Employment Situation Summary

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                  THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION:  AUGUST 2000


   Total nonfarm employment fell by 105,000 in August, while the
unemployment rate was essentially unchanged, the Bureau of Labor Statistics
of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  A further decline in the
number of temporary census workers (down 158,000 in August) and a strike in
the communications industry contributed to the over-the-month employment
drop, but manufacturing employment also declined.  Private-sector
employment edged up by 17,000, although the gain would have been 102,000
had it not been for strike effects.  Job gains were strong in the services
industry.
                              
Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
   
   The unemployment rate (4.1 percent) remained in the narrow range of 3.9
to 4.1 percent that has held since October 1999.  The rates for most major
worker groups--adult men (3.2 percent), adult women (3.8 percent), whites
(3.6 percent), blacks (8.0 percent), and Hispanics (5.7 percent)--showed
little or no change in August.  The teenage unemployment rate has edged up
over the past 2 months to 14.4 percent.  The number of unemployed persons
was essentially unchanged at 5.8 million.  (See tables A-1 and A-2.)
   
Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
   
   Total employment was little changed at 134.9 million, seasonally
adjusted, in August.  The employment-population ratio--the proportion of the
population age 16 and older with jobs--was 64.3 percent, about unchanged
from July.  The civilian labor force rose in August to 140.7 million;
however, the labor force participation rate, at 67.0 percent, was
essentially unchanged.  (See table A-1.)
   
   In August, the proportion of the employed with more than one job
(multiple jobholders) was 5.2 percent, not seasonally adjusted, compared
with 5.4 percent a year earlier.  (See table A-10.)
   
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 August, about the same number as a year
earlier.  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
205,000 in August, down from 265,000 a year earlier.  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.)

                                  - 2 -

Table A.  Major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
___________________________________________________________________________
                      |    Quarterly    |       Monthly data       |
                      |    averages     |                          |
                      |_________________|__________________________| July-
      Category        |      2000       |           2000           | Aug.
                      |_________________|__________________________|change
                      |    I   |  II    |  June  |  July  |  Aug.  |
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
    HOUSEHOLD DATA    |                 Labor force status
                      |____________________________________________________
Civilian labor force..| 140,981| 140,827| 140,762| 140,399| 140,742|    343
  Employment..........| 135,247| 135,200| 135,179| 134,749| 134,912|    163
  Unemployment........|   5,733|   5,627|   5,583|   5,650|   5,829|    179
Not in labor force....|  67,933|  68,550|  68,781|  69,329|  69,193|   -136
                      |________|________|________|________|________|_______
                      |                 Unemployment rates
                      |____________________________________________________
All workers...........|     4.1|     4.0|     4.0|     4.0|     4.1|    0.1
  Adult men...........|     3.3|     3.3|     3.2|     3.2|     3.2|     .0
  Adult women.........|     3.6|     3.7|     3.8|     3.7|     3.8|     .1
  Teenagers...........|    13.4|    12.3|    11.6|    13.4|    14.4|    1.0
  White...............|     3.5|     3.4|     3.4|     3.5|     3.6|     .1
  Black...............|     7.8|     7.7|     7.9|     7.7|     8.0|     .3
  Hispanic origin.....|     5.9|     5.6|     5.6|     5.6|     5.7|     .1
                      |________|________|________|________|________|_______
 ESTABLISHMENT DATA   |                     Employment
                      |____________________________________________________
Nonfarm employment....| 130,626| 131,552| 131,647|p131,596|p131,491|  p-105
  Goods-producing 1/..|  25,680|  25,703|  25,700| p25,756| p25,677|   p-79
    Construction......|   6,665|   6,676|   6,668|  p6,673|  p6,673|     p0
    Manufacturing.....|  18,481|  18,488|  18,493| p18,544| p18,465|   p-79
  Service-producing 1/| 104,946| 105,849| 105,947|p105,840|p105,814|   p-26
    Retail trade......|  22,993|  23,128|  23,122| p23,196| p23,161|   p-35
    Services..........|  39,949|  40,272|  40,401| p40,412| p40,572|   p160
    Government........|  20,431|  20,827|  20,802| p20,587| p20,465|  p-122
                      |________|________|________|________|________|_______
                      |                  Hours of work 2/
                      |____________________________________________________
Total private.........|    34.5|    34.5|    34.5|   p34.4|   p34.3|  p-0.1
  Manufacturing.......|    41.7|    41.7|    41.6|   p41.7|   p41.3|   p-.4
    Overtime..........|     4.6|     4.7|     4.6|    p4.6|    p4.5|   p-.1
                      |________|________|________|________|________|_______
                      |    Indexes of aggregate weekly hours (1982=100) 2/
                      |____________________________________________________
Total private.........|   150.7|   151.2|   151.3|  p151.4|  p150.9|  p-0.5
                      |________|________|________|________|________|_______
                      |                      Earnings 2/
                      |____________________________________________________
Avg. hourly earnings, |        |        |        |        |        |
  total private.......|  $13.54|  $13.67|  $13.70| p$13.76| p$13.80| p$0.04
Avg. weekly earnings, |        |        |        |        |        |
  total private.......|  467.47|  471.50|  472.65| p473.34| p473.34|   p.00
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
   1/  Includes other industries, not shown separately.
   2/  Data relate to private production or nonsupervisory workers.
   p=preliminary.

