Solid Jobs Report But Divergence Between Jobs And Employment Is Still Strong

Initial Reaction

Today’s employment report shows a robust increase of 235,000 jobs. And for the first time in many months, the rest of the report was good as well.

Revisions

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for December was revised down from +157,000 to +155,000, and the change for January was revised up from +227,000 to +238,000. With these revisions, employment gains in December and January combined were 9,000 more than previously reported. Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors. Over the past 3 months, job gains have averaged 209,000 per month.

Let’s dive into the details in the BLS Employment Situation Summary, unofficially called the Jobs Report.

BLS Jobs Statistics at a Glance

Nonfarm Payroll: +235,000 – Establishment Survey

Employment: +447,000 – Household Survey

Unemployment: -107,000 – Household Survey

Involuntary Part-Time Work: +242,000 – Household Survey

Voluntary Part-Time Work: +286,000 – Household Survey

Baseline Unemployment Rate: -0.1 to 4.7% – Household Survey

U-6 unemployment: -0.2 to 9.2% – Household Survey

Civilian Non-institutional Population: +164,000

Civilian Labor Force: +340,000 – Household Survey

Not in Labor Force: -176,000 – Household Survey

Participation Rate: +0.1 to 63.0 – Household Survey

Employment Report Statement

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 235,000 in February, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment gains occurred in construction, private educational services, manufacturing, health care, and mining.

Unemployment Rate – Seasonally Adjusted