Unemployment
Job Search
Unemployed workers use different methods to find new jobs, as reported in Employment and Earnings. In 2005 most TABLE 3.5 Unemployed persons by industry, class of worker, and sex, 2004–05job seekers tried an average of 1.85 different techniques. Almost two-thirds (60.6%) approached an employer directly, and more than one-half (55.4%) sent out reésumeés or filled out applications. Other methods included contacting a public employment agency (18.3%), seeking help from friends or relatives (17.7%), and placing or answering an employment advertisement (14.8%). Women (57.7%) were somewhat more likely than men (53.2%) to send out resumes or fill out applications, while men favored contacting the employer directly (61.4%) slightly more than women did (59.8%). Men (19.4%) were also more likely than women (15.8%) to solicit job leads from friends or relatives. (See Table 3.10.)
| TABLE 3.5 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployed persons by industry, class of worker, and sex, 2004–05 | ||||||||
| Industry and class of worker | Thousands of persons | Unemployment rates | ||||||
| Total | Total | Men | Women | |||||
| 2004 | 2005 | 2004 | 2005 | 2004 | 2005 | 2004 | 2005 | |
| Total, 16 years and over | 8,149 | 7,591 | 5.5 | 5.1 | 5.6 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 5.1 |
| Nonagricultural private wage and salary workers | 6,484 | 5,989 | 5.7 | 5.2 | 5.7 | 5.1 | 5.6 | 5.3 |
| Mining | 21 | 20 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 4.4 | 1.5 |
| Construction | 769 | 712 | 8.4 | 7.4 | 8.5 | 7.6 | 7.1 | 6.0 |
| Manufacturing | 966 | 812 | 5.7 | 4.9 | 5.2 | 4.4 | 6.8 | 6.0 |
| Durable goods | 590 | 485 | 5.5 | 4.6 | 5.2 | 4.3 | 6.6 | 5.4 |
| Nonmetallic mineral products | 26 | 25 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.6 | 5.5 | 6.1 |
| Primary and fabricated metal products | 108 | 86 | 5.5 | 4.4 | 5.3 | 4.1 | 6.1 | 5.8 |
| Machinery manufacturing | 80 | 52 | 6.3 | 4.2 | 6.0 | 4.4 | 7.2 | 3.5 |
| Computer and electronic products | 99 | 71 | 6.0 | 4.5 | 5.4 | 4.0 | 7.1 | 5.5 |
| Electrical equipment and appliances | 33 | 26 | 6.4 | 5.1 | 5.9 | 4.7 | 7.4 | 6.0 |
| Transportation equipment | 113 | 108 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 6.4 | 6.1 |
| Wood products | 27 | 33 | 5.3 | 6.0 | 5.4 | 5.7 | 5.0 | 7.2 |
| Furniture and fixtures | 31 | 34 | 4.8 | 5.2 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.9 | 6.6 |
| Miscellaneous manufacturing | 74 | 52 | 6.1 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 7.0 | 4.2 |
| Nondurable goods | 375 | 326 | 5.9 | 5.3 | 5.2 | 4.6 | 7.0 | 6.6 |
| Food manufacturing | 110 | 95 | 6.7 | 6.1 | 6.3 | 5.5 | 7.4 | 7.1 |
| Beverage and tobacco products | 15 | 11 | 5.7 | 3.7 | 6.0 | 3.1 | 5.0 | 5.4 |
| Textile, apparel, and leather | 85 | 70 | 8.6 | 7.8 | 7.1 | 6.0 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| Paper and printing | 67 | 55 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 5.8 | 5.9 |
| Petroleum and coal products | 9 | 7 | 5.2 | 4.6 | 2.9 | 4.8 | 12.3 | a |
| Chemicals | 43 | 50 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 4.1 |
| Plastic and rubber products | 47 | 37 | 6.3 | 5.4 | 5.5 | 4.8 | 7.9 | 6.5 |
| Wholesale and retail trade | 1,197 | 1,137 | 5.8 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 4.8 | 6.5 | 6.1 |
| Wholesale trade | 210 | 182 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 5.9 | 5.1 |
| Retail trade | 987 | 954 | 6.1 | 5.7 | 5.6 | 5.2 | 6.6 | 6.3 |
| Transportation and utilities | 236 | 232 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 4.8 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 219 | 216 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.3 | 5.4 | 5.4 |
| Utilities | 17 | 16 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 3.0 | 1.7 |
| Informationb | 189 | 163 | 5.7 | 5.0 | 5.4 | 4.8 | 6.0 | 5.3 |
| Publishing, except Internet | 38 | 35 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 4.8 | 4.7 |
| Motion picture and sound recording industries | 35 | 29 | 8.7 | 8.5 | 9.1 | 8.7 | 8.1 | 8.1 |
| Broadcasting, except Internet | 22 | 26 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 3.7 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.1 |
| Telecommunications | 80 | 62 | 6.0 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 4.6 | 6.8 | 6.2 |
| Internet service providers and data processing services | 8 | 8 | 5.2 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 6.1 | 4.9 |
| Other information services | 5 | 3 | 5.5 | 2.2 | a | 2.5 | 5.3 | 2.0 |
| Financial activities | 332 | 272 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 3.1 |
