Unemployment Rate Holds At 5.6%

The number of unemployed persons was 8.2 million in February, and the unemployment rate held at 5.6 percent, seasonally adjusted. Both measures are below their recent highs of June 2003.   

Total employment was down in February to 138.3 million, and the employment-population ratio, which is the proportion of the population age 16 and older with jobs, declined to 62.2 percent. The ratio was at or near that level for most of 2003.

The number of persons who work part time for economic reasons edged down in February to 4.4 million, seasonally adjusted. This category includes persons who indicated that they would like to work full time but were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find full-time jobs.   

About 7.2 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one job in February. These multiple jobholders represented 5.3 percent of the total employed, down from 5.6 percent a year earlier.     

Construction employment declined by 24,000 in February, partly offsetting a large increase in January. Since last March, construction employment has risen by 123,000. In February, job losses were spread throughout the component industries. 

Manufacturing employment was about unchanged over the month; the pace of job losses in this sector has slowed in recent months. Since August, job losses in manufacturing have averaged 16,000 a month, compared with an average loss of 62,000 for the first 8 months of 2003. In February, a small employment gain in durable goods manufacturing was offset by a continuing decline in nondurable goods.

Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 3 cents over the month to $15.52, seasonally adjusted. The increase for January was 4 cents, as revised. Average weekly earnings rose by 0.2 percent in February to $524.58. Over the year, average hourly earnings increased by 1.6 percent, and average weekly earnings increased by 1.9 percent.