U.S. Gallup Good Jobs Rate Edges Down to 45.6% in September.
Byline: Ben Ryan
Synopsis: The U.S. Gallup Good Jobs rate declined in September to 45.6%, an expected decline given seasonal patterns. Unemployment was steady at 5.4%, and workforce participation ticked up a tenth of a point to 67.5%.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Gallup Good Jobs (GGJ) rate in the U.S. was 45.6% in September. This is down from the 46.5% measured in August but still higher than any other September rate Gallup has recorded since it began tracking this measurement in 2010. GGJ typically peaks in June and July with summer employment and falls through autumn, so the decline from the record 47.1% in July is in line with typical seasonal patterns.
The GGJ metric tracks the percentage of U.S. adults, aged 18 and older, who work for an employer full time -- at least 30 hours per week. Gallup does not count adults who are self-employed, work fewer than 30 hours per week, are unemployed or are out of the workforce as payroll-employed in the GGJ metric. The Gallup Good Jobs metric does not take into account factors such as job satisfaction or salary level, and solely reflects full-time employment for an employer. The latest results are based on Gallup Daily tracking interviews with 29,458 U.S. adults, conducted Sept. 1-30 by landline telephone and cellphone. GGJ is not seasonally adjusted.
Gallup first measured the GGJ rate in January 2010, a time of high unemployment (10.9%). At that time, 42.5% of Americans were employed full time by an employer. GGJ fell as low as 41.7% in February 2011 but improved over the next few months. Before this year, the previous high point was 45.7% in October 2012.
Workforce Participation Steady at 67.5% in September
The percentage of U.S. adults in September who participated in the workforce in any capacity -- by working full time, working part time, or not working but actively seeking and being available for work -- was 67.5%, essentially the same as 67.4% in August.
Unemployment at 5.4%
Gallup's unadjusted U.S. unemployment rate in September was 5.4%, steady with August. However, this month's rate is almost a full point below the 6.3% recorded in September 2015, reflecting the better employment situation now compared with a year ago. Gallup's U.S. unemployment rate represents the percentage of adults in the workforce who did not have any paid work in the past seven days, either for an employer or for themselves, and who were actively looking for and available to work.
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