Employment Situation Summary January 10, 2025

From the US Bureau of Labor Statistics

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 256,000 in December, and the unemployment rate
changed little at 4.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment
trended up in health care, government, and social assistance. Retail trade added jobs in
December, following a job loss in November.

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 2020 were subject to revision. The unemployment	    |
| rates for January 2024 through November 2024 (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 changed little at 4.1 percent in December. After increasing earlier in
the year, the unemployment rate has been either 4.1 percent or 4.2 percent for the past 7
months. The number of unemployed people, at 6.9 million, also changed little in December.
(See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for Whites (3.6 percent) edged down in
December. The jobless rates for adult men (3.7 percent), adult women (3.8 percent), teenagers
(12.4 percent), Blacks (6.1 percent), Asians (3.5 percent), and Hispanics (5.1 percent)
changed little over the month. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

Among the unemployed, the number of permanent job losers declined by 164,000 to 1.7 million
in December but is little different from a year earlier. The number of people on temporary
layoff, at 862,000, changed little over the month and over the year. (See table A-11.)

In December, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) changed
little at 1.6 million but is up by 278,000 from a year earlier. The long-term unemployed
accounted for 22.4 percent of all unemployed people in December. (See table A-12.)

The labor force participation rate, at 62.5 percent, was unchanged over the month and has
remained in a narrow range of 62.5 percent to 62.7 percent since December 2023. The
employment-population ratio, at 60.0 percent, changed little over the month and over the
year. (See table A-1.)

The number of people employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.4 million, changed
little in December and is little different from a year earlier. These individuals would
have preferred full-time employment but 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 people not in the labor force who currently want a job, at 5.5 million, was
essentially unchanged in December. 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 people marginally attached
to the labor force, at 1.6 million, was virtually unchanged 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, changed little at 480,000 in December. (See Summary table A.)

Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 256,000 in December. Employment trended up in health
care, government, and social assistance. Retail trade added jobs in December, following a job
loss in November. Payroll employment rose by 2.2 million in 2024 (an average monthly gain of
186,000), less than the increase of 3.0 million in 2023 (an average monthly gain of 251,000).
(See table B-1.)

Health care added 46,000 jobs in December, with gains in home health care services (+15,000),
nursing and residential care facilities (+14,000), and hospitals (+12,000). Health care added
an average of 57,000 jobs per month in 2024, the same as the average monthly gain in 2023. 

Retail trade added 43,000 jobs in December, following a loss of 29,000 jobs in November. In
December, employment increased in clothing, clothing accessories, shoe, and jewelry retailers
(+23,000); general merchandise retailers (+13,000); and health and personal care retailers
(+7,000). Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers lost jobs (-11,000).
Overall, employment in retail trade changed little in 2024, following an average monthly
increase of 10,000 in 2023.

Government employment continued to trend up in December (+33,000). Government added an average
of 37,000 jobs per month in 2024, below the average monthly gain of 59,000 in 2023. Over the
month, employment continued to trend up in state government (+10,000).

Employment in social assistance increased by 23,000 in December, mostly in individual and
family services (+17,000). Social assistance added an average of 18,000 jobs per month in
2024, below the average increase of 23,000 per month in 2023.

Employment in leisure and hospitality changed little in December (+43,000). Leisure and
hospitality added an average of 24,000 jobs per month in 2024, about half the average monthly
gain of 47,000 in 2023.

Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including mining, 
quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade;
transportation and warehousing; information; financial activities; professional and business
services; and other services.

In December, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 10
cents, or 0.3 percent, to $35.69. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have
increased by 3.9 percent. In December, average hourly earnings of private-sector production
and nonsupervisory employees, at $30.62, were little changed (+6 cents). (See tables B-3 and
B-8.)

In December, the average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was 34.3 hours
for the fifth month in a row. In manufacturing, the average workweek was little changed at
40.0 hours, and overtime edged down by 0.1 hour to 2.8 hours. The average workweek for
production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls remained at 33.7 hours.
(See tables B-2 and B-7.) 

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for October was revised up by 7,000, from
+36,000 to +43,000, and the change for November was revised down by 15,000, from +227,000 to
+212,000. With these revisions, employment in October and November combined is 8,000 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 7, 2025,
at 8:30 a.m. (ET).


 ___________________________________________________________________________________________
|											    |
|                        Upcoming Changes to Household Survey Data			    |
|											    |
| Effective with the release of The Employment Situation for January 2025 on February 7,    |
| 2025, 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 2025 will   |
| not be directly comparable with data for December 2024 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 2025.						    |
|___________________________________________________________________________________________|


 ___________________________________________________________________________________________
|											    |
|                      Upcoming Changes to Establishment Survey Data			    |
|											    |
| Effective with the release of The Employment Situation for January 2025 on February 7,    |
| 2025, 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. Not seasonally adjusted data beginning with April 2023 and seasonally adjusted   |
| data beginning with January 2020 are subject to revision. Consistent with standard	    |
| practice, additional historical data may be revised as a result of the benchmark process. |
|___________________________________________________________________________________________|


                   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 2020 through November 2024 were subject to revision. (Not seasonally
adjusted data were not subject to revision.) 

