The Employment Situation: January 2000 — 2000-02-04

Employment rose in January, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 4.0 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 387,000. There were sharp increases in construction and in other weather- sensitive industries, due, at least in part, to unseasonably mild weather during the survey reference period. Average hourly earnings rose by 6 cents in January and by 3.5 percent over the year. The number of unemployed persons was unchanged in January at 5.7 million, and the unemployment rate was about unchanged at 4.0 percent. The jobless rate has been below 4.2 percent since October. Unemployment rates for the major worker groups--adult men (3.3 percent), adult women (3.7 percent), teenagers (12.6 percent), whites (3.4 percent), blacks (8.2 percent), and Hispanics (5.6 percent)--showed little or no change over the month.