Technical information: USDL 98-37
Household data: (202) 606-6378
Transmission of material in this
release is embargoed until
Establishment data: 606-6555 8:30 A.M. (EST),
Media contact: 606-5902 Friday, February 6, 1998.
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: JANUARY 1998
Employment rose substantially in January, and the unemployment rate
remained at 4.7 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S.
Department of Labor reported today. Nonfarm payroll employment grew by
358,000, with large gains occurring in construction and manufacturing.
Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
Both the number of unemployed persons, 6.4 million, and the
unemployment rate, 4.7 percent, were essentially unchanged in January,
after seasonal adjustment. Among the major worker groups, the jobless rate
for adult women (4.4 percent) rose by 0.4 percentage point in January,
while the rate for adult men (3.8 percent) declined to its lowest level in
nearly 20 years. Unemployment rates for teenagers (14.1 percent), whites
(4.0 percent), blacks (9.3 percent), and Hispanics (6.9 percent) showed
little or no change over the month. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)
Among the major educational attainment categories, the jobless rate
for persons 25 years and over who had not completed high school (7.2
percent) continued its year-long decline. Rates for those with higher
levels of educational attainment--including high school graduates with no
college experience (3.9 percent), high school graduates with some college
experience but no bachelor’s degree (3.2 percent), and college graduates
(1.9 percent)--were essentially unchanged over the month. (See table A-3.)
Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
Total employment, as measured by the household survey, at 131.1
million (seasonally adjusted), rose by 641,000 over the month, after
adjusting for changes in the composite estimation procedure. The
employment-population ratio rose to 64.2 percent, an all-time high.
Employment-population ratios for workers 25 years and over at all levels of
educational attainment--less than a high school diploma (39.3 percent),
high school graduates with no college experience (63.0 percent), high
school graduates with some college experience but no bachelor’s degree
(72.9 percent), and college graduates (78.7 percent)--showed little or no
movement over the month. The ratio is low for persons without a high
school diploma in part because a very high proportion are age 65 and over.
(See tables A-1 and A-3.)
-----------------------------------------------------------
| Beginning in January 1998, household data reflect new |
|composite estimation procedures and revised population |
|controls. Additional information on the revisions appears |
|on page 4. Also, this release introduces labor force data |
|for persons 25 years and over by major educational |
|attainment categories, which appear in table A-3. All |
|subsequent tables have been renumbered sequentially. |
-----------------------------------------------------------
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Table A. Major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
___________________________________________________________________________
| Quarterly | Monthly data |
| averages | |
|_________________|__________________________|Dec.-
Category | 1997 | 1997 | 1998 |Jan.
|_________________|__________________________|change1/
| III | IV | Nov. | Dec. | Jan. |
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
HOUSEHOLD DATA | Labor force status
|____________________________________________________
Civilian labor force..| 136,379| 136,813| 136,864| 137,169| 137,493| 624
Employment..........| 129,723| 130,421| 130,575| 130,777| 131,083| 641
Unemployment........| 6,656| 6,392| 6,289| 6,392| 6,409| -18
Not in labor force....| 66,988| 67,123| 67,077| 66,929| 66,745| -484
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Unemployment rates
|____________________________________________________
All workers...........| 4.9| 4.7| 4.6| 4.7| 4.7| .0
Adult men...........| 4.1| 4.0| 3.9| 4.1| 3.8| -0.4
Adult women.........| 4.3| 4.0| 4.0| 4.0| 4.4| .4
Teenagers...........| 16.3| 15.0| 15.2| 14.3| 14.1| -.4
White...............| 4.2| 4.0| 3.9| 3.9| 4.0| .0
Black...............| 9.6| 9.7| 9.7| 9.9| 9.3| -.6
Hispanic origin.....| 7.6| 7.4| 6.9| 7.5| 6.9| -.7
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
ESTABLISHMENT DATA | Employment
|____________________________________________________
Nonfarm employment....| 122,575|p123,487| 123,512|p123,867|p124,225| p358
Goods-producing 2/..| 24,750| p24,897| 24,888| p24,988| p25,123| p135
Construction......| 5,635| p5,691| 5,682| p5,742| p5,834| p92
Manufacturing.....| 18,541| p18,632| 18,634| p18,672| p18,715| p43
Service-producing 2/| 97,825| p98,591| 98,624| p98,879| p99,102| p223
Retail trade......| 22,188| p22,378| 22,403| p22,472| p22,496| p24
Services..........| 35,745| p36,104| 36,102| p36,265| p36,354| p89
Government........| 19,746| p19,761| 19,763| p19,772| p19,781| p9
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Hours of work 3/
|____________________________________________________
Total private.........| 34.5| p34.6| 34.8| p34.6| p34.8| p0.2
Manufacturing.......| 41.8| p42.1| 42.1| p42.2| p42.1| p-.1
Overtime..........| 4.7| p4.9| 4.9| p4.9| p4.9| p.0
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Indexes of aggregate weekly hours (1982=100) 3/
|____________________________________________________
Total private.........| 140.6| p142.2| 142.9| p142.5| p143.4| p0.9
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Earnings 3/
|____________________________________________________
Avg. hourly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| $12.30| p$12.45| $12.48| p$12.47| p$12.51| p$0.04
Avg. weekly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| 424.36| p431.19| 434.30| p431.46| p435.35| p3.89
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
1/ Changes for household data shown in this column reflect an
allowance for the effect of new composite estimation procedures on monthly
estimates. See the note on page 4.
2/ Includes other industries, not shown separately.
3/ Data relate to private production or nonsupervisory workers.
p=preliminary.
- 3 -
About 7.7 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one
job in January. These multiple jobholders comprised 6.0 percent of all
employed persons. (See table A-10.)
The civilian labor force, at 137.5 million (seasonally adjusted),
increased by 624,000 in January, after adjusting for changes in the
composite estimation procedure, and the labor force participation rate rose
to a record 67.3 percent. (See table A-1.)
Persons Not in the Labor Force
About 1.5 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally
attached to the labor force in January. These were people who wanted and
were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12
months but were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for
work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.
The number of discouraged workers--a subset of the marginally attached
who were not currently looking for jobs specifically because they believed
no jobs were available for them--was 374,000 in January, little changed
from a year earlier. (See table A-10.)
Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)
Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 358,000 in January to 124.2
million, after seasonal adjustment. Since September, payroll employment
has risen by 1.4 million. Over the month, job gains continued in most
major industry groups, with particularly strong growth in construction and
manufacturing. (See table B-1.)
Construction employment rose by 92,000 in January, after seasonal
adjustment. Since October, the industry has added 184,000 jobs. Several
factors contributed to January’s gain: The weather was warmer than usual
over much of the country, there was considerable cleanup and repair
activity following ice storms in the Northeast, and the housing market
remained strong due to low mortgage rates and the healthy economy.
Manufacturing added 43,000 jobs in January, the fourth month in a row
with a gain of about this magnitude. Since September, factory employment
has risen by 162,000. Several durable goods industries that have made
steady job gains for more than a year continued to grow in January. These
include fabricated metals (8,000), industrial machinery (7,000), electronic
components (4,000), and aircraft (2,000). Among nondurable goods
industries, employment in rubber and miscellaneous plastics increased by
6,000, while apparel and textiles continued to decline.
- 4 -
Within the service-producing sector, employment in the services
industry rose by 89,000 in January, after 2 months of larger gains.
Employment in help supply services decreased by 16,000, following strong
growth in November and December. Since October, net job growth in this
industry has totaled 71,000. In January, health services added 14,000
jobs; large gains continued in hospitals, but nursing homes and home health
care agencies showed declines. Computer services and engineering and
management services continued their strong job growth.
Employment in transportation and public utilities rose by 49,000 in
January, after seasonal adjustment. Light holiday hiring in air
transportation led to fewer post-holiday layoffs than normal, resulting in
a large job gain in January, after seasonal adjustment. Employment in
communications rose by 10,000 over the month, primarily in telephone
communications, where growth has accelerated since September.
Strength in both the durable and nondurable goods components of
wholesale trade led to a relatively large job gain of 30,000 in January.
Retail trade employment increased by 24,000 in January, about half the
average monthly gain for 1997. Following robust holiday hiring, there were
large seasonal layoffs in miscellaneous retail establishments, such as toy
stores, book stores, and catalog sales operations.
Elsewhere in the service-producing sector, employment continued to
rise in finance (12,000), with the largest increase in security brokerages
(5,000). Real estate added 10,000 jobs over the month. Local government
employment rose by 18,000 in January, as both the education and
noneducation components continued their long-term growth. Federal
government employment continued to decline.
Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)
The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on
private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.2 hour in January to 34.8 hours,
seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek decreased by 0.1 hour to
42.1 hours, while factory overtime was 4.9 hours for the third straight
month. (See table B-2.)
The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory
workers on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.6 percent to 143.4
(1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index edged down by 0.1
percent to 109.8. (See table B-5.)
Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)
Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on
private nonfarm payrolls increased 4 cents in January to $12.51, seasonally
adjusted. Average weekly earnings increased by 0.9 percent to $435.35.
Since January 1997, average hourly earnings have risen by 3.8 percent and
average weekly earnings by 5.0 percent. (See table B-3.)
________________________________________
The Employment Situation for February 1998 is scheduled to be released
on Friday, March 6, at 8:30 A.M. (EST).
- 5 -
----------------------------------------------------------------------
| Revisions in Household Survey Data |
| |
| Effective with data for January 1998, new composite estimation |
|procedures and minor revisions in the population controls have been |
|introduced into the household survey. (Data for months prior to |
|January 1998, shown in this release, were not recalculated using the |
|new procedures.) The new composite estimation procedures simplify |
|processing of the monthly labor force data at BLS, allow users of the |
|survey microdata to replicate more easily the official estimates |
|released by BLS, and increase the reliability of the employment and |
|labor force estimates. The new procedures produce somewhat lower |
|estimates of the civilian labor force and employment and slightly |
|higher estimates of the level of unemployment. Unemployment rates |
|were not significantly affected. |
| |
| The population controls used in the survey were revised to |
|reflect new estimates of legal immigration to the U.S. and a change |
|in the method for projecting the emigration of foreign-born legal |
|residents. As a result, the estimate of the size of the Hispanic- |
|origin population was raised by about 57,000; however, the estimate |
|for the total civilian noninstitutional population 16 years and over |
|was essentially unchanged. More detailed information on these changes|
|and their effect on the estimates of labor force change and |
|composition will appear in the article, "Revisions in the Current |
|Population Survey Effective January 1998," in the February 1998 issue |
|of Employment and Earnings. |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- 5 -
Explanatory Note
This news release presents statistics from two major surveys, the Current
Population Survey (household survey) and the Current Employment Statistics
survey (establishment survey). The household survey provides the
information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment that appears
in the A tables, marked HOUSEHOLD DATA. It is a sample survey of about
50,000 households conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of
Labor Statistics (BLS).
