March 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.

Both payroll employment and the unemployment rate were little changed in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Manufacturing and construction each lost nearly 40,000 jobs, but services employment grew substantially. Both the manufacturing workweek and overtime hours rose over the month.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons (8.1 million) and the unemployment rate (5.7 percent) were little changed in March. The jobless rate has been within two-tenths of a percentage point of 5.6 percent since October 2001.

The unemployment rate for blacks increased to 10.7 percent in March. Jobless rates for the other major worker groups--adult men (5.2 percent), adult women (5.0 percent), teenagers (16.4 percent), whites (5.0 percent), and Hispanics (7.3 percent)--showed little or no change. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Total employment fell by 425,000 in March to 133.9 million, after seasonal adjustment. The employment-population ratio declined by 0.2 percentage point to 62.8 percent. Total employment in March was 1.9 million lower than a year earlier, and the employment-population ratio was 1.5 percentage points lower. (See table A-1.)

The civilian labor force (142.0 million) and the labor force participation rate (66.6 percent) were little changed from February to March. Over the last 12 months, there has been little net change in the labor force while the labor force participation rate has decreased by 0.6 percentage point. (See table A-1.)

About 7.4 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one job in March. These multiple jobholders represented 5.5 percent of the total employed in March, about the same proportion as 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 March, up from 1.1 million a year earlier. 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 319,000 in March. 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, at 131.3 million, was little changed in March (+58,000); in February, employment was essentially unchanged (-2,000, as revised). From March 2001 through January 2002, payroll employment fell by an average of 144,000 a month. (See table B-1.)

Manufacturing job losses continued, but the declines of 38,000 in March and 54,000 in February were much smaller than in previous months. From January 2001 to January 2002, job losses in the nation's factories averaged 111,000 a month. Over the month, employment in electronic equipment and in industrial machinery decreased by 10,000 and 7,000, respectively, much smaller than their average losses over the past year. Several manufacturing industries had small employment gains in March after many months of losses-- stone, clay, and glass (2,000), primary metals (2,000), and rubber and miscellaneous plastics (4,000). Transportation equipment lost 12,000 jobs in March, primarily in aircraft and parts (-9,000, including 2,800 workers on strike). Since September 2001, the aircraft industry has lost 42,000 jobs.

Elsewhere in the goods-producing sector, construction employment decreased by 37,000 in March, after seasonal adjustment. Virtually all the job losses were in heavy construction (-36,000). Mining employment continued on its recent downward trend. Since October, the industry has lost 14,000 jobs, mainly in oil and gas extraction.

Within the service-producing sector, employment in the services industry rose by 118,000, its largest over-the-month increase since September 2000. Help supply services added 69,000 jobs in March. This was the second consecutive month of job growth in the industry, which had lost nearly a fifth of its jobs from September 2000 through January 2002. Employment in engineering and management services increased by 12,000 in March, compared with an average monthly gain of 4,000 in the prior 12 months. Health services employment continued to increase in March, rising by 32,000.

Elsewhere in the private service-producing sector, employment was little changed in March. Within retail trade, food stores continued to lose jobs. In finance, security and commodity brokerages posted a small job gain (2,000), after 3 months of losses totaling 14,000. Employment in insurance fell by 4,000 over the month and has decreased by 20,000 since September 2001. In air transportation, employment edged down in March, reversing gains over the last 2 months. This followed losses totaling 111,000 in the fourth quarter.

In government, employment in local education rose by 27,000 in March. Federal and state government employment were little changed over the month.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged in March at 34.2 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek increased by 0.4 hour to 41.1 hours, and factory overtime increased by 0.3 hour to 4.2 hours. Since November, manufacturing hours have risen by 0.8 hour and overtime by one-half hour. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1 percent in March to 148.8 (1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The index has fallen by 2.2 percent from its recent peak in January 2001. In March, the manufacturing index rose for the first time since January 2001, increasing by 0.8 percent to 93.3. (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 March to $14.67, seasonally adjusted. Average weekly earnings rose by 0.3 percent to $501.71. Over the year, average hourly earnings increased by 3.5 percent and average weekly earnings grew by 3.2 percent. (See table B-3.)