Technical information: USDL 98-231
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, June 5, 1998.
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: MAY 1998
Nonfarm payroll employment rose in May, and the unemployment rate
remained at 4.3 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S.
Department of Labor reported today. Nonfarm payroll employment increased
by 296,000 with all the growth occurring in the service-producing sector.
The number of manufacturing jobs fell, and construction employment edged down.
Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
The number of unemployed persons, 5.9 million in May, was little
changed over the month, and the unemployment rate held at 4.3 percent.
Both measures had fallen sharply in the previous month. Among the major
demographic groups, the rates for adult men (3.5 percent), adult women (3.9
percent), teenagers (14.2 percent), whites (3.7 percent), blacks (9.0
percent), and Hispanics (6.8 percent) were essentially unchanged in May.
(See tables A-1 and A-2.)
The unemployment rates for persons 25 years and older with less than a
high school diploma (6.7 percent), high school graduates with no college
experience (3.7 percent), and college graduates (1.6 percent) showed
essentially no movement over the month. The jobless rate for persons with
some college experience but no bachelor's degree rose by 0.4 percentage
point to 3.1 percent in May. (See table A-3.)
Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
Total employment was essentially unchanged at 131.5 million. The
employment-population ratio--the proportion of the population age 16 and
older with jobs--was 64.2 percent. It has remained at or near this record
level since January. (See table A-1.)
About 8.1 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one
job in May. These multiple jobholders comprised 6.2 percent of the total
employed. (See table A-10.)
The civilian labor force, 137.4 million, was about unchanged in May,
after seasonal adjustment. The labor force participation rate held at 67.0
percent. (See table A-1.)
------------------------------------------------------------------
| The establishment data in this release have been revised as a |
|result of the annual benchmarking process and the updating of |
|seasonal adjustment factors. In addition, the seasonal adjustment|
|process for the hours and earnings series has been refined to |
|correct for distortions associated with the varying length of pay |
|periods across months. More information on the revisions is |
|contained in the note beginning on page 5. |
------------------------------------------------------------------
- 2 -
Table A. Major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
___________________________________________________________________________
| Quarterly | Monthly data |
| averages | |
|_________________|__________________________| Apr.-
Category | 1997 | 1998 1/| 1998 1/ | May
|_________________|__________________________|change
| IV | I | Mar. | Apr. | May |
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
HOUSEHOLD DATA | Labor force status
|____________________________________________________
Civilian labor force..| 136,813| 137,524|137,523| 137,242| 137,364| 122
Employment..........| 130,421| 131,080|130,994| 131,383| 131,453| 70
Unemployment........| 6,392| 6,444| 6,529| 5,859| 5,910| 51
Not in labor force....| 67,123| 66,871| 67,024| 67,489| 67,535| 46
|________|________|_______|________|________|________
| Unemployment rates
|____________________________________________________
All workers...........| 4.7| 4.7| 4.7| 4.3| 4.3| .0
Adult men...........| 4.0| 3.8| 3.9| 3.4| 3.5| 0.1
Adult women.........| 4.0| 4.3| 4.3| 4.1| 3.9| -.2
Teenagers...........| 15.0| 14.6| 15.0| 13.1| 14.2| 1.1
White...............| 4.0| 4.0| 4.1| 3.6| 3.7| .1
Black...............| 9.7| 9.4| 9.2| 8.9| 9.0| .1
Hispanic origin.....| 7.4| 6.9| 6.9| 6.5| 6.8| .3
|________|________|_______|________|________|________
ESTABLISHMENT DATA 2/| Employment
|____________________________________________________
Nonfarm employment....| 123,934| 124,795|124,914|p125,216|p125,512| p296
Goods-producing 3/..| 25,108| 25,296| 25,276| p25,334| p25,298| p-36
Construction......| 5,761| 5,881| 5,860| p5,926| p5,917| p-9
Manufacturing.....| 18,756| 18,825| 18,829| p18,826| p18,800| p-26
Service-producing 3/| 99,826| 99,500| 99,638| p99,882|p100,214| p332
Retail trade......| 22,185| 22,274| 22,259| p22,328| p22,417| p89
Services..........| 36,639| 37,019| 37,106| p37,195| p37,346| p151
Government........| 19,663| 19,711| 19,728| p19,764| p19,805| p41
|________|________|_______|________|________|________
| Hours of work 4/
|____________________________________________________
Total private.........| 34.7| 34.7| 34.6| p34.5| p34.7| p0.2
Manufacturing.......| 42.1| 42.0| 41.8| p41.4| p41.7| p.3
Overtime..........| 4.9| 4.8| 4.8| p4.5| p4.6| p.1
|________|________|_______|________|________|________
| Indexes of aggregate weekly hours (1982=100) 4/
|____________________________________________________
Total private.........| 143.1| 144.3| 143.8| p143.9| p144.9| p1.0
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Earnings 4/
|____________________________________________________
Avg. hourly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| $12.47| $12.59| $12.63| p$12.69| p$12.73|p$0.04
Avg. weekly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| 432.18| 436.75| 437.00| p437.81| p441.73| p3.92
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
1/ Beginning in January 1998, household data reflect new composite
estimation procedures and revised population controls.
2/ Establishment data have been revised to reflect March 1997
benchmarks, refinements to the seasonal adjustment process for the hours
and earnings series, and recomputed seasonal adjustment factors.
3/ Includes other industries, not shown separately.
4/ Data relate to private production or nonsupervisory workers.
p=preliminary.
- 3 -
Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
About 1.2 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally
attached to the labor force in May. 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 268,000 in May, down from 338,000
a year earlier. (See table A-10.)
Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)
Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 296,000 in May, after seasonal
adjustment, due to a large increase in the service-producing sector.
Employment in the goods-producing sector declined, with widespread losses
in manufacturing and a small decline in construction. (See table B-1.)
Manufacturing employment fell by 26,000 in May, after 3 months of
little change. The largest decrease was in the apparel industry, which
continued its long-term decline with a loss of 9,000 jobs. Most other
industries experienced small employment losses over the month. Employment
in both electronic components and industrial machinery declined for the
second month in a row; these industries had added jobs steadily during
1997. In contrast, the furniture and fixtures industry continued its
recent growth, adding 3,000 jobs in May, and employment in chemicals and
allied products also rose by 3,000.
Construction employment edged down by 9,000 in May, after seasonal
adjustment. This follows strong growth (204,000) from October to April.
Within the service-producing sector, the services industry added
151,000 jobs in May. This growth followed 3 months of gains that were well
below the 1997 average of 142,000. Business services accounted for half of
the May increase, with help supply services and computer services adding
26,000 and 17,000 jobs, respectively. This was the first gain for the help
supply industry since February. Engineering and management services
continued to grow, adding 25,000 jobs, with a sharp gain (16,000) in
management and public relations. Employment in health services increased
by 17,000 in May, after weak growth in the prior month.
Employment in retail trade grew by 89,000 in May, the second large
increase in a row. Gains were widespread throughout the industry, with
sizable growth occurring within eating and drinking places (33,000),
department stores (28,000), and miscellaneous retail establishments
(18,000). In contrast, wholesale trade gained 9,000 jobs, compared with
the average increase of 15,000 in the prior 12 months. The 3,000
employment gain in durable goods distribution was the smallest in nearly 5
years.
Transportation added 17,000 jobs in May, following a much smaller
increase (3,000) in April. Employment in local and interurban passenger
transit grew by 7,000, offsetting a decline of similar magnitude in the
previous month. Communications added 6,000 jobs in May, reflecting
continuing growth in the telephone industry.
Finance, insurance, and real estate added 20,000 jobs over the month,
mostly in finance. Within finance, mortgage brokerages had the largest job
gain (5,000) and has grown by 13 percent over the past 12 months. Security
- 4 -
brokerages also continued steady growth, adding 3,000 jobs over the month.
Insurance employment rose by 6,000 in May. Real estate employment edged
down over the month, after adding 31,000 jobs from December through April.
Government payrolls rose by 41,000 in May, mainly due to an increase
in local education (28,000) that was well above the industry's average for
the past year. State government also had stronger-than-usual growth in
May, spread about equally between the education and noneducation
components. Declines continued in federal government employment.
Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)
The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on
private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.2 hour in May to 34.7 hours,
seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek rose by 0.3 hour to 41.7
hours, but is a half hour below its peak level reached last December.
Factory overtime edged up by 0.1 hour in May to 4.6 hours; however,
overtime hours have trended down in recent months. (See table B-2.)
The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory
workers on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.7 percent to 144.9
(1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index rose by 0.5
percent to 109.1. (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 May to $12.73, seasonally
adjusted. Average weekly earnings increased by 0.9 percent to $441.73.
Over the year, average hourly and weekly earnings both rose by 4.3 percent.
(See table B-3.)
________________________________________
The Employment Situation for June 1998 is scheduled to be released on
Thursday, July 2, at 8:30 A.M. (EDT).
- 5 -
Revisions to Establishment Survey Data
In accordance with annual practice, the establishment survey data have
been revised to reflect comprehensive universe counts of payroll jobs
(benchmarks). These counts are derived principally from unemployment
insurance tax records for March 1997; the benchmark process resulted in
revisions to all not seasonally adjusted data series from April 1996
forward, the time period since the last benchmark was established.
Seasonally adjusted employment series for all employees and women,
beginning with January 1993, also have been revised, in accordance with the
usual 5-year revision practice. Seasonally adjusted series for hours,
indexes of aggregate weekly hours, and earnings for production or
nonsupervisory workers have been revised from 1989 forward to incorporate
an improved design that mitigates the effects of response and processing
errors in reports from respondents with semi-monthly and monthly payrolls.
