THE EM PLOYM ENT SITUATION: AUGUST 1966

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1 NEWS from U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR W. Willard Wirtz, Secretary USDL FOR RELEASE: 12 Noon F riday, Septem ber 2, U. S. Departm ent of L abor BLS, THE EM PLOYM ENT SITUATION: AUGUST The m onthly survey of em ploym ent and unem ploym ent showed a m ixture of continued strength fo r qualified and experien ced w ork ers together with w eakness fo r N egroes and fo r le ss skilled w orkers,, 1. Total em ploym ent continued to rise after seasonal adjustment,, The adjusted in crea se from to August was about 250, 000o The labor fo r c e in crea sed by approxim ately the sam e amount,. This p arallel advance in em p loyment and the labor fo r c e has been going on since the beginning of, so that the unem ploym ent rate has rem a in ed about le v e l. 2. J ob lessn ess among N egro w ork ers (who make up 92 percen t of nonw hites) has been w orsening in recen t m onths. The unem ploym ent rate fo r whites in August was the sam e as in A p ril, 3e 4 percent. The rate fo r nonwhites gradually in crea sed fro m 7. 0 to 8. 2 p ercen t during the same p eriod. 3. The jo b situation fo r w ork ers with good p rofession al or manual sk ills, and with good training and experien ce, continues to be very strong. In August the unem ploym ent rate was only 2. 1 percent fo r w h ite -colla r w o rk e rs, 2. 0 percent fo r skilled craftsm en, and 1Q7 percent fo r m a rried m en. 40 The jo b situation is con sid erably w eaker fo r w ork ers with le ss skill and experien ce. The seasonally adjusted unem ploym ent rate fo r sem isk illed b lu e -co lla r w ork ers was 4e 8 percent in August, up from 4. 2 percen t in A pril. U nskilled w ork ers had a rate of 8. 0 percen t, com pared with 6. 9 percen t in A pril. Beginning with this re le a se, the payroll em ploym ent, hours, and earnings figu res have been adjusted to M arch 196^ b e n c h m arks (com prehensive counts of em p loym en t). A d escrip tion of the effects of the revision w ill appear in the Septem ber 196j8?issue of Em ploym ent and Earnings and Monthly R eport on the L abor F o rce.

2 The Employment Situation Page 2 September 2, 5. A special review of summer employment ( through August) for year-olds shows 1,000,000 more jobs, on the average, titan in the summer of, The sharp improvement in the teenage job picture was heavily concentrated among white youth, however. Their unemployment rate was 12 percent, as compared to 14 percent in the summer of, while that for Negroes was 27 percent, about the same as last summer. Taking all year-olds (both those in the labor force and those not looking for work), about 55 percent of the whites were employed during these 3 months, as compared with about 40 percent of the Negroes. Further details on these developments are as follows: Payroll Employment, Hours, and Earnings The number of employees on nonfarm payrolls continued to move up strongly, rising by about 300,000 to 64.6 million in August. After seasonal adjustment, the gain totaled 200,000 and was concentrated in manufacturing and government. Since August, payroll employment has risen by 3-1/4 million. Manufacturing employment rose by 275,000 (150,000 more than seasonal) between and August. Almost all of the seasonally adjusted increase took place in the 5 major metals and metal-using industries, with transportation equipment showing the largest single rise. However, the seasonally adjusted increase in transportation equipment was related to the early model changeover, which reduced employment sharply in. The number of production workers in manufacturing reached 14, 350,000 (seasonally adjusted) in August, the highest level since World War H. Employment in contract construction increased by 20,000 in August, about 40,000 less than the usual pickup at this time of year. Construction employment (seasonally adjusted) has declined from the high first quarter level. Strikes and bad weather held down employment growth in April and May. In addition, the slackness in private residential construction has adversely affected construction employment. Employment in transportation and public utilities also showed a further small decline in August due to the airline strike which was still in effect during the survey week. The factory workweek, at 41.3 hours in August, was up 0. 2 hour from and from the August level. After seasonal adjustment, the workweek was also hours, equal to the level but down from the high of hours recorded from February through May. Average hourly earnings of factory production workers declined seasonally to $2.69 in August. Weekly earnings, at $111.10, also decreased slightly over the month, but were up $4.65 from the August level.

3 The Em ploym ent Situation Page 3 Septem ber 2, Y e a r -o ld Youth A pproxim ately 7. 3 m illion y e a r -o ld s w ere em ployed in the sum m er months of. This figure was 1. 0 m illion or 16 p ercen t higher than the - August average. As the follow ing table show s, the y e a r -to -y e a r growth in teenage em ploym ent this sum m er was substantially la rg e r than the in crea se in previous y ea rs. Employment Situation of Tear-old Youth, -August Averages, (In thousands) TOTAL. BOTH RACES Civilian labor force... 8,465 7,458 6,822 6,497 6,225 Employed: number... 7,287 6,286 5,643 5,293 5,288 Percent of population Unemployed... 1,179 1,172 1,179 1, Unemployment rate WHITES Civilian labor force... 7,491 6,609 6,054 5,764 5,534 Employed: num ber... 6,580 5,665 5,123 4,804 4,759 Percent of p opulation Unemployed Unemployment ra te NONWHITES Civilian labor force Employed: number Percent of population Unemployed Unemployment rate The sharp im provem ent in the teenage jo b picture this sum m er was heavily concentrated among w hites. T heir em ploym ent rose by 900, 000 over last sum m er, in creasin g the proportion of the population em ployed from 50 to 55 percent. In contrast, nonwhite teenage em ploym ent ro se by le ss than 100, 000, and the p roportion of the population em ployed in crea sed only s lig h tly --to /2 percent. A ll of the d rop in the teenage unem ploym ent rate over the year took place among white y e a r -o ld s. The white rate declin ed fro m about 14 to 12 percen t, while the nonwhite rate rem ained unchanged at approxim ately 27 p ercen t.

4 The E m ploym ent Situation Page 4 Septem ber 2, U nem ploym ent The number of unem ployed p erson s fe ll seasonally between and A u g u st--to 2.9 m illion. On a seasonally adjusted b a sis, unem ploym ent has rem ained clo se to 3. 0 m illion, and the jo b le s s rate has continued at about 4 percent since the beginning of the year and was 3. 9 percent in August. Since August, unem ploym ent has dropped 300, 000. The im provem ent over the last year has benefited nearly all w ork er groups, but the la rg est gains took place among adult m en and highly skilled w ork ers. M o re o v e r, as the table below illu stra tes, unem ploym ent rates have continued at low levels (between 2 and 3 p ercen t) throughout for m en 20 y ea rs of age and o v e r, m a rrie d m en, w h ite -colla r w ork ers and skilled b lu e -co lla r w ork ers. In con trast, fo r nonw hites, teenagers, and sem isk illed and unskilled b lu e -co lla r w o rk e rs, jo b le s s rates ro se between the fir s t 4 months of and the M ay-a ugust p eriod. Average Unemployment Rates for Selected Groups, Seasonally Adjusted May-August January-April May-August Total (a ll civilian w orkers) Men, 20 years and over Married men, 14 years and over Women, 20 years and over Both sexes, years White Nonwhite White-collar workers Craftsmen and foremen (sk illed ) Operatives (semiskilled) Nonfarm laborers (u nsk illed)

Table A-l: Employment status of the noninstitutional population, by age and sex (In thousands) Employment status, age, and sex Seasonally adjusted May A p r. Total Total labor force.

5 Table A-l: Employment status of the noninstitutional population, by age and sex (In thousands) Employment status, age, and sex Seasonally adjusted May A p r. Total Total labor force... 82,468 82,771 80,163 80,549 80,233 80,185 79,313 79,674 Civilian labor force... 79,290 79,636 77,470 77,371 77,098 77,086 76,268 76,666 Employed... 76,369 76,411 74,212 74,338 74,072 73,977 73,231 73,799 Agriculture... 4,707 5,010 5,136 4,158 4,144 4,238 4,076 4,482 Non agricultural industries... 71,662 71,402 69,077 70,180 69,928 69,759 69,155 69,317 On part time for economic r e a so n s... 2,006 2,189 2,317 1,716 1,977 2,004 1,607 1,571 Usually work full time , Usually work part time.. 1,125 1,303 1, , Unemployed... 2,921 3,225 3,258 3,033 3,026 3,089 3,037 2,867 Men, 20 years and over Civilian labor force... 45,205 45,160 45,215 44,833 44,744 44,780 44,661 44,836 Employed... 44,169 44,126 43,934 43,691 43,585 43,621 43,597 43,772 Agriculture... 2,926 3,028 3,250 2,855 2,854 2,860 2,861 3,035 Nonagricultural industries... 41,244 41,098 40,685 40,836 40,731 40,761 40,736 40,737 Unemployed... 1,035 1,035 1,279 1,142 1,159 1,159 1,064 1,064 Women, 20 years and over Civilian labor force... 23,913 23,726 23,260 24,481 24,313 24,226 24,082 24,000 Employed... 22,912 22,859 22,155 23,527 23,425 23,286 23,121 23,133 Agriculture Nonagricultural industries... 22,171 21,965 21,293 22,880 22,738 22,604 22,489 22,405 Unemployed... 1, , Both sexes, years Civilian labor force... 10,173 10,750 8,995 8,057 8,041 8,080 7,525 7,830 Employed... 9,287 9,426 8,124 7,120 7,062 7,090 6,513 6,894 Agriculture... 1,040 1,087 1, Nonagricultural industries... 8,247 8,339 7,100 6,464 6,459 6,394 5,930 6,175 Unemployed , ,

6 Table A-2: Major unemployment indicators Selected categories Thousands of persons unemployed A u g. A u g. Seasonally adjusted rates of unemployment Hay Apr. Total (all civilian workers)... 2, Men, 20 years and over.... 1, years years and over Women, 20 years and over... 1, Both sexes, years White... 2, Nonwhite Married men Full-time workers1... 2, Blue-collar workers^... 1, Unemployed 15 weeks and over^ State insured'* Labor force time lost-* ^Adjusted by provisional seasonal factors. ^Craftsmen, operatives, and nonfarm laborers. ^Rates based on civilian labor force. ^Insured unemployment under State programs as a percent of average covered employment. ^Labor force time lost is a percentage representing the man-hours lost by the unemployed and those on part time for economic reasons. Duration of unemployment Table A-3: Unemployed persons by duration of unemployment (In thousands) Seasonally adjusted May Apr. Less than 5 w eek s... 1,559 1,802 1,612 1,666 1,710 1,816 1,789 1,625 5 to 14 weeks ,049 1, weeks and o v e r to 26 w eek s weeks and ov er

7 Toble A-4: Unemployed persons by oge ond sex Age and sex Thousands of persons Total Looking Looking for hilltime work time for partwork Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates May Total, 14 years and over... 2,921 2, to 17 years and 15 y e a r s and 17 y e a r s years and o v e r... 2,476 2, and 19 y e a rs to 24 y e a rs years and ov er... 1,567 1, to 54 years... 1,231 1, years and o v e r Males, 18 years and o v e r... 1,237 1, , and i9 years to 24 years years and o v e r to 54 y e a rs years and ov er Females, 18 years and over... 1, and 19 years to 24 years years and o v e r to 54 y e a rs years and ov er

