June 1994 Employment Situation

Historical release narrative reproduced from the official public-domain source. Statistical tables, standard technical appendices, administrative material and attendance rosters are omitted; formatting is adapted for reading. Figures retain the release's historical context and may have been revised. Consult the linked source for the complete document.

Nonfarm payroll employment continued to increase and unemployment was about unchanged in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The nation's jobless rate held steady at 6.0 percent.

The number of payroll jobs, as measured by the survey of business establishments, increased by 379,000 in June. Three-quarters of the gain occurred in the services and retail trade industries, although manufacturing also showed some strength.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

After declining by four-tenths of a percentage point in May, the unemployment rate was unchanged in June, at 6.0 percent. The number of unemployed persons totaled 7.8 million. Both numbers have fallen since the beginning of the year--the rate by 0.7 percentage point and the number of unemployed by 880,000.

Jobless rates for most major worker groups--adult men (5.3 percent), adult women (5.4 percent), whites (5.3 percent), blacks (11.2 percent), and Hispanics (10.3 percent)--showed little or no change in June. After rising in April, the jobless rate for teenagers edged down in May and June to

16.9 percent. Unemployment rates were down since the beginning of the year for all of these groups except Hispanic workers. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)

The number of long-term (27 weeks or more) unemployed workers fell by 176,000 in June to 1.5 million. The number unemployed for fewer than 5 weeks increased by 219,000, returning to the April level. (See table A-5.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Following increases in the prior 2 months, total employment fell by 442,000 in June to 122.4 million, after seasonal adjustment. The employment-to-population ratio dropped by 0.3 percentage point to 62.2 percent, the same level that prevailed in the early months of 1994. (See table A-1.) The number of workers holding two or more jobs in June was 7.1 million (not seasonally adjusted), or 5.7 percent of all employed persons (table A-8).

The civilian labor force declined by 526,000 in June. As a result, the proportion of the population in the labor force also fell, to 66.2 percent, after seasonal adjustment. (See table A-1.)

Discouraged Workers (Household Survey Data)

The number of discouraged workers--persons who wanted jobs but had given up searching because they did not think they could find work--was 532,000 (not seasonally adjusted) in June 1994. An additional 1.2 million persons had searched unsuccessfully for work in the prior year and would like to have a job, but are not currently looking for work due to reasons such as school and family obligations. (See table A-8.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 379,000 in June to 113.3 million. Monthly gains averaged 344,000 during the second quarter of 1994, compared with 229,000 in each of the prior two quarters. While most of the May-June increase occurred in the service-producing industries, there were sizable increases in the goods-producing industries as well. (See table B-1.)

Manufacturing employment increased by 34,000 in June, building on the slow growth trend that began last October. Virtually all of the industries experiencing improvements were in durable goods production, including fabricated metals, industrial machinery, electronic equipment, and motor vehicles and equipment. Declines continued, however, in aircraft and other defense-dependent industries.

Construction added 16,000 jobs in June, with almost all of the gain in special trade contractors. Monthly job increases so far this year have averaged 31,000 in construction, compared with an average of 19,000 for all of 1993, but gains have slowed in the last 2 months, following the increase in interest rates.

Services employment rose by 186,000 in June, after a modest increase in May. The largest gain was in the business services component (78,000), particularly in personnel supply services. Over-the-month gains also occurred in health services, amusement and recreation, hotels, and motion pictures. Employment increases in many of these industries that typically expand in the summer months were boosted somewhat by the fact that the June survey period was particularly late in the month.

Jobs in retail trade rose by 102,000 in June, following a relatively small gain in May. Most of the June gain was in eating and drinking places. In addition, there were increases in furniture stores and auto dealers. Wholesale trade employment rose for the tenth consecutive month; 91,000 jobs have been added since August.

Transportation and public utilities gained 11,000 jobs in June. Increases in trucking and local transit were partly offset by continued declines in public utilities. Federal government employment continued to decline, with reductions since April 1992 totaling 125,000.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls decreased by 0.2 hour to 34.6 hours in June, following increases of 0.1 hour in each of the previous 2 months. The factory workweek, though still at exceptionally high levels, edged down 0.1 hour for the second straight month to 42.0 hours; factory overtime was unchanged over the month at 4.6 hours but also has declined 0.2 hour since April. (See table B-2.)

Reflecting the decline in the average workweek, the index of aggregate weekly hours of private production or nonsupervisory workers was off 0.3 percent to 128.7 (1982=100) in June, seasonally adjusted. The index of manufacturing hours gained 0.2 percent to 105.3, as the employment increase more than offset the small reduction in the factory workweek. (See table B-5.)

Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)

Average hourly earnings of private production or nonsupervisory workers slipped 0.1 percent in June to $11.08, seasonally adjusted, following a 0.4 percent increase in May. Average weekly earnings decreased by 0.7 percent in June to $383.37, largely due to the decline in average weekly hours. Over the past year, average hourly earnings increased by 2.5 percent and average weekly earnings were up 3.1 percent. (See table B-3.)