The Employment Situation: September 2000 — 2000-10-06

Total nonfarm employment rose by 252,000 in September, and the unemployment rate declined to 3.9 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. After adjusting for the net return of striking workers (75,000) and a further decline in the number of temporary census jobs (27,000), nonfarm employment was up by 204,000. Job gains were very strong in the services industry, but the overall employment change was tempered by widespread job losses in manufacturing. Both the number of unemployed persons, 5.5 million, and the unemployment rate, 3.9 percent, declined in September. Over the past year, the rate has ranged from 3.9 percent to 4.1 percent. Over the month, the unemployment rates decreased for adult women (3.5 percent) and blacks (7.0 percent). Rates for the other major worker groups--adult men (3.2 percent), teenagers (12.8 percent), whites (3.5 percent), and Hispanics (5.6 percent)--showed little or no change.