Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 262,000 in February and the unemployment rate edged up to 5.4 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Job growth occurred in both goods-producing and service-providing industries.
Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
In February, both the number of unemployed persons, 8.0 million, and the unemployment rate, 5.4 percent, returned to their December levels after dipping in January. The jobless rate had been either 5.4 or 5.5 percent during each of the last 6 months of 2004. In February, the unemployment rates for the major worker groups--adult men (4.9 percent), adult women (4.7 percent), teenagers (17.5 percent), whites (4.6 percent), blacks (10.9 percent), and Hispanics or Latinos (6.4 percent)--showed little change. The unemployment rate for Asians was 4.5 percent in February, not seasonally adjusted.The number of long-term unemployed--those unemployed for 27 weeks and over--remained at 1.6 million in February. This group accounted for 1 in 5 unemployed persons.
Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
In February, total employment was about unchanged at 140.1 million, seasonally adjusted. The employment-population ratio--the proportion of the population age 16 and over with jobs--was little changed over the month at 62.3 percent. The rate has fluctuated between 62.1 and 62.5 percent for the past 2 years. In February, the civilian labor force was essentially unchanged at 148.1 million, and the participation rate held at 65.8 percent.Over the year, the number of persons who held more than one job increased by 432,000 to 7.7 million, not seasonally adjusted. These multiple jobholders represented 5.5 percent of total employment in February, up from 5.3 percent a year earlier.
Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
There were 1.7 million persons who were marginally attached to the labor force in February, little changed over the year. (Data are not seasonally adjusted.) These individuals wanted and were available to work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed, however, because they did not actively search for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. Among the marginally attached, there were 485,000 discouraged workers in February, also about the same as a year earlier. Discouraged workers were not currently looking for work specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them. The other 1.2 million marginally attached had not searched for work for reasons such as school or family responsibilities.