| Finance and insurance | 228 | 183 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 2.2 | 3.5 | 3.0 |
| Finance | 156 | 127 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 2.2 | 3.6 | 3.4 |
| Insurance | 73 | 56 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 2.5 |
| Real estate and rental and leasing | 104 | 89 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 4.4 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 3.4 |
| Real estate | 72 | 65 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.9 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 3.2 |
| Rental and leasing services | 32 | 23 | 6.1 | 4.7 | 5.6 | 4.5 | 7.2 | 5.2 |
| Professional and business services | 861 | 792 | 6.8 | 6.2 | 6.6 | 5.8 | 7.1 | 6.8 |
| Professional and technical services | 298 | 259 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 2.9 | 4.4 | 4.2 |
| Management, administrative, and waste servicesb | 563 | 533 | 10.6 | 10.2 | 10.1 | 9.5 | 11.3 | 11.0 |
| Administrative and support services | 534 | 520 | 10.8 | 10.7 | 10.5 | 10.2 | 11.4 | 11.3 |
| Waste management and remediation services | 26 | 10 | 7.6 | 3.2 | 7.5 | 3.3 | 8.3 | 2.9 |
| Education and health services | 617 | 627 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 3.6 |
| Educational services | 128 | 129 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 4.0 |
| Health care and social assistance | 489 | 498 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 3.5 |
| Hospitals | 90 | 94 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 1.8 |
| Health services, except hospitals | 279 | 285 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 4.0 | 3.9 |
| Social assistance | 120 | 118 | 6.1 | 5.9 | 8.8 | 7.0 | 5.5 | 5.6 |
New entrants to the job market were somewhat less likely to seek out employers directly (57.4%) in 2005 than those who had lost their jobs or who had completed temporary jobs (63.1%). New entrants to the workforce at 10.2% were also less ikely to use employment agencies than those who had been working and lost their jobs (23.2%). (See Table 3.10.)
TABLE 3.5 Unemployed persons by industry, class of worker, and sex, 2004–05 (CONTINUED)
| TABLE 3.5 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployed persons by industry, class of worker, and sex, 2004–05 (CONTINUED) | ||||||||
| Industry and class of worker | Thousands of persons | Unemployment rates | ||||||
| Total | Total | Men | Women | |||||
| 2004 | 2005 | 2004 | 2005 | 2004 | 2005 | 2004 | 2005 | |
| aData not shown where base is less than 35,000. | ||||||||
| bbIncludes other industries, not shown separately. | ||||||||
| Note: Dash indicates no data or data that do not meet publication criteria. | ||||||||
| SOURCE: "26. Unemployed Persons by Industry, Class of Worker, and Sex,"in Employment and Earnings, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 2006, http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat26.pdf (accessed January 10, 2006) | ||||||||
| Leisure and hospitality | 972 | 921 | 8.3 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 7.3 | 8.6 | 8.2 |
| Arts, entertainment, and recreation | 149 | 145 | 7.2 | 6.9 | 7.5 | 7.3 | 6.9 | 6.5 |
| Accomodation and food services | 823 | 776 | 8.6 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 7.3 | 8.9 | 8.5 |
| Accomodation | 114 | 117 | 7.2 | 7.3 | 6.6 | 5.8 | 7.6 | 8.3 |
| Food services and drinking places | 709 | 659 | 8.8 | 8.1 | 8.4 | 7.5 | 9.2 | 8.6 |
| Other services | 324 | 301 | 5.3 | 4.8 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 5.3 | 4.8 |
| Other services, except private households | 256 | 230 | 4.8 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 3.8 |
| Repair and maintenance | 105 | 90 | 6.1 | 5.1 | 6.2 | 5.3 | 5.6 | 3.2 |
| Personal and laundry services | 77 | 65 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 3.7 |
| Membership associations and organizations | 74 | 75 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Private households | 69 | 71 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 16.7 | 12.2 | 7.3 | 7.7 |
| Agricultural and related private wage and salary workers | 129 | 104 | 9.9 | 8.3 | 9.5 | 7.4 | 11.2 | 11.4 |
| Government workers | 548 | 534 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Self-employed and unpaid family workers | 303 | 298 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 2.5 |
| No previous work experience | 686 | 666 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Additional topics
Jobs and Career OpportunitiesCareers and Occupations: Looking to the FutureUnemployment - By States, Age, Race, Gender, And Marital Status, Education And Unemployment, Occupations And Industries - INTERNATIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT