March 2004 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.

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 308,000 in March, and the unemployment rate was about unchanged at 5.7 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Payroll job growth was fairly widespread, as construction employment rose sharply and several major service-providing industries also added jobs.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The unemployment rate, 5.7 percent, and the number of unemployed persons, 8.4 million, were essentially unchanged in March. Both measures remained below their recent highs of June 2003. Unemployment rates for the major worker groups--adult men (5.2 percent), adult women (5.1 percent), teenagers (16.5 percent), whites (5.1 percent), blacks (10.2 percent), and Hispanics or Latinos (7.4 percent)--showed little or no change over the month. The unem- ployment rate for Asians was 4.2 percent in March, not seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Total employment in March held at 138.3 million, and the employment-popula- tion ratio--the proportion of the population age 16 and over with jobs--was essentially unchanged at 62.1 percent. The civilian labor force was about unchanged over the month at 146.7 million, and the labor force participation rate remained at 65.9 percent. (See table A-1.)

In March, the number of persons who worked part time for economic reasons increased to 4.7 million, about the same level as in January. These indivi- duals indicated that they would like to work full time but were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find full-time jobs. (See table A-5.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

The number of persons who were marginally attached to the labor force totaled 1.6 million in March, about the same as 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. There were 514,000 discouraged workers in March, also about the same as a year earlier. Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached, were not currently looking for work specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them. The other 1.1 million margin- ally attached had not searched for work for reasons such as school or family responsibilities. (See table A-13.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 308,000 in March to 130.5 million, seasonally adjusted. The over-the-month increase in employment included gains in construction, retail trade, and health care and social assistance. The number of factory jobs was unchanged in March. Since August 2003, payroll employment has risen by 759,000. (See table B-1.)

1 Beginning in January 2004, household data reflect revised population controls used in the Current Population Survey. 2 Includes other industries, not shown separately. 3 Data relate to private production or nonsupervisory workers. p=preliminary.

Construction employment increased by 71,000 in March, following a decline in February. This industry has added 201,000 jobs over the past year. Most of the March employment gain occurred among specialty trade contractors.

Retail trade added 47,000 jobs in March. This sector has added 132,000 jobs since December, after posting a net job loss in 2003. Within retail trade, employment in food stores increased by 13,000 over the month, reflect- ing the net impact of workers returning from a strike. Wholesale trade em- ployment edged up over the month. Since October, the industry has added 39,000 jobs.

Employment in health care and social assistance rose by 36,000 in March. Over the year, this industry has gained 255,000 jobs. In March, employment increased in hospitals (12,000), offices of physicians (9,000), and nursing and residential care facilities (7,000).

In the financial sector, employment in credit intermediation and related activities grew by 11,000 in March. Following declines in the last quarter of 2003, employment in credit intermediation expanded in the first quarter, reflecting a rise in mortgage refinancing activity. Prior to the fourth quarter of 2003, the industry had been adding jobs for about 3 years.

Professional and business services added 42,000 jobs in March. Small em- ployment increases occurred in several of the component industries, including architectural and engineering services, computer systems design, and manage- ment consulting. Elsewhere in professional and business services, employment in temporary help services was about unchanged over the month. Since April 2003, however, the industry has added 212,000 jobs.

Within the leisure and hospitality sector, employment in food services and drinking places increased by 27,000 over the month and by 186,000 over the year.

Manufacturing employment was unchanged in March at 14.3 million. Declines in manufacturing employment began moderating late last summer. Employment in both durable and nondurable goods manufacturing was little changed in March.

Employment in a number of other industries edged up in March, including transportation and warehousing (13,000), utilities (2,000), and government (31,000). Within government, the March job gain was concentrated in state and local education.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls decreased by 0.1 hour in March to 33.7 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek also declined by 0.1 hour to 40.9 hours. Manufacturing overtime was unchanged at 4.6 hours over the month. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls fell by 0.1 percent in March to 99.0 (2002=100). The manufacturing index was down by 0.3 percent over the month to 94.1. (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 2 cents in March to $15.54, seasonally adjusted. Average weekly earnings fell by 0.2 percent over the month to $523.70. Over the year, average hourly earnings grew by 1.8 percent, and average weekly earn- ings increased by 1.5 percent. (See table B-3.)