month. 
(See Summary table A.) 

Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 223,000 in December. Notable job gains occurred
in leisure and hospitality, health care, construction, and social assistance. Payroll 
employment rose by 4.5 million in 2022 (an average monthly gain of 375,000), less than the 
increase of 6.7 million in 2021 (an average monthly gain of 562,000). (See table B-1.)

In December, employment in leisure and hospitality rose by 67,000. Employment continued to 
trend up in food services and drinking places (+26,000); amusements, gambling, and recreation
(+25,000); and accommodation (+10,000). Leisure and hospitality added an average of 79,000
jobs per month in 2022, substantially less than the average gain of 196,000 jobs per month in
2021. Employment in the industry remains below its pre-pandemic February 2020 level by 
932,000, or 5.5 percent.

Health care employment increased by 55,000 in December, with gains in ambulatory health care
services (+30,000), hospitals (+16,000), and nursing and residential care facilities (+9,000).
Job growth in health care averaged 49,000 per month in 2022, considerably above the 2021
average monthly gain of 9,000.

Employment in construction increased by 28,000 in December, as specialty trade contractors
added 17,000 jobs. Construction employment increased by an average of 19,000 per month in 
2022, little different than the average of 16,000 per month in 2021.

Social assistance added 20,000 jobs in December. Employment in individual and family services
continued to trend up over the month (+10,000). Job growth in social assistance averaged 
17,000 per month in 2022, compared with the 2021 average of 13,000 per month.

Employment in the other services industry continued to trend up in December (+14,000). 
Monthly job growth in other services averaged 14,000 in 2022, lower than the average of 
24,000 per month in 2021. Employment in other services is below its February 2020 level by 
174,000, or 2.9 percent. 

In December, mining employment increased by 4,000, reflecting job growth in support
activities for mining (+5,000). Since a recent low in February 2021, mining employment has 
grown by 104,000.

Employment in retail trade changed little in December (+9,000). Job growth in retail trade 
averaged 16,000 per month in 2022, less than half the average growth of 35,000 per month in 
2021.

Over the month, employment in manufacturing changed little (+8,000), as job gains in durable
goods (+24,000) were partially offset by losses in nondurable goods (-16,000). In 2022, 
manufacturing added an average of 32,000 jobs per month, little different than the average 
of 30,000 jobs per month in 2021.

In December, employment in transportation and warehousing changed little (+5,000). Air 
transportation (+3,000) added jobs over the month, while employment continued to trend down 
in couriers and messengers (-4,000) and in warehousing and storage (-3,000). In 2022, average
job growth in transportation and warehousing (+17,000) was about half the average job growth
in 2021 (+36,000).

In December, government employment was essentially unchanged (+3,000). Employment in state 
government education declined by 24,000, reflecting strike activity among university 
employees.

Employment in professional and business services remained little changed in December 
(-6,000). Employment in temporary help services declined by 35,000 over the month and has 
fallen by 111,000 since July. Job growth in professional and business services averaged 
50,000 per month in 2022, roughly half of the average of 94,000 per month in 2021.

Over the month, employment showed little change in other major industries, including 
wholesale trade, information, and financial activities.

In December, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 
9 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $32.82. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have
increased by 4.6 percent. In December, average hourly earnings of private-sector production
and nonsupervisory employees rose by 6 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $28.07. (See tables B-3 
and B-8.)