The establishment survey provides the information on the employment,
hours, and earnings of workers on nonfarm payrolls that appears in the B
tables, marked ESTABLISHMENT DATA. This information is collected from
payroll records by BLS in cooperation with State agencies. In June 1997,
the sample included about 390,000 establishments employing about 48 million
people.
For both surveys, the data for a given month relate to a particular week
or pay period. In the household survey, the reference week is generally
the calendar week that contains the 12th day of the month. In the
establishment survey, the reference period is the pay period including the
12th, which may or may not correspond directly to the calendar week.
Coverage, definitions, and differences between surveys
Household survey. The sample is selected to reflect the entire
civilian noninstitutional population. Based on responses to a series of
questions on work and job search activities, each person 16 years and over
in a sample household is classified as employed, unemployed, or not in the
labor force.
People are classified as employed if they did any work at all as paid
employees during the reference week; worked in their own business,
profession, or on their own farm; or worked without pay at least 15 hours
in a family business or farm. People are also counted as employed if they
were temporarily absent from their jobs because of illness, bad weather,
vacation, labor-management disputes, or personal reasons.
People are classified as unemployed if they meet all of the following
criteria: They had no employment during the reference week; they were
available for work at that time; and they made specific efforts to find
employment sometime during the 4-week period ending with the reference
week. Persons laid off from a job and expecting recall need not be
looking for work to be counted as unemployed. The unemployment data
derived from the household survey in no way depend upon the eligibility for
or receipt of unemployment insurance benefits.
The civilian labor force is the sum of employed and unemployed
persons. Those not classified as employed or unemployed are not in the
labor force. The unemployment rate is the number unemployed as a percent
of the labor force. The labor force participation rate is the labor force
as a percent of the population, and the employment-population ratio is the
employed as a percent of the population.
Establishment survey. The sample establishments are drawn from private
nonfarm businesses such as factories, offices, and stores, as well as
Federal, State, and local government entities. Employees on nonfarm
payrolls are those who received pay for any part of the reference pay
period, including persons on paid leave. Persons are counted in each job
they hold. Hours and earnings data are for private businesses and relate
only to production workers in the goods-producing sector and nonsupervisory
workers in the service-producing sector.
- 6 -
Differences in employment estimates. The numerous conceptual and
methodological differences between the household and establishment surveys
result in important distinctions in the employment estimates derived from
the surveys. Among these are:
--The household survey includes agricultural workers, the self-employed,
unpaid family workers, and private household workers among the employed.
These groups are excluded from the establishment survey.
--The household survey includes people on unpaid leave among the
employed. The establishment survey does not.
--The household survey is limited to workers 16 years of age and older.
The establishment survey is not limited by age.
--The household survey has no duplication of individuals, because
individuals are counted only once, even if they hold more than one job. In
the establishment survey, employees working at more than one job and thus
appearing on more than one payroll would be counted separately for each
appearance.
Other differences between the two surveys are described in "Comparing
Employment Estimates from Household and Payroll Surveys," which may be
obtained from BLS upon request.
Seasonal adjustment
Over the course of a year, the size of the nation's labor force and the
levels of employment and unemployment undergo sharp fluctuations due to
such seasonal events as changes in weather, reduced or expanded production,
harvests, major holidays, and the opening and closing of schools. The
effect of such seasonal variation can be very large; seasonal
fluctuations may account for as much as 95 percent of the month-to-month
changes in unemployment.
Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each
year, their influence on statistical trends can be eliminated by adjusting
the statistics from month to month. These adjustments make nonseasonal
developments, such as declines in economic activity or increases in the
participation of women in the labor force, easier to spot. For example,
the large number of youth entering the labor force each June is likely to
obscure any other changes that have taken place relative to May, making it
difficult to determine if the level of economic activity has risen or
declined. However, because the effect of students finishing school in
previous years is known, the statistics for the current year can be
adjusted to allow for a comparable change. Insofar as the seasonal
adjustment is made correctly, the adjusted figure provides a more useful
tool with which to analyze changes in economic activity.
In both the household and establishment surveys, most seasonally adjusted
series are independently adjusted. However, the adjusted series for many
major estimates, such as total payroll employment, employment in most major
industry divisions, total employment, and unemployment are computed by
aggregating independently adjusted component series. For example, total
unemployment is derived by summing the adjusted series for four major age-
sex components; this differs from the unemployment estimate that would be
obtained by directly adjusting the total or by combining the duration,
reasons, or more detailed age categories.
The numerical factors used to make the seasonal adjustments are
recalculated twice a year. For the household survey, the factors are
calculated for the January-June period and again for the July-December
- 7 -
period. For the establishment survey, updated factors for seasonal
adjustment are calculated for the May-October period and introduced along
with new benchmarks, and again for the November-April period. In both
surveys, revisions to historical data are made once a year.
Reliability of the estimates
Statistics based on the household and establishment surveys are subject
to both sampling and nonsampling error. When a sample rather than the
entire population is surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimates
may differ from the "true" population values they represent. The exact
difference, or sampling error, varies depending on the particular sample
selected, and this variability is measured by the standard error of the
estimate. There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that
an estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard
errors from the "true" population value because of sampling error. BLS
analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of confidence.
For example, the confidence interval for the monthly change in total
employment from the household survey is on the order of plus or minus
376,000. Suppose the estimate of total employment increases by 100,000
from one month to the next. The 90-percent confidence interval on the
monthly change would range from -276,000 to 476,000 (100,000 +/- 376,000).
These figures do not mean that the sample results are off by these
magnitudes, but rather that there is about a 90-percent chance that the
"true" over-the-month change lies within this interval. Since this range
includes values of less than zero, we could not say with confidence that
employment had, in fact, increased. If, however, the reported employment
rise was half a million, then all of the values within the 90-percent
confidence interval would be greater than zero. In this case, it is likely
(at least a 90-percent chance) that an employment rise had, in fact,
occurred. The 90-percent confidence interval for the monthly change in
unemployment is +/- 258,000, and for the monthly change in the unemployment
rate it is +/- .21 percentage point.
In general, estimates involving many individuals or establishments have
lower standard errors (relative to the size of the estimate) than estimates
which are based on a small number of observations. The precision of
estimates is also improved when the data are cumulated over time such as
for quarterly and annual averages. The seasonal adjustment process can
also improve the stability of the monthly estimates.
The household and establishment surveys are also affected by nonsampling
error. Nonsampling errors can occur for many reasons, including the
failure to sample a segment of the population, inability to obtain
information for all respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness
of respondents to provide correct information on a timely basis, mistakes
made by respondents, and errors made in the collection or processing of the
data.
For example, in the establishment survey, estimates for the most recent 2
months are based on substantially incomplete returns; for this reason,
these estimates are labeled preliminary in the tables. It is only after
two successive revisions to a monthly estimate, when nearly all sample
reports have been received, that the estimate is considered final.
Another major source of nonsampling error in the establishment survey is
the inability to capture, on a timely basis, employment generated by new
firms. To correct for this systematic underestimation of employment growth
(and other sources of error), a process known as bias adjustment is
included in the survey's estimating procedures, whereby a specified number
of jobs is added to the monthly sample-based change. The size of the
- 8 -
monthly bias adjustment is based largely on past relationships between the
sample-based estimates of employment and the total counts of employment
described below.
The sample-based estimates from the establishment survey are adjusted
once a year (on a lagged basis) to universe counts of payroll employment
obtained from administrative records of the unemployment insurance program.
The difference between the March sample-based employment estimates and the
March universe counts is known as a benchmark revision, and serves as a
rough proxy for total survey error. The new benchmarks also incorporate
changes in the classification of industries. Over the past decade, the
benchmark revision for total nonfarm employment has averaged 0.2 percent,
ranging from zero to 0.6 percent.
Additional statistics and other information
More comprehensive statistics are contained in Employment and Earnings,
published each month by BLS. It is available for $17.00 per issue or
$35.00 per year from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC
20402. All orders must be prepaid by sending a check or money order
payable to the Superintendent of Documents, or by charging to Mastercard or
Visa.
Employment and Earnings also provides measures of sampling error for the
household survey data published in this release. For unemployment and
other labor force categories, these measures appear in tables 1-B through
1-H of its "Explanatory Notes." Measures of the reliability of the data
drawn from the establishment survey and the actual amounts of revision due
to benchmark adjustments are provided in tables 2-B through 2-G of that
publication.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-606-STAT; TDD phone:
202-606-5897; TDD message referral phone: 1-800-326-2577.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-1. Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted(1)
Employment status, sex, and age
Jan. Dec. Jan. Jan. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan.