8 Age and sex TabU A-5: Employed persons by age and sex Total (In thousands) Voluntary part-time employed 1 Seasonally adjusted May Apr. Total, 14 years and over ,369 8,115 74,338 74,072 73,997 73,231 73, to 17 years... A,875 2,073 3,539 3,412 3,438 3,231 3, and 15 y e a rs... 1,703 1,032 1,214 1,139 1,198 1,107 1, and 17 y e a r s... 3,172 1,041 2,325 2,273 2,240 2,124 2, years and over... 71,492 6,042 70,741 70,616 70,440 70,057 70, and 19 y e a r s... 4, ,595 3,586 3,542 3,294 3, to 24 y e a r s... 8, ,948 7,989 8,010 7,997 7, years and ov er... 58,807 4,950 59,198 59,041 58,888 58,766 58, to 44 years... 30,009 1,914 30,139 30,028 30,086 30,175 30, years and over ,799 3,036 29,059 28,904 28,798 28,588 28,715 Males, 18 years and over... 46,633 1,724 45,586 45,572 45,548 45,397 45, and 19 years... 2, ,942 1,946 1,897 1,783 1, to 24 years... 4, ,615 4,624 4,605 4,594 4, years and o v e r... 39,251 1,287 39,029 39,002 39,046 39,020 39, to 44 y e a rs... 20, ,382 20,363 20,444 20,565 20, years and o v e r... 18,716 1,061 18,647 18,576 18,583 18,439 18,571 Females, 18 years and over.. 24,859 4,318 25,155 25,044 24,892 24,660 24, and 19 years... 1, ,653 1,640 1,645 1,511 1, to 24 years... 3, ,333 3,365 3,405 3,403 3, years and over... 19,556 3,663 20,169 20,039 19,842 19,746 19, to 44 y e a rs... 9,474 1,688 9,757 9,665 9,642 9,610 9, years and ov er... 10,083 1,975 10,412 10,328 10,215 10,149 10,144 ^Includes a proportionate number of persons with a job but not at work. NOTE: Due to the independent seasonal adjustment of several of the series, detail will not necessarily add to totals.

9 Table A-6: Unemployment rates by industry and occupation Industry or occupation A u g A u g A u g Industry T o t a l Experienced wage and salary w orkers A g r ic u ltu r e Non agricultural in d u stries Mining, forestry, fish e rie s C on stru ction Manufacturing Durable g o o d s Nondurable g o o d s Transportation and public u tilities W holesale and retail trade Finance, insurance, and real estate Service in d u stries Public administration Self-em ployed and unpaid family w orkers Occupation T o t a l W hite-collar w o rk e rs P rofessional and t e c h n ic a l Managers, o fficia ls, and proprietors C lerical w o rk e rs Sales workers B lue-collar w o r k e r s Craftsmen and fo rem e n O p e ra tiv e s Non farm lab orers Service w o rk ers Private household workers Other service workers Farm workers # Farmers and farm managers... m2.3.4 m Farm laborers and foremen

10 Table A-7: Full- and part-time status of the civilian labor force (In thousands) Full- and part-time employment status 1964 Full Time Civilian labor force... Employed: Full-time schedules1... Part time for economic reason s... Unemployed, looking for full-time work.... Unemployment rate... 70,542 65,924 2,327 2, ,371 63,956 2,696 2, ,845 61,981 2,828 3, Part Time Civilian labor force Employed (voluntary part time)1... Unemployed, looking for part-time work... Unemployment rate... 8,749 8, ,099 7, ,914 7, Employed persons with a job but not at work are distributed proportionately among the full- and part-time employed categories.

11 T a b le B-1: Em ployee* on n o n a gric u ltu ra l p a y ro lls, by industry (In thousands) Industry A ug. J u l y Ju n e A u g. J u l y Change from A u g. A u g Seasonally adjusted J u l y Change from J u l y T O T A L , , , , , , , , M INING CONTRACT CONSTRUCTION. 3,635 3,615 3, , , , , MANUFACTURING , ,136 19,258 18, , , , , P ro d u ctio n w o r k e r s , , , , , , , D URABLE G O OD S... 11,267 11,206 H, , 4 l , , ,2 2 0 l 4 l P ro d u ctio n w o r k e r s... 8, ,278 8, , , 4 l 4 8, , Ordnance and accessories Lumber and wood products Furniture and fixtures Stone, clay, and glass products Primary metal industries... 1, , , , , , , Fabricated metal products... 1, ,3 3 9 * 0 1, , , , , Machinery... 1, , , , ,896 1, , Electrical equipment... 1, , , , * , , , Transportation equipment... 1, , , , , , , Instruments and related products Miscellaneous manufacturing NONDURABLE G O O D S... 8, , , , , , , P ro d u ctio n w o r k e r s... 6, , , , , , , Food and kindred products... 1, , , , , , , Tobacco manufactures Textile mill products Apparel and related products.... 1, , , , , , , Paper and allied products Printing and publishing... 1, , , , ,030 1,026 4 Chemicals and allied products Petroleum and related products Rubber and plastic products Leather and leather products T R A N S P O R TA TIO N AND PU B LIC U T IL IT IE S... 4, ,170 4, , , , , WHOLESALE AND R ETAIL TR ADE 1 3, , , , , , , W HOLESALE TR ADE... 3, , , , , , , R E T A IL T R A D E... 9, , , , , , , FINANCE, INSURANCE, AND REAL E S T A T E... 3, , , , , , , SERVICE AND MISCELLANEOUS.. 9, , , , , , , GOVERNMENT , , ,906 9, , , , F E D E R A L... 2, , , , , ,601 2, S TA TE AND L O C A L... 7, , , , , ,356 8, NOTE: Data for die 2 most recent months are preliminary.

Table B-2: Average weekly hours of production workers^ on payrolls of selected industries In d u s try Change from Seasonally adjusted M IN IN G... 1*3.2 1*3.2 1*3. 1* 1*3.1 0 0.1 1*2.6 1*3*3 1*2.9-0.

