July 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 the unemployment rate, 5.9 percent, and total nonfarm payroll employment, 130.8 million, were unchanged in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. A gain in payroll employment in services was partially offset by a decline in construction. Job losses continued to moderate in manufacturing, but the factory workweek fell.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons (8.3 million) and the unemployment rate (5.9 percent) were essentially unchanged for the third month in a row in July. The jobless rates for adult men (5.2 percent), adult women (5.2 percent), teenagers (17.7 percent), whites (5.3 percent), blacks (9.9 percent), and Hispanics (7.6 percent) showed little change from the previous month. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)

The number of persons unemployed for 15 weeks or more fell by 220,000 to 2.9 million in July. This measure had been trending steadily upward since June 2001. (See table A-6.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

The civilian labor force and the labor force participation rate were virtually unchanged in July, as were the number of employed persons and the employment-population ratio. The labor force and the number of employed persons are very close to their levels at the end of 2001. (See table A-1.)

In July, the number of persons working part time despite their preference for full-time work increased by 278,000 to 4.2 million. This follows declines in May and June and brings the number of persons working part time for economic reasons close to its April level. Since March 2001, the number of such persons has increased by almost 1.0 million. (See table A-4.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

About 1.5 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached to the labor force in July, compared with 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 398,000 in July. 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 130.8 million, was essentially unchanged in July (+6,000) and has been little changed since February. In comparison, from March 2001 through February 2002, payroll employment declined by 160,000 a month, on average. (See table B-1.)

The services industry added 50,000 jobs in July, the fifth consecutive monthly gain in the industry. Employment in health services rose by 29,000 in July, slightly above the industry's average increase for the prior 12 months. Over the month, employment also increased in management and public relations (12,000), services to buildings (7,000), and auto repair and parking (4,000). The help supply industry, which provides workers to other businesses on a temporary basis, lost 35,000 jobs over the month. From February through June, employment in this industry increased by 145,000.

In July, employment in the construction industry declined by 30,000, following an increase of 14,000 in June. Losses in the industry were widespread over the month, including declines of 11,000 in heavy construction and 13,000 in special trades.

Manufacturing employment was little changed in July (-7,000). Job losses in the industry have moderated this year. The average monthly job loss in the industry for the 3 months ending in June was 21,000, compared with 63,000 a month in February and March and 115,000 a month from March 2001 to January 2002. In July, employment continued to decline in aircraft manufacturing, and motor vehicle employment fell. Employment in electronic and electrical equipment was essentially unchanged in July; the industry had been losing jobs since January 2001. Employment in rubber and plastics manufacturing increased (6,000), and employment in printing and publishing was little changed for the second consecutive month, following nearly 2 years of sustained job losses.

Job losses in communications continued; the industry has lost 128,000 jobs since its employment peak in April 2001. Within finance, job gains in mortgage banks and brokerages (6,000) were largely offset by losses in security and commodity brokerages (-4,000).

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls declined by 0.3 hour in July to 34.0 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek declined by 0.4 hour to 40.7 hours, and factory overtime was down by 0.2 hour to 4.1 hours. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls fell by 0.6 percent in July to 147.7 (1982=100). The manufacturing index was down by 0.9 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 4 cents in July to $14.79, seasonally adjusted. Average weekly earnings decreased by 0.6 percent over the month to $502.86. Over the year, average hourly earnings increased by 3.2 percent and average weekly earnings grew by 2.6 percent. (See table B-3.)