The Employment Situation: August 2001 — 2001-09-07

Employment fell and the unemployment rate rose sharply to 4.9 percent in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Nonfarm payroll employment declined by 113,000, due primarily to another large drop in manufacturing and a decline in transportation and public utilities. Most other major industries showed little or no change in employment over the month. The number of unemployed persons increased by more than half a million to nearly 7 million in August. The unemployment rate rose by 0.4 percentage point to 4.9 percent, seasonally adjusted, the highest level since September 1997. The jobless rate had been about 4.5 percent since April; its most recent low was 3.9 percent in October 2000. The rates for most major worker groups were up over the month. (See tables A-1 and A-2.) The number of persons unemployed less than 5 weeks and the number unemployed 15 weeks or more both increased over the month.