Seasonally adjusted employment levels for production or nonsupervisory
workers also have been revised from 1989 forward.
Table B presents revised total nonfarm employment data on a seasonally
adjusted basis for the period January 1997 through February 1998. The
revised data for April 1997 forward incorporate the effect of applying the
rate of change measured by the sample to the new benchmark level, as well
as updated bias adjustments and new seasonal adjustment factors. In terms
of data revisions, the not seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment
level for March 1997 was raised by 431,000 (435,000 on a seasonally
adjusted basis). By February 1998, the previously published level was
revised upward by 406,000 (308,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis).
The June 1998 issue of Employment and Earnings will contain an article
that discusses the benchmark and post-benchmark revisions. This issue also
will provide revised seasonal adjustment factors for March through October
1998 and revised estimates for all regularly published tables containing
national establishment survey data on employment, hours, and earnings.
The BLS public database on the Internet, LABSTAT, contains all
historical data revised as a result of this benchmark, and updated seasonal
adjustment factors. The data can be accessed through the Current
Employment Statistics (CES) home page at http://stats.bls.gov/ceshome.htm.
Further information on the revisions released today may be obtained by
calling 202-606-6555.
- 6 -
Table B. Revisions in total nonfarm employment, seasonally adjusted,
January 1997-February 1998
(In thousands)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
| | |
| As previously | As revised | Difference
Year and month | published | |
| | |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
| | |
1997: | | |
| | |
January..........| 120,909 | 121,146 | 237
February.........| 121,162 | 121,457 | 295
March............| 121,344 | 121,779 | 435
April............| 121,671 | 122,092 | 421
May..............| 121,834 | 122,325 | 491
June.............| 122,056 | 122,534 | 478
July.............| 122,440 | 122,811 | 371
August...........| 122,492 | 122,894 | 402
September........| 122,792 | 123,280 | 488
October..........| 123,083 | 123,568 | 485
November.........| 123,512 | 123,944 | 432
December.........| 123,866 | 124,289 | 423
| | |
1998: | | |
| | |
January..........| 124,265 | 124,640 | 375
February.........| 124,524 | 124,832 | 308
---------------------------------------------------------------------
- 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 1998,
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
May Apr. May May Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 202,832 204,731 204,899 202,832 204,238 204,400 204,547 204,731 204,899
Civilian labor force.......................... 135,963 136,379 137,240 136,060 137,493 137,557 137,523 137,242 137,364
Participation rate...................... 67.0 66.6 67.0 67.1 67.3 67.3 67.2 67.0 67.0
Employed.................................... 129,565 130,735 131,476 129,494 131,083 131,163 130,994 131,383 131,453
Employment-population ratio............. 63.9 63.9 64.2 63.8 64.2 64.2 64.0 64.2 64.2
Agriculture............................... 3,652 3,315 3,552 3,418 3,319 3,335 3,132 3,350 3,335
Nonagricultural industries................ 125,912 127,421 127,924 126,076 127,764 127,829 127,862 128,033 128,118
Unemployed.................................. 6,398 5,643 5,764 6,566 6,409 6,393 6,529 5,859 5,910
Unemployment rate....................... 4.7 4.1 4.2 4.8 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.3 4.3
Not in labor force............................ 66,870 68,352 67,659 66,772 66,745 66,844 67,024 67,489 67,535
Men, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 97,559 98,503 98,591 97,559 98,241 98,331 98,405 98,503 98,591
Civilian labor force.......................... 73,191 73,336 73,853 73,089 73,852 73,780 73,695 73,799 73,783
Participation rate...................... 75.0 74.5 74.9 74.9 75.2 75.0 74.9 74.9 74.8
Employed.................................... 69,968 70,348 70,856 69,765 70,518 70,459 70,297 70,831 70,685
Employment-population ratio............. 71.7 71.4 71.9 71.5 71.8 71.7 71.4 71.9 71.7
Unemployed.................................. 3,223 2,988 2,997 3,324 3,333 3,320 3,399 2,969 3,098
Unemployment rate....................... 4.4 4.1 4.1 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.0 4.2
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 89,766 90,580 90,622 89,766 90,391 90,476 90,502 90,580 90,622
Civilian labor force.......................... 69,146 69,480 69,752 68,990 69,652 69,601 69,451 69,697 69,624
Participation rate...................... 77.0 76.7 77.0 76.9 77.1 76.9 76.7 76.9 76.8
Employed.................................... 66,564 67,027 67,413 66,309 67,008 66,990 66,753 67,301 67,190
Employment-population ratio............. 74.2 74.0 74.4 73.9 74.1 74.0 73.8 74.3 74.1
Agriculture............................... 2,566 2,406 2,482 2,402 2,282 2,264 2,168 2,420 2,324
Nonagricultural industries................ 63,997 64,621 64,930 63,907 64,726 64,726 64,585 64,881 64,866
Unemployed.................................. 2,582 2,453 2,339 2,681 2,644 2,611 2,699 2,396 2,434
Unemployment rate....................... 3.7 3.5 3.4 3.9 3.8 3.8 3.9 3.4 3.5
Women, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 105,274 106,228 106,308 105,274 105,997 106,070 106,141 106,228 106,308
Civilian labor force.......................... 62,772 63,043 63,387 62,971 63,641 63,777 63,827 63,443 63,581
Participation rate...................... 59.6 59.3 59.6 59.8 60.0 60.1 60.1 59.7 59.8
Employed.................................... 59,597 60,387 60,619 59,729 60,565 60,704 60,697 60,553 60,768
Employment-population ratio............. 56.6 56.8 57.0 56.7 57.1 57.2 57.2 57.0 57.2
Unemployed.................................. 3,175 2,655 2,767 3,242 3,076 3,073 3,130 2,890 2,813
Unemployment rate....................... 5.1 4.2 4.4 5.1 4.8 4.8 4.9 4.6 4.4
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 97,767 98,583 98,668 97,767 98,420 98,471 98,534 98,583 98,668
Civilian labor force.......................... 58,984 59,345 59,434 59,129 59,652 59,721 59,771 59,486 59,573
Participation rate...................... 60.3 60.2 60.2 60.5 60.6 60.6 60.7 60.3 60.4
Employed.................................... 56,464 57,131 57,216 56,488 57,040 57,146 57,186 57,075 57,253
Employment-population ratio............. 57.8 58.0 58.0 57.8 58.0 58.0 58.0 57.9 58.0
Agriculture............................... 782 705 774 760 811 801 717 705 755
Nonagricultural industries................ 55,682 56,426 56,442 55,728 56,229 56,345 56,470 56,370 56,499
Unemployed.................................. 2,520 2,213 2,218 2,641 2,612 2,575 2,585 2,411 2,320
Unemployment rate....................... 4.3 3.7 3.7 4.5 4.4 4.3 4.3 4.1 3.9
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian noninstitutional population........... 15,300 15,569 15,609 15,300 15,427 15,453 15,511 15,569 15,609
Civilian labor force.......................... 7,832 7,554 8,054 7,941 8,189 8,235 8,300 8,059 8,166
Participation rate...................... 51.2 48.5 51.6 51.9 53.1 53.3 53.5 51.8 52.3
Employed.................................... 6,537 6,577 6,847 6,697 7,035 7,028 7,055 7,007 7,010
Employment-population ratio............. 42.7 42.2 43.9 43.8 45.6 45.5 45.5 45.0 44.9
Agriculture............................... 304 204 296 256 227 270 247 225 256
Nonagricultural industries................ 6,233 6,373 6,552 6,441 6,809 6,758 6,808 6,782 6,754
Unemployed.................................. 1,296 977 1,207 1,244 1,154 1,207 1,245 1,052 1,156
Unemployment rate....................... 16.5 12.9 15.0 15.7 14.1 14.7 15.0 13.1 14.2
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
May Apr. May May Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
WHITE
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 169,782 171,141 171,257 169,782 170,810 170,917 171,016 171,141 171,257
Civilian labor force.......................... 114,486 114,380 115,261 114,562 115,253 115,392 115,297 115,057 115,309
Participation rate........................ 67.4 66.8 67.3 67.5 67.5 67.5 67.4 67.2 67.3
Employed.................................... 110,004 110,343 111,127 109,906 110,698 110,842 110,605 110,859 111,025
Employment-population ratio............... 64.8 64.5 64.9 64.7 64.8 64.9 64.7 64.8 64.8
Unemployed.................................. 4,481 4,037 4,134 4,656 4,555 4,550 4,692 4,198 4,284
Unemployment rate......................... 3.9 3.5 3.6 4.1 4.0 3.9 4.1 3.6 3.7
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 59,137 59,185 59,488 59,001 59,262 59,372 59,201 59,307 59,366
Participation rate........................ 77.6 77.0 77.4 77.4 77.3 77.4 77.1 77.2 77.2
Employed.................................... 57,284 57,390 57,746 57,033 57,336 57,456 57,209 57,562 57,516
Employment-population ratio............... 75.2 74.7 75.1 74.8 74.8 74.9 74.5 74.9 74.8
Unemployed.................................. 1,853 1,795 1,743 1,968 1,926 1,916 1,992 1,745 1,850
