March 2006 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 211,000 in March, and the unemploy- ment rate was little changed at 4.7 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Over the month, job growth was widespread in the service-providing sector.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

Both the number of unemployed persons, 7.0 million, and the unemployment rate, 4.7 percent, were little changed in March. The jobless rates for the major worker groups--adult men (4.1 percent), adult women (4.1 percent), teenagers (15.7 percent), whites (4.0 percent), blacks (9.3 percent), and Hispanics (5.4 percent)--showed little or no change over the month. The unemployment rate for Asians was 3.4 percent, not seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

The number of long-term unemployed--those unemployed 27 weeks and over-- also was little changed over the month. This group accounted for 18.4 percent of the unemployed, down from 21.5 percent a year earlier. (See table A-9.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Total employment was up in March to 143.6 million; the employment-popula- tion ratio--the proportion of the population age 16 and over with jobs--was little changed at 63.0 percent. The labor force participation rate remained at 66.1 percent and has been at or near that level for a year. (See table A-1.)

The number of persons working part time for economic reasons edged down to 4.0 million in March. This category includes persons who 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)

Nearly 1.5 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally at- tached to the labor force in March, slightly less than a year earlier. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job some- time in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. Among the mar- ginally attached, there were 451,000 discouraged workers in March, about the same as a year earlier. Discouraged workers were not currently looking for work specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them. The other 1.0 million marginally attached had not searched for work for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities. (See table A-13.)

Employment Status of Hurricane Katrina Evacuees (Household Survey Data)

Beginning in October, questions were added to the household survey to iden- tify persons who evacuated from their homes, even temporarily, due to Hurricane Katrina. Data collected through these questions do not account for all evac- uees; persons living outside of the scope of the survey--such as those living in hotels or shelters--are not included. The questions were asked of persons in the household survey sample throughout the country, since some evacuees re- located far from the storm-affected areas. An additional question determined whether evacuees had returned to their homes and were living there at the time of the survey. The total number of evacuees estimated from the household sur- vey may change from month to month as people move in and out of the scope of the survey. In addition, because the estimates are obtained from a sample survey, they may vary from month to month due to sampling error.

Information gathered in March showed that about 1.0 million persons age 16 and over had evacuated from where they were living in August due to Hurricane Katrina. These evacuees either had returned to their homes or were living in other residential units covered in the survey in March. Just over half of the evacuees were living in their August 2005 residences. Of all evacuees identi- fied, 53.6 percent were in the labor force in March. The unemployment rate for persons identified as evacuees was 16.5 percent. The rate was much higher for evacuees who were not living in their former homes (34.7 percent) than for those who were again living at their pre-Katrina residences (5.3 percent). (See table B.)

(Numbers in thousands, not seasonally adjusted)

1 Represents persons in the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over who resided in households that were eligible to be selected for the Current Population Survey (CPS). These data are not representative of the total evacuee population because they do not in- clude children or people residing in shelters, hotels, places of worship, or other units outside the scope of the CPS. The total number of evac- uees estimated from the CPS may change from month to month as people move in and out of the scope of the survey and because of sampling varia- bility. NOTE: These data use population controls that have been adjusted to account for interstate moves by evacuees.

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 211,000 in March to 135.0 million, seasonally adjusted. Over the year, payroll employment has grown by 2.1 mil- lion. The March increase was concentrated in the service-providing sector, with gains in several industries, including professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, retail trade, and health care. (See table B-1.)

Employment in professional and business services increased by 52,000 over the month. The gain was spread among most of the sector's component industries, including architectural and engineering services, computer systems design, man- agement and consulting services, and services to buildings and dwellings. Over the year, employment in professional and business services was up by 469,000.

Leisure and hospitality employment rose by 42,000 in March. Within the industry, employment in food services and drinking places continued to grow, with a gain of 33,000 over the month. In March, retail trade employment in- creased by 29,000, with most of the growth occurring in general merchandise stores (26,000). Employment in wholesale trade continued its upward trend and has risen by 232,000 since its most recent low in August 2003.

Health care added 24,000 jobs in March; over the year, employment in the industry has risen by 293,000. Over the month, job growth occurred in hos- pitals (8,000) and in ambulatory health care services (16,000), which includes doctors' offices and home health care.

Employment in financial activities rose over the month. Credit inter- mediation and insurance carriers each added 7,000 jobs, following similar- sized increases in February.

In the goods-producing sector, mining employment continued to expand in March, rising by 6,000. Most of the gain occurred in support activities for mining, particularly those related to oil and gas. Since its most recent low in April 2003, mining employment has increased by 97,000.

Manufacturing employment was little changed in March; it has decreased by 56,000 over the year. Over the month, employment declines in textile mills and in plastics and rubber products offset a gain in computer and electronic products. Construction employment was essentially unchanged in March, but the industry has added 311,000 jobs over the year.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.8 hours in March, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek and factory overtime also were unchanged at 41.0 and 4.5 hours, respectively. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.2 percent in March to 104.4 (2002=100). The manufacturing index was unchanged at 95.5. (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 3 cents in March to $16.49, seasonally adjusted. This followed gains of 5 cents and 6 cents in January and February, respec- tively. Average weekly earnings increased by 0.2 percent over the month to $557.36. Over the year, average hourly earnings increased by 3.4 percent and average weekly earnings increased by 3.7 percent. (See table B-3.)