Widespread increases in unemployment raised the Nation's unemployment rate to 5.8 percent in September compared with 5.4 percent in August. Since last October, when the unemployment rate had receded to a 32-year low, the number of unemployed persons has risen by 1.2 million.

Total employment (as measured by the monthly sample survey of households) increased in September, with the rise over the past year-1.4 million-only half as large as that recorded over the preceding year.

Nonfarm payroll employment (as measured by the monthly survey of business establishments) was virtually unchanged in September at 77.1 million. The number of payroll jobs has risen by 1.2 million over the past year and has shown little change since May.

Unemployment

The number of persons unemployed rose by 440,000 in September to a total of 5.3 million (seasonally adjusted). Unemployment rose somewhat for men aged 25-54, but the largest increases took place among women 25 and over and teenagers, particularly among 18-19 yearold males. Declining college attendance among young men, coupled with the slower growth in jobs, contributed to rising youth unemployment.

The overall unemployment rate was 5.8 percent in September, up 1.2 percentage points from October 1973. Over this time span, each of the three major age-sex groups were substantially affected; the jobless rate for adult males rose from 3.0 to 3.9 percent, that of adult females from 4.4 to 5.7 percent, and the teenage rate from 14.0 to 16.7 percent.

More than half of the September rise in unemployment occurred among workers who had lost their last job. The number of job losers rose by 250,000 over the month to 2.2 million. The number of jobless workers who had reentered the labor force or who were seeking their first job also increased over the month. Among the other major labor force groups, the jobless rate for full-time workers rose from 4.8 percent in August to 5.3 percent in September, and the rate for household heads moved up from 3.1 to 3.4 percent.

The unemployment rate for married men was 2.8 percent in September, compared with 2.6 percent in August. The jobless rate for workers covered by State unemployment insurance programs, at 3.4 percent in September, remained at about the same level that has prevailed since early in the year but was up from 2.6 percent last October.

For white workers, the jobless rate rose from 4.8 to 5.3 percent as a result of increases among adult women and teenagers. The unemployment rate for black workers (Negro and other races) was 9.8 percent, compared with 9.2 percent in August.

Increases in joblessness were registered among both white-collar and blue-collar workers, whose rates rose to 3.5 and 6.8 percent, respectively. Among the major industry groups, there were sizeable jobless hikes among workers in construction, manufacturing, and wholesale and retail trade. At 12.4 percent the unemployment rate of construction workers was at its highest point in 4 years.

The unemployment rate for Vietnam-era veterans 20-34 years old, at 5.2 percent in September, was about unchanged over the month and was not significantly different from the jobless rate of their nonveteran counterparts (5.7 percent). The most recently discharged veterans (those 20 to 24 years old), however, continued to experience higher unemployment than young nonveterans. Their jobless rate was 12.4 percent, compared with 8.0 percent for 20-24 year-old nonveterans. On the other hand, the unemployment rates for older veteran groups were either about the same or below those of nonveterans of the same ages.

As often happens at the time of a sharp increase in unemployment, the average duration of unemployment edged down in September. It moved from 10.0 to 9.6 weeks, as the bulk of the increase in joblessness was accounted for by workers unemployed for less than 15 weeks.

Civilian labor force and total employment

The civilian labor force usually declines substantially in September. This year, the actual decline was much

the labor force increased sharply on a seasonally adjusted basis, rising by almost 800,000 to a level of 91.9 million. Teenagers accounted for 700,000 of the advance, a development which may stem in part from reduced college attendance and the consequent greater labor market participation of youth who otherwise would have been full-time students.

Since September 1973, the civilian labor force has expanded by 2.4 million. This growth was paced by adult women, who accounted for 1.2 million of the year-to-year gain, with adult males and teenagers making up 860,000 and 400,000, respectively.

Total employment rose by 350,000 from August to September, as an unusually large increase in the number of employed teenagers more than offset a decline among adult women. Since September a year ago, the employment total was up by only 1.4 million, exactly half the year-to-year gain registered over the previous year. The number of nonagricultural workers employed part time for economic reasons—that is, those persons who want full-time jobs but are forced to work shorter hours due to such factors as slack work, material shortages, or the inability to find full-time work-rose by 310,000 in September to 2.8 million. This was the highest level in this measure of "partial unemployment" since the first half of 1961. This increase, when coupled with the rise in unemployment, led to a large upswing in the percent of labor force time lost-from 5.8 to 6.4 percent. (Labor force time lost is a measure of the man-hours lost by the unemployed and those working part time for economic reasons as a percent of potentially available labor force man-hours.)

Industry payroll employment

Nonagricultural payroll employment, at 77.1 million in September, has remained substantially unchanged since May (seasonally adjusted). Neither the goodsproducing nor the service-producing sectors showed a marked change from August to September. Employment levels in September remained high as a result of a large net reduction in strike activity (persons on strike are not counted as employed in the establishment survey).

Within the goods-producing sector, the durable goods manufacturing industries posted a small gain in September, due to the reduction in strike activity, while nondurable manufacturing employment declined slightly. Contract construction employment fell by 50,000, a reflection of considerably reduced building activity; construction jobs have declined by 255,000 since February 1974.

has shown uncharacteristically slow growth in the past few months, was relatively changed in September. The only job gains took place in State and local government and finance, insurance, and real estate.

Hours of work

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonagricultural payrolls rose 0.2 hour in September to a seasonally adjusted level of 36.8 hours. Despite this movement, however, weekly hours have been essentially stable since March. Total manufacturing hours remained at 40.1 hours, and factory overtime fell by 0.2 hour. Since September 1973, both the factory workweek and overtime hours have been reduced by 0.7 hour.

Hourly and weekly earnings

Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonagricultural payrolls rose 0.9 percent (seasonally adjusted) in September. Since September 1973, hourly earnings have advanced 8.3 percent. Because of the rise in average hours as well as the increased hourly earnings, average weekly earnings increased by 1.5 percent over the month. Weekly earnings were up 7.2 percent since September a year ago, with four-fifths of the rise taking place in the last 5 months.

Before adjustment for seasonality, average hourly earnings rose by 8 cents in September to $4.32. Large increases in hourly earnings are typical at this time of year, because many young people leave lower-paying summer jobs. Since September 1973, hourly earnings have advanced by 33 cents. Weekly earnings averaged $159.41 in September, an increase of $2.11 from August and $10.58 from September of last year.

The hourly earnings index

The Hourly Earnings Index-earnings adjusted for overtime in manufacturing, seasonality, and the effects of changes in the proportion of workers in high-wage and low-wage industries-was 162.1 (1967-100) in September, 0.9 percent higher than in August. The Index was 8.8 percent above September a year ago. During the 12-month period ended in August, the Hourly Earnings Index in dollars of constant purchasing power declined 2.1 percent.