A Getting-Slightly-Slightly-Better Payroll Report
The BLS Employment Situation Summary:
Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 155,000 in December, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 7.8 percent….
The number of unemployed persons, at 12.2 million, was little changed in December. The unemployment rate held at 7.8 percent and has been at or near that level since September…. [T]he number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was essentially unchanged at 4.8 million and accounted for 39.1 percent of the unemployed. The civilian labor force participation rate held at 63.6 percent in December….
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 155,000 in December. In 2012, employment growth averaged 153,000 per month, the same as the average monthly gain for 2011…. The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for October was revised from +138,000 to +137,000, and the change for November was revised from +146,000 to +161,000.
