September 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.

The unemployment rate was unchanged in September, and returning strikers bolstered an otherwise modest rise in nonfarm payroll employment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. At 4.9 percent, the jobless rate has remained within a very narrow range since April. The number of payroll jobs rose by 215,000, including a gain of 166,000 in the air transportation industry, where workers returned from strike. (Workers on strike are not counted as employed in the establishment survey.)

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons, at 6.8 million in September, was little changed over the month, and the unemployment rate held at 4.9 percent. Over the past 6 months, the unemployment rate has remained within a tenth of a percentage point of 4.9 percent. Jobless rates for the major worker groups--adult men (4.1 percent), adult women (4.4 percent), teenagers (16.7 percent), whites (4.3 percent), blacks (9.6 percent), and Hispanics (7.6 percent)--showed little or no change in September. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Total employment was essentially unchanged at a seasonally adjusted level of 129.7 million in September. The proportion of the population that was employed (the employment-population ratio) was 63.7 percent and has been at or near this level since March. (See table A-1.)

About 7.8 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one job in September. They accounted for 6.0 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.)

Both the civilian labor force, 136.5 million, and the labor force participation rate, 67.0 percent, were about unchanged in September. (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 September--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 328,000 in September, little changed from a year earlier. (See table A-9.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 215,000 in September, after seasonal adjustment. The bulk of the increase was due to the return of workers who were on strike in August. (See table B-1.)

Employment in transportation was up by 170,000 in September, as strikers in the air transportation industry returned to payrolls. Employment in that industry was down by 6,000 since July, the month before the strike. In contrast, trucking and warehousing added 18,000 workers over the same 2 months, reflecting, in part, increased business in the wake of the strike-generated disruption of package delivery services.

Following an exceptionally small gain in August, employment in the services industry rose by 98,000 in September, in line with the average monthly growth during the first 8 months of the year. An increase of 46,000 in business services in September included continued growth in computer and data processing services (12,000) and a gain in the help supply industry (10,000). Despite the September increase, employment in help supply services has fallen by 50,000 since March. Employment in health services continued its steady growth by adding 19,000 jobs in September, with half of the increase occurring in hospitals. Employment in home health services was flat over the month and has not shown any net gain since April. Engineering and management services continued its strong growth, adding 14,000 employees in September. In contrast, there were small declines in amusement and recreation services (-9,000) and child day care services (-14,000), following strong summer employment growth.

Job gains in wholesale and retail trade were slightly below their monthly averages for the first 8 months of the year. Growth continued in the finance industry in September, reflecting employment increases in mortgage brokerages, security brokerages, and holding companies and other investment offices.

Government employment fell by 78,000 in September, due primarily to a decline of 47,000 in local government education (after seasonal adjustment), following large gains in the prior 3 months. Changing seasonal patterns due to the earlier start of the school year and the trend toward year-round schools have made seasonal adjustment of these data difficult. Employment in local government, except education, fell by 18,000 in September, following strong summer hiring. Federal employment fell by 9,000, reflecting, in part, the layoff of postal workers hired to handle increased demand for parcel delivery during the strike in the air transportation industry.

Within the goods-producing sector, construction employment was virtually unchanged in September and has shown little growth since May. Manufacturing employment fell by 16,000 in September, after a large increase in the prior month. Losses in the motor vehicles industry totaled 14,000, as several plants were shut down for inventory control. Apparel employment continued a downward trend, declining by 7,000 workers. Of the manufacturing industries that had been growing, only electronic components showed a notable increase (4,000).

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls decreased by 0.1 hour in September to 34.5 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek and factory overtime remained at 41.9 and 4.7 hours, respectively. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of private production or nonsupervisory workers on nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 percent to 140.5 (1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index was unchanged in September, at 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 September to $12.34, seasonally adjusted. Average weekly earnings were little changed at $425.73. Over the past year, average hourly earnings have risen by 3.6 percent and average weekly earnings by 3.0 percent. (See table B-3.)