Unemployment rate......................... 3.1 3.0 2.9 3.3 3.3 3.2 3.4 2.9 3.1
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 48,705 48,801 48,920 48,845 49,077 49,057 49,077 48,955 49,019
Participation rate........................ 59.8 59.5 59.7 60.0 60.0 59.9 59.9 59.7 59.8
Employed.................................... 47,000 47,300 47,416 47,022 47,250 47,279 47,276 47,300 47,416
Employment-population ratio............... 57.7 57.7 57.8 57.8 57.7 57.7 57.7 57.7 57.8
Unemployed.................................. 1,705 1,501 1,504 1,823 1,827 1,778 1,801 1,654 1,603
Unemployment rate......................... 3.5 3.1 3.1 3.7 3.7 3.6 3.7 3.4 3.3
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force.......................... 6,644 6,394 6,853 6,716 6,914 6,963 7,019 6,795 6,924
Participation rate........................ 54.7 51.7 55.2 55.3 56.3 56.6 56.9 54.9 55.8
Employed.................................... 5,721 5,653 5,965 5,851 6,113 6,107 6,120 5,996 6,093
Employment-population ratio............... 47.1 45.7 48.1 48.2 49.8 49.6 49.6 48.5 49.1
Unemployed.................................. 923 741 888 865 802 857 899 799 831
Unemployment rate......................... 13.9 11.6 13.0 12.9 11.6 12.3 12.8 11.8 12.0
Men..................................... 13.3 12.6 14.3 13.0 14.2 14.7 14.9 12.7 14.0
Women................................... 14.5 10.5 11.5 12.7 8.8 9.8 10.6 10.7 9.8
BLACK
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 23,950 24,289 24,317 23,950 24,196 24,229 24,257 24,289 24,317
Civilian labor force.......................... 15,370 15,776 15,709 15,424 15,788 15,885 15,971 15,907 15,756
Participation rate........................ 64.2 64.9 64.6 64.4 65.3 65.6 65.8 65.5 64.8
Employed.................................... 13,825 14,429 14,336 13,837 14,316 14,349 14,498 14,499 14,344
Employment-population ratio............... 57.7 59.4 59.0 57.8 59.2 59.2 59.8 59.7 59.0
Unemployed.................................. 1,545 1,347 1,373 1,587 1,472 1,535 1,473 1,408 1,412
Unemployment rate......................... 10.0 8.5 8.7 10.3 9.3 9.7 9.2 8.9 9.0
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 6,849 7,050 7,009 6,851 7,012 6,974 7,044 7,097 7,009
Participation rate........................ 71.7 72.7 72.2 71.7 72.6 72.1 72.8 73.2 72.2
Employed.................................... 6,287 6,527 6,549 6,273 6,456 6,428 6,511 6,573 6,536
Employment-population ratio............... 65.8 67.4 67.5 65.7 66.9 66.5 67.3 67.8 67.4
Unemployed.................................. 563 523 460 578 556 546 533 524 473
Unemployment rate......................... 8.2 7.4 6.6 8.4 7.9 7.8 7.6 7.4 6.7
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 7,641 7,814 7,762 7,671 7,799 7,952 7,935 7,822 7,787
Participation rate........................ 63.7 64.2 63.7 63.9 64.3 65.5 65.3 64.3 64.0
Employed.................................... 6,967 7,196 7,130 6,968 7,178 7,265 7,284 7,182 7,130
Employment-population ratio............... 58.1 59.2 58.6 58.1 59.2 59.8 60.0 59.0 58.6
Unemployed.................................. 675 618 631 703 621 687 651 640 657
Unemployment rate......................... 8.8 7.9 8.1 9.2 8.0 8.6 8.2 8.2 8.4
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force.......................... 879 912 938 902 977 959 992 988 960
Participation rate........................ 36.6 37.4 38.5 37.5 40.5 39.6 40.9 40.6 39.4
Employed.................................... 572 705 657 596 683 656 703 744 678
Employment-population ratio............... 23.8 29.0 26.9 24.8 28.3 27.1 29.0 30.6 27.8
Unemployed.................................. 307 207 282 306 294 302 289 244 283
Unemployment rate......................... 34.9 22.7 30.0 33.9 30.1 31.5 29.1 24.7 29.4
Men..................................... 35.9 22.7 30.7 34.5 31.8 34.7 27.8 23.9 30.2
Women................................... 34.0 22.7 29.4 33.3 28.5 28.4 30.3 25.3 28.8
HISPANIC ORIGIN
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 20,236 20,915 20,975 20,236 20,741 20,798 20,851 20,915 20,975
Civilian labor force.......................... 13,630 14,179 14,328 13,760 13,954 14,149 14,298 14,369 14,458
Participation rate........................ 67.4 67.8 68.3 68.0 67.3 68.0 68.6 68.7 68.9
Employed.................................... 12,666 13,259 13,426 12,713 12,988 13,181 13,305 13,434 13,480
Employment-population ratio............... 62.6 63.4 64.0 62.8 62.6 63.4 63.8 64.2 64.3
Unemployed.................................. 964 919 902 1,047 966 968 993 935 978
Unemployment rate......................... 7.1 6.5 6.3 7.6 6.9 6.8 6.9 6.5 6.8
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
May Apr. May May Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
Less than a high school diploma
Civilian noninstitutional population.... 30,198 29,638 29,931 30,198 29,981 29,228 29,251 29,638 29,931
Civilian labor force.................. 12,828 12,857 12,942 12,590 12,682 12,555 12,392 12,664 12,690
Percent of population............. 42.5 43.4 43.2 41.7 42.3 43.0 42.4 42.7 42.4
Employed............................ 11,864 11,938 12,147 11,556 11,771 11,676 11,500 11,773 11,839
Employment-population ratio....... 39.3 40.3 40.6 38.3 39.3 39.9 39.3 39.7 39.6
Unemployed.......................... 964 920 796 1,034 911 879 891 891 851
Unemployment rate................. 7.5 7.2 6.1 8.2 7.2 7.0 7.2 7.0 6.7
High school graduates, no college (2)
Civilian noninstitutional population.... 57,392 57,484 57,706 57,392 57,606 57,418 57,885 57,484 57,706
Civilian labor force.................. 37,791 37,374 37,627 37,669 37,787 37,807 37,931 37,340 37,496
Percent of population............. 65.8 65.0 65.2 65.6 65.6 65.8 65.5 65.0 65.0
Employed............................ 36,354 35,921 36,366 36,097 36,303 36,302 36,331 35,885 36,114
Employment-population ratio....... 63.3 62.5 63.0 62.9 63.0 63.2 62.8 62.4 62.6
Unemployed.......................... 1,436 1,453 1,261 1,572 1,485 1,505 1,600 1,454 1,383
Unemployment rate................. 3.8 3.9 3.4 4.2 3.9 4.0 4.2 3.9 3.7
Less than a bachelor's degree(3)
Civilian noninstitutional population.... 41,648 42,303 42,024 41,648 41,718 42,527 42,313 42,303 42,024
Civilian labor force.................. 30,975 31,177 31,114 31,279 31,440 31,505 31,515 31,517 31,408
Percent of population............. 74.4 73.7 74.0 75.1 75.4 74.1 74.5 74.5 74.7
Employed............................ 30,083 30,331 30,193 30,342 30,429 30,538 30,471 30,669 30,437
Employment-population ratio....... 72.2 71.7 71.8 72.9 72.9 71.8 72.0 72.5 72.4
Unemployed.......................... 891 846 921 937 1,011 967 1,043 848 971
Unemployment rate................. 2.9 2.7 3.0 3.0 3.2 3.1 3.3 2.7 3.1
College graduates
Civilian noninstitutional population.... 40,909 42,197 42,090 40,909 41,974 42,238 42,085 42,197 42,090
Civilian labor force.................. 32,973 33,986 33,930 32,971 33,685 33,672 33,777 33,989 33,920
Percent of population............. 80.6 80.5 80.6 80.6 80.3 79.7 80.3 80.5 80.6
Employed............................ 32,301 33,485 33,397 32,265 33,040 33,029 33,145 33,419 33,364
Employment-population ratio....... 79.0 79.4 79.3 78.9 78.7 78.2 78.8 79.2 79.3
Unemployed.......................... 672 501 533 706 645 643 632 571 556
Unemployment rate................. 2.0 1.5 1.6 2.1 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.7 1.6
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
May Apr. May May Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
CHARACTERISTIC
Total employed, 16 years and over............... 129,565 130,735 131,476 129,494 131,083 131,163 130,994 131,383 131,453
Married men, spouse present................... 42,484 42,780 42,556 42,375 42,977 42,915 42,779 42,865 42,471
Married women, spouse present................. 32,575 33,006 32,838 32,520 32,793 32,821 32,872 32,973 32,805
Women who maintain families................... 7,913 7,938 7,943 7,820 7,784 7,884 7,776 7,813 7,848
OCCUPATION
Managerial and professional specialty......... 37,391 38,631 38,672 37,356 38,099 38,164 38,454 38,643 38,641
Technical, sales, and administrative support.. 38,132 38,431 38,247 38,304 38,382 38,491 38,693 38,585 38,401
Service occupations........................... 17,407 17,460 17,749 17,418 18,162 17,950 17,752 17,478 17,749
Precision production, craft, and repair....... 14,265 14,556 14,839 14,279 14,285 14,456 14,656 14,673 14,853
Operators, fabricators, and laborers.......... 18,514 18,253 18,250 18,593 18,622 18,632 18,179 18,447 18,322
Farming, forestry, and fishing................ 3,856 3,404 3,719 3,612 3,355 3,436 3,269 3,495 3,479
CLASS OF WORKER
Agriculture:
Wage and salary workers..................... 2,117 2,003 2,070 1,917 1,949 1,928 1,866 1,987 1,871
Self-employed workers....................... 1,483 1,281 1,430 1,442 1,348 1,324 1,242 1,324 1,395
Unpaid family workers....................... 53 31 52 52 44 41 32 28 51
Nonagricultural industries:
Wage and salary workers..................... 116,611 118,217 118,753 116,874 118,529 118,961 119,131 118,774 119,013
Government................................ 18,128 18,475 18,287 17,863 18,421 18,378 18,072 18,202 18,034
