October 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.

The unemployment rate held at 3.9 percent in October, and total nonfarm employment rose by 137,000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Among the major industry divisions, construction had the largest over-the-month gain, adding 34,000 jobs. Employment was unchanged in manufacturing and little changed in services and retail trade. Average hourly earnings rose by 6 cents over the month.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons, 5.5 million, was essentially unchanged in October. The jobless rate (3.9 percent) has remained within the 3.9- to 4.1-percent range since October 1999. Unemployment rates for the major worker groups--adult men (3.4 percent), adult women (3.4 percent), teenagers (12.6 percent), whites (3.4 percent), and blacks (7.3 percent)--showed little change over the month. The rate for Hispanics declined to 5.0 percent. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Total employment, at 135.4 million, and the employment-population ratio, at 64.4 percent, were essentially unchanged in October. The civilian labor force was little changed at 140.9 million, and the labor force participation rate was also about unchanged at 67.0 percent. (See table A-1.)

In October, about 7.6 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one job. These multiple jobholders represented 5.6 percent of total employment, compared with 6.0 percent a year earlier. (See table A-10.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

About 1.0 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached to the labor force in October, compared with about 1.2 million 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 230,000 in October. 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 137,000 to 131.9 million in October, seasonally adjusted. This compares to a September gain of 148,000 jobs (after adjusting for the net effect of strikes and the layoff of the last sizable contingent of temporary census workers). Over the first 8 months of the year, the average monthly gain (after similar adjustments for strikes and changes in the number of temporary census workers) was 195,000. In October, employment gains occurred in several service-producing industry divisions and in construction and mining. (See table B-1.)

In the goods-producing sector, employment in construction grew by 34,000 in October, seasonally adjusted, following a similar increase in September. Construction employment had been little changed during the summer; the seasonal layoffs that usually start in September have been lighter than normal thus far this fall, resulting in seasonally-adjusted employment increases.

Mining employment rose by 4,000 in October. Within mining, oil and gas extraction continued to grow and has added 23,000 jobs since August 1999.

Employment in manufacturing was unchanged in October following 2 months of sharp declines. Over the month, job losses continued in lumber, apparel, and textiles. Motor vehicle employment also edged down and has declined by 46,000 since July, in part reflecting measures to reduce inventories of heavy trucks. In contrast, electronic components added 7,000 jobs in October, continuing its strong growth trend. Employment in food and kindred products rose, following declines in the prior 2 months.

In the service-producing sector, employment in the services industry was little changed in October, following 2 months of large increases. Thus far this year, employment growth in this industry has averaged 106,000 a month, slightly below the average for all of 1999. Help supply services lost 82,000 jobs in October, more than offsetting a large gain in September; employment in this industry has shown virtually no net growth since March. Elsewhere in services, amusements and recreation employment rose by 28,000 in October. Auto repair services added 10,000 jobs over the month. Employment continued to increase in health services (17,000), social services (16,000), engineering and management services (10,000), and computer services (8,000).

Employment rose by 23,000 in transportation and public utilities in October, well above the average of 14,000 for the first 9 months of this year. The October strength was in air transportation (up 7,000) and communications (up 8,000).

Finance, insurance, and real estate gained 20,000 jobs in October, the third consecutive monthly increase. Employment in real estate rose by 12,000 over the month; this industry has added 25,000 jobs over the past 3 months. Employment in security brokerages also continued to grow, adding 4,000 jobs.

Wholesale trade employment grew by 15,000 in October and has increased by 34,000 since July. All of the October gain was in nondurable goods. Retail trade employment was essentially unchanged in October. A gain of 14,000 jobs in automotive dealers and service stations was largely offset by a decline in general merchandise stores.

Government employment increased by 20,000 in October. All of this gain occurred in state and local government. There was little over-the-month change in the number of temporary census workers; only about 6,000 were left on federal payrolls.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 hour in October to 34.3 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek was up by 0.1 hour to 41.3 hours, following a drop of 0.2 hour in September. Factory hours remained well below the high levels that have prevailed over the last several years. In October, manufacturing overtime was unchanged at 4.4 hours. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls edged up to 151.5 (1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index increased by 0.2 percent to 104.8. (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 6 cents in October to $13.89, seasonally adjusted. Over the month, average weekly earnings edged up by 0.1 percent to $476.43. Over the year, average hourly earnings rose by 3.8 percent and average weekly earnings grew by 3.2 percent. Since February 1999, 12-month growth rates in hourly earnings have remained in the range of 3.5 to 3.8 percent. (See table B-3.)