February 2002 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 was essentially unchanged at 5.5 percent in February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Nonfarm payroll employment was up by 66,000 in February, following several months of large job losses. February gains in several industries, however, can be attributed to special factors. Manufacturing employment continued to decline, although at a slower pace.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons (7.9 million) and the unemployment rate (5.5 percent) were essentially unchanged in February, following declines in both measures in January. The unemployment rate for Hispanics fell by a percentage point to 7.1 percent in February. Jobless rates for the other major worker groups--adult men (5.0 percent), adult women (5.0 percent), teenagers (15.6 percent), whites (4.9 percent), and blacks (9.6 percent)--were little changed. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Total employment rose by 851,000 to 134.3 million in February, after sea- sonal adjustment; this increase more than offset a large decline in January. The employment-population ratio increased by 0.4 percentage point in February, returning to its December level of 63.0 percent. (See table A-1.)

In February, the number of persons working part time despite their preference for full-time work increased by 255,000 to 4.2 million. The number of persons working part time for economic reasons had been at about that level from September through December. (See table A-4.)

Following a decline of 924,000 in January, the civilian labor force increased by 821,000 in February, to 142.2 million. The labor force participation rate--the proportion of the population that is either working or looking for work--increased by 0.3 percentage point, to 66.7 percent. (See table A-1.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

In February, the number of persons not in the labor force who reported that they currently want a job decreased by 449,000, to 4.4 million (seasonally adjusted); this group accounted for 6.2 percent of all persons not in the labor force. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4-week period preceding the survey. Most had not searched for over a year. (See table A-1.)

About 1.4 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached to the labor force in February. These individuals reported that they wanted and were available for 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 371,000 in February, up by 82,000 from 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 was up by 66,000 in February to 131.3 million, seasonally adjusted. While the over-the-month change was positive for the first time since July 2001, much of the gain was due to special circumstances. Unusual seasonal employment patterns in retail trade, favorable weather for construction, and a return from temporary plant shutdowns in motor vehicle manufacturing were important components of the February change. (See table B-1.)

In the goods-producing sector, manufacturing lost 50,000 jobs in February, compared with average losses of about 111,000 in the prior 12 months. Motor vehicle employment rose by 26,000, as most of the plants that had been temporarily shut down in January to reduce inventories were operating in February. Large employment declines continued in electrical equipment (-22,000) and industrial machinery (-14,000). Aircraft manufacturing lost 8,000 jobs in February; since September, employment in this industry has fallen by 33,000. Employment in printing and publishing fell by 13,000 in February and has declined by 107,000 over the year.

Construction employment increased by 25,000 in February, reflecting unusually warm temperatures and dry weather across the country. The job gains were in heavy construction and, within special trades, concrete work, both of which are particularly sensitive to the weather. Other construction components showed little change.

Mining employment declined by 6,000 in February, with most of the losses in oil and gas extraction (-4,000). Since September, oil and gas employment has decreased by 9,000.

Within the service-producing sector, wholesale trade job losses totaled 15,000 in February, after 2 months of smaller declines. Employment in the insurance industry continued to fall in February; the industry has lost 14,000 jobs since September. Employment in finance declined by 11,000 over the month. Within finance, security brokerages continued to shed jobs, with losses totaling 45,000 since industry employment peaked in March 2001. In contrast, employment continued to increase in mortgage brokerages in February, reflecting low mortgage interest rates.

Retail trade employment rose by 58,000 in February, after seasonal adjustment. This followed a rise of 41,000 in January. Because of light hiring during the holiday season, there were fewer workers to lay off in January and February, resulting in over-the-month gains after seasonal adjustment. On net, since July, employment in retail trade is down by 142,000, seasonally adjusted.

After substantial job losses in October and November 2001, employment in the services industry rose modestly for the third consecutive month. Health services employment rose by 34,000, with offices and clinics of medical doctors showing a large gain (13,000). Employment in help supply services edged up by 14,000; however, employment in this industry is 655,000, or 18.5 percent, below its peak level of September 2000. Engineering and management services added 9,000 jobs.

In transportation, job losses in the passenger component of air transportation have slowed in the past 2 months, following a decline of 87,000 in the fourth quarter. Trucking employment continued on the downward trend that began in April 2001.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged in February at 34.1 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek edged up by 0.1 hour to 40.7 hours. Manufacturing overtime was unchanged at 3.9 hours. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.1 percent in February to 148.5 (1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The index has fallen by 2.4 percent from its recent peak in January 2001. The manufacturing index edged down by 0.1 percent to 92.6 in February and has fallen by 9.7 percent since January 2001. (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 2 cents in February to $14.63, seasonally adjusted. Average weekly earnings rose by 0.1 percent to $498.88. Over the year, average hourly earnings increased by 3.7 per- cent and average weekly earnings grew by 3.1 percent. (See table B-3.)