Private industries........................ 98,483 99,742 100,467 99,011 100,108 100,583 101,058 100,571 100,979
Private households...................... 910 952 975 948 985 1,035 1,022 1,014 1,015
Other industries........................ 97,573 98,790 99,491 98,063 99,123 99,547 100,037 99,557 99,964
Self-employed workers....................... 9,151 9,087 9,068 9,098 8,964 8,761 8,784 9,069 9,023
Unpaid family workers....................... 150 117 103 142 131 117 102 124 97
PERSONS AT WORK PART TIME
All industries:
Part time for economic reasons.............. 3,891 3,649 3,602 4,060 4,082 3,882 3,902 3,735 3,772
Slack work or business conditions......... 2,192 2,099 2,005 2,295 2,282 2,123 2,188 2,074 2,104
Could only find part-time work............ 1,395 1,256 1,299 1,440 1,400 1,455 1,445 1,300 1,344
Part time for noneconomic reasons........... 18,592 18,808 19,035 18,218 18,515 18,407 18,448 18,084 18,662
Nonagricultural industries:
Part time for economic reasons.............. 3,707 3,496 3,478 3,853 3,865 3,743 3,726 3,608 3,630
Slack work or business conditions......... 2,079 2,010 1,937 2,166 2,162 2,025 2,057 1,998 2,024
Could only find part-time work............ 1,354 1,232 1,265 1,402 1,373 1,433 1,416 1,276 1,315
Part time for noneconomic reasons........... 17,993 18,204 18,411 17,654 17,898 17,786 17,929 17,470 18,067
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
May Apr. May May Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
CHARACTERISTIC
Total, 16 years and over....................... 6,566 5,859 5,910 4.8 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.3 4.3
Men, 20 years and over....................... 2,681 2,396 2,434 3.9 3.8 3.8 3.9 3.4 3.5
Women, 20 years and over..................... 2,641 2,411 2,320 4.5 4.4 4.3 4.3 4.1 3.9
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years................... 1,244 1,052 1,156 15.7 14.1 14.7 15.0 13.1 14.2
Married men, spouse present.................. 1,160 974 1,023 2.7 2.6 2.5 2.5 2.2 2.4
Married women, spouse present................ 1,075 958 933 3.2 3.1 3.1 3.3 2.8 2.8
Women who maintain families.................. 671 640 651 7.9 7.6 7.6 7.6 7.6 7.7
Full-time workers............................ 5,300 4,690 4,784 4.8 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.2 4.2
Part-time workers............................ 1,303 1,170 1,157 5.3 5.4 5.2 5.7 4.8 4.7
OCCUPATION(2)
Managerial and professional specialty........ 794 734 653 2.1 2.0 2.0 1.8 1.9 1.7
Technical, sales, and administrative support. 1,566 1,473 1,570 3.9 4.2 4.0 4.1 3.7 3.9
Precision production, craft, and repair...... 703 562 677 4.7 4.6 4.1 4.5 3.7 4.4
Operators, fabricators, and laborers......... 1,453 1,188 1,279 7.2 5.9 6.5 6.9 6.1 6.5
Farming, forestry, and fishing............... 255 216 237 6.6 6.8 6.3 7.1 5.8 6.4
INDUSTRY
Nonagricultural private wage and salary
workers...................................... 5,238 4,534 4,763 5.0 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.3 4.5
Goods-producing industries................. 1,542 1,263 1,339 5.3 4.8 4.7 5.0 4.4 4.6
Mining................................... 21 14 8 3.3 4.0 2.6 3.7 2.3 1.3
Construction............................. 611 447 574 8.6 7.9 7.8 8.6 6.3 8.0
Manufacturing............................ 910 802 756 4.3 3.9 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.6
Durable goods.......................... 453 436 375 3.6 3.4 2.9 3.6 3.5 3.0
Nondurable goods....................... 457 366 381 5.3 4.5 5.0 4.2 4.4 4.6
Service-producing industries............... 3,696 3,271 3,424 4.9 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.3 4.5
Transportation and public utilities...... 270 236 224 3.6 3.8 3.2 3.3 3.1 3.0
Wholesale and retail trade............... 1,635 1,396 1,382 6.1 5.9 5.8 5.4 5.2 5.1
Finance, insurance, and real estate...... 238 178 159 3.1 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.2 2.0
Services................................. 1,553 1,461 1,659 4.7 4.3 4.7 4.7 4.3 4.8
Government workers........................... 457 362 451 2.5 2.4 2.3 2.9 2.0 2.4
Agricultural wage and salary workers......... 157 172 160 7.6 10.6 8.6 9.7 8.0 7.9
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
May Apr. May May Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Less than 5 weeks.............................. 2,535 2,250 2,634 2,542 2,488 2,622 2,858 2,632 2,634
5 to 14 weeks.................................. 1,691 1,734 1,597 2,067 1,971 1,909 1,979 1,901 1,954
15 weeks and over.............................. 2,172 1,660 1,534 2,076 1,811 1,830 1,731 1,417 1,462
15 to 26 weeks.............................. 1,144 754 724 1,054 773 855 841 584 656
27 weeks and over........................... 1,028 906 809 1,022 1,038 974 891 833 806
Average (mean) duration, in weeks.............. 15.7 15.6 15.0 15.3 15.6 15.6 14.3 14.3 14.6
Median duration, in weeks...................... 7.8 8.1 5.9 7.8 7.4 7.2 6.8 6.4 5.9
PERCENT DISTRIBUTION
Total unemployed............................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Less than 5 weeks............................ 39.6 39.9 45.7 38.0 39.7 41.2 43.5 44.2 43.5
5 to 14 weeks................................ 26.4 30.7 27.7 30.9 31.4 30.0 30.1 31.9 32.3
15 weeks and over............................ 33.9 29.4 26.6 31.1 28.9 28.8 26.4 23.8 24.2
15 to 26 weeks............................. 17.9 13.4 12.6 15.8 12.3 13.4 12.8 9.8 10.8
27 weeks and over.......................... 16.1 16.1 14.0 15.3 16.6 15.3 13.6 14.0 13.3
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
May Apr. May May Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Job losers and persons who completed temporary
jobs......................................... 2,696 2,647 2,517 2,961 2,807 2,795 2,980 2,631 2,772
On temporary layoff........................... 704 723 608 909 860 821 980 696 786
Not on temporary layoff....................... 1,992 1,923 1,908 2,052 1,947 1,975 2,000 1,935 1,986
Permanent job losers........................ 1,391 1,381 1,357 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Persons who completed temporary jobs........ 602 542 551 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Job leavers..................................... 721 579 664 808 808 786 744 625 748
Reentrants...................................... 2,412 1,939 2,098 2,338 2,229 2,266 2,215 2,096 2,033
New entrants.................................... 569 479 486 573 518 543 549 511 493
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......................................... 42.1 46.9 43.7 44.3 44.1 43.7 45.9 44.9 45.8
On temporary layoff.......................... 11.0 12.8 10.5 13.6 13.5 12.8 15.1 11.9 13.0
Not on temporary layoff...................... 31.1 34.1 33.1 30.7 30.6 30.9 30.8 33.0 32.8
Job leavers.................................... 11.3 10.3 11.5 12.1 12.7 12.3 11.5 10.7 12.4
Reentrants..................................... 37.7 34.4 36.4 35.0 35.0 35.5 34.1 35.7 33.6
New entrants................................... 8.9 8.5 8.4 8.6 8.1 8.5 8.5 8.7 8.2
UNEMPLOYED AS A PERCENT OF THE
CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE
Job losers and persons who completed temporary
jobs......................................... 2.0 1.9 1.8 2.2 2.0 2.0 2.2 1.9 2.0
Job leavers.................................... .5 .4 .5 .6 .6 .6 .5 .5 .5
Reentrants..................................... 1.8 1.4 1.5 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.5 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
May Apr. May May Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
U-1 Persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer, as a percent of
the civilian
labor force.............................................. 1.6 1.2 1.1 1.5 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.0 1.1
U-2 Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs, as
a percent of the
civilian labor force..................................... 2.0 1.9 1.8 2.2 2.0 2.0 2.2 1.9 2.0
U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor
force
(official unemployment rate)............................. 4.7 4.1 4.2 4.8 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.3 4.3
U-4 Total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a percent
of the civilian
labor force plus discouraged workers.................... 4.9 4.4 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........................................ 5.7 5.0 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......................... 8.5 7.7 7.6 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
1 Not available.
NOTE: This range of alternative measures of labor underutilization replaces the U1-U7 range published in table A-7 of
this release prior to 1994. Marginally attached workers are persons who currently are neither working nor looking for work
but indicate that they want and are available for a job and have looked for work sometime in the recent past. Discouraged
workers, a subset of the marginally attached, have given a job-market related reason for not currently looking for a job.