                                  - 3 -

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

   Total nonfarm payroll employment declined by 105,000 to 131.5 million
in August, seasonally adjusted.  In the public sector, 158,000 temporary
workers completed their work on Census 2000 and left federal payrolls.  In
the private sector, employment edged up by 17,000, as a strike in the
communications industry kept 87,000 workers off payrolls.  Adjusted for the
net strike impact over the month (85,000, which also reflects the return of
a small number of strikers in hospitals), private-sector employment was up
by 102,000 in August.  (See table B-1.)
   
   Employment in manufacturing fell by 79,000 in August, more than
offsetting a large increase in July, after seasonal adjustment.  In 1999,
monthly job losses in this industry averaged 18,000; over the first 8
months of 2000, losses have averaged 2,000 per month.  Manufacturing job
losses in August were widespread.  Employment fell in industries sensitive
to construction trends, such as lumber (5,000), furniture (8,000), and
stone, clay, and glass products (4,000).  Employment also fell in motor
vehicles (13,000) and in rubber and plastics (8,000).  Apparel employment
continued its long-term decline with a drop of 10,000 in August.  In
contrast to most manufacturing industries, electronic components continued
to grow, adding 4,000 jobs.
   
   Elsewhere in the goods-producing sector, construction employment was
unchanged over the month.  Average monthly growth in construction thus far
this year has been 15,000, compared with 25,000 per month for all of 1999.
In August, employment in the mining industry held steady for the fourth
consecutive month.  This industry had experienced modest growth in the
first part of the year because of expansion in oil and gas extraction.
   
   In the service-producing sector, services industry employment rose by
160,000, seasonally adjusted.  This follows an increase of only 11,000 in
July.  Thus far this year, the average monthly increase in services
employment has been 108,000, slightly below the monthly average of 124,000
for all of 1999.  In August, job gains occurred in social services
(34,000), engineering and management services (28,000), and personnel
supply services (22,000).  Employment in all three industries had declined
in July.  In social services, the August employment increase resulted from
fewer-than-usual seasonal layoffs in job training services, following weak
summer hiring.
   
   Employment in transportation and public utilities fell by 64,000 in
August, as 87,000 workers in the telephone communications industry were on
strike and thus off company payrolls during the survey reference period.
The striking workers had returned to payrolls by the end of the month.
Transportation employment, especially air transportation, showed continued
strength.
   
   Retail trade employment fell by 35,000, seasonally adjusted, in August,
following 2 months of above-average increases.  These movements largely
reflect employment changes in eating and drinking places.  Overall, job
growth in the retail trade industry has averaged 32,000 per month since
May, about in line with average monthly growth in all of 1999.
   
   Finance, insurance, and real estate employment rose by 25,000 in
August.  Employment in the industry has been trending down for much of the
year except in security brokerages and holding companies, where employment
has continued to grow.  Wholesale trade added 10,000 jobs over the month.

                                  - 4 -
   
   Federal government employment fell in August as more temporary census
workers completed their assignments.  As of August, 41,000 temporary census
workers remained on the federal government payroll, down from a peak of
618,000 in May.  In local government, employment rose by 23,000.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)
   
   The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on
private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 hour in August to 34.3 hours,
seasonally adjusted.  The manufacturing workweek fell by 0.4 hour to 41.3
hours.  Manufacturing overtime declined by 0.1 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 0.3 percent to 150.9
(1982=100), seasonally adjusted.  The manufacturing index fell by 1.6
percent to 105.5.  (See table B-5.)
   
Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)
   
   Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on
private nonfarm payrolls increased by 4 cents in August to $13.80,
seasonally adjusted.  Average weekly earnings were unchanged over the month
at $473.34.  Over the year, average hourly earnings rose by 3.8 percent and
average weekly earnings grew by 3.2 percent.  Twelve-month growth rates in
hourly earnings have been in the range of 3.5 to 3.8 percent since January
1999.  (See table B-3.)

                      ______________________________
   
   The Employment Situation for September 2000 is scheduled to be released
on Friday, October 6, at 8:30 A.M. (EDT).

• Employment Situation Explanatory Note
  
• Table A-1. Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age
  
• Table A-2. Employment status of the civilian population by race, sex, age, and Hispanic origin
  
• Table A-3. Employment status of the civilian population 25 years and over by educational attainment
  
• Table A-4. Selected employment indicators
  
• Table A-5. Selected unemployment indicators, seasonally adjusted
  
• Table A-6. Duration of unemployment
  
• Table A-7. Reason for unemployment
  
• Table A-8. Range of alternative measures of labor underutilization
  
• Table A-9. Unemployed persons by sex and age, seasonally adjusted
  
• Table A-10. Persons not in the labor force and multiple jobholders by sex, not seasonally adjusted
  
• Table B-1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry
  
• Table B-2. Average weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers1 on private nonfarm payrolls by industry
  
• Table B-3. Average hourly and weekly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers1 on private nonfarm payrolls by industry
  
• Table B-4. Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers1 on private nonfarm payrolls by industry, seasonally adjusted
  
• Table B-5. Indexes of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls by industry
  
• Table B-6. Diffusion indexes of employment change, seasonally adjusted
  
  
• Text version of entire news release
  
  
• Access to historical data for the "A" tables of the Employment Situation Release
  
• Access to historical data for the "B" tables of the Employment Situation Release
  

Table of Contents

Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey

Nonfarm Payroll Statistics from the Current Employment Statistics (National)