The number of unemployed persons (7.6 million) and the unemployment rate (4.9 percent) were essentially unchanged in January. Over the month, the unem- ployment rates for all major worker groups--adult men (4.4 percent), adult women (4.2 percent), teenagers (18.0 percent), whites (4.4 percent), blacks (9.2 per- cent), and Hispanics (6.3 percent)--showed little or no change. The unemployment rate for Asians was 3.2 percent, not seasonally adjusted.
Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
Total employment and the employment-population ratio edged up in January after accounting for the annual adjustment to the population controls. The civilian labor force also rose when adjustment is made to account for the effect of pop- ulation control changes. The labor force participation rate (66.1 percent) was about the same as in December.
Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
About 1.7 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached to the labor force in January, up from about 1.6 million a year earlier. These indivi- duals 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. Among the marginally attached, there were 467,000 discouraged workers in January, about the same as a year earlier. Dis- couraged workers were not currently looking for work specifically because they be- lieved no jobs were available for them. The other 1.3 million persons marginally attached to the labor force in January had not searched for work in the 4 weeks pre- ceding the survey for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities.
Construction employment decreased by 27,000 in January and has fallen by 284,000 since its peak in September 2006. Over-the-month job losses occurred in residential building (-10,000) and residential specialty trade contractors (-18,000).
Manufacturing lost 28,000 jobs in January. Over the month, small declines occurred among many durable and nondurable goods industries. Manufacturing has lost 269,000 jobs over the past 12 months. In the service-providing sector, health care employment continued to grow in January (27,000), about in line with average monthly gains over the prior 12 months. Within health care, over-the-month job gains occurred in ambulatory health care ser- vices (14,000), which includes offices of physicians, and in hospitals (10,000).
Food services employment continued to trend upward in January. From November through January, food services added an average of 16,000 jobs per month, compared with an average gain of 28,000 jobs for the 12-month period ending in October. Employment in professional and technical services was little changed in January following a large increase (49,000) in the prior month. In 2007, job growth in this sector totaled 335,000.
In January, employment in financial activities was about unchanged as commercial banking lost 4,000 jobs, and securities, commodity contracts, and investments added 5,000 jobs. Since reaching a peak in December 2006, employment in financial activi- ties has declined by 99,000. In January, employment in both wholesale and retail trade was little changed. Within retail trade, employment in food and beverage stores was up by 12,000 over the month.
Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)
In January, the average workweek for production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls fell by 0.1 hour to 33.7 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek was unchanged at 41.1 hours, and factory overtime was un- changed at 4.0 hours. The index of aggregate weekly hours of production and nonsupervisory workers on nonfarm payrolls declined by 0.3 percent in January to 107.5 (2002=100). The man- ufacturing index was unchanged at 93.7.
Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)
Average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers on private non- farm payrolls rose by 4 cents, or 0.2 percent, in January to $17.75, seasonally adjusted. This followed a gain of 7 cents in December. Average weekly earnings fell by 0.1 percent in January to $598.18. Over the year, average hourly earnings rose by 3.7 percent, and weekly earnings rose by 3.4 percent.
