March 1996 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 increased in March, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 5.6 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 140,000 over the month, led by a gain in the services industry. Factory employment continued to decline, but part of the drop in March reflected strike-related shutdowns in automobile manufacturing.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

Both the number of unemployed persons, 7.5 million in March, and the unemployment rate, 5.6 percent, were about the same as in February. The jobless rate has remained within a narrow range (5.4 to 5.8 percent) since late 1994. Among the major worker groups, the jobless rate for blacks rose to 11.1 percent, while the rates for adult men (5.0 percent), adult women (4.8 percent), teenagers (17.5 percent), whites (4.8 percent), and Hispanics (10.0 percent), showed little or no change in March. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)

The number of persons unemployed for 27 weeks or more increased to 1.3 million. This was about the same level as a year earlier. (See table A- 5.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Total employment increased by 488,000, to 126.2 million in March. Gains since December have totaled 1.2 million. The employment-population ratio-- the proportion of the population age 16 years and over that was employed-- edged up to 63.1 percent over the month. (See table A-1.)

The number of multiple jobholders was 7.9 million (not seasonally adjusted) in March. These workers made up 6.3 percent of the total number of employed persons. (See table A-9.)

The civilian labor force rose by 637,000 in March to a seasonally adjusted level of 133.7 million. The labor force participation rate rose 0.3 percentage point to 66.9 percent, the same as a year earlier. (See table A-1.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

About 1.6 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached to the labor force in March, little different from the year- earlier level. These are people who wanted and were available for work but had stopped looking for jobs sometime in the prior 12 months. The number of discouraged workers--persons who had stopped looking for work specifically because they believed no jobs were available to them--was 451,000 in March, virtually unchanged from the year-earlier level. (See table A-9.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 140,000 in March to 118.0 million. This increase reflected continued strength within the service-producing sector. Declines occurred in goods-producing industries, in part because about 35,000 auto manufacturing workers were off payrolls for the entire survey reference period due to strike-related shutdowns. Overall, monthly job gains during the first quarter averaged 206,000, well ahead of the pace registered during the last three quarters of 1995. (See table B- 1.)

Factory employment continued its downward trend, declining by 62,000 in March. A large part of the decline was in motor vehicles and equipment, reflecting temporary plant shutdowns that followed a strike by 3,000 auto parts manufacturing workers. The total number of workers affected by the strike was much larger, but most worked a part of the reference week and, thus, were counted as employed in the payroll survey. There was a further employment decline in the apparel industry, and electronic and electrical equipment also registered a loss.

Construction employment, which rose markedly in February, had a slight drop in March, after seasonal adjustment. Hiring in construction was slower than normal for this time of the year in the West and South, following strong growth during the winter months. Mining employment rose for the second straight month, with most of the increase in oil and gas extraction.

The services industry added 131,000 jobs over the month, about in line with the strong average gain of the first 2 months of this year. Job gains were widespread within this industry in March. Employment in health services rose by 30,000 over the month. Sizable over-the-month increases also occurred in amusements and recreation, hotels, motion pictures, and engineering and management services. Within business services, employment in computer services continued its strong growth trend, while the number of jobs in help supply services, which has had sporadic growth over the past year, declined by 8,000 in March.

In retail trade, employment in automobile dealerships and service stations rose by 11,000; there also was a job gain in department stores, after seasonal adjustment. In contrast, employment declined by 33,000 in eating and drinking establishments, where job growth has slowed over the past year. Employment in wholesale trade increased by 15,000, mostly in the distribution of durable goods.

In the finance industry, continued employment declines in banks and savings institutions partially offset job gains in mortgage banking and in security and commodity brokerages. Employment in the transportation industry increased by 12,000 in March, with trucking and local transit contributing most of the growth. Within government, local education employment rose by 21,000.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls fell by 0.1 hour to 34.5 hours in March, seasonally adjusted. The factory workweek decreased 0.2 hour to 41.4 hours, and factory overtime was down by 0.3 hour to 4.2 hours. Both declines were largely a consequence of the strike and related auto plant shutdowns. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of private production or nonsupervisory workers on nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 134.5 (1982=100) in March. The manufacturing index fell by 0.9 percent to 104.7 as the auto manufacturing index fell by nearly 11 percent. (See table B-5.)

Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)

Average hourly earnings of private production or nonsupervisory workers on nonfarm payrolls were up by 3 cents in March, after seasonal adjustment. Average weekly earnings were about unchanged. Over the year, average hourly earnings increased by 3.0 percent and average weekly earnings by 2.7 percent. (See table B-3.)