NEWS U. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR OFFICE OF INFORMATION, WASHINGTON, D. C. 20210 USDL - 3608 FOR RELEASE: 11: 00 a. m. Tuesday, March 12, 1968 Uo S. Department of Labor BLS, 961 - 2634 THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: FEBRUARY 1968 Employment advanced in February while the unemployment rate rose (to 3.7 percent), the U. S. Department of Labor1 s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In January, employment gains were held down by bad weather, but total unemployment dropped more than seasonally because of a reduction in teenage unemployment. Although a substantial expansion in employment has occurred over the past year, the unemployment situation this winter is essentially unchanged from last winter. The pace of the employment increase has been just rapid enough to absorb the number of additional people entering the labor force and seeking employment, but not rapid enough to drop unemployment below the levels of a year ago. Both the labor force and employment rose by 1. 5 million between last winter and this winter (December-February averages), with men and women sharing about equally in the rise. Unemployment averaged 3. 0 million in each period and there were no major improvements for any of the major age-sex-color groups. Unemployment rates were also unchanged over this period. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Transcript
NEWS U. S. D E P A R T M E N T OF LABORO F F I C E O F I N F O R M A T I O N , W A S H I N G T O N , D. C. 2 0 2 1 0
USDL - 3608
F O R RE LE ASE : 11: 00 a. m .Tuesday , M a rch 12, 1968
Uo S. D epartm ent o f L abor BLS, 961 - 2634
THE E M P L O Y M E N T SITUATION: F E B R U A R Y 1968
E m ploym en t advanced in F e b ru a ry while the unem ploym ent rate r o s e (to 3 .7 p e r ce n t ) , the U. S. D epartm ent of L a b o r 1 s Bureau of L a b or S tatistics rep orted today. In January, em ploym ent gains w e re held down by bad w eather, but total unem ploym ent dropped m o r e than season a lly becau se o f a reduction in teenage unem ploym ent.
Although a substantial expansion in em ploym ent has o c c u r r e d o v e r the past ye a r , the unem ploym ent situation this w inter is e s se n t ia l ly unchanged f ro m last w inter. The pace of the em ploym ent in c re a s e has been ju s t rapid enough to a b s o rb the number of additional people entering the la b or f o r c e and seeking em ploym ent, but not rapid enough to d rop unem ploym ent below the le v e ls of a year ago. Both the labor f o r c e and em ploym ent r o s e by 1. 5 m il l io n between last w inter and this w inter (D e c e m b e r -F e b r u a r y a v e r a g e s ) , with m en and w om en sharing about equally in the r i s e . U nem ploym ent a v era ged 3. 0 m il l io n in each p er iod and there w ere no m a jo r im p ro v e m e n ts fo r any of the m a jo r a g e - s e x - c o l o r grou p s . U nem ploym ent ra tes w e re a ls o unchanged o ver this p er iod .
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The Em ploym ent SituationPage 2M arch 12, 1968
Changes in Labor Force, Employment, and Unemployment, Winter 1967 to Winter 1968*
(In thousands)
Total : Men, aged : Women, : 20 and over : 20 and
agedover
••
: 16-to-19 : year-olds
C ivilian labor fo r ce ............. 1,515 710 968 -165White.............. ...................... 1,361 687 880 -205Nonwhite............................... 154 24 88 41
*These data are based on December to February averages.
Em ploym ent D evelopm ents
E m ploym ent r o s e substantially in F eb ru a ry (550, 000 season a lly adjusted) after weak p e r fo rm a n ce in January,, A ll of the m a jo r a g e - s e x groups had significant em ploym ent in c r e a s e s between January and February,, The la rg e s t in c r e a s e s w ere r e c o r d e d by w om en and teenagers,,
N onfarm p ayro ll em ploym ent r o se to 67. 7 m ill ion (seasona lly a d ju s ted ) . The gain was broad ly based , with in c r e a s e s in both the g o o d s -p ro d u c in g and s e rv ic e - producing industries .
