Christmas hires alone should have made a bigger difference.
Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)
Total nonfarm payroll employment was unchanged (+1,000) in December, at 130.1 million, seasonally adjusted. Employment continued to rise in the temporary help, construction, and health care industries. Retail trade and manufacturing lost jobs over the month. (See table B-1.)
In December, employment in retail trade declined by 38,000. Weak hiring for the holiday shopping period resulted in seasonally adjusted job losses in general merchandise stores; miscellaneous store retailers; and sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores. Employment in gasoline stations also decreased over the month.
Manufacturing employment was down by 26,000 in December. From September to December, employment in this industry declined at a slower pace than during the first 8 months of 2003. Employment in nondurable goods manufacturing decreased by 18,000 in December, with the largest losses in printing and related support activities (-4,000) and in textile mills (-3,000). Manufacturing lost 516,000 jobs in 2003 and has shed 2.8 million jobs since July 2000, the last month it recorded a gain.
Within the financial activities industry, employment in credit intermediation declined for the third consecutive month, reflecting the reduced volume of mortgage refinancing. From July 2000 through September 2003, the industry added 251,000 jobs, but since then employment has fallen by 39,000.
Professional and business services added 45,000 jobs in December. Over the year, employment increases in this industry have totaled 252,000. The majority of this gain occurred in temporary help services, which added 166,000 jobs in 2003, including 30,000 in December. Employment in education and health services also continued to rise over the month. Over the year, the industry added
301,000 jobs.
Construction employment continued on a modest upward trend in December. The industry has added 173,000 jobs since February.
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