June 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.

Total nonfarm payroll employment was little changed in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Private- sector payroll employment rose by 206,000, following a decline of 165,000 (as revised) in May. The June increase in private payrolls was largely offset by a decline in federal government employment, as 190,000 temporary workers hired for the decennial census completed their work. The unemployment rate was 4.0 percent in June, about the same as in May. Average hourly earnings increased by 5 cents over the month and by 3.6 percent over the year.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

Both the number of unemployed persons, 5.6 million, and the unemployment rate, 4.0 percent, were little changed in June. The jobless rate has been in a 3.9- to 4.1-percent range since October 1999. Unemployment rates for the major worker groups--adult men (3.2 percent), adult women (3.8 percent), teenagers (11.6 percent), whites (3.4 percent), blacks (7.9 percent), and Hispanics (5.6 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 rose by 464,000 to 135.2 million, seasonally adjusted, in June. The employment-population ratio--the proportion of the population age 16 and older with jobs--was 64.5 percent, compared with 64.3 percent in May. During the first 4 months of this year, the employment-population ratio had ranged from 64.7 to 64.9 percent. In June, the civilian labor force was about unchanged at 140.8 million, seasonally adjusted. (See table A-1.)

Approximately 7.3 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one job in June. These multiple jobholders represented 5.4 percent of total employment, compared with 5.6 percent a year earlier. (See table A-10.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

About 1.1 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached to the labor force in June. These people wanted and were available to work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed, however, because they had not actively searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers was 308,000 in June, up from 220,000 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)

Total nonfarm payroll employment edged up by 11,000 to 131.6 million in June, seasonally adjusted. Private-sector employment rose by 206,000, following a decline in May. So far this year, the number of private-sector jobs has increased by an average of 177,000 per month, compared with 202,000 per month for all of 1999. Government employment declined by 195,000 in June; this included the departure of 190,000 temporary census workers from federal government payrolls. (See table B-1.)

Employment in the services industry rose by 148,000 in June, after an unusually small gain (17,000) in May. Business services added 54,000 jobs in June, following a loss of 20,000 in May. In hotels and in amusements and recreation, job growth was above average in June; there had been little growth in either industry in May. Health services experienced an above- average employment increase of 15,000, following 2 months of sluggish growth. Employment in engineering and management services continued on a strong growth trend.

Retail trade added 49,000 jobs over the month, with an increase of 35,000 in eating and drinking places. During the first 6 months of the year, retail employment growth averaged 32,000 a month, about in line with the monthly average for all of 1999. Employment in miscellaneous retail establishments also rose over the month, while job losses continued in department stores and in building materials and garden supplies stores.

Employment in transportation and public utilities rose by 18,000 in June, following a rare decline in May. Jobs added in communications and air transportation accounted for nearly all of the June growth.

In wholesale trade, employment declined for the second consecutive month. For the first 6 months of 2000, average monthly employment gains in the industry were less than half of the average monthly increase in 1999.

Finance, insurance, and real estate continued to lose jobs in June. After 4-1/2 years of steady growth, employment in these industries has fallen by 20,000 thus far this year, including losses in commercial banks (14,000), savings institutions (6,000), mortgage banks (25,000), and insurance (18,000). In contrast, security brokerages added 30,000 jobs over the first half of the year, including a gain of 7,000 in June. Real estate employment declined by 10,000 in June, offsetting nearly all of the increase during the first 5 months of the year.

Federal government employment fell by 197,000 in June, as 190,000 temporary census jobs ended. Small job declines continued elsewhere in the federal government.

In the goods-producing sector, employment in manufacturing was little changed in June. Since October 1999, net job gains in durable goods manufacturing (38,000) have been largely offset by job losses in nondurable goods (34,000). In June, durable goods added 14,000 jobs, while nondurable employment fell by 6,000. Within durables, job gains continued in electronic components and fabricated metals. Industrial machinery and autos also added jobs in June, but the recent trend in these industries is less clear. Employment declines resumed in aircraft manufacturing. Within nondurables, job losses continued in apparel and in textiles. Employment rose in food products and in printing and publishing; both industries appear to have returned to a slow growth trend.

Construction employment was essentially unchanged in June. Job growth in the industry averaged 20,000 a month in the first half of 2000, compared with 25,000 a month in all of 1999. Mining employment edged up in June. Since August 1999, the oil and gas component of mining has added 19,000 jobs. These gains have been partly offset by declines in coal mining.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1 hour in June to 34.5 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek increased by 0.2 hour to 41.6 hours. Manufacturing overtime edged up by 0.1 hour to 4.6 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 151.2 (1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index was up by 0.4 percent to 106.3. (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 $13.71, seasonally adjusted. Over the month, average weekly earnings rose by 0.7 percent to $473.00. Over the year, both average hourly earnings and average weekly earnings grew by 3.6 percent. (See table B-3.)