<U.S Economy> The Employment Situation Summary.
Source:U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics
Employment Situation Summary
Internet address: stats.bls.gov
Technical information: USDL 99-31
Household data: (202) 606-6378
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THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: JANUARY 1999
Employment rose in January and the unemployment rate was unchanged at
4.3 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor
reported today. Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 245,000, about in line
with the average for the prior 12 months. Gains occurred in most major
industry divisions. Average hourly earnings increased by 6 cents.
Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
The number of unemployed persons, 6.0 million, was about unchanged in
January, and the unemployment rate held at 4.3 percent, seasonally
adjusted. The jobless rate has remained within a narrow range of 4.3 to
4.5 percent since last April. Among the major worker groups, the
unemployment rate for Hispanics fell to 6.6 percent in January. The
jobless rates for the other major demographic groups--adult men (3.4
percent), adult women (3.7 percent), teenagers (15.5 percent), whites (3.8
percent), and blacks (7.8 percent)--showed little or no change over the month.
(See tables A-1 and A-2.)
Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
Total employment rose by 814,000 in January after adjustment for the
effect of revisions to population controls. (See the note on page 5.) The
employment-population ratio--the proportion of the population age 16 and
older with jobs--reached a record 64.5 percent, up 0.3 percentage point
from the previous month. (See table A-1.)
The civilian labor force increased by 742,000, again after adjustment
for the effect of population control revisions. The labor force
participation rate rose to 67.4 percent, also a record. (See table A-1.)
Approximately 7.9 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more
than one job in January. These multiple jobholders comprised 6.0 percent
of total employment, the same rate as a year earlier. (See table A-10.)
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Table A. Major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
___________________________________________________________________________
| Quarterly | Monthly data |
| averages | |
|_________________|__________________________| Dec.-
Category | 1998 | 1998 | 1999 | Jan.
|_________________|_________________|________|change1/
| III | IV | Nov. | Dec. | Jan. |
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
HOUSEHOLD DATA | Labor force status
|____________________________________________________
Civilian labor force..| 137,656| 138,285| 138,193| 138,547| 139,347| 742
Employment..........| 131,419| 132,166| 132,113| 132,526| 133,396| 814
Unemployment........| 6,237| 6,120| 6,080| 6,021| 5,950| -73
Not in labor force....| 67,827| 67,813| 67,911| 67,723| 67,372| -600
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Unemployment rates
|____________________________________________________
All workers...........| 4.5| 4.4| 4.4| 4.3| 4.3| .0
Adult men...........| 3.8| 3.6| 3.5| 3.6| 3.4| -0.2
Adult women.........| 4.0| 4.0| 4.0| 3.9| 3.7| -.2
Teenagers...........| 14.7| 14.9| 15.0| 14.0| 15.5| 1.5
White...............| 3.9| 3.8| 3.8| 3.8| 3.8| .0
Black...............| 9.2| 8.4| 8.6| 7.9| 7.8| -.1
Hispanic origin.....| 7.3| 7.4| 7.3| 7.6| 6.6| -1.0
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
ESTABLISHMENT DATA | Employment
|____________________________________________________
Nonfarm employment....| 126,141|p126,811| 126,804|p127,102|p127,347| p245
Goods-producing 2/..| 25,210| p25,218| 25,184| p25,262| p25,255| p-7
Construction......| 5,980| p6,071| 6,051| p6,150| p6,165| p15
Manufacturing.....| 18,660| p18,588| 18,573| p18,557| p18,544| p-13
Service-producing 2/| 100,931|p101,593| 101,620|p101,840|p102,092| p252
Retail trade......| 22,561| p22,657| 22,672| p22,711| p22,741| p30
Services..........| 37,691| p38,027| 38,040| p38,137| p38,251 p114
Government........| 19,892| p19,985| 19,986| p20,020| p20,056| p36
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Hours of work 3/
|____________________________________________________
Total private.........| 34.5| p34.6| 34.5| p34.6| p34.5| p-0.1
Manufacturing.......| 41.7| p41.7| 41.7| p41.7| p41.5| p-.2
Overtime..........| 4.6| p4.5| 4.5| p4.5| p4.5| p.0
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Indexes of aggregate weekly hours (1982=100) 3/
|____________________________________________________
Total private.........| 145.1| p145.9| 145.7| p146.2| p146.2| p.0
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Earnings 3/
|____________________________________________________
Avg. hourly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| $12.84| p$12.94| $12.94| p$12.98| p$13.04| p$0.06
Avg. weekly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| 443.29| p447.29| 446.43| p449.11| p449.88| p.77
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
1/ Changes for household data levels reflect an adjustment to remove
the effect of revisions to population controls. See the note on page 5.
2/ Includes other industries, not shown separately.
3/ Data relate to private production or nonsupervisory workers.
p=preliminary.
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