Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until
USDL-10-0256
8:30 a.m. (EST) Friday, March 5, 2010
Technical information:
Household data:
(202) 691-6378 • cpsinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/cps
Establishment data:
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Media contact:
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THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION – FEBRUARY 2010
Nonfarm payroll employment was little changed (-36,000) in February, and the unemployment rate
held at 9.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment fell in construction
and information, while temporary help services added jobs. Severe winter weather in parts of the
country may have affected payroll employment and hours; however, it is not possible to quantify pre-
cisely the net impact of the winter storms on these measures. For more information on the effects of
the severe weather on employment estimates, see the box note at the end of the release.
-800
-600
-400
-200
0
200
400
600
Feb-08 May-08 Aug-08 Nov-08 Feb-09 May-09 Aug-09 Nov-09 Feb-10
Thousands
Chart 2. Nonfarm payroll employment over-the-month
change, seasonally adjusted, February 2008 –
February 2010
Percent
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
9.0
10.0
11.0
Feb-08 May-08 Aug-08 Nov-08 Feb-09 May-09 Aug-09 Nov-09 Feb-10
Chart 1. Unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted,
February 2008 – February 2010
Household Survey Data
In February, the number of unemployed persons, at 14.9 million, was essentially unchanged, and the
unemployment rate remained at 9.7 percent. (See table A-1.)
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (10.0 percent), adult women
(8.0 percent), whites (8.8 percent), blacks (15.8 percent), Hispanics (12.4 percent), and teenagers (25.0
percent) showed little to no change in February. The jobless rate for Asians was 8.4 percent, not sea-
sonally adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)
- 2 -
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) was 6.1