August 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.

Employment continued to rise in August and the unemployment rate was unchanged, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 179,000, and the unemployment rate held at 6.1 percent.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons, at 8.0 million in August, and the unemployment rate, 6.1 percent, were the same as in the prior month. Both measures had declined from January to May but have shown little change since then. (See table A-1.)

There also was little movement in joblessness among the major labor force groups in August. The unemployment rates for adult men (5.4 percent), adult women (5.4 percent), teenagers (17.5 percent), whites (5.3 percent), blacks (11.5 percent), and Hispanics (10.2 percent) all were essentially unchanged over the month. (See tables A-1 and A-2.) The number of persons who were unemployed because they had lost their last jobs or completed temporary jobs, at 3.8 million in August, has decreased by 629,000 since January, accounting for most of the overall drop in unemployment. (See table A-6.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Total employment showed an increase of 714,000 in August, seasonally adjusted, bringing the increase since January to 1.2 million. Nonfarm payroll employment has increased by 2.1 million over this same period.

The employment-to-population ratio increased by 0.3 percentage point in August to 62.5 percent, a return to the May level. (See table A-1.)

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.3 million in August, has fallen by nearly 900,000 since January. Part-time employment for noneconomic (voluntary) reasons has risen over the period to 18.2 million. (See table A-3.) The number of workers holding two or more jobs in August totaled 7.1 million (not seasonally adjusted), or 5.7 percent of all employed persons (table A-8). The majority of these workers hold full-time jobs and moonlight in part-time jobs.

The civilian labor force increased by 732,000 in August, after exhibiting no growth from January to July. With this increase, the proportion of the population in the labor force rose 0.3 percentage point over the month to 66.6 percent. (See table A-1.)

Discouraged Workers (Household Survey Data)

The number of discouraged workers--persons who want jobs but have given up searching because they do not think they could find work--was 489,000 in August (not seasonally adjusted). An additional 1.2 million former jobseekers reported that they would like to have a job and were available to work in August, but were not currently looking for reasons such as family obligations. (See table A-8.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Total nonfarm payroll employment continued to rise in August, increasing by 179,000 to a level of 113.8 million, after seasonal adjustment. The number of payroll jobs has expanded by 2.1 million since January, an average gain of 293,000 a month. (See table B-1.)

Manufacturing employment grew by 32,000 in August. Factory jobs have been on the rise since last September, with the gain totaling 143,000. Most of the jobs added over the month were in the durable goods sector. Motor vehicles employment rose by 10,000 and fabricated metals by 9,000 (mostly in auto stampings), reflecting strength in the auto industry and the reopening of plants that were closed for retooling. There also were sizable employment increases in electrical equipment and industrial machinery. Within the nondurable goods sector, gains continued in printing and publishing, and there were small increases in apparel and tobacco products.

Construction employment held about steady in August, following 13 consecutive months of growth during which construction industry payrolls were augmented by more than 300,000 workers. A decline of 9,000 in heavy construction employment in August reversed an identical increase in the prior month.

The services industry continued its pattern of solid job growth, adding 123,000 workers in August. The gains took place largely in business (53,000), health (38,000), and social services (22,000). The increase in business services included an unusually small gain in personnel supply-- 15,000--compared with a monthly average of 37,000 over the prior year. The large gain in health services payrolls included a rebound in hospital employment. In contrast, there were job losses in hotels and in amusement and recreation services.

Retail trade employment was essentially flat in August, following 2 months of robust growth. Job gains in automobile dealerships and service stations, food stores, and furniture and home furnishings stores were offset by a 29,000 loss in eating and drinking places, which had added 133,000 jobs between May and July.

Wholesale trade employment rose by 18,000 in August. Real estate added 6,000 jobs, continuing its 2-year uptrend. Within finance, jobs continued to decline in nondepository institutions (primarily in mortgage banking), while growth was sustained in security brokers and other types of investment companies. There was little change over the month in transportation and public utilities and in government. Federal government employment has held steady in the last 2 months, after declining by 124,000 since its April 1992 peak.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls declined by 0.2 hour in August to 34.5 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek edged up 0.1 hour to 42.0 hours, after falling 0.1 hour in each of the prior 3 months. Factory overtime increased by 0.2 hour over the month to an alltime high of 4.8 hours (also reached in April), as auto manufacturers resumed their heavy production schedules. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of private production or nonsupervisory workers on nonfarm payrolls declined 0.2 percent to 129.1 (1982=100) in August, resulting from the decline in the workweek. The manufacturing index rose 0.6 percent to 105.7, seasonally adjusted. (See table B-5.)

Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)

Average hourly earnings of private production or nonsupervisory workers on nonfarm payrolls rose 0.2 percent in August to $11.13, after seasonal adjustment. Average weekly earnings declined by 0.4 percent to $383.99, because of the shorter workweek. Over the year, average hourly earnings and average weekly earnings increased by 2.5 and 2.2 percent, respectively. (See table B-3.)