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls declined by 0.1 hour to
34.3 hours in December. In manufacturing, the average workweek for all employees was little
changed at 40.1 hours, and overtime declined by 0.2 hour to 2.9 hours. The average workweek
for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls decreased by 0.1 
hour to 33.8 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for October was revised down by 21,000, from
+284,000 to +263,000, and the change for November was revised down by 7,000, from +263,000 
to +256,000. With these revisions, employment gains in October and November combined were 
28,000 lower 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 Employment Situation for January is scheduled to be released on Friday, February 3, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. (ET). _______________________________________________________________________________________ | | | Upcoming Changes to Household Survey Data | | | | Effective with the release of The Employment Situation for January 2023 on February | | 3, 2023, new population controls will be used in the household survey estimation | | process. These new controls reflect the annual update of population estimates by the | | U.S. Census Bureau. In accordance with usual practice, historical data will not be | | revised to incorporate the new controls. Consequently, household survey data for | | January 2023 will not be directly comparable with data for December 2022 or earlier | | periods. A table showing the effects of the new controls on the major labor force | | series will be included in The Employment Situation for January 2023. | |_______________________________________________________________________________________| _______________________________________________________________________________________ | | | Upcoming Changes to Establishment Survey Data | | | | Effective with the release of The Employment Situation for January 2023 on February | | 3, 2023, nonfarm payroll employment, hours, and earnings data from the establishment | | survey will be revised to reflect the annual benchmark process and updated seasonal | | adjustment factors. | | | | In addition, the basis for industry classification in the establishment survey will | | be revised from the 2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) to | | NAICS 2022. Approximately 10 percent of employment will be reclassified into | | different industries as a result of the NAICS revision. The conversion to NAICS 2022 | | will result in major revisions reflecting content and coding changes in the retail | | trade and information sectors, as well as minor revisions reflecting content and | | coding changes within the mining and logging, manufacturing, wholesale trade, | | financial activities, and other services sectors. Many industry titles and | | descriptions will also be updated to better reflect official NAICS titles. | | | | Revisions due to both the NAICS 2022 conversion and the benchmark process will affect | | more historical data than is typical in the annual benchmark process. The NAICS | | revisions will be reflected in the entire time series of affected industries for both | | seasonally adjusted and not adjusted data. Details of updated titles and new, | | discontinued, and collapsed industries are available at | | www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cesnewseries.htm. | | | | For more information on NAICS 2022, visit www.census.gov/naics. | |_______________________________________________________________________________________| _______________________________________________________________________________________ | | | Upcoming Changes to The Employment Situation News Release | | | | Effective with the release of The Employment Situation for January 2023 on February | | 3, 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will introduce changes to The Employment | | Situation news release establishment survey data tables (Summary table B and tables | | B-1 through B-9). A listing of all series changes resulting from the NAICS update, | | including the industries published in these news release tables, is available on the | | BLS website at www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cesnewseries.htm. | |_______________________________________________________________________________________| Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Household Survey Data At the end of each calendar year, BLS updates the seasonal adjustment factors for the national labor force series derived from the household survey. As a result of this process, seasonally adjusted data for January 2018 through November 2022 were subject to revision. (Not seasonally adjusted data were not subject to revision.) Table A shows the unemployment rates for January 2022 through November 2022, as first published and as revised. The rate changed by one-tenth of a percentage point in 1 of the 11 months and was unchanged in the remaining 10 months. Revised seasonally adjusted data for other major labor force series back to December 2021 appear in table B. More information on this year’s revisions to seasonally adjusted household series is available at www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cps-seas-adjustment-methodology.pdf. Detailed information on the seasonal adjustment methodology is found at www.bls.gov/cps/seasonal-adjustment-methodology.htm. Historical data for the household series contained in the A tables (A-1 through A-16) of this news release can be accessed at www.bls.gov/cps/cpsatabs.htm. Revised historical seasonally adjusted data are available at www.bls.gov/cps/data.htm and https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/ln/. Table A. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates in 2022 and change due to revision, January – November 2022 Month As First Published As Revised Change January…………. 4.0 4.0 0.0 February………… 3.8 3.8 0.0 March…………… 3.6 3.6 0.0 April…………… 3.6 3.6 0.0 May…………….. 3.6 3.6 0.0 June……………. 3.6 3.6 0.0 July……………. 3.5 3.5 0.0 August………….. 3.7 3.7 0.0 September……….. 3.5 3.5 0.0 October…………. 3.7 3.7 0.0 November………… 3.7 3.6 -0.1

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table B. Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age, seasonally adjusted
[Numbers in thousands]
Employment status, sex, and age 2021 2022
Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.