N early half o f the in c re a s e in nonfarm p ayro ll em ploym ent was cen tered in con tract construction , w here em ploym ent in c re a s e d by 250, 000 (seasona lly adjusted) reaching a r e c o r d high of 3. 5 million,. The F eb ru ary in cre a s e w as, in part, the resu lt of a return of w o rk e rs to con stru ct ion jo b s after a p er iod of bad weather in January. E xcept fo r January, em ploym ent in con tract c o n struction has p icked up substantially since O ctober , after showing little grow th during m ost of 19670
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The Em ploym ent SituationPage 3M arch 12, 1968
In m anufacturing, em ploym ent r o s e by 65 ,000 (season a lly ad justed) in F eb ru ary , desp ite a 35, 000 in c r e a s e in the num ber of w o rk e r s off of p ay r o l ls because of s t r ik e s e At 19. 6 m il l io n (seasonally adjusted) m anufacturing em ploym ent edged above the p rev iou s r e c o r d high estab lished in January 1967o M anufacturing em ploym ent fe l l sharply in the ear ly m onths of 1967. Since August, h ow ever , it has r ise n by 250, 000.
The m anufacturing industries showing large gains in F eb ru a ry w ere transportation equipm ent (1 9 ,0 0 0 ) , e le c t r i c a l m ach in ery industries (1 3 ,0 0 0 ) , apparel (1 3 ,0 0 0 ) , and textiles ( 1 0 ,0 0 0 )o
The s e rv ic e -p r o d u c in g industries continued to r e g is te r s izab le jo b gains in F eb ru ary . The m ost s ignificant in c r e a s e s (seasonally ad justed) w ere in trade j(l00, 000 ) , State and lo c a l governm ent (55, 000 ), and m i s ce llaneous s e rv ic e industries (45, 0 0 0 )o
Hours and Earnings
The w orkw eek (seasonally adjusted) fo r fa c to ry production w o rk e rs ro se by 0. 5 hour in F eb ru ary to 40. 7 hours, after declin ing by the sam e amount a month e a r l i e r 0 The in cre a s e included 0o 1 hour of additional o v e r tim e; overt im e averaged 30 6 hours in February,, M ost o f the in c r e a s e in the fa ctory w orkw eek took place in the nondurables s e cto r .
A verage hourly earnings fo r rank and fi le w o rk e rs r o se by 1 cent over the month to $2. 76. D ec lin es in hourly earnings in m ining and c o n tract con stru ction w ere m o r e than o f fse t by in c r e a s e s in trade and finance. C om pared with F eb ru ary 1967, hourly earnings w ere up 14 cents (or 5e 3 p ercen t) „ W eekly earnings averaged $104o 33 in F ebru ary - - $ l c 20 m o r e than in January and $5. 03 m o re than a year ago (5C 1 p e r ce n t ) .
Unem ploym ent
U nem ploym ent in F eb ru ary totaled 3. 3 m ill ion , the sam e as in D ece m b e r , after a llow ance fo r seasonal changes. The season a lly adjusted unem ploym ent rate, a fter declin ing to 3C 5 percen t in January, m oved up to 3. 7 percen t, the sam e as D e ce m b e r 1967 and a year ago. The r ise was p r im a rily due to an in c r e a s e in teen -age jo b s e e k e r s , with th re e -fo u r th s of these additional teen agers looking fo r p a rt -t im e j o b s c T e e n -a g e r s had also accounted for the bulk of the unem ploym ent decline in January. At 120 6 p ercen t (seasonally ad ju sted ), the F ebru ary teen -age jo b le s s rate was virtually the sam e as in D e ce m b e r 1967 and a year ago. F eb ru ary unem ploym ent rates fo r adult m en (2. 3 p e r ce n t ) , adult w om en (4C 0 p e r cen t) , m a r r ie d m en ( l c 7 p e r ce n t ) , fu l l -t im e w o rk e rs (3. 4 p e r c e n t ) , nonwhite w o rk e rs (7e 2 p e r ce n t ) , and b lu e -c o l la r w o rk e rs (4. 3 p e r ce n t ) , were nearly identical to the rates of F ebru ary 1967.
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The Em ploym ent SituationPage 4M arch 12, 1968
With the excep tion o f a sharp but s h o r t - l iv e d r is e la s t fa l l , the national unem ploym ent rate has exhibited stability s ince e a r ly 1966, averaging about 3. 8 p ercen t. U nem ploym ent ra tes fo r adult m en, m a r r ie d m en, and fu l l - t im e w o rk e rs have been com p a ra t iv e ly stable o v e r the entire per iod , w hereas the rates fo r w om en and t e e n -a g e r s have fluctuated in resp on se to changing e c o n o m ic conditions and w ork p r e fe r e n c e s .
S tate -in sured unem ploym ent d ec lin ed m o r e than season a lly in m id -F e b r u a r y , the rate falling f r o m 2. 4 to 2. 3 percen t.
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Table A-1: Employment status of the noninstitutional popu lation by age and sex
(In thousands)
Seasonally adjustedEmployment status, age, and sex
Table A-2: Unemployed persons 16 years and over by duration of unemployment
(In thousands)
Seasonally adjustedDuration of unemployment Feb.
1968Jan.1968
Feb.1967
Feb.1968
Jan.1968
D ec.1967
Nov,1967
O ct.1967
Less than S w e e k s ..................................................... 1 ,6 9 7 1 ,5 5 2 1 ,5 8 4 1 ,7 2 1 1 ,3 6 0 1 ,4 1 8 1 ,6 0 9 1 ,7 8 9 ̂ to 14 w e e k s ......... .................................................... 1 ,0 7 6 993 1 ,0 9 4 776 840 968 930 1 ,1 0 5
15 weeks and o v e r ..................................................... 515 529 506 455 488 445 485 47515 to 26 w e e k s ......... .............................. ............... 338 342 305 286 302 259 307 30527 weeks and over................................................. .. 178 187 200 169 186 186 178 170
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Transportation and public utilities ............... 120 116 2 .1 1 .9 2 .2 2 .5 2 .7 2 .1Wholesale and retail tra d e ................................. 641 579 4 .3 4 .1 4 .2 4 .4 5 .0 4 .0
Finance and service industries........................ 525 540 3 .4 3 .1 3 .6 3 .5 4 .1 2 .6
Government wage and salary w orkers.................. 216 193 1 .8 1 .9 2 .0 2 .0 2 .2 1 .7Agricultural wage and salary workers.................. 97 126 4 .3 4 .8 5 .0 7 .8 7 .8 6 .4
^Insured unemployment under Scace programs as a percent of average covered employment. ^Man-hours lost by the unemployed and persons on part time for economic reasons as a
percent of potentially available labor force man-hours. Includes mining, not shown separately.
Table A-4: Full-and part-time status of the civilian labor force
Full- and part-time employment status
Full Time
Civilian labor force ..........................................Employed:
Full-time sch ed u les ...............................Part time for economic reasons . . . . .
Unemployed, looking for full-time work Unemployment ra te ........................... ...........
Part T im a
Civilian labor force ........................................Employed (voluntary part tim e)...............Unemployed, looking for part-time work
Unemployment ra te ..........................................
NOTE: Due to the independent seasonal adjustment of several of the series, detail will not necessarily add to totals.
