Technical information: USDL 97-309
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, September 5, 1997.
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: AUGUST 1997
Employment and unemployment were little changed in August, the Bureau
of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The
jobless rate was 4.9 percent in August; it had been 4.8 percent in July and
has shown little movement over the past several months.
Nonfarm payroll employment edged up by 49,000 in August to 122.5
million. This gain would have been closer to the recent growth trend if
not for the effects of strike activity during the survey reference period.
Workers on strike for the entire reference period are not counted as
employed in the survey of establishments because they are not being paid by
their employers. In contrast, in the household survey, striking workers
and others with unpaid absences are counted as employed.
Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
The number of unemployed persons, 6.7 million, and the unemployment
rate, 4.9 percent, were essentially unchanged in August. From April
through August, the unemployment rate remained in a narrow range of 4.8 to
5.0 percent. The rates for the major worker groups--adult men (4.1
percent), adult women (4.4 percent), teenagers (16.4 percent), whites (4.2
percent), blacks (9.3 percent), and Hispanics (7.2 percent)--showed little
or no change from July. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)
The number of persons unemployed for less than 5 weeks increased in
August, reversing July’s decline, while the number who were jobless for 15
to 26 weeks decreased. Both the mean and median duration of unemployment,
which had risen in July, declined to 15.9 and 7.8 weeks, respectively.
(See table A-5.)
Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
Total employment was essentially unchanged from July at a seasonally
adjusted level of 129.8 million. The proportion of the population that was
employed (the employment-to-population ratio) remained at 63.8 percent,
about the same as it has been since March. (See table A-1.)
About 7.6 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one
job in August. They accounted for 5.8 percent of all employed persons.
Both the number of multiple jobholders and their percentage of the total
employed were about the same as a year earlier. (See table A-9.)
The civilian labor force, 136.5 million, was about unchanged in
August, and the labor force participation rate remained at 67.1 percent.
There has been little change in either measure since March. (See table A-1.)
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Table A. Major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
___________________________________________________________________________
| Quarterly | Monthly data |
| averages | |
|_________________|__________________________|July-
Category | 19971/ | 19971/ |Aug.
|_________________|__________________________|change
| I | II | June | July | Aug. |
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
HOUSEHOLD DATA | Labor force status
|____________________________________________________
Civilian labor force..| 135,934| 136,157| 136,200| 136,290| 136,480| 190
Employment..........| 128,728| 129,462| 129,364| 129,708| 129,804| 96
Unemployment........| 7,206| 6,695| 6,836| 6,583| 6,677| 94
Not in labor force....| 66,462| 66,678| 66,800| 66,876| 66,884| 8
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Unemployment rates
|____________________________________________________
All workers...........| 5.3| 4.9| 5.0| 4.8| 4.9| 0.1
Adult men...........| 4.5| 4.1| 4.2| 4.0| 4.1| .1
Adult women.........| 4.7| 4.4| 4.4| 4.2| 4.4| .2
Teenagers...........| 17.0| 15.9| 16.8| 16.4| 16.4| .0
White...............| 4.5| 4.1| 4.2| 4.2| 4.2| .0
Black...............| 10.9| 10.2| 10.4| 9.4| 9.3| -.1
Hispanic origin.....| 8.3| 7.7| 7.6| 7.9| 7.2| -.7
________|________|________|________|________|_______
ESTABLISHMENT DATA | Employment
|____________________________________________________
Nonfarm employment....| 121,138| 121,854| 122,056|p122,421|p122,470| p49
Goods-producing 2/..| 24,635| 24,694| 24,714| p24,696| p24,751| p55
Construction......| 5,585| 5,616| 5,622| p5,622| p5,632| p10
Manufacturing.....| 18,476| 18,504| 18,518| p18,501| p18,548| p47
Service-producing 2/| 96,504| 97,159| 97,342| p97,725| p97,719| p-6
Retail trade......| 21,928| 22,045| 22,079| p22,150| p22,181| p31
Services..........| 35,086| 35,436| 35,522| p35,677| p35,709| p32
Government........| 19,540| 19,594| 19,639| p19,727| p19,799| p72
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Hours of work 3/
|____________________________________________________
Total private.........| 34.7| 34.5| 34.6| p34.5| p34.7| p0.2
Manufacturing.......| 41.9| 42.0| 41.8| p41.8| p41.9| p.1
Overtime..........| 4.8| 4.8| 4.6| p4.7| p4.8| p.1
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Earnings 3/
|____________________________________________________
Avg. hourly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| $12.10| $12.19| $12.23| p$12.24| p$12.29| p$0.05
Avg. weekly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| 419.36| 420.85| 423.16| p422.28| p426.46| p4.18
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
1/ Beginning in January 1997, household data reflect revised population
controls used in the survey.
2/ Includes other industries, not shown separately.
3/ Data relate to private production or nonsupervisory workers.
p=preliminary.
- 3 -
Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
About 1.3 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally
attached to the labor force in August--that is, they wanted and were
available for work and had looked for jobs sometime in the prior 12 months.
The number of discouraged workers--a subset of the marginally attached
who were not currently looking for jobs specifically because they believed
no jobs were available for them or there were none for which they would
qualify--was 311,000 in August, down from 415,000 a year earlier. (See
table A-9.)
Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)
Nonfarm payroll employment was little changed in August. Employment
growth was held down by a strike of 185,000 workers in the transportation
industry. (See table B-1.)
Employment in transportation declined by 153,000. The direct impact
of the strike was partially offset by hiring elsewhere within the industry
to help meet the demand for parcel delivery. Employment fell by 164,000 in
transportation by air, the industry in which the strike occurred. Trucking
employment increased by 12,000, compared with an average gain of 6,000 over
the prior 3 months.
Employment in services rose by only 32,000 in August, following a much
stronger increase in July. The average employment gain of 94,000 over
these 2 months was close to the average monthly growth in 1996 and the
first half of 1997. The increase in health services (21,000) was in line
with recent growth in that industry, although there was an especially
strong gain in hospitals (11,000). Employment growth also continued in
computer services (10,000), social services (15,000), and engineering and
management services (17,000). In contrast, help supply services
experienced a decline of 16,000 jobs in August, the fourth decline in the
last 5 months. Amusement and recreation services and educational services
both lost jobs, following strong summer hiring.
Retail trade added 31,000 jobs in August, following larger increases
in June and July. Employment expanded by 15,000 in general merchandise
stores and by 11,000 in miscellaneous retail establishments. The number of
jobs in eating and drinking places edged down in August, following gains
totaling 60,000 over the prior 2 months. Wholesale trade showed moderate
growth in August (8,000), following an exceptionally large increase in
July. Within wholesale trade, durable goods distribution continued its
strong growth pattern, with an increase of 14,000 jobs.
Employment growth continued in finance (10,000) in August. Job gains
in the industry have totaled 98,000 over the past year. Insurance
continued its recent upward trend, adding 14,000 jobs since March. In
contrast, real estate employment was about unchanged in August after
gaining 10,000 jobs in July.
Employment in local government education rose by 49,000 in August,
after seasonal adjustment. This was the third consecutive large employment
increase. Changing seasonal patterns in hiring by local school systems
continue to make precise seasonal adjustment of these data difficult. An
increase in federal government employment reflected the hiring of postal
workers to handle a greater volume of parcel delivery resulting from the
strike. Excluding the Postal Service, federal government employment
continued its monthly declines in August and was down by 36,000 so far this
year.
- 4 -
Within the goods-producing sector, construction employment increased
by 10,000 in August, the first gain since May. Employment rose in heavy
construction as well as in special trades. Manufacturing employment rose
by 47,000 in August. The increase includes the return of 10,000 auto and
steel workers who had been on strike. In several industries, the job gains
in August offset losses that occurred in July; these include fabricated
metals (4,000), autos (16,000), and rubber and miscellaneous plastics
(6,000). Three industries continued their strong growth trend: industrial
machinery (12,000), electronic components (6,000), and aircraft (4,000).
The number of jobs in both textiles and apparel continued to decline.
Employment in food products also fell slightly and was down by 18,000 since
April.
Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)
The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on
private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.2 hour in August to 34.7 hours,
seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek and factory overtime both
edged up by 0.1 hour, to 41.9 and 4.8 hours, respectively. (See
table B-2.)
The index of aggregate weekly hours of private production or
nonsupervisory workers on nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.4 percent to
140.8 (1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index rose by 0.5
percent to 108.2. (See table B-5.)
Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)
Average hourly earnings of private production or nonsupervisory
workers on nonfarm payrolls were up 5 cents in August to $12.29, seasonally
adjusted. Average weekly earnings rose by 1.0 percent to $426.46,
reflecting the increase in both average weekly hours and average hourly
earnings. Over the past year, average hourly earnings have risen by 3.6
percent and average weekly earnings by 4.2 percent. (See table B-3.)
________________________________________
The Employment Situation for September 1997 is scheduled to be released
on Friday, October 3, at 8:30 A.M. (EDT).
-----------------------------------------------------------------
| Changes in Household Data Series |
| |
| Effective with the release of data for December 1997 in |
|January 1998, improvements will be introduced into the composite |
|estimation procedures used in the Current Population Survey. |
|These changes will simplify processing of the monthly labor |
|force data at BLS and will allow users of the survey microdata |
|to replicate the official estimates released by BLS. In |
|addition, there will be a slight decrease in the variance of |
|some major estimates, particularly employment levels and the |
|over-the-month change in those levels. The new procedures will |
|produce somewhat lower estimates of the civilian labor force and |
|employment. Data will be revised back to January 1997 to |
|facilitate over-the-year comparisons between 1997 and 1998. |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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Explanatory Note
This news release presents statistics from two major surveys, the Current
Population Survey (household survey) and the Current Employment Statistics
survey (establishment survey). The household survey provides the
information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment that appears
in the A tables, marked HOUSEHOLD DATA. It is a sample survey of about
50,000 households conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of
Labor Statistics (BLS).
