February 04, 2022
The total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 467,000 in January, but the unemployment rate remained stable at 4.0 percent, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment growth in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, retail trade, and transportation and warehousing.
This news release summarizes data from two monthly polls. The household survey collects information on labor force participation, including unemployment, according to demographic variables. The establishment survey collects data on employment, hours worked, and incomes in nonfarm industries.
Household Survey Data
Both the unemployment rate, which remained largely unchanged at 4.0 percent, and the unemployment rate, which barely changed at 6.5 million, remained stable in January. The unemployment rate has decreased by 2.4 percentage points year over year, while the unemployed persons has decreased by 3.7 million. Prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in February 2020, the unemployment rate was 3.5 percent, with 5.7 million unemployed.
Adult men’s (3.8%) and Whites’ (3.4%) unemployment rates increased slightly in January. Adult women (3.6 percent), teenagers (10.9 percent), Blacks (6.9 percent), Asians (3.6 percent), and Hispanics (4.9 percent) all had little or no change in their unemployment rates month over month.
The number of job departures among the unemployed grew to 952,000 in January, following a decline the previous month. The number of people on temporary layoff grew slightly month over month to 959,000 in January, but is down 1.8 million year over year. Permanent employment losers totaled 1.6 million in January, down 1.9 million from a year ago.
In January, the number of those unemployed for fewer than five weeks grew to 2.4 million, accounting for 37.0% of all unemployed. The number of long-term unemployed (those who have been out of work for more than 27 weeks) decreased to 1.7 million. This figure is down from 4.0 million a year ago but is up 570,000 from February 2020 levels. In January, the long-term jobless accounted for 25.9 percent of all unemployed.
After adjusting for yearly population control adjustments, the labor force participation rate remained stable at 62.2 percent in January, while the employment-population ratio remained stable at 59.7 percent. Both indicators have increased in value over the last year but remain below their February 2020 values (63.4 percent and 61.2 percent, respectively).
At 3.7 million, the number of people employed part-time for economic reasons continued to decline throughout the month. This metric is now 673,000 below its February 2020 level due to the year-over-year reduction of 2.2 million. These people, who would have chosen full-time work, were forced to work part-time either their hours were cut or they couldn’t obtain full-time work.
The number of people who are not in the labor force but are looking for work remained stable at 5.7 million in January. This indicator declined by 1.3 million year over year but is 708,000 greater than it was in February 2020. These individuals were not counted as jobless because they were not actively seeking employment in the four weeks preceding the poll or were unable to obtain take a job .
Among individuals who were not in the labor force but desired work, the number of persons marginally affiliated to the labor force remained stable at 1.5 million in January. These persons desired and were available for employment, and had sought for work at least once in the preceding 12 months, but not in the four weeks preceding the poll. The number of discouraged employees, a subgroup of the marginally attached who thought there were no jobs available to them, remained relatively stable at 408,000 during the month.
Supplemental Data from the Household Survey
In January, the proportion of employed people who teleworked increased to 15.4 percent due to the coronavirus epidemic. These figures pertain to employed individuals who teleworked or worked from home for income at some time during the four weeks before the poll.
In January, 6.0 million people reported being unable to work as a result of their employer closing or losing business as a result of the epidemic—that is, they either did not work at all or worked fewer hours during the four weeks preceding the poll as a result of the pandemic. This figure is much higher than the 3.1 million recorded in December. Among individuals who reported being unable to work in January due to pandemic-related closures or lost business, 23.7 percent got some compensation from their employer for the hours missed, an increase over the previous month.
In January, 1.8 million people who were not in the labor force were prevented from seeking for employment owing to the epidemic, up from 1.1 million the previous month. (By definition, persons must be actively seeking job or on a temporary layoff to be listed as unemployed.)
Disclaimer:
Analyst Certification -The views expressed in this research report accurately reflect the personal views of Mayberry Investments Limited Research Department about those issuer(s) or securities as at the date of this report. Each research analyst (s) also certify that no part of their compensation was, is, or will be, directly or indirectly, related to the specific recommendation(s) or view(s) expressed by that research analyst in this research report.
Company Disclosure -The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, however its accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. You are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. Mayberry may effect transactions or have positions in securities mentioned herein. In addition, employees of Mayberry may have positions and effect transactions in the securities mentioned herein.