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NonFarm
Payrolls--Jan. '97 - Aug.'01
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Significance: The change in the 3-month moving average of employees on nonfarm payrolls contracted for the fourth consecutive observation for the period ended August 2001. For this latest 3-month period an average of 66,000 jobs were lost each month. Contrast the harsh recent developments noted above with the facts that the U.S. economy added an average of 167,000 jobs for each month of 2000 and 257,000 jobs for each month of 1999. Changes in nonfarm payrolls constitute one of the most-important indicators reviewed by the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) in the formulation of monetary policy. The data came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) monthly sample of about 350,000 establishments, both private and governmental. The output of this survey is not to be confused with the monthly sample of 60,000 households conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the BLS that produces the nation's estimated unemployment rate.
Previous Charts of the Month
Industrial Production Index: Jan 1997 to Present
Federal Funds (target) Rate: 1990 to Present