The Employment Situation: September 1996 — 1996-10-04

Both unemployment and nonfarm payroll employment were essentially unchanged in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The jobless rate was 5.2 percent in September; it had been 5.1 percent in August. Payroll employment fell in manufacturing and local government in September, and growth slowed in several other major industries. Average hourly earnings rose by 6 cents over the month. About 7.0 million persons were unemployed in September and the unemployment rate was 5.2 percent. Both measures were about the same as they had been in August. Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for adult men rose by 0.3 percentage point to 4.5 percent, while the rate for teenagers fell to 15.6 percent. (See table A-1.) Total employment, at 127.4 million in September, continued to trend upward. The proportion of the population 16 years and over that was employed (the employment-population ratio) remained at 63.3 percent.