THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- OCTOBER 2015
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 271,000 in
October, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 5.0 percent,
the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in
professional and business services, health care, retail trade, food services
and drinking places, and construction.
Household Survey
Data
Both the unemployment rate (5.0 percent) and the number
of unemployed persons (7.9 million) were essentially unchanged in October. Over
the past 12 months, the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons
were down by 0.7 percentage point and 1.1 million, respectively. (See table
A-1.)
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for
adult men (4.7 percent), adult women (4.5 percent), teenagers (15.9 percent),
whites (4.4 percent), blacks (9.2 percent), Asians (3.5 percent), and Hispanics
(6.3 percent) showed little or no change in October. (See tables A-1, A-2, and
A-3.)
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27
weeks or more) was essentially unchanged at 2.1 million in October and has
shown little change since June. These individuals accounted for 26.8 percent of
the unemployed in October. (See table A-12.)
The civilian labor force participation rate was unchanged
at 62.4 percent in October, following a decline of 0.2 percentage point in
September. The employment-population ratio, at 59.3 percent, changed little in
October and has shown little movement over the past year. (See table A-1.)
The number of persons employed part time for economic
reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) edged down by
269,000 to 5.8 million in October. These individuals 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 has declined by 1.2 million. (See table A-8.)
In October, 1.9 million persons were marginally attached
to the labor force, down by 276,000 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 665,000
discouraged workers in October, 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 October
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 271,000 in
October. Over the prior 12 months, employment growth had averaged 230,000 per
month. In October, job gains occurred in professional and business services,
health care, retail trade, food services and drinking places, and construction.
(See table B-1.)
Employment in professional and business services
increased by 78,000 in October, compared with an average gain of 52,000 per
month over the prior 12 months. In October, job gains occurred in
administrative and support services (+46,000), computer systems design and
related services (+10,000), and architectural
and engineering services (+8,000).
Health care added 45,000 jobs in October. Within the
industry, employment growth continued in ambulatory health care services
(+27,000) and in hospitals (+18,000). Over the past year, health care has added
495,000 jobs.
Employment in retail trade rose by 44,000 in October,
compared with an average monthly gain of 25,000 over the prior 12 months. In
October, job gains occurred in clothing and accessories stores (+20,000),
general merchandise stores (+11,000), and automobile dealers (+6,000).
Food services and drinking places added 42,000 jobs in
October. Over the year, the industry has added 368,000 jobs.
Construction employment increased by 31,000
in October, following little employment change in recent months. Employment in
nonresidential specialty trade contractors rose by 21,000. Over the past 12
months, construction has added 233,000 jobs.
Employment in mining continued to trend down in October
(-5,000). The industry has shed 109,000 jobs since reaching a recent employment
peak in December 2014.
Employment in other major industries, including
manufacturing, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, information,
financial activities, and government, showed little or no change over the
month.
The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm
payrolls remained at 34.5 hours in October. The manufacturing workweek edged up
by 0.1 hour to 40.7 hours, and factory overtime edged up by 0.1 hour to 3.3
hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on
private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1 hour to 33.7 hours. (See tables B-2
and B-7.)
In October, average hourly earnings for all employees on
private nonfarm payrolls rose by 9 cents to $25.20, following little change in
September (+1 cent). Hourly earnings have risen by 2.5 percent over the year.
Average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory
employees increased by 9 cents to $21.18 in October. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for August
was revised from +136,000 to +153,000, and the change for September was revised
from +142,000 to +137,000. With these revisions, employment gains in August and
September combined were 12,000 more than previously reported. Over the past 3
months, job gains have averaged 187,000 per month.
Table
A-7. Employment status of the civilian population by nativity and sex, not
seasonally adjusted
Source: BLS
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