February 1999 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 in February, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.4 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 275,000; large gains occurred in construction and retail trade, while manufacturing had a substantial decline.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

Both the number of unemployed persons, 6.1 million, and the unemployment rate, 4.4 percent, were essentially unchanged in February, after seasonal adjustment. The jobless rate has remained within a narrow range of 4.3 to 4.5 percent since last April. The unemployment rate for adult men rose in February to 3.7 percent. Jobless rates for other major demographic groups--adult women (3.8 percent), teenagers (14.1 percent), whites (3.8 percent), blacks (8.3 percent), and Hispanics (6.7 percent)--showed little or no change over the month. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Total employment was little changed in February, at 133.1 million, after seasonal adjustment. The employment-population ratio--the proportion of the population age 16 and older with jobs--was 64.4 percent, essentially unchanged from the previous month. Both the civilian labor force, 139.3 million, and the labor force participation rate, 67.3 percent, also were essentially unchanged. (See table A-1.)

About 8.0 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one job in February. These multiple jobholders made up 6.1 percent of the total employed, the same share as a year earlier. (See table A-10.)

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 February. 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--was 271,000 in February, down from 361,000 a year earlier. (See table A-10.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Data)

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 275,000 in February to 127.6 million, seasonally adjusted. This increase was about in line with the average of the prior 3 months, but well above the average for the first 10 months of 1998. There was a large job gain in construction in February, partly reflecting the effects of mild weather across much of the nation. Retail employment also increased sharply. Manufacturing lost 50,000 jobs following 2 months of smaller declines. (See table B-1.)

Construction employment increased by 72,000 in February, following a month of much slower growth. February's above-average temperatures over much of the country contributed to the strong over-the-month gain. Special trades contracting increased by 59,000, half of which occurred in two outside activities, masonry and roofing. Since September 1998, construction employment has risen by 258,000.

The retail trade industry added 123,000 jobs in February, after seasonal adjustment. Employment in eating and drinking places increased by 25,000, following a decline in January. Large gains occurred, after seasonal adjustment, in apparel and accessory stores (12,000), miscellaneous retail establishments (24,000), and department stores (23,000), as seasonal layoffs in these industries were lighter than usual for February. Building materials (8,000) and furniture stores (10,000) continued to add jobs in February, partly aided by strong construction activity.

Employment in the services industry grew by 87,000 in February, compared to an average of 110,000 in the prior 12 months. Computer and data processing services continued its strong growth, with a gain of 13,000 jobs. Slow growth continued in help supply services employment, which increased by only 7,000. Job growth slowed in engineering and management services; employment was up only 3,000 in February after rising by 72,000 over the previous 3 months. Over the month, employment rose in education (20,000) and social services (16,000), and home health care services posted its first job increase (7,000) since July 1997.

Transportation and public utilities employment increased by 15,000 in February, about equal to the industry's average monthly growth over the prior 12 months. Most of the over-the-month gain was in air transportation (11,000). Wholesale trade employment rose by 9,000, with widespread increases in durable goods distribution.

Employment in finance rose by 8,000 in February as growth continued throughout most components of the industry. The exception was security brokerages, which have shown no net employment gains since October. Insurance and real estate employment levels were essentially unchanged in February.

Government employment was up by 22,000 over the month, led by gains in both the educational and noneducational components of local government.

Manufacturing employment dropped by 50,000 in February, the largest decline since last November. Since March 1998, factory employment has fallen by 337,000. In February, apparel employment fell by 15,000, more than twice the average loss for the previous 12 months. The apparel industry has lost 306,000 jobs since its last peak in November 1991, or nearly a third of its work force. Aircraft manufacturing employment decreased by 6,000 over the month, following several months of smaller declines. Reductions in industrial machinery (-7,000) and electrical equipment (-2,000) employment continued, but the declines in these industries were smaller than in recent months. Employment in stone, clay, and glass products rose by 3,000 in February.

Mining shed another 10,000 jobs in February, bringing employment losses to 57,000 since its most recent peak in September 1997. Job losses in oil and gas extraction have accounted for most of the contraction in mining over this period.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.2 hour in February to 34.7 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek was unchanged at 41.6 hours. Factory overtime edged down 0.1 hour to 4.5 hours. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 0.6 percent to 147.3 (1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index was down 0.3 percent in February to 106.7. (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 1 cent in February to $13.04, seasonally adjusted. This followed a 5-cent gain in January. Average weekly earnings were $452.49 in February (seasonally adjusted), up 0.7 percent over the month. Over the year, average hourly and weekly earnings both rose by 3.6 percent. (See table B-3.)