The Employment Situation: January 2004 — 2004-02-06

Employment rose in January, and the unemployment rate, at 5.6 percent, was little changed, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 112,000, with job gains in construction and several service-providing industries. Manufacturing employ- ment continued to trend down, but the rate of job loss has moderated in recent months. The number of unemployed persons was 8.3 million in January and the unemployment rate was 5.6 percent, seasonally adjusted. While little changed over the month, both measures were down from their recent highs in June 2003, when the unemployment rate was 6.3 percent. Unemployment rates for most major worker groups--adult men (5.1 percent), adult women (5.0 percent), teenagers (16.7 percent), whites (4.9 percent), and blacks (10.5 percent)--were little changed in January. The unemployment rate for Hispanics rose to 7.3 percent over the month, about the same rate as last fall.