The establishment survey provides the information on the employment,
hours, and earnings of workers on nonfarm payrolls that appears in the B
tables, marked ESTABLISHMENT DATA. This information is collected from
payroll records by BLS in cooperation with State agencies. In June 1997,
the sample included about 390,000 establishments employing about 48 million
people.
For both surveys, the data for a given month relate to a particular week
or pay period. In the household survey, the reference week is generally
the calendar week that contains the 12th day of the month. In the
establishment survey, the reference period is the pay period including the
12th, which may or may not correspond directly to the calendar week.
Coverage, definitions, and differences between surveys
Household survey. The sample is selected to reflect the entire
civilian noninstitutional population. Based on responses to a series of
questions on work and job search activities, each person 16 years and over
in a sample household is classified as employed, unemployed, or not in the
labor force.
People are classified as employed if they did any work at all as paid
employees during the reference week; worked in their own business,
profession, or on their own farm; or worked without pay at least 15 hours
in a family business or farm. People are also counted as employed if they
were temporarily absent from their jobs because of illness, bad weather,
vacation, labor-management disputes, or personal reasons.
People are classified as unemployed if they meet all of the following
criteria: They had no employment during the reference week; they were
available for work at that time; and they made specific efforts to find
employment sometime during the 4-week period ending with the reference
week. Persons laid off from a job and expecting recall need not be
looking for work to be counted as unemployed. The unemployment data
derived from the household survey in no way depend upon the eligibility for
or receipt of unemployment insurance benefits.
The civilian labor force is the sum of employed and unemployed
persons. Those not classified as employed or unemployed are not in the
labor force. The unemployment rate is the number unemployed as a percent
of the labor force. The labor force participation rate is the labor force
as a percent of the population, and the employment-population ratio is the
employed as a percent of the population.
Establishment survey. The sample establishments are drawn from private
nonfarm businesses such as factories, offices, and stores, as well as
Federal, State, and local government entities. Employees on nonfarm
payrolls are those who received pay for any part of the reference pay
period, including persons on paid leave. Persons are counted in each job
they hold. Hours and earnings data are for private businesses and relate
only to production workers in the goods-producing sector and nonsupervisory
workers in the service-producing sector.
- 6 -
Differences in employment estimates. The numerous conceptual and
methodological differences between the household and establishment surveys
result in important distinctions in the employment estimates derived from
the surveys. Among these are:
--The household survey includes agricultural workers, the self-employed,
unpaid family workers, and private household workers among the employed.
These groups are excluded from the establishment survey.
--The household survey includes people on unpaid leave among the
employed. The establishment survey does not.
--The household survey is limited to workers 16 years of age and older.
The establishment survey is not limited by age.
--The household survey has no duplication of individuals, because
individuals are counted only once, even if they hold more than one job. In
the establishment survey, employees working at more than one job and thus
appearing on more than one payroll would be counted separately for each
appearance.
Other differences between the two surveys are described in "Comparing
Employment Estimates from Household and Payroll Surveys," which may be
obtained from BLS upon request.
Seasonal adjustment
Over the course of a year, the size of the nation's labor force and the
levels of employment and unemployment undergo sharp fluctuations due to
such seasonal events as changes in weather, reduced or expanded production,
harvests, major holidays, and the opening and closing of schools. The
effect of such seasonal variation can be very large; seasonal
fluctuations may account for as much as 95 percent of the month-to-month
changes in unemployment.
Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each
year, their influence on statistical trends can be eliminated by adjusting
the statistics from month to month. These adjustments make nonseasonal
developments, such as declines in economic activity or increases in the
participation of women in the labor force, easier to spot. For example,
the large number of youth entering the labor force each June is likely to
obscure any other changes that have taken place relative to May, making it
difficult to determine if the level of economic activity has risen or
declined. However, because the effect of students finishing school in
previous years is known, the statistics for the current year can be
adjusted to allow for a comparable change. Insofar as the seasonal
adjustment is made correctly, the adjusted figure provides a more useful
tool with which to analyze changes in economic activity.
In both the household and establishment surveys, most seasonally adjusted
series are independently adjusted. However, the adjusted series for many
major estimates, such as total payroll employment, employment in most major
industry divisions, total employment, and unemployment are computed by
aggregating independently adjusted component series. For example, total
unemployment is derived by summing the adjusted series for four major age-
sex components; this differs from the unemployment estimate that would be
obtained by directly adjusting the total or by combining the duration,
reasons, or more detailed age categories.
The numerical factors used to make the seasonal adjustments are
recalculated twice a year. For the household survey, the factors are
calculated for the January-June period and again for the July-December
- 7 -
period. For the establishment survey, updated factors for seasonal
adjustment are calculated for the May-October period and introduced along
with new benchmarks, and again for the November-April period. In both
surveys, revisions to historical data are made once a year.
Reliability of the estimates
Statistics based on the household and establishment surveys are subject
to both sampling and nonsampling error. When a sample rather than the
entire population is surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimates
may differ from the "true" population values they represent. The exact
difference, or sampling error, varies depending on the particular sample
selected, and this variability is measured by the standard error of the
estimate. There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that
an estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard
errors from the "true" population value because of sampling error. BLS
analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of confidence.
For example, the confidence interval for the monthly change in total
employment from the household survey is on the order of plus or minus
376,000. Suppose the estimate of total employment increases by 100,000
from one month to the next. The 90-percent confidence interval on the
monthly change would range from -276,000 to 476,000 (100,000 +/- 376,000).
These figures do not mean that the sample results are off by these
magnitudes, but rather that there is about a 90-percent chance that the
"true" over-the-month change lies within this interval. Since this range
includes values of less than zero, we could not say with confidence that
employment had, in fact, increased. If, however, the reported employment
rise was half a million, then all of the values within the 90-percent
confidence interval would be greater than zero. In this case, it is likely
(at least a 90-percent chance) that an employment rise had, in fact,
occurred. The 90-percent confidence interval for the monthly change in
unemployment is +/- 258,000, and for the monthly change in the unemployment
rate it is +/- .21 percentage point.
In general, estimates involving many individuals or establishments have
lower standard errors (relative to the size of the estimate) than estimates
which are based on a small number of observations. The precision of
estimates is also improved when the data are cumulated over time such as
for quarterly and annual averages. The seasonal adjustment process can
also improve the stability of the monthly estimates.
The household and establishment surveys are also affected by nonsampling
error. Nonsampling errors can occur for many reasons, including the
failure to sample a segment of the population, inability to obtain
information for all respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness
of respondents to provide correct information on a timely basis, mistakes
made by respondents, and errors made in the collection or processing of the
data.
For example, in the establishment survey, estimates for the most recent 2
months are based on substantially incomplete returns; for this reason,
these estimates are labeled preliminary in the tables. It is only after
two successive revisions to a monthly estimate, when nearly all sample
reports have been received, that the estimate is considered final.
Another major source of nonsampling error in the establishment survey is
the inability to capture, on a timely basis, employment generated by new
firms. To correct for this systematic underestimation of employment growth
(and other sources of error), a process known as bias adjustment is
included in the survey's estimating procedures, whereby a specified number
of jobs is added to the monthly sample-based change. The size of the
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monthly bias adjustment is based largely on past relationships between the
sample-based estimates of employment and the total counts of employment
described below.
The sample-based estimates from the establishment survey are adjusted
once a year (on a lagged basis) to universe counts of payroll employment
obtained from administrative records of the unemployment insurance program.
The difference between the March sample-based employment estimates and the
March universe counts is known as a benchmark revision, and serves as a
rough proxy for total survey error. The new benchmarks also incorporate
changes in the classification of industries. Over the past decade, the
benchmark revision for total nonfarm employment has averaged 0.2 percent,
ranging from zero to 0.6 percent.