Persons employed part time for economic reasons are those who want and are available for full-time work but have had to
settle for a part-time schedule. For further information, see "BLS introduces new range of alternative unemployment
measures," in the October 1995 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. Beginning in January 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
May Apr. May May Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
Total, 16 years and over.......................... 6,566 5,859 5,910 4.8 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.3 4.3
16 to 24 years.................................. 2,361 2,063 2,184 11.0 10.8 10.8 10.7 9.5 10.0
16 to 19 years................................ 1,244 1,052 1,156 15.7 14.1 14.7 15.0 13.1 14.2
16 to 17 years.............................. 586 506 514 18.3 17.3 18.5 16.9 15.2 15.8
18 to 19 years.............................. 664 546 650 13.9 11.6 11.3 13.7 11.6 13.2
20 to 24 years................................ 1,117 1,011 1,028 8.2 8.9 8.5 8.0 7.4 7.6
25 years and over............................... 4,249 3,751 3,758 3.7 3.5 3.5 3.6 3.2 3.3
25 to 54 years................................ 3,787 3,293 3,372 3.9 3.6 3.6 3.8 3.3 3.4
55 years and over............................. 480 426 407 2.9 2.7 2.7 2.9 2.5 2.4
Men, 16 years and over.......................... 3,324 2,969 3,098 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.0 4.2
16 to 24 years................................ 1,209 1,105 1,250 10.7 11.2 11.7 11.2 9.7 11.0
16 to 19 years.............................. 643 573 664 15.7 16.4 17.0 16.5 14.0 16.0
16 to 17 years............................ 304 253 300 18.5 18.3 21.0 18.5 14.9 17.9
18 to 19 years............................ 345 320 370 14.0 14.9 13.1 15.2 13.3 14.8
20 to 24 years.............................. 566 532 586 7.8 8.1 8.7 8.1 7.3 8.1
25 years and over............................. 2,156 1,854 1,875 3.5 3.3 3.2 3.4 3.0 3.0
25 to 54 years.............................. 1,878 1,602 1,639 3.6 3.4 3.2 3.5 3.0 3.1
55 years and over........................... 264 244 225 2.9 3.1 2.9 3.1 2.6 2.4
Women, 16 years and over........................ 3,242 2,890 2,813 5.1 4.8 4.8 4.9 4.6 4.4
16 to 24 years................................ 1,152 958 935 11.3 10.4 9.8 10.1 9.2 9.0
16 to 19 years.............................. 601 479 493 15.6 11.6 12.3 13.4 12.1 12.3
16 to 17 years............................ 282 253 214 18.1 16.3 16.0 15.2 15.5 13.5
18 to 19 years............................ 319 226 280 13.9 8.2 9.5 12.2 9.8 11.4
20 to 24 years.............................. 551 479 442 8.7 9.7 8.3 7.9 7.5 6.9
25 years and over............................. 2,093 1,897 1,883 4.0 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.6 3.5
25 to 54 years.............................. 1,909 1,692 1,733 4.2 3.9 4.1 4.1 3.7 3.8
55 years and over........................... 216 182 182 3.0 2.3 2.4 2.6 2.4 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
May May May May May May
1997 1998 1997 1998 1997 1998
NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE
Total not in the labor force.................................... 66,870 67,659 24,368 24,738 42,502 42,921
Persons who currently want a job.............................. 5,901 5,313 2,488 2,237 3,412 3,076
Searched for work and vailable to work now(1).............. 1,431 1,213 639 570 792 644
Reason not currently looking:
Discouragement over job prospects(2).................. 338 268 198 161 140 106
Reasons other than discouragement(3)............... 1,093 946 441 408 652 537
MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS
Total multiple jobholders(4).................................... 8,197 8,126 4,398 4,438 3,800 3,688
Percent of total employed................................... 6.3 6.2 6.3 6.3 6.4 6.1
Primary job full time, secondary job part time.............. 4,594 4,660 2,773 2,811 1,820 1,849
Primary and secondary jobs both part time................... 1,713 1,571 546 496 1,167 1,075
Primary and secondary jobs both full time................... 262 265 190 206 73 59
Hours vary on primary or secondary job...................... 1,608 1,606 875 912 733 694
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
May Mar. Apr. May May Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May
1997 1998 1998p 1998p 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998p 1998p
Total......................... 122,973 124,006 125,068 126,114 122,325 124,640 124,832 124,914 125,216 125,512
Total private.................... 103,055 103,880 104,938 105,926 102,811 104,954 105,112 105,186 105,452 105,707
Goods-producing......................... 24,919 24,780 25,078 25,318 24,883 25,297 25,314 25,276 25,334 25,298
Mining................................ 592 577 577 581 593 592 590 587 582 581
Metal mining........................ 54.0 50.4 50.3 50.8 54 52 52 51 51 51
Coal mining......................... 96.8 93.0 92.1 91.6 97 94 93 93 92 92
Oil and gas extraction.............. 331.3 330.8 327.6 329.0 334 338 338 336 332 331
Nonmetallic minerals, except fuels.. 110.2 102.8 107.0 109.5 108 108 107 107 107 107
Construction.......................... 5,728 5,459 5,755 5,971 5,670 5,881 5,902 5,860 5,926 5,917
General building contractors........ 1,306.8 1,300.6 1,345.7 1,378.7 1,310 1,365 1,371 1,373 1,384 1,382
Heavy construction, except building. 831.4 713.6 790.6 846.8 797 817 813 805 818 816
Special trade contractors........... 3,589.3 3,445.1 3,618.6 3,745.7 3,563 3,699 3,718 3,682 3,724 3,719
Manufacturing......................... 18,599 18,744 18,746 18,766 18,620 18,824 18,822 18,829 18,826 18,800
Production workers................ 12,861 12,954 12,942 12,958 12,874 13,023 13,024 13,013 13,001 12,982
Durable goods........................ 10,950 11,140 11,153 11,162 10,941 11,154 11,159 11,166 11,169 11,158
Production workers................ 7,521 7,657 7,660 7,660 7,504 7,669 7,676 7,669 7,664 7,648
Lumber and wood products............ 792.0 785.7 790.2 798.7 794 800 800 801 801 802
Furniture and fixtures.............. 509.6 521.1 523.7 525.1 509 517 519 520 524 527
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 557.1 546.4 559.4 564.3 551 562 561 558 561 559
Primary metal industries............ 707.2 719.3 716.7 715.9 708 719 718 719 717 716
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 234.1 235.2 234.2 234.7 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Fabricated metal products........... 1,470.9 1,494.6 1,494.2 1,495.0 1,473 1,496 1,497 1,497 1,498 1,496
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 2,159.1 2,211.0 2,207.9 2,205.2 2,154 2,200 2,202 2,205 2,202 2,200
Computer and office equipment..... 373.8 379.0 377.7 375.8 374 381 381 381 378 375
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 1,671.7 1,718.4 1,714.2 1,710.0 1,676 1,719 1,720 1,722 1,720 1,716
Electronic components and
accessories.................... 643.3 679.7 676.4 673.6 646 680 680 681 678 675
Transportation equipment............ 1,831.4 1,888.6 1,891.0 1,894.1 1,824 1,882 1,886 1,887 1,889 1,887
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 980.3 1,003.5 1,004.7 1,006.5 973 1,002 1,004 1,002 1,004 1,000
Aircraft and parts................ 493.2 522.9 523.6 522.7 495 521 523 525 525 524
Instruments and related products.... 860.6 867.3 866.5 865.7 861 870 866 868 868 867
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 390.1 388.0 389.0 387.5 391 389 390 389 389 388
Nondurable goods..................... 7,649 7,604 7,593 7,604 7,679 7,670 7,663 7,663 7,657 7,642
Production workers................ 5,340 5,297 5,282 5,298 5,370 5,354 5,348 5,344 5,337 5,334
Food and kindred products........... 1,659.1 1,663.8 1,662.4 1,672.6 1,690 1,702 1,703 1,704 1,707 1,706
Tobacco products.................... 38.0 40.5 39.5 37.4 41 40 41 41 42 41
Textile mill products............... 618.4 602.5 603.6 604.2 617 608 606 604 605 604
Apparel and other textile products.. 835.6 792.0 784.0 780.8 831 805 796 796 787 778
Paper and allied products........... 683.7 684.6 681.6 681.4 685 688 688 688 686 684
Printing and publishing............. 1,550.9 1,560.6 1,564.6 1,565.0 1,553 1,564 1,564 1,564 1,566 1,566
Chemicals and allied products....... 1,034.1 1,034.1 1,031.6 1,036.7 1,036 1,035 1,036 1,036 1,035 1,038
Petroleum and coal products......... 141.4 133.2 135.5 137.3 141 136 136 136 137 136
