Employment Situation Summary
Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm
Technical information: USDL 00-163
Household data: (202) 691-6378
Transmission of material in this release is
Establishment data: 691-6555 embargoed until 8:30 A.M. (EDT),
Media contact: 691-5902 Friday, June 2, 2000.
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: MAY 2000
Boosted by the hiring of 357,000 temporary workers to assist with Census
2000, total nonfarm payroll employment grew by 231,000 in May, the Bureau
of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.
Private-sector payroll employment declined by 116,000 over the month, and
the unemployment rate edged back up to its March level of 4.1 percent.
Average hourly earnings increased by 1 cent over the month and by 3.5 percent
over the year.
Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
Both the number of unemployed persons, 5.8 million, and the unemployment
rate, 4.1 percent, rose in May. The rate had dipped to 3.9 percent in
April and has been below 4.2 percent since October 1999. Unemployment rates
increased in May for adult women (3.8 percent) and blacks (8.0 percent).
Rates for other major worker groups--adult men (3.4 percent), teenagers
(12.5 percent), whites (3.5 percent), and Hispanics (5.8 percent)--showed
little or no change. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)
Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
Total employment declined by 991,000 in May to 134.7 million, seasonally
adjusted, and the employment-population ratio--the proportion of the
population age 16 and older with jobs--fell to 64.3 percent. The civilian
labor force, 140.5 million, and the labor force participation rate,
67.1 percent, also declined over the month. (See table A-1.)
About 7.7 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one
job in May. These multiple job-holders represented 5.7 percent of total
employment, compared to 5.9 percent a year earlier. (See table A-10.)
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| The establishment data in this release have been revised as |
| a result of the annual benchmarking process, the introduction of |
| probability-based sample estimates for wholesale trade, and the |
| updating of seasonal adjustment factors. More information on the |
| revisions is contained in the note beginning on page 5. |
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- 2 -
Table A. Major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
___________________________________________________________________________
| Quarterly | Monthly data |
| averages | |
|_________________|__________________________| Apr.-
Category | 1999 | 2000 1/| 2000 | May
|_________________|_________________ ________|change
| IV | I | Mar. | Apr. | May |
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
HOUSEHOLD DATA | Labor force status
|____________________________________________________
Civilian labor force..| 139,880| 140,981| 140,867| 141,230| 140,489| -741
Employment..........| 134,153| 135,247| 135,159| 135,706| 134,715| -991
Unemployment........| 5,727| 5,733| 5,708| 5,524| 5,774| 250
Not in labor force....| 68,780| 67,933| 68,187| 67,986| 68,882| 896
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Unemployment rates
|____________________________________________________
All workers...........| 4.1| 4.1| 4.1| 3.9| 4.1| 0.2
Adult men...........| 3.4| 3.3| 3.3| 3.2| 3.4| .2
Adult women.........| 3.6| 3.6| 3.6| 3.5| 3.8| .3
Teenagers...........| 13.8| 13.4| 13.3| 12.7| 12.5| -.2
White...............| 3.5| 3.5| 3.6| 3.5| 3.5| .0
Black...............| 8.1| 7.8| 7.3| 7.2| 8.0| .8
Hispanic origin.....| 6.1| 5.9| 6.3| 5.4| 5.8| .4
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
ESTABLISHMENT DATA 2/| Employment
|____________________________________________________
Nonfarm employment....| 129,783| 130,626| 131,009|p131,423|p131,654| p231
Goods-producing 3/..| 25,524| 25,680| 25,738| p25,717| p25,670| p-47
Construction......| 6,513| 6,665| 6,726| p6,692| p6,663| p-29
Manufacturing.....| 18,482| 18,481| 18,476| p18,486| p18,469| p-17
Service-producing 3/| 104,259| 104,946| 105,271|p105,706|p105,984| p278
Retail trade......| 22,897| 22,993| 23,027| p23,203| p23,136| p-67
Services..........| 39,598| 39,949| 40,090| p40,203| p40,220| p17
Government........| 20,276| 20,431| 20,547| p20,665| p21,012| p347
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Hours of work 4/
|____________________________________________________
Total private.........| 34.5| 34.5| 34.5| p34.5| p34.4| p-0.1
Manufacturing.......| 41.7| 41.7| 41.7| p42.2| p41.4| p-.8
Overtime..........| 4.7| 4.6| 4.6| p4.9| p4.5| p-.4
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Indexes of aggregate weekly hours (1982=100) 4/
|____________________________________________________
Total private.........| 149.6| 150.7| 151.0| p151.6| p150.7| p-0.9
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Earnings 4/
|____________________________________________________
Avg. hourly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| $13.41| $13.54| $13.58| p$13.64| p$13.65| p$0.01
Avg. weekly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| 462.65| 467.47| 468.51| p470.58| p469.56| p-1.02
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
1/ Beginning in January 2000, household data reflect revised popula-
tion controls used in the Current Population Survey.
