The Employment Situation: February 2002 — 2002-03-08

The unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 5.5 percent in February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Nonfarm payroll employment was up by 66,000 in February, following several months of large job losses. February gains in several industries, however, can be attributed to special factors. Manufacturing employment continued to decline, although at a slower pace. The number of unemployed persons (7.9 million) and the unemployment rate (5.5 percent) were essentially unchanged in February, following declines in both measures in January. The unemployment rate for Hispanics fell by a percentage point to 7.1 percent in February. Jobless rates for the other major worker groups--adult men (5.0 percent), adult women (5.0 percent), teenagers (15.6 percent), whites (4.9 percent), and blacks (9.6 percent)--were little changed. (See tables A-1 and A-2.) Total employment rose by 851,000 to 134.3 million in February, after sea- sonal adjustment; this increase more than offset a large decline in January.