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 995.9 1,007.8 1,006.0 1,004.5 993 1,006 1,007 1,009 1,008 1,005
Leather and leather products........ 92.3 85.1 84.4 83.9 92 86 86 85 84 84
Service-producing....................... 98,054 99,226 99,990 100,796 97,442 99,343 99,518 99,638 99,882 100,214
Transportation and public utilities... 6,407 6,456 6,483 6,544 6,399 6,473 6,494 6,504 6,512 6,534
Transportation...................... 4,123 4,132 4,153 4,201 4,112 4,148 4,164 4,170 4,173 4,190
Railroad transportation........... 227.4 228.0 229.6 230.8 226 231 231 231 230 230
Local and interurban passenger
transit........................ 468.4 472.8 468.3 479.3 450 456 459 460 454 461
Trucking and warehousing.......... 1,659.7 1,658.1 1,675.6 1,697.4 1,666 1,684 1,688 1,690 1,702 1,703
Water transportation.............. 184.7 176.9 180.5 186.7 179 177 181 183 182 185
Transportation by air............. 1,131.3 1,136.6 1,139.0 1,143.7 1,139 1,142 1,145 1,146 1,146 1,149
Pipelines, except natural gas..... 14.2 14.1 14.1 14.3 14 14 14 14 14 14
Transportation services........... 437.2 445.9 446.2 448.4 438 444 446 446 445 448
Communications and public utilities. 2,284 2,324 2,330 2,343 2,287 2,325 2,330 2,334 2,339 2,344
Communications.................... 1,415.6 1,469.2 1,477.4 1,488.7 1,419 1,466 1,471 1,475 1,484 1,490
Electric, gas, and sanitary
services....................... 868.1 855.2 852.4 854.3 868 859 859 859 855 854
Wholesale trade....................... 6,636 6,744 6,780 6,809 6,626 6,759 6,769 6,783 6,797 6,806
Durable goods....................... 3,921 4,027 4,047 4,059 3,916 4,017 4,030 4,039 4,050 4,053
Nondurable goods.................... 2,715 2,717 2,733 2,750 2,710 2,742 2,739 2,744 2,747 2,753
Retail trade.......................... 21,978 21,823 22,078 22,425 21,952 22,280 22,283 22,259 22,328 22,417
Building materials and garden
supplies......................... 978.9 930.5 975.8 1,006.8 941 954 959 966 967 966
General merchandise stores.......... 2,617.4 2,660.0 2,674.4 2,714.4 2,702 2,771 2,756 2,759 2,784 2,801
Department stores................. 2,298.9 2,343.2 2,356.0 2,395.9 2,376 2,439 2,427 2,428 2,448 2,476
Food stores......................... 3,474.0 3,486.8 3,489.6 3,518.4 3,486 3,528 3,533 3,536 3,533 3,539
Automotive dealers and service
stations......................... 2,313.9 2,311.2 2,327.2 2,350.0 2,309 2,331 2,331 2,333 2,337 2,345
New and used car dealers.......... 1,048.7 1,054.7 1,056.7 1,061.0 1,049 1,056 1,056 1,056 1,058 1,062
Apparel and accessory stores........ 1,070.4 1,064.0 1,075.0 1,078.9 1,095 1,108 1,100 1,098 1,104 1,105
Furniture and home furnishings
stores........................... 988.4 1,037.2 1,035.3 1,038.8 1,000 1,039 1,043 1,048 1,045 1,052
Eating and drinking places.......... 7,786.1 7,519.8 7,676.1 7,860.3 7,637 7,685 7,694 7,645 7,680 7,713
Miscellaneous retail establishments. 2,748.5 2,813.7 2,824.1 2,856.9 2,782 2,864 2,867 2,874 2,878 2,896
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 7,065 7,213 7,258 7,305 7,064 7,213 7,232 7,258 7,286 7,306
Finance............................. 3,393 3,504 3,512 3,529 3,397 3,485 3,496 3,512 3,519 3,535
Depository institutions........... 2,020.8 2,034.8 2,033.4 2,038.9 2,024 2,037 2,039 2,041 2,040 2,044
Commercial banks................ 1,455.7 1,459.0 1,455.9 1,459.2 1,459 1,463 1,464 1,465 1,461 1,463
Savings institutions............ 261.6 261.8 262.6 263.3 262 262 262 262 262 264
Nondepository institutions........ 563.5 602.3 605.7 612.7 563 589 593 602 605 612
Mortgage bankers and brokers.... 251.5 275.6 279.1 284.3 250 264 270 276 278 283
Security and commodity brokers.... 589.2 630.5 634.2 637.6 591 625 629 633 636 639
Holding and other investment
offices........................ 219.8 236.3 239.0 239.9 219 234 235 236 238 240
Insurance........................... 2,249 2,298 2,308 2,317 2,249 2,293 2,297 2,302 2,311 2,317
Insurance carriers................ 1,526.5 1,562.7 1,571.6 1,578.2 1,527 1,558 1,560 1,566 1,574 1,579
Insurance agents, brokers, and
service........................ 722.6 735.7 736.2 738.3 722 735 737 736 737 738
Real estate......................... 1,423 1,411 1,438 1,459 1,418 1,435 1,439 1,444 1,456 1,454
Services2............................. 36,050 36,864 37,261 37,525 35,887 36,932 37,020 37,106 37,195 37,346
Agricultural services............... 733.6 617.3 711.8 757.6 677 696 696 695 708 700
Hotels and other lodging places..... 1,762.5 1,688.8 1,721.6 1,787.2 1,741 1,762 1,756 1,755 1,768 1,768
Personal services................... 1,171.0 1,239.8 1,238.7 1,176.3 1,184 1,176 1,177 1,178 1,182 1,190
Business services................... 7,903.5 8,285.6 8,352.3 8,468.1 7,931 8,351 8,384 8,412 8,417 8,491
Services to buildings............. 941.7 959.5 965.1 976.8 936 960 961 966 963 972
Personnel supply services......... 2,924.1 3,041.2 3,078.0 3,143.5 2,951 3,139 3,152 3,149 3,138 3,165
Help supply services............ 2,602.3 2,710.8 2,743.5 2,811.6 2,631 2,804 2,820 2,819 2,802 2,828
Computer and data processing
services....................... 1,389.0 1,544.5 1,559.0 1,574.1 1,391 1,507 1,522 1,538 1,560 1,577
Auto repair, services, and parking.. 1,124.3 1,144.2 1,145.5 1,153.5 1,123 1,147 1,144 1,145 1,148 1,152
Miscellaneous repair services....... 375.8 378.8 382.9 384.2 375 381 382 382 383 384
Motion pictures..................... 541.0 567.2 561.5 557.8 541 563 569 565 563 559
Amusement and recreation services... 1,652.1 1,502.7 1,634.8 1,758.4 1,564 1,633 1,641 1,647 1,658 1,665
Health services..................... 9,690.6 9,848.3 9,859.2 9,882.7 9,701 9,837 9,852 9,867 9,872 9,889
Offices and clinics of medical
doctors........................ 1,735.5 1,790.3 1,798.6 1,807.2 1,738 1,784 1,788 1,796 1,802 1,809
Nursing and personal care
facilities..................... 1,751.5 1,756.8 1,755.8 1,755.5 1,757 1,759 1,761 1,761 1,760 1,760
Hospitals......................... 3,852.6 3,924.9 3,932.5 3,939.9 3,857 3,916 3,920 3,925 3,938 3,946
Home health care services......... 714.2 694.8 686.6 685.5 713 706 702 698 686 683
Legal services...................... 938.4 966.2 967.7 969.9 944 964 967 970 972 975
Educational services................ 2,129.7 2,324.2 2,333.7 2,245.6 2,097 2,169 2,179 2,189 2,196 2,212
Social services..................... 2,526.1 2,595.9 2,612.7 2,631.5 2,501 2,570 2,577 2,587 2,595 2,606
Child day care services........... 590.0 589.3 593.6 596.5 569 575 574 575 576 574
Residential care.................. 712.3 742.0 745.0 747.8 712 736 741 744 746 748
Museums and botanical and zoological
gardens........................... 92.9 86.2 90.5 94.6 90 91 92 92 92 91
Membership organizations............ 2,249.3 2,248.6 2,253.0 2,264.8 2,250 2,260 2,261 2,263 2,266 2,265
Engineering and management services. 2,965.8 3,175.7 3,200.4 3,197.7 2,974 3,137 3,148 3,164 3,179 3,204
Engineering and architectural
services....................... 860.3 895.1 902.1 913.1 862 897 899 904 911 915
Management and public relations... 930.8 1,007.5 1,015.8 1,031.0 931 1,004 1,007 1,012 1,012 1,028
Services, nec....................... 49.4 50.8 51.2 51.4 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Government............................ 19,918 20,126 20,130 20,188 19,514 19,686 19,720 19,728 19,764 19,805
Federal............................. 2,707 2,662 2,668 2,677 2,704 2,670 2,676 2,671 2,675 2,672
Federal, except Postal Service.... 1,858.1 1,808.9 1,815.2 1,823.1 1,850 1,822 1,819 1,815 1,815 1,811
State............................... 4,641 4,741 4,747 4,692 4,583 4,613 4,613 4,619 4,620 4,632
Education......................... 1,961.8 2,064.8 2,060.4 1,992.6 1,904 1,924 1,924 1,928 1,926 1,931
Other State government............ 2,679.2 2,676.1 2,686.8 2,699.7 2,679 2,689 2,689 2,691 2,694 2,701
Local............................... 12,570 12,723 12,715 12,819 12,227 12,403 12,431 12,438 12,469 12,501
Education......................... 7,250.6 7,390.7 7,365.4 7,402.2 6,874 6,980 6,999 7,003 7,023 7,051
Other local government............ 5,319.5 5,331.8 5,349.4 5,416.3 5,353 5,423 5,432 5,435 5,446 5,450
1 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.
2 Includes other industries, not shown separately.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: Data have been revised to reflect March 1997 benchmarks and recomputed seasonal adjustment factors.
