Nonfarm payroll employment grew in January by 146,000, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Gains for the previous three months were revised downward. Nevertheless, employment in January set a record of 132,573,000, finally surpassing the pre-recession peak reached in February 2001.
BLS Commissioner Katheen Utgoff noted, “Construction employment was little changed in January, after seasonal adjustment. Adverse weather may have held down employment in the industry during the month. Since its recent low in March 2003, construction has added 407,000 jobs.” In the last 12 months alone, construction added 220,000 jobs (3%). Annual “benchmark” revisions raised the total for December 2004 to a record 7,074,000, with January 2005 estimated at 7,065,000. With this report, BLS began issuing monthly counts for residential and nonresidential building and specialty trade contractors.