June 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 in June, at 5.9 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Payroll employment was little changed for the fourth month in a row, and none of the major industry groups showed any signifi- cant change. Average hourly earnings grew by 6 cents in June, following 5 months of small increases.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons (8.4 million) and the unemployment rate (5.9 percent) were essentially unchanged in June for the second month in a row. Both measures, however, were higher in the second quar- ter of this year than in the first quarter. (See table A.) In June, jobless rates for adult men (5.4 percent), adult women (5.1 percent), teenagers (17.6 percent), whites (5.2 percent), blacks (10.7 percent), and Hispanics (7.4 percent) showed little or no change from the previous month. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)

The number of persons unemployed for 15 weeks or more increased in June to 3.1 million. The number of such persons has grown by nearly 700,000 so far this year and, since June 2001, has about doubled. (See table A-6.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

The civilian labor force fell by 293,000 to 142.5 million in June, after seasonal adjustment, and the labor force participation rate declined to 66.6 percent. Over the year, however, the labor force has increased by about 1 million. (See table A-1.)

The number of employed persons decreased over the month by 364,000 to 134.1 million, seasonally adjusted, while the employment-population ratio fell to 62.7 percent. Total employment in June was nearly 1 million lower than a year earlier and the employment-population ratio was 1.1 percentage points lower. (See table A-1.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

About 1.4 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached to the labor force in June, up from 1.2 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 337,000 in June. 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, at 130.7 million, was little changed in June (+36,000) for the fourth consecutive month. In contrast, payroll employ- ment had fallen by an average of 160,000 jobs a month from the start of the economic downturn in March 2001 through February 2002. (See table B-1.)

Employment in manufacturing declined by 23,000 in June. Job losses in the industry have moderated substantially since the beginning of the year. Between March 2001 and January 2002, manufacturing had lost an average of 115,000 jobs a month. By comparison, in February and March, losses averaged 63,000 a month and, from April through June, 24,000 a month. The June losses occurred primarily within durable goods manufacturing, particularly in elec- tronic and electrical equipment, primary metals, lumber and wood products, and aircraft and parts manufacturing. In the nondurable goods sector, job losses continued in printing and publishing.

Construction employment edged up over the month. From March 2001 through May 2002, the construction industry lost 243,000 jobs, a smaller decline than in prior economic downturns. Employment in mining was little changed in June. Since its recent peak in September 2001, the industry has lost 14,000 jobs, with most of the losses in oil and gas extraction.

Employment in the services industry was little changed in June fol- lowing 3 months of job gains. These prior gains were fueled, in large part, by job increases in the help supply industry. In June, however, employment in help supply was essentially flat, after seasonal adjustment. Employment in health services rose by 34,000, mainly in hospitals. In contrast, engineering and management services lost 21,000 jobs over the month.

In retail trade, employment declined in car dealerships, and department stores lost jobs for the second consecutive month. Employment in eating and drinking places was essentially unchanged over the month; the industry has lost 186,000 jobs since its most recent peak in July 2001.

Transportation and public utilities employment was essentially unchanged over the month, after seasonal adjustment. Job losses in communications partly offset job gains in local and interurban passenger transit and in air transportation. In finance, employment increased in mortgage brokerages (7,000) and in security and commodity brokerages (4,000). The non-education component of local government added 20,000 jobs.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls ticked up by 0.1 hour in June to 34.3 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek was up by 0.2 hour to 41.1 hours, and factory overtime edged up by 0.1 hour to 4.3 hours. Since November, the fac- tory workweek has increased by 0.7 hour and factory overtime by 0.5 hour. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 0.3 percent in June to 148.6 (1982=100). The manufacturing index also was up by 0.3 percent over the month. (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 June to $14.76, seasonally adjusted. June's gain brought the total increase for the second quarter to 11 cents. This was greater than the increase of 9 cents in the first quarter, but less than the 2001 average quarterly increase of 13 cents. Average weekly earn- ings rose by 0.7 percent over the month to $506.27. Over the year, average hourly earnings increased by 3.3 percent and average weekly earnings grew by 3.6 percent. (See table B-3.)