1997 1997 1998 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997 1998
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional population..... 202,285 204,098 204,238 202,285 203,570 203,767 203,941 204,098 204,238
Civilian labor force................... 134,317 136,742 135,951 135,729 136,439 136,406 136,864 137,169 137,493
Participation rate............... 66.4 67.0 66.6 67.1 67.0 66.9 67.1 67.2 67.3
Employed............................. 126,384 130,785 128,882 128,541 129,761 129,910 130,575 130,777 131,083
Employment-population ratio...... 62.5 64.1 63.1 63.5 63.7 63.8 64.0 64.1 64.2
Agriculture........................ 3,036 3,103 2,938 3,453 3,422 3,327 3,384 3,385 3,319
Nonagricultural industries......... 123,348 127,682 125,944 125,088 126,339 126,583 127,191 127,392 127,764
Unemployed........................... 7,933 5,957 7,069 7,188 6,678 6,496 6,289 6,392 6,409
Unemployment rate................ 5.9 4.4 5.2 5.3 4.9 4.8 4.6 4.7 4.7
Not in labor force..................... 67,968 67,356 68,287 66,556 67,131 67,361 67,077 66,929 66,745
Men, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population..... 97,264 98,225 98,241 97,264 97,946 98,050 98,141 98,225 98,241
Civilian labor force................... 72,117 73,153 72,815 73,052 73,192 73,311 73,682 73,662 73,852
Participation rate............... 74.1 74.5 74.1 75.1 74.7 74.8 75.1 75.0 75.2
Employed............................. 67,640 69,849 68,932 69,209 69,656 69,785 70,352 70,195 70,518
Employment-population ratio...... 69.5 71.1 70.2 71.2 71.1 71.2 71.7 71.5 71.8
Unemployed........................... 4,477 3,304 3,882 3,843 3,536 3,526 3,330 3,467 3,333
Unemployment rate................ 6.2 4.5 5.3 5.3 4.8 4.8 4.5 4.7 4.5
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population..... 89,446 90,339 90,391 89,446 90,068 90,140 90,251 90,339 90,391
Civilian labor force................... 68,429 69,350 69,013 68,949 69,136 69,193 69,500 69,561 69,652
Participation rate............... 76.5 76.8 76.3 77.1 76.8 76.8 77.0 77.0 77.1
Employed............................. 64,693 66,524 65,811 65,856 66,298 66,337 66,824 66,676 67,008
Employment-population ratio...... 72.3 73.6 72.8 73.6 73.6 73.6 74.0 73.8 74.1
Agriculture........................ 2,132 2,151 2,056 2,369 2,383 2,298 2,323 2,314 2,282
Nonagricultural industries......... 62,561 64,373 63,756 63,487 63,915 64,039 64,501 64,362 64,726
Unemployed........................... 3,736 2,826 3,202 3,093 2,838 2,856 2,676 2,885 2,644
Unemployment rate................ 5.5 4.1 4.6 4.5 4.1 4.1 3.9 4.1 3.8
Women, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population..... 105,022 105,873 105,997 105,022 105,623 105,718 105,799 105,873 105,997
Civilian labor force................... 62,200 63,589 63,136 62,677 63,247 63,095 63,182 63,507 63,641
Participation rate............... 59.2 60.1 59.6 59.7 59.9 59.7 59.7 60.0 60.0
Employed............................. 58,744 60,936 59,949 59,332 60,105 60,125 60,223 60,582 60,565
Employment-population ratio...... 55.9 57.6 56.6 56.5 56.9 56.9 56.9 57.2 57.1
Unemployed........................... 3,457 2,653 3,186 3,345 3,142 2,970 2,959 2,925 3,076
Unemployment rate................ 5.6 4.2 5.0 5.3 5.0 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.8
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population..... 97,520 98,300 98,420 97,520 98,082 98,144 98,212 98,300 98,420
Civilian labor force................... 58,637 59,834 59,425 58,832 59,432 59,338 59,348 59,624 59,652
Participation rate............... 60.1 60.9 60.4 60.3 60.6 60.5 60.4 60.7 60.6
Employed............................. 55,739 57,647 56,674 56,078 56,883 56,919 56,953 57,255 57,040
Employment-population ratio...... 57.2 58.6 57.6 57.5 58.0 58.0 58.0 58.2 58.0
Agriculture........................ 703 788 726 787 826 814 833 845 811
Nonagricultural industries......... 55,036 56,859 55,948 55,291 56,057 56,105 56,120 56,410 56,229
Unemployed........................... 2,898 2,187 2,750 2,754 2,549 2,419 2,395 2,369 2,612
Unemployment rate................ 4.9 3.7 4.6 4.7 4.3 4.1 4.0 4.0 4.4
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian noninstitutional population.... 15,318 15,459 15,427 15,318 15,420 15,483 15,478 15,459 15,427
Civilian labor force................... 7,251 7,558 7,513 7,948 7,871 7,875 8,016 7,984 8,189
Participation rate............... 47.3 48.9 48.7 51.9 51.0 50.9 51.8 51.6 53.1
Employed............................. 5,952 6,614 6,396 6,607 6,580 6,654 6,798 6,846 7,035
Employment-population ratio...... 38.9 42.8 41.5 43.1 42.7 43.0 43.9 44.3 45.6
Agriculture........................ 202 164 156 297 213 215 228 226 227
Nonagricultural industries......... 5,750 6,450 6,241 6,310 6,367 6,439 6,570 6,620 6,809
Unemployed........................... 1,299 944 1,117 1,341 1,291 1,221 1,218 1,138 1,154
Unemployment rate................ 17.9 12.5 14.9 16.9 16.4 15.5 15.2 14.3 14.1
1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted and
seasonally adjusted columns.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used in the
household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-2. Employment status of the civilian population by race, sex, age, and Hispanic origin
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted(1)
Employment status, race, sex, age, and
Hispanic origin
Jan. Dec. Jan. Jan. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan.
1997 1997 1998 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997 1998
WHITE
Civilian noninstitutional population..... 169,436 170,649 170,810 169,436 170,290 170,427 170,545 170,649 170,810
Civilian labor force................... 113,338 114,867 114,193 114,311 114,758 114,784 115,073 115,263 115,253
Participation rate................. 66.9 67.3 66.9 67.5 67.4 67.4 67.5 67.5 67.5
Employed............................. 107,425 110,662 108,967 109,154 109,904 110,063 110,604 110,729 110,698
Employment-population ratio........ 63.4 64.8 63.8 64.4 64.5 64.6 64.9 64.9 64.8
Unemployed........................... 5,913 4,205 5,226 5,157 4,854 4,721 4,469 4,534 4,555
Unemployment rate.................. 5.2 3.7 4.6 4.5 4.2 4.1 3.9 3.9 4.0
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force................... 58,691 59,253 58,885 58,999 59,110 59,098 59,355 59,389 59,262
Participation rate................. 77.2 77.3 76.8 77.6 77.3 77.2 77.5 77.5 77.3
Employed............................. 55,803 57,162 56,476 56,681 56,989 56,966 57,363 57,272 57,336
Employment-population ratio........ 73.4 74.6 73.7 74.5 74.5 74.4 74.9 74.7 74.8
Unemployed........................... 2,888 2,091 2,410 2,318 2,121 2,132 1,992 2,117 1,926
Unemployment rate.................. 4.9 3.5 4.1 3.9 3.6 3.6 3.4 3.6 3.3
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force................... 48,473 49,233 48,897 48,626 48,955 48,976 48,906 49,134 49,077
Participation rate................. 59.6 60.2 59.7 59.8 60.0 60.0 59.9 60.1 60.0
Employed............................. 46,423 47,726 46,919 46,731 47,165 47,284 47,265 47,474 47,250
Employment-population ratio........ 57.1 58.4 57.3 57.5 57.8 57.9 57.8 58.1 57.7
Unemployed........................... 2,050 1,507 1,979 1,895 1,790 1,692 1,641 1,660 1,827
Unemployment rate.................. 4.2 3.1 4.0 3.9 3.7 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.7
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force................... 6,174 6,380 6,410 6,686 6,693 6,710 6,812 6,740 6,914
Participation rate................. 50.9 52.1 52.2 55.1 54.8 54.9 55.6 55.0 56.3
Employed............................. 5,198 5,773 5,573 5,742 5,750 5,813 5,976 5,983 6,113
Employment-population ratio........ 42.9 47.1 45.4 47.4 47.0 47.5 48.8 48.8 49.8
Unemployed........................... 976 607 838 944 943 897 836 757 802
Unemployment rate.................. 15.8 9.5 13.1 14.1 14.1 13.4 12.3 11.2 11.6
Men.............................. 17.3 9.9 16.2 15.1 14.4 14.3 12.8 11.3 14.2
Women............................ 14.3 9.1 9.7 13.1 13.7 12.3 11.6 11.1 8.8
BLACK
Civilian noninstitutional population..... 23,847 24,180 24,196 23,847 24,081 24,117 24,149 24,180 24,196
Civilian labor force................... 15,141 15,685 15,535 15,380 15,691 15,555 15,638 15,709 15,788
Participation rate................. 63.5 64.9 64.2 64.5 65.2 64.5 64.8 65.0 65.3
Employed............................. 13,474 14,248 14,045 13,736 14,180 14,067 14,128 14,149 14,316
Employment-population ratio........ 56.5 58.9 58.0 57.6 58.9 58.3 58.5 58.5 59.2
Unemployed........................... 1,667 1,437 1,490 1,644 1,511 1,488 1,510 1,560 1,472
Unemployment rate.................. 11.0 9.2 9.6 10.7 9.6 9.6 9.7 9.9 9.3
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force................... 6,749 6,945 6,910 6,839 6,978 6,945 6,965 6,957 7,012
Participation rate................. 71.0 71.9 71.6 71.9 72.6 72.3 72.1 72.0 72.6
Employed............................. 6,061 6,374 6,288 6,225 6,424 6,367 6,420 6,356 6,456
Employment-population ratio........ 63.7 66.0 65.1 65.5 66.8 66.3 66.5 65.8 66.9
Unemployed........................... 687 571 622 614 554 578 545 601 556
Unemployment rate.................. 10.2 8.2 9.0 9.0 7.9 8.3 7.8 8.6 7.9
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force................... 7,560 7,840 7,776 7,580 7,790 7,680 7,731 7,791 7,799
Participation rate................. 63.3 64.8 64.1 63.5 64.6 63.6 63.9 64.4 64.3
Employed............................. 6,852 7,273 7,149 6,878 7,135 7,044 7,080 7,163 7,178
Employment-population ratio........ 57.4 60.1 59.0 57.6 59.2 58.3 58.6 59.2 59.2
Unemployed........................... 708 567 628 702 655 636 651 628 621
Unemployment rate.................. 9.4 7.2 8.1 9.3 8.4 8.3 8.4 8.1 8.0
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force................... 833 900 849 961 923 930 942 961 977
Participation rate................. 34.8 37.3 35.2 40.1 38.3 38.2 39.2 39.8 40.5
Employed............................. 560 601 609 633 621 656 628 630 683
Employment-population ratio........ 23.4 24.9 25.2 26.4 25.8 26.9 26.1 26.1 28.3
Unemployed........................... 272 299 240 328 302 274 314 331 294
Unemployment rate.................. 32.7 33.3 28.3 34.1 32.7 29.5 33.3 34.4 30.1
Men.............................. 43.2 35.8 32.4 40.9 37.6 30.1 35.0 36.2 31.8
Women............................ 24.0 31.4 24.8 27.7 28.6 28.8 31.9 33.1 28.5
HISPANIC ORIGIN
Civilian noninstitutional population..... 20,013 20,629 20,741 20,013 20,464 20,519 20,575 20,629 20,741
Civilian labor force................... 13,600 13,986 13,880 13,669 13,861 13,896 13,880 13,973 13,954
Participation rate................. 68.0 67.8 66.9 68.3 67.7 67.7 67.5 67.7 67.3
Employed............................. 12,349 12,998 12,793 12,554 12,807 12,806 12,921 12,921 12,988
Employment-population ratio........ 61.7 63.0 61.7 62.7 62.6 62.4 62.8 62.6 62.6
Unemployed........................... 1,251 987 1,087 1,115 1,054 1,090 959 1,052 966
Unemployment rate.................. 9.2 7.1 7.8 8.2 7.6 7.8 6.9 7.5 6.9
1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted and
seasonally adjusted columns.
NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are
not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new
composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used in the household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-3. Employment status of the civilian population 25 years and over by educational attainment
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted(1) Seasonally adjusted(1)
Educational attainment
Jan. Dec. Jan. Jan. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan.