Additional statistics and other information
More comprehensive statistics are contained in Employment and Earnings,
published each month by BLS. It is available for $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
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 200,847 203,166 203,364 200,847 202,674 202,832 203,000 203,166 203,364
Civilian labor force.......................... 135,011 138,331 137,460 133,898 136,098 136,173 136,200 136,290 136,480
Participation rate...................... 67.2 68.1 67.6 66.7 67.2 67.1 67.1 67.1 67.1
Employed.................................... 128,143 131,350 130,865 126,988 129,384 129,639 129,364 129,708 129,804
Employment-population ratio............. 63.8 64.7 64.4 63.2 63.8 63.9 63.7 63.8 63.8
Agriculture............................... 3,706 3,849 3,661 3,418 3,497 3,430 3,391 3,482 3,383
Nonagricultural industries................ 124,437 127,501 127,205 123,570 125,887 126,209 125,973 126,226 126,421
Unemployed.................................. 6,868 6,981 6,594 6,910 6,714 6,534 6,836 6,583 6,677
Unemployment rate....................... 5.1 5.0 4.8 5.2 4.9 4.8 5.0 4.8 4.9
Not in labor force............................ 65,836 64,835 65,904 66,949 66,577 66,659 66,800 66,876 66,884
Men, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 96,335 97,733 97,838 96,335 97,474 97,559 97,649 97,733 97,838
Civilian labor force.......................... 72,888 74,674 74,149 71,961 73,232 73,200 73,242 73,230 73,315
Participation rate...................... 75.7 76.4 75.8 74.7 75.1 75.0 75.0 74.9 74.9
Employed.................................... 69,533 71,157 70,890 68,368 69,627 69,929 69,567 69,749 69,791
Employment-population ratio............. 72.2 72.8 72.5 71.0 71.4 71.7 71.2 71.4 71.3
Unemployed.................................. 3,355 3,517 3,259 3,593 3,604 3,271 3,674 3,481 3,524
Unemployment rate....................... 4.6 4.7 4.4 5.0 4.9 4.5 5.0 4.8 4.8
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 88,650 89,888 89,982 88,650 89,680 89,766 89,829 89,888 89,982
Civilian labor force.......................... 68,390 69,614 69,571 68,044 69,147 69,059 69,167 69,203 69,301
Participation rate...................... 77.1 77.4 77.3 76.8 77.1 76.9 77.0 77.0 77.0
Employed.................................... 65,725 66,962 67,000 65,165 66,243 66,418 66,266 66,414 66,491
Employment-population ratio............. 74.1 74.5 74.5 73.5 73.9 74.0 73.8 73.9 73.9
Agriculture............................... 2,477 2,575 2,424 2,347 2,428 2,421 2,417 2,411 2,300
Nonagricultural industries................ 63,248 64,387 64,576 62,818 63,815 63,997 63,849 64,003 64,191
Unemployed.................................. 2,665 2,653 2,571 2,879 2,904 2,640 2,901 2,789 2,810
Unemployment rate....................... 3.9 3.8 3.7 4.2 4.2 3.8 4.2 4.0 4.1
Women, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 104,512 105,433 105,527 104,512 105,200 105,274 105,351 105,433 105,527
Civilian labor force.......................... 62,123 63,656 63,311 61,937 62,866 62,973 62,958 63,060 63,165
Participation rate...................... 59.4 60.4 60.0 59.3 59.8 59.8 59.8 59.8 59.9
Employed.................................... 58,610 60,193 59,976 58,620 59,756 59,710 59,796 59,958 60,013
Employment-population ratio............. 56.1 57.1 56.8 56.1 56.8 56.7 56.8 56.9 56.9
Unemployed.................................. 3,514 3,463 3,335 3,317 3,109 3,263 3,162 3,102 3,152
Unemployment rate....................... 5.7 5.4 5.3 5.4 4.9 5.2 5.0 4.9 5.0
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 97,146 97,919 98,000 97,146 97,685 97,767 97,834 97,919 98,000
Civilian labor force.......................... 57,992 58,952 59,123 58,230 58,974 59,130 59,207 59,186 59,408
Participation rate...................... 59.7 60.2 60.3 59.9 60.4 60.5 60.5 60.4 60.6
Employed.................................... 55,026 56,243 56,311 55,498 56,392 56,481 56,585 56,685 56,819
Employment-population ratio............. 56.6 57.4 57.5 57.1 57.7 57.8 57.8 57.9 58.0
Agriculture............................... 880 902 888 826 779 743 740 841 836
Nonagricultural industries................ 54,146 55,342 55,423 54,672 55,613 55,738 55,845 55,844 55,983
Unemployed.................................. 2,966 2,708 2,811 2,732 2,581 2,650 2,621 2,501 2,589
Unemployment rate....................... 5.1 4.6 4.8 4.7 4.4 4.5 4.4 4.2 4.4
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian noninstitutional population........... 15,051 15,359 15,382 15,051 15,309 15,300 15,336 15,359 15,382
Civilian labor force.......................... 8,629 9,764 8,765 7,624 7,977 7,984 7,826 7,901 7,771
Participation rate...................... 57.3 63.6 57.0 50.7 52.1 52.2 51.0 51.4 50.5
Employed.................................... 7,392 8,145 7,554 6,325 6,748 6,740 6,512 6,608 6,493
Employment-population ratio............. 49.1 53.0 49.1 42.0 44.1 44.1 42.5 43.0 42.2
Agriculture............................... 349 371 348 245 290 266 234 229 246
Nonagricultural industries................ 7,043 7,773 7,205 6,080 6,458 6,474 6,279 6,379 6,247
Unemployed.................................. 1,237 1,620 1,212 1,299 1,229 1,244 1,314 1,293 1,278
Unemployment rate....................... 14.3 16.6 13.8 17.0 15.4 15.6 16.8 16.4 16.4
1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted
and seasonally adjusted columns.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1997, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-2. Employment status of the civilian population by race, sex, age, and Hispanic origin
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted(1)
Employment status, race, sex, age, and
Hispanic origin
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997
WHITE
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 168,489 170,010 170,148 168,489 169,675 169,782 169,897 170,010 170,148
Civilian labor force.......................... 113,713 116,265 115,365 112,904 114,618 114,630 114,691 114,627 114,649
Participation rate........................ 67.5 68.4 67.8 67.0 67.6 67.5 67.5 67.4 67.4
Employed.................................... 108,801 111,323 110,654 107,853 109,831 110,052 109,821 109,853 109,782
Employment-population ratio............... 64.6 65.5 65.0 64.0 64.7 64.8 64.6 64.6 64.5
Unemployed.................................. 4,912 4,942 4,711 5,051 4,786 4,578 4,870 4,774 4,867
Unemployment rate......................... 4.3 4.3 4.1 4.5 4.2 4.0 4.2 4.2 4.2
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 58,553 59,465 59,307 58,347 59,196 59,008 59,088 59,096 59,129
Participation rate........................ 77.5 77.9 77.6 77.3 77.7 77.4 77.5 77.4 77.4
Employed.................................... 56,568 57,543 57,418 56,143 57,057 57,112 56,981 57,030 57,018
Employment-population ratio............... 74.9 75.4 75.2 74.4 74.9 74.9 74.7 74.7 74.6
Unemployed.................................. 1,985 1,922 1,889 2,204 2,139 1,895 2,107 2,066 2,111
Unemployment rate......................... 3.4 3.2 3.2 3.8 3.6 3.2 3.6 3.5 3.6
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 47,960 48,575 48,677 48,162 48,662 48,874 48,924 48,756 48,927
Participation rate........................ 59.1 59.6 59.7 59.4 59.8 60.0 60.1 59.8 60.0
Employed.................................... 45,847 46,726 46,699 46,232 46,902 47,047 47,128 47,055 47,123
Employment-population ratio............... 56.5 57.3 57.3 57.0 57.6 57.8 57.9 57.7 57.8
Unemployed.................................. 2,113 1,849 1,978 1,930 1,759 1,827 1,795 1,701 1,805
Unemployment rate......................... 4.4 3.8 4.1 4.0 3.6 3.7 3.7 3.5 3.7
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force.......................... 7,200 8,226 7,382 6,395 6,760 6,748 6,679 6,775 6,593
Participation rate........................ 60.6 67.5 60.5 53.8 55.7 55.5 54.9 55.6 54.0
Employed.................................... 6,387 7,055 6,538 5,478 5,872 5,893 5,711 5,768 5,641
Employment-population ratio............... 53.7 57.9 53.6 46.1 48.4 48.5 46.9 47.3 46.2
Unemployed.................................. 813 1,171 843 917 888 855 968 1,007 951
Unemployment rate......................... 11.3 14.2 11.4 14.3 13.1 12.7 14.5 14.9 14.4
Men..................................... 12.1 14.5 12.1 15.7 14.3 12.7 16.3 15.4 15.5
Women................................... 10.5 14.0 10.7 12.9 11.9 12.7 12.6 14.3 13.2
BLACK
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 23,650 24,006 24,043 23,650 23,923 23,950 23,978 24,006 24,043
Civilian labor force.......................... 15,470 15,877 15,953 15,297 15,365 15,434 15,398 15,510 15,804
Participation rate........................ 65.4 66.1 66.4 64.7 64.2 64.4 64.2 64.6 65.7
Employed.................................... 13,792 14,218 14,409 13,699 13,863 13,837 13,793 14,055 14,341
Employment-population ratio............... 58.3 59.2 59.9 57.9 57.9 57.8 57.5 58.5 59.6
Unemployed.................................. 1,677 1,659 1,544 1,598 1,503 1,597 1,605 1,455 1,463
Unemployment rate......................... 10.8 10.4 9.7 10.4 9.8 10.3 10.4 9.4 9.3
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 6,888 6,992 7,077 6,874 6,805 6,831 6,926 6,957 7,072
Participation rate........................ 73.2 73.0 73.7 73.0 71.4 71.5 72.4 72.6 73.7
Employed.................................... 6,320 6,411 6,554 6,301 6,234 6,255 6,296 6,386 6,541
Employment-population ratio............... 67.1 66.9 68.3 66.9 65.4 65.5 65.8 66.6 68.1
Unemployed.................................. 568 580 523 573 571 575 630 572 532
Unemployment rate......................... 8.2 8.3 7.4 8.3 8.4 8.4 9.1 8.2 7.5
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 7,478 7,688 7,793 7,477 7,641 7,693 7,615 7,689 7,803
Participation rate........................ 63.1 64.0 64.8 63.1 63.8 64.1 63.5 64.0 64.8
Employed.................................... 6,749 6,989 7,081 6,802 6,997 6,974 6,921 7,053 7,146
Employment-population ratio............... 57.0 58.2 58.8 57.4 58.4 58.1 57.7 58.7 59.4
Unemployed.................................. 728 699 712 675 644 719 694 636 658
Unemployment rate......................... 9.7 9.1 9.1 9.0 8.4 9.4 9.1 8.3 8.4
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force.......................... 1,104 1,197 1,083 946 920 910 857 864 928
Participation rate........................ 46.2 49.5 44.9 39.6 38.1 37.9 35.4 35.7 38.5
Employed.................................... 723 817 774 596 632 608 577 616 655
Employment-population ratio............... 30.3 33.8 32.1 25.0 26.2 25.3 23.8 25.5 27.2
Unemployed.................................. 381 379 309 350 287 302 281 247 273
Unemployment rate......................... 34.5 31.7 28.5 37.0 31.2 33.2 32.7 28.6 29.4
Men..................................... 36.4 35.4 32.7 38.2 37.3 32.6 41.1 32.9 33.1
Women................................... 32.4 28.1 24.4 35.8 25.3 33.8 24.5 25.1 26.2
HISPANIC ORIGIN
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 19,292 20,351 20,407 19,292 20,180 20,236 20,293 20,351 20,407
Civilian labor force.......................... 12,989 14,057 14,028 12,864 13,572 13,746 13,807 13,866 13,910
Participation rate........................ 67.3 69.1 68.7 66.7 67.3 67.9 68.0 68.1 68.2
Employed.................................... 11,844 12,909 13,014 11,736 12,470 12,730 12,756 12,768 12,911
Employment-population ratio............... 61.4 63.4 63.8 60.8 61.8 62.9 62.9 62.7 63.3
Unemployed.................................. 1,145 1,149 1,014 1,128 1,102 1,016 1,051 1,098 999
Unemployment rate......................... 8.8 8.2 7.2 8.8 8.1 7.4 7.6 7.9 7.2
1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted
and seasonally adjusted columns.
NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races"
group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Beginning in January
1997, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-3. Selected employment indicators
(In thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Category
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997
CHARACTERISTIC
Total employed, 16 years and over............... 128,143 131,350 130,865 126,988 129,384 129,639 129,364 129,708 129,804
Married men, spouse present................... 42,622 42,589 42,740 42,588 42,329 42,273 42,448 42,589 42,697
Married women, spouse present................. 32,209 32,406 32,472 32,665 32,473 32,445 32,519 32,866 32,933
Women who maintain families................... 7,276 7,767 7,854 7,338 7,838 7,858 7,847 7,901 7,941
OCCUPATION
Managerial and professional specialty......... 36,265 37,209 37,407 36,605 37,599 37,318 37,493 37,558 37,775
Technical, sales, and administrative support.. 37,971 38,651 38,475 37,818 38,150 38,362 38,142 38,193 38,322
Service occupations........................... 17,571 18,066 18,041 17,343 17,267 17,390 17,412 17,523 17,774
Precision production, craft, and repair....... 14,029 14,539 14,349 13,660 14,301 14,380 14,364 14,282 13,972
Operators, fabricators, and laborers.......... 18,344 18,773 18,754 18,031 18,415 18,647 18,597 18,515 18,473
Farming, forestry, and fishing................ 3,962 4,111 3,839 3,515 3,605 3,680 3,499 3,554 3,407
CLASS OF WORKER
Agriculture:
Wage and salary workers..................... 1,991 2,156 2,001 1,814 1,989 1,941 1,929 1,913 1,841
Self-employed workers....................... 1,635 1,628 1,597 1,525 1,424 1,444 1,404 1,492 1,487
Unpaid family workers....................... 79 64 63 64 70 50 40 53 51
Nonagricultural industries:
Wage and salary workers..................... 115,358 118,362 118,116 114,539 116,608 116,969 116,653 117,104 117,323
Government................................ 17,737 17,825 17,706 18,265 18,036 17,807 18,099 18,338 18,254
Private industries........................ 97,620 100,537 100,409 96,274 98,572 99,162 98,554 98,766 99,069
Private households...................... 1,030 960 1,005 973 922 967 870 910 946
Other industries........................ 96,590 99,578 99,404 95,301 97,650 98,195 97,684 97,856 98,122
Self-employed workers....................... 8,956 9,002 8,959 8,896 9,159 9,106 9,126 8,887 8,923
Unpaid family workers....................... 124 137 130 122 130 148 128 131 129
PERSONS AT WORK PART TIME
All industries:
Part time for economic reasons.............. 4,407 4,279 4,036 4,339 4,402 4,019 4,025 4,017 3,992
Slack work or business conditions......... 2,388 2,211 2,078 2,437 2,491 2,300 2,375 2,211 2,122
Could only find part-time work............ 1,615 1,726 1,518 1,596 1,629 1,391 1,347 1,522 1,519
Part time for noneconomic reasons........... 15,459 15,727 15,398 18,184 18,176 18,336 18,322 18,015 18,093
Nonagricultural industries:
Part time for economic reasons.............. 4,218 4,123 3,877 4,182 4,235 3,806 3,782 3,872 3,854
Slack work or business conditions......... 2,242 2,115 1,972 2,310 2,374 2,159 2,220 2,102 2,037
Could only find part-time work............ 1,586 1,683 1,479 1,588 1,603 1,347 1,298 1,509 1,485
Part time for noneconomic reasons........... 14,866 15,102 14,839 17,555 17,661 17,780 17,663 17,418 17,519
NOTE: Persons at work excludes employed persons who were absent from their jobs during the entire reference week for
reasons such as vacation, illness, or industrial dispute. Part time for noneconomic reasons excludes persons who usually
work full time but worked only 1 to 34 hours during the reference week for reasons such as holidays, illness, and bad
weather. Beginning in January 1997, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-4. Selected unemployment indicators, seasonally adjusted
Number of
unemployed persons Unemployment rates(1)
(in thousands)
Category
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997
CHARACTERISTIC
Total, 16 years and over....................... 6,910 6,583 6,677 5.2 4.9 4.8 5.0 4.8 4.9
Men, 20 years and over....................... 2,879 2,789 2,810 4.2 4.2 3.8 4.2 4.0 4.1
Women, 20 years and over..................... 2,732 2,501 2,589 4.7 4.4 4.5 4.4 4.2 4.4
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years................... 1,299 1,293 1,278 17.0 15.4 15.6 16.8 16.4 16.4
Married men, spouse present.................. 1,277 1,149 1,131 2.9 2.7 2.6 2.7 2.6 2.6
Married women, spouse present................ 1,148 1,058 1,009 3.4 3.1 3.2 3.2 3.1 3.0
Women who maintain families.................. 686 634 701 8.5 7.5 7.6 8.0 7.4 8.1
Full-time workers............................ 5,479 5,309 5,311 5.0 4.8 4.7 4.9 4.7 4.7
Part-time workers............................ 1,453 1,300 1,363 5.9 5.7 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.6
OCCUPATION(2)
Managerial and professional specialty........ 820 748 767 2.2 2.0 2.1 2.0 2.0 2.0
Technical, sales, and administrative support. 1,726 1,627 1,662 4.4 4.2 3.8 4.3 4.1 4.2
Precision production, craft, and repair...... 764 734 690 5.3 4.8 4.6 4.7 4.9 4.7
Operators, fabricators, and laborers......... 1,561 1,490 1,535 8.0 7.3 7.1 7.4 7.4 7.7
Farming, forestry, and fishing............... 241 227 271 6.4 6.6 6.2 8.1 6.0 7.4
INDUSTRY
Nonagricultural private wage and salary
workers...................................... 5,460 5,077 5,227 5.4 5.0 5.0 5.0 4.9 5.0
Goods-producing industries................. 1,611 1,547 1,552 5.7 5.4 5.2 5.2 5.4 5.4
Mining................................... 26 25 36 4.5 2.0 3.0 2.3 3.8 5.3
Construction............................. 595 600 635 9.1 8.7 8.4 8.5 8.7 9.3
Manufacturing............................ 990 922 881 4.7 4.4 4.2 4.1 4.3 4.1
Durable goods.......................... 489 431 443 4.0 3.6 3.5 3.5 3.4 3.6
Nondurable goods....................... 501 491 438 5.8 5.8 5.3 5.0 5.5 4.9
Service-producing industries............... 3,849 3,531 3,675 5.2 4.9 4.9 5.0 4.7 4.9
Transportation and public utilities...... 298 249 288 4.1 2.8 3.6 2.9 3.4 3.9
Wholesale and retail trade............... 1,667 1,591 1,635 6.3 6.2 6.1 6.5 6.0 6.2
Finance, insurance, and real estate...... 184 251 238 2.5 3.4 3.2 2.5 3.2 3.0
Services................................. 1,700 1,440 1,514 5.2 4.6 4.6 4.8 4.3 4.5
Government workers........................... 517 529 497 2.8 2.4 2.4 2.9 2.8 2.6
Agricultural wage and salary workers......... 149 156 192 7.6 9.6 7.1 10.6 7.5 9.5
1 Unemployment as a percent of the civilian labor force.
2 Seasonally adjusted unemployment data for service occupations are not available because the seasonal component, which
is small relative to the trend-cycle and irregular components, cannot be separated with sufficient precision.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1997, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-5. Duration of unemployment
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Duration
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Less than 5 weeks.............................. 2,364 2,643 2,409 2,534 2,354 2,523 2,538 2,352 2,598
5 to 14 weeks.................................. 2,402 2,284 2,322 2,199 2,156 2,022 2,211 2,071 2,134
15 weeks and over.............................. 2,102 2,053 1,863 2,273 2,092 2,071 2,063 2,157 2,012
15 to 26 weeks.............................. 835 925 780 1,003 1,058 1,078 1,045 1,082 931
27 weeks and over........................... 1,268 1,128 1,084 1,270 1,034 993 1,018 1,074 1,082
Average (mean) duration, in weeks.............. 17.3 15.8 16.0 17.2 15.2 15.1 15.1 16.6 15.9
Median duration, in weeks...................... 8.6 7.7 8.0 8.5 8.3 7.7 7.7 8.5 7.8
PERCENT DISTRIBUTION
Total unemployed............................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Less than 5 weeks............................ 34.4 37.9 36.5 36.2 35.7 38.1 37.3 35.7 38.5
5 to 14 weeks................................ 35.0 32.7 35.2 31.4 32.7 30.6 32.5 31.5 31.6
15 weeks and over............................ 30.6 29.4 28.3 32.4 31.7 31.3 30.3 32.8 29.8
15 to 26 weeks............................. 12.2 13.3 11.8 14.3 16.0 16.3 15.3 16.5 13.8
27 weeks and over.......................... 18.5 16.2 16.4 18.1 15.7 15.0 14.9 16.3 16.0
NOTE: Beginning in January 1997, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-6. Reason for unemployment
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally Seasonally adjusted
adjusted
Reason
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs..... 2,932 2,895 2,859 3,095 2,979 2,902 3,145 2,903 3,064
On temporary layoff................................... 777 873 716 931 976 871 925 877 865
Not on temporary layoff............................... 2,155 2,022 2,143 2,164 2,003 2,031 2,220 2,026 2,199
Permanent job losers................................ 1,459 1,381 1,438 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Persons who completed temporary jobs................ 696 642 705 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Job leavers............................................. 808 836 958 775 754 801 829 822 915
Reentrants.............................................. 2,556 2,417 2,217 2,467 2,420 2,306 2,359 2,244 2,144
New entrants............................................ 573 833 561 552 577 574 481 553 544
PERCENT DISTRIBUTION
Total unemployed........................................
Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs.... 42.7 41.5 43.4 44.9 44.3 44.1 46.2 44.5 46.0
On temporary layoff.................................. 11.3 12.5 10.9 13.5 14.5 13.2 13.6 13.4 13.0
Not on temporary layoff.............................. 31.4 29.0 32.5 31.4 29.8 30.9 32.6 31.1 33.0
Job leavers............................................ 11.8 12.0 14.5 11.2 11.2 12.2 12.2 12.6 13.7
Reentrants............................................. 37.2 34.6 33.6 35.8 36.0 35.0 34.6 34.4 32.2
New entrants........................................... 8.3 11.9 8.5 8.0 8.6 8.7 7.1 8.5 8.2
UNEMPLOYED AS A PERCENT OF THE
CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE
Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs.... 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.3 2.2 2.1 2.3 2.1 2.2
Job leavers............................................ .6 .6 .7 .6 .6 .6 .6 .6 .7
Reentrants............................................. 1.9 1.7 1.6 1.8 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.6
New entrants........................................... .4 .6 .4 .4 .4 .4 .4 .4 .4
1 Not available.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1997, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-7. Range of alternative measures of labor underutilization
(Percent)
Not seasonally Seasonally adjusted
adjusted
Measure
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997
U-1 Persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer,
as a percent of the civilian labor force....................... 1.6 1.5 1.4 1.7 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.5
U-2 Job losers and persons who completed
temporary jobs, as a percent of the civilian
labor force.................................................... 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.3 2.2 2.1 2.3 2.1 2.2
U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the
civilian labor force (official unemployment rate).............. 5.1 5.0 4.8 5.2 4.9 4.8 5.0 4.8 4.9
U-4 Total unemployed plus discouraged
workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force
plus discouraged workers....................................... 5.4 5.3 5.0 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
U-5 Total unemployed, plus discouraged workers, plus all other
marginally attached workers, as a percent of the civilian
labor force plus all marginally attached workers............... 6.1 5.9 5.7 (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.. 9.3 9.0 8.6 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
1 Not available.
NOTE: This range of alternative measures of labor underutilization replaces the U1-U7 range published in table A-7
of this release prior to 1994. Marginally attached workers are persons who currently are neither working nor looking
for work but indicate that they want and are available for a job and have looked for work sometime in the recent past.
Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached, have given a job-market related reason for not currently
looking for a job. Persons employed part time for economic reasons are those who want and are available for full-time
work but have had to settle for a part-time schedule. For further information, see "BLS introduces new range of
alternative unemployment measures," in the October 1995 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. Beginning in January 1997,
data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-8. Unemployed persons by sex and age, seasonally adjusted
Number of
unemployed persons Unemployment rates(1)
(in thousands)
Age and sex
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997
Total, 16 years and over.......................... 6,910 6,583 6,677 5.2 4.9 4.8 5.0 4.8 4.9
16 to 24 years.................................. 2,438 2,328 2,390 11.7 11.4 10.9 11.5 10.9 11.3
16 to 19 years................................ 1,299 1,293 1,278 17.0 15.4 15.6 16.8 16.4 16.4
16 to 17 years.............................. 604 555 544 18.9 18.5 18.4 17.3 17.5 17.7
18 to 19 years.............................. 692 748 732 15.7 13.3 13.7 16.3 15.8 15.6
20 to 24 years................................ 1,139 1,036 1,112 8.6 9.0 8.2 8.4 7.7 8.3
25 years and over............................... 4,511 4,224 4,318 4.0 3.7 3.7 3.8 3.7 3.7
25 to 54 years................................ 3,988 3,777 3,786 4.1 3.8 3.8 3.9 3.8 3.8
55 years and over............................. 505 489 500 3.2 3.0 2.9 3.1 3.0 3.0
Men, 16 years and over.......................... 3,593 3,481 3,524 5.0 4.9 4.5 5.0 4.8 4.8
16 to 24 years................................ 1,303 1,272 1,340 12.0 11.8 10.3 12.1 11.4 12.0
16 to 19 years.............................. 714 692 714 18.2 17.2 15.2 19.0 17.2 17.8
16 to 17 years............................ 342 299 282 21.5 20.5 17.8 19.9 18.6 17.5
18 to 19 years............................ 370 386 429 16.1 15.2 13.5 18.2 16.2 18.1
20 to 24 years.............................. 589 580 626 8.4 8.7 7.5 8.2 8.1 8.7
25 years and over............................. 2,336 2,176 2,218 3.8 3.7 3.4 3.7 3.5 3.6
25 to 54 years.............................. 2,030 1,920 1,917 3.9 3.8 3.5 3.8 3.6 3.6
55 years and over........................... 292 272 279 3.2 3.0 2.8 3.1 3.0 3.0
Women, 16 years and over........................ 3,317 3,102 3,152 5.4 4.9 5.2 5.0 4.9 5.0
16 to 24 years................................ 1,135 1,057 1,050 11.5 10.9 11.6 10.8 10.4 10.5
16 to 19 years.............................. 585 601 564 15.8 13.6 16.0 14.4 15.5 15.0
16 to 17 years............................ 262 256 262 16.3 16.5 19.0 14.4 16.4 17.8
18 to 19 years............................ 322 361 303 15.2 11.3 13.8 14.3 15.4 13.1
20 to 24 years.............................. 550 456 486 8.9 9.3 8.9 8.6 7.3 7.8
25 years and over............................. 2,175 2,048 2,100 4.2 3.8 4.0 3.9 3.9 4.0
25 to 54 years.............................. 1,958 1,856 1,869 4.3 3.9 4.2 4.0 4.1 4.1
55 years and over........................... 213 218 221 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.2 3.0 3.0
1 Unemployment as a percent of the civilian labor force.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1997, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-9. Persons not in the labor force and multiple jobholders by sex, not seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
Total Men Women
Category
Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug.
1996 1997 1996 1997 1996 1997
NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE
Total not in the labor force.................................... 65,836 65,904 23,447 23,688 42,389 42,216
Persons who currently want a job.............................. 5,666 5,030 2,118 1,899 3,547 3,132
Searched for work and available to work now(1)............. 1,436 1,298 687 575 749 723
Reason not currently looking:
Discouragement over job prospects(2).................. 415 311 256 175 159 136
Reasons other than discouragement(3)............... 1,021 987 432 400 590 586
MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS
Total multiple jobholders(4).................................... 7,525 7,583 4,089 4,123 3,436 3,460
Percent of total employed................................... 5.9 5.8 5.9 5.8 5.9 5.8
Primary job full time, secondary job part time.............. 4,252 4,313 2,528 2,584 1,724 1,730
Primary and secondary jobs both part time................... 1,514 1,437 513 447 1,001 990
Primary and secondary jobs both full time................... 245 258 192 161 53 97
Hours vary on primary or secondary job...................... 1,477 1,528 848 909 630 618
1 Data refer to persons who have searched for work during the prior 12 months and were available to take a job during
the reference week.
2 Includes thinks no work available, could not find work, lacks schooling or training, employer thinks too young or
old, and other types of discrimination.
3 Includes those who did not actively look for work in the prior 4 weeks for such reasons as child-care and
transportation problems, as well as a small number for which reason for nonparticipation was not determined.
