THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- SEPTEMBER 2015
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 142,000 in
September, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.1 percent, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in health care
and information, while mining employment fell.
Household Survey
Data
In September, the unemployment rate held at 5.1 percent,
and the number of unemployed persons (7.9 million) changed little. Over the
year, the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons were down by
0.8 percentage point and 1.3 million, respectively. (See table A-1.)
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for
adult men (4.7 percent), adult women (4.6 percent), teenagers (16.3 percent),
whites (4.4 percent), blacks (9.2 percent), Asians (3.6 percent), and Hispanics
(6.4 percent) showed little or no change in September. (See tables A-1, A-2,
and A-3.)
The number of persons unemployed for less than 5 weeks
increased by 268,000 to 2.4 million in September, partially offsetting a
decline in August. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27
weeks or more) was little changed at 2.1 million in September and accounted for
26.6 percent of the unemployed. (See table A-12.)
The civilian labor force participation rate
declined to 62.4 percent in September; the rate had been 62.6 percent for the
prior 3 months. The employment-population ratio edged down to 59.2 percent in
September, after showing little movement for the first 8 months of the year.
(See table A-1.)
The number of persons employed part time for economic
reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) declined by
447,000 to 6.0 million in September. These individuals, who would have
preferred full-time employment, were working part time because their hours had
been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job. Over the
past 12 months, the number of persons employed part time for economic reasons
declined by 1.0 million. (See table A-8.)
In September, 1.9 million persons were
marginally attached to the labor force, down by 305,000 from a year earlier.
(The data are not seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor
force, 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. (See table
A-16.)
Among the marginally attached, there were
635,000 discouraged workers in September, little changed from a year earlier.
(The data are not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not
currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them.
The remaining 1.3 million persons marginally attached to the labor force in
September had not searched for work for reasons such as school attendance or
family responsibilities. (See table A-16.)
Establishment
Survey Data
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 142,000 in
September. Thus far in 2015, job growth has averaged 198,000 per month,
compared with an average monthly gain of 260,000 in 2014. In September, job
gains occurred in health care and information, while employment in mining
continued to decline. (See table B-1.)
Health care added 34,000 jobs in September, in line with
the average increase of 38,000 jobs per month over the prior 12 months.
Hospitals accounted for 16,000 of the jobs gained in September, and employment
in ambulatory health care services continued to trend up (+13,000).
Employment in information increased by 12,000 in
September and has increased by 44,000 over the year.
Employment in professional and business services
continued to trend up in September (+31,000). Job growth has averaged 45,000
per month thus far in 2015, compared with an average monthly gain of 59,000 in
2014. In September, job gains occurred in computer systems design and related
services (+7,000) and in legal services (+5,000).
Retail trade employment trended up in September
(+24,000), in line with its average monthly gain over the prior 12 months
(+27,000). In September, employment rose in general merchandise stores
(+10,000) and automobile dealers (+5,000).
Employment in food services and drinking places continued
on an upward trend in September (+21,000). Over the year, this industry has
added 349,000 jobs.
Employment in mining continued to decline in September
(-10,000), with losses concentrated in support activities for mining (-7,000).
Mining employment has declined by 102,000 since reaching a peak in December
2014.
Employment in other major industries, including
construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing,
financial activities, and government, showed little or no change over the
month.
The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm
payrolls declined by 0.1 hour to 34.5 hours in September. The manufacturing
workweek decreased by 0.2 hour to 40.6 hours, and factory overtime declined by
0.2 hour to 3.1 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees
on private nonfarm payrolls decreased by 0.1 hour to 33.6 hours. (See tables
B-2 and B-7.)
In September, average hourly earnings for all employees
on private nonfarm payrolls, at $25.09, changed little (-1 cent), following a
9-cent gain in August. Hourly earnings have risen by 2.2 percent over the year.
Average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory
employees were unchanged at $21.08 in September. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for July
was revised from +245,000 to +223,000, and the change for August was revised
from +173,000 to +136,000. With these revisions, employment gains in July and
August combined were 59,000 less than previously reported. Over the past 3
months, job gains have averaged 167,000 per month.
Table A-7. Employment
status of the civilian population by nativity and sex, not seasonally adjusted
Source: Bureau of Labor
Statistics
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