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
May Mar. Apr. May May Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May
1997 1998 1998p 1998p 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998p 1998p
Total private.................... 34.5 34.5 34.2 34.5 34.7 34.8 34.7 34.6 34.5 34.7
Goods-producing......................... 41.4 40.9 40.1 41.1 41.4 41.6 41.4 41.0 40.8 41.0
Mining................................ 45.8 43.4 43.5 44.4 45.8 45.4 44.4 43.8 44.2 44.6
Construction.......................... 39.7 37.9 38.0 39.3 39.2 39.8 39.2 38.5 38.7 38.7
Manufacturing......................... 41.9 41.7 40.7 41.6 42.0 42.1 42.0 41.8 41.4 41.7
Overtime hours.................... 4.7 4.6 4.0 4.5 4.9 4.9 4.8 4.8 4.5 4.6
Durable goods........................ 42.8 42.4 41.3 42.3 42.9 42.8 42.8 42.5 41.9 42.2
Overtime hours.................... 5.0 4.9 4.1 4.8 5.2 5.2 5.1 5.0 4.6 4.8
Lumber and wood products............ 41.3 40.8 40.8 41.3 41.1 41.2 41.1 41.2 41.2 41.1
Furniture and fixtures.............. 39.8 40.4 39.7 40.3 40.3 41.0 41.0 40.7 40.7 40.9
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 43.7 42.5 42.9 44.1 43.3 43.7 43.6 43.2 43.3 43.7
Primary metal industries............ 44.7 44.5 43.4 44.2 44.9 45.2 44.8 44.6 43.9 44.2
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 44.7 45.2 44.7 45.3 44.9 46.0 45.4 45.3 44.8 45.5
Fabricated metal products........... 42.5 42.2 40.9 41.1 42.6 42.7 42.7 42.4 41.8 41.2
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 43.5 43.5 41.9 43.2 43.6 43.6 43.4 43.3 42.6 43.1
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 41.8 41.4 40.3 41.2 42.1 41.8 41.9 41.4 41.0 41.4
Transportation equipment............ 44.7 43.7 41.4 43.8 44.5 43.9 43.8 43.4 42.1 43.4
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 45.5 43.9 41.2 44.1 45.1 43.9 43.8 43.5 42.0 43.3
Instruments and related products.... 41.7 41.7 40.6 41.2 42.0 41.9 42.0 41.5 41.3 41.4
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 40.0 40.5 39.4 39.8 40.2 40.4 40.4 40.5 40.1 39.9
Nondurable goods..................... 40.6 40.7 40.0 40.6 40.8 41.1 40.9 40.8 40.7 40.8
Overtime hours.................... 4.1 4.2 3.8 4.2 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.2 4.4
Food and kindred products........... 41.0 40.9 40.3 41.3 41.4 41.8 41.5 41.5 41.2 41.6
Tobacco products.................... 38.7 37.0 36.9 38.7 38.8 38.3 38.5 37.7 38.1 39.0
Textile mill products............... 41.2 41.2 40.1 41.1 41.4 41.8 41.5 41.2 41.0 41.3
Apparel and other textile products.. 37.1 37.2 36.5 37.5 37.2 37.4 37.4 37.2 37.7 37.5
Paper and allied products........... 43.4 43.1 42.5 43.4 43.8 43.6 43.4 43.4 43.0 43.6
Printing and publishing............. 38.1 38.4 37.8 38.0 38.4 38.5 38.5 38.4 38.2 38.3
Chemicals and allied products....... 43.1 43.4 42.8 42.0 43.3 43.5 43.4 43.4 43.0 42.1
Petroleum and coal products......... 42.4 43.2 42.9 42.4 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 41.7 41.5 40.9 41.8 41.7 42.0 41.8 41.5 41.6 42.0
Leather and leather products........ 38.2 37.7 36.7 37.9 38.3 38.3 38.8 37.9 37.5 37.8
Service-producing....................... 32.7 32.9 32.6 32.8 32.9 33.0 33.0 32.8 32.9 33.0
Transportation and public utilities... 39.3 39.4 39.1 39.7 39.6 40.0 39.9 39.8 39.6 40.0
Wholesale trade....................... 38.5 38.4 38.1 38.4 38.6 38.5 38.5 38.3 38.3 38.5
Retail trade.......................... 28.8 28.7 28.7 29.0 28.9 29.0 29.0 28.9 29.0 29.1
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 35.9 36.8 36.1 36.1 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Services.............................. 32.4 32.7 32.4 32.5 32.6 32.8 32.7 32.6 32.6 32.7
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.
NOTE: Data have been revised to reflect March 1997 benchmarks, refinements to the seasonal adjustment process for
the hours series, and recomputed seasonal adjustment factors.
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
May Mar. Apr. May May Mar. Apr. May
1997 1998 1998p 1998p 1997 1998 1998p 1998p
Total private.................... $12.18 $12.68 $12.69 $12.70 $420.21 $437.46 $434.00 $438.15
Seasonally adjusted............. 12.21 12.63 12.69 12.73 423.69 437.00 437.81 441.73
Goods-producing......................... 13.83 14.18 14.23 14.29 572.56 579.96 570.62 587.32
Mining................................ 16.01 16.89 16.82 16.76 733.26 733.03 731.67 744.14
Construction.......................... 15.86 16.29 16.35 16.45 629.64 617.39 621.30 646.49
Manufacturing......................... 13.08 13.47 13.46 13.47 548.05 561.70 547.82 560.35
Durable goods........................ 13.63 14.02 13.96 13.98 583.36 594.45 576.55 591.35
Lumber and wood products............ 10.72 10.95 10.99 11.06 442.74 446.76 448.39 456.78
Furniture and fixtures.............. 10.47 10.80 10.86 10.78 416.71 436.32 431.14 434.43
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 13.12 13.46 13.63 13.55 573.34 572.05 584.73 597.56
Primary metal industries............ 15.09 15.52 15.65 15.60 674.52 690.64 679.21 689.52
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 17.87 18.32 18.66 18.55 798.79 828.06 834.10 840.32
Fabricated metal products........... 12.74 13.01 12.90 12.68 541.45 549.02 527.61 521.15
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 13.94 14.36 14.32 14.35 606.39 624.66 600.01 619.92
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 12.55 13.06 13.09 13.11 524.59 540.68 527.53 540.13
Transportation equipment............ 17.43 17.92 17.72 17.81 779.12 783.10 733.61 780.08
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 17.94 18.52 18.38 18.39 816.27 813.03 757.26 811.00
Instruments and related products.... 13.48 13.73 13.76 13.79 562.12 572.54 558.66 568.15
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 10.51 10.79 10.76 10.79 420.40 437.00 423.94 429.44
Nondurable goods..................... 12.26 12.63 12.71 12.70 497.76 514.04 508.40 515.62
Food and kindred products........... 11.47 11.70 11.75 11.81 470.27 478.53 473.53 487.75
Tobacco products.................... 20.79 18.54 18.79 20.01 804.57 685.98 693.35 774.39
Textile mill products............... 9.95 10.29 10.39 10.36 409.94 423.95 416.64 425.80
Apparel and other textile products.. 8.22 8.43 8.48 8.49 304.96 313.60 309.52 318.38
Paper and allied products........... 14.97 15.27 15.47 15.51 649.70 658.14 657.48 673.13
Printing and publishing............. 12.93 13.36 13.32 13.36 492.63 513.02 503.50 507.68
Chemicals and allied products....... 16.48 16.97 17.13 17.03 710.29 736.50 733.16 715.26
Petroleum and coal products......... 19.95 21.16 20.99 20.52 845.88 914.11 900.47 870.05
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 11.50 11.78 11.84 11.85 479.55 488.87 484.26 495.33
Leather and leather products........ 8.92 9.32 9.32 9.42 340.74 351.36 342.04 357.02
Service-producing....................... 11.62 12.19 12.19 12.18 379.97 401.05 397.39 399.50
Transportation and public utilities... $14.76 $15.24 $15.26 $15.20 $580.07 $600.46 $596.67 $603.44
Wholesale trade....................... 13.33 13.86 13.92 13.97 513.21 532.22 530.35 536.45
Retail trade.......................... 8.27 8.67 8.71 8.73 238.18 248.83 249.98 253.17
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 13.21 13.97 13.98 13.97 474.24 514.10 504.68 504.32
Services.............................. 12.16 12.77 12.75 12.73 393.98 417.58 413.10 413.73
1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: Data have been revised to reflect March 1997 benchmarks, refinements to the seasonal adjustment process for
the hours and earnings series, and recomputed seasonal adjustment factors.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-4. Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers1 on private nonfarm
payrolls by industry, seasonally adjusted
Percent
May Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May change
Industry 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998p 1998p from:
Apr. 1998-
May 1998
Total private:
Current dollars.............. $12.21 $12.54 $12.59 $12.63 $12.69 $12.73 0.3
Constant (1982) dollars2..... 7.53 7.66 7.69 7.72 7.73 N.A. (3)
Goods-producing............... 13.85 14.16 14.21 14.25 14.26 14.28 .1
Mining...................... 16.09 16.47 16.76 16.82 16.70 16.80 .6
Construction................ 15.93 16.27 16.34 16.40 16.46 16.49 .2
Manufacturing............... 13.10 13.38 13.42 13.46 13.44 13.47 .2
Excluding overtime4....... 12.38 12.66 12.69 12.73 12.76 12.77 .1
Service-producing............. 11.66 12.00 12.06 12.10 12.18 12.22 .3
Transportation and public
utilities................ 14.83 15.21 15.25 15.27 15.31 15.30 -.1
Wholesale trade............. 13.37 13.75 13.81 13.84 13.90 14.01 .8
Retail trade................ 8.28 8.56 8.59 8.64 8.71 8.74 .3
Finance, insurance, and real
estate................... 13.25 13.72 13.83 13.85 14.00 14.01 .1
Services.................... 12.22 12.54 12.60 12.65 12.74 12.79 .4
1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
2 The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) is used to
deflate this series.
3 Change was .1 percent from March 1998 to April 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.
NOTE: Data have been revised to reflect March 1997 benchmarks, refinements to the seasonal
adjustment process for the hours and earnings series, and recomputed seasonal adjustment factors.
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
May Mar. Apr. May May Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May
1997 1998 1998p 1998p 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998p 1998p
Total private.................... 141.1 141.6 141.7 144.7 141.2 144.6 144.4 143.8 143.9 144.9
Goods-producing......................... 114.8 111.8 111.5 115.5 114.5 117.1 116.4 115.1 114.7 115.1
Mining................................ 58.5 54.1 54.2 55.8 58.7 58.3 57.0 55.6 55.5 56.1
Construction.......................... 160.6 143.0 153.2 165.2 156.6 165.0 162.4 158.7 161.4 160.7
Manufacturing......................... 108.6 109.0 106.3 108.7 109.1 110.6 110.3 109.7 108.6 109.1
Durable goods........................ 112.3 113.4 110.2 113.0 112.2 114.6 114.5 113.7 112.1 112.7
Lumber and wood products............ 142.4 139.1 140.2 143.4 142.1 143.8 143.4 143.6 143.6 143.2
Furniture and fixtures.............. 126.4 132.1 130.6 132.4 128.0 132.8 133.1 132.7 133.7 134.7
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 114.7 109.5 113.4 117.7 112.3 116.5 116.2 113.9 114.1 115.4
Primary metal industries............ 93.6 95.3 92.6 94.1 94.1 96.6 95.8 95.5 93.7 94.2
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 72.3 73.9 72.9 73.8 72.5 75.6 74.6 74.4 73.2 74.3
Fabricated metal products........... 117.0 118.4 114.7 115.0 117.3 119.8 120.1 119.1 117.5 115.4
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 109.3 112.4 108.0 111.1 108.9 111.7 111.3 111.1 109.1 110.3
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 109.4 111.1 107.8 110.0 110.6 112.8 112.8 111.3 110.0 110.9
Transportation equipment............ 129.2 129.8 122.7 129.7 127.7 130.0 130.1 128.7 124.4 127.5
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 170.4 166.4 155.8 166.7 167.4 166.8 166.6 164.6 158.7 162.2
Instruments and related products.... 75.8 77.3 75.2 76.3 76.3 77.4 77.6 76.8 76.5 76.8
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 103.3 103.6 101.4 101.6 104.0 103.8 103.8 104.1 103.4 101.8
Nondurable goods..................... 103.6 102.9 101.0 102.9 104.8 105.2 104.6 104.3 103.8 104.1
Food and kindred products........... 113.3 113.6 111.7 115.4 117.1 119.2 118.5 118.5 118.0 119.4
Tobacco products.................... 54.1 57.8 55.7 54.9 61.5 60.7 61.0 59.7 62.3 61.8
Textile mill products............... 89.7 87.7 85.5 87.6 90.0 89.6 88.6 87.8 87.4 87.9
Apparel and other textile products.. 74.7 69.8 67.6 69.1 74.2 71.6 70.8 70.2 69.9 68.8
Paper and allied products........... 110.4 109.7 107.5 109.9 111.7 111.6 111.1 111.1 109.6 110.8
Printing and publishing............. 125.2 125.4 123.5 123.8 126.3 126.3 126.0 125.3 124.7 124.9
Chemicals and allied products....... 100.1 103.3 101.7 102.0 100.8 103.1 103.2 103.4 102.6 102.2
Petroleum and coal products......... 75.9 71.1 72.4 72.4 76.2 75.0 71.9 73.6 72.4 72.3
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 145.9 147.1 144.9 147.9 145.6 148.4 147.9 147.2 147.5 148.6
Leather and leather products........ 41.5 37.3 35.6 36.5 41.8 38.3 38.7 37.3 36.3 36.0
Service-producing....................... 152.9 154.9 155.3 157.8 153.2 156.9 157.0 156.7 157.0 158.3
Transportation and public utilities... 129.8 128.5 127.9 131.3 130.3 131.5 131.1 130.9 130.2 132.3
Wholesale trade....................... 126.2 126.9 126.7 128.4 126.4 128.0 128.2 127.6 127.8 128.6
Retail trade.......................... 137.3 135.4 136.8 140.4 137.5 139.8 139.9 139.3 139.8 141.0
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 128.0 134.5 132.9 133.7 129.0 132.5 133.4 133.6 134.1 134.8
Services.............................. 185.8 190.9 191.5 193.6 185.8 192.1 192.0 191.9 192.3 193.7
1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: Data have been revised to reflect March 1997 benchmarks, refinements to the seasonal adjustment process for
the hours series, and recomputed seasonal adjustment factors.
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.............. 59.3 60.5 67.0 64.5 58.6 63.3 63.8 61.7 61.5 60.4 64.0 61.7
1995.............. 62.5 60.0 54.9 55.6 47.8 55.6 54.8 59.0 58.0 55.8 54.5 58.8
1996.............. 50.8 64.6 59.6 56.6 62.8 61.0 57.3 61.5 56.0 62.5 62.2 60.7
1997.............. 58.0 61.4 59.8 63.6 60.1 54.6 61.1 59.1 60.0 64.3 62.4 64.9
1998.............. 63.8 58.7 59.6 p56.3 p54.5
Over 3-month span:
1994.............. 64.5 69.2 69.9 68.4 66.6 67.1 69.0 69.5 66.2 65.6 66.6 66.3
1995.............. 63.6 61.4 59.4 53.1 55.2 53.2 59.7 60.1 59.1 58.0 56.6 54.6
1996.............. 61.9 62.8 64.0 63.8 63.5 64.9 64.2 61.5 63.9 64.2 67.0 66.6
1997.............. 64.9 63.3 65.6 66.2 63.9 61.2 60.1 65.9 67.4 68.1 70.8 71.9
1998.............. 68.4 67.3 p64.3 p60.1
Over 6-month span:
1994.............. 70.9 69.9 69.7 71.2 70.2 69.8 69.8 70.2 68.7 67.4 66.7 65.4
1995.............. 66.4 60.1 59.1 57.3 59.0 60.1 57.6 60.4 59.7 59.3 61.1 63.2
1996.............. 62.8 65.4 64.7 65.7 66.2 65.0 66.4 66.0 66.2 67.6 66.9 66.3
1997.............. 67.6 67.0 65.3 64.9 65.6 67.3 68.0 67.3 70.6 72.3 73.3 72.6
1998.............. p72.2 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 61.5 63.5 65.4
1996.............. 64.5 66.7 64.5 65.6 68.5 67.3 67.7 66.4 68.0 69.9 69.1 68.3
1997.............. 69.8 67.6 69.2 70.1 69.8 69.8 71.2 71.2 71.1 p72.3 p71.6
1998..............
Manufacturing payrolls, 139 industries1
Over 1-month span:
1994.............. 56.8 56.5 60.1 59.0 53.6 58.3 59.0 55.8 53.6 56.5 58.3 56.8
1995.............. 54.7 54.3 46.4 53.2 42.4 44.2 46.4 49.6 48.6 52.2 45.3 48.2
1996.............. 42.8 54.7 48.2 42.1 55.4 50.7 47.1 55.4 47.8 52.9 54.3 55.4
1997.............. 49.3 54.3 50.0 56.8 51.4 52.2 50.4 48.9 56.5 57.2 56.1 60.8
1998.............. 55.8 51.8 52.5 p47.8 p43.5
Over 3-month span:
1994.............. 60.4 63.7 63.7 60.4 57.6 59.7 61.9 56.8 54.3 55.4 60.8 59.0
1995.............. 56.8 50.0 47.8 42.1 43.2 38.8 40.6 43.5 48.2 47.1 45.3 39.9
1996.............. 43.9 46.8 46.0 47.5 46.4 49.3 51.4 50.0 53.6 51.1 57.6 54.7
1997.............. 54.3 49.3 54.3 54.0 55.4 50.4 47.5 52.2 57.9 62.6 64.7 65.5
1998.............. 60.1 59.0 p51.1 p45.3
Over 6-month span:
1994.............. 60.4 62.9 61.2 62.6 59.4 57.2 57.6 58.6 58.6 54.7 57.2 55.0
1995.............. 55.4 46.4 42.8 40.3 41.4 42.4 41.0 41.0 43.9 43.2 43.2 45.3
1996.............. 42.1 45.3 46.4 47.1 48.2 48.6 51.1 50.4 52.9 52.9 53.2 52.2
1997.............. 54.3 54.3 51.4 52.9 51.4 55.0 56.8 57.6 60.4 64.4 67.6 65.8
1998.............. p62.2 p55.8
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 38.5 39.9 44.6
1996.............. 43.5 47.5 45.3 45.3 50.4 49.6 50.4 48.6 51.1 55.0 54.0 51.8
1997.............. 57.2 52.5 54.7 56.5 57.9 57.6 58.6 58.6 60.4 p59.7 p57.6
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. Data have been revised to reflect March 1997 benchmarks and recomputed seasonal adjustment factors.
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_0598.htm
CPS Publications - Historical Monthly Employment Reports Page
CPS Main Page