Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until USDL-17-1177
8:30 a.m. (EDT) Friday, September 1, 2017
Technical information:
Household data: (202) 691-6378 * cpsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/cps
Establishment data: (202) 691-6555 * cesinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/ces
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- AUGUST 2017
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 156,000 in August, and the unemployment
rate was little changed at 4.4 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported
today. Job gains occurred in manufacturing, construction, professional and technical
services, health care, and mining.
Household Survey Data
In August, the unemployment rate, at 4.4 percent, and the number of unemployed
persons, at 7.1 million, were little changed. After declining earlier in the year,
the unemployment rate has been either 4.3 or 4.4 percent since April. (See
table A-1.)
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| |
| Hurricane Harvey |
| |
|Hurricane Harvey had no discernable effect on the employment and unemployment |
|data for August. Household survey data collection was completed before the |
|storm. Establishment survey data collection for this news release was largely |
|completed prior to the storm, and collection rates were within normal ranges |
|nationally and for the affected areas. For information on how unusually severe|
|weather can affect the employment and hours estimates, see the Frequently |
|Asked Questions section of this release. |
|______________________________________________________________________________|
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (4.1 percent),
adult women (4.0 percent), teenagers (13.6 percent), Whites (3.9 percent), Blacks
(7.7 percent), Asians (4.0 percent), and Hispanics (5.2 percent) showed little or no
change in August. (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 in August at 1.7 million and accounted for 24.7 percent of the unemployed.
(See table A-12.)
The labor force participation rate, at 62.9 percent, was unchanged in August and has
shown little movement on net over the past year. The employment-population ratio,
at 60.1 percent, was little changed over the month and thus far this year. (See
table A-1.)
The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as
involuntary part-time workers) was essentially unchanged at 5.3 million in August and
has shown little movement in recent months. 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 August, 1.5 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, about the
same as a year earlier. (These 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 448,000 discouraged workers in August, down
128,000 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 1.1 million persons marginally attached to the labor force in
August 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 156,000 in August. Job gains occurred in
manufacturing, construction, professional and technical services, health care, and
mining. Employment growth has averaged 176,000 per month thus far this year, about in
line with the average monthly gain of 187,000 in 2016. (See table B-1.)
Manufacturing employment rose by 36,000 in August. Job gains occurred in motor vehicles
and parts (+14,000), fabricated metal products (+5,000), and computer and electronic
products (+4,000). Manufacturing has added 155,000 jobs since a recent employment low
in November 2016.
In August, construction employment rose by 28,000, after showing little change over
the prior 5 months. Employment among residential specialty trade contractors edged up
by 12,000 over the month.
Employment in professional and technical services continued to trend up in August
(+22,000) and has grown by 262,000 over the last 12 months. In August, job gains
occurred in computer systems design and related services (+8,000).
Health care employment continued on an upward trend over the month (+20,000) and has
risen by 328,000 over the year. Employment in hospitals edged up over the month
(+6,000).
Mining continued to add jobs in August (+7,000), with all of the growth in support
activities for mining. Since a recent low in October 2016, employment in mining has
risen by 62,000, or 10 percent.
Employment in food services and drinking places changed little in August (+9,000),
following an increase of 53,000 in July. Over the year, the industry has added
283,000 jobs.
Employment in other major industries, including wholesale trade, retail trade,
transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, and government,
showed little change over the month.
The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls declined by 0.1
hour to 34.4 hours in August. In manufacturing, the workweek declined by 0.2 hour to
40.7 hours, while overtime was unchanged at 3.3 hours. The average workweek for
production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls was 33.7 hours
for the fifth consecutive month. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)
In August, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose
by 3 cents to $26.39, after rising by 9 cents in July. Over the past 12 months, average
hourly earnings have increased by 65 cents, or 2.5 percent. In August, average hourly
earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees increased by 4 cents
to $22.12. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for June was revised down from +231,000
to +210,000, and the change for July was revised down from +209,000 to +189,000. With
these revisions, employment gains in June and July combined were 41,000 less than
previously reported. (Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from
businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the
recalculation of seasonal factors.) After revisions, job gains have averaged 185,000
per month over the past 3 months.
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The Employment Situation for September is scheduled to be released on Friday,
October 6, 2017, at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).
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| |
| 2017 CES Preliminary Benchmark Revision will be released on September 6, 2017 |
| |
|Each year, the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey estimates are benchmarked|
|to comprehensive counts of employment from the Quarterly Census of Employment and |
|Wages (QCEW) for the month of March. These counts are derived from state unemploy- |
|ment insurance (UI) tax records that nearly all employers are required to file. On |
|September 6, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT), the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will |
|release the preliminary estimate of the upcoming annual benchmark revision to the |
|establishment survey employment series. This is the same day the first-quarter |
|2017 data from QCEW will be issued. Preliminary benchmark revisions for all major |
|industry sectors, as well as total nonfarm and total private levels, will be |
|available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cesprelbmk.htm. |
| |
|The final benchmark revision will be issued with the publication of the January |
|2018 Employment Situation news release in February 2018. |
|___________________________________________________________________________________|
