http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htmFriday, February 4, 2005.
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: JANUARY 2005
Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 146,000 in January and the unem-
ployment rate decreased to 5.2 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Job growth continued in several ser-
vice-providing industries, while manufacturing employment declined over the
month.
Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
Both the number of unemployed persons, 7.7 million, and the unemployment
rate, 5.2 percent, declined in January. The jobless rate was down from 5.7
percent a year earlier. Over the month, the unemployment rates for adult men
(4.7 percent), whites (4.4 percent), and Hispanics or Latinos (6.1 percent)
edged down, while the rates for adult women (4.6 percent), teenagers (16.3
percent), and blacks or African Americans (10.6 percent) showed little change.
The unemployment rate for Asians was 4.2 percent, not seasonally adjusted.
(See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)
The number of long-term unemployed--those unemployed 27 weeks and over--was
about unchanged over the month. This group accounted for 20.9 percent of the
unemployed. (See table A-9.)
Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
Total employment, as measured by the household survey, was little changed
at 140.2 million, seasonally adjusted, in January. The employment-population
ratio--the proportion of the population age 16 and older with jobs--remained
at 62.4 percent. The civilian labor force was 148.0 million, after seasonal
adjustment. The labor force participation rate edged down over the month to
65.8 percent. (See table A-1.)
The number of persons who work part time for economic reasons was 4.4 mil-
lion in January, seasonally adjusted. The January level was about unchanged
from December, but was down by 308,000 over the year. This category is com-
prised primarily of 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. (See table A-5.)
At 7.2 million, not seasonally adjusted, the number of persons who held
more than one job was about unchanged in January from a year earlier. These
multiple jobholders represented 5.2 percent of total employment, the same
proportion as in January 2004. (See table A-13.)