October 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.

Employment rose in October, and the unemployment rate, at 6.0 percent, was essentially unchanged, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 126,000 in October, following a similar increase (as revised) in September. Job gains occurred in several service industries in October. Manufacturing employment continued to decline, but the rate of job loss has moderated in recent months.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The unemployment rate, 6.0 percent, and the number of unemployed persons, 8.8 million, were essentially unchanged in October. Unemployment rates for the major worker groups--adult men (5.6 percent), adult women (5.2 percent), teenagers (17.1 percent), whites (5.1 percent), blacks (11.5 percent), and Hispanics or Latinos (7.2 percent)--also were little changed. The unemploy- ment rate for Asians was 6.1 percent, not seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

In October, 2.0 million unemployed persons had been looking for work for 27 weeks or longer, about the same level as in September. They represented 23.0 percent of the total unemployed. (See table A-9.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Total employment increased by 441,000 in October to 138.0 million, season- ally adjusted. The employment-population ratio edged up to 62.2 percent. The civilian labor force was little changed at 146.8 million, while the labor force participation rate remained at 66.1 percent. (See table A-1.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

In October, 1.6 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, 170,000 more than a year earlier. (Data are not seasonally adjusted.) 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, 462,000 were discouraged workers--persons who were not current- ly looking for work specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them. The number of discouraged workers was up by 103,000 from October 2002. (See table A-13.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 126,000 in October to 130.1 million, seasonally adjusted. This followed increases totaling 160,000 in August and September (as revised). During the February-July period, payroll employment had decreased by an average of 85,000 per month. (See table B-1.)

Professional and business services added 43,000 jobs in October, following an increase of 70,000 in September. Professional and technical services con- tributed over half of the job gain (24,000) in October, with its management and technical consulting services component adding 7,000 jobs. Within admini- strative and support services, employment in temporary help services continued to trend up in October. Since April, temporary help has added 150,000 jobs.

Employment in health care and social assistance rose by 34,000 over the month and by 255,000 over the year. In October, ambulatory health care services added 18,000 jobs, with about half the gain in offices of physicians. Social assistance added 8,000 jobs in October, largely in child day care services. Employment in private educational services grew by 23,000, seasonally adjusted. Job gains over the last 3 months have more than offset declines that occurred in June and July. Over the year, employment in private education grew by 56,000.

Within retail trade, employment in food stores rose by 13,000 in October, reflecting the hiring of additional workers in anticipation of strikes. Since April 2000, however, employment in food stores has trended down.

Within the leisure and hospitality sector, food services and drinking places added 23,000 jobs in October, following a gain of 20,000 in September. Restaurant employment has increased by 113,000 over the year.

Employment in construction was little changed in October. Since February, the industry has added 147,000 jobs. In the financial sector, employment in credit intermediation, which includes mortgage banking, fell by 10,000, re- flecting the decline in mortgage refinancing activity.

Manufacturing employment decreased by 24,000 in October, with small losses distributed throughout most of the sector. Factory job losses in September and October averaged 26,000, well below the 53,000 average for the prior 12 months.

After a small increase in September, employment in air transportation was down over the month. Since reaching its most recent peak in March 2001, the industry has lost 138,000 jobs.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.1 hour over the month to 33.8 hours, season- ally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek and manufacturing overtime were unchanged from September, at 40.5 hours and 4.2 hours, respectively. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 0.4 percent to 99.1 in October (2002=100). The manufacturing index fell by 0.2 percent over the month to 94.3. (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 1 cent over the month to $15.46, seasonally ad- justed. Average weekly earnings rose by 0.4 percent in October to $522.55. Over the year, both average hourly and weekly earnings increased by 2.4 per- cent. (See table B-3.)