THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- FEBRUARY 2015
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 295,000 in
February, and the unemployment rate edged down to 5.5 percent, the U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in food services and
drinking places, professional and business services, construction, health care,
and in transportation and warehousing. Employment in mining was down over the
month.
Household Survey
Data
Both the unemployment rate (5.5 percent) and the number
of unemployed persons (8.7 million) edged down in February. Over the year, the
unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons were down by 1.2
percentage points and 1.7 million, respectively. (See table A-1.)
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for
teenagers decreased by 1.7 percentage points to 17.1 percent in February. The
jobless rates for adult men (5.2 percent), adult women (4.9 percent), whites
(4.7 percent), blacks (10.4 percent), Asians (4.0 percent), and Hispanics (6.6
percent) showed little or no change. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27
weeks or more) was little changed at 2.7 million in February. These individuals
accounted for 31.1 percent of the unemployed. Over the past 12 months, the
number of long-term unemployed is down by 1.1 million. (See table A-12.)
The civilian labor force participation rate, at 62.8
percent, changed little in February and has remained within a narrow range of
62.7 to 62.9 percent since April 2014. The employment-population ratio was
unchanged at 59.3 percent in February but is up by 0.5 percentage point over
the year. (See table A-1.)
The number of persons employed part time for economic
reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was little
changed in February at 6.6 million. 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. (See table A-8.)
In February, 2.2 million persons were marginally attached
to the labor force, little changed 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 732,000
discouraged workers in February, little different 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 1.4 million persons marginally attached to the labor force in
February 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 rose by 295,000 in
February, compared with an average monthly gain of 266,000 over the prior 12
months. Job gains occurred in food
services and drinking places, professional and business services, construction,
health care, and in transportation and warehousing. Employment in mining
declined over the month. (See table B-1.)
In February, food services and drinking places added
59,000 jobs. The industry had added an average of 35,000 jobs per month over
the prior 12 months.
Employment in professional and business services
increased by 51,000 in February and has risen by 660,000 over the year. In
February, employment continued to trend up in management and technical
consulting services (+7,000), computer systems design and related services
(+5,000), and architectural and engineering services (+5,000).
Construction added
29,000 jobs in February. Employment in specialty trade contractors rose by
27,000, mostly in the residential component. Over the past 12 months,
construction has added 321,000 jobs.
In February, employment in health care rose by 24,000,
with gains in ambulatory care services (+20,000) and hospitals (+9,000). Health
care had added an average of 29,000 jobs per month over the prior 12 months.
Transportation and warehousing added 19,000 jobs in
February, with most of the gain occurring in couriers and messengers (+12,000).
Employment in transportation and warehousing grew by an average of 14,000 per
month over the prior 12 months.
Employment in retail trade continued to trend up in
February (+32,000) and has grown by 319,000 over the year.
Manufacturing employment continued to trend up in
February (+8,000). Within the industry, petroleum and coal products lost 6,000
jobs, largely due to a strike.
Employment in mining decreased by 9,000 in February, with
most of the decline in support activities for mining (-7,000).
Employment in other major industries, including wholesale
trade, information, financial activities, and government, showed little change
over the month.
In February, the average workweek for all employees on
private nonfarm payrolls was 34.6 hours for the fifth month in a row. The
manufacturing workweek was unchanged at 41.0 hours in February, and factory
overtime edged down by 0.1 hour to 3.4 hours. The average workweek for
production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls was
unchanged at 33.8 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)
In February, average hourly earnings for all employees on
private nonfarm payrolls rose by 3 cents to $24.78. Over the year, average
hourly earnings have risen by 2.0percent. In February, average hourly earnings
of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees were unchanged at
$20.80. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)
After revision, the change in total nonfarm payroll
employment for December remained at +329,000, and the change for January was
revised from +257,000 to +239,000. With these revisions, employment gains in
December and January were 18,000 lower than previously reported. Over the past
3 months, job gains have averaged 288,000 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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