Technical information: USDL 98-130
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 3, 1998
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: MARCH 1998
Both nonfarm payroll employment and the unemployment rate were about
unchanged in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department
of Labor reported today. Following 5 months of strong growth, the number
of payroll jobs edged down by 36,000, reflecting declines in construction
and retail trade and an unusually small gain in services. The unemployment
rate was 4.7 percent in March.
Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
The number of unemployed persons, 6.5 million, was little changed from
the prior month. The jobless rate, 4.7 percent in March, has been at or
below 5 percent for the last 12 months. Unemployment rates for the major
worker groups--adult men (3.9 percent), adult women (4.3 percent), teenagers
(15.0 percent), whites (4.1 percent), blacks (9.2 percent), and Hispanics
(6.9 percent)--showed little or no movement over the month. (See tables A-1
and A-2.)
The unemployment rates for persons 25 years and over changed little in
each of the major educational attainment categories. The rate was 7.2
percent for those with less than a high school diploma, 4.2 percent for
high school graduates with no college experience, 3.3 percent for high
school graduates with some college experience but no bachelor's degree, and
1.9 percent for college graduates. (See table A-3.)
The number of persons unemployed for less than 5 weeks rose to 2.9
million in March (seasonally adjusted); it had been 2.5 million in January.
Long-term unemployment of 27 weeks or longer--891,000 in March--was at its
lowest level of the current expansion. This measure had peaked at 2.2
million in October 1992. (See table A-6.)
Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
Total employment, at 131.0 million (seasonally adjusted), was
essentially unchanged over the month. Over the year, total civilian
employment has risen by about 2.1 million, after adjusting for changes in
the composite estimation procedure. The employment-population ratio--the
proportion of the population with jobs--was 64.0 percent, near its all-time
high. (See table A-1.)
About 8.0 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one
job in March. They comprised 6.1 percent of the total employed. (See
table A-10.)
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Table A. Major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
___________________________________________________________________________
| Quarterly | Monthly data |
| averages | |
|_________________|__________________________| Feb.-
Category | 1997 | 1998 1/| 1998 1/ | Mar.
|_________________|__________________________|change
| IV | I | Jan. | Feb. | Mar. |
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
HOUSEHOLD DATA | Labor force status
|____________________________________________________
Civilian labor force..| 136,813| 137,524| 137,493| 137,557| 137,523| -34
Employment..........| 130,421| 131,080| 131,083| 131,163| 130,994| -169
Unemployment........| 6,392| 6,444| 6,409| 6,393| 6,529| 136
Not in labor force....| 67,123| 66,871| 66,745| 66,844| 67,024| 180
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Unemployment rates
|____________________________________________________
All workers...........| 4.7| 4.7| 4.7| 4.6| 4.7| 0.1
Adult men...........| 4.0| 3.8| 3.8| 3.8| 3.9| .1
Adult women.........| 4.0| 4.3| 4.4| 4.3| 4.3| .0
Teenagers...........| 15.0| 14.6| 14.1| 14.7| 15.0| .3
White...............| 4.0| 4.0| 4.0| 3.9| 4.1| .2
Black...............| 9.7| 9.4| 9.3| 9.7| 9.2| -.5
Hispanic origin.....| 7.4| 6.9| 6.9| 6.8| 6.9| .1
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
ESTABLISHMENT DATA | Employment
|____________________________________________________
Nonfarm employment....| 123,487|p124,421| 124,265|p124,517|p124,481| p-36
Goods-producing 2/..| 24,899| p25,132| 25,139| p25,172| p25,086| p-86
Construction......| 5,693| p5,836| 5,843| p5,877| p5,789| p-88
Manufacturing.....| 18,633| p18,724| 18,722| p18,723| p18,726| p3
Service-producing 2/| 98,588| p99,289| 99,126| p99,345| p99,395| p50
Retail trade......| 22,370| p22,455| 22,462| p22,476| p22,428| p-48
Services..........| 36,108| p36,509| 36,417| p36,532| p36,577| p45
Government........| 19,761| p19,800| 19,781| p19,812| p19,807| p-5
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Hours of work 3/
|____________________________________________________
Total private.........| 34.6| p34.8| 34.8| p34.9| p34.7| p-0.2
Manufacturing.......| 42.1| p41.9| 42.1| p42.0| p41.7| p-.3
Overtime..........| 4.9| p4.8| 4.9| p4.8| p4.7| p-.1
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Indexes of aggregate weekly hours (1982=100) 3/
|____________________________________________________
Total private.........| 142.2| p143.9| 143.6| p144.5| p143.5| p-1.0
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Earnings 3/
|____________________________________________________
Avg. hourly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| $12.45| p$12.58| $12.52| p$12.59| p$12.63| p$0.04
Avg. weekly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| 431.30| p437.78| 435.70| p439.39| p438.26| p-1.13
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
1/ Beginning in January 1998, household data reflect new composite
estimation procedures and revised population controls.
2/ Includes other industries, not shown separately.
3/ Data relate to private production or nonsupervisory workers.
p=preliminary.
- 3 -
The civilian labor force, at 137.5 million (seasonally adjusted), was
virtually unchanged over the month. The labor force participation rate was
67.2 percent. (See table A-1.)
Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
About 1.4 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally
attached to the labor force in March. 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 work specifically because they believed
no jobs were available for them--totaled 343,000 in March, little changed
from a year earlier. (See table A-10.)
Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)
Nonfarm payroll employment edged down in March after adding 1.7
million jobs during the prior 5 months. Employment in March was 3.1
million higher than a year earlier. Over the month, there were declines in
construction and retail trade. These were mostly offset by a relatively
small gain in services and continued growth in finance, insurance, and real
estate and in transportation and public utilities. (See table B-1.)
In the goods-producing sector, construction employment fell by 88,000
over the month, after seasonal adjustment. This followed 4 months of large
gains, which were partly due to an exceptionally mild winter during which
seasonal employment declines were much smaller than normal. As a result,
there was less need to add workers in March. Also, the weather during the
March survey reference period was much colder than usual, further slowing
seasonal hiring.
Manufacturing employment was essentially unchanged for the second
straight month, after growing by 169,000 between September and January.
Job growth has slowed in several industries that had accounted for much of
the increase--fabricated metals, industrial machinery, electronic
components, and aircraft.
In the service-producing sector, employment in the services industry
rose by only 45,000 over the month, the smallest gain since August 1997.
The weakness in March was due in part to an employment decline in the help
supply industry (-16,000), following a sizable gain in February. Motion
picture employment declined by 8,000 in March. Health services added only
7,000 jobs, compared with a monthly average of 18,000 over the prior year.
In contrast, strong growth continued in March in computer services
(17,000), engineering and management services (16,000), and social services
(11,000).
Retail trade employment fell by 48,000 in March, as seasonal hiring
was below normal in eating and drinking places. Employment in apparel
stores declined for the second month in a row. Employment in wholesale
trade and its component industries was about unchanged in March.
Government employment was little changed over the month at 19.8 million,
seasonally adjusted. After 5 years of substantial declines, employment
losses in federal government, except the postal service, have slowed,
totaling only 7,000 since September.
- 4 -
Transportation and public utilities continued to grow, adding 22,000
jobs in March and 86,000 since December. Spurring the March increase were
widespread gains in transportation and continued strong growth in telephone
communications. The number of jobs in finance, insurance, and real estate
rose by 31,000 over the month, reflecting strong housing and stock markets
and low mortgage rates.
Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)
The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on
private nonfarm payrolls decreased by 0.2 hour to 34.7 hours, seasonally
adjusted. The manufacturing workweek fell by 0.3 hour to 41.7 hours,
bringing the decline since December to half an hour. Factory overtime
decreased for the second straight month by 0.1 hour to 4.7 hours. (See
table B-2.)
The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory
workers on private nonfarm payrolls declined by 0.7 percent to 143.5
(1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index decreased by 0.6
percent to 108.9. (See table B-5.)
Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)
Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on
private nonfarm payrolls were up 4 cents in March to $12.63, seasonally
adjusted. Reflecting the decline in the workweek, average weekly earnings
edged down 0.3 percent to $438.26. Since March 1997, average hourly and
weekly earnings have risen by 4.0 and 3.7 percent, respectively.
________________________________________
The Employment Situation for April 1998 is scheduled to be released on
Friday, May 8, at 8:30 A.M. (EDT).
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| Revisions in the Establishment Survey Data |
| With the release of May data in June, BLS will introduce |
|revisions in the establishment-based series on nonfarm payroll |
|employment, hours, and earnings to reflect the regular annual |
|benchmark adjustments and updated seasonal adjustment factors. |
|This year’s benchmark process affects all unadjusted series from |
|April 1996 forward. |
| BLS also will implement refinements to the seasonal adjustment |
|process for the hours and earnings series to correct for |
|distortions related to the method of accounting for the varying |
|length of payroll periods across months. |
| All seasonally adjusted employment series will be revised from |
|January 1993 forward. The hours and earnings series will be |
|revised from January 1989 forward to incorporate the new |
|methodology. Seasonal adjustment factors for March through |
|October 1998 will be available on May 29, 1 week prior to the |
|release of the May estimates, on the Internet |
|(http://stats.bls.gov/ceshome.htm). Further information on these|
|revisions is available by calling (202) 606-6555. |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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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 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
Mar. Feb. Mar. Mar. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1997 1997 1998 1998 1998
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional population... 202,513 204,400 204,547 202,513 203,941 204,098 204,238 204,400 204,547
Civilian labor force................. 135,524 136,286 136,967 136,115 136,864 137,169 137,493 137,557 137,523
Participation rate............. 66.9 66.7 67.0 67.2 67.1 67.2 67.3 67.3 67.2
Employed........................... 128,125 129,482 130,150 129,035 130,575 130,777 131,083 131,163 130,994
Employment-population ratio.... 63.3 63.3 63.6 63.7 64.0 64.1 64.2 64.2 64.0
Agriculture...................... 3,166 2,922 2,931 3,387 3,384 3,385 3,319 3,335 3,132
Nonagricultural industries....... 124,959 126,560 127,219 125,648 127,191 127,392 127,764 127,829 127,862
Unemployed......................... 7,399 6,804 6,816 7,080 6,289 6,392 6,409 6,393 6,529
Unemployment rate.............. 5.5 5.0 5.0 5.2 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.7
Not in labor force................... 66,989 68,115 67,580 66,398 67,077 66,929 66,745 66,844 67,024
Men, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population... 97,387 98,331 98,405 97,387 98,141 98,225 98,241 98,331 98,405
Civilian labor force................. 72,731 72,930 73,285 73,164 73,682 73,662 73,852 73,780 73,695
Participation rate............. 74.7 74.2 74.5 75.1 75.1 75.0 75.2 75.0 74.9
Employed........................... 68,573 69,197 69,506 69,415 70,352 70,195 70,518 70,459 70,297
Employment-population ratio.... 70.4 70.4 70.6 71.3 71.7 71.5 71.8 71.7 71.4
Unemployed......................... 4,158 3,733 3,779 3,749 3,330 3,467 3,333 3,320 3,399
Unemployment rate.............. 5.7 5.1 5.2 5.1 4.5 4.7 4.5 4.5 4.6
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population... 89,604 90,476 90,502 89,604 90,251 90,339 90,391 90,476 90,502
Civilian labor force................. 68,937 69,104 69,356 69,040 69,500 69,561 69,652 69,601 69,451
Participation rate............. 76.9 76.4 76.6 77.1 77.0 77.0 77.1 76.9 76.7
Employed........................... 65,502 66,049 66,263 66,031 66,824 66,676 67,008 66,990 66,753
Employment-population ratio.... 73.1 73.0 73.2 73.7 74.0 73.8 74.1 74.0 73.8
Agriculture...................... 2,244 2,035 2,066 2,357 2,323 2,314 2,282 2,264 2,168
Nonagricultural industries....... 63,257 64,014 64,197 63,674 64,501 64,362 64,726 64,726 64,585
Unemployed......................... 3,435 3,055 3,093 3,009 2,676 2,885 2,644 2,611 2,699
Unemployment rate.............. 5.0 4.4 4.5 4.4 3.9 4.1 3.8 3.8 3.9
Women, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population... 105,127 106,070 106,141 105,127 105,799 105,873 105,997 106,070 106,141
Civilian labor force................. 62,794 63,355 63,682 62,951 63,182 63,507 63,641 63,777 63,827
Participation rate............. 59.7 59.7 60.0 59.9 59.7 60.0 60.0 60.1 60.1
Employed........................... 59,552 60,285 60,644 59,620 60,223 60,582 60,565 60,704 60,697
Employment-population ratio.... 56.6 56.8 57.1 56.7 56.9 57.2 57.1 57.2 57.2
Unemployed......................... 3,241 3,070 3,038 3,331 2,959 2,925 3,076 3,073 3,130
Unemployment rate.............. 5.2 4.8 4.8 5.3 4.7 4.6 4.8 4.8 4.9
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population... 97,638 98,471 98,534 97,638 98,212 98,300 98,420 98,471 98,534
Civilian labor force................. 59,160 59,606 59,869 59,070 59,348 59,624 59,652 59,721 59,771
Participation rate............. 60.6 60.5 60.8 60.5 60.4 60.7 60.6 60.6 60.7
Employed........................... 56,442 57,011 57,316 56,322 56,953 57,255 57,040 57,146 57,186
Employment-population ratio.... 57.8 57.9 58.2 57.7 58.0 58.2 58.0 58.0 58.0
Agriculture...................... 710 722 676 752 833 845 811 801 717
Nonagricultural industries....... 55,732 56,289 56,639 55,570 56,120 56,410 56,229 56,345 56,470
Unemployed......................... 2,718 2,595 2,554 2,748 2,395 2,369 2,612 2,575 2,585
Unemployment rate.............. 4.6 4.4 4.3 4.7 4.0 4.0 4.4 4.3 4.3
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian noninstitutional population.. 15,271 15,453 15,511 15,271 15,478 15,459 15,427 15,453 15,511
Civilian labor force................. 7,428 7,575 7,742 8,005 8,016 7,984 8,189 8,235 8,300
Participation rate............. 48.6 49.0 49.9 52.4 51.8 51.6 53.1 53.3 53.5
Employed........................... 6,182 6,422 6,571 6,682 6,798 6,846 7,035 7,028 7,055
Employment-population ratio.... 40.5 41.6 42.4 43.8 43.9 44.3 45.6 45.5 45.5
Agriculture...................... 212 164 189 278 228 226 227 270 247
Nonagricultural industries....... 5,970 6,258 6,383 6,404 6,570 6,620 6,809 6,758 6,808
Unemployed......................... 1,246 1,153 1,170 1,323 1,218 1,138 1,154 1,207 1,245
Unemployment rate.............. 16.8 15.2 15.1 16.5 15.2 14.3 14.1 14.7 15.0
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
Mar. Feb. Mar. Mar. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1997 1997 1998 1998 1998
WHITE
Civilian noninstitutional population... 169,569 170,917 171,016 169,569 170,545 170,649 170,810 170,917 171,016
Civilian labor force................. 114,135 114,489 114,822 114,597 115,073 115,263 115,253 115,392 115,297
Participation rate............... 67.3 67.0 67.1 67.6 67.5 67.5 67.5 67.5 67.4
Employed........................... 108,745 109,504 109,842 109,528 110,604 110,729 110,698 110,842 110,605
Employment-population ratio...... 64.1 64.1 64.2 64.6 64.9 64.9 64.8 64.9 64.7
Unemployed......................... 5,389 4,985 4,980 5,069 4,469 4,534 4,555 4,550 4,692
Unemployment rate................ 4.7 4.4 4.3 4.4 3.9 3.9 4.0 3.9 4.1
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force................. 59,000 58,974 59,084 59,083 59,355 59,389 59,262 59,372 59,201
Participation rate............... 77.5 76.9 77.0 77.6 77.5 77.5 77.3 77.4 77.1
Employed........................... 56,411 56,651 56,751 56,867 57,363 57,272 57,336 57,456 57,209
Employment-population ratio...... 74.1 73.8 73.9 74.7 74.9 74.7 74.8 74.9 74.5
Unemployed......................... 2,589 2,322 2,333 2,216 1,992 2,117 1,926 1,916 1,992
Unemployment rate................ 4.4 3.9 3.9 3.8 3.4 3.6 3.3 3.2 3.4
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force................. 48,852 49,029 49,153 48,793 48,906 49,134 49,077 49,057 49,077
Participation rate............... 60.1 59.9 60.0 60.0 59.9 60.1 60.0 59.9 59.9
Employed........................... 46,962 47,232 47,371 46,885 47,265 47,474 47,250 47,279 47,276
Employment-population ratio...... 57.7 57.7 57.8 57.6 57.8 58.1 57.7 57.7 57.7
Unemployed......................... 1,891 1,797 1,783 1,908 1,641 1,660 1,827 1,778 1,801
Unemployment rate................ 3.9 3.7 3.6 3.9 3.4 3.4 3.7 3.6 3.7
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force................. 6,282 6,486 6,584 6,721 6,812 6,740 6,914 6,963 7,019
Participation rate............... 51.8 52.7 53.4 55.4 55.6 55.0 56.3 56.6 56.9
Employed........................... 5,373 5,621 5,720 5,776 5,976 5,983 6,113 6,107 6,120
Employment-population ratio...... 44.3 45.7 46.4 47.6 48.8 48.8 49.8 49.6 49.6
Unemployed......................... 910 866 864 945 836 757 802 857 899
Unemployment rate................ 14.5 13.3 13.1 14.1 12.3 11.2 11.6 12.3 12.8
Men............................ 16.0 16.0 15.8 15.1 12.8 11.3 14.2 14.7 14.9
Women.......................... 12.8 10.5 10.3 13.0 11.6 11.1 8.8 9.8 10.6
BLACK
Civilian noninstitutional population... 23,895 24,229 24,257 23,895 24,149 24,180 24,196 24,229 24,257
Civilian labor force................. 15,325 15,618 15,855 15,438 15,638 15,709 15,788 15,885 15,971
Participation rate............... 64.1 64.5 65.4 64.6 64.8 65.0 65.3 65.6 65.8
Employed........................... 13,677 14,080 14,357 13,816 14,128 14,149 14,316 14,349 14,498
Employment-population ratio...... 57.2 58.1 59.2 57.8 58.5 58.5 59.2 59.2 59.8
Unemployed......................... 1,649 1,538 1,498 1,622 1,510 1,560 1,472 1,535 1,473
Unemployment rate................ 10.8 9.9 9.4 10.5 9.7 9.9 9.3 9.7 9.2
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force................. 6,812 6,900 7,023 6,823 6,965 6,957 7,012 6,974 7,044
Participation rate............... 71.7 71.4 72.6 71.8 72.1 72.0 72.6 72.1 72.8
Employed........................... 6,149 6,306 6,439 6,214 6,420 6,356 6,456 6,428 6,511
Employment-population ratio...... 64.7 65.2 66.5 65.4 66.5 65.8 66.9 66.5 67.3
Unemployed......................... 663 594 584 609 545 601 556 546 533
Unemployment rate................ 9.7 8.6 8.3 8.9 7.8 8.6 7.9 7.8 7.6
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force................. 7,628 7,876 7,930 7,636 7,731 7,791 7,799 7,952 7,935
Participation rate............... 63.7 64.9 65.3 63.8 63.9 64.4 64.3 65.5 65.3
Employed........................... 6,928 7,192 7,277 6,937 7,080 7,163 7,178 7,265 7,284
Employment-population ratio...... 57.9 59.2 59.9 58.0 58.6 59.2 59.2 59.8 60.0
Unemployed......................... 700 684 653 699 651 628 621 687 651
Unemployment rate................ 9.2 8.7 8.2 9.2 8.4 8.1 8.0 8.6 8.2
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force................. 886 842 902 979 942 961 977 959 992
Participation rate............... 36.5 34.8 37.2 40.4 39.2 39.8 40.5 39.6 40.9
Employed........................... 600 581 641 665 628 630 683 656 703
Employment-population ratio...... 24.8 24.0 26.4 27.4 26.1 26.1 28.3 27.1 29.0
Unemployed......................... 285 260 261 314 314 331 294 302 289
Unemployment rate................ 32.2 30.9 28.9 32.1 33.3 34.4 30.1 31.5 29.1
Men............................ 43.7 34.9 30.0 40.5 35.0 36.2 31.8 34.7 27.8
Women.......................... 22.0 27.4 28.0 24.6 31.9 33.1 28.5 28.4 30.3
HISPANIC ORIGIN
Civilian noninstitutional population... 20,119 20,798 20,851 20,119 20,575 20,629 20,741 20,798 20,851
Civilian labor force................. 13,620 14,030 14,225 13,666 13,880 13,973 13,954 14,149 14,298
Participation rate............... 67.7 67.5 68.2 67.9 67.5 67.7 67.3 68.0 68.6
Employed........................... 12,381 12,983 13,132 12,533 12,921 12,921 12,988 13,181 13,305
Employment-population ratio...... 61.5 62.4 63.0 62.3 62.8 62.6 62.6 63.4 63.8
Unemployed......................... 1,239 1,047 1,093 1,133 959 1,052 966 968 993
Unemployment rate................ 9.1 7.5 7.7 8.3 6.9 7.5 6.9 6.8 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
Mar. Feb. Mar. Mar. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1997 1997 1998 1998 1998
Less than a high school diploma
Civilian noninstitutional population... 30,190 29,228 29,251 30,190 29,505 29,566 29,981 29,228 29,251
Civilian labor force................. 12,813 12,303 12,568 12,629 12,511 12,555 12,682 12,555 12,392
Percent of population............ 42.4 42.1 43.0 41.8 42.4 42.5 42.3 43.0 42.4
Employed........................... 11,591 11,303 11,535 11,572 11,575 11,606 11,771 11,676 11,500
Employment-population ratio...... 38.4 38.7 39.4 38.3 39.2 39.3 39.3 39.9 39.3
Unemployed......................... 1,222 1,000 1,033 1,057 936 949 911 879 891
Unemployment rate................ 9.5 8.1 8.2 8.4 7.5 7.6 7.2 7.0 7.2
High school graduates, no college (2)
Civilian noninstitutional population... 57,148 57,418 57,885 57,148 57,310 57,631 57,606 57,418 57,885
Civilian labor force................. 37,706 37,527 37,873 37,776 37,641 37,827 37,787 37,807 37,931
Percent of population............ 66.0 65.4 65.4 66.1 65.7 65.6 65.6 65.8 65.5
Employed........................... 35,873 35,794 36,113 36,115 36,193 36,287 36,303 36,302 36,331
Employment-population ratio...... 62.8 62.3 62.4 63.2 63.2 63.0 63.0 63.2 62.8
Unemployed......................... 1,832 1,734 1,760 1,661 1,448 1,540 1,485 1,505 1,600
Unemployment rate................ 4.9 4.6 4.6 4.4 3.8 4.1 3.9 4.0 4.2
Less than a bachelor's degree(3)
Civilian noninstitutional population... 41,675 42,527 42,313 41,675 42,417 42,085 41,718 42,527 42,313
Civilian labor force................. 31,239 31,580 31,424 31,306 31,544 31,506 31,440 31,505 31,515
Percent of population............ 75.0 74.3 74.3 75.1 74.4 74.9 75.4 74.1 74.5
Employed........................... 30,047 30,538 30,319 30,179 30,574 30,484 30,429 30,538 30,471
Employment-population ratio...... 72.1 71.8 71.7 72.4 72.1 72.4 72.9 71.8 72.0
Unemployed......................... 1,192 1,042 1,105 1,127 970 1,022 1,011 967 1,043
Unemployment rate................ 3.8 3.3 3.5 3.6 3.1 3.2 3.2 3.1 3.3
College graduates
Civilian noninstitutional population... 40,874 42,238 42,085 40,874 41,739 41,822 41,974 42,238 42,085
Civilian labor force................. 33,001 33,859 33,957 32,817 33,505 33,678 33,685 33,672 33,777
Percent of population............ 80.7 80.2 80.7 80.3 80.3 80.5 80.3 79.7 80.3
Employed........................... 32,339 33,227 33,344 32,138 32,916 33,083 33,040 33,029 33,145
Employment-population ratio...... 79.1 78.7 79.2 78.6 78.9 79.1 78.7 78.2 78.8
Unemployed......................... 663 632 614 679 589 595 645 643 632
Unemployment rate................ 2.0 1.9 1.8 2.1 1.8 1.8 1.9 1.9 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
Mar. Feb. Mar. Mar. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1997 1997 1998 1998 1998
CHARACTERISTIC
Total employed, 16 years and over................ 128,125 129,482 130,150 129,035 130,575 130,777 131,083 131,163 130,994
Married men, spouse present.................... 42,339 42,615 42,608 42,502 42,967 42,952 42,977 42,915 42,779
Married women, spouse present.................. 32,830 32,821 33,003 32,690 32,840 32,975 32,793 32,821 32,872
Women who maintain families.................... 7,812 7,860 7,901 7,696 7,726 7,822 7,784 7,884 7,776
OCCUPATION
Managerial and professional specialty.......... 37,811 38,297 38,661 37,618 37,986 38,205 38,099 38,164 38,454
Technical, sales, and administrative support... 38,044 38,260 38,577 38,153 38,540 38,562 38,382 38,491 38,693
Service occupations............................ 17,275 17,752 17,698 17,319 17,827 17,890 18,162 17,950 17,752
Precision production, craft, and repair........ 13,887 14,094 14,421 14,138 14,191 14,299 14,285 14,456 14,656
Operators, fabricators, and laborers........... 17,931 18,151 17,831 18,267 18,467 18,394 18,622 18,632 18,179
Farming, forestry, and fishing................. 3,177 2,927 2,962 3,513 3,512 3,472 3,355 3,436 3,269
CLASS OF WORKER
Agriculture:
Wage and salary workers...................... 1,764 1,685 1,733 1,901 1,855 1,844 1,949 1,928 1,866
Self-employed workers........................ 1,348 1,210 1,168 1,433 1,493 1,496 1,348 1,324 1,242
Unpaid family workers........................ 55 27 30 59 49 54 44 41 32
Nonagricultural industries:
Wage and salary workers...................... 115,601 117,765 118,294 116,413 118,083 118,403 118,529 118,961 119,131
Government................................. 18,282 18,525 18,289 18,067 18,170 18,248 18,421 18,378 18,072
Private industries......................... 97,319 99,240 100,005 98,346 99,913 100,155 100,108 100,583 101,058
Private households....................... 875 995 1,010 882 910 946 985 1,035 1,022
Other industries......................... 96,444 98,245 98,994 97,464 99,003 99,209 99,123 99,547 100,037
Self-employed workers........................ 9,245 8,682 8,819 9,219 9,004 8,886 8,964 8,761 8,784
Unpaid family workers........................ 113 113 106 109 97 99 131 117 102
PERSONS AT WORK PART TIME
All industries:
Part time for economic reasons............... 4,277 4,042 4,011 4,162 3,890 3,855 4,082 3,882 3,902
Slack work or business conditions.......... 2,459 2,350 2,300 2,340 2,221 2,230 2,282 2,123 2,188
Could only find part-time work............. 1,542 1,397 1,467 1,519 1,386 1,323 1,400 1,455 1,445
Part time for noneconomic reasons............ 18,918 19,235 19,260 18,144 18,083 18,386 18,515 18,407 18,448
Nonagricultural industries:
Part time for economic reasons............... 4,075 3,867 3,834 3,957 3,689 3,654 3,865 3,743 3,726
Slack work or business conditions.......... 2,329 2,235 2,166 2,210 2,100 2,113 2,162 2,025 2,057
Could only find part-time work............. 1,516 1,384 1,448 1,484 1,346 1,291 1,373 1,433 1,416
Part time for noneconomic reasons............ 18,338 18,693 18,736 17,559 17,486 17,791 17,898 17,786 17,929
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
Mar. Feb. Mar. Mar. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1997 1997 1998 1998 1998
CHARACTERISTIC
Total, 16 years and over.......................... 7,080 6,393 6,529 5.2 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.7
Men, 20 years and over.......................... 3,009 2,611 2,699 4.4 3.9 4.1 3.8 3.8 3.9
Women, 20 years and over........................ 2,748 2,575 2,585 4.7 4.0 4.0 4.4 4.3 4.3
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years...................... 1,323 1,207 1,245 16.5 15.2 14.3 14.1 14.7 15.0
Married men, spouse present..................... 1,218 1,100 1,111 2.8 2.4 2.6 2.6 2.5 2.5
Married women, spouse present................... 1,104 1,040 1,114 3.3 2.8 2.8 3.1 3.1 3.3
Women who maintain families..................... 735 645 642 8.7 8.1 7.7 7.6 7.6 7.6
Full-time workers............................... 5,670 5,070 5,126 5.1 4.4 4.6 4.5 4.5 4.5
Part-time workers............................... 1,411 1,279 1,409 5.7 5.4 5.0 5.4 5.2 5.7
OCCUPATION(2)
Managerial and professional specialty........... 795 793 702 2.1 1.7 1.9 2.0 2.0 1.8
Technical, sales, and administrative support.... 1,706 1,622 1,634 4.3 3.9 4.0 4.2 4.0 4.1
Precision production, craft, and repair......... 730 622 686 4.9 4.5 4.7 4.6 4.1 4.5
Operators, fabricators, and laborers............ 1,593 1,290 1,340 8.0 7.1 7.0 5.9 6.5 6.9
Farming, forestry, and fishing.................. 275 233 248 7.3 6.6 7.2 6.8 6.3 7.1
INDUSTRY
Nonagricultural private wage and salary workers. 5,428 4,976 4,975 5.2 4.7 4.8 4.7 4.7 4.7
Goods-producing industries.................... 1,610 1,378 1,443 5.5 4.6 5.0 4.8 4.7 5.0
Mining...................................... 24 16 22 3.9 3.3 3.3 4.0 2.6 3.7
Construction................................ 660 567 612 9.4 7.9 8.9 7.9 7.8 8.6
Manufacturing............................... 926 795 809 4.3 3.6 3.8 3.9 3.7 3.8
Durable goods............................. 473 365 455 3.7 3.1 3.1 3.4 2.9 3.6
Nondurable goods.......................... 453 430 354 5.3 4.4 4.9 4.5 5.0 4.2
Service-producing industries.................. 3,818 3,598 3,532 5.1 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.6
Transportation and public utilities......... 287 249 254 3.9 3.1 3.3 3.8 3.2 3.3
Wholesale and retail trade.................. 1,672 1,538 1,457 6.3 6.2 5.8 5.9 5.8 5.4
Finance, insurance, and real estate......... 242 208 209 3.2 2.4 2.8 2.6 2.6 2.6
Services.................................... 1,617 1,603 1,613 4.9 4.4 4.5 4.3 4.7 4.7
Government workers.............................. 527 429 536 2.8 2.3 2.1 2.4 2.3 2.9
Agricultural wage and salary workers............ 196 181 201 9.3 8.6 9.7 10.6 8.6 9.7
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
Mar. Feb. Mar. Mar. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1997 1997 1998 1998 1998
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Less than 5 weeks..................... 2,313 2,488 2,524 2,618 2,423 2,531 2,488 2,622 2,858
5 to 14 weeks......................... 2,663 2,365 2,274 2,325 2,048 1,922 1,971 1,909 1,979
15 weeks and over..................... 2,423 1,950 2,019 2,079 1,865 1,964 1,811 1,830 1,731
15 to 26 weeks..................... 1,259 957 1,055 1,003 899 936 773 855 841
27 weeks and over.................. 1,164 994 964 1,076 966 1,028 1,038 974 891
Average (mean) duration, in weeks..... 16.3 15.3 15.2 15.4 15.6 16.3 15.6 15.6 14.3
Median duration, in weeks............. 9.3 7.5 8.0 7.9 7.8 7.7 7.4 7.2 6.8
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................... 31.3 36.6 37.0 37.3 38.2 39.4 39.7 41.2 43.5
5 to 14 weeks....................... 36.0 34.8 33.4 33.1 32.3 30.0 31.4 30.0 30.1
15 weeks and over................... 32.7 28.7 29.6 29.6 29.4 30.6 28.9 28.8 26.4
15 to 26 weeks.................... 17.0 14.1 15.5 14.3 14.2 14.6 12.3 13.4 12.8
27 weeks and over................. 15.7 14.6 14.1 15.3 15.2 16.0 16.6 15.3 13.6
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
Mar. Feb. Mar. Mar. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1997 1997 1998 1998 1998
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs 3,493 3,254 3,311 3,148 2,886 2,991 2,807 2,795 2,980
On temporary layoff.............................. 1,250 1,145 1,238 993 815 961 860 821 980
Not on temporary layoff.......................... 2,243 2,109 2,073 2,155 2,071 2,030 1,947 1,975 2,000
Permanent job losers........................... 1,560 1,503 1,511 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Persons who completed temporary jobs........... 683 605 562 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Job leavers........................................ 808 789 755 797 655 692 808 786 744
Reentrants......................................... 2,530 2,270 2,246 2,497 2,229 2,170 2,229 2,266 2,215
New entrants....................................... 568 491 505 617 560 552 518 543 549
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............................................ 47.2 47.8 48.6 44.6 45.6 46.7 44.1 43.7 45.9
On temporary layoff............................. 16.9 16.8 18.2 14.1 12.9 15.0 13.5 12.8 15.1
Not on temporary layoff......................... 30.3 31.0 30.4 30.5 32.7 31.7 30.6 30.9 30.8
Job leavers....................................... 10.9 11.6 11.1 11.3 10.3 10.8 12.7 12.3 11.5
Reentrants........................................ 34.2 33.4 32.9 35.4 35.2 33.9 35.0 35.5 34.1
New entrants...................................... 7.7 7.2 7.4 8.7 8.8 8.6 8.1 8.5 8.5
UNEMPLOYED AS A PERCENT OF THE
CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE
Job losers and persons who completed temporary
jobs............................................ 2.6 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.1 2.2 2.0 2.0 2.2
Job leavers....................................... .6 .6 .6 .6 .5 .5 .6 .6 .5
Reentrants........................................ 1.9 1.7 1.6 1.8 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6
New entrants...................................... .4 .4 .4 .5 .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
Mar. Feb. Mar. Mar. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1997 1997 1998 1998 1998
U-1 Persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer,
as a percent of the civilian labor force................................... 1.8 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.3
U-2 Job losers and persons who completed
temporary jobs, as a percent of the civilian
labor force................................................................ 2.6 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.1 2.2 2.0 2.0 2.2
U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the
civilian labor force (official unemployment rate).......................... 5.5 5.0 5.0 5.2 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.7
U-4 Total unemployed plus discouraged
workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force
plus discouraged workers................................................... 5.7 5.2 5.2 (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.......................................................... 6.5 6.0 6.0 (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........................................... 9.6 8.9 8.9 (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
Mar. Feb. Mar. Mar. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1997 1997 1998 1998 1998
Total, 16 years and over................. 7,080 6,393 6,529 5.2 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.7
16 to 24 years......................... 2,522 2,378 2,335 11.7 10.9 10.6 10.8 10.8 10.7
16 to 19 years....................... 1,323 1,207 1,245 16.5 15.2 14.3 14.1 14.7 15.0
16 to 17 years..................... 622 638 579 19.0 17.6 17.7 17.3 18.5 16.9
18 to 19 years..................... 705 538 670 14.9 13.6 11.7 11.6 11.3 13.7
20 to 24 years....................... 1,199 1,171 1,090 8.9 8.4 8.5 8.9 8.5 8.0
25 years and over...................... 4,547 4,018 4,184 4.0 3.4 3.6 3.5 3.5 3.6
25 to 54 years....................... 4,014 3,571 3,712 4.1 3.5 3.7 3.6 3.6 3.8
55 years and over.................... 538 450 486 3.3 2.8 2.8 2.7 2.7 2.9
Men, 16 years and over................. 3,749 3,320 3,399 5.1 4.5 4.7 4.5 4.5 4.6
16 to 24 years....................... 1,370 1,348 1,282 12.1 11.6 11.1 11.2 11.7 11.2
16 to 19 years..................... 740 709 700 17.9 15.6 14.2 16.4 17.0 16.5
16 to 17 years................... 354 371 330 20.9 18.2 18.4 18.3 21.0 18.5
18 to 19 years................... 390 313 374 16.1 14.1 11.1 14.9 13.1 15.2
20 to 24 years..................... 630 639 582 8.8 9.3 9.3 8.1 8.7 8.1
25 years and over.................... 2,359 1,975 2,102 3.8 3.2 3.5 3.3 3.2 3.4
25 to 54 years..................... 2,052 1,718 1,828 3.9 3.3 3.6 3.4 3.2 3.5
55 years and over.................. 313 268 285 3.4 2.9 3.4 3.1 2.9 3.1
Women, 16 years and over............... 3,331 3,073 3,130 5.3 4.7 4.6 4.8 4.8 4.9
16 to 24 years....................... 1,152 1,030 1,053 11.2 10.1 10.2 10.4 9.8 10.1
16 to 19 years..................... 583 498 545 15.0 14.7 14.3 11.6 12.3 13.4
16 to 17 years................... 268 267 249 17.0 17.0 17.0 16.3 16.0 15.2
18 to 19 years................... 315 225 296 13.7 13.0 12.4 8.2 9.5 12.2
20 to 24 years..................... 569 532 508 8.9 7.4 7.6 9.7 8.3 7.9
25 years and over.................... 2,188 2,043 2,082 4.2 3.6 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9
25 to 54 years..................... 1,962 1,853 1,884 4.3 3.8 3.9 3.9 4.1 4.1
55 years and over.................. 225 181 201 3.1 2.6 2.1 2.3 2.4 2.6
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
Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar.
1997 1998 1997 1998 1997 1998
NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE
Total not in the labor force........................ 66,989 67,580 24,656 25,121 42,333 42,459
Persons who currently want a job.................. 4,949 4,756 2,108 2,010 2,840 2,746
Searched for work and available to work now(1). 1,471 1,426 683 642 788 784
Reason not currently looking:
Discouragement over job prospects(2)...... 356 343 185 185 171 158
Reasons other than discouragement(3)... 1,115 1,083 498 457 617 626
MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS
Total multiple jobholders(4)........................ 7,862 7,987 4,055 4,187 3,807 3,800
Percent of total employed....................... 6.1 6.1 5.9 6.0 6.4 6.3
Primary job full time, secondary job part time.. 4,546 4,632 2,642 2,697 1,903 1,935
Primary and secondary jobs both part time....... 1,687 1,635 499 476 1,188 1,158
Primary and secondary jobs both full time....... 196 216 133 142 63 74
Hours vary on primary or secondary job.......... 1,398 1,471 755 854 643 617
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 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.
1997 1998 1998p 1998p 1997 1997 1997 1998 1998p 1998p
Total......................... 120,472 122,160 122,940 123,576 121,344 123,512 123,866 124,265 124,517 124,481
Total private.................... 100,522 102,461 102,838 103,369 101,799 103,749 104,096 104,484 104,705 104,674
Goods-producing......................... 24,163 24,496 24,511 24,587 24,670 24,888 24,995 25,139 25,172 25,086
Mining................................ 562 561 559 560 572 572 574 574 572 571
Metal mining........................ 53.5 51.2 50.8 50.9 54 54 53 52 52 52
Coal mining......................... 92.4 89.5 88.9 88.4 93 90 90 90 89 89
Oil and gas extraction.............. 312.7 321.6 320.0 317.8 317 322 323 324 324 323
Nonmetallic minerals, except fuels.. 103.1 98.7 99.5 102.7 108 106 108 108 107 107
Construction.......................... 5,204 5,345 5,341 5,391 5,609 5,682 5,747 5,843 5,877 5,789
General building contractors........ 1,227.1 1,291.6 1,284.4 1,289.6 1,298 1,327 1,343 1,363 1,368 1,363
Heavy construction, except building. 685.3 647.7 654.0 683.9 777 759 774 782 792 771
Special trade contractors........... 3,291.7 3,405.9 3,402.2 3,417.1 3,534 3,596 3,630 3,698 3,717 3,655
Manufacturing......................... 18,397 18,590 18,611 18,636 18,489 18,634 18,674 18,722 18,723 18,726
Production workers................ 12,705 12,831 12,858 12,874 12,771 12,882 12,913 12,944 12,947 12,940
Durable goods........................ 10,821 11,035 11,054 11,075 10,848 11,020 11,048 11,093 11,102 11,103
Production workers................ 7,422 7,572 7,597 7,614 7,437 7,570 7,593 7,623 7,632 7,629
Lumber and wood products............ 780.5 791.8 792.2 793.4 797 800 806 808 809 808
Furniture and fixtures.............. 507.1 516.9 518.9 520.8 507 511 513 516 519 521
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 529.5 529.3 529.5 534.0 542 542 543 550 549 546
Primary metal industries............ 708.9 720.6 719.8 720.0 709 716 717 719 720 720
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 235.9 236.8 235.9 236.3 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Fabricated metal products........... 1,461.0 1,491.6 1,492.6 1,490.8 1,463 1,485 1,489 1,496 1,497 1,494
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 2,142.3 2,193.1 2,200.8 2,204.8 2,136 2,184 2,188 2,194 2,198 2,198
Computer and office equipment..... 371.5 385.9 385.5 385.6 372 384 387 387 387 387
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 1,642.1 1,684.0 1,682.7 1,683.1 1,645 1,673 1,678 1,685 1,685 1,687
Electronic components and
accessories.................... 614.3 653.6 652.8 652.4 614 647 651 655 654 653
Transportation equipment............ 1,812.1 1,865.3 1,876.0 1,880.8 1,810 1,868 1,868 1,874 1,879 1,880
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 969.2 983.6 990.7 993.8 969 995 988 992 993 993
Aircraft and parts................ 489.9 527.1 529.5 527.9 491 521 526 527 530 529
Instruments and related products.... 852.5 862.1 859.1 861.8 853 860 861 864 860 863
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 384.9 380.0 382.6 385.0 386 381 385 387 386 386
Nondurable goods..................... 7,576 7,555 7,557 7,561 7,641 7,614 7,626 7,629 7,621 7,623
Production workers................ 5,283 5,259 5,261 5,260 5,334 5,312 5,320 5,321 5,315 5,311
Food and kindred products........... 1,653.0 1,669.4 1,668.7 1,671.1 1,698 1,701 1,706 1,710 1,709 1,714
Tobacco products.................... 40.8 42.8 42.3 40.2 42 42 41 40 41 41
Textile mill products............... 611.0 597.1 595.5 596.3 612 602 604 601 598 597
Apparel and other textile products.. 822.8 780.9 779.1 778.3 827 796 795 792 783 782
Paper and allied products........... 673.1 676.0 675.1 674.0 677 676 676 678 678 678
Printing and publishing............. 1,533.9 1,553.0 1,555.4 1,554.4 1,535 1,551 1,553 1,558 1,560 1,558
Chemicals and allied products....... 1,025.6 1,022.3 1,024.5 1,027.8 1,028 1,028 1,029 1,027 1,028 1,030
Petroleum and coal products......... 136.5 130.5 130.6 132.2 140 137 138 134 135 135
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 986.4 996.2 998.5 1,000.5 988 992 996 1,002 1,001 1,002
Leather and leather products........ 93.3 86.4 86.8 85.9 94 89 88 87 88 86
Service-producing....................... 96,309 97,664 98,429 98,989 96,674 98,624 98,871 99,126 99,345 99,395
Transportation and public utilities... 6,353 6,456 6,478 6,513 6,405 6,495 6,478 6,516 6,542 6,564
Transportation...................... 4,123 4,200 4,217 4,239 4,164 4,243 4,221 4,247 4,268 4,281
Railroad transportation........... 223.8 228.5 227.9 228.3 226 229 230 233 232 231
Local and interurban passenger
transit........................ 467.3 472.8 476.3 481.9 455 459 462 463 466 469
Trucking and warehousing.......... 1,640.1 1,675.0 1,681.2 1,688.7 1,671 1,702 1,699 1,713 1,719 1,722
Water transportation.............. 169.9 164.6 170.3 172.9 175 177 175 172 177 179
Transportation by air............. 1,176.4 1,207.4 1,204.9 1,207.5 1,191 1,222 1,201 1,210 1,215 1,220
Pipelines, except natural gas..... 14.2 14.2 14.1 14.1 14 14 14 14 14 14
Transportation services........... 431.6 437.6 442.7 445.7 432 440 440 442 445 446
Communications and public utilities. 2,230 2,256 2,261 2,274 2,241 2,252 2,257 2,269 2,274 2,283
Communications.................... 1,358.9 1,397.2 1,402.1 1,414.7 1,364 1,390 1,396 1,406 1,410 1,420
Electric, gas, and sanitary
services....................... 871.1 858.7 858.6 858.8 877 862 861 863 864 863
Wholesale trade....................... 6,571 6,722 6,737 6,758 6,611 6,729 6,746 6,780 6,793 6,798
Durable goods....................... 3,877 4,003 4,022 4,033 3,889 3,993 4,006 4,024 4,044 4,046
Nondurable goods.................... 2,694 2,719 2,715 2,725 2,722 2,736 2,740 2,756 2,749 2,752
Retail trade.......................... 21,494 22,056 21,924 21,964 21,945 22,403 22,450 22,462 22,476 22,428
Building materials and garden
supplies......................... 888.3 893.3 892.8 911.9 922 934 934 945 948 947
General merchandise stores.......... 2,674.1 2,866.9 2,763.3 2,750.6 2,783 2,868 2,874 2,866 2,864 2,863
Department stores................. 2,351.7 2,510.0 2,427.1 2,416.4 2,452 2,522 2,520 2,531 2,510 2,511
Food stores......................... 3,430.3 3,516.0 3,501.1 3,488.4 3,478 3,521 3,522 3,533 3,539 3,538
Automotive dealers and service
stations......................... 2,292.8 2,309.9 2,310.0 2,321.0 2,315 2,338 2,338 2,339 2,339 2,342
New and used car dealers.......... 1,051.5 1,055.1 1,056.5 1,059.6 1,055 1,062 1,061 1,061 1,061 1,062
Apparel and accessory stores........ 1,071.1 1,113.3 1,068.2 1,060.8 1,104 1,111 1,106 1,111 1,102 1,093
Furniture and home furnishings
stores........................... 1,014.7 1,079.3 1,070.5 1,067.2 1,025 1,062 1,070 1,073 1,076 1,078
Eating and drinking places.......... 7,386.1 7,362.0 7,442.6 7,522.2 7,525 7,669 7,688 7,694 7,709 7,666
Miscellaneous retail establishments. 2,736.3 2,914.8 2,875.7 2,841.7 2,793 2,900 2,918 2,901 2,899 2,901
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 6,951 7,115 7,132 7,178 6,992 7,132 7,151 7,170 7,190 7,221
Finance............................. 3,359 3,472 3,480 3,500 3,366 3,457 3,472 3,479 3,489 3,508
Depository institutions........... 2,030.3 2,058.7 2,056.7 2,062.6 2,037 2,058 2,064 2,061 2,064 2,070
Commercial banks................ 1,476.0 1,497.8 1,494.7 1,497.8 1,482 1,500 1,502 1,500 1,502 1,504
Savings institutions............ 253.5 252.0 251.0 251.8 254 250 253 252 252 252
Nondepository institutions........ 535.4 563.5 568.3 576.6 534 558 561 563 567 576
Mortgage bankers and brokers.... 241.3 253.1 258.5 265.6 242 252 253 252 260 265
Security and commodity brokers.... 576.7 616.6 619.9 624.9 579 610 614 619 622 627
Holding and other investment
offices........................ 216.1 233.4 235.2 235.5 216 231 233 236 236 235
Insurance........................... 2,215 2,252 2,257 2,266 2,217 2,247 2,257 2,257 2,263 2,268
Insurance carriers................ 1,498.3 1,523.6 1,525.4 1,535.3 1,500 1,521 1,529 1,527 1,530 1,537
Insurance agents, brokers, and
service........................ 717.0 728.1 731.2 730.5 717 726 728 730 733 731
Real estate......................... 1,377 1,391 1,395 1,412 1,409 1,428 1,422 1,434 1,438 1,445
Services2............................. 34,990 35,616 36,056 36,369 35,176 36,102 36,276 36,417 36,532 36,577
Agricultural services............... 580.0 575.8 572.9 608.3 648 687 682 687 683 680
Hotels and other lodging places..... 1,676.5 1,663.4 1,680.2 1,697.3 1,746 1,763 1,759 1,772 1,766 1,766
Personal services................... 1,257.1 1,231.4 1,263.6 1,262.3 1,196 1,197 1,185 1,187 1,192 1,198
Business services................... 7,459.1 7,778.5 7,840.8 7,938.1 7,577 7,832 7,918 7,970 8,026 8,041
Services to buildings............. 890.8 898.6 903.4 913.5 896 903 908 912 914 920
Personnel supply services......... 2,676.2 2,723.4 2,755.5 2,809.0 2,787 2,819 2,868 2,872 2,920 2,902
Help supply services............ 2,349.6 2,383.2 2,415.4 2,465.9 2,457 2,484 2,520 2,515 2,571 2,555
Computer and data processing
services....................... 1,298.1 1,438.1 1,454.6 1,475.0 1,291 1,401 1,421 1,435 1,451 1,468
Auto repair, services, and parking.. 1,125.4 1,148.0 1,152.6 1,156.9 1,126 1,153 1,157 1,163 1,159 1,157
Miscellaneous repair services....... 377.5 385.6 386.8 388.3 380 389 390 392 393 392
Motion pictures..................... 532.8 557.5 563.6 561.5 529 551 561 559 566 558
Amusement and recreation services... 1,372.8 1,366.6 1,414.3 1,471.1 1,494 1,583 1,600 1,606 1,617 1,616
Health services..................... 9,603.7 9,776.4 9,789.6 9,810.9 9,612 9,771 9,795 9,801 9,816 9,823
Offices and clinics of medical
doctors........................ 1,716.1 1,780.6 1,784.5 1,786.2 1,721 1,773 1,780 1,786 1,789 1,791
Nursing and personal care
facilities..................... 1,749.4 1,760.2 1,761.9 1,764.4 1,753 1,767 1,769 1,766 1,769 1,768
Hospitals......................... 3,851.1 3,919.5 3,926.4 3,935.3 3,852 3,910 3,917 3,927 3,931 3,936
Home health care services......... 677.0 671.0 666.2 667.3 678 683 681 673 670 669
Legal services...................... 942.9 970.7 974.6 978.3 946 968 975 975 980 982
Educational services................ 2,178.0 2,084.4 2,263.2 2,272.7 2,047 2,118 2,121 2,132 2,139 2,141
Social services..................... 2,459.0 2,511.5 2,531.7 2,555.7 2,445 2,511 2,521 2,529 2,535 2,546
Child day care services........... 595.5 609.3 613.7 621.2 580 594 598 605 603 607
Residential care.................. 688.4 712.4 716.6 723.6 690 711 716 717 720 725
Museums and botanical and zoological
gardens........................... 81.4 80.8 81.6 84.3 87 89 89 88 90 90
Membership organizations............ 2,178.3 2,176.2 2,194.9 2,204.9 2,193 2,199 2,209 2,214 2,218 2,220
Engineering and management services. 2,950.1 3,093.0 3,128.9 3,162.0 2,934 3,074 3,096 3,125 3,134 3,150
Engineering and architectural
services....................... 857.7 896.5 897.1 904.6 866 893 901 907 909 913
Management and public relations... 921.8 993.2 1,004.0 1,011.1 923 979 993 1,009 1,013 1,014
Services, nec....................... 47.6 48.8 49.0 48.4 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Government............................ 19,950 19,699 20,102 20,207 19,545 19,763 19,770 19,781 19,812 19,807
Federal............................. 2,700 2,654 2,661 2,663 2,709 2,694 2,689 2,674 2,676 2,672
Federal, except Postal Service.... 1,849.7 1,799.7 1,808.0 1,810.4 1,856 1,826 1,818 1,825 1,820 1,817
State............................... 4,748 4,600 4,761 4,789 4,622 4,673 4,665 4,664 4,661 4,667
Education......................... 2,069.3 1,920.3 2,076.4 2,099.3 1,929 1,967 1,964 1,960 1,958 1,962
Other State government............ 2,679.0 2,679.9 2,684.2 2,689.4 2,693 2,706 2,701 2,704 2,703 2,705
Local............................... 12,502 12,445 12,680 12,755 12,214 12,396 12,416 12,443 12,475 12,468
Education......................... 7,237.6 7,121.3 7,338.4 7,396.6 6,853 6,964 6,965 6,985 7,008 7,008
Other local government............ 5,264.2 5,323.6 5,342.0 5,358.5 5,361 5,432 5,451 5,458 5,467 5,460
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
Mar. Jan. Feb. Mar. Mar. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
1997 1998 1998p 1998p 1997 1997 1997 1998 1998p 1998p
Total private.................... 34.6 34.2 34.6 34.5 34.8 34.8 34.6 34.8 34.9 34.7
Goods-producing......................... 41.2 40.9 40.8 40.8 41.4 41.2 41.4 41.6 41.4 40.9
Mining................................ 45.7 45.0 44.0 43.3 45.9 45.6 45.0 45.5 44.1 43.4
Construction.......................... 38.4 37.4 37.9 37.9 38.9 38.1 38.8 39.8 39.3 38.4
Manufacturing......................... 42.0 41.9 41.7 41.7 42.1 42.1 42.2 42.1 42.0 41.7
Overtime hours.................... 4.7 4.7 4.5 4.6 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.8 4.7
Durable goods........................ 42.9 42.6 42.5 42.5 42.9 42.9 43.0 42.8 42.7 42.4
Overtime hours.................... 5.1 5.0 4.9 4.9 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.1 5.0
Lumber and wood products............ 40.7 40.2 40.5 40.8 41.0 41.2 41.0 41.3 41.2 41.1
Furniture and fixtures.............. 39.9 40.6 40.3 40.2 40.3 40.5 40.7 41.2 41.3 40.5
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 42.5 42.2 42.6 42.7 43.1 42.9 43.9 43.9 43.8 43.3
Primary metal industries............ 44.8 45.4 44.7 44.5 44.8 45.3 45.3 45.4 44.7 44.4
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 44.7 46.1 45.2 45.2 44.8 45.3 45.5 46.2 45.3 45.3
Fabricated metal products........... 42.5 42.6 42.3 42.3 42.6 42.6 42.9 42.7 42.6 42.4
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 43.8 43.6 43.5 43.5 43.5 43.8 43.6 43.5 43.3 43.2
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 42.2 41.8 41.6 41.3 42.1 42.0 42.0 41.9 41.8 41.2
Transportation equipment............ 45.0 43.8 43.5 43.7 45.0 44.0 44.7 43.8 43.7 43.5
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 45.8 43.8 43.5 44.0 45.7 44.3 45.0 43.8 43.7 43.7
Instruments and related products.... 42.2 41.8 42.0 41.8 42.0 42.2 41.8 41.7 42.0 41.6
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 40.3 39.9 40.2 40.5 40.2 40.5 40.7 40.2 40.7 40.4
Nondurable goods..................... 40.7 40.9 40.6 40.6 40.9 41.1 41.1 41.2 40.9 40.8
Overtime hours.................... 4.2 4.2 4.0 4.2 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.4 4.3 4.4
Food and kindred products........... 40.7 41.4 40.9 40.8 41.3 41.6 41.7 41.9 41.4 41.3
Tobacco products.................... 39.1 37.8 37.4 37.0 40.2 39.3 39.1 38.4 38.7 37.4
Textile mill products............... 41.2 41.6 41.1 41.2 41.2 41.5 41.7 41.8 41.7 41.2
Apparel and other textile products.. 37.5 37.3 37.1 37.2 37.5 37.1 37.5 37.6 37.4 37.1
Paper and allied products........... 43.5 43.7 42.9 43.1 43.8 44.1 43.8 43.6 43.3 43.4
Printing and publishing............. 38.7 38.0 38.2 38.5 38.6 38.8 38.6 38.5 38.5 38.4
Chemicals and allied products....... 43.2 43.4 43.3 43.4 43.3 43.4 43.1 43.5 43.5 43.4
Petroleum and coal products......... 43.0 44.5 42.1 42.5 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 41.8 42.0 41.6 41.5 41.8 42.2 42.1 42.0 41.8 41.5
Leather and leather products........ 38.5 37.7 37.9 37.5 38.7 38.0 38.3 38.3 38.8 37.6
Service-producing....................... 32.9 32.4 33.0 32.9 33.0 33.1 32.8 32.9 33.2 33.0
Transportation and public utilities... 39.5 39.2 39.8 39.3 39.8 40.2 39.7 39.8 40.0 39.5
Wholesale trade....................... 38.5 38.1 38.5 38.5 38.6 38.7 38.2 38.4 38.6 38.6
Retail trade.......................... 28.7 28.1 28.8 28.7 29.1 28.9 28.9 29.0 29.2 29.0
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 36.5 36.1 37.1 36.9 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Services.............................. 32.6 32.4 32.8 32.7 (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.
1997 1998 1998p 1998p 1997 1998 1998p 1998p
Total private.................... $12.17 $12.59 $12.63 $12.66 $421.08 $430.58 $437.00 $436.77
Seasonally adjusted............. 12.14 12.52 12.59 12.63 422.47 435.70 439.39 438.26
Goods-producing......................... 13.72 14.10 14.11 14.18 565.26 576.69 575.69 578.54
Mining................................ 15.98 16.61 16.89 16.96 730.29 747.45 743.16 734.37
Construction.......................... 15.67 16.22 16.19 16.28 601.73 606.63 613.60 617.01
Manufacturing......................... 13.08 13.41 13.42 13.48 549.36 561.88 559.61 562.12
Durable goods........................ 13.64 13.97 13.97 14.03 585.16 595.12 593.73 596.28
Lumber and wood products............ 10.60 10.89 10.91 10.96 431.42 437.78 441.86 447.17
Furniture and fixtures.............. 10.43 10.75 10.76 10.82 416.16 436.45 433.63 434.96
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 13.03 13.39 13.46 13.48 553.78 565.06 573.40 575.60
Primary metal industries............ 15.16 15.47 15.45 15.52 679.17 702.34 690.62 690.64
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 17.86 18.30 18.31 18.33 798.34 843.63 827.61 828.52
Fabricated metal products........... 12.78 13.02 13.01 13.03 543.15 554.65 550.32 551.17
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 13.93 14.33 14.35 14.35 610.13 624.79 624.23 624.23
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 12.49 13.00 12.97 13.03 527.08 543.40 539.55 538.14
Transportation equipment............ 17.51 17.79 17.82 17.94 787.95 779.20 775.17 783.98
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 18.01 18.28 18.36 18.51 824.86 800.66 798.66 814.44
Instruments and related products.... 13.47 13.68 13.71 13.77 568.43 571.82 575.82 575.59
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 10.56 10.81 10.82 10.80 425.57 431.32 434.96 437.40
Nondurable goods..................... 12.25 12.57 12.57 12.64 498.58 514.11 510.34 513.18
Food and kindred products........... 11.40 11.67 11.65 11.73 463.98 483.14 476.49 478.58
Tobacco products.................... 19.40 18.32 18.12 18.41 758.54 692.50 677.69 681.17
Textile mill products............... 9.92 10.25 10.25 10.29 408.70 426.40 421.28 423.95
Apparel and other textile products.. 8.24 8.41 8.39 8.40 309.00 313.69 311.27 312.48
Paper and allied products........... 14.93 15.20 15.24 15.34 649.46 664.24 653.80 661.15
Printing and publishing............. 13.01 13.27 13.32 13.38 503.49 504.26 508.82 515.13
Chemicals and allied products....... 16.42 16.89 16.93 17.04 709.34 733.03 733.07 739.54
Petroleum and coal products......... 20.51 20.65 20.93 20.98 881.93 918.93 881.15 891.65
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 11.50 11.74 11.74 11.78 480.70 493.08 488.38 488.87
Leather and leather products........ 8.86 9.29 9.23 9.30 341.11 350.23 349.82 348.75
Service-producing....................... 11.66 12.09 12.15 12.17 383.61 391.72 400.95 400.39
Transportation and public utilities... $14.70 $15.22 $15.19 $15.17 $580.65 $596.62 $604.56 $596.18
Wholesale trade....................... 13.28 13.76 13.85 13.85 511.28 524.26 533.23 533.23
Retail trade.......................... 8.27 8.63 8.62 8.65 237.35 242.50 248.26 248.26
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 13.20 13.67 13.91 13.95 481.80 493.49 516.06 514.76
Services.............................. 12.24 12.67 12.75 12.77 399.02 410.51 418.20 417.58
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 1997 1997 1997 1998 1998p 1998p from:
Feb. 1998-
Mar. 1998
Total private:
Current dollars.............. $12.14 $12.48 $12.48 $12.52 $12.59 $12.63 0.3
Constant (1982) dollars2..... 7.50 7.62 7.62 7.64 7.69 N.A. (3)
Goods-producing............... 13.79 14.11 14.17 14.15 14.21 14.25 .3
Mining...................... 15.94 16.43 16.41 16.42 16.77 16.93 1.0
Construction................ 15.80 16.22 16.36 16.22 16.30 16.42 .7
Manufacturing............... 13.07 13.37 13.39 13.38 13.43 13.47 .3
Excluding overtime4....... 12.37 12.63 12.64 12.64 12.70 12.75 .4
Service-producing............. 11.59 11.94 11.92 11.97 12.05 12.10 .4
Transportation and public
utilities................ 14.73 15.05 15.09 15.26 15.19 15.20 .1
Wholesale trade............. 13.30 13.73 13.69 13.67 13.81 13.87 .4
Retail trade................ 8.25 8.50 8.51 8.57 8.59 8.62 .3
Finance, insurance, and real
estate................... 13.12 13.64 13.59 13.63 13.83 13.88 .4
Services.................... 12.16 12.50 12.48 12.52 12.62 12.68 .5
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 .7 percent from January 1998 to February 1998, 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.
1997 1998 1998p 1998p 1997 1997 1997 1998 1998p 1998p
Total private.................... 137.5 138.2 140.5 140.8 140.2 142.9 142.5 143.6 144.5 143.5
Goods-producing......................... 110.0 110.5 110.5 110.8 113.3 113.9 115.0 116.4 115.9 114.0
Mining................................ 55.1 54.5 53.1 52.4 56.6 56.2 56.0 56.7 54.8 53.6
Construction.......................... 138.2 137.7 139.5 140.8 154.0 152.2 156.7 164.3 163.5 156.1
Manufacturing......................... 107.6 108.4 108.1 108.3 108.3 109.4 109.9 110.0 109.6 108.9
Durable goods........................ 111.0 112.6 112.5 112.8 111.3 113.2 113.9 113.9 113.8 112.9
Lumber and wood products............ 138.1 138.4 139.5 140.9 142.2 143.6 144.2 145.9 145.3 144.7
Furniture and fixtures.............. 126.2 131.4 131.1 130.9 127.3 129.6 130.5 133.1 134.1 131.8
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 105.7 105.1 106.4 107.3 110.0 110.0 112.8 114.4 114.1 111.8
Primary metal industries............ 94.0 97.5 95.8 95.4 93.9 96.5 96.5 97.2 95.6 95.1
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 72.7 75.8 74.2 74.1 73.2 74.0 74.3 75.9 74.4 74.4
Fabricated metal products........... 116.2 119.2 118.7 118.3 116.7 118.6 119.8 119.8 119.9 118.9
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 108.9 111.3 111.6 112.0 107.7 111.1 110.8 110.9 110.8 110.4
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 108.9 110.8 109.9 109.0 108.8 110.3 111.1 111.0 110.3 108.8
Transportation equipment............ 128.1 128.0 128.1 129.6 127.6 129.7 131.4 128.6 128.9 128.6
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 169.3 162.9 163.2 165.7 167.9 168.7 169.6 164.5 164.1 163.9
Instruments and related products.... 75.9 76.1 76.6 76.5 75.4 76.0 75.6 76.1 76.7 76.1
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 102.5 99.4 101.2 103.0 102.5 101.4 103.4 102.2 103.4 103.0
Nondurable goods..................... 102.8 102.7 101.9 102.0 104.3 104.3 104.4 104.7 104.0 103.4
Food and kindred products........... 112.0 115.0 113.8 113.5 117.4 118.4 119.0 119.9 118.7 118.6
Tobacco products.................... 60.6 64.9 61.5 58.0 63.7 64.2 60.0 60.9 61.3 61.1
Textile mill products............... 88.8 87.6 86.3 86.7 88.8 88.1 88.7 88.4 87.8 87.0
Apparel and other textile products.. 74.1 69.3 68.7 68.7 74.3 70.6 71.2 70.8 69.6 68.7
Paper and allied products........... 108.8 110.0 107.7 108.1 110.2 110.7 110.2 110.1 109.4 109.6
Printing and publishing............. 124.8 123.1 123.6 124.2 124.3 126.4 125.9 125.3 125.1 124.1
Chemicals and allied products....... 100.0 101.8 102.1 102.5 100.3 101.6 101.3 102.4 102.9 102.7
Petroleum and coal products......... 72.8 71.1 67.7 69.3 76.1 73.9 72.4 74.6 70.6 71.8
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 144.8 146.7 146.1 146.0 145.0 146.8 147.2 147.8 147.1 146.2
Leather and leather products........ 42.2 37.9 38.0 37.3 42.8 39.1 38.8 38.8 39.3 37.5
Service-producing....................... 149.9 150.6 153.9 154.3 152.3 155.9 154.9 155.8 157.4 156.8
Transportation and public utilities... 129.2 128.8 130.7 129.9 131.4 133.2 131.1 132.0 132.6 131.5
Wholesale trade....................... 125.1 125.6 127.4 127.6 126.3 128.3 126.9 128.1 129.0 129.0
Retail trade.......................... 133.6 133.8 136.1 136.0 138.5 140.3 140.5 140.8 142.0 140.7
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 127.6 129.5 133.7 134.0 129.0 132.9 129.3 130.3 134.8 135.2
Services.............................. 181.3 182.4 187.1 188.3 182.6 188.3 187.5 188.8 190.4 190.1
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 61.4
1998.............. 64.5 p57.6 p54.5
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 68.4 69.9
1998.............. p66.9 p65.2
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 70.2 72.9 p73.2 p70.6
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 69.5 71.3 p71.9 p70.8
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 57.2
1998.............. 60.8 p49.3 p50.7
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 64.0 67.3
1998.............. p60.4 p57.6
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 60.8 65.1 p67.3 p64.0
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 55.8 57.2 p58.3 p59.0
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_0398.htm
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