Unemployment rate for men (3.6 per cent) and women (3.2 per cent)

The unemployment across the United States remains unchanged for January 2024 at 3.7 per cent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

This, comes amid a notable increase in total non-farm payroll employment, which rose by 353,000. Key sectors experiencing job gains included professional and business services, health care, retail trade, and social assistance. 

However, there was a decline in employment within the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industry. The BLS says these findings are based on two monthly surveys; the household survey, which assesses labour force status, including unemployment by demographic characteristics, and the establishment survey, which measures non-farm employment, hours and earnings by industry.

Household survey data

The US unemployment rate 3.7 per cent for the third month in a row, with 6.1 million unemployed persons. Among the various demographic groups, the unemployment rate for adult men (3.6 per cent), adult women (3.2 per cent), teenagers (10.6 per cent), Whites (3.4 per cent), Blacks (5.3 per cent), Asians (2.9 per cent) and Hispanics (5.0 per cent), showing minimal changes in January.

The number of long-term unemployed (27 weeks or more) was slightly change to 1.3 million, accounting for 20.8 per cent of all unemployed. The labour force participation rate at 62.5 per cent was unchanged in January, while the employment-population ratio at 60.2 per cent was slightly changed. 

Part-time employment for economic reasons slightly changed to 4.4 million. The number of individuals not in the labour force but desiring a job rose slightly to 5.8 million. Among them, marginally attached individuals totalled 1.7 million with discouraged workers growing to 452,000 in January.

Establishment survey data

In January, total non-farm payroll employment in the US increased by 353,000, similar to the gain seen in December. Key sectors driving this growth included professional and business services, health care, retail trade and social assistance. 

Professional and business services notably added 74,000 jobs, well above the monthly average in 2023, while health care saw an increase of 70,000 jobs.

However, the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industry experienced a decline in employment by 5,000 jobs. Despite some fluctuations in specific industries, overall employment remained relatively stable in other major sectors.

In January, there was a notable increase in average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls, rising by 19 cents or 0.6 per cent to US$34.55. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have grown by 4.5 per cent, indicating a significant uptick in wages. 

Similarly, average hourly earnings for private-sector production and non-supervisory employees also saw an increase, rising by 13 cents or 0.4 per cent to $29.66. However, the average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls slightly decreased by 0.2 hours to 34.1 hours, with a year-over-year decline of 0.5 hours. 

Despite this, the manufacturing sector maintained stability with an unchanged average workweek at 39.8 hours.