{"id":75940,"date":"2019-03-08T08:46:36","date_gmt":"2019-03-08T16:46:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.46.6.243\/?p=75940"},"modified":"2019-03-08T08:54:56","modified_gmt":"2019-03-08T16:54:56","slug":"job-market-taps-the-brakes-in-february-with-only-20000-jobs-added","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=75940","title":{"rendered":"Job Market Taps the Brakes in February with Only 20,000 Jobs Added"},"content":{"rendered":"

Washington, DC…Total nonfarm payroll employment changed little in February (+20,000), and the unemployment rate declined to 3.8 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment in professional and business services, health care, and wholesale trade continued to trend up, while construction employment decreased. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Household Survey Data<\/p>\n

The unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage point to 3.8 percent in February,
\nand the number of unemployed persons decreased by 300,000 to 6.2 million. Among the
\nunemployed, the number of job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs
\n(including people on temporary layoff) declined by 225,000. This decline reflects,
\nin part, the return of federal workers who were furloughed in January due to the
\npartial government shutdown. (See tables A-1 and A-11.)<\/p>\n

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (3.5 percent),
\nWhites (3.3 percent), and Hispanics (4.3 percent) decreased in February. The jobless
\nrates for adult women (3.4 percent), teenagers (13.4 percent), Blacks (7.0 percent),
\nand Asians (3.1 percent) showed little or no change over the month. (See tables A-1,
\nA-2, and A-3.)<\/p>\n

In February, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more)
\nwas essentially unchanged at 1.3 million and accounted for 20.4 percent of the
\nunemployed. (See table A-12.) <\/p>\n

The labor force participation rate held at 63.2 percent in February and has changed
\nlittle over the year. The employment-population ratio, at 60.7 percent, was unchanged
\nover the month but was up by 0.3 percentage point over the year. (See table A-1.)<\/p>\n

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to
\nas involuntary part-time workers) decreased by 837,000 to 4.3 million in February.
\nThis decline follows a sharp increase in January that may have resulted from the
\npartial federal government shutdown. (Persons employed part time for economic reasons
\nwould have preferred full-time employment but were working part time because their
\nhours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs.) (See table A-8.)<\/p>\n

In February, 1.4 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, a
\ndecrease of 178,000 from a year earlier. (Data are not seasonally adjusted.) These
\nindividuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had
\nlooked for a job sometime in the last 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed
\nbecause they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. (See
\ntable A-16.)<\/p>\n

Among the marginally attached, there were 428,000 discouraged workers in February,
\nlittle changed from a year earlier. (Data are not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged
\nworkers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are
\navailable for them. The remaining 1.0 million persons marginally attached to the
\nlabor force in February had not searched for work for reasons such as school
\nattendance or family responsibilities. (See table A-16.)\t<\/p>\n

Establishment Survey Data<\/p>\n

Total nonfarm payroll employment was little changed in February (+20,000), after
\nincreasing by 311,000 in January. In 2018, job growth averaged 223,000 per month.
\nIn February, employment continued to trend up in professional and business services,
\nhealth care, and wholesale trade, while construction employment declined. (See table
\nB-1.)<\/p>\n

In February, employment in professional and business services continued to trend
\nup (+42,000), in line with its average monthly gain over the prior 12 months. <\/p>\n

Health care added 21,000 jobs in February and 361,000 jobs over the year. Employment
\nin ambulatory health care services edged up over the month (+16,000). <\/p>\n

In February, wholesale trade employment continued its upward trend (+11,000). The
\nindustry has added 95,000 jobs over the year, largely among durable goods wholesalers. <\/p>\n

Employment in construction declined by 31,000 in February, partially offsetting an
\nincrease of 53,000 in January. In February, employment declined in heavy and civil
\nengineering construction (-13,000). Over the year, construction has added 223,000 jobs.<\/p>\n

Manufacturing employment changed little in February (+4,000), after increasing by an
\naverage of 22,000 per month over the prior 12 months.<\/p>\n

In February, employment in leisure and hospitality was unchanged, after posting job
\ngains of 89,000 and 65,000 in January and December, respectively. Over the year,
\nleisure and hospitality has added 410,000 jobs.<\/p>\n

Employment in other major industries, including mining, retail trade, transportation
\nand warehousing, information, financial activities, and government, showed little
\nor no change over the month.<\/p>\n

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls decreased by 0.1
\nhour to 34.4 hours in February. In manufacturing, the average workweek declined 0.1
\nhour to 40.7 hours, while overtime was unchanged at 3.5 hours. The average workweek
\nfor production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls fell by 0.2
\nhour to 33.6 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)<\/p>\n

In February, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls
\nrose by 11 cents to $27.66, following a 2-cent gain in January. Over the year, average
\nhourly earnings have increased by 3.4 percent. Average hourly earnings of private-sector
\nproduction and nonsupervisory employees increased by 8 cents to $23.18 in February.
\n(See tables B-3 and B-8.)<\/p>\n

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for December was revised up from +222,000
\nto +227,000, and the change for January was revised up from +304,000 to +311,000. With
\nthese revisions, employment gains in December and January combined were 12,000 more than
\npreviously reported. (Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from
\nbusinesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the
\nrecalculation of seasonal factors.) After revisions, job gains have averaged 186,000
\nper month over the last 3 months. <\/p>\n

_____________
\nThe Employment Situation for March is scheduled to be released on Friday, April 5, 2019,
\nat 8:30 a.m. (EDT).<\/p>\n