June 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 June, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 4.3 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 268,000. Employment increased in construction and throughout the service-producing sector, but job losses continued in manufacturing and mining.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons, 6.0 million, and the unemployment rate, 4.3 percent, were essentially unchanged in June. The jobless rate has been below 4.5 percent since November 1998. Unemployment rates for the major demographic groups--adult men (3.6 percent), adult women (3.9 percent), teenagers (13.5 percent), whites (3.8 percent), blacks (7.3 percent), and Hispanics (6.8 percent)--remained the same or were virtually unchanged in June. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)

The number of unemployed persons who were new entrants to the labor force--that is, they were looking for their first jobs--declined in June to 349,000. (See table A-7.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

The civilian labor force rose over the month to 139.4 million, seasonally adjusted, while the civilian labor force participation rate was essentially unchanged at 67.1 percent. Both total employment, at 133.4 million, and the employment-population ratio, at 64.3 percent, were little changed in June. (See table A-1.)

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

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. These were people who wanted and were available to 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 220,000 in June, down from 311,000 a year earlier. (See table A-10.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 268,000 in June, to 128.4 million, seasonally adjusted. In comparison, monthly job gains averaged 189,000 during the first 5 months of this year and 244,000 in 1998.

In June, job gains occurred in all major industry groups except mining and manufacturing, where employment continued to decline. (See table B-1.)

Employment in the services industry grew by 151,000 in June, well above the average monthly gain for the previous 12 months (119,000). In June, growth was widespread among the component industries. Business services added 43,000 jobs. Within that industry, computer services continued on a strong growth trend, adding 15,000 jobs, and employment in help supply services rose by 19,000. Notable employment increases also occurred in amusement and recreation services (20,000), engineering and management services (18,000), motion pictures (11,000), hotels (9,000), and membership organizations (5,000). Employment in health services continued its recent trend of slow growth, adding 8,000 jobs.

Retail trade added 49,000 jobs in June, bringing the total growth for the first half of 1999 to 264,000. Eating and drinking places accounted for the largest part of June's gain, with an increase of 32,000 jobs. Employment in building materials and garden supplies also rose in June, following a decline in the previous month. Job growth continued in furniture stores and car dealers. In contrast, employment declined in food stores for the second consecutive month. In wholesale trade, employment growth continued in durable goods distribution.

Employment in transportation and public utilities rose by 29,000 in June. Much of this rise was in transportation, particularly in local and interurban passenger transit and in trucking and warehousing.

Finance added 13,000 jobs in June. An increase in commercial bank employment (4,000) followed 3 months of small declines. Employment also rose in security brokerages and in holding and other investment offices. For the first time in over 2 years, however, mortgage banks and brokerages did not add workers. Real estate employment increased by 7,000 in June. The insurance industry added 4,000 jobs, about its average for the first 5 months of this year.

In the goods-producing sector, construction added 26,000 jobs in June, following a loss of slightly larger magnitude in May. June's job gain was in line with the average monthly increase for the prior 12 months. Over the month, special trades contracting added 16,000 jobs, with gains concentrated in plumbing, electrical work, and roofing.

Job losses continued in manufacturing (-35,000) and now total nearly a half million since employment in this industry last peaked in March 1998. Declines were widespread in June. Large job losses continued in aircraft and parts; employment in this industry has fallen by 26,000 so far this year. After 3 months with little change, electrical equipment lost 4,000 jobs in June. Job losses continued in apparel, textiles, food products, fabricated metals, instruments, and paper products.

Mining employment continued to decline in June; however, the loss (-3,000) was much less than the average monthly decline (-8,000) for the first 5 months of this year. Job losses in oil and gas extraction moderated in June; this industry has accounted for most of the recent decline in mining employment. Over the month, employment declines continued in coal mining, which has lost 5,000 jobs thus far in 1999, 6 percent of its employment.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls edged up 0.1 hour in June to 34.5 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek was unchanged at 41.7 hours; factory overtime was up 0.1 hour to 4.7 hours. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 0.3 percent to 147.6 (1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index declined by 0.5 percent to 106.1 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 increased by 5 cents in June to $13.23, seasonally adjusted. Average weekly earnings rose by 0.7 percent in June, to $456.44, seasonally adjusted. Over the year, average hourly earnings rose by 3.7 percent and average weekly earnings increased by 3.4 percent. (See table B-3.)