September 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 rose by 252,000 in September, and the unemployment rate declined to 3.9 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. After adjusting for the net return of striking workers (75,000) and a further decline in the number of temporary census jobs (27,000), nonfarm employment was up by 204,000. Job gains were very strong in the services industry, but the overall employment change was tempered by widespread job losses in manufacturing.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

Both the number of unemployed persons, 5.5 million, and the unemployment rate, 3.9 percent, declined in September. Over the past year, the rate has ranged from 3.9 percent to 4.1 percent. Over the month, the unemployment rates decreased for adult women (3.5 percent) and blacks (7.0 percent). Rates for the other major worker groups--adult men (3.2 percent), teenagers (12.8 percent), whites (3.5 percent), and Hispanics (5.6 percent)--showed little or no change. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Total employment was little changed at 135.2 million, seasonally adjusted, in September. The employment-population ratio--the proportion of the population age 16 and older with jobs--was 64.3 percent, unchanged from August. The civilian labor force, 140.6 million, and the labor force participation rate, 66.9 percent, were both essentially unchanged in September. (See table A-1.)

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (those who would have preferred full-time work) was 3.2 million in September. The number of these involuntary part-time workers has ranged from 3.1 to 3.3 million since July 1999. (See table A-4.)

About 7.5 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one job in September. These multiple jobholders represented 5.5 percent of total employment, compared with 5.7 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, 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 250,000 in September. 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 rose by 252,000 to 131.8 million in September. Contributing to this increase was the net return of 75,000 striking workers to their jobs. At the same time, the number also reflects the conclusion of 27,000 temporary census jobs. After adjusting for both effects, payroll employment increased by 204,000 in September. (The strike adjustment primarily reflects the return of 87,000 communications workers who were off company payrolls in August, which was partly offset by new strikes involving 12,000 workers.) So far this year, employment has increased by an average of 192,000 per month compared to 229,000 per month for all of 1999. (See table B-1.)

Employment in the services industry rose by 200,000 in September, seasonally adjusted. Month-to-month growth in services employment has varied widely this year, although the average monthly change (119,000) is close to the monthly average for all of 1999. Employment in help supply services increased by 69,000 in September, after showing little net growth in the prior 3 months. Over the month, job gains continued in health services and in engineering and management services. In September, as in August, there were large employment increases in job training services (within social services) and civic and social organizations (within membership organizations) after seasonal adjustment; these increases resulted from lighter-than-normal seasonal layoffs that followed weak summer hiring.

Construction employment rose by 30,000 in September, seasonally adjusted, following 3 months of very small gains. Seasonal declines in construction usually begin in September. This year those seasonal layoffs were smaller than normal, perhaps reflecting the relatively light hiring over the summer. Thus far this year, construction employment has increased by 17,000 per month on average, compared with 25,000 per month for all of 1999.

Employment in transportation and public utilities rose by 105,000 in September, largely reflecting the return of 87,000 telephone communications workers from a strike that kept them off payrolls during the August reference period. Apart from the strike effect, employment in the communications industry increased by 7,000, and the transportation industry continued to grow.

Finance, insurance, and real estate employment rose by 16,000 in September, following a similar gain in August. In the first 7 months of the year, however, the industry had averaged monthly job losses of 4,000. In September, security brokerages added 6,000 jobs, continuing a strong growth trend. Employment also increased in mortgage brokerages and in real estate.

Employment in manufacturing fell by 66,000 in September, following an even larger decline of 117,000 in August, as revised. Part of September's decline resulted from 10,000 workers being off payrolls due to strikes in transportation equipment and food and kindred products during the survey reference period. September's losses were widespread, with employment down in both durable and nondurable goods manufacturing. Employment fell in industrial machinery and equipment (9,000), apparel (9,000), rubber and miscellaneous plastics (8,000), and fabricated metal products (6,000). The only manufacturing industry to show consistent growth this year has been electronic components, which added 4,000 jobs in September and has added 46,000 jobs since April 1999.

Retail trade employment was essentially unchanged in September, as gains in most component industries were offset by losses in eating and drinking places and in building materials stores. The number of jobs in eating and drinking establishments declined for the second consecutive month, following strong gains in June and July. Wholesale trade showed little change in September.

Federal government employment fell in September, as 27,000 temporary Census 2000 workers completed their assignments. As of September, only about 6,000 temporary census workers remained on the federal government payroll, down from a peak of 618,000 in May.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was up by 0.1 hour in September to 34.4 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek edged down by 0.1 hour to 41.2 hours, following a drop of 0.4 hour in August. In September, manufacturing overtime declined by 0.1 hour for the second consecutive month to 4.4 hours. (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 151.4 (1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index fell by 0.7 percent to 104.6. (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 3 cents in September to $13.83, seasonally adjusted. Over the month, average weekly earnings increased by 0.5 percent to $475.75. Over the year, average hourly earnings rose by 3.6 percent and average weekly earnings grew by 3.3 percent. Twelve-month growth rates in hourly earnings have been in the range of 3.5 to 3.8 percent since February 1999. (See table B-3.)

Expansion of the Current Population Survey (Household Survey) Sample

The Census Bureau is expanding the monthly sample for the Current Population Survey (CPS) in response to a legislative mandate under the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). This expansion, which will occur in 31 states and the District of Columbia, will increase the total number of households eligible for the monthly survey from about 50,000 to about 60,000. The additional households are being introduced into the survey over a 3-month period beginning with September 2000.

The SCHIP legislation requires that the Census Bureau improve state estimates of the number of children who live in low-income families and lack health insurance. The expansion of the monthly CPS sample is one part of the Census Bureau's plan for improving the SCHIP estimates. Other parts of the plan include an increase in the number of households that will be asked the questions from the annual March supplement to the CPS, the source of information on income and access to health insurance.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not plan to use the expanded sample for the official national labor force estimates until at least July 2001, after the data collected from the new households have been evaluated. BLS will review estimates for November 2000 through April 2001 produced from the expanded sample. If persistent differences are observed between the estimates derived from the current and expanded samples during this period of review, the use of the expanded sample in the official estimates may be further delayed. The announcement of the final decision on whether the expanded sample will be used in the official data for July 2001 (scheduled for release in August) will be made in early June.