THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- FEBRUARY 2012

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THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- FEBRUARY 2012

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 227,000 in February, and the unemployment rate

was unchanged at 8.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

Employment rose in professional and businesses services, health care and social

assistance, leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, and mining.

Household Survey Data

The number of unemployed persons, at 12.8 million, was essentially unchanged in

February. The unemployment rate held at 8.3 percent, 0.8 percentage point below

the August 2011 rate. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (7.7 percent),

adult women (7.7 percent), teenagers (23.8 percent), whites (7.3 percent), blacks

(14.1 percent), and Hispanics (10.7 percent) showed little or no change in February.

The jobless rate for Asians was 6.3 percent, not seasonally adjusted. (See tables

A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) was little

changed at 5.4 million in February. These individuals accounted for 42.6 percent of

the unemployed. (See table A-12.)

Both the labor force and employment rose in February. The civilian labor force

participation rate, at 63.9 percent, and the employment-population ratio, at 58.6

percent, edged up over the month. (See table A-1.)

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred

to as involuntary part-time workers) was essentially unchanged at 8.1 million in

February. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut

back or because they were unable to find a full-time job. (See table A-8.)

In February, 2.6 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force,

essentially unchanged from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.)

These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work,

and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as

unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the

survey. (See table A-16.)

Among the marginally attached, there were 1.0 million discouraged workers in

February, about the same as a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.)

Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe

no jobs are available for them. The remaining 1.6 million persons marginally attached

to the labor force in February had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding

the survey for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities. (See

table A-16.)

Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 227,000 in February. Private-sector employment

grew by 233,000, with job gains in professional and business services, health care and

social assistance, leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, and mining. (See table B-1.)

Professional and business services added 82,000 jobs in February. Just over half of

the increase occurred in temporary help services (+45,000). Job gains also occurred in

computer systems design (+10,000) and in management and technical consulting services

(+7,000). Employment in professional and business services has grown by 1.4 million

since a recent low point in September 2009.

Health care and social assistance employment rose by 61,000 over the month. Within

health care, ambulatory care services added 28,000 jobs, and hospital employment

increased by 15,000. Over the past 12 months, health care employment has risen by

360,000. In February, social assistance employment edged up (+12,000).

In February, employment in leisure and hospitality increased by 44,000, with nearly all

of the increase in food services and drinking places (+41,000). Since a recent low in

February 2010, food services has added 531,000 jobs.

Manufacturing employment rose by 31,000 in February. All of the increase occurred in

durable goods manufacturing, with job gains in fabricated metal products (+11,000),

transportation equipment (+8,000), machinery (+5,000), and furniture and related

products (+3,000). Durable goods manufacturing has added 444,000 jobs since a recent

trough in January 2010.

In February, mining added 7,000 jobs, with most of the gain in support activities for

mining (+5,000). Since a recent low in October 2009, mining employment has increased

by 180,000.

Construction employment changed little in February, after 2 consecutive months of job

gains. Over the month, employment fell by 14,000 in nonresidential specialty trade

contractors.

Overall, employment in retail trade changed little in February. A large job loss in

general merchandise stores (-35,000) more than offset an increase in January (+23,000).

Employment in motor vehicle and parts dealers continued to trend up in February.

Government employment was essentially unchanged in January and February. In 2011,

government lost an average of 22,000 jobs per month.

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at

34.5 hours in February. The manufacturing workweek edged up by 0.1 hour to 41.0 hours,

and factory overtime was unchanged at 3.4 hours. The average workweek for production

and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1 hour to 33.8

hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)

In February, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose

by 3 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $23.31. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings

have increased by 1.9 percent. In February, average hourly earnings of private-sector

production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 3 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $19.64.

(See tables B-3 and B-8.)

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for December was revised from +203,000

to +223,000, and the change for January was revised from +243,000 to +284,000.

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The Employment Situation for March is scheduled to be released on Friday, April 6, 2012,

at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).