1997 1997 1998 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997 1998
Less than a high school diploma
Civilian noninstitutional population..... 30,477 29,566 29,981 30,477 29,350 29,046 29,505 29,566 29,981
Civilian labor force................... 12,693 12,560 12,695 12,666 12,555 12,468 12,511 12,555 12,682
Percent of population.............. 41.6 42.5 42.3 41.6 42.8 42.9 42.4 42.5 42.3
Employed............................. 11,371 11,599 11,630 11,533 11,548 11,502 11,575 11,606 11,771
Employment-population ratio........ 37.3 39.2 38.8 37.8 39.3 39.6 39.2 39.3 39.3
Unemployed........................... 1,321 962 1,065 1,133 1,007 966 936 949 911
Unemployment rate.................. 10.4 7.7 8.4 8.9 8.0 7.7 7.5 7.6 7.2
High school graduates, no college(2)
Civilian noninstitutional population..... 57,422 57,631 57,606 57,422 57,483 57,459 57,310 57,631 57,606
Civilian labor force................... 37,724 37,940 37,649 37,832 37,585 37,759 37,641 37,827 37,787
Percent of population.............. 65.7 65.8 65.4 65.9 65.4 65.7 65.7 65.6 65.6
Employed............................. 35,718 36,444 35,867 36,157 36,003 36,179 36,193 36,287 36,303
Employment-population ratio........ 62.2 63.2 62.3 63.0 62.6 63.0 63.2 63.0 63.0
Unemployed........................... 2,006 1,497 1,782 1,675 1,582 1,580 1,448 1,540 1,485
Unemployment rate.................. 5.3 3.9 4.7 4.4 4.2 4.2 3.8 4.1 3.9
Less than a bachelor's degree(3)
Civilian noninstitutional population..... 41,145 42,085 41,718 41,145 42,075 42,613 42,417 42,085 41,718
Civilian labor force................... 30,862 31,440 31,012 31,229 31,401 31,328 31,544 31,506 31,440
Percent of population.............. 75.0 74.7 74.3 75.9 74.6 73.5 74.4 74.9 75.4
Employed............................. 29,663 30,464 29,911 30,125 30,382 30,410 30,574 30,484 30,429
Employment-population ratio........ 72.1 72.4 71.7 73.2 72.2 71.4 72.1 72.4 72.9
Unemployed........................... 1,199 976 1,101 1,104 1,019 918 970 1,022 1,011
Unemployment rate.................. 3.9 3.1 3.5 3.5 3.2 2.9 3.1 3.2 3.2
College graduates
Civilian noninstitutional population..... 40,447 41,822 41,974 40,447 41,769 41,696 41,739 41,822 41,974
Civilian labor force................... 32,558 33,739 33,671 32,558 33,577 33,510 33,505 33,678 33,685
Percent of population.............. 80.5 80.7 80.2 80.5 80.4 80.4 80.3 80.5 80.3
Employed............................. 31,846 33,204 33,007 31,868 32,891 32,868 32,916 33,083 33,040
Employment-population ratio........ 78.7 79.4 78.6 78.8 78.7 78.8 78.9 79.1 78.7
Unemployed........................... 712 535 664 690 686 642 589 595 645
Unemployment rate.................. 2.2 1.6 2.0 2.1 2.0 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.9
1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation, therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted and
seasonally adjusted columns.
2 Includes high school diploma or equivalent.
3 Includes the categories, some college, no degree; and associate degree.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used in the
household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-4. Selected employment indicators
(In thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Category
Jan. Dec. Jan. Jan. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan.
1997 1997 1998 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997 1998
CHARACTERISTIC
Total employed, 16 years and over.................. 126,384 130,785 128,882 128,541 129,761 129,910 130,575 130,777 131,083
Married men, spouse present...................... 42,308 43,049 42,461 42,815 42,648 42,771 42,967 42,952 42,977
Married women, spouse present.................... 32,531 33,285 32,596 32,717 32,846 32,978 32,840 32,975 32,793
Women who maintain families...................... 7,433 7,706 7,675 7,536 7,876 7,865 7,726 7,822 7,784
OCCUPATION
Managerial and professional specialty............ 37,357 38,416 38,036 37,416 37,860 37,844 37,986 38,205 38,099
Technical, sales, and administrative support..... 37,744 38,791 38,037 38,082 38,535 38,537 38,540 38,562 38,382
Service occupations.............................. 16,793 17,738 17,708 17,206 17,746 17,723 17,827 17,890 18,162
Precision production, craft, and repair.......... 13,610 14,213 14,027 13,878 13,859 14,051 14,191 14,299 14,285
Operators, fabricators, and laborers............. 17,854 18,495 18,179 18,304 18,302 18,385 18,467 18,394 18,622
Farming, forestry, and fishing................... 3,027 3,132 2,895 3,519 3,483 3,438 3,512 3,472 3,355
CLASS OF WORKER
Agriculture:
Wage and salary workers........................ 1,648 1,653 1,651 1,955 1,889 1,815 1,855 1,844 1,949
Self-employed workers.......................... 1,335 1,405 1,247 1,444 1,495 1,475 1,493 1,496 1,348
Unpaid family workers.......................... 54 45 40 60 44 55 49 54 44
Nonagricultural industries:
Wage and salary workers........................ 113,981 118,728 117,028 115,431 117,303 117,635 118,083 118,403 118,529
Government................................... 18,311 18,382 18,495 18,247 18,109 18,075 18,170 18,248 18,421
Private industries........................... 95,670 100,346 98,533 97,184 99,194 99,560 99,913 100,155 100,108
Private households......................... 941 980 945 985 877 877 910 946 985
Other industries........................... 94,729 99,366 97,588 96,199 98,317 98,683 99,003 99,209 99,123
Self-employed workers.......................... 9,219 8,859 8,803 9,399 8,949 8,930 9,004 8,886 8,964
Unpaid family workers.......................... 148 96 114 168 83 92 97 99 131
PERSONS AT WORK PART TIME
All industries:
Part time for economic reasons................. 4,541 3,869 4,299 4,319 3,928 3,913 3,890 3,855 4,082
Slack work or business conditions............ 2,735 2,323 2,611 2,391 2,187 2,211 2,221 2,230 2,282
Could only find part-time work............... 1,474 1,240 1,315 1,564 1,455 1,406 1,386 1,323 1,400
Part time for noneconomic reasons.............. 18,450 19,557 18,756 18,210 17,901 18,113 18,083 18,386 18,515
Nonagricultural industries:
Part time for economic reasons................. 4,338 3,644 4,090 4,099 3,739 3,732 3,689 3,654 3,865
Slack work or business conditions............ 2,603 2,188 2,476 2,273 2,067 2,103 2,100 2,113 2,162
Could only find part-time work............... 1,447 1,216 1,295 1,527 1,417 1,378 1,346 1,291 1,373
Part time for noneconomic reasons.............. 17,879 18,946 18,202 17,575 17,381 17,537 17,486 17,791 17,898
NOTE: Persons at work excludes employed persons who were absent from their jobs during the entire reference week for reasons such
as vacation, illness, or industrial dispute. Part time for noneconomic reasons excludes persons who usually work full time but worked
only 1 to 34 hours during the reference week for reasons such as holidays, illness, and bad weather. Beginning in January 1998, data
reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used in the household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-5. Selected unemployment indicators, seasonally adjusted
Number of
unemployed persons Unemployment rates(1)
(in thousands)
Category
Jan. Dec. Jan. Jan. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan.
1997 1997 1998 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997 1998
CHARACTERISTIC
Total, 16 years and over.......................... 7,188 6,392 6,409 5.3 4.9 4.8 4.6 4.7 4.7
Men, 20 years and over.......................... 3,093 2,885 2,644 4.5 4.1 4.1 3.9 4.1 3.8
Women, 20 years and over........................ 2,754 2,369 2,612 4.7 4.3 4.1 4.0 4.0 4.4
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years...................... 1,341 1,138 1,154 16.9 16.4 15.5 15.2 14.3 14.1
Married men, spouse present..................... 1,244 1,151 1,141 2.8 2.6 2.6 2.4 2.6 2.6
Married women, spouse present................... 1,132 960 1,033 3.3 3.1 2.8 2.8 2.8 3.1
Women who maintain families..................... 722 653 638 8.7 7.8 7.8 8.1 7.7 7.6
Full-time workers............................... 5,774 5,203 5,075 5.2 4.7 4.7 4.4 4.6 4.5
Part-time workers............................... 1,415 1,238 1,339 5.7 5.5 5.3 5.4 5.0 5.4
OCCUPATION(2)
Managerial and professional specialty........... 821 735 779 2.1 2.0 1.8 1.7 1.9 2.0
Technical, sales, and administrative support.... 1,757 1,588 1,677 4.4 4.0 3.9 3.9 4.0 4.2
Precision production, craft, and repair......... 744 708 685 5.1 4.8 5.3 4.5 4.7 4.6
Operators, fabricators, and laborers............ 1,568 1,375 1,168 7.9 7.8 7.1 7.1 7.0 5.9
Farming, forestry, and fishing.................. 279 268 246 7.3 6.7 7.3 6.6 7.2 6.8
INDUSTRY
Nonagricultural private wage and salary workers. 5,514 5,030 4,945 5.4 5.0 4.8 4.7 4.8 4.7
Goods-producing industries.................... 1,674 1,449 1,405 5.8 5.2 5.0 4.6 5.0 4.8
Mining...................................... 31 22 26 5.3 3.4 4.5 3.3 3.3 4.0
Construction................................ 675 621 556 9.8 8.7 8.7 7.9 8.9 7.9
Manufacturing............................... 968 806 823 4.6 4.1 3.8 3.6 3.8 3.9
Durable goods............................. 549 390 432 4.3 3.3 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.4
Nondurable goods.......................... 419 416 390 5.0 5.3 4.8 4.4 4.9 4.5
Service-producing industries.................. 3,840 3,581 3,541 5.2 4.9 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7
Transportation and public utilities......... 285 251 298 4.0 3.8 3.3 3.1 3.3 3.8
Wholesale and retail trade.................. 1,655 1,555 1,569 6.4 6.2 6.1 6.2 5.8 5.9
Finance, insurance, and real estate......... 254 218 209 3.4 3.0 2.9 2.4 2.8 2.6
Services.................................... 1,646 1,557 1,465 4.9 4.6 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.3
Government workers.............................. 552 398 456 2.9 2.6 2.4 2.3 2.1 2.4
Agricultural wage and salary workers............ 187 199 230 8.7 9.0 9.6 8.6 9.7 10.6
1 Unemployment as a percent of the civilian labor force.
2 Seasonally adjusted unemployment data for service occupations are not available because the seasonal component, which is small
relative to the trend-cycle and irregular components, cannot be separated with sufficient precision.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used in the
household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-6. Duration of unemployment
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Duration
Jan. Dec. Jan. Jan. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan.
