August 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.

Employment and unemployment were little changed in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The jobless rate was 4.9 percent in August; it had been 4.8 percent in July and has shown little movement over the past several months.

Nonfarm payroll employment edged up by 49,000 in August to 122.5 million. This gain would have been closer to the recent growth trend if not for the effects of strike activity during the survey reference period. Workers on strike for the entire reference period are not counted as employed in the survey of establishments because they are not being paid by their employers. In contrast, in the household survey, striking workers and others with unpaid absences are counted as employed.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons, 6.7 million, and the unemployment rate, 4.9 percent, were essentially unchanged in August. From April through August, the unemployment rate remained in a narrow range of 4.8 to 5.0 percent. The rates for the major worker groups--adult men (4.1 percent), adult women (4.4 percent), teenagers (16.4 percent), whites (4.2 percent), blacks (9.3 percent), and Hispanics (7.2 percent)--showed little or no change from July. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)

The number of persons unemployed for less than 5 weeks increased in August, reversing July’s decline, while the number who were jobless for 15 to 26 weeks decreased. Both the mean and median duration of unemployment, which had risen in July, declined to 15.9 and 7.8 weeks, respectively. (See table A-5.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Total employment was essentially unchanged from July at a seasonally adjusted level of 129.8 million. The proportion of the population that was employed (the employment-to-population ratio) remained at 63.8 percent, about the same as it has been since March. (See table A-1.)

About 7.6 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one job in August. They accounted for 5.8 percent of all employed persons. Both the number of multiple jobholders and their percentage of the total employed were about the same as a year earlier. (See table A-9.)

The civilian labor force, 136.5 million, was about unchanged in August, and the labor force participation rate remained at 67.1 percent. There has been little change in either measure since March. (See table A-1.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

About 1.3 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached to the labor force in August--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 311,000 in August, down from 415,000 a year earlier. (See table A-9.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Nonfarm payroll employment was little changed in August. Employment growth was held down by a strike of 185,000 workers in the transportation industry. (See table B-1.)

Employment in transportation declined by 153,000. The direct impact of the strike was partially offset by hiring elsewhere within the industry to help meet the demand for parcel delivery. Employment fell by 164,000 in transportation by air, the industry in which the strike occurred. Trucking employment increased by 12,000, compared with an average gain of 6,000 over the prior 3 months.

Employment in services rose by only 32,000 in August, following a much stronger increase in July. The average employment gain of 94,000 over these 2 months was close to the average monthly growth in 1996 and the first half of 1997. The increase in health services (21,000) was in line with recent growth in that industry, although there was an especially strong gain in hospitals (11,000). Employment growth also continued in computer services (10,000), social services (15,000), and engineering and management services (17,000). In contrast, help supply services experienced a decline of 16,000 jobs in August, the fourth decline in the last 5 months. Amusement and recreation services and educational services both lost jobs, following strong summer hiring.

Retail trade added 31,000 jobs in August, following larger increases in June and July. Employment expanded by 15,000 in general merchandise stores and by 11,000 in miscellaneous retail establishments. The number of jobs in eating and drinking places edged down in August, following gains totaling 60,000 over the prior 2 months. Wholesale trade showed moderate growth in August (8,000), following an exceptionally large increase in July. Within wholesale trade, durable goods distribution continued its strong growth pattern, with an increase of 14,000 jobs.

Employment growth continued in finance (10,000) in August. Job gains in the industry have totaled 98,000 over the past year. Insurance continued its recent upward trend, adding 14,000 jobs since March. In contrast, real estate employment was about unchanged in August after gaining 10,000 jobs in July.

Employment in local government education rose by 49,000 in August, after seasonal adjustment. This was the third consecutive large employment increase. Changing seasonal patterns in hiring by local school systems continue to make precise seasonal adjustment of these data difficult. An increase in federal government employment reflected the hiring of postal workers to handle a greater volume of parcel delivery resulting from the strike. Excluding the Postal Service, federal government employment continued its monthly declines in August and was down by 36,000 so far this year.

Within the goods-producing sector, construction employment increased by 10,000 in August, the first gain since May. Employment rose in heavy construction as well as in special trades. Manufacturing employment rose by 47,000 in August. The increase includes the return of 10,000 auto and steel workers who had been on strike. In several industries, the job gains in August offset losses that occurred in July; these include fabricated metals (4,000), autos (16,000), and rubber and miscellaneous plastics (6,000). Three industries continued their strong growth trend: industrial machinery (12,000), electronic components (6,000), and aircraft (4,000). The number of jobs in both textiles and apparel continued to decline. Employment in food products also fell slightly and was down by 18,000 since April.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.2 hour in August to 34.7 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek and factory overtime both edged up by 0.1 hour, to 41.9 and 4.8 hours, respectively. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of private production or nonsupervisory workers on nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.4 percent to 140.8 (1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index rose by 0.5 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 5 cents in August to $12.29, seasonally adjusted. Average weekly earnings rose by 1.0 percent to $426.46, reflecting the increase in both average weekly hours and average hourly earnings. Over the past year, average hourly earnings have risen by 3.6 percent and average weekly earnings by 4.2 percent. (See table B-3.)