TOTAL

Civilian noninstitutional population(1)

262,136 263,202 263,324 263,444 263,559 263,679 263,835 264,012 264,184 264,356 264,535 264,708 264,844

Civilian labor force

162,410 163,633 163,862 164,301 163,950 164,278 164,002 163,990 164,714 164,619 164,646 164,527 164,966

Participation rate

62.0 62.2 62.2 62.4 62.2 62.3 62.2 62.1 62.3 62.3 62.2 62.2 62.3

Employed

156,081 157,122 157,590 158,328 157,982 158,299 158,057 158,272 158,694 158,850 158,593 158,527 159,244

Employment-population ratio

59.5 59.7 59.8 60.1 59.9 60.0 59.9 59.9 60.1 60.1 60.0 59.9 60.1

Unemployed

6,329 6,511 6,272 5,972 5,968 5,979 5,945 5,718 6,021 5,770 6,053 6,000 5,722

Unemployment rate

3.9 4.0 3.8 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.5 3.7 3.5 3.7 3.6 3.5

Men, 20 years and over

Civilian noninstitutional population(1)

118,520 119,612 119,669 119,726 119,780 119,831 119,899 119,977 120,058 120,140 120,225 120,301 120,360

Civilian labor force

82,968 83,885 84,264 84,266 84,200 84,165 84,029 83,905 84,192 84,602 84,606 84,525 84,694

Participation rate

70.0 70.1 70.4 70.4 70.3 70.2 70.1 69.9 70.1 70.4 70.4 70.3 70.4

Employed

79,958 80,695 81,293 81,389 81,236 81,331 81,210 81,185 81,263 81,816 81,776 81,698 82,033

Employment-population ratio

67.5 67.5 67.9 68.0 67.8 67.9 67.7 67.7 67.7 68.1 68.0 67.9 68.2

Unemployed

3,010 3,190 2,971 2,877 2,963 2,834 2,818 2,720 2,929 2,786 2,829 2,827 2,661

Unemployment rate

3.6 3.8 3.5 3.4 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.2 3.5 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.1

Women, 20 years and over

Civilian noninstitutional population(1)

127,167 126,570 126,631 126,691 126,749 126,802 126,872 126,951 127,034 127,117 127,204 127,283 127,345

Civilian labor force

73,498 73,517 73,482 73,736 73,508 73,877 73,721 73,956 74,098 73,729 73,752 73,532 73,930

Participation rate

57.8 58.1 58.0 58.2 58.0 58.3 58.1 58.3 58.3 58.0 58.0 57.8 58.1

Employed

70,831 70,872 70,810 71,275 71,144 71,388 71,280 71,659 71,676 71,457 71,218 71,088 71,531

Employment-population ratio

55.7 56.0 55.9 56.3 56.1 56.3 56.2 56.4 56.4 56.2 56.0 55.9 56.2

Unemployed

2,667 2,645 2,672 2,462 2,365 2,489 2,441 2,297 2,422 2,272 2,534 2,444 2,398

Unemployment rate

3.6 3.6 3.6 3.3 3.2 3.4 3.3 3.1 3.3 3.1 3.4 3.3 3.2

Both sexes, 16 to 19 years

Civilian noninstitutional population(1)

16,449 17,020 17,024 17,027 17,030 17,046 17,064 17,084 17,091 17,099 17,107 17,124 17,139

Civilian labor force

5,944 6,231 6,116 6,298 6,242 6,235 6,252 6,129 6,424 6,288 6,288 6,469 6,343

Participation rate

36.1 36.6 35.9 37.0 36.7 36.6 36.6 35.9 37.6 36.8 36.8 37.8 37.0

Employed

5,292 5,555 5,487 5,665 5,603 5,579 5,566 5,428 5,754 5,576 5,598 5,740 5,680

Employment-population ratio

32.2 32.6 32.2 33.3 32.9 32.7 32.6 31.8 33.7 32.6 32.7 33.5 33.1

Unemployed

652 676 628 634 640 656 686 701 670 712 690 729 662

Unemployment rate

11.0 10.9 10.3 10.1 10.2 10.5 11.0 11.4 10.4 11.3 11.0 11.3 10.4