2/ Establishment data have been revised to reflect March 1999
benchmarks,
the introduction of probability-based sample estimates for wholesale trade,
and recomputed seasonal adjustment factors.
3/ Includes other industries, not shown separately.
4/ Data relate to private production or nonsupervisory workers.
p=preliminary.
- 3 -
Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
About 1.1 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally
attached to the labor force in May. These people 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 had not actively
searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of
discouraged workers was 282,000 in May. Discouraged workers, a subset of
the marginally attached, were not currently looking for work specifically
because they believed no jobs were available for them. (See table A-10.)
Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)
Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 231,000 in May to 131.7 million,
seasonally adjusted, reflecting the addition of 357,000 temporary workers
to federal government payrolls for Census 2000. Total private employment
declined by 116,000 over the month, following large increases in March and
April. Since the beginning of the year, private nonfarm employment growth
has averaged 182,000 a month, slightly below the average for all of 1999
(202,000). In May, job losses occurred throughout much of the private
sector. (See table B-1.)
Construction employment declined by 29,000 in May, after seasonal
adjustment. Since the beginning of the year, construction has added an
average of 22,000 jobs a month, about in line with the monthly average for
all of 1999. The May employment decline was concentrated in residential
building contractors, heavy construction, concrete work, masonry, and
miscellaneous special trades.
Manufacturing employment fell by 17,000 in May, following gains in both
March and April. Apparel and textiles continued their long-term declines
in May, losing 8,000 and 4,000 jobs, respectively. Employment also fell
over the month in motor vehicles (3,000) and in computer and office equipment
(3,000). Employment continued to increase in electronic components; the
industry added 4,000 jobs in May, bringing the total gain this year to 15,000.
Mining employment was little changed in May, following small gains over the
prior 3 months.
- 4 -
In the service-producing sector, employment in retail trade decreased by
67,000 in May, following a very large increase (176,000) in April. Several
retail industries with substantial job gains in April experienced partially
offsetting losses in May; these included eating and drinking places,
department stores, and food stores. Job losses continued for the second
month in a row in building materials and garden supplies stores. In May,
wholesale trade employment was little changed following 2 months of strong
gains.
Employment in transportation and public utilities edged down in May,
with small declines occurring in trucking, air transportation, and
communications.
Employment in finance, insurance, and real estate was little changed in
May. In finance, continued job gains in security brokerages were offset by
losses in commercial banks and mortgage brokerages. Employment at mortgage
brokerages has declined by 45,000 since May 1999.
Services industry employment edged up by 17,000 in May. Monthly job
gains in services have averaged 103,000 so far this year, compared with
124,000 a month for all of 1999. Within services, the help supply industry
lost 36,000 jobs in May, following a large gain (74,000) in the prior
month. Employment in personal services fell by 11,000 in May. Hotel
employment declined slightly following 2 months of strong growth. There
was below-average job growth in health services and in computer and data
processing services. Amusements and recreation added 19,000 jobs in May,
its third large increase so far this year.