4 Includes persons who work part time on their primary job and full time on their secondary job(s), not shown
separately.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1997, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry
(In thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Industry
Aug. June July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
1996 1997 1997p 1997p 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997p 1997p
Total......................... 119,733 123,111 122,213 122,231 119,983 121,671 121,834 122,056 122,421 122,470
Total private.................... 101,453 103,409 103,590 103,731 100,433 102,092 102,269 102,417 102,694 102,671
Goods-producing......................... 24,928 25,018 24,986 25,220 24,468 24,667 24,702 24,714 24,696 24,751
Mining................................ 584 580 584 582 574 573 576 574 573 571
Metal mining........................ 55.5 55.5 55.0 54.9 54 54 54 54 54 54
Coal mining......................... 96.0 92.8 92.0 91.2 96 93 93 92 91 91
Oil and gas extraction.............. 322.0 320.2 324.3 323.5 318 319 321 320 320 319
Nonmetallic minerals, except fuels.. 110.9 111.9 112.2 112.1 106 107 108 108 108 107
Construction.......................... 5,767 5,829 5,944 5,974 5,433 5,599 5,628 5,622 5,622 5,632
General building contractors........ 1,321.9 1,338.7 1,365.2 1,369.3 1,261 1,297 1,300 1,302 1,307 1,307
Heavy construction, except building. 848.0 819.0 827.2 835.7 774 767 777 766 760 763
Special trade contractors........... 3,597.3 3,671.2 3,751.8 3,769.1 3,398 3,535 3,551 3,554 3,555 3,562
Manufacturing......................... 18,577 18,609 18,458 18,664 18,461 18,495 18,498 18,518 18,501 18,548
Production workers................ 12,847 12,866 12,709 12,911 12,749 12,774 12,790 12,791 12,781 12,811
Durable goods........................ 10,803 10,954 10,852 10,966 10,788 10,856 10,864 10,891 10,901 10,951
Production workers................ 7,391 7,525 7,413 7,524 7,389 7,440 7,454 7,466 7,475 7,521
Lumber and wood products............ 798.7 807.8 807.7 814.8 783 799 800 797 797 798
Furniture and fixtures.............. 503.1 510.3 500.1 506.0 502 506 508 508 509 505
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 552.5 550.1 549.7 552.2 540 541 540 538 541 540
Primary metal industries............ 711.9 711.5 702.7 717.1 712 710 708 709 708 717
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 242.0 236.6 235.3 240.3 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Fabricated metal products........... 1,452.2 1,478.1 1,452.9 1,470.4 1,451 1,468 1,468 1,470 1,466 1,470
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 2,106.7 2,163.5 2,148.9 2,157.7 2,114 2,142 2,146 2,152 2,153 2,165
Computer and office equipment..... 364.2 381.2 383.8 385.3 364 375 378 379 381 385
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 1,652.8 1,654.7 1,651.5 1,663.7 1,654 1,643 1,644 1,651 1,659 1,665
Electronic components and
accessories.................... 612.4 629.4 634.0 638.9 612 618 622 628 633 639
Transportation equipment............ 1,781.9 1,831.6 1,800.4 1,839.7 1,791 1,804 1,809 1,824 1,822 1,849
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 965.8 974.5 942.1 976.3 968 957 960 967 962 978
Aircraft and parts................ 457.1 503.7 507.9 511.2 459 495 498 505 510 514
Instruments and related products.... 855.8 858.5 856.2 856.1 855 855 854 856 857 855
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 387.5 388.1 381.7 388.0 386 388 387 386 389 387
Nondurable goods..................... 7,774 7,655 7,606 7,698 7,673 7,639 7,634 7,627 7,600 7,597
Production workers................ 5,456 5,341 5,296 5,387 5,360 5,334 5,336 5,325 5,306 5,290
Food and kindred products........... 1,765.8 1,689.4 1,715.1 1,761.2 1,685 1,699 1,693 1,692 1,683 1,681
Tobacco products.................... 40.2 37.7 37.6 39.2 40 41 41 41 41 39
Textile mill products............... 624.8 611.7 602.7 607.4 621 609 609 607 607 604
Apparel and other textile products.. 859.0 823.3 793.5 808.2 857 822 818 816 810 806
Paper and allied products........... 682.8 680.6 677.5 679.7 678 677 677 675 674 675
Printing and publishing............. 1,535.7 1,549.7 1,547.7 1,547.0 1,537 1,541 1,546 1,550 1,549 1,548
Chemicals and allied products....... 1,037.7 1,032.9 1,027.8 1,030.5 1,032 1,029 1,030 1,027 1,023 1,025
Petroleum and coal products......... 145.2 140.9 141.3 141.5 142 140 139 138 138 138
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 987.3 996.7 976.3 992.3 986 988 988 989 985 991
Leather and leather products........ 95.6 92.3 86.7 90.6 95 93 93 92 90 90
Service-producing....................... 94,805 98,093 97,227 97,011 95,515 97,004 97,132 97,342 97,725 97,719
Transportation and public utilities... 6,283 6,465 6,433 6,278 6,299 6,421 6,431 6,434 6,453 6,293
Transportation...................... 4,043 4,213 4,176 4,026 4,075 4,179 4,187 4,193 4,210 4,057
Railroad transportation........... 232.2 229.9 230.6 228.3 230 225 226 230 229 226
Local and interurban passenger
transit........................ 384.0 458.3 398.0 394.8 448 460 458 457 463 460
Trucking and warehousing.......... 1,677.6 1,698.9 1,708.3 1,728.1 1,656 1,676 1,687 1,686 1,693 1,705
Water transportation.............. 181.9 184.0 188.5 189.2 174 177 176 178 178 181
Transportation by air............. 1,132.5 1,190.4 1,197.4 1,030.5 1,134 1,192 1,192 1,192 1,196 1,032
Pipelines, except natural gas..... 14.7 14.5 14.6 14.6 14 14 14 14 14 14
Transportation services........... 420.2 437.1 438.6 440.6 419 435 434 436 437 439
Communications and public utilities. 2,240 2,252 2,257 2,252 2,224 2,242 2,244 2,241 2,243 2,236
Communications.................... 1,352.5 1,375.6 1,380.0 1,379.5 1,344 1,369 1,372 1,372 1,374 1,371
Electric, gas, and sanitary
services....................... 887.8 876.6 877.3 872.4 880 873 872 869 869 865
Wholesale trade....................... 6,531 6,680 6,706 6,707 6,497 6,622 6,630 6,634 6,664 6,672
Durable goods....................... 3,831 3,943 3,962 3,967 3,816 3,900 3,909 3,917 3,938 3,952
Nondurable goods.................... 2,700 2,737 2,744 2,740 2,681 2,722 2,721 2,717 2,726 2,720
Retail trade.......................... 21,870 22,286 22,282 22,358 21,692 22,029 22,026 22,079 22,150 22,181
Building materials and garden
supplies......................... 917.4 973.1 964.4 952.0 896 931 932 928 930 930
General merchandise stores.......... 2,698.7 2,739.7 2,752.9 2,781.0 2,737 2,799 2,787 2,798 2,805 2,820
Department stores................. 2,369.8 2,400.2 2,416.4 2,439.8 2,401 2,446 2,452 2,450 2,461 2,471
Food stores......................... 3,461.4 3,510.5 3,524.5 3,517.6 3,445 3,480 3,482 3,487 3,502 3,501
Automotive dealers and service
stations......................... 2,310.8 2,338.7 2,347.1 2,352.3 2,284 2,319 2,316 2,315 2,316 2,325
New and used car dealers.......... 1,043.3 1,058.8 1,060.1 1,062.4 1,038 1,055 1,054 1,056 1,055 1,058
Apparel and accessory stores........ 1,099.2 1,088.2 1,087.1 1,096.4 1,101 1,105 1,099 1,097 1,095 1,098
Furniture and home furnishings
stores........................... 985.5 1,024.4 1,031.6 1,036.4 994 1,026 1,032 1,034 1,041 1,045
Eating and drinking places.......... 7,713.0 7,832.1 7,798.3 7,826.8 7,510 7,571 7,572 7,595 7,632 7,622
Miscellaneous retail establishments. 2,683.7 2,779.2 2,775.8 2,795.9 2,725 2,798 2,806 2,825 2,829 2,840
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 6,999 7,099 7,145 7,150 6,917 7,019 7,029 7,034 7,054 7,065
Finance............................. 3,336 3,413 3,427 3,436 3,313 3,381 3,389 3,394 3,401 3,411
Depository institutions........... 2,039.0 2,056.8 2,062.0 2,062.8 2,022 2,041 2,043 2,044 2,045 2,046
Commercial banks................ 1,478.8 1,497.4 1,501.6 1,502.4 1,466 1,486 1,488 1,487 1,488 1,490
Savings institutions............ 263.5 254.8 254.2 253.4 262 253 253 254 253 252
Nondepository institutions........ 523.8 546.0 546.9 549.4 523 539 542 543 545 548
Mortgage bankers and brokers.... 235.1 246.2 244.9 246.7 234 243 244 243 243 245
Security and commodity brokers.... 561.7 588.7 597.3 601.8 557 583 586 586 592 596
