May 1997 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 rose in May, and unemployment was about unchanged after falling in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The number of payroll jobs rose by 138,000 in May, following an increase of 323,000 in April (as revised). The May gain was below the average monthly increase so far this year. The nation’s jobless rate, 4.8 percent in May, has fallen by half a percentage point since the end of last year.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

Both the number of unemployed persons, 6.5 million, and the unemployment rate, 4.8 percent, were little changed in May. The jobless rate had declined by 0.3 percentage point in April. Among the major demographic groups, the rate for adult men dropped by 0.4 percentage point in May to 3.8 percent, while the rates for adult women (4.5 percent), teenagers (15.6 percent), whites (4.0 percent), blacks (10.3 percent), and Hispanics (7.4 percent) were essentially unchanged. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Total employment was little changed in May but has shown strong growth so far this year. The proportion of the population with jobs (the employment-population ratio) was 63.9 percent, a record high, and was up by 0.8 percentage point from a year earlier. (See table A-1.)

Approximately 8.2 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one job in May, 351,000 more than a year earlier. These multiple jobholders made up 6.3 percent of all employed persons. (See table A-9.)

The civilian labor force, 136.2 million persons (seasonally adjusted), and the labor force participation rate, 67.1 percent, were about unchanged in May. Both the level and rate of labor force participation have risen substantially over the past year and a half. (See table A-1.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

About 1.4 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached to the labor force in May--that is, they wanted and were available for work and had looked for jobs sometime in the prior 12 months. The number of discouraged workers--a subset of the marginally attached who were not currently looking for jobs specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them or there were none for which they would qualify-- was 338,000 in May. (See table A-9.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 138,000 in May to 121.8 million, after seasonal adjustment. The average monthly employment gain thus far in 1997 has been 229,000, in line with that recorded in 1996. In May, the largest job gains were in the services and construction industries. (See table B-1.)

The services industry added 125,000 jobs over the month. Health services and hotels and lodging places each had a relatively large job gain--26,000 and 13,000, respectively--for the second month in a row. Amusement and recreation services also recorded a strong job increase (32,000) in May, after showing no change in the prior 2 months. Employment growth continued in computer and data processing services, engineering and management services, and social services. In contrast, employment in help supply services declined for the second straight month, with the losses totaling 55,000.

Construction employment grew by 23,000 in May, as favorable weather helped the industry to rebound from a loss of 10,000 jobs (as revised) in April. Job gains in 1997 have totaled 101,000, with the strongest growth in the special trade component. Employment in heavy construction grew by 8,000 over the month but has shown no clear trend over the past year.

In May, employment growth continued in finance (8,000) and real estate (3,000). Employment in insurance showed no change, following a gain in April. Within the transportation industry, trucking and air transportation continued their upward trends.

Retail trade employment held steady in May, following a large increase (as revised) in the prior month. Furniture and home furnishings stores added 9,000 jobs, while employment decreased in general merchandise stores. Employment in eating and drinking places was flat over the month, after posting a large gain in April. Wholesale trade added 7,000 jobs in May, half its monthly average during the prior 12 months.

Government employment was down by 28,000 in May. State governments lost 13,000 jobs, mainly in the noneducation component. Federal employment continued to decline, and has fallen by 286,000 since its most recent peak 5 years ago.

Manufacturing employment edged down by 5,000 in May. There were losses of 6,000 jobs each in food and kindred products and in apparel, where a long-term employment decline continued. A strike in auto manufacturing caused employment to decrease in that industry. Over the month, employment rose in printing and publishing and in chemicals and allied products. Growth continued in electronic components, industrial machinery, and aircraft.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged in May at 34.5 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek and factory overtime both edged down 0.1 hour to 42.0 and 4.8 hours, respectively. (See table B-2.)

Following a decline in April, the index of aggregate weekly hours of private production or nonsupervisory workers on nonfarm payrolls rose by 0.3 percent to 140.0 (1982=100) in May, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The manufacturing index declined by 0.4 percent to 108.2. (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 4 cents in May to $12.19, seasonally adjusted. Average weekly earnings increased by 0.3 percent to $420.56. Over the past year, average hourly earnings have risen by 3.8 percent and average weekly earnings by 4.4 percent. (See table B-3.)

Revisions to Establishment Survey Data

In accordance with annual practice, the establishment survey data have been revised to reflect comprehensive universe counts of payroll jobs (benchmarks). These counts are derived principally from unemployment insurance tax records for March 1996; the benchmarking process resulted in revisions to all not seasonally adjusted data series from April 1995 forward, the time period since the last benchmark was established. In addition, the unadjusted data from January 1988 forward for selected series in the transportation and public utilities division have been revised to reflect Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) coding changes for a group of employers within the air transportation and trucking industries. These recomputations had a slight effect on higher level aggregate series, including total nonfarm employment. All seasonally adjusted data beginning with January 1988 also have been revised. Although the usual practice is to revise 5 years of seasonally adjusted data with benchmark updates, additional years have been included to incorporate an updated version of the X-12 ARIMA seasonal adjustment software.

The June 1997 issue of Employment and Earnings will contain an article that discusses the effects of the benchmark and post-benchmark revisions. This issue also will provide revised seasonal adjustment factors for March through October 1997 and revised estimates for all regularly published tables containing national establishment survey data on employment, hours, and earnings.

The BLS public database on the Internet, LABSTAT, contains all historical data revised as a result of this benchmark and updated seasonal adjustment factors. The data can be accessed from http://stats.bls.gov/cgi-bin/dsrv?ee or through the Current Employment Statistics homepage at http://stats.bls.gov/ceshome.htm. The full history of all establishment data series also is available on magnetic tape (call 202-606-5957).

Further information on the revisions released today may be obtained by calling 202-606-6555.

(In thousands)