1997 1997 1998 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997 1998
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Less than 5 weeks....................... 3,352 2,243 3,132 2,678 2,484 2,558 2,423 2,531 2,488
5 to 14 weeks........................... 2,329 1,949 2,038 2,251 2,115 1,912 2,048 1,922 1,971
15 weeks and over....................... 2,252 1,765 1,898 2,150 2,109 1,990 1,865 1,964 1,811
15 to 26 weeks....................... 1,029 832 825 964 1,031 919 899 936 773
27 weeks and over.................... 1,223 933 1,074 1,186 1,078 1,071 966 1,028 1,038
Average (mean) duration, in weeks....... 15.3 16.0 14.9 15.9 15.9 16.3 15.6 16.3 15.6
Median duration, in weeks............... 7.4 7.4 6.9 7.9 8.1 7.7 7.8 7.7 7.4
PERCENT DISTRIBUTION
Total unemployed........................ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Less than 5 weeks..................... 42.3 37.7 44.3 37.8 37.0 39.6 38.2 39.4 39.7
5 to 14 weeks......................... 29.4 32.7 28.8 31.8 31.5 29.6 32.3 30.0 31.4
15 weeks and over..................... 28.4 29.6 26.9 30.4 31.4 30.8 29.4 30.6 28.9
15 to 26 weeks...................... 13.0 14.0 11.7 13.6 15.4 14.2 14.2 14.6 12.3
27 weeks and over................... 15.4 15.7 15.2 16.8 16.1 16.6 15.2 16.0 16.6
NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used in the
household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-7. Reason for unemployment
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Reason
Jan. Dec. Jan. Jan. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan.
1997 1997 1998 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997 1998
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs 4,027 3,051 3,556 3,191 3,007 2,934 2,886 2,991 2,807
On temporary layoff.............................. 1,502 1,053 1,362 953 893 963 815 961 860
Not on temporary layoff.......................... 2,526 1,998 2,195 2,238 2,114 1,971 2,071 2,030 1,947
Permanent job losers........................... 1,666 1,355 1,485 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Persons who completed temporary jobs........... 860 643 709 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Job leavers........................................ 858 634 811 861 853 732 655 692 808
Reentrants......................................... 2,525 1,849 2,253 2,499 2,263 2,247 2,229 2,170 2,229
New entrants....................................... 523 423 449 596 560 555 560 552 518
PERCENT DISTRIBUTION
Total unemployed................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Job losers and persons who completed temporary
jobs............................................ 50.8 51.2 50.3 44.6 45.0 45.4 45.6 46.7 44.1
On temporary layoff............................. 18.9 17.7 19.3 13.3 13.4 14.9 12.9 15.0 13.5
Not on temporary layoff......................... 31.8 33.5 31.0 31.3 31.6 30.5 32.7 31.7 30.6
Job leavers....................................... 10.8 10.6 11.5 12.0 12.8 11.3 10.3 10.8 12.7
Reentrants........................................ 31.8 31.0 31.9 35.0 33.9 34.7 35.2 33.9 35.0
New entrants...................................... 6.6 7.1 6.3 8.3 8.4 8.6 8.8 8.6 8.1
UNEMPLOYED AS A PERCENT OF THE
CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE
Job losers and persons who completed temporary
jobs............................................ 3.0 2.2 2.6 2.4 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.2 2.0
Job leavers....................................... .6 .5 .6 .6 .6 .5 .5 .5 .6
Reentrants........................................ 1.9 1.4 1.7 1.8 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6
New entrants...................................... .4 .3 .3 .4 .4 .4 .4 .4 .4
1 Not available.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used in the
household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-8. Range of alternative measures of labor underutilization
(Percent)
Not seasonally Seasonally adjusted
adjusted
Measure
Jan. Dec. Jan. Jan. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan.
1997 1997 1998 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997 1998
U-1 Persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer,
as a percent of the civilian labor force............................................. 1.7 1.3 1.4 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.3
U-2 Job losers and persons who completed
temporary jobs, as a percent of the civilian
labor force.......................................................................... 3.0 2.2 2.6 2.4 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.2 2.0
U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the
civilian labor force (official unemployment rate).................................... 5.9 4.4 5.2 5.3 4.9 4.8 4.6 4.7 4.7
U-4 Total unemployed plus discouraged
workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force
plus discouraged workers............................................................. 6.2 4.6 5.5 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
U-5 Total unemployed, plus discouraged workers, plus all other marginally
attached workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all marginally
attached workers.................................................................... 7.0 5.4 6.2 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
U-6 Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers, plus total employed
part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus
all marginally attached workers..................................................... 10.4 8.2 9.3 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
1 Not available.
NOTE: This range of alternative measures of labor underutilization replaces the U1-U7 range published in table A-7 of this release prior
to 1994. Marginally attached workers are persons who currently are neither working nor looking for work but indicate that they want and are
available for a job and have looked for work sometime in the recent past. Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached, have
given a job-market related reason for not currently looking for a job. Persons employed part time for economic reasons are those who want and
are available for full-time work but have had to settle for a part-time schedule. For further information, see "BLS introduces new range of
alternative unemployment measures," in the October 1995 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new
composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used in the household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-9. Unemployed persons by sex and age, seasonally adjusted
Number of
unemployed persons Unemployment rates(1)
(in thousands)
Age and sex
Jan. Dec. Jan. Jan. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan.
1997 1997 1998 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997 1998
Total, 16 years and over................... 7,188 6,392 6,409 5.3 4.9 4.8 4.6 4.7 4.7
16 to 24 years........................... 2,591 2,300 2,371 12.0 11.2 11.1 10.9 10.6 10.8
16 to 19 years......................... 1,341 1,138 1,154 16.9 16.4 15.5 15.2 14.3 14.1
16 to 17 years....................... 571 576 596 17.8 19.3 17.5 17.6 17.7 17.3
18 to 19 years....................... 762 555 549 16.2 14.5 14.1 13.6 11.7 11.6
20 to 24 years......................... 1,250 1,162 1,218 9.2 8.2 8.5 8.4 8.5 8.9
25 years and over........................ 4,564 4,149 4,019 4.0 3.7 3.6 3.4 3.6 3.5
25 to 54 years......................... 4,084 3,659 3,588 4.2 3.8 3.7 3.5 3.7 3.6
55 years and over...................... 504 480 459 3.1 3.1 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.7
Men, 16 years and over................... 3,843 3,467 3,333 5.3 4.8 4.8 4.5 4.7 4.5
16 to 24 years......................... 1,440 1,250 1,278 12.7 12.0 12.0 11.6 11.1 11.2
16 to 19 years....................... 750 582 689 18.3 17.2 16.3 15.6 14.2 16.4
16 to 17 years..................... 336 310 330 20.3 18.8 18.2 18.2 18.4 18.3
18 to 19 years..................... 412 268 357 16.9 16.1 14.8 14.1 11.1 14.9
20 to 24 years....................... 690 668 588 9.5 9.1 9.5 9.3 9.3 8.1
25 years and over...................... 2,393 2,213 2,050 3.9 3.5 3.5 3.2 3.5 3.3
25 to 54 years....................... 2,124 1,896 1,785 4.0 3.6 3.6 3.3 3.6 3.4
55 years and over.................... 293 325 289 3.2 3.0 3.0 2.9 3.4 3.1
Women, 16 years and over................. 3,345 2,925 3,076 5.3 5.0 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.8
16 to 24 years......................... 1,151 1,050 1,094 11.3 10.4 10.1 10.1 10.2 10.4
16 to 19 years....................... 591 556 464 15.4 15.5 14.7 14.7 14.3 11.6
16 to 17 years..................... 235 266 266 15.1 19.8 16.7 17.0 17.0 16.3
18 to 19 years..................... 350 287 191 15.4 12.8 13.4 13.0 12.4 8.2
20 to 24 years....................... 560 494 629 8.9 7.3 7.4 7.4 7.6 9.7
25 years and over...................... 2,171 1,936 1,969 4.1 4.0 3.7 3.6 3.6 3.7
25 to 54 years....................... 1,960 1,763 1,802 4.3 4.1 3.8 3.8 3.9 3.9
55 years and over.................... 211 155 170 2.9 3.2 2.7 2.6 2.1 2.3
1 Unemployment as a percent of the civilian labor force.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used in the
household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-10. Persons not in the labor force and multiple jobholders by sex, not seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
Total Men Women
Category
Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan.
1997 1998 1997 1998 1997 1998
NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE
Total not in the labor force......................... 67,968 68,287 25,147 25,426 42,821 42,861
Persons who currently want a job................... 5,164 5,026 2,204 2,190 2,960 2,836
Searched for work and available to work now(1).. 1,615 1,479 818 734 797 745
Reason not currently looking:
Discouragement over job prospects(2)....... 397 374 268 232 129 142
Reasons other than discouragement(3).... 1,218 1,105 550 502 668 603
MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS
Total multiple jobholders(4)......................... 7,572 7,702 4,076 3,995 3,496 3,707
Percent of total employed........................ 6.0 6.0 6.0 5.8 6.0 6.2
Primary job full time, secondary job part time... 4,270 4,236 2,540 2,446 1,730 1,790
Primary and secondary jobs both part time........ 1,638 1,644 526 469 1,113 1,175
Primary and secondary jobs both full time........ 210 269 154 200 56 69
Hours vary on primary or secondary job........... 1,427 1,514 845 861 582 653
1 Data refer to persons who have searched for work during the prior 12 months and were available to take a job during the reference
week.
2 Includes thinks no work available, could not find work, lacks schooling or training, employer thinks too young or old, and other
types of discrimination.
3 Includes those who did not actively look for work in the prior 4 weeks for such reasons as child-care and transportation
problems, as well as a small number for which reason for nonparticipation was not determined.
4 Includes persons who work part time on their primary job and full time on their secondary job(s), not shown separately.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used in the
household survey.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry
(In thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Industry
Jan. Nov. Dec. Jan. Jan. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan.
1997 1997 1997p 1998p 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997p 1998p
Total......................... 118,903 124,531 124,699 122,125 120,909 122,792 123,083 123,512 123,867 124,225
Total private.................... 99,448 104,346 104,563 102,426 101,380 103,078 103,334 103,749 104,095 104,444
Goods-producing......................... 23,961 25,088 24,901 24,482 24,581 24,771 24,814 24,888 24,988 25,123
Mining................................ 560 576 572 562 574 576 574 572 574 574
Metal mining........................ 53.7 53.1 53.1 52.6 55 54 53 54 54 53
Coal mining......................... 93.4 90.4 90.1 89.8 94 91 91 90 90 90
Oil and gas extraction.............. 314.5 323.8 324.0 321.4 317 323 323 322 322 324
Nonmetallic minerals, except fuels.. 98.6 108.2 105.1 98.2 108 108 107 106 108 107
Construction.......................... 5,070 5,817 5,635 5,337 5,542 5,642 5,650 5,682 5,742 5,834
General building contractors........ 1,219.5 1,346.0 1,333.1 1,288.3 1,287 1,305 1,311 1,327 1,342 1,360
Heavy construction, except building. 640.8 791.9 724.4 645.8 774 762 758 759 772 780
Special trade contractors........... 3,209.6 3,679.0 3,577.7 3,402.5 3,481 3,575 3,581 3,596 3,628 3,694
Manufacturing......................... 18,331 18,695 18,694 18,583 18,465 18,553 18,590 18,634 18,672 18,715
Production workers................ 12,642 12,935 12,931 12,831 12,758 12,818 12,851 12,882 12,913 12,943
Durable goods........................ 10,761 11,055 11,074 11,030 10,821 10,952 10,985 11,020 11,047 11,089
Production workers................ 7,364 7,598 7,614 7,571 7,417 7,518 7,545 7,570 7,592 7,622
Lumber and wood products............ 774.0 805.8 804.7 793.6 789 798 800 800 807 810
Furniture and fixtures.............. 505.6 514.7 517.2 516.0 506 508 509 511 513 515
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 521.7 545.6 538.7 525.3 543 541 543 542 544 546
Primary metal industries............ 708.5 718.3 720.5 719.4 708 713 716 716 717 718
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 237.0 237.0 236.7 235.8 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Fabricated metal products........... 1,456.2 1,491.8 1,494.3 1,491.5 1,460 1,477 1,482 1,485 1,488 1,496
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 2,124.5 2,178.5 2,187.5 2,191.6 2,126 2,168 2,176 2,184 2,186 2,193
Computer and office equipment..... 366.8 384.1 386.0 386.5 367 384 386 384 386 387
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 1,644.0 1,680.3 1,685.5 1,684.8 1,645 1,663 1,666 1,673 1,678 1,686
Electronic components and
accessories.................... 609.0 647.1 651.5 653.2 610 639 644 647 651 655
Transportation equipment............ 1,793.1 1,871.7 1,878.7 1,864.8 1,802 1,840 1,849 1,868 1,867 1,873
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 957.7 993.8 996.9 983.3 966 973 977 995 987 991
Aircraft and parts................ 483.0 524.2 526.8 527.1 483 515 518 521 525 527
Instruments and related products.... 852.7 861.0 862.4 861.9 854 858 859 860 862 864
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 381.1 387.6 384.9 381.1 388 386 385 381 385 388
Nondurable goods..................... 7,570 7,640 7,620 7,553 7,644 7,601 7,605 7,614 7,625 7,626
Production workers................ 5,278 5,337 5,317 5,260 5,341 5,300 5,306 5,312 5,321 5,321
Food and kindred products........... 1,652.9 1,708.8 1,691.1 1,666.2 1,695 1,688 1,690 1,701 1,705 1,707
Tobacco products.................... 43.8 43.7 43.4 41.5 41 40 41 42 40 39
Textile mill products............... 611.9 603.3 603.5 597.2 615 605 604 602 604 601
Apparel and other textile products.. 823.8 800.9 792.9 779.9 835 803 800 796 795 790
Paper and allied products........... 675.4 677.1 677.7 675.7 678 675 675 676 677 678
Printing and publishing............. 1,530.6 1,556.3 1,563.6 1,551.4 1,534 1,547 1,548 1,551 1,554 1,556
Chemicals and allied products....... 1,023.3 1,026.3 1,026.2 1,023.5 1,028 1,026 1,028 1,028 1,028 1,028
Petroleum and coal products......... 135.3 138.0 135.4 134.2 139 138 137 137 138 138
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 980.0 995.7 997.8 997.0 985 990 993 992 996 1,002
Leather and leather products........ 93.1 89.5 88.2 86.6 94 89 89 89 88 87
Service-producing....................... 94,942 99,443 99,798 97,643 96,328 98,021 98,269 98,624 98,879 99,102
Transportation and public utilities... 6,296 6,542 6,547 6,460 6,351 6,473 6,497 6,495 6,470 6,519
Transportation...................... 4,080 4,287 4,291 4,208 4,121 4,232 4,247 4,243 4,213 4,253
Railroad transportation........... 224.2 229.7 229.8 229.0 228 227 226 229 230 233
Local and interurban passenger
transit........................ 461.9 475.1 477.0 472.4 452 457 458 459 461 463
Trucking and warehousing.......... 1,621.4 1,720.0 1,711.0 1,669.1 1,656 1,708 1,710 1,702 1,697 1,707
Water transportation.............. 167.5 173.9 170.6 165.1 175 176 178 177 175 172
Transportation by air............. 1,166.6 1,233.9 1,249.4 1,221.2 1,168 1,211 1,221 1,222 1,196 1,223
Pipelines, except natural gas..... 14.2 14.2 14.2 14.2 14 14 14 14 14 14
Transportation services........... 424.3 439.7 439.3 437.1 428 439 440 440 440 441
Communications and public utilities. 2,216 2,255 2,256 2,252 2,230 2,241 2,250 2,252 2,257 2,266
Communications.................... 1,344.3 1,394.1 1,394.9 1,395.3 1,354 1,376 1,385 1,390 1,395 1,405
Electric, gas, and sanitary
services....................... 871.4 860.5 860.6 856.8 876 865 865 862 862 861
Wholesale trade....................... 6,514 6,741 6,748 6,718 6,570 6,687 6,712 6,729 6,746 6,776
Durable goods....................... 3,843 3,992 4,006 4,003 3,863 3,962 3,978 3,993 4,006 4,024
Nondurable goods.................... 2,671 2,749 2,742 2,715 2,707 2,725 2,734 2,736 2,740 2,752
Retail trade.......................... 21,514 22,752 23,131 22,091 21,917 22,215 22,258 22,403 22,472 22,496
Building materials and garden
supplies......................... 863.7 927.7 925.2 893.1 914 926 926 934 936 945
General merchandise stores.......... 2,759.8 3,079.5 3,195.2 2,897.7 2,757 2,818 2,824 2,868 2,884 2,897
Department stores................. 2,416.1 2,709.7 2,792.3 2,540.1 2,420 2,469 2,474 2,522 2,530 2,561
Food stores......................... 3,454.3 3,556.5 3,590.3 3,517.3 3,474 3,507 3,520 3,521 3,523 3,534
Automotive dealers and service
stations......................... 2,276.8 2,334.6 2,327.9 2,312.9 2,307 2,331 2,336 2,338 2,339 2,342
New and used car dealers.......... 1,044.4 1,061.1 1,056.8 1,056.1 1,051 1,057 1,060 1,062 1,060 1,062
Apparel and accessory stores........ 1,109.8 1,157.4 1,210.9 1,116.9 1,107 1,102 1,108 1,111 1,108 1,114
Furniture and home furnishings
stores........................... 1,026.5 1,086.4 1,115.8 1,078.8 1,020 1,049 1,055 1,062 1,070 1,072
Eating and drinking places.......... 7,227.4 7,596.5 7,638.9 7,363.7 7,552 7,626 7,626 7,669 7,690 7,695
Miscellaneous retail establishments. 2,795.8 3,013.4 3,126.9 2,910.2 2,786 2,856 2,863 2,900 2,922 2,897
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 6,917 7,109 7,135 7,122 6,971 7,082 7,108 7,132 7,154 7,176
Finance............................. 3,345 3,449 3,471 3,475 3,351 3,427 3,444 3,457 3,470 3,482
Depository institutions........... 2,029.9 2,053.8 2,064.5 2,063.4 2,032 2,048 2,052 2,058 2,064 2,065
Commercial banks................ 1,476.1 1,496.6 1,502.7 1,501.8 1,478 1,491 1,495 1,500 1,502 1,504
Savings institutions............ 254.8 249.5 252.1 252.4 255 251 250 250 253 253
Nondepository institutions........ 532.8 555.8 560.5 562.1 533 554 559 558 559 562
Mortgage bankers and brokers.... 239.5 249.8 250.6 251.2 239 249 252 252 251 250
Security and commodity brokers.... 569.5 609.0 613.1 615.9 572 600 605 610 614 619
Holding and other investment
offices........................ 212.4 230.3 232.4 233.6 214 225 228 231 233 236
Insurance........................... 2,212 2,245 2,256 2,254 2,218 2,232 2,239 2,247 2,259 2,259
Insurance carriers................ 1,501.5 1,520.5 1,528.6 1,527.3 1,505 1,511 1,516 1,521 1,531 1,531
Insurance agents, brokers, and
service........................ 710.8 724.1 727.3 726.7 713 721 723 726 728 728
Real estate......................... 1,360 1,415 1,408 1,393 1,402 1,423 1,425 1,428 1,425 1,435
Services2............................. 34,246 36,114 36,101 35,553 34,990 35,850 35,945 36,102 36,265 36,354
Agricultural services............... 543.0 682.1 623.5 573.1 647 680 684 687 679 684
Hotels and other lodging places..... 1,634.6 1,694.2 1,680.1 1,653.5 1,743 1,756 1,765 1,763 1,754 1,761
Personal services................... 1,238.1 1,163.4 1,168.6 1,231.2 1,195 1,187 1,188 1,197 1,185 1,187
Business services................... 7,298.4 7,960.3 7,973.7 7,751.3 7,476 7,732 7,759 7,832 7,913 7,942
Services to buildings............. 878.8 903.2 901.7 892.3 893 902 902 903 906 905
Personnel supply services......... 2,594.9 2,926.0 2,912.2 2,706.3 2,743 2,762 2,770 2,819 2,864 2,854
Help supply services............ 2,290.2 2,577.6 2,557.9 2,367.3 2,427 2,423 2,427 2,484 2,514 2,498
Computer and data processing
services....................... 1,270.3 1,402.6 1,421.5 1,437.5 1,268 1,375 1,387 1,401 1,419 1,435
Auto repair, services, and parking.. 1,102.1 1,149.7 1,151.8 1,148.2 1,117 1,145 1,148 1,153 1,157 1,163
Miscellaneous repair services....... 374.1 389.9 389.7 384.7 380 388 388 389 391 391
Motion pictures..................... 528.5 548.7 565.7 555.1 530 549 550 551 564 557
Amusement and recreation services... 1,272.5 1,415.5 1,425.1 1,368.6 1,490 1,568 1,563 1,583 1,600 1,609
Health services..................... 9,562.0 9,779.0 9,804.0 9,780.9 9,586 9,731 9,750 9,771 9,791 9,805
Offices and clinics of medical
doctors........................ 1,707.5 1,770.4 1,784.2 1,781.4 1,713 1,754 1,763 1,773 1,779 1,787
Nursing and personal care
facilities..................... 1,744.7 1,770.5 1,770.9 1,757.8 1,750 1,764 1,766 1,767 1,768 1,763
Hospitals......................... 3,833.7 3,910.7 3,919.8 3,923.7 3,841 3,892 3,900 3,910 3,918 3,931
Home health care services......... 674.6 687.0 682.0 671.1 677 684 682 683 680 674
Legal services...................... 937.3 967.1 971.4 969.5 942 962 963 968 973 974
Educational services................ 1,998.3 2,286.9 2,235.1 2,064.9 2,042 2,105 2,110 2,118 2,122 2,112
Social services..................... 2,419.4 2,521.9 2,530.0 2,516.5 2,432 2,502 2,507 2,511 2,524 2,534
Child day care services........... 582.9 611.6 611.0 608.2 578 597 594 594 599 604
Residential care.................. 680.6 709.1 715.3 715.2 684 707 709 711 716 719
Museums and botanical and zoological
gardens........................... 79.0 86.5 85.5 79.9 87 88 88 89 88 88
Membership organizations............ 2,155.5 2,187.4 2,196.7 2,172.6 2,192 2,202 2,204 2,199 2,208 2,210
Engineering and management services. 2,889.0 3,064.5 3,083.1 3,087.4 2,916 3,038 3,061 3,074 3,098 3,120
Engineering and architectural
services....................... 847.5 894.5 899.0 896.3 857 886 891 893 902 906
Management and public relations... 899.3 979.1 989.4 989.3 913 969 976 979 993 1,005
Services, nec....................... 46.9 49.6 49.4 48.2 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Government............................ 19,455 20,185 20,136 19,699 19,529 19,714 19,749 19,763 19,772 19,781
Federal............................. 2,703 2,679 2,721 2,664 2,723 2,680 2,687 2,694 2,690 2,684
Federal, except Postal Service.... 1,837.1 1,810.9 1,803.9 1,790.5 1,862 1,824 1,832 1,826 1,819 1,816
State............................... 4,560 4,806 4,750 4,601 4,621 4,662 4,663 4,673 4,668 4,665
Education......................... 1,891.1 2,125.1 2,074.4 1,921.3 1,928 1,962 1,962 1,967 1,965 1,961
Other State government............ 2,668.8 2,681.3 2,675.8 2,679.5 2,693 2,700 2,701 2,706 2,703 2,704
Local............................... 12,192 12,700 12,665 12,434 12,185 12,372 12,399 12,396 12,414 12,432
Education......................... 6,968.1 7,329.1 7,305.7 7,110.2 6,831 6,957 6,963 6,964 6,963 6,974
Other local government............ 5,223.6 5,370.8 5,359.1 5,324.2 5,354 5,415 5,436 5,432 5,451 5,458
1 This series is not published seasonally adjusted because the seasonal component, which is small relative to the
trend-cycle and irregular components, cannot be separated with sufficient precision.
2 Includes other industries, not shown separately.
p = preliminary.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-2. Average weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers1 on private nonfarm payrolls by industry
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Industry
Jan. Nov. Dec. Jan. Jan. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan.
1997 1997 1997p 1998p 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997p 1998p
Total private.................... 33.9 34.8 34.7 34.2 34.4 34.5 34.5 34.8 34.6 34.8
Goods-producing......................... 40.4 41.4 42.0 40.8 41.1 41.2 41.3 41.2 41.4 41.5
Mining................................ 44.2 45.7 45.1 44.9 44.7 45.1 45.2 45.6 44.8 45.4
Construction.......................... 36.4 37.8 38.4 37.3 38.6 38.9 38.8 38.1 38.8 39.7
Manufacturing......................... 41.5 42.6 43.1 41.8 41.8 41.9 42.0 42.1 42.2 42.1
Overtime hours.................... 4.5 5.2 5.4 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.9 4.9
Durable goods........................ 42.3 43.3 43.9 42.5 42.5 42.6 42.8 42.9 43.0 42.8
Overtime hours.................... 4.8 5.5 5.8 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.2 5.2
Lumber and wood products............ 39.6 41.4 41.2 40.1 40.7 40.9 41.1 41.2 41.0 41.2
Furniture and fixtures.............. 39.3 41.2 42.1 40.9 39.8 40.2 40.0 40.5 40.7 41.5
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 40.9 43.1 43.5 42.2 42.6 43.1 43.1 42.9 43.7 43.9
Primary metal industries............ 44.5 45.5 46.1 45.3 44.4 44.9 45.1 45.3 45.3 45.3
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 44.7 45.5 46.1 45.8 44.7 45.1 45.3 45.3 45.6 45.9
Fabricated metal products........... 42.1 43.3 44.0 42.6 42.4 42.4 42.6 42.6 42.9 42.7
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 43.3 44.0 44.8 43.6 43.2 43.4 43.4 43.8 43.6 43.5
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 41.2 42.6 43.1 41.5 41.3 41.7 41.8 42.0 42.0 41.6
Transportation equipment............ 44.6 44.5 45.7 43.6 44.7 43.9 44.4 44.0 44.7 43.6
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 45.5 44.8 46.3 43.4 45.6 44.1 45.0 44.3 45.0 43.4
Instruments and related products.... 41.7 42.6 42.9 41.7 41.6 42.0 41.9 42.2 41.8 41.6
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 39.6 41.2 41.3 40.2 39.9 40.3 40.2 40.5 40.7 40.5
Nondurable goods..................... 40.5 41.5 41.8 40.8 40.7 40.9 40.8 41.1 41.1 41.1
Overtime hours.................... 4.0 4.7 4.7 4.2 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.4
Food and kindred products........... 40.7 42.2 42.3 41.0 41.2 41.2 41.2 41.6 41.6 41.5
Tobacco products.................... 39.2 39.5 41.3 38.0 39.9 38.1 38.7 39.3 40.3 38.6
Textile mill products............... 41.0 41.9 42.1 41.3 41.2 41.4 41.3 41.5 41.7 41.5
Apparel and other textile products.. 36.9 37.6 38.1 37.3 37.2 37.3 37.2 37.1 37.5 37.6
Paper and allied products........... 43.8 44.4 44.7 43.7 43.7 43.7 43.7 44.1 43.8 43.6
Printing and publishing............. 37.8 39.2 39.3 38.0 38.3 38.7 38.7 38.8 38.7 38.5
Chemicals and allied products....... 43.1 43.7 43.9 43.3 43.2 43.4 43.2 43.4 43.0 43.4
Petroleum and coal products......... 45.0 43.4 42.2 43.4 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 41.4 42.5 43.3 42.3 41.4 41.6 41.8 42.2 42.4 42.3
Leather and leather products........ 37.7 38.5 38.8 37.7 38.4 38.4 38.6 38.0 38.3 38.3
Service-producing....................... 32.2 33.0 32.9 32.4 32.7 32.8 32.8 33.1 32.8 33.0
Transportation and public utilities... 38.8 40.3 39.8 39.5 39.5 39.9 39.8 40.2 39.7 40.1
Wholesale trade....................... 37.9 38.7 38.4 38.1 38.2 38.3 38.3 38.7 38.2 38.4
Retail trade.......................... 28.0 28.8 29.2 28.1 28.8 28.8 28.9 28.9 28.9 29.0
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 35.7 36.7 35.8 35.9 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Services.............................. 32.0 32.8 32.6 32.4 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
1 Data relate to production workers in mining and manufacturing; construction workers in construction; and
nonsupervisory workers in transportation and public utilities; wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance, and real
estate; and services. These groups account for approximately four-fifths of the total employees on private nonfarm
payrolls.
2 These series are not published seasonally adjusted because the seasonal component, which is small relative to the
trend-cycle and irregular components, cannot be separated with sufficient precision.
p = preliminary.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-3. Average hourly and weekly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers1 on private nonfarm payrolls by
industry
Average hourly earnings Average weekly earnings
Industry
Jan. Nov. Dec. Jan. Jan. Nov. Dec. Jan.
1997 1997 1997p 1998p 1997 1997 1997p 1998p
Total private.................... $12.11 $12.51 $12.51 $12.58 $410.53 $435.35 $434.10 $430.24
Seasonally adjusted............. 12.05 12.48 12.47 12.51 414.52 434.30 431.46 435.35
Goods-producing......................... 13.68 14.11 14.20 14.11 552.67 584.15 596.40 575.69
Mining................................ 16.18 16.38 16.47 16.70 715.16 748.57 742.80 749.83
Construction.......................... 15.73 16.25 16.34 16.24 572.57 614.25 627.46 605.75
Manufacturing......................... 13.04 13.37 13.48 13.42 541.16 569.56 580.99 560.96
Durable goods........................ 13.62 13.97 14.07 13.96 576.13 604.90 617.67 593.30
Lumber and wood products............ 10.58 10.90 10.93 10.85 418.97 451.26 450.32 435.09
Furniture and fixtures.............. 10.38 10.70 10.79 10.77 407.93 440.84 454.26 440.49
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 12.99 13.36 13.39 13.36 531.29 575.82 582.47 563.79
Primary metal industries............ 15.12 15.39 15.41 15.48 672.84 700.25 710.40 701.24
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 17.71 18.25 18.10 18.39 791.64 830.38 834.41 842.26
Fabricated metal products........... 12.75 12.97 13.09 13.02 536.78 561.60 575.96 554.65
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 13.91 14.29 14.39 14.34 602.30 628.76 644.67 625.22
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 12.46 13.00 13.05 12.91 513.35 553.80 562.46 535.77
Transportation equipment............ 17.46 17.98 18.15 17.83 778.72 800.11 829.46 777.39
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 18.02 18.57 18.71 18.31 819.91 831.94 866.27 794.65
Instruments and related products.... 13.38 13.70 13.73 13.69 557.95 583.62 589.02 570.87
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 10.59 10.72 10.83 10.82 419.36 441.66 447.28 434.96
Nondurable goods..................... 12.20 12.48 12.59 12.60 494.10 517.92 526.26 514.08
Food and kindred products........... 11.41 11.60 11.73 11.70 464.39 489.52 496.18 479.70
Tobacco products.................... 18.56 17.78 19.05 18.86 727.55 702.31 786.77 716.68
Textile mill products............... 9.93 10.15 10.24 10.25 407.13 425.29 431.10 423.33
Apparel and other textile products.. 8.12 8.33 8.43 8.45 299.63 313.21 321.18 315.19
Paper and allied products........... 14.84 15.24 15.30 15.20 649.99 676.66 683.91 664.24
Printing and publishing............. 12.86 13.25 13.30 13.29 486.11 519.40 522.69 505.02
Chemicals and allied products....... 16.37 16.85 16.91 16.93 705.55 736.35 742.35 733.07
Petroleum and coal products......... 20.13 20.40 20.55 20.44 905.85 885.36 867.21 887.10
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 11.49 11.65 11.81 11.84 475.69 495.13 511.37 500.83
Leather and leather products........ 8.83 9.10 9.17 9.25 332.89 350.35 355.80 348.73
Service-producing....................... 11.60 11.98 11.95 12.08 373.52 395.34 393.16 391.39
Transportation and public utilities... $14.71 $15.14 $15.12 $15.16 $570.75 $610.14 $601.78 $598.82
Wholesale trade....................... 13.18 13.74 13.71 13.77 499.52 531.74 526.46 524.64
Retail trade.......................... 8.24 8.51 8.50 8.61 230.72 245.09 248.20 241.94
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 12.99 13.69 13.58 13.63 463.74 502.42 486.16 489.32
Services.............................. 12.19 12.58 12.62 12.68 390.08 412.62 411.41 410.83
1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
p = preliminary.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-4. Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers1 on private nonfarm
payrolls by industry, seasonally adjusted
Percent
Jan. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. change
Industry 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997p 1998p from:
Dec. 1997-
Jan. 1998
Total private:
Current dollars.............. $12.05 $12.35 $12.40 $12.48 $12.47 $12.51 0.3
Constant (1982) dollars2..... 7.46 7.56 7.58 7.62 7.61 N.A. (3)
Goods-producing............... 13.73 13.97 14.07 14.11 14.16 14.16 .0
Mining...................... 15.98 16.20 16.27 16.43 16.39 16.51 .7
Construction................ 15.73 16.08 16.12 16.22 16.36 16.24 -.7
Manufacturing............... 13.02 13.22 13.35 13.37 13.39 13.39 .0
Excluding overtime4....... 12.34 12.51 12.60 12.63 12.64 12.65 .1
Service-producing............. 11.49 11.81 11.85 11.94 11.91 11.96 .4
Transportation and public
utilities................ 14.74 14.95 15.01 15.05 15.09 15.20 .7
Wholesale trade............. 13.12 13.54 13.57 13.73 13.69 13.68 -.1
Retail trade................ 8.19 8.42 8.46 8.50 8.50 8.55 .6
Finance, insurance, and real
estate................... 12.95 13.47 13.54 13.64 13.56 13.59 .2
Services.................... 12.05 12.36 12.41 12.50 12.49 12.53 .3
1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
2 The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) is used to
deflate this series.