Holding and other investment
offices........................ 211.5 221.2 220.9 221.9 211 218 218 221 219 221
Insurance........................... 2,225 2,232 2,241 2,238 2,217 2,221 2,222 2,226 2,229 2,231
Insurance carriers................ 1,516.0 1,510.1 1,517.3 1,516.6 1,510 1,502 1,503 1,506 1,509 1,511
Insurance agents, brokers, and
service........................ 708.8 722.3 723.8 721.8 707 719 719 720 720 720
Real estate......................... 1,438 1,454 1,477 1,476 1,387 1,417 1,418 1,414 1,424 1,423
Services2............................. 34,842 35,861 36,038 36,018 34,560 35,334 35,451 35,522 35,677 35,709
Agricultural services............... 689.3 745.8 749.7 740.5 631 664 669 668 675 677
Hotels and other lodging places..... 1,861.4 1,848.6 1,895.0 1,894.1 1,718 1,756 1,752 1,744 1,749 1,748
Personal services................... 1,145.2 1,157.2 1,143.6 1,145.6 1,187 1,193 1,189 1,182 1,184 1,188
Business services................... 7,424.2 7,655.9 7,698.2 7,768.2 7,330 7,594 7,618 7,645 7,674 7,667
Services to buildings............. 906.9 911.2 905.0 902.0 898 902 903 903 900 893
Personnel supply services......... 2,774.3 2,742.0 2,770.4 2,822.2 2,699 2,752 2,744 2,748 2,763 2,744
Help supply services............ 2,463.4 2,401.6 2,429.9 2,478.4 2,392 2,419 2,409 2,407 2,420 2,404
Computer and data processing
services....................... 1,218.0 1,334.0 1,342.3 1,356.3 1,218 1,306 1,322 1,337 1,346 1,356
Auto repair, services, and parking.. 1,101.4 1,140.2 1,147.0 1,147.2 1,094 1,132 1,136 1,131 1,138 1,139
Miscellaneous repair services....... 379.3 388.7 391.6 391.4 376 382 384 386 387 388
Motion pictures..................... 535.6 541.7 546.8 556.1 526 528 532 537 538 546
Amusement and recreation services... 1,722.2 1,805.4 1,857.0 1,819.9 1,474 1,503 1,542 1,561 1,574 1,556
Health services..................... 9,514.6 9,695.1 9,723.3 9,737.0 9,493 9,644 9,673 9,673 9,694 9,715
Offices and clinics of medical
doctors........................ 1,695.6 1,744.4 1,750.7 1,751.1 1,687 1,728 1,740 1,740 1,744 1,742
Nursing and personal care
facilities..................... 1,744.4 1,762.4 1,768.7 1,772.1 1,737 1,760 1,764 1,761 1,763 1,765
Hospitals......................... 3,818.4 3,876.5 3,889.4 3,892.4 3,813 3,857 3,864 3,869 3,876 3,887
Home health care services......... 665.7 684.7 685.2 684.4 667 684 682 682 685 685
Legal services...................... 939.9 967.8 972.3 967.3 933 951 952 953 957 960
Educational services................ 1,744.9 1,889.7 1,818.1 1,782.7 2,031 2,062 2,062 2,074 2,085 2,074
Social services..................... 2,375.9 2,467.6 2,470.5 2,466.3 2,415 2,458 2,466 2,474 2,492 2,507
Child day care services........... 521.9 574.4 534.0 544.6 572 581 587 590 592 597
Residential care.................. 683.5 704.6 708.3 711.4 677 694 695 698 701 705
Museums and botanical and zoological
gardens........................... 91.7 95.0 96.3 94.7 85 87 88 88 88 88
Membership organizations............ 2,228.0 2,237.4 2,276.5 2,244.8 2,191 2,199 2,201 2,202 2,210 2,207
Engineering and management services. 2,872.8 3,008.1 3,034.5 3,044.8 2,860 2,965 2,971 2,988 3,015 3,032
Engineering and architectural
services....................... 855.0 884.7 891.5 896.6 841 869 869 877 878 882
Management and public relations... 883.6 958.0 970.4 978.2 879 936 941 950 962 973
Services, nec....................... 48.3 48.8 49.5 49.4 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Government............................ 18,280 19,702 18,623 18,500 19,550 19,579 19,565 19,639 19,727 19,799
Federal............................. 2,758 2,720 2,713 2,706 2,743 2,708 2,703 2,694 2,689 2,691
Federal, except Postal Service.... 1,910.6 1,870.1 1,867.5 1,855.5 1,889 1,856 1,851 1,843 1,839 1,834
State............................... 4,386 4,498 4,431 4,424 4,637 4,635 4,636 4,640 4,672 4,677
Education......................... 1,652.5 1,772.1 1,678.4 1,673.3 1,937 1,938 1,943 1,950 1,971 1,959
Other State government............ 2,733.3 2,725.6 2,752.9 2,751.0 2,700 2,697 2,693 2,690 2,701 2,718
Local............................... 11,136 12,484 11,479 11,370 12,170 12,236 12,226 12,305 12,366 12,431
Education......................... 5,603.3 6,926.0 5,773.5 5,745.0 6,837 6,858 6,850 6,902 6,959 7,008
Other local government............ 5,532.6 5,558.0 5,705.4 5,624.8 5,333 5,378 5,376 5,403 5,407 5,423
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
Aug. June July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
1996 1997 1997p 1997p 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997p 1997p
Total private.................... 34.8 34.9 34.8 35.0 34.5 34.5 34.5 34.6 34.5 34.7
Goods-producing......................... 41.4 41.4 41.0 41.5 41.1 41.4 41.4 41.1 41.2 41.2
Mining................................ 45.3 45.8 45.1 45.0 45.2 45.3 46.0 45.4 45.3 44.9
Construction.......................... 39.9 39.5 40.1 39.7 38.8 38.9 39.4 38.7 39.0 38.6
Manufacturing......................... 41.8 42.0 41.3 42.0 41.7 42.1 42.0 41.8 41.8 41.9
Overtime hours.................... 4.7 4.7 4.5 5.0 4.5 4.9 4.8 4.6 4.7 4.8
Durable goods........................ 42.5 42.8 41.9 42.8 42.5 43.0 42.8 42.6 42.6 42.7
Overtime hours.................... 5.0 5.0 4.7 5.3 4.8 5.3 5.2 5.0 5.0 5.1
Lumber and wood products............ 41.4 41.5 40.8 41.4 40.9 41.2 41.0 41.0 41.1 40.9
Furniture and fixtures.............. 40.1 39.9 39.4 40.8 39.6 40.1 40.4 39.9 39.9 40.3
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 44.0 43.6 43.3 43.8 43.2 43.0 43.4 42.9 43.1 43.0
Primary metal industries............ 44.1 44.8 43.9 44.8 44.3 45.1 44.8 44.7 44.4 45.1
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 44.0 44.6 44.4 44.9 44.3 45.2 44.7 44.5 44.4 45.3
Fabricated metal products........... 42.6 42.6 41.7 42.5 42.4 42.9 42.6 42.4 42.5 42.3
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 42.7 43.4 42.8 43.2 43.0 43.9 43.6 43.3 43.4 43.5
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 41.6 42.0 41.3 41.9 41.6 42.3 42.0 42.0 42.1 41.9
Transportation equipment............ 44.3 44.6 42.3 44.3 44.4 44.8 44.5 44.2 43.6 44.3
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 45.5 45.3 42.0 44.9 45.6 45.3 45.2 44.8 43.8 44.9
Instruments and related products.... 41.6 41.9 41.1 42.0 41.8 41.9 41.9 41.8 41.6 42.2
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 39.8 40.1 39.5 40.2 39.7 40.5 40.3 40.1 40.4 40.1
Nondurable goods..................... 40.9 40.7 40.4 41.0 40.6 40.9 40.8 40.6 40.7 40.7
Overtime hours.................... 4.4 4.1 4.3 4.7 4.1 4.4 4.3 4.1 4.3 4.3
Food and kindred products........... 41.5 40.8 41.2 41.7 40.8 41.1 41.4 40.9 41.2 41.0
Tobacco products.................... 40.0 39.2 35.0 38.2 39.7 39.0 38.4 37.6 35.8 37.9
Textile mill products............... 41.3 41.7 40.6 41.7 40.9 41.7 41.4 41.2 41.3 41.3
Apparel and other textile products.. 37.7 37.8 36.6 37.5 37.4 37.5 37.1 37.4 36.9 37.2
Paper and allied products........... 43.4 43.4 43.3 43.4 43.4 43.9 43.8 43.4 43.5 43.4
Printing and publishing............. 38.6 38.0 38.1 38.6 38.3 38.5 38.3 38.3 38.4 38.3
Chemicals and allied products....... 42.9 43.1 42.7 43.1 43.2 43.1 43.3 43.1 43.0 43.4
Petroleum and coal products......... 43.9 42.9 42.8 42.8 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 41.6 41.7 41.0 41.7 41.6 42.0 41.6 41.5 41.7 41.7
Leather and leather products........ 38.9 38.8 37.7 38.7 38.6 38.5 38.2 38.1 38.3 38.3
Service-producing....................... 33.0 33.1 33.1 33.3 32.7 32.7 32.7 32.9 32.7 32.9
Transportation and public utilities... 40.0 39.8 39.5 40.4 39.7 39.3 39.5 39.6 39.1 40.0
Wholesale trade....................... 38.4 38.7 38.4 38.5 38.3 38.4 38.4 38.5 38.4 38.4
Retail trade.......................... 29.5 29.4 29.6 29.8 28.8 28.9 28.9 28.9 28.8 29.2
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 35.7 36.6 35.9 36.0 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Services.............................. 32.7 32.8 32.8 32.9 (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
Aug. June July Aug. Aug. June July Aug.
