Technical information: USDL 98-194
Household data: (202) 606-6378
Transmission of material in this
release is embargoed until
Establishment data: 606-6555 8:30 A.M. (EDT),
Media contact: 606-5902 Friday, May 8, 1998.
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: APRIL 1998
Employment increased, and unemployment fell sharply in April, the
Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.
The unemployment rate declined to 4.3 percent in April; from November
through March, the rate had been either 4.6 or 4.7 percent. Nonfarm
payroll employment grew by 262,000, following a small decline in March.
Manufacturing was weak for the third straight month.
Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
The number of unemployed persons declined from 6.5 to 5.9 million in
April, and the unemployment rate fell from 4.7 to 4.3 percent. This
improvement was widespread across the major demographic groups.
Unemployment rates in April were 3.4 percent for adult men, 4.1 percent for
adult women, 13.1 percent for teenagers, 3.6 percent for whites, 8.9
percent for blacks, and 6.5 percent for Hispanics. (See tables A-1
and A-2.)
Across the major educational attainment categories, the largest
unemployment rate declines for persons 25 years of age and over took place
for those with a high school diploma only (to 3.9 percent) and for those
with some college experience but no bachelor’s degree (to 2.7 percent).
The jobless rates were 7.0 percent for those with less than a high school
diploma and 1.7 percent for college graduates. (See table A-3.)
The number of persons unemployed for less than 5 weeks declined by
226,000 to 2.6 million in April, after rising in March. The number
unemployed for 15 weeks or longer, 1.4 million, also fell over the month
and has declined by 630,000 over the year, after adjustment is made for
changes in the composite estimation procedure. The number of unemployed
job losers on temporary layoff and the number of job leavers both fell over
the month. (See tables A-6 and A-7.)
Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
Total employment rose by 389,000 in April to 131.4 million. Over the
year, employment has risen by 2.3 million, after adjusting for changes in
the composite estimation procedure. The employment-population ratio--the
proportion of the population age 16 and older with jobs--returned to its all-
time high of 64.2 percent in April. (See table A-1.)
About 7.9 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one
job in April. They comprised 6.1 percent of the total employed. (See
table A-10.)
- 2 -
Table A. Major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
___________________________________________________________________________
| Quarterly | Monthly data |
| averages | |
|_________________|__________________________| Mar.-
Category | 1997 | 1998 1/| 1998 1/ | Apr.
|_________________|__________________________|change
| IV | I | Feb. | Mar. | Apr. |
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
HOUSEHOLD DATA | Labor force status
|____________________________________________________
Civilian labor force..| 136,813| 137,524| 137,557| 137,523| 137,242| -281
Employment..........| 130,421| 131,080| 131,163| 130,994| 131,383| 389
Unemployment........| 6,392| 6,444| 6,393| 6,529| 5,859| -670
Not in labor force....| 67,123| 66,871| 66,844| 67,024| 67,489| 465
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Unemployment rates
|____________________________________________________
All workers...........| 4.7| 4.7| 4.6| 4.7| 4.3| -0.4
Adult men...........| 4.0| 3.8| 3.8| 3.9| 3.4| -.5
Adult women.........| 4.0| 4.3| 4.3| 4.3| 4.1| -.2
Teenagers...........| 15.0| 14.6| 14.7| 15.0| 13.1| -1.9
White...............| 4.0| 4.0| 3.9| 4.1| 3.6| -.5
Black...............| 9.7| 9.4| 9.7| 9.2| 8.9| -.3
Hispanic origin.....| 7.4| 6.9| 6.8| 6.9| 6.5| -.4
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
ESTABLISHMENT DATA | Employment
|____________________________________________________
Nonfarm employment....| 123,487|p124,430| 124,524|p124,500|p124,762| p262
Goods-producing 2/..| 24,899| p25,131| 25,174| p25,079| p25,100| p21
Construction......| 5,693| p5,838| 5,878| p5,793| p5,828| p35
Manufacturing.....| 18,633| p18,720| 18,723| p18,716| p18,706| p-10
Service-producing 2/| 98,588| p99,299| 99,350| p99,421| p99,662| p241
Retail trade......| 22,370| p22,465| 22,479| p22,453| p22,497| p44
Services..........| 36,108| p36,508| 36,534| p36,572| p36,711| p139
Government........| 19,761| p19,802| 19,812| p19,814| p19,833| p19
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Hours of work 3/
|____________________________________________________
Total private.........| 34.6| p34.8| 34.9| p34.7| p34.4| p-0.3
Manufacturing.......| 42.1| p42.0| 42.0| p41.8| p40.7| p-1.1
Overtime..........| 4.9| p4.8| 4.8| p4.7| p3.9| p-.8
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Indexes of aggregate weekly hours (1982=100) 3/
|____________________________________________________
Total private.........| 142.2| p143.9| 144.5| p143.5| p142.9| p-0.6
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Earnings 3/
|____________________________________________________
Avg. hourly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| $12.45| p$12.58| $12.59| p$12.63| p$12.67| p$0.04
Avg. weekly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| 431.30| p437.78| 439.39| p438.26| p435.85| p-2.41
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
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, 137.2 million (seasonally adjusted), was about
unchanged over the month. The labor force participation rate edged down to
67.0 percent. (See table A-1.)
Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
About 1.3 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally
attached to the labor force in April, down about 200,000 from a year
earlier. 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 344,000 in April, essentially
unchanged from a year earlier. (See table A-10.)
Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)
Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 262,000 in April, after seasonal
adjustment, following a small decline in March. Employment in construction,
services, and retail trade rebounded in April, after showing weakness in
the prior month. Finance, insurance, and real estate continued its strong
growth, while manufacturing payrolls edged down. (See table B-1.)
Within the goods-producing sector, construction added 35,000 jobs,
seasonally adjusted, following a weather-related decline (-85,000) in
March. Since last October, employment in this industry has expanded by
178,000.
Manufacturing employment declined by 10,000 in April. Between
September and January, factory employment rose by 169,000; in contrast,
since January, 16,000 jobs have been lost. In April, declines occurred in
electronic components (-4,000) and industrial machinery (-2,000). Until
February, both industries had shown strong and consistent growth for about
a year. The apparel industry continued to shrink, losing 6,000 jobs in
April, and employment in paper and allied products declined by 3,000 over
the month. In contrast, job growth continued in furniture, and employment
rose by 3,000 in stone, clay, and glass products, offsetting the prior
month’s decline.
In the service-producing sector, the services industry added 139,000
jobs, following a relatively small rise (38,000) in March. Help supply
services gained 30,000 jobs in April, after a decline of 21,000 in the
previous month. Employment growth remained strong in computer services
(20,000) and engineering and management services (19,000). Employment in
agricultural services rose by 10,000, after 2 consecutive months of losses.
Following weakness in March, health services showed a moderate employment
increase of 14,000 in April. Gains in hospitals and doctors’ offices were
partly offset by continuing losses in home health care.
Low mortgage rates and a strong stock market contributed to employment
gains in finance, insurance, and real estate. The number of jobs in real
estate grew by 12,000 in April, and employment in mortgage brokerages rose
by 4,000. Security brokerages continued to exhibit strong growth, adding
3,000 jobs over the month.
- 4 -
Wholesale trade employment grew by 11,000 over the month, with durable
goods distribution adding 7,000 jobs. In retail trade, eating and drinking
places added 33,000 jobs, recouping much of its March decline.
Employment in transportation and public utilities was relatively flat
in April. A large gain in trucking (14,000) was offset by declines in air
transportation and in local transportation (both -7,000). Government
employment was little changed over the month.
Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)
The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on
private nonfarm payrolls declined by 0.3 hour in April to 34.4 hours,
seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek dropped by 1.1 hour to
40.7 hours, and factory overtime fell by 0.8 hour to 3.9 hours. These
declines reflect, in large part, the unusual timing of the Easter weekend
in relation to the survey reference period. (See table B-2.)
The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory
workers on private nonfarm payrolls declined by 0.4 percent to 142.9
(1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index declined by 2.7
percent to 106.0. (See table B-5.)
Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)
Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on
private nonfarm payrolls increased 4 cents in April to $12.67, seasonally
adjusted. Reflecting the decline in the workweek, average weekly earnings
decreased by 0.5 percent to $435.85. Over the year, average hourly and
weekly earnings have risen by 4.4 and 4.1 percent, respectively. (See
table B-3.)
________________________________________
The Employment Situation for May 1998 is scheduled to be released on
Friday, June 5, at 8:30 A.M. (EDT).
--------------------------------------------------------------------
| 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 adjust- |
|ment 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 method- |
|ology. 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. |
--------------------------------------------------------------------
- 5 -
Explanatory Note
This news release presents statistics from two major surveys, the Current
Population Survey (household survey) and the Current Employment Statistics
survey (establishment survey). The household survey provides the
information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment that appears
in the A tables, marked HOUSEHOLD DATA. It is a sample survey of about
50,000 households conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of
Labor Statistics (BLS).
The establishment survey provides the information on the employment,
hours, and earnings of workers on nonfarm payrolls that appears in the B
tables, marked ESTABLISHMENT DATA. This information is collected from
payroll records by BLS in cooperation with State agencies. In June 1997,
the sample included about 390,000 establishments employing about 48 million
people.
For both surveys, the data for a given month relate to a particular week
or pay period. In the household survey, the reference week is generally
the calendar week that contains the 12th day of the month. In the
establishment survey, the reference period is the pay period including the
12th, which may or may not correspond directly to the calendar week.
Coverage, definitions, and differences between surveys
Household survey. The sample is selected to reflect the entire
civilian noninstitutional population. Based on responses to a series of
questions on work and job search activities, each person 16 years and over
in a sample household is classified as employed, unemployed, or not in the
labor force.
People are classified as employed if they did any work at all as paid
employees during the reference week; worked in their own business,
profession, or on their own farm; or worked without pay at least 15 hours
in a family business or farm. People are also counted as employed if they
were temporarily absent from their jobs because of illness, bad weather,
vacation, labor-management disputes, or personal reasons.
People are classified as unemployed if they meet all of the following
criteria: They had no employment during the reference week; they were
available for work at that time; and they made specific efforts to find
employment sometime during the 4-week period ending with the reference
week. Persons laid off from a job and expecting recall need not be
looking for work to be counted as unemployed. The unemployment data
derived from the household survey in no way depend upon the eligibility for
or receipt of unemployment insurance benefits.
The civilian labor force is the sum of employed and unemployed
persons. Those not classified as employed or unemployed are not in the
labor force. The unemployment rate is the number unemployed as a percent
of the labor force. The labor force participation rate is the labor force
as a percent of the population, and the employment-population ratio is the
employed as a percent of the population.
Establishment survey. The sample establishments are drawn from private
nonfarm businesses such as factories, offices, and stores, as well as
Federal, State, and local government entities. Employees on nonfarm
payrolls are those who received pay for any part of the reference pay
period, including persons on paid leave. Persons are counted in each job
they hold. Hours and earnings data are for private businesses and relate
only to production workers in the goods-producing sector and nonsupervisory
workers in the service-producing sector.
- 6 -
Differences in employment estimates. The numerous conceptual and
methodological differences between the household and establishment surveys
result in important distinctions in the employment estimates derived from
the surveys. Among these are:
--The household survey includes agricultural workers, the self-employed,
unpaid family workers, and private household workers among the employed.
These groups are excluded from the establishment survey.
--The household survey includes people on unpaid leave among the
employed. The establishment survey does not.
--The household survey is limited to workers 16 years of age and older.
The establishment survey is not limited by age.
--The household survey has no duplication of individuals, because
individuals are counted only once, even if they hold more than one job. In
the establishment survey, employees working at more than one job and thus
appearing on more than one payroll would be counted separately for each
appearance.
Other differences between the two surveys are described in "Comparing
Employment Estimates from Household and Payroll Surveys," which may be
obtained from BLS upon request.
Seasonal adjustment
Over the course of a year, the size of the nation's labor force and the
levels of employment and unemployment undergo sharp fluctuations due to
such seasonal events as changes in weather, reduced or expanded production,
harvests, major holidays, and the opening and closing of schools. The
effect of such seasonal variation can be very large; seasonal
fluctuations may account for as much as 95 percent of the month-to-month
changes in unemployment.
Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each
year, their influence on statistical trends can be eliminated by adjusting
the statistics from month to month. These adjustments make nonseasonal
developments, such as declines in economic activity or increases in the
participation of women in the labor force, easier to spot. For example,
the large number of youth entering the labor force each June is likely to
obscure any other changes that have taken place relative to May, making it
difficult to determine if the level of economic activity has risen or
declined. However, because the effect of students finishing school in
previous years is known, the statistics for the current year can be
adjusted to allow for a comparable change. Insofar as the seasonal
adjustment is made correctly, the adjusted figure provides a more useful
tool with which to analyze changes in economic activity.
In both the household and establishment surveys, most seasonally adjusted
series are independently adjusted. However, the adjusted series for many
major estimates, such as total payroll employment, employment in most major
industry divisions, total employment, and unemployment are computed by
aggregating independently adjusted component series. For example, total
unemployment is derived by summing the adjusted series for four major age-
sex components; this differs from the unemployment estimate that would be
obtained by directly adjusting the total or by combining the duration,
reasons, or more detailed age categories.
The numerical factors used to make the seasonal adjustments are
recalculated twice a year. For the household survey, the factors are
calculated for the January-June period and again for the July-December
- 7 -
period. For the establishment survey, updated factors for seasonal
adjustment are calculated for the May-October period and introduced along
with new benchmarks, and again for the November-April period. In both
surveys, revisions to historical data are made once a year.
Reliability of the estimates
Statistics based on the household and establishment surveys are subject
to both sampling and nonsampling error. When a sample rather than the
entire population is surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimates
may differ from the "true" population values they represent. The exact
difference, or sampling error, varies depending on the particular sample
selected, and this variability is measured by the standard error of the
estimate. There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that
an estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard
errors from the "true" population value because of sampling error. BLS
analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of confidence.
For example, the confidence interval for the monthly change in total
employment from the household survey is on the order of plus or minus
376,000. Suppose the estimate of total employment increases by 100,000
from one month to the next. The 90-percent confidence interval on the
monthly change would range from -276,000 to 476,000 (100,000 +/- 376,000).
These figures do not mean that the sample results are off by these
magnitudes, but rather that there is about a 90-percent chance that the
"true" over-the-month change lies within this interval. Since this range
includes values of less than zero, we could not say with confidence that
employment had, in fact, increased. If, however, the reported employment
rise was half a million, then all of the values within the 90-percent
confidence interval would be greater than zero. In this case, it is likely
(at least a 90-percent chance) that an employment rise had, in fact,
occurred. The 90-percent confidence interval for the monthly change in
unemployment is +/- 258,000, and for the monthly change in the unemployment
rate it is +/- .21 percentage point.
In general, estimates involving many individuals or establishments have
lower standard errors (relative to the size of the estimate) than estimates
which are based on a small number of observations. The precision of
estimates is also improved when the data are cumulated over time such as
for quarterly and annual averages. The seasonal adjustment process can
also improve the stability of the monthly estimates.
The household and establishment surveys are also affected by nonsampling
error. Nonsampling errors can occur for many reasons, including the
failure to sample a segment of the population, inability to obtain
information for all respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness
of respondents to provide correct information on a timely basis, mistakes
made by respondents, and errors made in the collection or processing of the
data.
For example, in the establishment survey, estimates for the most recent 2
months are based on substantially incomplete returns; for this reason,
these estimates are labeled preliminary in the tables. It is only after
two successive revisions to a monthly estimate, when nearly all sample
reports have been received, that the estimate is considered final.
Another major source of nonsampling error in the establishment survey is
the inability to capture, on a timely basis, employment generated by new
firms. To correct for this systematic underestimation of employment growth
(and other sources of error), a process known as bias adjustment is
included in the survey's estimating procedures, whereby a specified number
of jobs is added to the monthly sample-based change. The size of the
- 8 -
monthly bias adjustment is based largely on past relationships between the
sample-based estimates of employment and the total counts of employment
described below.
The sample-based estimates from the establishment survey are adjusted
once a year (on a lagged basis) to universe counts of payroll employment
obtained from administrative records of the unemployment insurance program.
The difference between the March sample-based employment estimates and the
March universe counts is known as a benchmark revision, and serves as a
rough proxy for total survey error. The new benchmarks also incorporate
changes in the classification of industries. Over the past decade, the
benchmark revision for total nonfarm employment has averaged 0.2 percent,
ranging from zero to 0.6 percent.
Additional statistics and other information
More comprehensive statistics are contained in Employment and Earnings,
published each month by BLS. It is available for $17.00 per issue or
$35.00 per year from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC
20402. All orders must be prepaid by sending a check or money order
payable to the Superintendent of Documents, or by charging to Mastercard or
Visa.
Employment and Earnings also provides measures of sampling error for the
household survey data published in this release. For unemployment and
other labor force categories, these measures appear in tables 1-B through
1-H of its "Explanatory Notes." Measures of the reliability of the data
drawn from the establishment survey and the actual amounts of revision due
to benchmark adjustments are provided in tables 2-B through 2-G of that
publication.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-606-STAT; TDD phone:
202-606-5897; TDD message referral phone: 1-800-326-2577.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-1. Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted(1)
Employment status, sex, and age
Apr. Mar. Apr. Apr. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 202,674 204,547 204,731 202,674 204,098 204,238 204,400 204,547 204,731
Civilian labor force.......................... 135,181 136,967 136,379 136,043 137,169 137,493 137,557 137,523 137,242
Participation rate...................... 66.7 67.0 66.6 67.1 67.2 67.3 67.3 67.2 67.0
Employed.................................... 128,629 130,150 130,735 129,275 130,777 131,083 131,163 130,994 131,383
Employment-population ratio............. 63.5 63.6 63.9 63.8 64.1 64.2 64.2 64.0 64.2
Agriculture............................... 3,425 2,931 3,315 3,462 3,385 3,319 3,335 3,132 3,350
Nonagricultural industries................ 125,205 127,219 127,421 125,813 127,392 127,764 127,829 127,862 128,033
Unemployed.................................. 6,551 6,816 5,643 6,768 6,392 6,409 6,393 6,529 5,859
Unemployment rate....................... 4.8 5.0 4.1 5.0 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.3
Not in labor force............................ 67,494 67,580 68,352 66,631 66,929 66,745 66,844 67,024 67,489
Men, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 97,474 98,405 98,503 97,474 98,225 98,241 98,331 98,405 98,503
Civilian labor force.......................... 72,755 73,285 73,336 73,184 73,662 73,852 73,780 73,695 73,799
Participation rate...................... 74.6 74.5 74.5 75.1 75.0 75.2 75.0 74.9 74.9
Employed.................................... 69,105 69,506 70,348 69,565 70,195 70,518 70,459 70,297 70,831
Employment-population ratio............. 70.9 70.6 71.4 71.4 71.5 71.8 71.7 71.4 71.9
Unemployed.................................. 3,650 3,779 2,988 3,619 3,467 3,333 3,320 3,399 2,969
Unemployment rate....................... 5.0 5.2 4.1 4.9 4.7 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.0
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 89,680 90,502 90,580 89,680 90,339 90,391 90,476 90,502 90,580
Civilian labor force.......................... 68,933 69,356 69,480 69,107 69,561 69,652 69,601 69,451 69,697
Participation rate...................... 76.9 76.6 76.7 77.1 77.0 77.1 76.9 76.7 76.9
Employed.................................... 65,957 66,263 67,027 66,198 66,676 67,008 66,990 66,753 67,301
Employment-population ratio............. 73.5 73.2 74.0 73.8 73.8 74.1 74.0 73.8 74.3
Agriculture............................... 2,396 2,066 2,406 2,411 2,314 2,282 2,264 2,168 2,420
Nonagricultural industries................ 63,560 64,197 64,621 63,787 64,362 64,726 64,726 64,585 64,881
Unemployed.................................. 2,976 3,093 2,453 2,909 2,885 2,644 2,611 2,699 2,396
Unemployment rate....................... 4.3 4.5 3.5 4.2 4.1 3.8 3.8 3.9 3.4
Women, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 105,200 106,141 106,228 105,200 105,873 105,997 106,070 106,141 106,228
Civilian labor force.......................... 62,426 63,682 63,043 62,859 63,507 63,641 63,777 63,827 63,443
Participation rate...................... 59.3 60.0 59.3 59.8 60.0 60.0 60.1 60.1 59.7
Employed.................................... 59,525 60,644 60,387 59,710 60,582 60,565 60,704 60,697 60,553
Employment-population ratio............. 56.6 57.1 56.8 56.8 57.2 57.1 57.2 57.2 57.0
Unemployed.................................. 2,901 3,038 2,655 3,149 2,925 3,076 3,073 3,130 2,890
Unemployment rate....................... 4.6 4.8 4.2 5.0 4.6 4.8 4.8 4.9 4.6
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 97,685 98,534 98,583 97,685 98,300 98,420 98,471 98,534 98,583
Civilian labor force.......................... 58,794 59,869 59,345 58,975 59,624 59,652 59,721 59,771 59,486
Participation rate...................... 60.2 60.8 60.2 60.4 60.7 60.6 60.6 60.7 60.3
Employed.................................... 56,388 57,316 57,131 56,357 57,255 57,040 57,146 57,186 57,075
Employment-population ratio............. 57.7 58.2 58.0 57.7 58.2 58.0 58.0 58.0 57.9
Agriculture............................... 775 676 705 775 845 811 801 717 705
Nonagricultural industries................ 55,613 56,639 56,426 55,582 56,410 56,229 56,345 56,470 56,370
Unemployed.................................. 2,406 2,554 2,213 2,618 2,369 2,612 2,575 2,585 2,411
Unemployment rate....................... 4.1 4.3 3.7 4.4 4.0 4.4 4.3 4.3 4.1
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian noninstitutional population........... 15,309 15,511 15,569 15,309 15,459 15,427 15,453 15,511 15,569
Civilian labor force.......................... 7,453 7,742 7,554 7,961 7,984 8,189 8,235 8,300 8,059
Participation rate...................... 48.7 49.9 48.5 52.0 51.6 53.1 53.3 53.5 51.8
Employed.................................... 6,285 6,571 6,577 6,720 6,846 7,035 7,028 7,055 7,007
Employment-population ratio............. 41.1 42.4 42.2 43.9 44.3 45.6 45.5 45.5 45.0
Agriculture............................... 253 189 204 276 226 227 270 247 225
Nonagricultural industries................ 6,031 6,383 6,373 6,444 6,620 6,809 6,758 6,808 6,782
Unemployed.................................. 1,169 1,170 977 1,241 1,138 1,154 1,207 1,245 1,052
Unemployment rate....................... 15.7 15.1 12.9 15.6 14.3 14.1 14.7 15.0 13.1
1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted
and seasonally adjusted columns.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used
in the household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-2. Employment status of the civilian population by race, sex, age, and Hispanic origin
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted(1)
Employment status, race, sex, age, and
Hispanic origin
Apr. Mar. Apr. Apr. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998
WHITE
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 169,675 171,016 171,141 169,675 170,649 170,810 170,917 171,016 171,141
Civilian labor force.......................... 113,867 114,822 114,380 114,567 115,263 115,253 115,392 115,297 115,057
Participation rate........................ 67.1 67.1 66.8 67.5 67.5 67.5 67.5 67.4 67.2
Employed.................................... 109,177 109,842 110,343 109,721 110,729 110,698 110,842 110,605 110,859
Employment-population ratio............... 64.3 64.2 64.5 64.7 64.9 64.8 64.9 64.7 64.8
Unemployed.................................. 4,690 4,980 4,037 4,846 4,534 4,555 4,550 4,692 4,198
Unemployment rate......................... 4.1 4.3 3.5 4.2 3.9 4.0 3.9 4.1 3.6
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 58,983 59,084 59,185 59,123 59,389 59,262 59,372 59,201 59,307
Participation rate........................ 77.4 77.0 77.0 77.6 77.5 77.3 77.4 77.1 77.2
Employed.................................... 56,772 56,751 57,390 56,976 57,272 57,336 57,456 57,209 57,562
Employment-population ratio............... 74.5 73.9 74.7 74.8 74.7 74.8 74.9 74.5 74.9
Unemployed.................................. 2,212 2,333 1,795 2,147 2,117 1,926 1,916 1,992 1,745
Unemployment rate......................... 3.7 3.9 3.0 3.6 3.6 3.3 3.2 3.4 2.9
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 48,526 49,153 48,801 48,686 49,134 49,077 49,057 49,077 48,955
Participation rate........................ 59.6 60.0 59.5 59.8 60.1 60.0 59.9 59.9 59.7
Employed.................................... 46,902 47,371 47,300 46,896 47,474 47,250 47,279 47,276 47,300
Employment-population ratio............... 57.6 57.8 57.7 57.6 58.1 57.7 57.7 57.7 57.7
Unemployed.................................. 1,624 1,783 1,501 1,790 1,660 1,827 1,778 1,801 1,654
Unemployment rate......................... 3.3 3.6 3.1 3.7 3.4 3.7 3.6 3.7 3.4
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force.......................... 6,357 6,584 6,394 6,758 6,740 6,914 6,963 7,019 6,795
Participation rate........................ 52.4 53.4 51.7 55.7 55.0 56.3 56.6 56.9 54.9
Employed.................................... 5,503 5,720 5,653 5,849 5,983 6,113 6,107 6,120 5,996
Employment-population ratio............... 45.4 46.4 45.7 48.2 48.8 49.8 49.6 49.6 48.5
Unemployed.................................. 854 864 741 909 757 802 857 899 799
Unemployment rate......................... 13.4 13.1 11.6 13.5 11.2 11.6 12.3 12.8 11.8
Men..................................... 14.7 15.8 12.6 14.6 11.3 14.2 14.7 14.9 12.7
Women................................... 12.1 10.3 10.5 12.2 11.1 8.8 9.8 10.6 10.7
BLACK
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 23,923 24,257 24,289 23,923 24,180 24,196 24,229 24,257 24,289
Civilian labor force.......................... 15,265 15,855 15,776 15,389 15,709 15,788 15,885 15,971 15,907
Participation rate........................ 63.8 65.4 64.9 64.3 65.0 65.3 65.6 65.8 65.5
Employed.................................... 13,801 14,357 14,429 13,864 14,149 14,316 14,349 14,498 14,499
Employment-population ratio............... 57.7 59.2 59.4 58.0 58.5 59.2 59.2 59.8 59.7
Unemployed.................................. 1,463 1,498 1,347 1,525 1,560 1,472 1,535 1,473 1,408
Unemployment rate......................... 9.6 9.4 8.5 9.9 9.9 9.3 9.7 9.2 8.9
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 6,796 7,023 7,050 6,832 6,957 7,012 6,974 7,044 7,097
Participation rate........................ 71.3 72.6 72.7 71.7 72.0 72.6 72.1 72.8 73.2
Employed.................................... 6,221 6,439 6,527 6,256 6,356 6,456 6,428 6,511 6,573
Employment-population ratio............... 65.3 66.5 67.4 65.7 65.8 66.9 66.5 67.3 67.8
Unemployed.................................. 575 584 523 576 601 556 546 533 524
Unemployment rate......................... 8.5 8.3 7.4 8.4 8.6 7.9 7.8 7.6 7.4
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 7,631 7,930 7,814 7,641 7,791 7,799 7,952 7,935 7,822
Participation rate........................ 63.7 65.3 64.2 63.8 64.4 64.3 65.5 65.3 64.3
Employed.................................... 6,997 7,277 7,196 6,984 7,163 7,178 7,265 7,284 7,182
Employment-population ratio............... 58.4 59.9 59.2 58.3 59.2 59.2 59.8 60.0 59.0
Unemployed.................................. 635 653 618 657 628 621 687 651 640
Unemployment rate......................... 8.3 8.2 7.9 8.6 8.1 8.0 8.6 8.2 8.2
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force.......................... 838 902 912 916 961 977 959 992 988
Participation rate........................ 34.7 37.2 37.4 37.9 39.8 40.5 39.6 40.9 40.6
Employed.................................... 583 641 705 624 630 683 656 703 744
Employment-population ratio............... 24.2 26.4 29.0 25.8 26.1 28.3 27.1 29.0 30.6
Unemployed.................................. 254 261 207 292 331 294 302 289 244
Unemployment rate......................... 30.4 28.9 22.7 31.9 34.4 30.1 31.5 29.1 24.7
Men..................................... 37.4 30.0 22.7 37.7 36.2 31.8 34.7 27.8 23.9
Women................................... 23.4 28.0 22.7 26.3 33.1 28.5 28.4 30.3 25.3
HISPANIC ORIGIN
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 20,180 20,851 20,915 20,180 20,629 20,741 20,798 20,851 20,915
Civilian labor force.......................... 13,427 14,225 14,179 13,601 13,973 13,954 14,149 14,298 14,369
Participation rate........................ 66.5 68.2 67.8 67.4 67.7 67.3 68.0 68.6 68.7
Employed.................................... 12,358 13,132 13,259 12,514 12,921 12,988 13,181 13,305 13,434
Employment-population ratio............... 61.2 63.0 63.4 62.0 62.6 62.6 63.4 63.8 64.2
Unemployed.................................. 1,069 1,093 919 1,087 1,052 966 968 993 935
Unemployment rate......................... 8.0 7.7 6.5 8.0 7.5 6.9 6.8 6.9 6.5
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, seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted(1)
Educational attainment
Apr. Mar. Apr. Apr. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998
Less than a high school diploma
Civilian noninstitutional population.... 30,086 29,251 29,638 30,086 29,566 29,981 29,228 29,251 29,638
Civilian labor force.................. 12,733 12,568 12,857 12,543 12,555 12,682 12,555 12,392 12,664
Percent of population............. 42.3 43.0 43.4 41.7 42.5 42.3 43.0 42.4 42.7
Employed............................ 11,672 11,535 11,938 11,513 11,606 11,771 11,676 11,500 11,773
Employment-population ratio....... 38.8 39.4 40.3 38.3 39.3 39.3 39.9 39.3 39.7
Unemployed.......................... 1,061 1,033 920 1,030 949 911 879 891 891
Unemployment rate................. 8.3 8.2 7.2 8.2 7.6 7.2 7.0 7.2 7.0
High school graduates, no college (2)
Civilian noninstitutional population.... 57,239 57,885 57,484 57,239 57,631 57,606 57,418 57,885 57,484
Civilian labor force.................. 37,706 37,873 37,374 37,687 37,827 37,787 37,807 37,931 37,340
Percent of population............. 65.9 65.4 65.0 65.8 65.6 65.6 65.8 65.5 65.0
Employed............................ 36,116 36,113 35,921 36,098 36,287 36,303 36,302 36,331 35,885
Employment-population ratio....... 63.1 62.4 62.5 63.1 63.0 63.0 63.2 62.8 62.4
Unemployed.......................... 1,590 1,760 1,453 1,589 1,540 1,485 1,505 1,600 1,454
Unemployment rate................. 4.2 4.6 3.9 4.2 4.1 3.9 4.0 4.2 3.9
Less than a bachelor's degree(3)
Civilian noninstitutional population.... 41,528 42,313 42,303 41,528 42,085 41,718 42,527 42,313 42,303
Civilian labor force.................. 30,890 31,424 31,177 31,192 31,506 31,440 31,505 31,515 31,517
Percent of population............. 74.4 74.3 73.7 75.1 74.9 75.4 74.1 74.5 74.5
Employed............................ 29,853 30,319 30,331 30,153 30,484 30,429 30,538 30,471 30,669
Employment-population ratio....... 71.9 71.7 71.7 72.6 72.4 72.9 71.8 72.0 72.5
Unemployed.......................... 1,037 1,105 846 1,039 1,022 1,011 967 1,043 848
Unemployment rate................. 3.4 3.5 2.7 3.3 3.2 3.2 3.1 3.3 2.7
College graduates
Civilian noninstitutional population.... 41,099 42,085 42,197 41,099 41,822 41,974 42,238 42,085 42,197
Civilian labor force.................. 33,125 33,957 33,986 33,135 33,678 33,685 33,672 33,777 33,989
Percent of population............. 80.6 80.7 80.5 80.6 80.5 80.3 79.7 80.3 80.5
Employed............................ 32,547 33,344 33,485 32,477 33,083 33,040 33,029 33,145 33,419
Employment-population ratio....... 79.2 79.2 79.4 79.0 79.1 78.7 78.2 78.8 79.2
Unemployed.......................... 578 614 501 658 595 645 643 632 571
Unemployment rate................. 1.7 1.8 1.5 2.0 1.8 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.7
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
Apr. Mar. Apr. Apr. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998
CHARACTERISTIC
Total employed, 16 years and over............... 128,629 130,150 130,735 129,275 130,777 131,083 131,163 130,994 131,383
Married men, spouse present................... 42,371 42,608 42,780 42,426 42,952 42,977 42,915 42,779 42,865
Married women, spouse present................. 32,603 33,003 33,006 32,549 32,975 32,793 32,821 32,872 32,973
Women who maintain families................... 7,908 7,901 7,938 7,790 7,822 7,784 7,884 7,776 7,813
OCCUPATION
Managerial and professional specialty......... 37,565 38,661 38,631 37,571 38,205 38,099 38,164 38,454 38,643
Technical, sales, and administrative support.. 37,998 38,577 38,431 38,143 38,562 38,382 38,491 38,693 38,585
Service occupations........................... 17,319 17,698 17,460 17,326 17,890 18,162 17,950 17,752 17,478
Precision production, craft, and repair....... 14,087 14,421 14,556 14,216 14,299 14,285 14,456 14,656 14,673
Operators, fabricators, and laborers.......... 18,183 17,831 18,253 18,382 18,394 18,622 18,632 18,179 18,447
Farming, forestry, and fishing................ 3,478 2,962 3,404 3,572 3,472 3,355 3,436 3,269 3,495
CLASS OF WORKER
Agriculture:
Wage and salary workers..................... 1,965 1,733 2,003 1,952 1,844 1,949 1,928 1,866 1,987
Self-employed workers....................... 1,393 1,168 1,281 1,438 1,496 1,348 1,324 1,242 1,324
Unpaid family workers....................... 67 30 31 62 54 44 41 32 28
Nonagricultural industries:
Wage and salary workers..................... 115,947 118,294 118,217 116,515 118,403 118,529 118,961 119,131 118,774
Government................................ 18,307 18,289 18,475 18,048 18,248 18,421 18,378 18,072 18,202
Private industries........................ 97,640 100,005 99,742 98,467 100,155 100,108 100,583 101,058 100,571
Private households...................... 871 1,010 952 923 946 985 1,035 1,022 1,014
Other industries........................ 96,769 98,994 98,790 97,544 99,209 99,123 99,547 100,037 99,557
Self-employed workers....................... 9,132 8,819 9,087 9,124 8,886 8,964 8,761 8,784 9,069
Unpaid family workers....................... 126 106 117 133 99 131 117 102 124
PERSONS AT WORK PART TIME
All industries:
Part time for economic reasons.............. 4,244 4,011 3,649 4,360 3,855 4,082 3,882 3,902 3,735
Slack work or business conditions......... 2,419 2,300 2,099 2,402 2,230 2,282 2,123 2,188 2,074
Could only find part-time work............ 1,571 1,467 1,256 1,625 1,323 1,400 1,455 1,445 1,300
Part time for noneconomic reasons........... 19,139 19,260 18,808 18,155 18,386 18,515 18,407 18,448 18,084
Nonagricultural industries:
Part time for economic reasons.............. 4,066 3,834 3,496 4,204 3,654 3,865 3,743 3,726 3,608
Slack work or business conditions......... 2,279 2,166 2,010 2,279 2,113 2,162 2,025 2,057 1,998
Could only find part-time work............ 1,547 1,448 1,232 1,599 1,291 1,373 1,433 1,416 1,276
Part time for noneconomic reasons........... 18,562 18,736 18,204 17,588 17,791 17,898 17,786 17,929 17,470
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
Apr. Mar. Apr. Apr. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998
CHARACTERISTIC
Total, 16 years and over....................... 6,768 6,529 5,859 5.0 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.3
Men, 20 years and over....................... 2,909 2,699 2,396 4.2 4.1 3.8 3.8 3.9 3.4
Women, 20 years and over..................... 2,618 2,585 2,411 4.4 4.0 4.4 4.3 4.3 4.1
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years................... 1,241 1,245 1,052 15.6 14.3 14.1 14.7 15.0 13.1
Married men, spouse present.................. 1,178 1,111 974 2.7 2.6 2.6 2.5 2.5 2.2
Married women, spouse present................ 1,060 1,114 958 3.2 2.8 3.1 3.1 3.3 2.8
Women who maintain families.................. 665 642 640 7.9 7.7 7.6 7.6 7.6 7.6
Full-time workers............................ 5,375 5,126 4,690 4.8 4.6 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.2
Part-time workers............................ 1,394 1,409 1,170 5.6 5.0 5.4 5.2 5.7 4.8
OCCUPATION(2)
Managerial and professional specialty........ 772 702 734 2.0 1.9 2.0 2.0 1.8 1.9
Technical, sales, and administrative support. 1,689 1,634 1,473 4.2 4.0 4.2 4.0 4.1 3.7
Precision production, craft, and repair...... 718 686 562 4.8 4.7 4.6 4.1 4.5 3.7
Operators, fabricators, and laborers......... 1,460 1,340 1,188 7.4 7.0 5.9 6.5 6.9 6.1
Farming, forestry, and fishing............... 260 248 216 6.8 7.2 6.8 6.3 7.1 5.8
INDUSTRY
Nonagricultural private wage and salary
workers...................................... 5,228 4,975 4,534 5.0 4.8 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.3
Goods-producing industries................. 1,568 1,443 1,263 5.4 5.0 4.8 4.7 5.0 4.4
Mining................................... 14 22 14 2.3 3.3 4.0 2.6 3.7 2.3
Construction............................. 621 612 447 8.8 8.9 7.9 7.8 8.6 6.3
Manufacturing............................ 933 809 802 4.4 3.8 3.9 3.7 3.8 3.9
Durable goods.......................... 464 455 436 3.6 3.1 3.4 2.9 3.6 3.5
Nondurable goods....................... 469 354 366 5.5 4.9 4.5 5.0 4.2 4.4
Service-producing industries............... 3,660 3,532 3,271 4.9 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.3
Transportation and public utilities...... 213 254 236 2.9 3.3 3.8 3.2 3.3 3.1
Wholesale and retail trade............... 1,654 1,457 1,396 6.2 5.8 5.9 5.8 5.4 5.2
Finance, insurance, and real estate...... 249 209 178 3.3 2.8 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.2
Services................................. 1,544 1,613 1,461 4.6 4.5 4.3 4.7 4.7 4.3
Government workers........................... 452 536 362 2.4 2.1 2.4 2.3 2.9 2.0
Agricultural wage and salary workers......... 205 201 172 9.5 9.7 10.6 8.6 9.7 8.0
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
Apr. Mar. Apr. Apr. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Less than 5 weeks.............................. 2,131 2,524 2,250 2,471 2,531 2,488 2,622 2,858 2,632
5 to 14 weeks.................................. 1,981 2,274 1,734 2,177 1,922 1,971 1,909 1,979 1,901
15 weeks and over.............................. 2,439 2,019 1,660 2,088 1,964 1,811 1,830 1,731 1,417
15 to 26 weeks.............................. 1,293 1,055 754 1,033 936 773 855 841 584
27 weeks and over........................... 1,147 964 906 1,055 1,028 1,038 974 891 833
Average (mean) duration, in weeks.............. 16.7 15.2 15.6 15.4 16.3 15.6 15.6 14.3 14.3
Median duration, in weeks...................... 10.2 8.0 8.1 8.1 7.7 7.4 7.2 6.8 6.4
PERCENT DISTRIBUTION
Total unemployed............................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Less than 5 weeks............................ 32.5 37.0 39.9 36.7 39.4 39.7 41.2 43.5 44.2
5 to 14 weeks................................ 30.2 33.4 30.7 32.3 30.0 31.4 30.0 30.1 31.9
15 weeks and over............................ 37.2 29.6 29.4 31.0 30.6 28.9 28.8 26.4 23.8
15 to 26 weeks............................. 19.7 15.5 13.4 15.3 14.6 12.3 13.4 12.8 9.8
27 weeks and over.......................... 17.5 14.1 16.1 15.7 16.0 16.6 15.3 13.6 14.0
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
Apr. Mar. Apr. Apr. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Job losers and persons who completed temporary
jobs......................................... 3,050 3,311 2,647 3,038 2,991 2,807 2,795 2,980 2,631
On temporary layoff........................... 988 1,238 723 958 961 860 821 980 696
Not on temporary layoff....................... 2,062 2,073 1,923 2,080 2,030 1,947 1,975 2,000 1,935
Permanent job losers........................ 1,453 1,511 1,381 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Persons who completed temporary jobs........ 609 562 542 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Job leavers..................................... 723 755 579 776 692 808 786 744 625
Reentrants...................................... 2,239 2,246 1,939 2,422 2,170 2,229 2,266 2,215 2,096
New entrants.................................... 540 505 479 569 552 518 543 549 511
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......................................... 46.6 48.6 46.9 44.6 46.7 44.1 43.7 45.9 44.9
On temporary layoff.......................... 15.1 18.2 12.8 14.1 15.0 13.5 12.8 15.1 11.9
Not on temporary layoff...................... 31.5 30.4 34.1 30.6 31.7 30.6 30.9 30.8 33.0
Job leavers.................................... 11.0 11.1 10.3 11.4 10.8 12.7 12.3 11.5 10.7
Reentrants..................................... 34.2 32.9 34.4 35.6 33.9 35.0 35.5 34.1 35.7
New entrants................................... 8.2 7.4 8.5 8.4 8.6 8.1 8.5 8.5 8.7
UNEMPLOYED AS A PERCENT OF THE
CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE
Job losers and persons who completed temporary
jobs......................................... 2.3 2.4 1.9 2.2 2.2 2.0 2.0 2.2 1.9
Job leavers.................................... .5 .6 .4 .6 .5 .6 .6 .5 .5
Reentrants..................................... 1.7 1.6 1.4 1.8 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.5
New entrants................................... .4 .4 .4 .4 .4 .4 .4 .4 .4
1 Not available.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used
in the household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-8. Range of alternative measures of labor underutilization
(Percent)
Not seasonally Seasonally adjusted
adjusted
Measure
Apr. Mar. Apr. Apr. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998
U-1 Persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer, as a percent of
the civilian
labor force.............................................. 1.8 1.5 1.2 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.0
U-2 Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs, as
a percent of the
civilian labor force..................................... 2.3 2.4 1.9 2.2 2.2 2.0 2.0 2.2 1.9
U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor
force
(official unemployment rate)............................. 4.8 5.0 4.1 5.0 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.3
U-4 Total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a percent
of the civilian
labor force plus discouraged workers.................... 5.1 5.2 4.4 (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........................................ 5.9 6.0 5.0 (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......................... 9.0 8.9 7.7 (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
Apr. Mar. Apr. Apr. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998
Total, 16 years and over.......................... 6,768 6,529 5,859 5.0 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.3
16 to 24 years.................................. 2,434 2,335 2,063 11.3 10.6 10.8 10.8 10.7 9.5
16 to 19 years................................ 1,241 1,245 1,052 15.6 14.3 14.1 14.7 15.0 13.1
16 to 17 years.............................. 610 579 506 18.4 17.7 17.3 18.5 16.9 15.2
18 to 19 years.............................. 632 670 546 13.6 11.7 11.6 11.3 13.7 11.6
20 to 24 years................................ 1,193 1,090 1,011 8.8 8.5 8.9 8.5 8.0 7.4
25 years and over............................... 4,287 4,184 3,751 3.7 3.6 3.5 3.5 3.6 3.2
25 to 54 years................................ 3,767 3,712 3,293 3.8 3.7 3.6 3.6 3.8 3.3
55 years and over............................. 479 486 426 2.9 2.8 2.7 2.7 2.9 2.5
Men, 16 years and over.......................... 3,619 3,399 2,969 4.9 4.7 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.0
16 to 24 years................................ 1,334 1,282 1,105 11.8 11.1 11.2 11.7 11.2 9.7
16 to 19 years.............................. 710 700 573 17.4 14.2 16.4 17.0 16.5 14.0
16 to 17 years............................ 341 330 253 20.2 18.4 18.3 21.0 18.5 14.9
18 to 19 years............................ 371 374 320 15.5 11.1 14.9 13.1 15.2 13.3
20 to 24 years.............................. 624 582 532 8.7 9.3 8.1 8.7 8.1 7.3
25 years and over............................. 2,272 2,102 1,854 3.7 3.5 3.3 3.2 3.4 3.0
25 to 54 years.............................. 1,994 1,828 1,602 3.8 3.6 3.4 3.2 3.5 3.0
55 years and over........................... 262 285 244 2.9 3.4 3.1 2.9 3.1 2.6
Women, 16 years and over........................ 3,149 3,130 2,890 5.0 4.6 4.8 4.8 4.9 4.6
16 to 24 years................................ 1,100 1,053 958 10.8 10.2 10.4 9.8 10.1 9.2
16 to 19 years.............................. 531 545 479 13.7 14.3 11.6 12.3 13.4 12.1
16 to 17 years............................ 269 249 253 16.6 17.0 16.3 16.0 15.2 15.5
18 to 19 years............................ 261 296 226 11.6 12.4 8.2 9.5 12.2 9.8
20 to 24 years.............................. 569 508 479 9.0 7.6 9.7 8.3 7.9 7.5
25 years and over............................. 2,015 2,082 1,897 3.8 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.6
25 to 54 years.............................. 1,773 1,884 1,692 3.9 3.9 3.9 4.1 4.1 3.7
55 years and over........................... 217 201 182 3.0 2.1 2.3 2.4 2.6 2.4
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
Apr. Apr. Apr. Apr. Apr. Apr.
1997 1998 1997 1998 1997 1998
NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE
Total not in the labor force.................................... 67,494 68,352 24,719 25,167 42,775 43,185
Persons who currently want a job.............................. 4,836 4,901 2,070 2,111 2,766 2,790
Searched for work and vailable to work now(1).............. 1,480 1,278 700 588 780 690
Reason not currently looking:
Discouragement over job prospects(2).................. 379 344 206 198 173 146
Reasons other than discouragement(3)............... 1,101 934 494 390 606 544
MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS
Total multiple jobholders(4).................................... 7,874 7,930 4,123 4,204 3,751 3,726
Percent of total employed................................... 6.1 6.1 6.0 6.0 6.3 6.2
Primary job full time, secondary job part time.............. 4,445 4,523 2,631 2,631 1,814 1,892
Primary and secondary jobs both part time................... 1,826 1,610 559 519 1,267 1,091
Primary and secondary jobs both full time................... 221 266 162 181 59 85
Hours vary on primary or secondary job...................... 1,351 1,480 762 839 590 641
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
Apr. Feb. Mar. Apr. Apr. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr.
1997 1998 1998p 1998p 1997 1997 1998 1998 1998p 1998p
Total......................... 121,436 122,940 123,596 124,623 121,671 123,866 124,265 124,524 124,500 124,762
Total private.................... 101,483 102,838 103,382 104,404 102,092 104,096 104,484 104,712 104,686 104,929
Goods-producing......................... 24,413 24,508 24,580 24,847 24,667 24,995 25,139 25,174 25,079 25,100
Mining................................ 567 559 559 560 573 574 574 573 570 566
Metal mining........................ 53.6 50.8 50.8 50.8 54 53 52 52 52 52
Coal mining......................... 92.6 89.1 89.0 88.3 93 90 90 90 90 89
Oil and gas extraction.............. 313.8 319.9 316.2 314.1 319 323 324 324 321 318
Nonmetallic minerals, except fuels.. 106.7 99.3 102.6 106.7 107 108 108 107 107 107
Construction.......................... 5,437 5,341 5,395 5,659 5,599 5,747 5,843 5,878 5,793 5,828
General building contractors........ 1,260.1 1,285.0 1,291.9 1,330.4 1,297 1,343 1,363 1,369 1,365 1,370
Heavy construction, except building. 746.7 654.1 682.2 756.4 767 774 782 792 769 785
Special trade contractors........... 3,430.1 3,401.9 3,420.8 3,572.3 3,535 3,630 3,698 3,717 3,659 3,673
Manufacturing......................... 18,409 18,608 18,626 18,628 18,495 18,674 18,722 18,723 18,716 18,706
Production workers................ 12,712 12,858 12,873 12,864 12,774 12,913 12,944 12,946 12,937 12,922
Durable goods........................ 10,836 11,052 11,069 11,082 10,856 11,048 11,093 11,101 11,097 11,100
Production workers................ 7,434 7,595 7,613 7,619 7,440 7,593 7,623 7,629 7,627 7,624
Lumber and wood products............ 786.3 791.6 793.8 798.2 799 806 808 808 809 810
Furniture and fixtures.............. 506.1 519.1 521.1 523.0 506 513 516 519 521 524
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 538.8 530.1 534.7 547.7 541 543 550 550 547 550
Primary metal industries............ 708.5 720.0 719.9 717.8 710 717 719 720 720 718
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 234.8 236.1 235.8 234.7 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Fabricated metal products........... 1,463.8 1,492.5 1,491.4 1,492.0 1,468 1,489 1,496 1,497 1,494 1,495
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 2,145.7 2,198.5 2,200.6 2,198.6 2,142 2,188 2,194 2,195 2,194 2,192
Computer and office equipment..... 373.4 385.1 384.0 382.3 375 387 387 387 385 383
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 1,638.3 1,683.2 1,682.4 1,676.8 1,643 1,678 1,685 1,686 1,686 1,683
Electronic components and
accessories.................... 617.0 653.1 652.7 648.4 618 651 655 654 654 650
Transportation equipment............ 1,809.5 1,876.5 1,878.5 1,881.1 1,804 1,868 1,874 1,880 1,878 1,880
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 960.3 990.9 992.3 993.2 957 988 992 993 991 993
Aircraft and parts................ 495.1 529.5 526.7 527.9 495 526 527 530 528 529
Instruments and related products.... 853.4 858.3 861.3 860.3 855 861 864 860 862 861
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 385.8 382.4 385.0 386.3 388 385 387 386 386 387
Nondurable goods..................... 7,573 7,556 7,557 7,546 7,639 7,626 7,629 7,622 7,619 7,606
Production workers................ 5,278 5,263 5,260 5,245 5,334 5,320 5,321 5,317 5,310 5,298
Food and kindred products........... 1,648.4 1,669.2 1,668.6 1,666.1 1,699 1,706 1,710 1,710 1,711 1,712
Tobacco products.................... 38.5 42.3 40.7 39.6 41 41 40 41 42 42
Textile mill products............... 608.9 595.8 594.5 594.2 609 604 601 598 595 595
Apparel and other textile products.. 820.7 778.6 778.7 773.6 822 795 792 783 782 776
Paper and allied products........... 672.9 675.3 674.8 672.4 677 676 678 679 679 676
Printing and publishing............. 1,538.7 1,553.6 1,552.5 1,553.9 1,541 1,553 1,558 1,558 1,557 1,555
Chemicals and allied products....... 1,026.0 1,024.2 1,026.3 1,025.0 1,029 1,029 1,027 1,028 1,028 1,027
Petroleum and coal products......... 138.1 130.6 132.0 134.0 140 138 134 135 135 135
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 987.4 999.6 1,002.5 1,001.5 988 996 1,002 1,002 1,004 1,003
Leather and leather products........ 92.9 86.9 86.1 85.4 93 88 87 88 86 85
Service-producing....................... 97,023 98,432 99,016 99,776 97,004 98,871 99,126 99,350 99,421 99,662
Transportation and public utilities... 6,384 6,479 6,508 6,528 6,421 6,478 6,516 6,544 6,559 6,557
Transportation...................... 4,151 4,219 4,236 4,253 4,179 4,221 4,247 4,270 4,277 4,273
Railroad transportation........... 225.0 227.9 228.0 229.6 225 230 233 232 231 230
Local and interurban passenger
transit........................ 471.0 476.3 480.5 474.7 460 462 463 466 468 461
Trucking and warehousing.......... 1,651.7 1,683.2 1,690.2 1,709.5 1,676 1,699 1,713 1,721 1,723 1,737
Water transportation.............. 175.7 170.3 173.3 176.4 177 175 172 177 179 177
Transportation by air............. 1,179.5 1,205.5 1,205.5 1,204.4 1,192 1,201 1,210 1,216 1,218 1,211
Pipelines, except natural gas..... 14.2 14.1 14.1 14.1 14 14 14 14 14 14
Transportation services........... 434.2 441.9 443.9 444.2 435 440 442 444 444 443
Communications and public utilities. 2,233 2,260 2,272 2,275 2,242 2,257 2,269 2,274 2,282 2,284
Communications.................... 1,363.3 1,402.4 1,412.9 1,419.0 1,369 1,396 1,406 1,411 1,418 1,425
Electric, gas, and sanitary
services....................... 869.8 858.0 859.2 856.3 873 861 863 863 864 859
Wholesale trade....................... 6,601 6,735 6,765 6,798 6,622 6,746 6,780 6,791 6,805 6,816
Durable goods....................... 3,895 4,019 4,039 4,056 3,900 4,006 4,024 4,041 4,052 4,059
Nondurable goods.................... 2,706 2,716 2,726 2,742 2,722 2,740 2,756 2,750 2,753 2,757
Retail trade.......................... 21,750 21,925 21,989 22,247 22,029 22,450 22,462 22,479 22,453 22,497
Building materials and garden
supplies......................... 936.9 893.1 917.5 956.4 931 934 945 948 952 949
General merchandise stores.......... 2,682.2 2,760.8 2,763.3 2,776.5 2,799 2,874 2,866 2,862 2,876 2,884
Department stores................. 2,355.5 2,423.4 2,426.1 2,439.0 2,446 2,520 2,531 2,506 2,521 2,532
Food stores......................... 3,438.9 3,501.0 3,492.1 3,496.2 3,480 3,522 3,533 3,539 3,541 3,540
Automotive dealers and service
stations......................... 2,309.0 2,309.5 2,319.9 2,339.1 2,319 2,338 2,339 2,339 2,341 2,347
New and used car dealers.......... 1,053.5 1,057.9 1,059.8 1,063.2 1,055 1,061 1,061 1,062 1,062 1,064
Apparel and accessory stores........ 1,075.3 1,067.9 1,062.4 1,069.2 1,105 1,106 1,111 1,102 1,095 1,094
Furniture and home furnishings
stores........................... 1,015.3 1,070.8 1,069.8 1,068.6 1,026 1,070 1,073 1,076 1,081 1,080
Eating and drinking places.......... 7,550.3 7,444.1 7,519.6 7,689.4 7,571 7,688 7,694 7,711 7,663 7,696
Miscellaneous retail establishments. 2,741.8 2,878.0 2,844.4 2,851.6 2,798 2,918 2,901 2,902 2,904 2,907
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 6,985 7,131 7,175 7,219 7,019 7,151 7,170 7,190 7,218 7,248
Finance............................. 3,370 3,481 3,500 3,513 3,381 3,472 3,479 3,490 3,508 3,520
Depository institutions........... 2,032.2 2,055.4 2,059.4 2,062.1 2,041 2,064 2,061 2,063 2,066 2,069
Commercial banks................ 1,477.5 1,493.9 1,495.9 1,497.2 1,486 1,502 1,500 1,501 1,502 1,503
Savings institutions............ 253.2 251.0 251.6 252.7 253 253 252 252 252 253
Nondepository institutions........ 539.0 569.0 578.6 583.6 539 561 563 568 578 583
Mortgage bankers and brokers.... 243.3 258.6 266.1 270.6 243 253 252 260 266 270
Security and commodity brokers.... 580.1 621.0 625.7 629.3 583 614 619 623 628 631
Holding and other investment
offices........................ 218.5 235.3 236.5 238.1 218 233 236 236 236 237
Insurance........................... 2,217 2,255 2,264 2,269 2,221 2,257 2,257 2,262 2,266 2,272
Insurance carriers................ 1,499.3 1,524.9 1,533.0 1,539.2 1,502 1,529 1,527 1,530 1,535 1,541
Insurance agents, brokers, and
service........................ 717.7 730.2 730.6 730.0 719 728 730 732 731 731
Real estate......................... 1,398 1,395 1,411 1,437 1,417 1,422 1,434 1,438 1,444 1,456
Services2............................. 35,350 36,060 36,365 36,765 35,334 36,276 36,417 36,534 36,572 36,711
Agricultural services............... 668.9 574.1 608.5 697.7 664 682 687 684 680 690
Hotels and other lodging places..... 1,707.5 1,679.0 1,698.7 1,724.2 1,756 1,759 1,772 1,765 1,767 1,768
Personal services................... 1,253.4 1,263.9 1,257.2 1,255.2 1,193 1,185 1,187 1,192 1,193 1,195
Business services................... 7,489.6 7,843.9 7,927.9 8,008.1 7,594 7,918 7,970 8,029 8,031 8,091
Services to buildings............. 899.3 903.5 913.2 923.2 902 908 912 914 920 924
Personnel supply services......... 2,670.7 2,757.9 2,806.8 2,851.1 2,752 2,868 2,872 2,923 2,900 2,931
Help supply services............ 2,338.6 2,416.4 2,462.3 2,501.6 2,419 2,520 2,515 2,572 2,551 2,581
Computer and data processing
services....................... 1,308.6 1,455.1 1,475.5 1,489.1 1,306 1,421 1,435 1,451 1,469 1,489
Auto repair, services, and parking.. 1,131.9 1,152.9 1,159.1 1,160.1 1,132 1,157 1,163 1,159 1,159 1,162
Miscellaneous repair services....... 380.6 386.9 388.3 391.6 382 390 392 393 392 393
Motion pictures..................... 529.4 566.0 565.7 559.6 528 561 559 569 562 561
Amusement and recreation services... 1,489.6 1,413.3 1,472.5 1,599.1 1,503 1,600 1,606 1,615 1,618 1,625
Health services..................... 9,627.2 9,788.5 9,810.4 9,824.8 9,644 9,795 9,801 9,815 9,822 9,836
Offices and clinics of medical
doctors........................ 1,723.1 1,784.2 1,790.0 1,796.2 1,728 1,780 1,786 1,789 1,795 1,800
Nursing and personal care
facilities..................... 1,753.9 1,761.4 1,763.7 1,762.0 1,760 1,769 1,766 1,769 1,767 1,765
Hospitals......................... 3,852.3 3,925.3 3,933.7 3,942.2 3,857 3,917 3,927 3,930 3,934 3,948
Home health care services......... 681.7 666.1 663.6 660.0 684 681 673 670 665 659
Legal services...................... 945.5 973.4 977.7 979.4 951 975 975 979 982 983
Educational services................ 2,191.2 2,265.7 2,281.6 2,294.2 2,062 2,121 2,132 2,141 2,149 2,157
Social services..................... 2,471.8 2,532.0 2,554.9 2,572.2 2,458 2,521 2,529 2,535 2,545 2,556
Child day care services........... 597.6 614.0 621.4 625.3 581 598 605 604 607 609
Residential care.................. 691.7 716.8 722.6 726.3 694 716 717 720 724 728
Museums and botanical and zoological
gardens........................... 85.4 81.6 84.4 89.0 87 89 88 90 90 91
Membership organizations............ 2,185.5 2,193.4 2,203.0 2,207.0 2,199 2,209 2,214 2,216 2,218 2,220
Engineering and management services. 2,976.9 3,128.9 3,158.5 3,186.5 2,965 3,096 3,125 3,134 3,147 3,166
Engineering and architectural
services....................... 862.7 897.0 903.9 910.2 869 901 907 909 912 918
Management and public relations... 934.7 1,004.0 1,009.5 1,016.7 936 993 1,009 1,013 1,012 1,015
Services, nec....................... 48.0 48.9 48.5 48.7 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Government............................ 19,953 20,102 20,214 20,219 19,579 19,770 19,781 19,812 19,814 19,833
Federal............................. 2,700 2,661 2,662 2,666 2,708 2,689 2,674 2,676 2,671 2,672
Federal, except Postal Service.... 1,852.5 1,808.4 1,809.4 1,812.0 1,856 1,818 1,825 1,820 1,816 1,813
State............................... 4,760 4,762 4,796 4,807 4,635 4,665 4,664 4,663 4,674 4,676
Education......................... 2,074.1 2,078.0 2,105.8 2,107.9 1,938 1,964 1,960 1,960 1,968 1,970
Other State government............ 2,685.8 2,684.2 2,690.6 2,699.3 2,697 2,701 2,704 2,703 2,706 2,706
Local............................... 12,493 12,679 12,756 12,746 12,236 12,416 12,443 12,473 12,469 12,485
Education......................... 7,206.5 7,337.1 7,391.2 7,362.4 6,858 6,965 6,985 7,006 7,003 7,009
Other local government............ 5,286.9 5,342.2 5,364.4 5,383.8 5,378 5,451 5,458 5,467 5,466 5,476
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
Apr. Feb. Mar. Apr. Apr. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr.
1997 1998 1998p 1998p 1997 1997 1998 1998 1998p 1998p
Total private.................... 34.4 34.6 34.5 34.3 34.5 34.6 34.8 34.9 34.7 34.4
Goods-producing......................... 41.1 40.9 40.8 40.2 41.4 41.4 41.6 41.4 40.9 40.1
Mining................................ 45.1 43.9 43.3 43.4 45.3 45.0 45.5 44.0 43.4 43.5
Construction.......................... 38.7 37.9 37.8 37.9 38.9 38.8 39.8 39.3 38.3 38.0
Manufacturing......................... 41.8 41.7 41.7 40.8 42.1 42.2 42.1 42.0 41.8 40.7
Overtime hours.................... 4.6 4.5 4.6 4.0 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.8 4.7 3.9
Durable goods........................ 42.7 42.5 42.5 41.4 43.0 43.0 42.8 42.7 42.4 41.1
Overtime hours.................... 5.0 4.9 4.9 4.2 5.3 5.2 5.2 5.1 5.0 3.9
Lumber and wood products............ 41.2 40.5 40.8 40.9 41.2 41.0 41.3 41.2 41.1 40.8
Furniture and fixtures.............. 39.5 40.5 40.4 39.8 40.1 40.7 41.2 41.5 40.7 40.0
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 42.9 42.6 42.4 42.8 43.0 43.9 43.9 43.8 43.0 42.8
Primary metal industries............ 44.7 44.7 44.6 43.4 45.1 45.3 45.4 44.7 44.5 43.1
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 44.9 45.2 45.2 44.2 45.2 45.5 46.2 45.3 45.3 44.1
Fabricated metal products........... 42.4 42.3 42.2 40.9 42.9 42.9 42.7 42.6 42.3 40.6
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 43.6 43.5 43.5 42.0 43.9 43.6 43.5 43.3 43.2 41.6
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 41.8 41.6 41.4 40.3 42.3 42.0 41.9 41.8 41.3 40.2
Transportation equipment............ 44.7 43.5 43.8 42.1 44.8 44.7 43.8 43.7 43.6 41.4
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 45.4 43.5 43.9 42.3 45.3 45.0 43.8 43.7 43.6 41.3
Instruments and related products.... 41.7 42.1 41.7 40.9 41.9 41.8 41.7 42.1 41.5 41.0
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 40.2 40.2 40.3 39.3 40.5 40.7 40.2 40.7 40.2 39.0
Nondurable goods..................... 40.5 40.6 40.6 40.0 40.9 41.1 41.2 40.9 40.8 40.1
Overtime hours.................... 4.1 4.0 4.2 3.8 4.4 4.5 4.4 4.3 4.4 3.9
Food and kindred products........... 40.4 40.9 40.9 40.4 41.1 41.7 41.9 41.4 41.4 41.0
Tobacco products.................... 38.4 37.4 37.1 37.2 39.0 39.1 38.4 38.7 37.5 37.4
Textile mill products............... 41.3 41.1 41.2 40.0 41.7 41.7 41.8 41.7 41.2 39.8
Apparel and other textile products.. 37.2 37.1 37.2 36.4 37.5 37.5 37.6 37.4 37.1 36.4
Paper and allied products........... 43.4 43.0 43.1 42.3 43.9 43.8 43.6 43.4 43.4 42.3
Printing and publishing............. 38.3 38.2 38.4 37.9 38.5 38.6 38.5 38.5 38.3 37.9
Chemicals and allied products....... 43.0 43.3 43.4 42.9 43.1 43.1 43.5 43.5 43.4 43.1
Petroleum and coal products......... 42.4 42.2 43.2 42.5 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 41.7 41.6 41.5 40.9 42.0 42.1 42.0 41.8 41.5 40.5
Leather and leather products........ 38.1 37.9 37.7 36.1 38.5 38.3 38.3 38.8 37.8 36.3
Service-producing....................... 32.6 33.0 32.9 32.8 32.7 32.8 32.9 33.1 33.0 33.0
Transportation and public utilities... 39.2 39.8 39.3 39.3 39.3 39.7 39.8 40.0 39.5 39.6
Wholesale trade....................... 38.3 38.5 38.4 38.3 38.4 38.2 38.4 38.6 38.5 38.4
Retail trade.......................... 28.6 28.7 28.7 28.8 28.9 28.9 29.0 29.1 29.0 29.1
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 35.9 37.1 36.9 36.5 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Services.............................. 32.4 32.8 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
Apr. Feb. Mar. Apr. Apr. Feb. Mar. Apr.
1997 1998 1998p 1998p 1997 1998 1998p 1998p
Total private.................... $12.17 $12.63 $12.66 $12.68 $418.65 $437.00 $436.77 $434.92
Seasonally adjusted............. 12.14 12.59 12.63 12.67 418.83 439.39 438.26 435.85
Goods-producing......................... 13.77 14.11 14.18 14.26 565.95 577.10 578.54 573.25
Mining................................ 16.05 16.85 17.06 17.10 723.86 739.72 738.70 742.14
Construction.......................... 15.75 16.18 16.27 16.34 609.53 613.22 615.01 619.29
Manufacturing......................... 13.09 13.42 13.48 13.51 547.16 559.61 562.12 551.21
Durable goods........................ 13.64 13.98 14.04 14.03 582.43 594.15 596.70 580.84
Lumber and wood products............ 10.64 10.90 10.96 10.99 438.37 441.45 447.17 449.49
Furniture and fixtures.............. 10.42 10.77 10.80 10.82 411.59 436.19 436.32 430.64
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 13.06 13.45 13.48 13.67 560.27 572.97 571.55 585.08
Primary metal industries............ 15.15 15.46 15.51 15.72 677.21 691.06 691.75 682.25
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 17.88 18.31 18.26 18.78 802.81 827.61 825.35 830.08
Fabricated metal products........... 12.80 13.02 13.05 12.94 542.72 550.75 550.71 529.25
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 13.94 14.36 14.35 14.33 607.78 624.66 624.23 601.86
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 12.55 12.97 13.07 13.17 524.59 539.55 541.10 530.75
Transportation equipment............ 17.48 17.81 17.96 17.91 781.36 774.74 786.65 754.01
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 18.01 18.35 18.55 18.58 817.65 798.23 814.35 785.93
Instruments and related products.... 13.47 13.72 13.78 13.78 561.70 577.61 574.63 563.60
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 10.53 10.80 10.79 10.74 423.31 434.16 434.84 422.08
Nondurable goods..................... 12.27 12.58 12.64 12.73 496.94 510.75 513.18 509.20
Food and kindred products........... 11.45 11.64 11.71 11.78 462.58 476.08 478.94 475.91
Tobacco products.................... 20.32 18.10 18.42 18.48 780.29 676.94 683.38 687.46
Textile mill products............... 9.94 10.25 10.28 10.38 410.52 421.28 423.54 415.20
Apparel and other textile products.. 8.21 8.38 8.42 8.50 305.41 310.90 313.22 309.40
Paper and allied products........... 15.00 15.23 15.32 15.50 651.00 654.89 660.29 655.65
Printing and publishing............. 12.99 13.33 13.37 13.35 497.52 509.21 513.41 505.97
Chemicals and allied products....... 16.42 16.94 16.97 17.17 706.06 733.50 736.50 736.59
Petroleum and coal products......... 19.97 20.92 21.15 20.88 846.73 882.82 913.68 887.40
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 11.53 11.78 11.79 11.86 480.80 490.05 489.29 485.07
Leather and leather products........ 8.87 9.25 9.31 9.25 337.95 350.58 350.99 333.93
Service-producing....................... 11.63 12.16 12.17 12.17 379.14 401.28 400.39 399.18
Transportation and public utilities... $14.77 $15.23 $15.16 $15.24 $578.98 $606.15 $595.79 $598.93
Wholesale trade....................... 13.33 13.84 13.85 13.91 510.54 532.84 531.84 532.75
Retail trade.......................... 8.28 8.62 8.66 8.69 236.81 247.39 248.54 250.27
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 13.09 13.92 13.96 13.95 469.93 516.43 515.12 509.18
Services.............................. 12.20 12.75 12.77 12.74 395.28 418.20 417.58 415.32
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
Apr. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. change
Industry 1997 1997 1998 1998 1998p 1998p from:
Mar. 1998-
Apr. 1998
Total private:
Current dollars.............. $12.14 $12.48 $12.52 $12.59 $12.63 $12.67 0.3
Constant (1982) dollars2..... 7.49 7.62 7.64 7.69 7.72 N.A. (3)
Goods-producing............... 13.80 14.17 14.15 14.21 14.25 14.28 .2
Mining...................... 15.96 16.41 16.42 16.73 17.03 17.04 .1
Construction................ 15.86 16.36 16.22 16.29 16.41 16.46 .3
Manufacturing............... 13.07 13.39 13.38 13.43 13.47 13.47 .0
Excluding overtime4....... 12.38 12.64 12.64 12.70 12.75 12.84 .7
Service-producing............. 11.58 11.92 11.97 12.06 12.10 12.16 .5
Transportation and public
utilities................ 14.76 15.09 15.26 15.23 15.19 15.28 .6
Wholesale trade............. 13.27 13.69 13.67 13.80 13.87 13.90 .2
Retail trade................ 8.26 8.51 8.57 8.59 8.63 8.69 .7
Finance, insurance, and real
estate................... 13.00 13.59 13.63 13.84 13.89 13.95 .4
Services.................... 12.16 12.48 12.52 12.62 12.68 12.75 .6
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 .4 percent from February 1998 to March 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
Apr. Feb. Mar. Apr. Apr. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr.
1997 1998 1998p 1998p 1997 1997 1998 1998 1998p 1998p
Total private.................... 138.2 140.4 140.8 141.5 139.6 142.5 143.6 144.5 143.5 142.9
Goods-producing......................... 111.2 110.5 110.9 110.6 113.3 115.0 116.4 115.9 114.0 111.7
Mining................................ 54.9 53.1 53.3 53.5 55.8 56.0 56.7 54.8 54.5 54.1
Construction.......................... 147.2 139.4 140.8 149.9 153.2 156.7 164.3 163.5 155.9 155.6
Manufacturing......................... 107.2 108.1 108.3 105.9 108.5 109.9 110.0 109.7 108.9 106.0
Durable goods........................ 110.9 112.6 112.8 110.0 111.7 113.9 113.9 113.8 112.9 109.4
Lumber and wood products............ 140.8 139.5 140.6 141.9 143.3 144.2 145.9 145.1 144.7 143.5
Furniture and fixtures.............. 124.6 131.5 132.0 130.3 126.7 130.5 133.1 134.7 132.7 131.4
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 108.8 106.3 106.9 110.8 109.2 112.8 114.4 114.4 111.0 111.3
Primary metal industries............ 93.8 95.8 95.5 92.8 94.5 96.5 97.2 95.6 95.3 92.1
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 72.8 74.3 74.1 71.8 73.8 74.3 75.9 74.4 74.4 71.6
Fabricated metal products........... 116.3 118.7 118.2 114.6 118.0 119.8 119.8 119.9 118.7 113.9
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 108.8 111.4 111.8 107.6 109.2 110.8 110.9 110.7 110.2 105.9
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 107.7 110.0 109.2 106.0 109.1 111.1 111.0 110.4 109.1 105.9
Transportation equipment............ 127.0 128.1 129.6 124.5 126.5 131.4 128.6 128.8 128.8 122.1
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 166.1 163.3 165.2 158.8 164.4 169.6 164.5 164.3 163.1 154.7
Instruments and related products.... 74.7 76.6 76.2 74.7 75.1 75.6 76.1 76.7 75.9 75.0
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 102.4 101.3 102.3 100.3 103.3 103.4 102.2 103.4 102.5 99.8
Nondurable goods..................... 102.1 102.0 102.2 100.2 104.2 104.4 104.7 104.0 103.5 101.5
Food and kindred products........... 110.8 113.9 113.7 112.0 117.0 119.0 119.9 118.7 118.8 117.5
Tobacco products.................... 54.9 61.6 58.2 56.9 59.9 60.0 60.9 61.3 61.3 61.1
Textile mill products............... 88.8 86.4 86.5 83.9 89.6 88.7 88.4 88.0 86.6 83.5
Apparel and other textile products.. 73.2 68.7 68.8 66.7 73.9 71.2 70.8 69.6 68.9 66.7
Paper and allied products........... 108.4 108.0 108.1 106.0 110.4 110.2 110.1 109.6 109.4 106.8
Printing and publishing............. 123.9 123.8 124.3 122.2 124.7 125.9 125.3 125.3 123.7 122.2
Chemicals and allied products....... 99.4 102.0 102.4 101.1 99.9 101.3 102.4 102.7 102.5 102.0
Petroleum and coal products......... 73.6 67.9 70.3 70.4 73.6 72.4 74.6 70.8 72.9 70.9
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 144.8 146.3 146.4 144.2 145.9 147.2 147.8 147.3 146.6 143.1
Leather and leather products........ 41.5 38.1 37.8 35.7 42.0 38.8 38.8 39.3 37.7 35.7
Service-producing....................... 150.3 153.9 154.2 155.4 151.3 154.9 155.8 157.3 156.8 156.8
Transportation and public utilities... 129.0 130.7 129.6 130.0 130.1 131.1 132.0 132.8 131.3 131.8
Wholesale trade....................... 124.9 127.3 127.4 127.6 125.7 126.9 128.1 129.0 128.6 128.5
Retail trade.......................... 134.6 136.0 136.3 138.2 137.9 140.5 140.8 141.6 141.0 141.3
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 126.2 133.7 133.9 133.5 126.7 129.3 130.3 134.8 135.2 134.2
Services.............................. 182.0 187.1 188.1 189.6 181.7 187.5 188.8 190.4 190.0 190.1
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 58.3 p55.2 p54.1
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.............. 66.4 p64.5 p56.7
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 73.0 p71.3
1998.............. p69.5
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 71.6 p72.2 p71.3
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 50.0 p47.5 p47.1
Over 3-month span:
1994.............. 61.9 64.7 65.5 59.7 57.6 60.1 62.2 57.9 55.0 55.4 60.1 59.4
1995.............. 59.7 50.4 47.5 40.3 42.4 36.3 38.5 43.9 49.3 46.4 45.3 43.9
1996.............. 47.5 47.8 42.1 38.5 43.2 45.0 48.9 43.2 50.4 46.4 52.5 52.5
1997.............. 53.2 51.4 50.7 52.5 48.6 48.9 48.6 53.6 55.8 62.9 64.0 67.3
1998.............. 60.4 p56.5 p45.0
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 68.0 p63.7
1998.............. p60.8
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 58.3 p60.4 p60.1
1998..............
1 Based on seasonally adjusted data for 1-, 3-, and 6-month spans and unadjusted data for the 12-month span. Data are
centered within the span.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: Figures are the percent of industries with employment increasing plus one-half of the industries with
unchanged employment, where 50 percent indicates an equal balance between industries with increasing and decreasing
employment.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Contact: (cpsinfo@bls.gov) Division of Labor Force Statistics-BLS
Last revised: June 05, 1998
URL: http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/pub/empsit_0498.htm
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