Employment and unemployment developments, February 1997

Nonfarm payroll employment rose, and the unemployment rate was about unchanged at 5.3 percent in February. The number of payroll jobs increased by 339,000 over the month; construction employment rose sharply, and there were gains throughout the service-producing sector. Average hourly earnings rose by 3 cents in February, and the average work-week rebounded from a weather-related drop in January.

Unemployment

The number of unemployed persons, 7.2 million, and the unemployment rate, 5.3 percent, were essentially unchanged in February, after seasonal adjustment. Jobless rates for the major demographic groups--adult men (4.4 percent), adult women (4.7 percent), teenagers (17.5 percent), whites (4.5 percent), blacks (11.3 percent), and Hispanics (8.1 percent --showed little movement over the month. (See tables A-3 and A-4.)

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Total employment and the labor force

Total employment was about unchanged in February, at 128.4 million (seasonally adjusted), following a substantial increase in January. The proportion of the population that was employed (the employment-population ratio) was 63.5 percent.

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons decreased by 165,000 in February to 4.3 million. This series has shown little definitive movement over the past year. (See table A-6.)

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About 7.9 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one job in February. These multiple jobholders accounted for 6.2 percent of all employed persons, about the same proportion as a year earlier. (See table A-35.)

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Both the civilian labor force, 135.6 million (seasonally adjusted), and the labor force participation rate, 67.0 percent, were essentially unchanged in February. Over the past year, the labor force has increased by 2.2 million (after adjusting for the change in population controls introduced in January), and the participation rate has risen by 0.4 percentage point.

Persons not in the labor force

About 1.5 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached to the labor force in February--that is, they wanted and were available for work and had looked for jobs sometime in the prior 12 months. The number of discouraged workers-a subset of the marginally attached who were not currently looking for jobs specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them or there were none for which they would quality--was 364,000 in February. Both measures were lower than they were a year earlier. (See table A-34.)

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Industry payroll employment

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 339,000 in February to 121.3 million, affair seasonal adjustment. Construction employment rose markedly, and there were widespread gains in most other major industry divisions. Manufacturing employment was little changed. (See table B-3.)

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Construction employment increased by 109,01)0 in February. Job growth in construction has been strong since the end of 1995. In February, employment was buoyed by favorable weather conditions, following severe weather in January. The largest February gains were in outside activities, such as heavy construction, masonry, concrete, and roofing.

Employment in the services industry rose by 80,000 in February, following a much larger increase (136,000) in January. Employment in help supply services declined by 47,000 in February, partially offsetting a large increase in January. Both months' estimates were strongly influenced by the effects of the 1996 blizzards, which lowered seasonal expectations for January and raised them for February. Job gains continued in computer services and in engineering and management services. In personal services, which includes tax return preparation, employment rose sharply for the second month in a row.

Transportation and public utilities added 21,000 jobs, reflecting strength in the trucking, air travel, transportation services, and communications industries. Wholesale trade also added 21,000 jobs, with most of the gain in the distribution of durable goods. Employment in finance (especially security brokerages, mortgage brokerages, and holding companies) and real estate continued to grow.

Employment in retail trade rose by 49,000 in February, led by a large seasonally adjusted increase in department stores. Before seasonal adjustment, department store employment levels typically decline in both January and February, as fewer workers are needed after the holidays. This year however, more layoffs occurred in January, resulting in a smaller-than-usual decline in February. After seasonal adjustment, therefore, employment in department stores increased by 57,000. Food stores and auto dealers gained jobs in February. Employment was unchanged in building materials and garden supply stores and declined slightly in furniture stores; both of these industries experienced strong job growth in 1996.

Government employment advanced by 46,000. All of the growth was in education at the State and local levels. In January and February combined, State and local education added 66,000 jobs. Excluding education, State and local government payrolls were unchanged in February, and Federal employment continued its downtrend.

Manufacturing employment was unchanged in February, following 4 months of gains that totaled 45,000. Aircraft and parts added jobs for the eighth month in a row. There was a decline of 6,000 jobs in autos, reversing a similar increase in January. Employment in the apparel industry continued its long-term slide, losing 5,000 jobs in February.

Weekly hours

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 0.8 hour in February to 35.0 hours, seasonally adjusted, more than reversing a weather-related 0.6 hour decline in January. The manufacturing workweek rose by 0.2 hour to 41.9 hours, and factory overtime edged up by 0.1 hour to 4.7 hours. (See table B-8.)

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The index of aggregate weekly hours of private production or nonsupervisory workers on nonfarm payrolls rose by 2.7 percent, seasonally adjusted, to 140.8 (1982=100) in February, as both hours and employment increased. The manufacturing index increased by 0.7 percent to 106.8. (See table B-9.)

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Hourly and weekly earnings

Average hourly earnings of private production or nonsupervisory workers on nonfarm payrolls rose by 3 cents in February to $12.09, seasonally adjusted. Reflecting the jump in the workweek, average weekly earnings advanced by 2.6 percent to $423.15. Over the past year, average hourly earnings rose by 3.8 percent and average weekly earnings increased by 5.3 percent. (See table B-11.)

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