August 1998 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.

Payroll employment rose, and unemployment was unchanged in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 365,000, in part because workers who were off payrolls in July due to strikes and plant shutdowns in automobile-related manufacturing returned to their jobs. The jobless rate remained at 4.5 percent.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

Since June, the number of unemployed persons has remained essentially unchanged at 6.2 million, and the unemployment rate has held at 4.5 percent. Among the major demographic groups, the jobless rates for adult men (3.7 percent), adult women (4.1 percent), teenagers (15.0 percent), whites (4.0 percent), blacks (9.0 percent), and Hispanics (7.5 percent) were little changed in August. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons declined by 320,000 to 3.5 million. (See table A-4.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Total employment was about unchanged over the month at 131.2 million. The employment-population ratio--the proportion of the population age 16 and older with jobs--was 63.8 percent, likewise little changed from the previous month. (See table A-1.)

About 7.5 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one job in August. These multiple jobholders comprised 5.6 percent of the total employed, compared with 5.8 percent a year earlier. (See table A-10.)

The civilian labor force, 137.4 million in August, has remained about unchanged since April. The labor force participation rate—66.9 percent in August--also has remained little changed over this period. (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. 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.

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 280,000 in August, essentially unchanged from a year earlier. (See table A-10.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 365,000 in August to 126.2 million, seasonally adjusted, following a gain of only 68,000 in July. Part of the August rebound reflected the return of workers to their jobs after strikes and associated plant shutdowns in auto-related manufacturing industries. The average monthly increase in payroll employment in July and August was 217,000. (See table B-1.)

Manufacturing employment rose by 95,000 in August, following a loss of 200,000 in July, much of which was strike related. (Persons on strike or on layoff for the entire reference period are not on payrolls and, thus, are not counted as employed in the establishment survey.) In August, employment in motor vehicles and equipment was up by 117,000, largely representing a return to work of persons who were either on strike or on layoff due to strike-related plant shutdowns. Other over-the-month gains at least partly attributable to the settlement of strikes occurred in primary metals (11,000), fabricated metals (7,000), and rubber and miscellaneous plastics (8,000). Despite the return of nearly all of the workers in autos and related industries, manufacturing employment overall was down by 105,000 from its June level. In August, employment in apparel and other textile products declined by 18,000. Other manufacturing industries that experienced over-the-month job losses included electronic components (-6,000), food and kindred products (-4,000), and textile mill products (-3,000).

Construction employment continued to grow in August (up 16,000); the industry has added 261,000 jobs since last October.

Employment in services rose by 135,000 in August. Help supply services increased by 42,000 jobs, following a decrease of similar magnitude in July. At least some of this movement was attributable to the strikes in auto-related industries. After showing no growth in July, health services rebounded in August with a gain of 24,000 jobs. Nevertheless, average monthly growth in the industry this year has been sharply lower than in 1997. Social services employment increased by 15,000, and the industry has added 75,000 jobs since April. In August, computer and data processing services had a job gain (11,000) that was below the monthly average (17,000) this year. Employment in engineering and management services was little changed, following 3 months of strong gains.

Transportation and public utilities added 24,000 jobs in August. Most of the gain was in transportation (23,000), with about half of that increase (12,000) in trucking and warehousing. Employment growth in communications has slowed since April.

Employment in retail trade, and in eating and drinking places in particular, was little changed in August, following a substantial gain in July. Employment in wholesale trade increased by 11,000, entirely in durable goods.

Employment growth in finance, insurance, and real estate in August (13,000) was well below the average (23,000) for the prior 12 months. Almost all of the August gain was in finance (12,000), led by mortgage brokerages (5,000) and security brokerages (3,000). Employment in real estate did not grow for only the second time this year, and growth in insurance was sluggish, following 4 months of strong gains.

Government added 57,000 jobs in August, nearly all in local government (55,000). Local government education increased by 38,000. In contrast, employment in the federal government continued to decline.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged in August at 34.6 hours, seasonally adjusted. It has been at this level since June. The manufacturing workweek also was unchanged at 41.7 hours. Factory overtime decreased over the month by 0.3 hour to 4.4 hours. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was little changed in August at 145.3 (1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index rose by 0.6 percent to 107.9, reflecting the returns from strikes and layoffs in auto-related industries. The manufacturing index in August was 1.0 percent lower than in June. (See table B-5.)

Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)

Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 7 cents in August to $12.86, seasonally adjusted. This follows increases of 3 cents an hour in each of the prior 3 months. Average weekly earnings rose by 0.5 percent in August to $444.96. Over the year, average hourly and weekly earnings have risen by 4.2 and 3.9 percent, respectively. (See table B-3.)