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Nonfarm payroll employment rose in June, and the unemployment rate edged up to 4.5 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Payroll employment grew by 205,000, following 2 months of gains above 300,000. Job gains occurred in construction and in many service-producing industries, while employment in manufacturing fell.
Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
The number of unemployed persons increased from 5.9 to 6.2 million in June. The unemployment rate was 4.5 percent; it had been 4.3 percent in the prior 2 months. The jobless rate for whites rose by 0.3 percentage point to 4.0 percent. Unemployment rates across most of the other major demographic groups--adult men (3.7 percent), adult women (4.1 percent), teenagers (14.6 percent), blacks (8.2 percent), and Hispanics (7.6 percent)--were not significantly changed from May. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)
Among the major educational attainment categories, the unemployment rate for high school graduates 25 years and older with no college experience rose by 0.3 percentage point to 4.0 percent. Jobless rates for persons with less than a high school diploma (7.2 percent), some college experience but no bachelor’s degree (2.9 percent), and college graduates (1.7 percent) were essentially unchanged. (See table A-3.)
The number of persons unemployed for 15 weeks or more increased slightly to 1.6 million in June, but has fallen by about 350,000 over the last year (after adjustment is made for changes in the composite estimation procedure). (See table A-6.)
Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
Total employment was essentially unchanged at 131.2 million in June. The employment-population ratio--the proportion of the population age 16 and older with jobs--was 64.0 percent, just below the all-time high of 64.2 percent that had prevailed for most of this year. (See table A-1.)
About 7.7 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one job in June. These multiple jobholders comprised 5.8 percent of total employment. (See table A-10.)
The civilian labor force was about unchanged in June, at 137.4 million (seasonally adjusted). The labor force participation rate held at 67.0 percent for the third consecutive month. (See table A-1.)
Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
About 1.2 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached to the labor force in June, down somewhat from a year earlier. These were people who wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. (See table A-10.)
The number of discouraged workers--a subset of the marginally attached who were not currently looking for work specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them--totaled 311,000 in June.
Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)
Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 205,000 in June, after seasonal adjustment. Employment gains were widespread across the private sector, but were partially offset by job losses in manufacturing and government. (See table B-1.)
The services industry added 136,000 jobs in June. This followed a gain of 153,000 in May and a series of much smaller increases from February through April. Business services accounted for nearly half of June’s increase, with help supply services and computer services adding 32,000 and 21,000 jobs, respectively. Engineering and management services gained 25,000 jobs, health services, 23,000, and social services, 13,000, each continuing its long-term growth trend.
Employment in retail trade grew by 53,000 in June, the industry's third consecutive large monthly increase. Employment growth was led by eating and drinking places (21,000), furniture and home furnishings stores (8,000), miscellaneous retail establishments (7,000), and automotive dealers and service stations (6,000). Wholesale trade employment increased by 15,000, about in line with the average for the prior 12 months.
Finance, insurance, and real estate continued its steady growth pattern, adding 30,000 jobs over the month. The gains were widespread, with the largest occurring in security and commodity brokerages, nondepository institutions, and insurance carriers. Real estate employment also rose, after showing little change in May.
Transportation and public utilities added 14,000 jobs in June, following a similar gain in May. Employment in trucking and warehousing increased by 11,000, and communications added 8,000 jobs.
Construction employment grew by 20,000 in June, following a decline in May. Employment changes in this industry have varied in recent months, reflecting the impact of unusual weather; the industry has added 215,000 jobs since last October.
Manufacturing employment fell by 29,000 in June, following a decline of 22,000 in May. The June losses were widespread; the largest (6,000 each) were in apparel, which continued its long-term decline, and in automobile manufacturing. A strike involving 3,000 workers in an auto stamping plant (in the fabricated metals industry) led to several plant shutdowns in the auto industry. Textiles, paper products, electronic components, and food and kindred products also lost jobs. In contrast to all of these declines, printing and publishing employment rose by 5,000, after 4 months of virtually no change, and employment in stone, clay, and glass products, which has been moving erratically for several months, increased by 3,000.
Government payrolls fell in June by 33,000, mostly in schools, where employment was strong in May. The noneducation component of state government also recorded a drop in employment, primarily because of a strike in public transportation, while local government other than education continued to add jobs. Federal government employment continued to decline.
Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)
The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 hour in June to 34.6 hours, seasonally adjusted. In manufacturing, the workweek and overtime were unchanged at 41.8 and 4.6 hours, respectively. Weekly hours in auto manufacturing fell by 0.9 hour due to the strike-related plant shutdowns that occurred during the survey reference period. (See table B-2.)
The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was little changed at 144.8 (1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index edged down by 0.3 percent to 109.1. (See table B-5.)
Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)
Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls edged up 1 cent in June to $12.74, seasonally adjusted. Average weekly earnings decreased by 0.2 percent to $440.80. Over the year, average hourly and weekly earnings have risen by 4.1 and 4.4 percent, respectively. (See table B-3.)
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Original release Jul 2, 1998.
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