The Employment Situation: August 1996 — 1996-09-06

Unemployment declined in August, and nonfarm payroll employment continued to increase, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The nation's jobless rate fell from 5.4 to 5.1 percent. The number of jobs on nonfarm payrolls rose by 250,000 in August; private sector employment increased by 173,000. Average hourly earnings were up by 6 cents over the month. Both the number of unemployed persons and the unemployment rate fell in August. The number of persons who were unemployed, at 6.8 million, was 467,000 below July's level. The unemployment rate, at 5.1 percent, was 0.3 percentage point lower than in July. The August decline in unemployment occurred primarily among workers 20 to 24 years old, whose jobless rate fell from 9.7 to 8.3 percent, and among those 55 years and over, whose rate declined from 3.8 to 3.1 percent.