EconoIndicators

Employment Situation At a Glance

• Total Employment: 145.8 million
• Nonfarm Payroll Employment: 138 million
• Monthly Change: Down 4,000
• Unemployed Persons: 7.1 million
• Unemployment Rate: 4.6%
• Change: None

Technorati Tags: employment, situation, unemployment, report

THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: AUGUST 2007

Nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged (-4,000) in August, and
the unemployment rate remained at 4.6 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of
the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Over the last 3 months, total pay-
roll employment changes have averaged 44,000 per month and private sector employ-
ment changes have averaged 72,000 per month (as revised). In August, employment
in manufacturing, construction, and local government education declined, while job
growth continued in health care and food services.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed and the unemployment rate held at 7.1 million and
4.6 percent, respectively, in August. The unemployment level and rate were
little changed from a year earlier. In August, the unemployment rates for adult
men (4.1 percent), adult women (4.1 percent), teenagers (16.1 percent), whites
(4.2 percent), blacks (7.7 percent), and Hispanics (5.5 percent) showed little
or no change. The unemployment rate for Asians was 3.4 percent, not seasonally
adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

In August, the civilian labor force edged down to 152.9 million, and the
labor force participation rate decreased to 65.8 percent. The declines were
largely due to a drop in labor force participation among teenagers; their
participation rate fell to 39.7 percent. Total employment (145.8 million)
and the employment-population ratio (62.8 percent) were little changed over
the month. (See table A-1.)

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.5 million
in August, was 359,000 higher than a year earlier. 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 1.4 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached
to the labor force in August, down by 227,000 from a year earlier. These indivi-
duals wanted and were available to work and had looked for a job sometime during
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 marginally
attached, there were 392,000 discouraged workers in August, little different
from a year earlier. Discouraged workers were not currently looking for work
specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them. The nearly
1.0 million remaining persons marginally attached to the labor force in August
had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such
as school attendance and family responsibilities. (See table A-13.)

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Table A. Major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
_______________________________________________________________________________
| | |
| Quarterly | |
| averages | Monthly data |
|_________________|__________________________| July-
Category | | | | | | Aug.
| | | June | July | Aug. | change
| I 2007 | II 2007| 2007 | 2007 | 2007 |
|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
HOUSEHOLD DATA | Labor force status
|_____________________________________________________
| | | | | |
Civilian labor force ….| 152,912| 152,807| 153,072| 153,231| 152,891| -340
Employment …………| 146,044| 145,956| 146,140| 146,110| 145,794| -316
Unemployment ……….| 6,869| 6,851| 6,933| 7,121| 7,097| -24
Not in labor force ……| 77,927| 78,675| 78,641| 78,727| 79,319| 592
|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
| Unemployment rates
|_____________________________________________________
| | | | | |
All workers ………….| 4.5| 4.5| 4.5| 4.6| 4.6| 0.0
Adult men ………….| 4.1| 4.0| 4.1| 4.2| 4.1| -.1
Adult women ………..| 3.9| 3.9| 3.9| 4.1| 4.1| .0
Teenagers ………….| 14.8| 15.6| 15.8| 15.2| 16.1| .9
White ……………..| 4.0| 4.0| 4.0| 4.2| 4.2| .0
Black or African | | | | | |
American …………| 8.1| 8.4| 8.5| 8.0| 7.7| -.3
Hispanic or Latino | | | | | |
ethnicity ………..| 5.4| 5.6| 5.7| 5.9| 5.5| -.4
|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
ESTABLISHMENT DATA | Employment
|_____________________________________________________
| | | | | |
Nonfarm employment…….| 137,447| 137,864| 137,973|p138,041|p138,037| p-4
Goods-producing (1)….| 22,505| 22,447| 22,436| p22,426| p22,362| p-64
Construction ……..| 7,684| 7,665| 7,665| p7,651| p7,629| p-22
Manufacturing …….| 14,111| 14,064| 14,050| p14,049| p14,003| p-46
Service-providing (1)..| 114,942| 115,417| 115,537|p115,615|p115,675| p60
Retail trade (2)…| 15,375| 15,385| 15,383| p15,388| p15,401| p13
Professional and | | | | | |
business services .| 17,826| 17,879| 17,886| p17,911| p17,917| p6
Education and health | | | | | |
services ……….| 18,143| 18,301| 18,364| p18,414| p18,477| p63
Leisure and | | | | | |
hospitality …….| 13,423| 13,524| 13,554| p13,560| p13,572| p12
Government ……….| 22,170| 22,233| 22,234| p22,182| p22,154| p-28
|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
| Hours of work (3)
|_____________________________________________________
| | | | | |
Total private ………..| 33.8| 33.8| 33.9| p33.8| p33.8| p0.0
Manufacturing ………| 41.0| 41.2| 41.4| p41.3| p41.3| p.0
Overtime …………| 4.2| 4.2| 4.3| p4.2| p4.1| p-.1
|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
| Indexes of aggregate weekly hours (2002=100)(3)
|_____________________________________________________
| | | | | |
Total private ………..| 106.8| 107.4| 107.7| p107.6| p107.6| p0.0
|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
| Earnings (3)
|_____________________________________________________
Average hourly earnings, | | | | | |
total private ………| $17.16| $17.32| $17.40| p$17.45| p$17.50| p$0.05
Average weekly earnings, | | | | | |
total private ………| 579.90| 586.11| 589.86| p589.81| p591.50| p1.69
_________________________|________|________|________|________|________|________

