August 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 employment fell by 105,000 in August, while the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. A further decline in the number of temporary census workers (down 158,000 in August) and a strike in the communications industry contributed to the over-the-month employment drop, but manufacturing employment also declined. Private-sector employment edged up by 17,000, although the gain would have been 102,000 had it not been for strike effects. Job gains were strong in the services industry.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The unemployment rate (4.1 percent) remained in the narrow range of 3.9 to 4.1 percent that has held since October 1999. The rates for most major worker groups--adult men (3.2 percent), adult women (3.8 percent), whites (3.6 percent), blacks (8.0 percent), and Hispanics (5.7 percent)--showed little or no change in August. The teenage unemployment rate has edged up over the past 2 months to 14.4 percent. The number of unemployed persons was essentially unchanged at 5.8 million. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Total employment was little changed at 134.9 million, seasonally adjusted, in August. The employment-population ratio--the proportion of the population age 16 and older with jobs--was 64.3 percent, about unchanged from July. The civilian labor force rose in August to 140.7 million; however, the labor force participation rate, at 67.0 percent, was essentially unchanged. (See table A-1.)

In August, the proportion of the employed with more than one job (multiple jobholders) was 5.2 percent, not seasonally adjusted, compared with 5.4 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 August, about the same number as a year earlier. 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 205,000 in August, down from 265,000 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 declined by 105,000 to 131.5 million in August, seasonally adjusted. In the public sector, 158,000 temporary workers completed their work on Census 2000 and left federal payrolls. In the private sector, employment edged up by 17,000, as a strike in the communications industry kept 87,000 workers off payrolls. Adjusted for the net strike impact over the month (85,000, which also reflects the return of a small number of strikers in hospitals), private-sector employment was up by 102,000 in August. (See table B-1.)

Employment in manufacturing fell by 79,000 in August, more than offsetting a large increase in July, after seasonal adjustment. In 1999, monthly job losses in this industry averaged 18,000; over the first 8 months of 2000, losses have averaged 2,000 per month. Manufacturing job losses in August were widespread. Employment fell in industries sensitive to construction trends, such as lumber (5,000), furniture (8,000), and stone, clay, and glass products (4,000). Employment also fell in motor vehicles (13,000) and in rubber and plastics (8,000). Apparel employment continued its long-term decline with a drop of 10,000 in August. In contrast to most manufacturing industries, electronic components continued to grow, adding 4,000 jobs.

Elsewhere in the goods-producing sector, construction employment was unchanged over the month. Average monthly growth in construction thus far this year has been 15,000, compared with 25,000 per month for all of 1999. In August, employment in the mining industry held steady for the fourth consecutive month. This industry had experienced modest growth in the first part of the year because of expansion in oil and gas extraction.

In the service-producing sector, services industry employment rose by 160,000, seasonally adjusted. This follows an increase of only 11,000 in July. Thus far this year, the average monthly increase in services employment has been 108,000, slightly below the monthly average of 124,000 for all of 1999. In August, job gains occurred in social services (34,000), engineering and management services (28,000), and personnel supply services (22,000). Employment in all three industries had declined in July. In social services, the August employment increase resulted from fewer-than-usual seasonal layoffs in job training services, following weak summer hiring.

Employment in transportation and public utilities fell by 64,000 in August, as 87,000 workers in the telephone communications industry were on strike and thus off company payrolls during the survey reference period. The striking workers had returned to payrolls by the end of the month. Transportation employment, especially air transportation, showed continued strength.

Retail trade employment fell by 35,000, seasonally adjusted, in August, following 2 months of above-average increases. These movements largely reflect employment changes in eating and drinking places. Overall, job growth in the retail trade industry has averaged 32,000 per month since May, about in line with average monthly growth in all of 1999.

Finance, insurance, and real estate employment rose by 25,000 in August. Employment in the industry has been trending down for much of the year except in security brokerages and holding companies, where employment has continued to grow. Wholesale trade added 10,000 jobs over the month.

Federal government employment fell in August as more temporary census workers completed their assignments. As of August, 41,000 temporary census workers remained on the federal government payroll, down from a peak of 618,000 in May. In local government, employment rose by 23,000.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 hour in August to 34.3 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek fell by 0.4 hour to 41.3 hours. Manufacturing overtime declined by 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 decreased by 0.3 percent to 150.9 (1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index fell by 1.6 percent to 105.5. (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 4 cents in August to $13.80, seasonally adjusted. Average weekly earnings were unchanged over the month at $473.34. Over the year, average hourly earnings rose by 3.8 percent and average weekly earnings grew by 3.2 percent. Twelve-month growth rates in hourly earnings have been in the range of 3.5 to 3.8 percent since January 1999. (See table B-3.)