Although the U.S. unemployment rate dropped slightly from 6.2 to 6.1 percent in August 2003, the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that it was essentially unchanged.

Summary Figures

• 93,000 workers lost their jobs in August.
• 8.9 million workers were unemployed, down from 9.1 million in July.
• 1.9 million unemployed workers had been looking for work for 27 weeks or more in August, about the same as in June and July.

Employment Declines

• Manufacturing employment fell by 44,000 in August. Workers in this industry have suffered significant job losses since July 2000.
• Employment in the information sector was down by 16,000. Telecommunications accounted for 6,900 of the job losses, while ISPs, search portals, and data processing lost 900.
• Professional and business services lost 28,000 jobs. Within this sector, computer systems design lost 8,000. Professional and technical services lost 9,900.
• Wholesale trade employment declined by 10,300.
• Retail lost 3,800 jobs.
• Federal and state governments shed 26,000 jobs.
• Natural resources and mining employment was down by 1,000.
• Transportation and warehousing employment fell by 7,000.
• Educational services lost 1,500 jobs.

Employment Gains

• Health care and social assistance added 25,400 jobs. This is among the few industries that have added jobs throughout the poor economy.
• Construction employment was up by 19,000.
• Temporary help (within professional and business services) gained 6,800 jobs. It's the fourth month in a row that this industry added jobs.
• Leisure and hospitality employment increased by 5,000 jobs.

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Unemployment data courtesy of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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Copyright © 2003, J. Steven Niznik. All Rights Reserved.