Technical information: USDL 97-117
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, April 4, 1997.
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: MARCH 1997
Employment rose, and the unemployment rate was about unchanged at 5.2
percent in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of
Labor reported today. Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 175,000, and
average hourly earnings rose by 5 cents in March.
Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
The number of unemployed persons, 7.1 million, and the unemployment
rate, 5.2 percent, were essentially unchanged in March, after seasonal
adjustment. Jobless rates for the major demographic groups--adult men (4.4
percent), adult women (4.7 percent), teenagers (16.4 percent), whites (4.5
percent), blacks (10.7 percent), and Hispanics (8.6 percent)--showed little
or no movement over the month. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)
Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
Total employment rose by 745,000 in March to 129.2 million (seasonally
adjusted). The proportion of the population that was employed (the
employment-population ratio) rose to 63.8 percent, an all-time high for
this series.
About 7.9 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one
job in March. These multiple jobholders accounted for 6.1 percent of all
employed persons. (See table A-9.)
The civilian labor force increased by 685,000 to 136.3 million
(seasonally adjusted), and the labor force participation rate rose to 67.3
percent. Over the past year, the labor force has increased by 2.5 million
(after adjusting for the change in population controls introduced in
January), and the participation rate has increased by half a percentage
point.
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Table A. Major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
___________________________________________________________________________
| Quarterly | Monthly data |
| averages | |
|_________________|__________________________|Feb.-
Category | 1996 | 19971/ | 19971/ |Mar.
|________|________|__________________________|change
| IV | I | Jan. | Feb. | Mar. |
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
HOUSEHOLD DATA | Labor force status
|____________________________________________________
Civilian labor force..| 134,830| 135,934| 135,848| 135,634| 136,319| 685
Employment..........| 127,705| 128,728| 128,580| 128,430| 129,175| 745
Unemployment...... | 7,124| 7,206| 7,268| 7,205| 7,144| -61
Not in labor force....| 66,627| 66,462| 66,437| 66,754| 66,194| -560
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Unemployment rates
|____________________________________________________
All workers...........| 5.3| 5.3| 5.4| 5.3| 5.2| -0.1
Adult men...........| 4.4| 4.5| 4.6| 4.4| 4.4| .0
Adult women.........| 4.8| 4.7| 4.6| 4.7| 4.7| .0
Teenagers...........| 16.6| 17.0| 17.0| 17.5| 16.4| -1.1
White...............| 4.6| 4.5| 4.6| 4.5| 4.5| .0
Black...............| 10.6| 10.9| 10.8| 11.3| 10.7| -.6
Hispanic origin.....| 8.0| 8.3| 8.3| 8.1| 8.6| .5
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
ESTABLISHMENT DATA | Employment
|____________________________________________________
Nonfarm employment....| 120,509|p121,236| 120,982|p121,275|p121,450| p175
Goods-producing 2/..| 24,320| p24,471| 24,399| p24,513| p24,501| p-12
Construction......| 5,492| p5,598| 5,535| p5,643| p5,616| p-27
Manufacturing.....| 18,262| p18,303| 18,296| p18,299| p18,315| p16
Service-producing 2/| 96,189| p96,765| 96,583| p96,762| p96,949| p187
Retail trade......| 21,864| p21,940| 21,922| p21,928| p21,971| p43
Services..........| 34,785| p35,097| 35,015| p35,082| p35,193| p111
Government........| 19,510| p19,566| 19,544| p19,587| p19,568| p-19
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Hours of work 3/
|____________________________________________________
Total private.........| 34.6| p34.6| 34.2| p34.9| p34.8| p-0.1
Manufacturing.......| 41.8| p41.9| 41.7| p41.9| p42.1| p.2
Overtime..........| 4.5| p4.8| 4.7| p4.7| p4.9| p.2
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Earnings 3/
|____________________________________________________
Avg. hourly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| $11.98| p$12.10| $12.05| p$12.10| p$12.15| p$0.05
Avg. weekly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| 414.00| p419.07| 412.11| p422.29| p422.82| p.53
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
1/ Beginning in January 1997, household data reflect revised
population controls used in the survey.
2/ Includes other industries, not shown separately.
3/ Data relate to private production or nonsupervisory workers.
p=preliminary.
- 3 -
Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
About 1.5 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally
attached to the labor force in March--that is, they wanted and were
available for work and had looked for jobs sometime in the prior 12 months.
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 or there were none for which they would
qualify--was 356,000 in March, down from 451,000 a year earlier. (See
table A-9.)
Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)
Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 175,000 in March to 121.5 million,
after seasonal adjustment. Job gains in a variety of service-providing
industries were somewhat offset by losses in construction and government.
(See table B-1.)
The services industry added 111,000 jobs in March, slightly more than
the average monthly gain of 100,000 in 1996. Employment in business
services rose by 58,000, as the help supply industry added 25,000 jobs, and
computer and data processing services continued its robust growth.
Employment in health services increased by 22,000, led by a sizable advance
in hospitals. Private education employment also rose.
Employment in retail trade increased by 43,000 in March. Department
stores had large gains in both February and March, which offset a loss in
January. There were above-average increases in March in building supply
stores, food stores, and miscellaneous retail establishments. Eating and
drinking places had a large employment decline, after seasonal adjustment,
reflecting lighter-than-usual March hiring.
Employment in finance continued to grow in March, primarily in banks,
security brokerages, and mortgage brokerages. Strong growth also continued
in real estate, which has added 53,000 jobs in the past year. Wholesale
trade posted a large job gain for the second month in a row. Employment in
transportation and public utilities rose modestly after 2 months of large
increases.
Manufacturing employment edged up by 16,000 in March, with the largest
increases occurring in lumber and industrial machinery. Factory employment
has increased by 74,000 since September, following a loss of 319,000 from
its recent peak in March 1995. The recent growth has been concentrated in
the durable goods industries, especially industrial machinery and aircraft.
Construction employment fell by 27,000 in March, following an increase
of 108,000 in February. The unusual winter weather patterns this year and
last have caused large fluctuations in the construction employment series,
even after seasonal adjustment. Nevertheless, monthly job gains in
construction have averaged 30,000 since October, compared with an average
gain of 22,000 in the prior 12 months.
A decrease in government employment of 19,000 reflected a decline of
14,000 in local education, after seasonal adjustment, following gains in
the prior 2 months. Employment in state government was unchanged, while
federal employment continued to decline.
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Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)
The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on
private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 hour in March, to 34.8 hours,
seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek rose by 0.2 hour to 42.1
hours, a very high level by historical standards. Factory overtime
advanced by 0.2 hour to 4.9 hours, the highest level since the series began
in 1956. (See table B-2.)
The index of aggregate weekly hours of private production or
nonsupervisory workers on nonfarm payrolls, at 140.5 (1982=100) in March,
was little changed, after seasonal adjustment, as the rise in employment
offset the decline in the average workweek. The manufacturing index
increased by 0.5 percent to 107.4. (See table B-5.)
Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)
Average hourly earnings of private production or nonsupervisory
workers on nonfarm payrolls rose by 5 cents in March to $12.15, seasonally
adjusted. Average weekly earnings edged up by 0.1 percent to $422.82,
reflecting the largely offsetting movements of higher hourly earnings and a
slightly shorter workweek. Over the past year, average hourly earnings
rose by 4.0 percent, and average weekly earnings increased by 4.9 percent.
(See table B-3.)
________________________________________
The Employment Situation for April 1997 is scheduled to be released on
Friday, May 2, at 8:30 A.M. (EDT).
