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Statement of
Kathleen P. Utgoff
Commissioner
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Friday, September 6, 2002
Both the unemployment rate, at 5.7 percent, and nonfarm
payroll employment, at 130.8 million, were little changed in
August. Payroll employment has risen slightly since April,
and the unemployment rate has shown no clear trend.
The number of unemployed was 8.1 million in August,
little different from the level in the prior month. Among
the jobless in August, 2.8 million persons had been
unemployed for 15 weeks or more. After steadily rising
since May 2001, this measure has declined by 320,000 over
the past 2 months.
Turning to data from our establishment survey, payroll
employment changed little in August (+39,000). Employment
rose in services, government, and construction, but these
gains were largely offset by losses in manufacturing and
retail trade. Employment in other major private-sector
industries showed no substantial change in August.
Employment in the services industry rose by 100,000 in
August, compared to an average monthly gain of 62,000 in the
prior 5 months. Over the month, employment in help supply
services increased by 51,000; this follows a loss of 30,000
in July. Despite July�s decline, employment in the industry
has been on an upward trend since February, rising by
165,000. In health services, employment rose by 26,000 in
August, about in line with the average for the prior 12
months.
Government employment was up by 41,000. Job gains in
Federal and local governments more than offset losses in
State education. Employment in the Federal government rose
by 20,000 in August, with the Transportation Security
Administration accounting for most of the increase.
In August, construction employment rose by 34,000,
reversing a loss of 30,000 jobs in the prior month. The
level of employment in the industry is essentially the same
as in April.
After 4 months of losses that averaged 18,000, the
number of factory jobs fell more sharply in August,
declining by 68,000. Job losses were widespread over the
month. Within durable goods manufacturing, the largest
employment declines were in electrical equipment, industrial
machinery, and fabricated metals. In nondurable goods
manufacturing, the number of jobs in rubber and plastics
decreased by 7,000, offsetting an identical gain in the
prior month.
Retail employment fell by 55,000 in August, following
an increase of 33,000 in the prior month. Declines were
concentrated in department stores. Since reaching a peak in
June 2001, the number of jobs in retail trade has decreased
by 295,000.
Average weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory
workers edged up by 0.1 hour over the month, following a
decline of 0.3 hour in the prior month. In August, the
manufacturing workweek and factory overtime were up by 0.1
hour and 0.2 hour, respectively. Average hourly earnings of
private production or nonsupervisory workers increased by 4
cents over the month. Over the year, average hourly
earnings increased by 3.1 percent.
To summarize, both the unemployment rate and the number
of workers on nonfarm payrolls were little changed in
August. Job growth accelerated in services, but
manufacturing employment had its largest decline since the
beginning of the year.