3 Change was -.1 percent from November 1997 to December 1997, the latest month available.
4 Derived by assuming that overtime hours are paid at the rate of time and one-half.
N.A. = not available.
p = preliminary.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-5. Indexes of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers1 on private nonfarm payrolls by
industry
(1982=100)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Industry
Jan. Nov. Dec. Jan. Jan. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan.
1997 1997 1997p 1998p 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997p 1998p
Total private.................... 133.0 143.8 143.9 138.0 138.2 140.9 141.2 142.9 142.5 143.4
Goods-producing......................... 106.6 115.7 116.0 110.3 112.0 113.3 113.6 113.9 115.0 116.1
Mining................................ 52.7 56.8 55.8 54.3 54.8 56.1 56.1 56.2 55.7 56.5
Construction.......................... 127.2 155.4 151.7 137.3 151.0 154.2 153.5 152.2 156.6 163.6
Manufacturing......................... 105.8 111.0 112.3 108.2 107.4 108.3 108.7 109.4 109.9 109.8
Durable goods........................ 108.5 114.8 116.7 112.3 110.0 111.8 112.5 113.2 113.9 113.7
Lumber and wood products............ 133.1 145.5 144.5 138.4 140.3 142.1 143.0 143.6 144.6 146.0
Furniture and fixtures.............. 123.8 132.5 136.2 132.2 125.1 127.6 127.3 129.6 130.5 134.1
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 99.8 111.5 110.6 104.0 108.9 110.0 110.5 110.0 112.3 113.1
Primary metal industries............ 93.2 97.2 98.8 96.8 93.1 95.0 95.9 96.5 96.5 96.7
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 73.1 74.7 75.7 74.9 73.4 74.1 74.0 74.0 74.5 75.0
Fabricated metal products........... 114.7 121.3 123.5 119.2 115.7 117.4 118.4 118.6 119.9 119.9
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 106.4 111.3 114.0 111.5 106.0 108.9 109.7 111.1 110.7 111.0
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 106.3 112.6 114.3 110.0 106.6 109.0 109.4 110.3 110.8 110.3
Transportation equipment............ 125.5 131.5 135.4 127.4 126.4 127.6 129.6 129.7 131.4 128.2
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 166.0 170.5 176.6 161.9 167.7 164.7 168.3 168.7 169.8 163.2
Instruments and related products.... 74.9 76.8 77.8 75.8 75.1 75.6 75.4 76.0 75.6 75.8
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 99.5 105.3 104.7 100.2 102.5 102.0 101.8 101.4 103.4 103.3
Nondurable goods..................... 102.0 105.8 106.2 102.6 104.0 103.5 103.6 104.3 104.5 104.4
Food and kindred products........... 112.0 120.8 119.4 114.0 117.0 116.2 116.5 118.4 118.6 118.6
Tobacco products.................... 67.1 68.0 69.9 65.2 63.2 58.5 61.3 64.2 61.9 61.2
Textile mill products............... 88.3 89.1 89.6 86.9 89.4 88.2 88.0 88.1 88.7 87.8
Apparel and other textile products.. 73.0 72.1 72.1 69.2 74.6 71.6 71.2 70.6 71.2 70.7
Paper and allied products........... 109.7 111.6 112.9 110.3 110.2 109.5 109.5 110.7 110.4 110.5
Printing and publishing............. 121.3 128.3 129.3 122.9 123.3 125.6 125.8 126.4 126.2 124.8
Chemicals and allied products....... 99.5 102.2 103.1 101.6 100.1 100.9 100.8 101.6 101.0 102.3
Petroleum and coal products......... 74.4 74.8 70.9 72.1 78.0 74.2 73.1 73.9 73.0 75.3
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 142.4 148.7 151.8 148.1 143.1 144.7 145.6 146.8 148.3 148.9
Leather and leather products........ 41.3 40.1 39.8 37.9 42.5 39.5 40.3 39.1 38.8 38.8
Service-producing....................... 144.9 156.4 156.4 150.4 150.0 153.3 153.6 155.9 154.8 155.7
Transportation and public utilities... 125.8 134.8 132.9 129.8 129.3 132.2 132.1 133.2 131.0 133.1
Wholesale trade....................... 121.8 128.6 127.5 125.6 124.3 126.2 126.7 128.3 126.9 128.0
Retail trade.......................... 130.0 142.3 146.6 133.8 136.7 138.5 139.2 140.3 140.6 140.9
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 124.2 131.6 129.0 128.9 124.7 128.6 128.1 132.9 129.0 129.5
Services.............................. 173.8 188.0 186.4 181.8 180.2 185.0 185.3 188.3 187.4 188.4
1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
p = preliminary.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-6. Diffusion indexes of employment change, seasonally adjusted
(Percent)
Time span Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
Private nonfarm payrolls, 356 industries1
Over 1-month span:
1994.............. 57.6 61.9 67.1 64.5 57.7 63.9 62.5 62.6 61.4 60.3 63.8 62.4
1995.............. 62.4 60.1 54.5 55.6 48.0 53.9 54.1 59.8 57.0 54.9 57.2 57.9
1996.............. 51.7 64.3 60.1 54.9 62.9 60.5 56.5 59.3 54.4 62.6 58.1 61.0
1997.............. 59.3 59.1 59.0 61.1 57.4 50.7 58.8 58.7 56.5 64.2 61.7 p60.8
1998.............. p62.5
Over 3-month span:
1994.............. 65.3 69.5 70.4 68.7 67.1 67.0 69.1 69.7 65.7 65.6 67.0 66.2
1995.............. 65.4 62.5 58.7 53.2 54.6 52.4 57.9 59.6 59.7 59.0 57.0 56.3
1996.............. 62.6 63.6 62.6 61.2 62.1 63.1 62.6 58.8 62.8 60.4 64.7 65.0
1997.............. 64.6 62.2 64.2 65.6 59.7 58.7 59.1 65.0 65.3 67.3 p68.3 p67.3
1998..............
Over 6-month span:
1994.............. 71.1 69.8 69.8 70.9 70.1 69.8 69.7 69.4 69.4 67.4 67.7 66.2
1995.............. 66.9 61.4 58.1 56.6 58.1 58.1 56.7 59.8 60.3 59.1 61.5 63.3
1996.............. 62.2 63.5 63.5 63.5 62.6 61.2 65.3 63.6 62.6 64.5 64.2 67.4
1997.............. 67.6 66.6 64.5 64.6 64.3 66.7 67.0 68.3 p69.5 p71.2
1998..............
Over 12-month span:
1994.............. 70.2 71.6 71.8 71.8 72.1 71.8 71.5 72.1 70.1 69.5 66.6 65.0
1995.............. 63.6 62.4 62.6 63.3 61.7 61.9 58.7 62.2 62.2 61.1 62.2 63.3
1996.............. 63.5 64.7 62.4 62.9 64.7 64.2 65.0 63.1 63.8 66.7 65.7 65.0
1997.............. 67.3 66.2 69.4 70.4 70.1 p69.5 p70.4
1998..............
Manufacturing payrolls, 139 industries1
Over 1-month span:
1994.............. 55.8 59.0 60.4 58.6 52.9 58.6 59.4 56.1 52.9 55.0 58.6 58.3
1995.............. 54.3 56.1 44.2 51.4 42.1 42.8 43.5 52.2 47.1 50.0 47.5 50.7
1996.............. 45.7 54.3 47.8 39.2 52.2 52.2 44.2 52.9 44.2 50.7 49.6 52.2
1997.............. 54.0 50.4 52.9 52.9 51.4 49.3 51.8 49.6 54.3 57.6 59.4 p55.4
1998.............. p60.1
Over 3-month span:
1994.............. 61.9 64.7 65.5 59.7 57.6 60.1 62.2 57.9 55.0 55.4 60.1 59.4
1995.............. 59.7 50.4 47.5 40.3 42.4 36.3 38.5 43.9 49.3 46.4 45.3 43.9
1996.............. 47.5 47.8 42.1 38.5 43.2 45.0 48.9 43.2 50.4 46.4 52.5 52.5
1997.............. 53.2 51.4 50.7 52.5 48.6 48.9 48.6 53.6 55.8 62.9 p62.9 p65.1
1998..............
Over 6-month span:
1994.............. 62.2 62.2 62.6 63.3 59.4 56.5 56.5 58.6 58.6 55.0 58.3 55.0
1995.............. 55.8 48.6 43.9 38.8 39.2 39.6 38.8 39.6 43.9 45.0 44.2 44.6
1996.............. 41.4 41.7 41.0 38.1 39.6 40.6 47.5 46.8 45.3 50.4 48.2 53.2
1997.............. 53.2 53.2 50.4 49.3 48.6 52.2 55.0 58.3 p59.0 p62.9
1998..............
Over 12-month span:
1994.............. 57.9 58.6 60.8 60.8 60.8 63.3 59.4 60.1 57.2 56.5 50.4 49.6
1995.............. 46.0 44.2 46.0 47.8 41.0 41.7 38.5 38.8 36.3 37.4 38.1 39.9
1996.............. 39.6 42.8 39.2 39.6 42.4 40.3 43.5 40.3 43.5 46.8 46.4 47.1
1997.............. 51.4 47.8 52.2 55.0 57.6 p56.5 p56.1
1998..............
1 Based on seasonally adjusted data for 1-, 3-, and 6-month spans and unadjusted data for the 12-month span. Data are
centered within the span.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: Figures are the percent of industries with employment increasing plus one-half of the industries with
unchanged employment, where 50 percent indicates an equal balance between industries with increasing and decreasing
employment.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Contact: (cpsinfo@bls.gov) Division of Labor Force Statistics-BLS
Last revised: July 02, 1998
URL: http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/pub/empsit_0198.htm
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