Table A-6: Unemployed persons by age and sex
Age and sex
Thousands Percentlooking
forfull-time
FebTi968
Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates
Feb.1968
Jan.1968
Feb.1 968
Jan.1968
Dec.1967
Nov.1967
O ct.1967
Feb.1967
Total, 16 years and over......................................... 3,288 3,074 7 6 .6 3.7 3.5 3.7 3.8 4.3 3.7
16 to 19 y e a rs ............................... ............. . 769 649 47.7 1 2 .6 11.3 1 2 .8 13.9 14.8 1 2 .616 and 17 years................................................. 363 290 29.8 15.8 13.4 14.7 15.9 16.4 1 6 .218 and 19 years................................................ 406 359 64.0 10.9 9.9 11.3 11.9 1 3 .6 10.7
20 to 24 y e a r s ......................................................... 651 584 82.9 6 .4 5.6 5.8 5.5 6 .4 5 .225 years and over ................................................ 1 ,8 6 8 1,841 86.2 2.4 2.5 2.5 2 .6 2.9 2.5
25 to 54 years ................................................... 1,477 1,433 87.3 2.4 2.5 2.5 2.7 3.0 2 .655 years and o v e r ............................................ 392 409 82.1 2.3 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.3
Males, 16 years and over........................................ 1,809 1,704 80.5 3.0 2.9 2.9 3.2 3.4 3.0
16 to 19 y e a r s ....................................................... 417 385 45.8 1 2 .0 11.7 1 2 .0 14.0 14.8 12.116 and 17 years................................................ 212 191 31.6 13.3 13.1 1 7 .0 16.8 13.8 18.118 and 19 years................................................. 205 193 61.0 1 0 .6 10.3 1 0 .0 11.6 12.3 1 0 .1
20 to 24 y e a r s ....................................................... 337 283 83.4 5.5 4.6 4.8 5.3 5 .4 3.725 years and o v e r ................................................ 1,055 1,037 93.3 1.9 1.9 1.9 2.0 2 . 1 2 .0
25 to 54 y e a r s ................................................... 800 767 95.3 1 .8 1.9 1.7 1.9 2 .0 1.955 years and o v e r ............................................ 254 270 87.8 2 .2 2.5 2.7 2.7 2.4 2 .2
Females, 16 years and o v e r ................................. 1,479 1,370 71.7 4.9 4.6 5.0 4.9 5 .8 5.0
16 to 19 years....................................................... 352 265 50.0 13.2 10.9 13.9 13.7 14.8 13.216 and 17 years ............................................. 151 99 27.2 19.5 13.8 15.5 15.9 14.5 1 9 .018 and 19 years .............................................. 2 01 166 67.2 H .3 9.4 1 2 .6 1 2 .1 14.9 11.4
20 to 24 years ................................................... 314 301 82.5 7.5 6 .9 6 .9 5.8 7.7 7 .225 years and over................................................. 813 804 77.0 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.7 4.3 3.5
25 to 54 y e a rs ................................................... 676 6 66 78.1 3.5 3.6 4.0 4 .2 4.8 3.855 years and o v e r ............................................ 137 139 71.5 2 .6 2.6 2.2 2.2 2 .6 2.3
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T ab le B-1: E m p loyees on n o n a g r icu ltu ra l p a y ro lls , by industry
(In thousands)
Change fromSeasonally adjusted
F e b .1968
J a n .1968
D e c .1967
F e b .1967
ChangeIndustry J an .
1968F e b .1967
F e b .1968
J a n .1968
D e c .1967
fromJ a n .1968----- T— ---------------------------------------------------
FINANCE, INSURANCE, ANDREAL E S TA TE ............................... 36. 9 37 . 0 37. 0 37. 1 - . 1 - . 2 36 . 8 37 . 0 3 6 . 9 - . 2
lData relate to production workers in mining and manufacturings to construction workers In contract construction: and to nonsupervisory workers in wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; transportation and public utilities; and services. These groups account for approximately four-fifths of the total employment on private nonagricultural payrolls. Transportation and public utilities, and services are included in Total Private but are not shown separately in this table.
NOTE: Data for the 2 most recent months are preliminary.
Table B-3: A verage hourly and weekly earn ings of production or nonsupervisory w orkers1
on private nonagricultural payrolls, by industryAverage hourly earnings Average weekly earnings
Industry F e b . J a n . D e c . F e b . Change from F e b . J a n . D e c . F e b . Change from1968 1968 1967 1967 J a n .
