Employment and unemployment developments, August 2006.

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 128,000 in August, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.7 percent. Payroll employment grew notably over the month in education and health services; several other industries had modest increases. Average hourly earnings rose by 2 cents, or 0.1 percent, in August following larger gains in the prior 2 months.

Unemployment

The number of unemployed persons (7.1 million) and the unemployment rate (4.7 percent) were essentially unchanged in August. A year earlier, the number of unemployed persons was 7.4 mi