September 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 was essentially unchanged in September, and the unemployment rate remained at 4.2 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Employment declined in manufacturing and retail trade, and the services industry added relatively few jobs over the month. Average hourly earnings rose by 7 cents in September, following a 2-cent increase in August.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons, 5.8 million, was essentially unchanged in September, and the unemployment rate held at 4.2 percent. The rate has been 4.2 or 4.3 percent each month since March. The jobless rates for most major demographic groups--adult men (3.4 percent), adult women (3.7 percent), whites (3.6 percent), blacks (8.3 percent), and Hispanics (6.7 percent)-- showed little or no change from August. The rate for teenagers rose to 15.0 percent in September. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

The civilian labor force, at 139.4 million, was essentially unchanged in September. The labor force participation rate held at 66.9 percent. Total employment also was about unchanged, at 133.6 million, and the employment- population ratio remained at 64.1 percent. (See table A-1.)

About 7.6 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one job in September. These multiple jobholders represented 5.7 percent of the total employed, down from 6.0 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 September, down from 1.4 million a year earlier. 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 289,000 in September. (See table A-10.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged in September at 128.9 million, seasonally adjusted. For the third quarter, the average monthly payroll employment increase was 156,000, compared with an average monthly gain of 210,000 over the first half of the year. The widespread flooding and other serious problems caused by Hurricane Floyd during the survey reference period negatively affected employment in some industries. (In the establishment survey, persons who are on unpaid absence from work for the entire reference period are not counted as employed.) Still, employment growth was relatively slow even in the areas of the country and industries that appear to have been unaffected by the hurricane. (See table B-1.)

In the goods-producing sector, manufacturing lost 21,000 jobs in September. Employment declined, on average, 15,000 per month in the third quarter of this year, compared with 36,000 per month during the first half of the year. In September, job losses continued in industrial machinery, aircraft, apparel, and textiles. Employment in food and kindred products rose by 11,000, but this followed a decline of 17,000 in the previous month. Since January, the food processing industry has lost 24,000 jobs. In contrast, employment in electrical equipment manufacturing increased by 6,000 in September and has had a net gain of 10,000 jobs since June. In the first half of the year, the industry lost 12,000 jobs.

Construction employment increased by 21,000 in September, seasonally adjusted, following a decline of about the same magnitude in August. Employment in mining was essentially unchanged over the month. The number of jobs in oil and gas extraction held steady in the third quarter, following sharp losses in the first half of the year.

In the service-producing sector, employment in the services industry grew by only 39,000 in September, well below the average monthly gain of 126,000 for the prior 12 months. The disruptions caused by Hurricane Floyd may have contributed to employment declines or below-average growth in personnel supply services, amusements and recreation, social services, and membership organizations. In some other services industries, below-average growth in September appears to be unrelated to the hurricane. These include health services and engineering and management services. In contrast, computer services continued its rapid growth, adding 12,000 jobs.

Employment in retail trade declined by 49,000 in September, the second consecutive monthly decline; during the first 7 months of the year, the average monthly employment gain in the industry was 54,000. Some of the employment declines in eating and drinking places and other retail establish- ments may have been related to the hurricane. For the fifth consecutive month, department stores lost jobs; since April, employment in the industry has fallen by 49,000. Employment in wholesale trade was essentially unchanged in September.

Transportation and public utilities added 20,000 jobs in September, nearly all of which were in trucking and air transportation. Employment had been weak in both industries in August.

In September, employment in finance, insurance, and real estate was virtually unchanged. Mortgage banking lost 6,000 jobs, the fourth monthly decrease in a row after 4 years of growth. Real estate employment was little changed in September and has shown a net increase of just 3,000 since June. In contrast, the industry added 25,000 jobs during the first half of the year.

State and local government employment declined in September, partly offsetting gains in the prior month. Federal government employment continued its downward trend.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 hour in September to 34.4 hours, seasonally adjusted. Both the manufacturing workweek and overtime were unchanged at 41.8 and 4.7 hours, respectively. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls declined by 0.5 percent to 147.7 (1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index declined by 0.2 percent in September to 106.2. (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 7 cents in September to $13.37, seasonally adjusted. In each of the first 3 quarters of the year, average hourly earnings increased by 13 cents. In September, average weekly earnings rose by 0.2 percent to $459.93, seasonally adjusted. Over the year, average hourly earnings increased by 3.8 percent, and average weekly earnings rose by 3.5 percent. (See table B-3.)