July 2003 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 and nonfarm payroll employment edged down in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Payroll employment has declined for the past 6 months. Job losses continued in manufacturing, while temporary help and other administrative services added workers.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The unemployment rate was 6.2 percent in July; the number of unemployed persons was 9.1 million. Both measures edged down over the month, largely offsetting increases in June. Over the month, jobless rates for adult men (5.9 percent), teenagers (18.4 percent), and blacks (11.1 percent) edged down from levels reached in June. Jobless rates for adult women (5.2 per- cent), whites (5.5 percent), and Hispanics (8.2 percent) showed little or no change in July. The unemployment rate for Asians was 6.2 percent, not seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

In July, the number of persons unemployed for less than 5 weeks decreased by 279,000. There were 2.0 million unemployed persons who had been looking for work for 27 weeks or longer, about the same level as in June. They rep- resented 21.7 percent of the total unemployed. (See table A-9.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

The civilian labor force decreased by 556,000 in July to 146.5 million. This decline follows an increase of a similar magnitude in June. The labor force participation rate fell to 66.2 percent. This matches the recent low for the series, previously reached in March. In July, total employment was down slightly to 137.5 million, and the employment-population ratio declined to 62.1 percent. (See table A-1.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

In July, about 1.6 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached to the labor force, little changed from a year earlier. These individuals 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 did not actively search for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. Of the 1.6 million, 470,000 were discouraged workers who were not currently looking for work specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them. The other 1.1 million marginally attached had not searched for work for reasons such as child-care or transportation problems. (See table A-13.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Total nonfarm payroll employment in July was 129.9 million (-44,000 over the month). The number of jobs has declined by 486,000 since January. Over the month, manufacturing and transportation shed jobs, but these losses were partially offset by gains in administrative services, notably in temporary help. (See table B-1.)

Manufacturing employment fell by 71,000 in July. Employment in this sector has declined continuously since July 2000. Most manufacturing industries post- ed job losses over the month. Within durable goods manufacturing, the largest employment decline occurred in transportation equipment, where seasonal lay- offs of auto workers were larger than usual. Employment also decreased in computer and electronic products (-11,000) and in fabricated metal products (-8,000). In nondurable goods manufacturing, 9,000 apparel and 7,000 textile mill jobs were lost over the month.

Transportation and warehousing employment fell by 16,000 in July. Job losses were concentrated in air transportation, where employment fell by 9,000. This industry has lost 136,000 jobs since its recent peak in March 2001.

Employment continued to decline in wholesale trade; job losses were widespread throughout the industry. Within retail trade, employment fell by 12,000 in food stores. Over the year, food stores have shed 60,000 jobs. Within the information sector, employment continued to trend down in telecommunications and in publishing. Both industries have been losing jobs for over 2 years. Employment in professional and technical services declined by 20,000, largely due to an employment loss of 12,000 in computer systems design and related services.

Employment in administrative and support services rose by 85,000 over the month. Within its component industries, employment in temporary help increased for the third consecutive month, adding 42,000 jobs in July. Employment in this industry has grown by 122,000 since April. Employment also rose in building and dwelling services (11,000) over the month.

Employment in the leisure and hospitality sector edged up in July (13,000). Most of this gain took place in accommodations, which added 11,000 jobs.

Financial activities continued to add jobs, but at a slower pace. For the past 2 months, job gains averaged about 7,000 per month, compared with 16,000 per month from August 2002 to May 2003. Employment growth also slowed over the past 2 months in the construction sector. Employment in health care and social assistance was essentially unchanged over the month.

Government employment edged lower in July. This was the fifth consecutive decline; the number of government jobs has fallen by 115,000 over this period.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls decreased by 0.1 hour in July to 33.6 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek was down by 0.2 hour to 40.1 hours, and manufacturing overtime was unchanged, at 4.0 hours. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls fell by 0.4 percent in July to 98.3 (2002=100). The manufacturing index fell by 1.1 percent over the month to 93.9. (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 5 cents in July to $15.44, seasonally adjusted. Average weekly earnings were little changed over the month at $518.78. Over the year, average hourly earnings grew by 3.1 percent and average weekly earn- ings increased by 2.5 percent. (See table B-3.)