1 Includes other industries, not shown separately.
2 Quarterly averages and the over-the-month change are calculated using
unrounded
data.
3 Data relate to private production and nonsupervisory workers.
p = preliminary.

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Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

In August, total payroll employment was essentially unchanged (-4,000) at
138.0 million, seasonally adjusted. This followed little job growth in June
(+69,000) and July (+68,000), as revised. In August, employment continued to
fall in manufacturing and construction; local government education also lost
jobs. Job gains continued in health care and in food services and drinking
places. (See table B-1.)

Manufacturing employment declined by 46,000 in August. This industry has
lost 215,000 jobs over the past year. In August, declines were widespread
among component industries. Within durable goods, there were job losses in
motor vehicles and parts (-11,000), machinery (-7,000), wood products (-7,000),
furniture and related products (-4,000), and semiconductors and electronic
components (-4,000). In nondurable goods manufacturing, job losses continued
in apparel (-4,000) and in textile mills (-2,000).

Construction employment declined in August (-22,000), with most of the loss
occurring among residential specialty trade contractors. Since its most recent
peak in September 2006, construction employment has fallen by 96,000.

Employment in local government education fell by 32,000 in August, as
seasonal hiring was less than usual.

Health care employment continued to grow in August (+35,000); the industry
added 396,000 jobs over the year. In August, employment continued to grow in
all the components of health care: ambulatory care services (+18,000), hospi-
tals (+11,000), and nursing and residential care (+6,000). Employment in
social assistance rose by 14,000 and was 83,000 above its year-ago level.

Within leisure and hospitality, food services and drinking places employment
continued to expand in August (+24,000). The industry has added 350,000 jobs
over the year. Employment in the accommodations industry has trended down over
the past 3 months.

Employment in retail trade was little changed in August. A job gain in
building material and garden supply stores was partially offset by a decline
in general merchandise stores. Wholesale trade employment changed little in
August.

Employment in financial activities was flat in August, following a large
increase in July. Within the industry, employment in credit intermediation
edged down over the month and is 19,000 below its most recent peak in February
2007. In professional and business services, management and technical con-
sulting services added 7,000 jobs in August, and temporary help employment
continued to trend down. Temporary help has lost 72,000 jobs thus far in 2007.

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Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory workers on private
nonfarm payrolls, at 33.8 hours, and the manufacturing workweek, at 41.3 hours,
were unchanged in August. Factory overtime fell by 0.1 hour to 4.1 hours. (See
table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production and nonsupervisory workers
on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged in August at 107.6 (2002=100). The
manufacturing index fell by 0.3 percent over the month to 95.4. (See table
B-5.)

Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)

Average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers on private
nonfarm payrolls increased by 5 cents, or 0.3 percent, in August to $17.50,
seasonally adjusted. Average weekly earnings grew by 0.3 percent over the month
to $591.50. Over the year, both average hourly and weekly earnings rose
by 3.9 percent. (See table B-3.)

Employment Situation August 2007 [PDF]

Employment Situation August 2007 [Text]

Commissioners Statement on August 2007 Employment Situation [PDF]

Commissioners Statement on August 2007 Employment Situation [Text]

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics