The HSD showed unemployment at 4.1% with 7.1 million people jobless
According to a report by the Tennessee Bureau of Labor (TBL), Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 151,000 in February, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.1%. Employment trended up in health care, financial activities, transportation and warehousing and social assistance. Federal government employment declined.
This is according to the household (HS) and establishment surveys (ES).
“The household survey measures labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The establishment survey measures nonfarm employment, hours and earnings by industry. For more information about the concepts and statistical methodology used in these two surveys, see the Technical Note, according to TBL.
The HS showed unemployment at 4.1% with 7.1 million people jobless.
“The unemployment rate has remained in a narrow range of 4% to 4.2% since May 2024,” according to the report.
The ES measures nonfarm employment, hours and earnings by industry.
“Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for Whites (3.8%) increased in February,” according to the report. “The jobless rates for adult men (3.8%), adult women (3.8%), teenagers (12.9%), Blacks (6%), Asians (3.2%) and Hispanics (5.2%) showed little change over the month.”
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more), at 1.5 million, changed little in February while the labor force participation rate, at 62.4%, changed little over the month and the year. The number of people employed part-time for economic reasons increased by 460,000 to 4.9 million in February.
“These individuals would have preferred full-time employment but were working part-time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs,” according to the report. “The number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job increased by 414,000 to 5.9 million in February. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the four weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job.”
Those not in the labor force who wanted a job changed little at 1.7 million in February.
“These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked for work in the four weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available, decreased by 128,000 to 464,000 in February,” according to the report.
Other key points from the report:
- Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 151,000 in February, like the average monthly ain of 168,000 over the prior 12 months. In February, employment trended up in health care, financial activities, transportation, and warehousing and social assistance. Federal government employment declined.
- Health care added 52,000 jobs in February, in line with the average monthly gain of 54,000 over the prior 12 months. In February, job growth continued in ambulatory health care services +26,000), hospitals (+15,000), and nursing and residential care facilities (+12,000).
- Employment in financial activities rose by 21,000 in February, above the prior 12-month average gain (+5,000). Over the month, employment continued to trend up in real estate and rental and leasing (+10,000) and insurance carriers and related activities (+5,000). Commercial banking lost 5,000 jobs.
- Transportation and warehousing employment continued to trend up in February (+18,000), in line with the average monthly gain over the prior 12 months (+13,000). Over the month, job growth occurred in couriers and messengers (+24,000) and air transportation (+4,000).
- Employment in social assistance continued to trend up in February (+11,000), below the average monthly gain over the prior 12 months (+21,000). Over the month,employment continued to trend up in individual and family services (+10,000).
- Within government, federal government employment declined by 10,000 in February.
- Employment in retail trade changed little over the month (-6,000) and has shown little net change over the year. In February, employment in food and beverage retailers declined by 15,000, largely due to strike activity. Warehouse clubs, supercenters, and other general merchandise retailers added 10,000 jobs.
- Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; information; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; and other services.
- In February, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 10 cents or 0.3%, to $35.93. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 4%. In February, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 9 cents or 0.3%, to $30.89.
- In February, the average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 34.1 hours. In manufacturing, the average workweek remained at 40.1 hours, and overtime edged up by 0.1 hour to 2.9 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.6 hours.
- The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for December was revised up by 16,000, from +307,000 to +323,000, and the change for January was revised down by 18,000, from +143,000 to +125,000. With these revisions, employment in December and January combined is 2,000 lower than previously reported. (Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.)
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