The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported last Friday that payrolls rose by 157,000 in January 2013. The BLS also revised payrolls upward for the last few months of 2012, particularly for November and December.

Last year, employment growth averaged 181,000 per month, higher than the roughly 153,000 per month originally estimated, the result of the BLS's usual monthly revisions for November and December and the annual benchmark revision, which raised 10 months' payroll numbers over the year.

Contributions to Change in Nonfarm Payroll Employment, thousands, SA

Additional detail:

  • In January, the most significant payroll gains were seen in retail trade (up 33,000), construction (up 28,000), and health care (up 23,000). In the chart above, construction takes up the vast majority of the gain in "Goods Producing" industries; manufacturing, the other large component of the category, gained just 4,000 payrolls in January, mostly in the production of motor vehicles and parts.