March 2000 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 March and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Nonfarm payroll employment grew by 416,000 over the month. This included the addition of an estimated 117,000 temporary census workers. Also, it is likely that some of the March gain in payroll employment resulted from the fact that there were 5 weeks between the February and March survey reference periods instead of the usual 4 weeks. Average hourly earnings increased by 5 cents over the month and 3.7 percent over the year.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons, 5.7 million, was essentially unchanged in March, and the unemployment rate held at 4.1 percent. The jobless rate has been below 4.2 percent for 6 consecutive months. Jobless rates for the major worker groups--adult men (3.3 percent), adult women (3.6 percent), teenagers (13.3 percent), whites (3.6 percent), blacks (7.3 percent), and Hispanics (6.3 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)

The number of persons in the civilian labor force was little changed at 140.9 million in March. The labor force participation rate was 67.4 percent. Total employment also was about unchanged in March, at 135.2 million (seasonally adjusted). The employment-population ratio--the proportion of the population age 16 and older with jobs--remained high at 64.7 percent. (See table A-1.)

About 7.7 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one job in March. These multiple jobholders represented 5.7 percent of the total employed, down from 6.1 percent a year earlier. (See table A-10.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

The number of persons who were marginally attached to the labor force in March totaled 1.2 million (not seasonally adjusted). These people wanted and were available to work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They are not counted as unemployed because they had not actively searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of dis- couraged workers was 257,000 in March, about the same as a year earlier. Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached, were not currently looking for work specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them. (See table A-10.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 416,000 in March to 130.7 million, seasonally adjusted. This increase included the addition of 117,000 temporary census workers. Also, it is likely that some of the March payroll employment gain resulted from a calendar anomaly. This year, there were 5 weeks instead of the usual 4 between the February and March survey reference periods. The last time this occurred was in 1972. Because this occurrence is so rare, the payroll employment estimates for March cannot be adjusted for the differences in the number of weeks between the survey reference periods, as is done for other months. Thus, the estimates of employment change this month reflect an additional week's growth. This effect is most pronounced in seasonal industries that tend to add jobs at this time of year.

In the goods-producing sector, construction employment grew by 89,000 in March, with job gains widespread across the component industries. The additional week between the February and March survey reference periods likely contributed to the large employment increase. In mining, employment in the oil and gas extraction industry continued to rise. Since last summer, oil and gas extraction has added 16,000 jobs; slightly more than half of that gain occurred in February and March. (See table B-1.)

Manufacturing employment was down by 5,000 over the month. This decrease would have been larger had it not been for the return of 15,000 striking workers in the aircraft industry. (February employment estimates have been revised down by 15,000, as recent information indicates that the strikers were off payrolls for the entire reference pay period that month. These workers were back on payrolls in March.) Industrial machinery lost 6,000 jobs in March, and there were smaller declines in many other manufacturing industries. Employment in the fabricated metals industry continued on a growth trend that began in September 1999.

In the service-producing sector, the services industry added 150,000 jobs in March, following an unusually small gain in February (22,000, as revised). Employment growth in services during the first quarter of the year averaged 106,000 per month, slightly below the monthly average for 1999. In March, job gains were widespread among the services industries. The largest employment increase was in business services (48,000), where personnel supply services added 19,000 jobs. Employment in educational services rose by 21,000 jobs in March. Two highly seasonal industries, agricultural services and hotels, posted substantial job gains of 18,000 and 15,000, respectively.

Transportation and public utilities added 27,000 jobs in March. Nearly all of the gain occurred in transportation, with trucking and air transpor- tation adding 11,000 and 10,000 jobs, respectively. Both industries had lost jobs in February. Employment continued to grow in the communications industry in March, mainly in telephone communications. In contrast, public utilities continued to lose jobs.

Employment in wholesale trade rose by 17,000 in March, in line with its average monthly gain over the prior 12 months. Retail trade employment was little changed in March. Job gains in furniture stores, building materials stores, and automotive dealers and service stations were offset by losses in general merchandise stores and in eating and drinking places. General merchandise employment fell by 36,000 in the first quarter, and eating and drinking places employment declined by 28,000.

Finance, insurance, and real estate lost 11,000 jobs in March, offsetting its February gain. Employment in mortgage banking declined by 12,000 over the month and has fallen by 35,000 since last May. In contrast, security and commodity brokerages continued to add jobs in March.

Federal government employment grew by 106,000 in March. The Census Bureau added 117,000 temporary workers for Census 2000, but employment declines continued in other federal agencies. Local governments added 34,000 jobs in March, following a decline in February.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged in March at 34.5 hours, seasonally adjusted. In manufacturing, both the average workweek and overtime hours fell by 0.2 hour to 41.6 hours and 4.6 hours, respectively. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.3 percent to 150.5 (1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index decreased 0.4 percent to 105.9. (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 5 cents in March to $13.60, seasonally adjusted. Over the month, average weekly earnings rose 0.4 percent to $469.20, seasonally adjusted. Over the year, both average hourly earnings and average weekly earnings rose by 3.7 percent. (See table B-3.)