Government employment rose by 347,000 in May. The federal government
hired 357,000 temporary workers for Census 2000, but employment declines
continued in other federal agencies. State and local governments showed
little change.
Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)
The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private
nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 hour in May to 34.4 hours, seasonally
adjusted. The manufacturing workweek decreased by 0.8 hour to 41.4 hours.
Manufacturing overtime fell by 0.4 hour to 4.5 hours. (See table B-2.)
The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory
workers on private nonfarm payrolls decreased by 0.6 percent to 150.7
(1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index was down by
1.9 percent to 105.8. (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 1 cent in May to $13.65, seasonally adjusted. Over
the month, average weekly earnings declined by 0.2 percent to $469.56. Over
the year, average hourly earnings rose by 3.5 percent and average weekly
earnings grew by 3.2 percent. (See table B-3.)
______________________________
The Employment Situation for June 2000 is scheduled to be released on
Friday, July 7, at 8:30 A.M. (EDT).
- 5 -
Revisions to Establishment Survey Data
In accordance with annual practice, the establishment survey data have
been revised to reflect comprehensive universe counts of payroll jobs
(benchmarks). These counts are derived principally from unemployment
insurance tax records for March 1999; the benchmark process resulted in
revisions to all unadjusted data series from April 1998 forward, the time
period since the last benchmark was established. All seasonally adjusted
data beginning with January 1995 also have been revised, in accordance with
the usual practice of revising 5 years of data.
In addition to the routine benchmark revisions, all estimates for the
wholesale trade division from April 1998 forward have been revised to
incorporate a new sample design. This represents the first major industry
division to convert to a probability-based sample under a 4-year phase-in
plan for the CES sample redesign project.
Table B presents revised total nonfarm employment data on a seasonally
adjusted basis for the period January 1999 through February 2000. The
revised data for April 1999 forward incorporate the effect of applying the
rate of change measured by the sample to the new benchmark level, as well
as updated bias adjustments and new seasonal adjustment factors. The total
nonfarm employment level for March 1999 was revised upward by 258,000
(241,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis). The previously published level
for February 2000 was revised upward by 192,000 (163,000 on a seasonally
adjusted basis).
The June 2000 issue of Employment and Earnings will contain an article
that discusses the benchmark, the post-benchmark revisions, and the
introduction of probability-based sample estimates for wholesale trade.
(The article is available on the Internet at the address shown below.)
This issue also will provide revised seasonal adjustment factors for March
through October 2000 and revised estimates for all regularly published
tables containing national establishment survey data on employment, hours,
and earnings.
LABSTAT, the BLS public database on the Internet, contains all
historical data revised as a result of this benchmark and updated seasonal
adjustment factors. The data can be accessed through the Current
Employment Statistics (CES) homepage at http://stats.bls.gov/ceshome.htm.
Further information on the revisions released today may be obtained by
calling 202-691-6555 or via the Internet on the CES homepage.
- 6 -
Table B. Revisions in total nonfarm employment, seasonally adjusted,
January 1999-February 2000
(In thousands)
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| As previously | |
Year and month | published | As revised | Difference
----------------|----------------|-------------|----------------
| | |
1999: | | |
January.......| 127,378 | 127,463 | 85
February......| 127,730 | 127,883 | 153
March.........| 127,813 | 128,054 | 241
April.........| 128,134 | 128,282 | 148
May...........| 128,162 | 128,377 | 215
June..........| 128,443 | 128,630 | 187
July..........| 128,816 | 128,898 | 82
August........| 128,945 | 129,057 | 112
September.....| 129,048 | 129,265 | 217
October.......| 129,332 | 129,523 | 191
November......| 129,589 | 129,788 | 199
December......| 129,898 | 130,038 | 140
2000: | | |
January.......| 130,292 | 130,387 | 95
February......| 130,319 | 130,482 | 163
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