The Employment Situation: August 2005 — 2005-09-02

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 169,000 in August, and the unemploy- ment rate was little changed at 4.9 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Employment rose over the month in several industries, including construction, health care, and accommodations and food services. Manufacturing employment edged down in August. Both the number of unemployed persons and the unemployment rate were little changed in August. The unemployment rate, at 4.9 percent, has trended down by half a percentage point since February. The number of unemployed persons, 7.4 million, was down from 8.0 million in February. In August, the unemployment rates for most major worker groups--adult men (4.3 percent), teenagers (16.5 percent), whites (4.2 percent), blacks (9.6 percent), and Hispanics or Latinos (5.8 percent)--showed little or no change. The jobless rate for adult women fell to 4.4 percent over the month. The unemployment rate for Asians was 3.6 percent, not seasonally adjusted.