12 Table B-2: Average weekly hours of production workers^ on payrolls of selected industries In d u s try Change from Seasonally adjusted M IN IN G... 1*3.2 1*3.2 1*3. 1* 1* *2.6 1*3*3 1* CO NTRACT CONSTRUCTION * * * - 9 M A N U FACTU R IN G... 1*1.3 1*1.1 t o.6 1* *1.3 1*1.1 1*1.3.2 O v ertim e boms i*.o * DURABLE GOODS... 1*1.9 1*1.6 1*2.3 1* *2.0 1*1.8 1*2.0.2 O v ertim e boms... l*.l l*.l l*.l* l*.l 1**3 1* O rd n a n ce and a c c e s s o r i e s... 1*2.6 1*2.2 1*2.2 1*2.0.1*.6 1*2.7 1*2.8 1* L u m ber and w o o d p r o d u c t s... 1*1.1* 1* *1.1*.5 0 1* *0.5 1 F u rn itu re and f i x t u r e *... 1*1.9 1*0.6 1*1.8 1* *1.3 1*0.9 1*1.8.1* S to n e, c l a y, a n d g la s s p r o d u c ts.. 1*2.6 1*2.1 1*2.5 1* *2.0 1*1.6 1*1.9.1* P rim ary m etal in d u s tr ie s... 1*1.9 1*1.7 1*2.1* 1* *2.2 1*1.7 1*2.0 *5 Fabricated m etal products... 1*2.1* 1*1.9 1*2.7 1* *2.2 1*2.1 1* M a c h in e r y... 1*3.1* 1*3.2 l*l*.l 1* *3. 1* 1*3.8 3 E le c t r ic a l e q u ip m e n t... 1*0.8 1*0.5 1*1.3 1* *0.9 1*0.9 1*1.2 0 T ra n s p o rta tio n e q u ip m e n t... 1*1.1* 1*1.9 1*2.5 1*1.1* *2.5 1*2.2 1*2.3.3 In stru m en ts and re la te d p r o d u c ts. 1*2.0 1*1.5 1*2.2 1*1.1*.5.6 1*2.0 1*1.6 1*2.0.1* M is c e lla n e o u s m a n u fa ctu rin g.... 1* *0.1 1* * *0.1.3 NONDURABLE GOODS... 1*0.1* 1*0.3 1*0.5 1* *0.1 1*0.1 1*0.3 0 O v ertim e boms... * 3. 1* , F o o d and kin d red p r o d u c t s... 1*1.5 1*1.9 1*1.2 1* * 0 1*1.1 1*1.3 1* T oba cco manufactures * T e x t i le m ill p r o d u c ts... 1*2.0 1*1.6 1*2.6 1* *1.9 1*1.8 1* Apparel and related products * * * P ap er and a llie d p r o d u c t s... 1*3.6 1*3.5 1*3-7 1* *3*3 1*3.1* 1*3.!* -. 1 P rin tin g and p u b l i s h i n g *.1* 39* C hem icals and allied products... 1*1.8 1*1.9 1*2.2 1* *1.9 1*2.0 0 P etroleu m and rela te d p r o d u c ts.. 1*1.9 1*3.1 1*2.8 1* *1.7 1*2.5 1*2.5-8 R u b b er and p la s t ic p r o d u c ts... 1*1.7 1*1.1* 1*2.0 1* * 1*1.6 1*1.6 1*1.7 0 L e a th e r and lea th er p r o d u c ts * -.2.1* W H O LESALE AND R E T A IL TRADE * 37* WHOLESALE TRADE... 1*0.9 1*1.1 1*0.7 1* *0.9 1*0.9 1*0.6 0 RETAIL TRADE * FIN A N C E, INSURANCE, AND R E A L E S T A T E * 37. 1* Change from 1 For mining and manufacturing, data refer to production and related workers; for contract construction, to construction workers; and for all other industries, to nonsupervisory workers. NOTE: Data for the 2 most recent months are preliminary. Table B-3: Average hourly and weekly earnings of production workers* on payrolls of selected industries Industry J u ly Average hourly earnings Change from J u ly J u ly Average weekly earnings Change from MINING... $3.06 $3. 01* $3.06 $2.92 $0.02 $0.11* $ $ $ $ $0.86 $6.34 CONTRACT CONSTRUCTION * * MANUFACTURING DURABLE GOODS n 5. 5i O rd n a n ce and a c c e s s o r i e s * L u m ber and w o o d p r o d u c t s F u rn itu re and f i x t u r e * , ->4 S to n e, c l a y, and g la s s p r o d u c ts i l l * m P rim ary m etal in d u s tr ie s F a b r ic a te d me te l p r o d u c ts I* * n M a c h in e r y E l e c t r i c a l e q u ip m e n t T ra n s p o rta tio n e q u ip m e n t In stru m en ts and re la te d p r o d u c ts * H M iscellaneous m anufacturing NONDURABLE GOODS *1* 2. 1*5 2. 1* * n F o o d and k in d red p r o d u c t s * * o T oba cco manufactures T e x t i le m ill p r o d u c ts Apparel and related products I.8 7 I P a p er and a llie d p r o d u c t s n 5.i P rin tin g and p u b l i s h i n g n 8.8 i C hem icals and allied products * P etro le u m and rela te d p ro d u c ts *2 3. 1* *.13 11* *7. 1* R u b b er and p la s t ic p r o d u c ts * IH.30 n o L e a th e r and lea th er p r o d u c t s I WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE WHOLESALE T R A D E n o R ETA IL TR ADE * FINANCE, INSURANCE, AND REAL ESTATE *7 2.1*8 2. 1* V? ror mining and manufacturing, data refer to production and related workers; for contract construction, to construction workers; and for all other industries, to nonsupervisory workers. NOTE: Data for the 2 most recent months are preliminary. J u ly

USD Li Bureau of Labor Statistics (202) THE EM PLOYM ENT SITUATION: JANUARY 1969

USD Li Bureau of Labor Statistics (202) THE EM PLOYM ENT SITUATION: JANUARY 1969 NEWS 0L4&SL U. $. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR OFFICE OF INFORMATION, WASHINGTON, D. C. 20210 USD Li - 10-260 Bureau of Labor Statistics (202) 961-2634 FOR RELEASE: ll:ooa.m. Tuesday, February 11, THE EM PLOYM