June 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 rose by 121,000 in June, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.6 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Employment continued to trend upward in several service-providing industries and in mining. Average hourly earnings rose by 8 cents in June.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons (7.0 million) was essentially unchanged in June, and the unemployment rate held at 4.6 percent. The unemployment rate for adult men declined to 4.0 percent, while the unemployment rate for teenagers edged up to 15.4 percent. Jobless rates for the other major worker groups--adult women (4.1 percent), whites (4.1 percent), blacks (9.0 percent), and Hispanics (5.3 percent)--showed little or no change over the month. The unemployment rate for Asians was 3.5 percent, not seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

The number of long-term unemployed persons--those unemployed 27 weeks or longer--fell to 1.1 million in June. This group accounted for 16.2 percent of total unemployment, down from 18.8 percent in May. (See table A-9.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

The civilian labor force (151.3 million) and total employment (144.4 mil- lion) continued to trend up in June. The labor force participation rate was essentially unchanged over the month at 66.2 percent and was about the same as a year earlier. The employment-population ratio, at 63.1 percent, also was essentially unchanged over the month, but was 0.4 percentage point higher than a year earlier. (See table A-1.)

The number of persons who held more than one job decreased by 320,000 in June to 7.4 million, after edging up in May. This group accounted for 5.1 per- cent of total employment in June, down from 5.4 percent a year earlier. (See table A-6.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

About 1.6 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally at- tached to the labor force in June, the same as a year earlier. These indi- viduals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime 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 margin- ally attached, there were 481,000 discouraged workers in June, also 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 1.1 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 2005, questions were added to the household survey to identify persons who evacuated from their homes, even temporarily, due to Hurricane Katrina. Data collected through these questions do not account for all evacuees; persons living outside 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 relocated far from the storm-affected areas. An additional question determined whether evacuees had returned to their homes and were residing there at the time of the June survey. The total number of evacuees estimated from the household survey may change from month to month as people move in and out of the scope of the survey; also, because the estimates are obtained from a sample survey, they may vary from month to month due to sampling and nonsam- pling error.

Information gathered in June represented about 1.5 million persons age 16 and over who had evacuated from where they were living in August 2005 due to Hurricane Katrina. These evacuees either had moved back to their homes or were living in other residential units covered in the survey. About 6 in 10 of the evacuees were living in their August 2005 residences. Of all evacuees identi- fied, 63.4 percent were in the labor force in June. The unemployment rate for persons identified as evacuees was 13.4 percent. The rate was much higher for evacuees who were not living in their former homes (25.9 percent) than for those who were again living in their pre-Katrina residences (5.9 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 and nonsampling error. 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 increased by 121,000 in June to 135.2 mil- lion. This increase followed job gains of 112,000 in April and 92,000 in May, as revised. The average monthly gain of 108,000 over this 3-month period com- pares with an average monthly gain of 169,000 over the 12-month period ending in March. Over the month, job growth continued in health care, professional and business services, and mining; employment in manufacturing edged up. (See table B-1.)

Health care employment continued to trend up in June, with a gain of 19,000. Over the past 12 months, the industry added 278,000 jobs. In June, employment rose in hospitals, doctors' offices, and nursing and residential care facili- ties.

Employment in professional and business services also continued to grow in June (+25,000). Job gains in the industry have averaged 27,000 per month so far in 2006, compared with 41,000 per month in 2005. In June, employment edged up in accounting and bookkeeping services and in computer systems de- sign. Temporary help services employment edged down slightly over the month and has decreased by 36,000 since December.

Elsewhere in the service-providing sector, local government employment was up 24,000 in June with most of the increase in functions other than education. Employment continued to trend up over the month in food services and in whole- sale trade. Financial activities had little job growth for the second month in a row.

Retail trade employment was essentially unchanged in June following large declines in April and May. Retail employment is down by 86,000 since March. General merchandise stores lost 14,000 jobs over the month; this industry has accounted for most of the recent decline in retail trade employment.

In the goods-producing sector, manufacturing employment edged up in June (+15,000), following a small decline in May. Over the month, employment was up in transportation equipment, machinery, and electrical equipment and ap- pliances.

Mining employment grew by 6,000 in June. The industry has added 114,000 jobs since its most recent low in April 2003, largely reflecting gains in suport activities for oil and gas. In June, construction employment was es- sentially unchanged for the fourth consecutive month.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.1 hour to 33.9 hours in June, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek also rose by 0.1 hour to 41.3 hours, while factory overtime was unchanged at 4.6 hours. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.4 percent in June to 105.0 (2002=100). The manufacturing index also rose by 0.4 percent to 96.8. (See table B-5.)

Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)

Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 8 cents in June to $16.70, seasonally adjusted. This followed increases of 10 cents in April and 1 cent in May. Average weekly earnings increased by 0.8 percent in June to $566.13. Over the year, average hourly earnings increased by 3.9 percent and average weekly earnings increased by 4.5 percent. (See table B-3.)