Table A shows the unemployment rates for January 2024 through November 2024, as first published
and as revised. The rate changed by one-tenth of a percentage point in 2 of the 11 months and
was unchanged in the remaining 9 months. Revised seasonally adjusted data for other major labor
force series back to December 2023 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 2024 and changes due to revision
January - November 2024

      Month                  As First Published      As Revised            Change

January.............                 3.7                 3.7                 0.0
February............                 3.9                 3.9                 0.0
March...............                 3.8                 3.9                 0.1
April...............                 3.9                 3.9                 0.0
May.................                 4.0                 4.0                 0.0
June................                 4.1                 4.1                 0.0
July................                 4.3                 4.2                -0.1
August..............                 4.2                 4.2                 0.0
September...........                 4.1                 4.1                 0.0
October.............                 4.1                 4.1                 0.0
November............                 4.2                 4.2                 0.0

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table B. Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age, seasonally adjusted [Numbers in thousands]

Employment status, sex, and age	2023	2024
	Dec.	Jan.	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.	May	June	July	Aug.	Sept.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional population(1)	267,991	267,540	267,711	267,884	268,066	268,248	268,438	268,644	268,856	269,080	269,289	269,463	269,638
Civilian labor force	167,439	167,339	167,475	167,922	167,988	167,799	168,005	168,315	168,496	168,703	168,428	168,304	168,547
Participation rate	62.5	62.5	62.6	62.7	62.7	62.6	62.6	62.7	62.7	62.7	62.5	62.5	62.5
Employed	161,124	161,190	161,013	161,425	161,495	161,164	161,155	161,219	161,425	161,802	161,456	161,183	161,661
Employment-population ratio	60.1	60.2	60.1	60.3	60.2	60.1	60.0	60.0	60.0	60.1	60.0	59.8	60.0
Unemployed	6,315	6,149	6,462	6,497	6,492	6,635	6,849	7,097	7,071	6,901	6,972	7,121	6,886
Unemployment rate	3.8	3.7	3.9	3.9	3.9	4.0	4.1	4.2	4.2	4.1	4.1	4.2	4.1
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population(1)	122,187	121,539	121,611	121,685	121,763	121,844	121,929	122,021	122,118	122,221	122,316	122,398	122,480
Civilian labor force	85,944	85,398	85,223	85,449	85,406	85,297	85,862	85,991	85,846	86,042	86,191	85,982	85,945
Participation rate	70.3	70.3	70.1	70.2	70.1	70.0	70.4	70.5	70.3	70.4	70.5	70.2	70.2
Employed	82,860	82,331	82,224	82,516	82,346	82,083	82,600	82,573	82,479	82,783	82,851	82,633	82,739
Employment-population ratio	67.8	67.7	67.6	67.8	67.6	67.4	67.7	67.7	67.5	67.7	67.7	67.5	67.6
Unemployed	3,084	3,067	2,999	2,933	3,060	3,214	3,261	3,418	3,367	3,258	3,339	3,348	3,206
Unemployment rate	3.6	3.6	3.5	3.4	3.6	3.8	3.8	4.0	3.9	3.8	3.9	3.9	3.7
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population(1)	128,513	128,503	128,581	128,659	128,742	128,830	128,922	129,021	129,125	129,236	129,340	129,428	129,518
Civilian labor force	75,110	75,554	75,826	75,769	75,967	75,814	75,616	75,954	76,368	76,110	75,916	75,920	75,994
Participation rate	58.4	58.8	59.0	58.9	59.0	58.8	58.7	58.9	59.1	58.9	58.7	58.7	58.7
Employed	72,637	73,149	73,171	73,048	73,316	73,219	72,828	73,076	73,555	73,397	73,152	72,988	73,135
Employment-population ratio	56.5	56.9	56.9	56.8	56.9	56.8	56.5	56.6	57.0	56.8	56.6	56.4	56.5
Unemployed	2,473	2,405	2,655	2,721	2,651	2,595	2,788	2,878	2,813	2,713	2,764	2,932	2,859
Unemployment rate	3.3	3.2	3.5	3.6	3.5	3.4	3.7	3.8	3.7	3.6	3.6	3.9	3.8
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian noninstitutional population(1)	17,291	17,498	17,519	17,540	17,561	17,574	17,588	17,602	17,612	17,623	17,633	17,636	17,640
Civilian labor force	6,384	6,388	6,426	6,704	6,614	6,688	6,527	6,371	6,281	6,552	6,321	6,403	6,607
Participation rate	36.9	36.5	36.7	38.2	37.7	38.1	37.1	36.2	35.7	37.2	35.8	36.3	37.5
Employed	5,626	5,710	5,618	5,861	5,833	5,861	5,727	5,570	5,390	5,621	5,453	5,562	5,786
Employment-population ratio	32.5	32.6	32.1	33.4	33.2	33.4	32.6	31.6	30.6	31.9	30.9	31.5	32.8
Unemployed	758	677	808	843	781	827	800	801	891	930	868	841	821
Unemployment rate	11.9	10.6	12.6	12.6	11.8	12.4	12.3	12.6	14.2	14.2	13.7	13.1	12.4
Footnotes (1) The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation.
NOTE: Seasonally adjusted data have been revised to reflect updated seasonal adjustment factors.