1996 1997 1997p 1997p 1996 1997 1997p 1997p
Total private.................... $11.76 $12.17 $12.15 $12.19 $409.25 $424.73 $422.82 $426.65
Seasonally adjusted............. 11.86 12.23 12.24 12.29 409.17 423.16 422.28 426.46
Goods-producing......................... 13.54 13.86 13.93 13.97 560.56 573.80 571.13 579.76
Mining................................ 15.51 16.11 16.02 15.97 702.60 737.84 722.50 718.65
Construction.......................... 15.57 15.88 15.99 16.09 621.24 627.26 641.20 638.77
Manufacturing......................... 12.79 13.10 13.12 13.17 534.62 550.20 541.86 553.14
Durable goods........................ 13.39 13.66 13.63 13.73 569.08 584.65 571.10 587.64
Lumber and wood products............ 10.54 10.77 10.83 10.84 436.36 446.96 441.86 448.78
Furniture and fixtures.............. 10.19 10.51 10.53 10.82 408.62 419.35 414.88 441.46
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 12.92 13.13 13.21 13.20 568.48 572.47 571.99 578.16
Primary metal industries............ 15.02 15.16 15.30 15.26 662.38 679.17 671.67 683.65
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 17.83 17.99 18.08 18.01 784.52 802.35 802.75 808.65
Fabricated metal products........... 12.54 12.77 12.68 12.80 534.20 544.00 528.76 544.00
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 13.63 13.95 14.01 14.02 582.00 605.43 599.63 605.66
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 12.28 12.59 12.70 12.71 510.85 528.78 524.51 532.55
Transportation equipment............ 17.28 17.45 17.26 17.51 765.50 778.27 730.10 775.69
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 17.80 17.92 17.60 17.97 809.90 811.78 739.20 806.85
Instruments and related products.... 13.18 13.55 13.55 13.53 548.29 567.75 556.91 568.26
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 10.37 10.50 10.52 10.59 412.73 421.05 415.54 425.72
Nondurable goods..................... 11.95 12.27 12.38 12.35 488.76 499.39 500.15 506.35
Food and kindred products........... 11.16 11.45 11.53 11.51 463.14 467.16 475.04 479.97
Tobacco products.................... 20.27 21.10 21.08 20.54 810.80 827.12 737.80 784.63
Textile mill products............... 9.72 9.97 10.02 10.03 401.44 415.75 406.81 418.25
Apparel and other textile products.. 7.94 8.25 8.21 8.24 299.34 311.85 300.49 309.00
Paper and allied products........... 14.69 14.99 15.18 15.17 637.55 650.57 657.29 658.38
Printing and publishing............. 12.70 12.90 13.02 13.09 490.22 490.20 496.06 505.27
Chemicals and allied products....... 16.22 16.54 16.60 16.56 695.84 712.87 708.82 713.74
Petroleum and coal products......... 18.98 19.94 20.03 19.75 833.22 855.43 857.28 845.30
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 11.23 11.53 11.58 11.60 467.17 480.80 474.78 483.72
Leather and leather products........ 8.62 8.91 8.74 8.88 335.32 345.71 329.50 343.66
Service-producing....................... 11.15 11.60 11.56 11.59 367.95 383.96 382.64 385.95
Transportation and public utilities... $14.48 $14.78 $14.95 $14.94 $579.20 $588.24 $590.53 $603.58
Wholesale trade....................... 12.85 13.36 13.36 13.45 493.44 517.03 513.02 517.83
Retail trade.......................... 7.95 8.27 8.26 8.28 234.53 243.14 244.50 246.74
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 12.71 13.23 13.14 13.24 453.75 484.22 471.73 476.64
Services.............................. 11.63 12.15 12.07 12.11 380.30 398.52 395.90 398.42
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
Aug. Apr. May June July Aug. change
Industry 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997p 1997p from:
July 1997-
Aug. 1997
Total private:
Current dollars.............. $11.86 $12.14 $12.19 $12.23 $12.24 $12.29 0.4
Constant (1982) dollars2..... 7.44 7.49 7.52 7.54 7.53 N.A. (3)
Goods-producing............... 13.54 13.80 13.85 13.86 13.86 13.95 .6
Mining...................... 15.65 15.96 16.05 16.12 16.09 16.10 .1
Construction................ 15.52 15.86 15.91 15.95 15.95 16.03 .5
Manufacturing............... 12.85 13.07 13.11 13.12 13.12 13.22 .8
Excluding overtime4....... 12.19 12.38 12.38 12.42 12.41 12.50 .7
Service-producing............. 11.29 11.58 11.63 11.69 11.70 11.74 .3
Transportation and public
utilities................ 14.50 14.76 14.80 14.85 14.95 14.95 .0
Wholesale trade............. 12.91 13.27 13.33 13.42 13.37 13.52 1.1
Retail trade................ 8.01 8.26 8.28 8.30 8.31 8.35 .5
Finance, insurance, and real
estate................... 12.84 13.00 13.18 13.29 13.26 13.38 .9
Services.................... 11.83 12.16 12.20 12.26 12.26 12.32 .5
1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
2 The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) is used to
deflate this series.
3 Change was -.1 percent from June 1997 to July 1997, the latest month available.
4 Derived by assuming that overtime hours are paid at the rate of time and one-half.
N.A. = not available.
p = preliminary.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-5. Indexes of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers1 on private nonfarm payrolls by
industry
(1982=100)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Industry
Aug. June July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
1996 1997 1997p 1997p 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997p 1997p
Total private.................... 140.2 143.0 142.8 143.9 137.1 139.6 140.0 140.6 140.3 140.8
Goods-producing......................... 115.1 115.4 114.0 116.7 111.4 113.3 113.7 112.7 112.8 113.0
Mining................................ 56.4 57.5 56.9 56.7 55.1 55.8 57.3 56.3 56.1 55.5
Construction.......................... 164.0 163.3 169.4 168.8 148.2 153.2 156.2 152.8 154.0 152.7
Manufacturing......................... 108.4 108.9 105.7 109.4 107.2 108.5 108.3 107.8 107.7 108.2
Durable goods........................ 109.7 112.5 108.3 112.3 109.5 111.7 111.4 111.0 111.0 112.1
Lumber and wood products............ 144.1 146.2 143.5 147.0 139.3 143.3 142.9 142.2 142.3 141.9
Furniture and fixtures.............. 125.1 127.1 122.3 129.0 123.9 126.7 128.0 126.7 127.0 127.6
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 114.9 113.3 112.5 114.7 109.9 109.2 110.2 108.7 110.0 109.7
Primary metal industries............ 92.5 94.4 91.2 95.2 93.2 94.5 93.9 94.0 93.2 96.1
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 73.5 73.0 72.2 74.6 74.0 73.8 72.6 72.3 72.1 75.2
Fabricated metal products........... 115.4 118.3 113.0 117.2 115.0 118.0 117.1 116.8 116.6 116.7
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 103.2 108.9 106.3 107.7 104.6 109.2 108.5 108.1 108.4 109.1
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 107.9 108.9 106.2 109.4 108.4 109.1 108.2 108.5 109.3 109.8
Transportation equipment............ 123.7 128.7 119.0 128.3 124.9 126.5 126.8 126.2 125.1 129.3
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 166.7 169.2 150.5 168.0 168.1 164.4 165.4 165.6 161.7 168.8
Instruments and related products.... 75.0 75.9 73.4 74.9 75.4 75.1 75.1 75.2 74.7 75.2
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 102.1 103.1 99.0 102.9 101.3 103.3 103.2 102.3 103.4 102.3
Nondurable goods..................... 106.6 103.9 102.2 105.5 104.0 104.2 104.0 103.4 103.1 102.9
Food and kindred products........... 123.6 115.0 118.2 124.1 114.7 117.0 117.3 115.8 115.8 115.0
Tobacco products.................... 61.4 54.2 49.1 57.5 61.0 59.9 58.9 57.8 56.8 56.3
Textile mill products............... 90.7 89.8 86.1 89.3 89.2 89.6 88.8 88.2 88.4 87.9
Apparel and other textile products.. 77.8 74.7 69.3 72.2 76.9 73.9 73.0 73.2 71.9 71.4
Paper and allied products........... 110.1 109.9 109.2 109.9 109.0 110.4 110.4 109.0 109.0 108.8
Printing and publishing............. 124.8 124.0 124.0 125.4 124.0 124.7 125.1 125.2 125.4 124.5
Chemicals and allied products....... 101.1 100.3 98.9 100.6 101.0 99.9 100.5 99.7 99.4 100.6
Petroleum and coal products......... 79.5 76.2 76.3 76.8 77.1 73.6 75.0 74.2 73.7 74.6
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 144.5 146.0 139.7 145.3 144.1 145.9 144.7 144.2 144.1 144.9
Leather and leather products........ 44.1 42.1 37.5 41.1 43.3 42.0 41.7 41.0 40.0 40.0
Service-producing....................... 151.4 155.5 155.7 156.1 148.6 151.3 151.8 153.1 152.6 153.3
Transportation and public utilities... 129.4 132.8 130.7 129.2 128.7 130.1 131.0 131.3 129.8 128.3
Wholesale trade....................... 124.3 127.9 127.1 127.4 123.2 125.7 125.9 126.2 126.2 126.2
Retail trade.......................... 139.7 141.8 143.0 144.1 135.2 137.9 138.0 138.2 138.1 140.2
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 126.5 131.5 129.8 130.1 125.2 126.7 127.3 130.5 127.7 128.9
Services.............................. 181.2 186.7 187.7 188.2 178.0 181.7 182.3 184.5 184.3 184.9
1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
p = preliminary.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-6. Diffusion indexes of employment change, seasonally adjusted
(Percent)
Time span Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
Private nonfarm payrolls, 356 industries1
Over 1-month span:
1993.............. 59.7 61.0 49.6 57.6 61.5 56.2 55.5 58.3 62.2 59.6 61.7 59.3
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 p58.8 p57.7
Over 3-month span:
1993.............. 64.7 60.8 60.5 58.6 62.9 63.6 59.6 62.9 64.7 66.9 64.3 63.6
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 p58.7 p58.3
Over 6-month span:
1993.............. 62.9 64.6 64.3 64.3 62.2 65.6 66.0 64.9 66.3 66.7 69.4 69.2
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 p64.0 p63.9
Over 12-month span:
1993.............. 64.9 63.9 64.0 65.4 67.0 67.6 67.6 67.0 70.2 69.5 69.2 70.1
1994.............. 70.2 71.6 71.8 71.8 72.1 71.8 71.5 72.1 70.1 69.5 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.............. p66.7 p65.2
Manufacturing payrolls, 139 industries1
Over 1-month span:
1993.............. 52.2 56.8 49.6 44.2 53.2 46.4 49.3 51.8 57.9 52.2 54.0 55.8
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 p49.3 p50.7
Over 3-month span:
1993.............. 61.5 59.0 54.0 46.8 48.6 54.3 51.1 58.3 57.2 59.4 54.7 58.3
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 p47.8 p48.2
Over 6-month span:
1993.............. 55.8 58.6 58.6 55.8 51.8 57.2 59.7 57.2 57.6 58.3 62.6 60.8
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 p47.5 p49.6
Over 12-month span:
1993.............. 56.8 57.9 55.8 58.6 57.2 57.6 58.6 59.0 61.2 59.7 60.1 57.6
1994.............. 57.9 58.6 60.8 60.8 60.8 63.3 59.4 60.1 57.2 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.............. p50.7 p47.1
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: October 03, 1997
URL: http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/pub/empsit_0897.htm
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