Employment Situation Summary
Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm
Technical information: USDL 99-240
Household data: (202) 606-6378
Transmission of material in this release is
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THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: AUGUST 1999
Payroll employment rose modestly in August, and the unemployment rate
was essentially unchanged at 4.2 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of
the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Nonfarm payroll employment
increased by 124,000, following a much larger gain in July. August job
growth was slightly below average in the service-producing sector, and
manufacturing and construction both lost jobs.
Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
The number of unemployed persons, 5.9 million, and the unemployment
rate, 4.2 percent, were essentially unchanged in August. The rate has been
4.2 or 4.3 percent each month since March. Over the month, the jobless
rates for adult women (3.7 percent) and blacks (7.8 percent) declined,
while the rates for adult men (3.6 percent), teenagers (13.5 percent),
whites (3.7 percent), and Hispanics (6.5 percent) showed little or no
change. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)
Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
The civilian labor force, 139.3 million, and the labor force
participation rate, 66.9 percent, were about unchanged from July. Total
employment was virtually unchanged at 133.4 million, and the employment-
population ratio remained at 64.1 percent. (See table A-1.)
About 7.3 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one
job in August. These multiple jobholders represented 5.4 percent of the
total employed, compared to 5.6 percent a year earlier. (See table A-10.)
Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
About 1.1 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally
attached to the labor force in August. These were people who wanted and
were available to work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12
months but were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for
work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged
workers--a subset of the marginally attached who were not currently looking
for work specifically because they believed no jobs were available for
them--was 265,000 in August, essentially unchanged from a year earlier.
(See table A-10.)
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Table A. Major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
___________________________________________________________________________
| Quarterly | Monthly data |
| averages | |
|_________________|__________________________| July-
Category | 1999 | 1999 | Aug.
|_________________|________ _________________|change
| I | II | June | July | Aug. |
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
HOUSEHOLD DATA | Labor force status
|____________________________________________________
Civilian labor force..| 139,144| 139,173| 139,408| 139,254| 139,264| 10
Employment..........| 133,191| 133,242| 133,432| 133,307| 133,411| 104
Unemployment........| 5,953| 5,931| 5,975| 5,947| 5,853| -94
Not in labor force....| 67,732| 68,259| 68,225| 68,574| 68,774| 200
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Unemployment rates
|____________________________________________________
All workers...........| 4.3| 4.3| 4.3| 4.3| 4.2| -0.1
Adult men...........| 3.4| 3.5| 3.6| 3.5| 3.6| .1
Adult women.........| 3.8| 3.9| 3.9| 4.0| 3.7| -.3
Teenagers...........| 14.6| 13.4| 13.5| 12.7| 13.5| .8
White...............| 3.7| 3.8| 3.8| 3.7| 3.7| .0
Black...............| 8.0| 7.5| 7.3| 8.8| 7.8| -1.0
Hispanic origin.....| 6.4| 6.8| 6.8| 6.2| 6.5| .3
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
ESTABLISHMENT DATA | Employment
|____________________________________________________
Nonfarm employment....| 127,640| 128,246| 128,443|p128,781|p128,905| p124
Goods-producing 1/..| 25,310| 25,222| 25,180| p25,248| p25,153| p-95
Construction......| 6,213| 6,258| 6,258| p6,272| p6,243| p-29
Manufacturing.....| 18,542| 18,433| 18,396| p18,447| p18,384| p-63
Service-producing 1/| 102,331| 103,024| 103,263|p103,533|p103,752| p219
Retail trade......| 22,605| 22,756| 22,796| p22,895| p22,892| p-3
Services..........| 38,442| 38,810| 38,952| p39,030| p39,162| p132
Government........| 20,044| 20,094| 20,105| p20,156| p20,203| p47
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Hours of work 2/
|____________________________________________________
Total private.........| 34.6| 34.4| 34.5| p34.5| p34.6| p0.1
Manufacturing.......| 41.6| 41.7| 41.7| p41.9| p41.7| p-.2
Overtime..........| 4.5| 4.5| 4.7| p4.7| p4.6| p-.1
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Indexes of aggregate weekly hours (1982=100) 2/
|____________________________________________________
Total private.........| 147.0| 147.3| 147.8| p148.3| p148.5| p0.2
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Earnings 2/
|____________________________________________________
Avg. hourly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| $13.07| $13.19| $13.24| p$13.28| p$13.30| p$0.02
Avg. weekly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| 451.79| 454.06| 456.78| p458.16| p460.18| p2.02
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
1/ Includes other industries, not shown separately.
