February 2001 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 4.2 percent in February, and total nonfarm employment rose by 135,000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Large job losses continued in manufacturing, where employment declined by 94,000. Employment gains in several other industries, including services, accounted for the net increase in payroll employment. Average hourly earnings rose by 7 cents over the month.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

Both the number of unemployed persons (5.9 million) and the unemployment rate (4.2 percent) were essentially unchanged in February. The jobless rates for most of the major worker groups--adult men (3.5 percent), adult women (3.7 percent), teenagers (13.6 percent), whites (3.7 percent), and Hispanics (6.3 percent)--were little changed from January. The unemployment rate for blacks declined to 7.5 percent, the same level as in the last quarter of 2000. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)

In February, both the number of newly unemployed (those unemployed less than 5 weeks) and the number of unemployed job losers who did not expect to be recalled rose for the second consecutive month. (See tables A-6 and A-7.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Total employment was essentially unchanged at 135.8 million, seasonally adjusted, in February. The civilian labor force, at 141.8 million persons, also was little changed over the month. The labor force participation rate--the proportion of the population age 16 and older who are either working or looking for work--edged down by 0.1 percentage point to 67.2 percent, still relatively high by historical standards. (See table A-1.)

About 7.6 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one job in February. These multiple jobholders represented 5.6 percent of total employment, compared with 5.8 percent a year earlier. (See table A-10.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

About 1.3 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached to the labor force in February, the same 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 289,000 in February, 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 increased by 135,000, seasonally adjusted, in February. Since last September, the average monthly growth in payroll employment has been 103,000, compared with an average gain of 187,000 during the first 9 months of last year. In February, major job losses continued in manufacturing. These losses, however, were more than offset by gains in services and most other major industry divisions. (See table B-1.)

In the goods-producing sector, manufacturing employment fell by 94,000 in February, following a similar loss (as revised) in January. Together, these losses exceeded the total employment decline in this industry for all of 2000. With the exception of motor vehicles, where some workers returned from temporary layoffs, employment declines in manufacturing were widespread in February. Job losses continued in fabricated metals (13,000) and in industrial machinery (11,000). Electrical equipment and apparel also lost 11,000 jobs each. Smaller employment declines occurred in a number of other industries, including furniture, primary metals, textiles, printing and publishing, paper, and rubber and plastics.

Elsewhere in the goods-producing sector, construction employment rose by 16,000, seasonally adjusted, in February, following an unusually large increase in January. Mining employment rose by 3,000 in February, after having increased by 8,000 in January. Employment in oil and gas extraction continued to grow; this industry has gained 25,000 jobs over the last year.

In the service-producing sector, services employment increased by 95,000 in February, about in line with its average monthly increase during 2000. In February, health services employment rose by 28,000, as hospitals added 11,000 jobs. Business services gained 24,000 jobs, after 4 consecutive months of job losses. Within business services, employment rose by 15,000 in computer services, following weak growth in January. Help supply employment was little changed over the month; in the prior 4 months, job declines totaled 181,000. Social services added 15,000 jobs in February, and private education employment grew by 20,000.

Employment in finance, insurance, and real estate rose by 16,000 in February, continuing the growth trend that began last August. Strong demand for mortgage refinancing boosted employment in mortgage banks, which grew by 5,000 over the month. Employment increased by 5,000 in insurance carriers.

Employment in transportation and public utilities grew by 28,000, following a decline in January. Job growth in February was nearly double the industry's average monthly gain for 2000. Air transportation, which had accounted for most of the loss in January, added 15,000 jobs in February.

Employment in retail trade increased by 37,000 in February, following 2 months of little change. Gains were widespread. Employment in department stores, however, was little changed; this industry has lost 60,000 jobs over the year. Wholesale trade employment declined for the third consecutive month.

Government employment increased by 37,000 in February. Employment in local government grew by 26,000, including an increase of 16,000 jobs in local education. There was little change in federal government employment.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 hour in February to 34.2 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek fell by 0.3 hour to 40.6 hours; since June, the factory workweek has fallen by 1.0 hour. Manufacturing overtime declined by 0.3 hour in February to 3.8 hours, the lowest level since 1992. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls declined by 0.5 percent to 151.0 (1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index fell by 1.4 percent to 101.1. (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 7 cents in February to $14.10, seasonally adjusted. Over the month, average weekly earnings increased by 0.2 percent to $482.22. Over the year, average hourly earnings rose by 4.1 percent and average weekly earnings grew by 2.9 percent. (See table B-3.)