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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 1996,
the sample included about 390,000 establishments employing over 47 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
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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 $13.00 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
Mar. Feb. Mar. Mar. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1996 1996 1997 1997 1997
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 199,921 202,388 202,513 199,921 201,463 201,636 202,285 202,388 202,513
Civilian labor force.......................... 132,692 134,535 135,524 133,464 134,831 135,022 135,848 135,634 136,319
Participation rate...................... 66.4 66.5 66.9 66.8 66.9 67.0 67.2 67.0 67.3
Employed.................................... 124,992 126,887 128,125 126,062 127,644 127,855 128,580 128,430 129,175
Employment-population ratio............. 62.5 62.7 63.3 63.1 63.4 63.4 63.6 63.5 63.8
Agriculture............................... 3,243 2,933 3,166 3,470 3,354 3,426 3,468 3,292 3,386
Nonagricultural industries................ 121,750 123,954 124,959 122,592 124,290 124,429 125,112 125,138 125,789
Unemployed.................................. 7,700 7,647 7,399 7,402 7,187 7,167 7,268 7,205 7,144
Unemployment rate....................... 5.8 5.7 5.5 5.5 5.3 5.3 5.4 5.3 5.2
Not in labor force............................ 67,229 67,854 66,989 66,457 66,632 66,614 66,437 66,754 66,194
Men, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 95,864 97,320 97,386 95,864 96,654 96,742 97,264 97,320 97,386
Civilian labor force.......................... 71,444 72,214 72,731 71,936 72,362 72,414 73,106 72,987 73,268
Participation rate...................... 74.5 74.2 74.7 75.0 74.9 74.9 75.2 75.0 75.2
Employed.................................... 66,961 67,981 68,573 67,856 68,589 68,707 69,164 69,232 69,478
Employment-population ratio............. 69.9 69.9 70.4 70.8 71.0 71.0 71.1 71.1 71.3
Unemployed.................................. 4,483 4,233 4,158 4,080 3,773 3,707 3,942 3,755 3,790
Unemployment rate....................... 6.3 5.9 5.7 5.7 5.2 5.1 5.4 5.1 5.2
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 88,366 89,556 89,604 88,366 88,971 89,040 89,446 89,556 89,604
Civilian labor force.......................... 67,753 68,447 68,937 67,886 68,391 68,369 68,998 68,827 69,111
Participation rate...................... 76.7 76.4 76.9 76.8 76.9 76.8 77.1 76.9 77.1
Employed.................................... 64,005 64,923 65,502 64,562 65,349 65,367 65,813 65,818 66,066
Employment-population ratio............. 72.4 72.5 73.1 73.1 73.4 73.4 73.6 73.5 73.7
Agriculture............................... 2,249 2,080 2,244 2,376 2,355 2,356 2,364 2,276 2,362
Nonagricultural industries................ 61,755 62,843 63,257 62,186 62,994 63,011 63,449 63,542 63,703
Unemployed.................................. 3,749 3,523 3,435 3,324 3,042 3,002 3,185 3,009 3,045
Unemployment rate....................... 5.5 5.1 5.0 4.9 4.4 4.4 4.6 4.4 4.4
Women, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 104,058 105,068 105,127 104,058 104,809 104,894 105,022 105,068 105,127
Civilian labor force.......................... 61,248 62,321 62,794 61,528 62,469 62,608 62,742 62,647 63,051
Participation rate...................... 58.9 59.3 59.7 59.1 59.6 59.7 59.7 59.6 60.0
Employed.................................... 58,031 58,906 59,552 58,206 59,055 59,148 59,416 59,197 59,697
Employment-population ratio............. 55.8 56.1 56.6 55.9 56.3 56.4 56.6 56.3 56.8
Unemployed.................................. 3,217 3,415 3,241 3,322 3,414 3,460 3,327 3,450 3,354
Unemployment rate....................... 5.3 5.5 5.2 5.4 5.5 5.5 5.3 5.5 5.3
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 96,798 97,571 97,638 96,798 97,366 97,457 97,520 97,571 97,638
Civilian labor force.......................... 57,811 58,720 59,160 57,803 58,574 58,728 58,894 58,743 59,130
Participation rate...................... 59.7 60.2 60.6 59.7 60.2 60.3 60.4 60.2 60.6
Employed.................................... 55,109 55,931 56,442 55,054 55,753 55,871 56,165 55,954 56,359
Employment-population ratio............. 56.9 57.3 57.8 56.9 57.3 57.3 57.6 57.3 57.7
Agriculture............................... 807 697 710 842 786 772 797 775 739
Nonagricultural industries................ 54,303 55,234 55,732 54,212 54,967 55,099 55,369 55,179 55,620
Unemployed.................................. 2,701 2,788 2,718 2,749 2,821 2,857 2,729 2,788 2,771
Unemployment rate....................... 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.8 4.8 4.9 4.6 4.7 4.7
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian noninstitutional population........... 14,757 15,261 15,271 14,757 15,126 15,139 15,318 15,261 15,271
Civilian labor force.......................... 7,128 7,368 7,428 7,775 7,866 7,925 7,956 8,065 8,078
Participation rate...................... 48.3 48.3 48.6 52.7 52.0 52.3 51.9 52.8 52.9
Employed.................................... 5,879 6,032 6,182 6,446 6,542 6,617 6,601 6,657 6,750
Employment-population ratio............. 39.8 39.5 40.5 43.7 43.3 43.7 43.1 43.6 44.2
Agriculture............................... 187 156 212 252 213 298 307 240 285
Nonagricultural industries................ 5,692 5,877 5,970 6,194 6,329 6,319 6,294 6,417 6,465
Unemployed.................................. 1,250 1,336 1,246 1,329 1,324 1,308 1,354 1,408 1,328
Unemployment rate....................... 17.5 18.1 16.8 17.1 16.8 16.5 17.0 17.5 16.4
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 1997, data reflect 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
Mar. Feb. Mar. Mar. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1996 1996 1997 1997 1997
WHITE
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 167,853 169,492 169,569 167,853 168,924 169,044 169,436 169,492 169,569
Civilian labor force.......................... 112,246 113,484 114,135 112,827 113,816 113,991 114,377 114,333 114,736
Participation rate........................ 66.9 67.0 67.3 67.2 67.4 67.4 67.5 67.5 67.7
Employed.................................... 106,495 107,863 108,745 107,398 108,570 108,734 109,151 109,197 109,630
Employment-population ratio............... 63.4 63.6 64.1 64.0 64.3 64.3 64.4 64.4 64.7
Unemployed.................................. 5,751 5,621 5,389 5,429 5,246 5,257 5,226 5,136 5,106
Unemployment rate......................... 5.1 5.0 4.7 4.8 4.6 4.6 4.6 4.5 4.5
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 58,106 58,622 59,000 58,229 58,549 58,623 59,042 58,968 59,161
Participation rate........................ 77.2 77.1 77.5 77.4 77.3 77.4 77.7 77.5 77.7
Employed.................................... 55,237 55,899 56,411 55,749 56,276 56,356 56,653 56,692 56,923
Employment-population ratio............... 73.4 73.5 74.1 74.1 74.3 74.4 74.5 74.5 74.8
Unemployed.................................. 2,869 2,723 2,589 2,480 2,273 2,267 2,388 2,275 2,238
Unemployment rate......................... 4.9 4.6 4.4 4.3 3.9 3.9 4.0 3.9 3.8
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 48,056 48,603 48,852 48,051 48,558 48,686 48,631 48,619 48,832
Participation rate........................ 59.4 59.8 60.1 59.4 59.8 59.9 59.8 59.8 60.0
Employed.................................... 46,095 46,700 46,962 46,062 46,530 46,614 46,750 46,747 46,915
Employment-population ratio............... 57.0 57.4 57.7 56.9 57.3 57.3 57.5 57.5 57.7
Unemployed.................................. 1,961 1,902 1,891 1,989 2,028 2,072 1,881 1,872 1,917
Unemployment rate......................... 4.1 3.9 3.9 4.1 4.2 4.3 3.9 3.9 3.9
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force.......................... 6,084 6,259 6,282 6,547 6,709 6,682 6,704 6,746 6,742
Participation rate........................ 52.0 51.6 51.8 56.0 56.0 55.6 55.3 55.6 55.6
Employed.................................... 5,163 5,264 5,373 5,587 5,764 5,764 5,747 5,758 5,792
Employment-population ratio............... 44.2 43.4 44.3 47.8 48.1 48.0 47.4 47.5 47.7
Unemployed.................................. 921 995 910 960 945 918 957 988 951
Unemployment rate......................... 15.1 15.9 14.5 14.7 14.1 13.7 14.3 14.6 14.1
Men..................................... 17.0 16.3 16.0 15.9 15.5 14.8 14.9 14.6 15.0
Women................................... 13.1 15.5 12.8 13.3 12.6 12.6 13.6 14.7 13.1
BLACK
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 23,485 23,872 23,895 23,485 23,762 23,794 23,847 23,872 23,895
Civilian labor force.......................... 14,899 15,170 15,325 15,019 15,290 15,306 15,372 15,408 15,439
Participation rate........................ 63.4 63.5 64.1 64.0 64.3 64.3 64.5 64.5 64.6
Employed.................................... 13,282 13,465 13,677 13,401 13,673 13,693 13,709 13,672 13,784
Employment-population ratio............... 56.6 56.4 57.2 57.1 57.5 57.5 57.5 57.3 57.7
Unemployed.................................. 1,617 1,705 1,649 1,618 1,617 1,613 1,663 1,736 1,655
Unemployment rate......................... 10.9 11.2 10.8 10.8 10.6 10.5 10.8 11.3 10.7
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 6,785 6,733 6,812 6,776 6,899 6,833 6,829 6,765 6,803
Participation rate........................ 72.3 70.7 71.7 72.3 72.7 72.0 71.8 71.0 71.6
Employed.................................... 6,049 6,079 6,149 6,080 6,264 6,235 6,198 6,159 6,173
Employment-population ratio............... 64.5 63.8 64.7 64.8 66.0 65.7 65.2 64.7 65.0
Unemployed.................................. 735 654 663 696 635 598 632 605 629
Unemployment rate......................... 10.8 9.7 9.7 10.3 9.2 8.8 9.2 9.0 9.3
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 7,288 7,564 7,628 7,304 7,499 7,544 7,574 7,636 7,641
Participation rate........................ 61.8 63.3 63.7 62.0 63.0 63.3 63.4 63.9 63.9
Employed.................................... 6,680 6,803 6,928 6,689 6,833 6,851 6,880 6,851 6,934
Employment-population ratio............... 56.7 56.9 57.9 56.7 57.4 57.5 57.6 57.3 57.9
Unemployed.................................. 608 761 700 615 666 693 694 785 706
Unemployment rate......................... 8.3 10.1 9.2 8.4 8.9 9.2 9.2 10.3 9.2
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force.......................... 827 872 886 939 892 929 969 1,007 996
Participation rate........................ 35.6 36.4 36.5 40.5 37.5 38.9 40.4 42.0 41.1
Employed.................................... 553 583 600 632 576 607 631 662 676
Employment-population ratio............... 23.8 24.3 24.8 27.2 24.2 25.4 26.3 27.6 27.9
Unemployed.................................. 274 290 285 307 316 322 337 346 319
Unemployment rate......................... 33.1 33.2 32.2 32.7 35.4 34.7 34.8 34.3 32.1
Men..................................... 38.0 37.4 43.7 36.3 41.2 38.6 42.7 37.4 41.4
Women................................... 28.2 29.5 22.0 29.1 30.0 31.2 27.5 31.3 23.7
HISPANIC ORIGIN
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 19,025 20,067 20,119 19,025 19,454 19,505 20,013 20,067 20,119
Civilian labor force.......................... 12,524 13,529 13,620 12,543 13,182 13,150 13,795 13,640 13,662
Participation rate........................ 65.8 67.4 67.7 65.9 67.8 67.4 68.9 68.0 67.9
Employed.................................... 11,229 12,337 12,381 11,320 12,094 12,141 12,653 12,538 12,493
Employment-population ratio............... 59.0 61.5 61.5 59.5 62.2 62.2 63.2 62.5 62.1
Unemployed.................................. 1,295 1,192 1,239 1,223 1,088 1,009 1,142 1,102 1,169
Unemployment rate......................... 10.3 8.8 9.1 9.8 8.3 7.7 8.3 8.1 8.6
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
1997, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-3. Selected employment indicators
(In thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Category
Mar. Feb. Mar. Mar. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1996 1996 1997 1997 1997
CHARACTERISTIC
Total employed, 16 years and over............... 124,992 126,887 128,125 126,062 127,644 127,855 128,580 128,430 129,175
Married men, spouse present................... 42,051 42,173 42,339 42,223 42,631 42,607 42,909 42,513 42,509
Married women, spouse present................. 32,277 32,611 32,830 32,168 32,509 32,631 32,826 32,578 32,699
Women who maintain families................... 7,457 7,571 7,812 7,372 7,444 7,500 7,501 7,556 7,720
OCCUPATION
Managerial and professional specialty......... 36,186 37,591 37,811 36,098 37,177 37,234 37,478 37,525 37,723
Technical, sales, and administrative support.. 37,631 37,845 38,044 37,751 37,821 37,902 38,163 38,073 38,158
Service occupations........................... 16,831 17,067 17,275 16,843 17,408 17,271 17,171 17,170 17,292
Precision production, craft, and repair....... 13,277 13,702 13,887 13,602 13,508 13,574 13,902 14,140 14,200
Operators, fabricators, and laborers.......... 17,804 17,752 17,931 18,106 18,259 18,310 18,317 18,144 18,234
Farming, forestry, and fishing................ 3,263 2,930 3,177 3,613 3,445 3,496 3,528 3,388 3,507
CLASS OF WORKER
Agriculture:
Wage and salary workers..................... 1,719 1,664 1,764 1,863 1,829 1,878 1,988 1,932 1,905
Self-employed workers....................... 1,484 1,257 1,348 1,560 1,464 1,475 1,448 1,353 1,414
Unpaid family workers....................... 40 12 55 43 68 66 62 15 59
Nonagricultural industries:
Wage and salary workers..................... 112,648 114,790 115,601 113,535 115,133 115,212 115,560 115,987 116,533
Government................................ 18,419 18,289 18,282 18,141 18,270 18,266 18,385 18,144 17,994
Private industries........................ 94,229 96,501 97,319 95,394 96,863 96,946 97,176 97,843 98,539
Private households...................... 917 863 875 911 956 934 1,002 882 869
Other industries........................ 93,312 95,638 96,444 94,483 95,907 96,012 96,174 96,962 97,671
Self-employed workers....................... 8,992 9,033 9,245 9,041 9,023 9,109 9,445 9,124 9,292
Unpaid family workers....................... 109 132 113 105 140 149 162 136 108
PERSONS AT WORK PART TIME
All industries:
Part time for economic reasons.............. 4,569 4,419 4,277 4,451 3,983 4,338 4,426 4,262 4,153
Slack work or business conditions......... 2,630 2,616 2,459 2,507 2,107 2,353 2,423 2,378 2,344
Could only find part-time work............ 1,626 1,485 1,542 1,608 1,559 1,653 1,552 1,550 1,518
Part time for noneconomic reasons........... 18,524 18,865 18,918 17,743 17,957 17,868 18,340 18,070 18,120
Nonagricultural industries:
Part time for economic reasons.............. 4,358 4,209 4,075 4,224 3,815 4,162 4,163 4,098 3,937
Slack work or business conditions......... 2,491 2,491 2,329 2,363 2,001 2,214 2,310 2,277 2,210
Could only find part-time work............ 1,608 1,465 1,516 1,573 1,543 1,622 1,512 1,523 1,475
Part time for noneconomic reasons........... 17,870 18,342 18,338 17,114 17,313 17,237 17,737 17,452 17,565
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 1997, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-4. Selected unemployment indicators, seasonally adjusted
Number of
unemployed persons Unemployment rates(1)
(in thousands)
Category
Mar. Feb. Mar. Mar. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1996 1996 1997 1997 1997
CHARACTERISTIC
Total, 16 years and over....................... 7,402 7,205 7,144 5.5 5.3 5.3 5.4 5.3 5.2
Men, 20 years and over....................... 3,324 3,009 3,045 4.9 4.4 4.4 4.6 4.4 4.4
Women, 20 years and over..................... 2,749 2,788 2,771 4.8 4.8 4.9 4.6 4.7 4.7
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years................... 1,329 1,408 1,328 17.1 16.8 16.5 17.0 17.5 16.4
Married men, spouse present.................. 1,349 1,238 1,218 3.1 3.0 3.0 2.8 2.8 2.8
Married women, spouse present................ 1,176 1,145 1,096 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.3 3.4 3.2
Women who maintain families.................. 614 748 769 7.7 8.8 8.4 9.1 9.0 9.1
Full-time workers............................ 5,943 5,706 5,736 5.5 5.3 5.2 5.2 5.1 5.1
Part-time workers............................ 1,481 1,497 1,428 6.0 5.6 5.8 5.7 6.0 5.7
OCCUPATION(2)
Managerial and professional specialty........ 872 817 787 2.4 2.3 2.4 2.1 2.1 2.0
Technical, sales, and administrative support. 1,745 1,724 1,702 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.4 4.3 4.3
Precision production, craft, and repair...... 831 701 732 5.8 5.7 5.4 5.3 4.7 4.9
Operators, fabricators, and laborers......... 1,639 1,609 1,616 8.3 7.7 7.6 7.9 8.1 8.1
Farming, forestry, and fishing............... 307 273 279 7.8 7.7 7.7 7.5 7.5 7.4
INDUSTRY
Nonagricultural private wage and salary
workers...................................... 5,793 5,517 5,447 5.7 5.5 5.4 5.4 5.3 5.2
Goods-producing industries................. 1,803 1,627 1,615 6.4 6.1 5.9 6.0 5.6 5.5
Mining................................... 38 26 26 6.5 4.9 7.6 6.0 4.2 4.0
Construction............................. 684 645 674 10.3 10.3 9.4 10.1 9.0 9.6
Manufacturing............................ 1,081 956 915 5.2 4.7 4.8 4.6 4.5 4.3
Durable goods.......................... 606 508 467 4.9 4.5 4.7 4.4 4.0 3.6
Nondurable goods....................... 475 448 448 5.6 5.1 5.0 4.8 5.3 5.2
Service-producing industries............... 3,990 3,890 3,832 5.5 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.1
Transportation and public utilities...... 294 310 296 4.2 3.5 4.0 4.1 4.3 4.1
Wholesale and retail trade............... 1,738 1,702 1,675 6.7 6.3 6.2 6.4 6.5 6.3
Finance, insurance, and real estate...... 192 222 247 2.5 2.9 3.1 3.5 3.0 3.2
Services................................. 1,766 1,656 1,614 5.5 5.3 5.2 4.9 5.0 4.8
Government workers........................... 522 544 523 2.8 2.8 3.0 2.9 2.9 2.8
Agricultural wage and salary workers......... 223 186 200 10.7 10.9 10.3 8.6 8.8 9.5
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 1997, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-5. Duration of unemployment
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Duration
Mar. Feb. Mar. Mar. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1996 1996 1997 1997 1997
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Less than 5 weeks.............................. 2,303 2,440 2,313 2,632 2,819 2,671 2,801 2,591 2,650
5 to 14 weeks.................................. 2,578 2,902 2,663 2,305 2,252 2,357 2,223 2,382 2,380
15 weeks and over.............................. 2,819 2,305 2,423 2,406 2,184 2,179 2,155 2,163 2,064
15 to 26 weeks.............................. 1,398 1,153 1,259 1,102 1,018 976 943 1,025 1,001
27 weeks and over........................... 1,421 1,153 1,164 1,304 1,166 1,203 1,212 1,138 1,063
Average (mean) duration, in weeks.............. 18.2 15.7 16.3 17.2 16.0 15.8 16.0 16.0 15.3
Median duration, in weeks...................... 9.8 8.6 9.3 8.2 7.7 7.8 7.7 8.4 7.9
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............................ 29.9 31.9 31.3 35.8 38.9 37.1 39.0 36.3 37.4
5 to 14 weeks................................ 33.5 37.9 36.0 31.4 31.0 32.7 31.0 33.4 33.6
15 weeks and over............................ 36.6 30.1 32.7 32.8 30.1 30.2 30.0 30.3 29.1
15 to 26 weeks............................. 18.2 15.1 17.0 15.0 14.0 13.5 13.1 14.4 14.1
27 weeks and over.......................... 18.5 15.1 15.7 17.8 16.1 16.7 16.9 15.9 15.0
NOTE: Beginning in January 1997, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-6. Reason for unemployment
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally Seasonally adjusted
adjusted
Reason
Mar. Feb. Mar. Mar. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1996 1996 1997 1997 1997
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs..... 3,849 3,659 3,493 3,508 3,261 3,221 3,245 3,163 3,187
On temporary layoff................................... 1,266 1,327 1,250 1,031 994 987 953 944 1,021
Not on temporary layoff............................... 2,583 2,332 2,243 2,477 2,267 2,234 2,293 2,218 2,167
Permanent job losers................................ 1,925 1,608 1,560 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Persons who completed temporary jobs................ 658 724 683 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Job leavers............................................. 806 813 808 783 825 845 890 787 784
Reentrants.............................................. 2,534 2,608 2,530 2,538 2,523 2,556 2,505 2,648 2,535
New entrants............................................ 511 567 568 593 586 626 600 647 647
PERCENT DISTRIBUTION
Total unemployed........................................
Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs.... 50.0 47.8 47.2 47.3 45.3 44.4 44.8 43.7 44.6
On temporary layoff.................................. 16.4 17.4 16.9 13.9 13.8 13.6 13.2 13.0 14.3
Not on temporary layoff.............................. 33.6 30.5 30.3 33.4 31.5 30.8 31.7 30.6 30.3
Job leavers............................................ 10.5 10.6 10.9 10.5 11.5 11.7 12.3 10.9 11.0
Reentrants............................................. 32.9 34.1 34.2 34.2 35.1 35.3 34.6 36.6 35.4
New entrants........................................... 6.6 7.4 7.7 8.0 8.1 8.6 8.3 8.9 9.0
UNEMPLOYED AS A PERCENT OF THE
CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE
Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs.... 2.9 2.7 2.6 2.6 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.3
Job leavers............................................ .6 .6 .6 .6 .6 .6 .7 .6 .6
Reentrants............................................. 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.8 2.0 1.9
New entrants........................................... .4 .4 .4 .4 .4 .5 .4 .5 .5
1 Not available.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1997, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-7. Range of alternative measures of labor underutilization
(Percent)
Not seasonally Seasonally adjusted
adjusted
Measure
Mar. Feb. Mar. Mar. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1996 1996 1997 1997 1997
U-1 Persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer,
as a percent of the civilian labor force....................... 2.1 1.7 1.8 1.8 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.5
U-2 Job losers and persons who completed
temporary jobs, as a percent of the civilian
labor force.................................................... 2.9 2.7 2.6 2.6 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.3
U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the
civilian labor force (official unemployment rate).............. 5.8 5.7 5.5 5.5 5.3 5.3 5.4 5.3 5.2
U-4 Total unemployed plus discouraged
workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force
plus discouraged workers....................................... 6.1 5.9 5.7 (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............... 6.9 6.8 6.5 (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.. 10.3 10.0 9.6 (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 1997,
data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-8. Unemployed persons by sex and age, seasonally adjusted
Number of
unemployed persons Unemployment rates(1)
(in thousands)
Age and sex
Mar. Feb. Mar. Mar. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1996 1996 1997 1997 1997
Total, 16 years and over.......................... 7,402 7,205 7,144 5.5 5.3 5.3 5.4 5.3 5.2
16 to 24 years.................................. 2,616 2,583 2,554 12.3 11.9 11.9 12.2 12.0 11.8
16 to 19 years................................ 1,329 1,408 1,328 17.1 16.8 16.5 17.0 17.5 16.4
16 to 17 years.............................. 632 655 637 19.4 17.0 19.3 17.7 19.7 19.4
18 to 19 years.............................. 704 712 697 15.6 17.0 14.7 16.6 15.2 14.6
20 to 24 years................................ 1,287 1,175 1,226 9.5 9.0 9.1 9.4 8.7 9.0
25 years and over............................... 4,788 4,638 4,591 4.3 4.1 4.1 4.0 4.1 4.0
25 to 54 years................................ 4,166 4,142 4,018 4.3 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.1
55 years and over............................. 591 485 550 3.7 3.1 3.3 3.1 3.0 3.3
Men, 16 years and over.......................... 4,080 3,755 3,790 5.7 5.2 5.1 5.4 5.1 5.2
16 to 24 years................................ 1,467 1,361 1,384 13.1 12.5 12.3 12.9 12.0 12.2
16 to 19 years.............................. 756 746 745 18.7 18.4 17.4 18.4 17.9 17.9
16 to 17 years............................ 356 338 368 21.2 18.9 20.6 20.4 19.6 21.4
18 to 19 years............................ 407 369 386 17.1 19.0 15.4 17.1 15.4 15.7
20 to 24 years.............................. 711 615 640 9.9 9.2 9.3 9.8 8.6 8.9
25 years and over............................. 2,595 2,419 2,390 4.3 3.9 3.8 4.0 3.9 3.9
25 to 54 years.............................. 2,268 2,117 2,058 4.4 4.0 3.9 4.1 4.0 3.9
55 years and over........................... 314 299 323 3.5 3.1 3.4 3.2 3.3 3.5
Women, 16 years and over........................ 3,322 3,450 3,354 5.4 5.5 5.5 5.3 5.5 5.3
16 to 24 years................................ 1,149 1,222 1,170 11.4 11.3 11.4 11.4 11.9 11.3
16 to 19 years.............................. 573 662 583 15.4 15.2 15.5 15.5 16.9 14.9
16 to 17 years............................ 276 317 269 17.4 15.1 18.1 14.9 19.7 17.1
18 to 19 years............................ 297 343 311 14.0 15.0 14.0 16.2 15.0 13.3
20 to 24 years.............................. 576 560 587 9.1 8.9 8.9 8.9 8.8 9.1
25 years and over............................. 2,193 2,219 2,202 4.3 4.3 4.5 4.1 4.2 4.2
25 to 54 years.............................. 1,898 2,025 1,960 4.3 4.5 4.7 4.3 4.5 4.3
55 years and over........................... 277 186 227 3.9 3.0 3.3 2.9 2.6 3.1
1 Unemployment as a percent of the civilian labor force.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1997, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-9. Persons not in the labor force and multiple jobholders by sex, not seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
Total Men Women
Category
Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar.
1996 1997 1996 1997 1996 1997
NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE
Total not in the labor force.................................... 67,229 66,989 24,419 24,656 42,810 42,333
Persons who currently want a job.............................. 5,400 4,949 2,233 2,108 3,167 2,840
Searched for work and available to work now(1)............. 1,584 1,471 752 683 832 788
Reason not currently looking:
Discouragement over job prospects(2).................. 451 356 261 185 190 171
Reasons other than discouragement(3)............... 1,132 1,115 491 498 641 617
MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS
Total multiple jobholders(4).................................... 7,905 7,862 4,117 4,055 3,788 3,807
Percent of total employed................................... 6.3 6.1 6.1 5.9 6.5 6.4
Primary job full time, secondary job part time.............. 4,687 4,546 2,724 2,642 1,963 1,903
Primary and secondary jobs both part time................... 1,751 1,687 505 499 1,246 1,188
Primary and secondary jobs both full time................... 214 196 160 133 54 63
Hours vary on primary or secondary job...................... 1,213 1,398 702 755 511 643
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 1997, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry
(In thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Industry
Mar. Jan. Feb. Mar. Mar. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
1996 1997 1997p 1997p 1996 1996 1996 1997 1997p 1997p
Total......................... 117,895 118,950 119,700 120,547 118,750 120,492 120,723 120,982 121,275 121,450
Total private.................... 98,086 99,479 99,837 100,560 99,356 100,995 101,199 101,438 101,688 101,882
Goods-producing......................... 23,695 23,776 23,831 23,973 24,196 24,319 24,356 24,399 24,513 24,501
Mining................................ 563 556 556 558 574 566 566 568 571 570
Metal mining........................ 50.2 51.3 51.1 51.2 51 52 52 52 52 52
Coal mining......................... 100.8 96.6 96.0 96.0 101 97 97 97 96 97
Oil and gas extraction.............. 308.2 307.6 307.8 307.0 314 308 308 309 313 312
Nonmetallic minerals, except fuels.. 103.4 100.1 101.5 103.8 108 109 109 110 110 109
Construction.......................... 4,944 5,065 5,092 5,199 5,341 5,491 5,520 5,535 5,643 5,616
General building contractors........ 1,153.3 1,192.3 1,186.2 1,195.0 1,223 1,241 1,250 1,260 1,271 1,266
Heavy construction, except building. 676.4 635.1 650.2 680.8 770 764 766 765 783 775
Special trade contractors........... 3,114.4 3,237.8 3,255.2 3,322.7 3,348 3,486 3,504 3,510 3,589 3,575
Manufacturing......................... 18,188 18,155 18,183 18,216 18,281 18,262 18,270 18,296 18,299 18,315
Production workers................ 12,551 12,518 12,548 12,575 12,619 12,613 12,616 12,636 12,643 12,647
Durable goods........................ 10,597 10,670 10,694 10,724 10,623 10,694 10,710 10,734 10,744 10,759
Production workers................ 7,248 7,302 7,333 7,358 7,263 7,327 7,333 7,355 7,372 7,377
Lumber and wood products............ 741.8 758.2 759.4 764.4 755 771 771 771 774 781
Furniture and fixtures.............. 499.7 502.7 504.0 505.6 500 501 503 503 505 507
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 523.1 517.9 519.4 525.5 536 537 539 539 540 538
Primary metal industries............ 705.8 703.1 702.3 702.0 706 703 702 703 702 703
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 238.0 234.0 232.8 232.2 239 234 233 234 233 233
Fabricated metal products........... 1,440.5 1,460.9 1,461.7 1,466.1 1,442 1,461 1,462 1,466 1,465 1,468
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 2,091.4 2,098.1 2,107.8 2,116.6 2,087 2,087 2,092 2,101 2,107 2,112
Computer and office equipment..... 356.5 362.5 364.6 368.2 358 360 361 362 366 370
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 1,647.8 1,641.9 1,641.2 1,640.3 1,651 1,647 1,645 1,642 1,643 1,644
Electronic components and
accessories.................... 612.8 611.6 614.9 617.0 614 611 611 612 615 617
Transportation equipment............ 1,728.9 1,776.2 1,784.2 1,787.8 1,726 1,772 1,776 1,788 1,788 1,789
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 924.8 949.6 953.1 954.3 926 952 953 959 954 955
Aircraft and parts................ 446.0 476.3 480.3 482.4 445 468 472 476 481 483
Instruments and related products.... 831.6 830.0 829.9 830.0 832 830 834 832 831 830
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 386.2 381.4 384.0 385.6 388 385 386 389 389 387
Nondurable goods..................... 7,591 7,485 7,489 7,492 7,658 7,568 7,560 7,562 7,555 7,556
Production workers................ 5,303 5,216 5,215 5,217 5,356 5,286 5,283 5,281 5,271 5,270
Food and kindred products........... 1,625.9 1,614.3 1,613.0 1,613.4 1,675 1,647 1,649 1,659 1,655 1,659
Tobacco products.................... 39.7 42.9 41.8 40.6 41 42 41 40 41 42
Textile mill products............... 640.1 624.9 623.0 623.5 642 628 628 630 625 625
Apparel and other textile products.. 859.6 806.7 810.5 806.7 862 829 824 818 816 810
Paper and allied products........... 676.2 670.8 669.7 668.7 681 675 674 673 674 673
Printing and publishing............. 1,530.6 1,520.8 1,521.1 1,523.9 1,531 1,525 1,523 1,523 1,523 1,524
Chemicals and allied products....... 1,024.0 1,011.6 1,012.9 1,013.9 1,027 1,017 1,016 1,017 1,016 1,017
Petroleum and coal products......... 136.7 132.4 132.5 134.0 140 139 138 136 137 137
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 960.7 967.8 972.5 974.5 960 974 973 972 975 976
Leather and leather products........ 97.9 92.9 92.1 92.5 99 92 94 94 93 93
Service-producing....................... 94,200 95,174 95,869 96,574 94,554 96,173 96,367 96,583 96,762 96,949
Transportation and public utilities... 6,233 6,312 6,333 6,358 6,292 6,350 6,340 6,378 6,404 6,415
Transportation...................... 3,965 4,035 4,052 4,075 4,011 4,062 4,057 4,091 4,110 4,121
Railroad transportation........... 230.9 224.6 223.8 223.8 233 229 229 229 227 226
Local and interurban passenger
transit........................ 455.3 474.7 475.8 479.9 442 460 462 465 464 466
Trucking and warehousing.......... 1,835.9 1,832.0 1,838.3 1,846.9 1,884 1,870 1,852 1,881 1,891 1,894
Water transportation.............. 165.8 167.8 168.7 169.9 171 172 172 176 176 176
Transportation by air............. 830.6 874.3 879.1 884.2 835 868 878 876 884 889
Pipelines, except natural gas..... 14.0 13.6 13.6 13.6 14 14 14 14 14 14
Transportation services........... 432.3 447.7 452.6 457.0 432 449 450 450 454 456
Communications and public utilities. 2,268 2,277 2,281 2,283 2,281 2,288 2,283 2,287 2,294 2,294
Communications.................... 1,371.8 1,397.3 1,403.8 1,407.5 1,378 1,401 1,397 1,404 1,411 1,413
Electric, gas, and sanitary
services....................... 896.5 879.4 877.5 875.2 903 887 886 883 883 881
Wholesale trade....................... 6,504 6,609 6,630 6,664 6,548 6,651 6,655 6,662 6,689 6,708
Durable goods....................... 3,826 3,879 3,891 3,906 3,841 3,890 3,894 3,897 3,914 3,921
Nondurable goods.................... 2,678 2,730 2,739 2,758 2,707 2,761 2,761 2,765 2,775 2,787
Retail trade.......................... 20,912 21,521 21,390 21,504 21,350 21,857 21,931 21,922 21,928 21,971
Building materials and garden
supplies......................... 856.0 892.1 893.2 917.0 887 942 948 942 945 954
General merchandise stores.......... 2,579.0 2,764.2 2,657.6 2,658.1 2,687 2,770 2,781 2,736 2,747 2,769
Department stores................. 2,272.4 2,438.9 2,349.1 2,352.2 2,363 2,444 2,454 2,416 2,432 2,457
Food stores......................... 3,356.7 3,447.9 3,432.1 3,435.6 3,403 3,462 3,461 3,469 3,471 3,484
Automotive dealers and service
stations......................... 2,222.4 2,286.8 2,291.3 2,305.7 2,242 2,309 2,313 2,315 2,321 2,329
New and used car dealers.......... 1,016.6 1,040.8 1,044.4 1,047.9 1,020 1,042 1,044 1,047 1,050 1,051
Apparel and accessory stores........ 1,068.8 1,108.2 1,070.2 1,068.9 1,100 1,106 1,102 1,108 1,103 1,102
Furniture and home furnishings
stores........................... 944.5 1,022.3 1,012.6 1,008.9 951 1,005 1,016 1,017 1,018 1,019
Eating and drinking places.......... 7,272.8 7,230.4 7,295.0 7,397.3 7,413 7,527 7,558 7,571 7,567 7,544
Miscellaneous retail establishments. 2,611.6 2,768.7 2,737.9 2,712.1 2,667 2,736 2,752 2,764 2,756 2,770
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 6,893 7,012 7,017 7,054 6,931 7,038 7,052 7,062 7,072 7,094
Finance............................. 3,287 3,372 3,374 3,392 3,293 3,361 3,369 3,379 3,383 3,400
Depository institutions........... 2,013.4 2,034.2 2,029.7 2,034.8 2,020 2,035 2,035 2,035 2,037 2,042
Commercial banks................ 1,458.4 1,481.5 1,477.5 1,482.9 1,464 1,479 1,480 1,484 1,484 1,490
Savings institutions............ 265.2 254.8 253.3 251.8 265 258 257 255 255 252
Nondepository institutions........ 502.4 535.5 534.9 542.4 501 530 533 536 533 541
Mortgage bankers and brokers.... 226.3 242.6 243.0 247.5 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Security and commodity brokers.... 530.4 557.2 561.3 565.5 532 552 555 560 564 568
Holding and other investment
offices........................ 240.5 245.2 248.2 249.5 240 244 246 248 249 249
Insurance........................... 2,257 2,258 2,257 2,261 2,257 2,264 2,265 2,260 2,261 2,260
Insurance carriers................ 1,549.0 1,546.5 1,544.1 1,545.1 1,549 1,550 1,551 1,549 1,547 1,544
Insurance agents, brokers, and
service........................ 708.0 711.2 713.3 715.5 708 714 714 711 714 716
Real estate......................... 1,349 1,382 1,386 1,401 1,381 1,413 1,418 1,423 1,428 1,434
Services2............................. 33,849 34,249 34,636 35,007 34,039 34,780 34,865 35,015 35,082 35,193
Agricultural services............... 540.2 529.8 533.3 567.2 603 628 623 634 638 634
Hotels and other lodging places..... 1,598.1 1,599.3 1,623.2 1,643.0 1,662 1,692 1,700 1,711 1,714 1,712
Personal services................... 1,238.1 1,235.1 1,253.8 1,248.0 1,175 1,185 1,183 1,189 1,185 1,183
Business services................... 6,944.1 7,195.4 7,224.0 7,337.9 7,058 7,285 7,326 7,389 7,408 7,466
Services to buildings............. 892.0 867.7 872.4 874.3 898 885 885 878 883 880
Personnel supply services......... 2,481.1 2,580.6 2,571.6 2,655.7 2,565 2,672 2,690 2,762 2,728 2,757
Help supply services............ 2,188.0 2,279.7 2,258.5 2,332.2 2,265 2,362 2,379 2,448 2,403 2,428
Computer and data processing
services....................... 1,158.6 1,278.2 1,291.0 1,306.8 1,155 1,251 1,262 1,277 1,290 1,305
Auto repair, services, and parking.. 1,064.9 1,119.2 1,133.8 1,145.7 1,066 1,121 1,128 1,133 1,143 1,147
Miscellaneous repair services....... 358.7 363.8 364.2 367.6 361 370 370 369 369 371
Motion pictures..................... 524.9 532.2 534.5 537.3 518 530 532 536 537 530
Amusement and recreation services... 1,395.7 1,340.0 1,378.8 1,443.0 1,518 1,545 1,559 1,565 1,554 1,557
Health services..................... 9,484.8 9,679.4 9,694.6 9,733.6 9,499 9,666 9,679 9,709 9,721 9,743
Offices and clinics of medical
doctors........................ 1,646.4 1,702.0 1,708.3 1,709.9 1,650 1,694 1,697 1,711 1,716 1,715
Nursing and personal care
facilities..................... 1,723.9 1,757.3 1,759.1 1,763.9 1,728 1,757 1,760 1,763 1,766 1,768
Hospitals......................... 3,837.5 3,874.5 3,882.3 3,897.0 3,842 3,875 3,880 3,880 3,887 3,899
Home health care services......... 652.1 665.5 662.3 667.0 655 668 665 670 666 668
Legal services...................... 924.1 940.8 944.2 950.7 928 941 943 944 947 954
Educational services................ 2,116.0 1,979.5 2,147.0 2,173.4 1,991 2,025 2,021 2,016 2,028 2,044
Social services..................... 2,390.0 2,412.1 2,432.1 2,450.5 2,381 2,420 2,416 2,425 2,432 2,439
Child day care services........... 583.6 584.7 592.0 596.6 569 579 575 580 581 580
Residential care.................. 654.8 674.4 677.1 682.4 656 675 676 678 680 684
Museums and botanical and zoological
gardens........................... 77.9 78.9 78.8 81.4 83 86 87 86 87 87
Membership organizations............ 2,122.1 2,117.6 2,131.7 2,142.1 2,136 2,152 2,153 2,154 2,154 2,157
Engineering and management services. 2,878.0 2,932.3 2,969.0 2,991.7 2,868 2,941 2,952 2,961 2,971 2,975
Engineering and architectural
services....................... 819.9 852.1 853.9 861.5 829 859 859 861 866 873
Management and public relations... 891.1 928.4 941.6 948.7 894 935 942 941 949 950
Services, nec....................... 44.7 46.2 46.2 46.7 (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3)
Government............................ 19,809 19,471 19,863 19,987 19,394 19,497 19,524 19,544 19,587 19,568
Federal............................. 2,770 2,703 2,698 2,701 2,780 2,733 2,729 2,725 2,712 2,709
Federal, except Postal Service.... 1,915.2 1,837.1 1,846.9 1,848.5 1,922 1,873 1,870 1,860 1,858 1,856
State............................... 4,773 4,582 4,757 4,788 4,639 4,640 4,642 4,638 4,656 4,656
Education......................... 2,098.8 1,927.5 2,095.8 2,124.5 1,951 1,960 1,963 1,960 1,977 1,977
Other State government............ 2,674.4 2,654.0 2,660.9 2,663.4 2,688 2,680 2,679 2,678 2,679 2,679
Local............................... 12,266 12,186 12,408 12,498 11,975 12,124 12,153 12,181 12,219 12,203
Education......................... 7,058.6 6,960.5 7,168.7 7,233.3 6,675 6,798 6,801 6,823 6,860 6,846
Other local government............ 5,207.8 5,225.3 5,239.0 5,264.6 5,300 5,326 5,352 5,358 5,359 5,357
1 This series is not suitable for seasonal adjustment because it has very little seasonal and irregular movement.
Thus, the not seasonally adjusted series can be used for analysis of cyclical and long-term trends.
2 Includes other industries, not shown separately.
3 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.
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
Mar. Jan. Feb. Mar. Mar. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
1996 1997 1997p 1997p 1996 1996 1996 1997 1997p 1997p
Total private.................... 34.2 33.9 34.5 34.6 34.5 34.6 34.8 34.2 34.9 34.8
Goods-producing......................... 40.6 40.4 40.7 41.2 40.8 41.1 41.3 40.8 41.3 41.4
Mining................................ 45.0 44.2 45.7 45.8 45.7 44.8 45.7 44.3 46.3 46.4
Construction.......................... 38.1 36.3 37.4 38.3 38.7 38.9 38.8 37.8 39.0 38.9
Manufacturing......................... 41.3 41.5 41.6 42.0 41.3 41.7 42.0 41.7 41.9 42.1
Overtime hours.................... 4.1 4.5 4.5 4.7 4.3 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.9
Durable goods........................ 42.0 42.2 42.4 42.9 42.0 42.4 42.7 42.4 42.8 42.9
Overtime hours.................... 4.4 4.8 4.8 5.1 4.5 4.7 4.9 5.0 5.0 5.3
Lumber and wood products............ 40.4 39.6 40.2 40.6 40.6 41.0 41.0 40.4 40.8 40.9
Furniture and fixtures.............. 39.0 39.3 38.8 39.8 39.4 39.8 40.2 39.7 39.7 40.2
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 42.7 40.9 42.1 42.7 43.2 43.2 43.4 42.3 43.6 43.3
Primary metal industries............ 43.8 44.5 44.6 45.1 43.9 44.1 44.6 44.4 44.7 45.1
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 44.3 44.7 44.6 45.2 44.5 44.7 44.6 44.8 44.7 45.3
Fabricated metal products........... 41.9 42.1 42.3 42.6 42.0 42.3 42.5 42.1 42.6 42.7
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 43.3 43.3 43.5 43.8 43.0 43.0 43.2 43.1 43.5 43.5
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 41.4 41.2 41.5 42.0 41.4 41.4 41.8 41.1 41.9 42.0
Transportation equipment............ 42.3 44.6 44.3 44.8 42.2 44.1 44.5 45.0 44.4 45.0
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 42.3 45.5 45.1 45.8 42.1 44.6 45.1 45.9 45.2 45.9
Instruments and related products.... 41.9 41.7 41.9 42.2 41.7 41.8 42.1 41.6 42.2 42.0
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 39.8 39.6 40.1 40.7 39.7 40.0 40.6 40.0 40.7 40.6
Nondurable goods..................... 40.3 40.5 40.4 40.7 40.5 40.7 41.0 40.6 40.8 40.9
Overtime hours.................... 3.8 4.0 4.0 4.2 4.0 4.1 4.3 4.2 4.3 4.4
Food and kindred products........... 40.5 40.7 40.8 40.7 41.1 41.2 41.4 41.0 41.4 41.3
Tobacco products.................... 39.5 39.2 39.1 41.1 40.4 40.6 41.6 39.4 41.4 41.8
Textile mill products............... 40.7 40.9 40.5 41.5 40.8 41.3 41.6 41.1 40.8 41.5
Apparel and other textile products.. 37.0 36.9 36.9 37.5 36.9 37.4 37.4 37.1 37.2 37.5
Paper and allied products........... 42.8 43.8 43.3 43.5 43.1 43.6 43.8 43.7 43.7 43.9
Printing and publishing............. 38.2 37.7 38.1 38.7 38.2 38.2 38.4 38.1 38.5 38.7
Chemicals and allied products....... 43.1 43.2 43.1 43.0 43.1 43.3 43.6 43.2 43.3 43.0
Petroleum and coal products......... 43.0 45.0 43.3 42.4 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 41.3 41.4 41.5 41.7 41.3 41.2 41.8 41.2 41.6 41.8
Leather and leather products........ 37.7 37.7 38.0 38.6 37.8 39.0 38.8 38.0 39.0 38.8
Service-producing....................... 32.5 32.2 32.9 32.9 32.8 32.8 33.0 32.4 33.2 33.1
Transportation and public utilities... 39.5 39.1 39.6 39.5 39.9 39.9 40.0 39.4 39.9 39.9
Wholesale trade....................... 38.1 37.8 38.5 38.4 38.3 38.3 38.6 38.0 38.8 38.6
Retail trade.......................... 28.5 28.0 28.7 28.7 28.9 29.0 28.9 28.7 29.4 29.1
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 35.7 35.7 36.7 36.6 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Services.............................. 32.2 32.0 32.7 32.6 (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
Mar. Jan. Feb. Mar. Mar. Jan. Feb. Mar.
1996 1997 1997p 1997p 1996 1997 1997p 1997p
Total private.................... $11.69 $12.12 $12.14 $12.17 $399.80 $410.87 $418.83 $421.08
Seasonally adjusted............. 11.68 12.05 12.10 12.15 402.96 412.11 422.29 422.82
Goods-producing......................... 13.17 13.67 13.67 13.74 534.70 552.27 556.37 566.09
Mining................................ 15.51 16.16 16.04 15.97 697.95 714.27 733.03 731.43
Construction.......................... 15.13 15.70 15.65 15.72 576.45 569.91 585.31 602.08
Manufacturing......................... 12.54 13.04 13.03 13.09 517.90 541.16 542.05 549.78
Durable goods........................ 13.05 13.61 13.59 13.63 548.10 574.34 576.22 584.73
Lumber and wood products............ 10.29 10.58 10.58 10.58 415.72 418.97 425.32 429.55
Furniture and fixtures.............. 10.00 10.38 10.34 10.41 390.00 407.93 401.19 414.32
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 12.59 12.98 13.04 13.00 537.59 530.88 548.98 555.10
Primary metal industries............ 14.74 15.13 15.11 15.21 645.61 673.29 673.91 685.97
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 17.61 17.75 17.76 17.98 780.12 793.43 792.10 812.70
Fabricated metal products........... 12.28 12.72 12.73 12.76 514.53 535.51 538.48 543.58
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 13.36 13.91 13.91 13.94 578.49 602.30 605.09 610.57
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 11.91 12.45 12.45 12.53 493.07 512.94 516.68 526.26
Transportation equipment............ 16.69 17.50 17.43 17.51 705.99 780.50 772.15 784.45
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 17.11 18.09 17.98 18.05 723.75 823.10 810.90 826.69
Instruments and related products.... 12.97 13.38 13.38 13.40 543.44 557.95 560.62 565.48
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 10.25 10.60 10.57 10.55 407.95 419.76 423.86 429.39
Nondurable goods..................... 11.83 12.21 12.20 12.28 476.75 494.51 492.88 499.80
Food and kindred products........... 11.11 11.43 11.35 11.44 449.96 465.20 463.08 465.61
Tobacco products.................... 19.55 18.81 18.79 20.52 772.23 737.35 734.69 843.37
Textile mill products............... 9.55 9.92 9.87 9.91 388.69 405.73 399.74 411.27
Apparel and other textile products.. 7.85 8.11 8.17 8.22 290.45 299.26 301.47 308.25
Paper and allied products........... 14.45 14.85 14.82 14.96 618.46 650.43 641.71 650.76
Printing and publishing............. 12.52 12.86 12.89 13.02 478.26 484.82 491.11 503.87
Chemicals and allied products....... 16.03 16.40 16.52 16.53 690.89 708.48 712.01 710.79
Petroleum and coal products......... 19.20 20.11 20.42 20.55 825.60 904.95 884.19 871.32
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 11.14 11.48 11.44 11.51 460.08 475.27 474.76 479.97
Leather and leather products........ 8.46 8.84 8.93 8.90 318.94 333.27 339.34 343.54
Service-producing....................... 11.21 11.61 11.65 11.66 364.33 373.84 383.29 383.61
Transportation and public utilities... $14.44 $14.75 $14.66 $14.66 $570.38 $576.73 $580.54 $579.07
Wholesale trade....................... 12.67 13.15 13.24 13.22 482.73 497.07 509.74 507.65
Retail trade.......................... 7.90 8.23 8.23 8.25 225.15 230.44 236.20 236.78
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 12.74 13.00 13.14 13.17 454.82 464.10 482.24 482.02
Services.............................. 11.72 12.20 12.25 12.27 377.38 390.40 400.58 400.00
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
Mar. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. change
Industry 1996 1996 1996 1997 1997p 1997p from:
Feb. 1997-
Mar. 1997
Total private:
Current dollars.............. $11.68 $11.99 $12.04 $12.05 $12.10 $12.15 0.4
Constant (1982) dollars2..... 7.40 7.45 7.46 7.46 7.47 N.A. (3)
Goods-producing............... 13.25 13.62 13.69 13.73 13.76 13.82 .4
Mining...................... 15.46 15.76 15.90 16.01 15.94 15.93 -.1
Construction................ 15.24 15.55 15.66 15.72 15.76 15.85 .6
Manufacturing............... 12.55 12.94 12.99 13.03 13.03 13.09 .5
Excluding overtime4....... 11.91 12.27 12.30 12.34 12.32 12.38 .5
Service-producing............. 11.16 11.45 11.50 11.49 11.55 11.60 .4
Transportation and public
utilities................ 14.47 14.59 14.61 14.75 14.62 14.68 .4
Wholesale trade............. 12.70 13.05 13.16 13.08 13.21 13.25 .3
Retail trade................ 7.88 8.13 8.16 8.18 8.20 8.23 .4
Finance, insurance, and real
estate................... 12.68 13.02 13.01 12.95 13.06 13.10 .3
Services.................... 11.67 12.02 12.07 12.06 12.15 12.20 .4
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 January 1997 to February 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
Mar. Jan. Feb. Mar. Mar. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
1996 1997 1997p 1997p 1996 1996 1996 1997 1997p 1997p
Total private.................... 132.5 133.0 136.0 137.4 135.5 138.2 139.3 137.1 140.6 140.5
Goods-producing......................... 106.0 105.7 106.9 109.0 109.5 110.9 111.6 110.5 112.7 112.7
Mining................................ 53.4 52.3 54.3 54.8 55.7 53.9 55.1 54.0 56.8 57.0
Construction.......................... 129.9 126.7 131.4 137.6 145.6 150.5 151.3 147.9 156.4 154.3
Manufacturing......................... 104.4 104.8 105.2 106.4 105.2 106.1 106.8 106.1 106.9 107.4
Durable goods........................ 106.1 107.6 108.5 110.0 106.3 108.4 109.3 108.8 110.0 110.5
Lumber and wood products............ 129.7 130.4 132.5 135.0 133.1 137.9 137.7 135.6 137.6 139.3
Furniture and fixtures.............. 121.0 123.2 122.0 125.5 122.0 123.9 125.4 124.2 125.1 127.0
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 104.5 99.1 102.4 105.2 108.9 109.2 110.2 107.4 111.2 109.7
Primary metal industries............ 91.3 92.5 92.7 93.7 91.5 91.6 92.6 92.2 92.7 93.7
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 72.6 72.2 71.5 72.2 73.1 72.6 72.1 72.8 72.2 72.8
Fabricated metal products........... 112.5 114.9 115.5 116.8 113.0 115.4 115.9 115.3 116.8 117.3
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 104.4 104.9 106.0 107.1 103.2 103.2 104.0 104.4 105.7 106.0
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 108.2 106.1 107.7 108.6 108.1 107.2 107.9 105.9 108.7 108.7
Transportation equipment............ 113.9 124.0 123.8 125.5 113.2 122.7 123.9 126.1 124.1 125.7
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 148.9 164.5 163.9 166.6 147.9 161.7 163.9 167.7 164.1 166.2
Instruments and related products.... 73.9 73.1 73.8 74.5 73.6 73.6 74.2 73.3 74.5 74.0
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 102.0 99.8 102.1 104.2 102.4 102.0 103.9 103.5 105.0 104.3
Nondurable goods..................... 102.1 100.8 100.7 101.6 103.7 102.8 103.4 102.5 102.8 103.1
Food and kindred products........... 109.0 109.2 109.1 109.1 114.7 113.2 114.2 113.7 114.3 114.4
Tobacco products.................... 59.4 65.9 63.2 64.3 64.0 66.4 65.9 60.5 65.6 68.3
Textile mill products............... 91.5 90.2 88.9 91.3 92.0 91.3 92.1 91.2 89.8 91.6
Apparel and other textile products.. 76.7 71.6 71.8 72.7 76.7 74.3 73.9 73.1 72.9 73.0
Paper and allied products........... 106.8 109.1 107.7 107.7 108.4 109.3 109.8 109.5 109.3 109.6
Printing and publishing............. 123.6 120.5 121.5 123.8 123.6 122.8 123.2 121.8 123.1 123.5
Chemicals and allied products....... 100.7 98.2 98.3 97.7 100.9 99.4 99.8 98.7 98.9 97.9
Petroleum and coal products......... 71.2 72.9 70.6 70.6 74.6 74.8 75.5 76.3 73.6 74.2
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 139.3 140.5 141.6 142.8 139.2 140.9 142.6 140.3 142.4 143.1
Leather and leather products........ 44.0 41.2 41.2 42.1 44.1 42.5 43.5 42.0 42.5 42.3
Service-producing....................... 144.4 145.3 149.1 150.1 147.2 150.5 151.7 149.1 153.2 153.0
Transportation and public utilities... 126.4 126.9 129.3 129.4 129.1 130.4 130.6 129.6 131.7 131.9
Wholesale trade....................... 122.6 123.7 125.9 126.5 124.3 126.3 127.2 125.4 128.5 128.1
Retail trade.......................... 128.8 130.0 132.5 133.4 133.7 137.1 137.1 136.0 139.5 138.5
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 123.7 125.8 129.4 129.6 125.4 127.6 130.6 125.6 130.9 131.5
Services.............................. 173.3 173.7 179.2 181.0 175.2 179.4 181.5 177.7 182.9 183.0
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:
1993.............. 60.0 60.8 51.3 58.6 61.7 55.2 57.7 57.0 61.8 59.7 61.8 59.6
1994.............. 58.8 62.1 66.0 64.2 60.3 63.5 61.5 62.1 60.8 61.5 63.1 63.9
1995.............. 63.2 59.3 54.9 54.6 51.4 55.1 54.1 57.4 51.8 54.8 56.3 59.4
1996.............. 52.4 63.2 60.0 52.4 62.2 57.4 55.8 57.3 52.7 63.1 57.2 59.0
1997.............. 59.8 p58.3 p56.9
Over 3-month span:
1993.............. 63.8 61.2 61.1 59.8 63.1 62.9 59.7 63.1 64.5 67.1 64.6 63.5
1994.............. 67.1 69.5 70.4 68.7 66.4 66.0 68.5 69.5 65.3 65.6 68.0 67.8
1995.............. 66.6 63.2 56.9 53.4 54.2 52.9 56.6 53.8 54.2 54.6 58.3 57.0
1996.............. 60.7 61.8 61.2 60.0 61.0 63.6 60.3 56.7 60.8 60.0 64.6 62.9
1997.............. p64.5 p64.2
Over 6-month span:
1993.............. 63.3 65.2 63.8 64.2 62.4 65.9 65.7 63.9 66.3 67.3 70.6 69.5
1994.............. 70.8 71.6 69.0 69.8 69.5 69.5 69.2 69.0 69.2 68.5 69.1 66.6
1995.............. 66.3 60.8 58.7 54.4 53.5 54.1 53.1 56.3 55.9 54.1 56.2 61.8
1996.............. 60.3 62.9 63.8 63.8 62.6 59.0 65.2 62.6 61.8 63.9 p65.4 p66.6
1997..............
Over 12-month span:
1993.............. 64.9 63.9 64.0 65.4 67.0 67.6 67.6 67.0 70.2 69.5 69.2 70.1
1994.............. 70.2 71.6 71.8 71.8 72.1 71.8 71.5 72.1 70.1 69.4 65.7 65.0
1995.............. 62.6 60.8 60.1 61.2 58.1 57.7 54.5 58.7 58.6 57.3 59.4 59.8
1996.............. 61.0 61.7 61.5 61.1 62.8 64.3 64.2 p64.6 p64.7
1997..............
Manufacturing payrolls, 139 industries1
Over 1-month span:
1993.............. 52.5 56.5 50.7 45.7 54.0 45.7 49.3 49.3 59.4 53.2 53.6 55.0
1994.............. 56.5 60.1 59.7 58.6 53.2 57.9 57.6 53.6 55.8 54.7 57.2 59.4
1995.............. 56.8 55.0 46.0 45.3 39.2 40.3 45.0 45.0 42.4 45.3 46.4 47.5
1996.............. 42.1 48.2 48.2 39.6 53.2 49.6 43.9 50.0 44.6 54.3 48.2 52.9
1997.............. 54.0 p49.6 p50.4
Over 3-month span:
1993.............. 60.8 58.3 53.2 47.8 48.9 54.0 50.4 58.3 57.6 59.7 54.7 57.6
1994.............. 63.7 64.4 66.2 60.8 56.1 56.8 60.8 58.6 54.0 56.1 60.1 60.8
1995.............. 60.4 51.8 43.5 34.9 33.1 32.0 33.1 35.6 38.8 39.6 40.6 38.8
1996.............. 38.8 39.9 37.8 43.2 45.3 47.5 45.7 40.6 50.7 47.1 51.8 51.4
1997.............. p55.8 p52.5
Over 6-month span:
1993.............. 56.5 59.0 56.8 55.4 50.7 57.9 59.4 56.5 57.6 58.6 64.4 60.8
1994.............. 62.2 64.4 60.4 61.5 59.0 56.8 56.5 57.2 60.1 55.8 59.7 55.8
1995.............. 55.4 45.0 38.5 33.5 27.7 28.8 28.8 30.6 33.5 33.1 34.2 38.8
1996.............. 32.0 37.4 37.1 38.1 42.4 37.8 48.6 43.5 45.0 51.1 p51.1 p51.4
1997..............
Over 12-month span:
1993.............. 56.8 57.9 55.8 58.6 57.2 57.6 58.6 59.0 61.2 59.7 60.1 57.6
1994.............. 57.9 58.6 60.8 60.8 60.8 63.3 59.4 60.1 57.2 55.8 49.6 47.5
1995.............. 42.1 40.3 39.9 40.6 34.5 31.7 25.9 28.8 28.1 24.1 27.0 29.1
1996.............. 33.1 33.1 33.8 35.6 37.1 41.0 40.6 p42.1 p44.2
1997..............
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: June 06, 1997
URL: http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/pub/empsit_0397.htm
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