The Employment Situation: December 1999 — 2000-01-07

Employment rose in December, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 315,000. Job growth occurred throughout the service-producing sector and in construction, while manufacturing employment was little changed. Average hourly earnings rose by 6 cents in December following a rise of 1 cent in November and have increased by 3.7 percent over the year. The number of unemployed persons was essentially unchanged at 5.7 million in December, and the unemployment rate was 4.1 percent for the third consecutive month. The jobless rate moved downward in 1999; the fourth quarter average of 4.1 percent was down from 4.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 1998. Unemployment rates for all the major worker groups--adult men (3.3 percent), adult women (3.6 percent), teenagers (13.8 percent), whites (3.5 percent), blacks (7.9 percent), and Hispanics (5.9 percent)--showed little or no change over the month.