2/ Data relate to private production or nonsupervisory workers.
p=preliminary.
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Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)
Total nonfarm employment rose by 124,000 in August to 128.9 million,
after seasonal adjustment. This follows a much sharper increase (338,000)
in July. The average growth for these 2 months (231,000) was about in line
with the monthly average (210,000) during the first half of 1999. In
August, employment growth in the service-producing sector was partly offset
by widespread losses in the goods-producing sector. (See table B-1.)
Employment in manufacturing decreased by 63,000 in August, following an
increase of 51,000 in July, after seasonal adjustment. The August loss
would have been 7,000 larger if not for the return of workers to the
shipbuilding industry following the settlement of a strike that began
several months earlier. The net manufacturing job loss over the two months
totaled 19,000, or 9,500 per month, after adjusting for the return of the
striking workers. Over the first half of the year, manufacturing lost an
average of 36,000 jobs per month. Electrical equipment had a net employment
increase of 8,000 over the past 2 months, compared with losses totaling
12,000 during the first half of the year. Motor vehicles added 14,000
workers over July and August, substantially more than the 4,000 increase
over the prior 6 months combined. Primary metals had a net 2-month job
gain of 2,000, compared with losses totaling 12,000 during the first half
of the year. In contrast, several industries continued on their trend of
declining employment. The largest job losses over the past 2 months were
in apparel (-16,000), industrial machinery (-11,000), aircraft (-7,000),
and food (-7,000).
The construction industry lost 29,000 jobs in August. This loss nearly
offset the total increase of the prior 2 months. Over the month, the
largest decline was in special trades (-15,000). General building
contractors lost 8,000 jobs, with residential construction accounting for
most of the decrease.
Mining lost 3,000 jobs in August, following an increase of the same
magnitude in July. Oil and gas extraction, which had accounted for most of
the job losses in mining between February 1998 and June 1999, has added a
small number of jobs over the past 2 months.
In the service-producing sector, the services industry gained 132,000
jobs in August, slightly above the average growth for the prior 12 months
(121,000), but well above the increase in July (78,000). Business services
accounted for about one-third of the increase. Within business services,
employment in computer services grew by 15,000, its average for the first
7 months of this year; help supply services, in contrast, grew by less than
its average. Employment in health services grew by 19,000 in August.
Within health services, doctors' offices continued to grow, adding 5,000
jobs, and hospitals had its largest monthly employment increase so far this
year (6,000). Over the month, employment was up sharply in both social
services (34,000) and amusement and recreation services (17,000), after
seasonal adjustment.
In August, employment in transportation and public utilities grew by
12,000, less than the average for the first 7 months of this year.
August's job gain was equally divided between transportation and
communications.
Employment in finance, insurance, and real estate also grew less in
August (11,000) than its average for the first 7 months of the year. Most
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of the growth in August was in finance (8,000), with half of this increase
in securities brokerages. Mortgage bankers and brokerages lost 2,000 jobs
for the third consecutive month, following 4 years of growth.
Employment in retail trade changed little in August, following a
substantial rise in July. Eating and drinking places lost 38,000 jobs in
August, following an increase of 74,000 in the prior month. Several retail
trade industries added jobs in August, including food stores (11,000) and
automotive dealers (8,000). Employment in wholesale trade increased by
20,000 in August, with the majority of the growth in durable goods
distribution (15,000).
Government employment rose by 47,000 in August, after seasonal
adjustment, with growth concentrated in local education (25,000) and state
education (13,000).
Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)
The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on
private nonfarm payrolls edged up 0.1 hour in August to 34.6 hours,
seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek declined by 0.2 hour to
41.7 hours, reversing July's increase; factory overtime was down 0.1 hour
to 4.6 hours. (See table B-2.)
The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory
workers on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 0.1 percent to 148.5
(1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index fell by 0.7
percent in August to 106.4. (See table B-5.)
Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)
Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on
private nonfarm payrolls increased by 2 cents in August to $13.30,
seasonally adjusted. This follows gains of 6 cents and 4 cents in June and
July, respectively. Over the month, average weekly earnings rose by 0.4
percent to $460.18, seasonally adjusted. Over the year, both average
hourly and weekly earnings rose by 3.5 percent. (See table B-3.)
______________________________
The Employment Situation for September 1999 is scheduled to be released
on Friday, October 8, at 8:30 A.M. (EDT).
Bureau of Labor Statistics
cpsinfo@bls.gov
Last modified: Friday, September 03 1999
URL: /news.release/empsit.nws.htm
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Labor Force Statistics from the Current PopulationSurvey