Technical information: USDL 98-364
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 4, 1998.
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: AUGUST 1998
Payroll employment rose, and unemployment was unchanged in August, the
Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.
Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 365,000, in part because workers
who were off payrolls in July due to strikes and plant shutdowns in
automobile-related manufacturing returned to their jobs. The jobless
rate remained at 4.5 percent.
Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
Since June, the number of unemployed persons has remained essentially
unchanged at 6.2 million, and the unemployment rate has held at 4.5 percent.
Among the major demographic groups, the jobless rates for adult men
(3.7 percent), adult women (4.1 percent), teenagers (15.0 percent), whites
(4.0 percent), blacks (9.0 percent), and Hispanics (7.5 percent) were little
changed in August. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)
The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons declined
by 320,000 to 3.5 million. (See table A-4.)
Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
Total employment was about unchanged over the month at 131.2 million.
The employment-population ratio--the proportion of the population age 16 and
older with jobs--was 63.8 percent, likewise little changed from the previous
month. (See table A-1.)
About 7.5 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one
job in August. These multiple jobholders comprised 5.6 percent of the
total employed, compared with 5.8 percent a year earlier. (See
table A-10.)
The civilian labor force, 137.4 million in August, has remained about
unchanged since April. The labor force participation rate—66.9 percent in
August--also has remained little changed over this period. (See
table A-1.)
Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
About 1.3 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally
attached to the labor force in August. 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.
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Table A. Major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
___________________________________________________________________________
| Quarterly | Monthly data |
| averages | |
|_________________|__________________________| July-
Category | 1998 1/ | 1998 1/ | Aug.
|_________________|__________________________|change
| I | II | June | July | Aug. |
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
HOUSEHOLD DATA | Labor force status
|____________________________________________________
Civilian labor force..| 137,524| 137,351| 137,447| 137,296| 137,415| 119
Employment..........| 131,080| 131,349| 131,209| 131,067| 131,168| 101
Unemployment........| 6,444| 6,002| 6,237| 6,230| 6,247| 17
Not in labor force....| 66,871| 67,554| 67,639| 67,973| 68,064| 91
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Unemployment rates
|____________________________________________________
All workers...........| 4.7| 4.4| 4.5| 4.5| 4.5| .0
Adult men...........| 3.8| 3.6| 3.7| 3.9| 3.7| -0.2
Adult women.........| 4.3| 4.0| 4.1| 4.0| 4.1| .1
Teenagers...........| 14.6| 14.0| 14.6| 13.8| 15.0| 1.2
White...............| 4.0| 3.8| 4.0| 3.8| 4.0| .2
Black...............| 9.4| 8.7| 8.2| 9.7| 9.0| -.7
Hispanic origin.....| 6.9| 6.9| 7.6| 7.2| 7.5| .3
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
ESTABLISHMENT DATA 2/| Employment
|____________________________________________________
Nonfarm employment....| 124,795| 125,516| 125,751|p125,819|p126,184| p365
Goods-producing 2/..| 25,296| 25,315| 25,304| p25,118| p25,227| p109
Construction......| 5,881| 5,931| 5,946| p5,967| p5,983| p16
Manufacturing.....| 18,825| 18,804| 18,780| p18,580| p18,675| p95
Service-producing 2/| 99,500| 100,201| 100,447|p100,701|p100,957| p256
Retail trade......| 22,274| 22,402| 22,448| p22,545| p22,561| p16
Services..........| 37,019| 37,347| 37,494| p37,580| p37,715| p135
Government........| 19,711| 19,802| 19,813| p19,827| p19,884| p57
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Hours of work 3/
|____________________________________________________
Total private.........| 34.7| 34.6| 34.6| p34.6| p34.6| p.0
Manufacturing.......| 42.0| 41.7| 41.8| p41.7| p41.7| p.0
Overtime..........| 4.8| 4.6| 4.6| p4.7| p4.4| p-0.3
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Indexes of aggregate weekly hours (1982=100) 3/
|____________________________________________________
Total private.........| 144.3| 144.6| 144.8| p145.2| p145.3| p0.1
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Earnings 3/
|____________________________________________________
Avg. hourly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| $12.59| $12.73| $12.76| p$12.79| p$12.86| p$0.07
Avg. weekly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| 436.75| 440.46| 441.50| p442.53| p444.96| p2.43
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
1/ Beginning in January 1998, household data reflect new composite
estimation procedures and revised population controls.
2/ Includes other industries, not shown separately.
3/ Data relate to private production or nonsupervisory workers.
p=preliminary.
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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 280,000 in August, essentially
unchanged from a year earlier. (See table A-10.)
Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)
Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 365,000 in August to 126.2 million,
seasonally adjusted, following a gain of only 68,000 in July. Part of the
August rebound reflected the return of workers to their jobs after strikes
and associated plant shutdowns in auto-related manufacturing industries.
The average monthly increase in payroll employment in July and August was
217,000. (See table B-1.)
Manufacturing employment rose by 95,000 in August, following a loss of
200,000 in July, much of which was strike related. (Persons on strike or
on layoff for the entire reference period are not on payrolls and, thus,
are not counted as employed in the establishment survey.) In August,
employment in motor vehicles and equipment was up by 117,000, largely
representing a return to work of persons who were either on strike or on
layoff due to strike-related plant shutdowns. Other over-the-month gains
at least partly attributable to the settlement of strikes occurred in
primary metals (11,000), fabricated metals (7,000), and rubber and
miscellaneous plastics (8,000). Despite the return of nearly all of the
workers in autos and related industries, manufacturing employment overall
was down by 105,000 from its June level. In August, employment in apparel
and other textile products declined by 18,000. Other manufacturing
industries that experienced over-the-month job losses included electronic
components (-6,000), food and kindred products (-4,000), and textile mill
products (-3,000).
Construction employment continued to grow in August (up 16,000); the
industry has added 261,000 jobs since last October.
Employment in services rose by 135,000 in August. Help supply services
increased by 42,000 jobs, following a decrease of similar magnitude in
July. At least some of this movement was attributable to the strikes in
auto-related industries. After showing no growth in July, health services
rebounded in August with a gain of 24,000 jobs. Nevertheless, average
monthly growth in the industry this year has been sharply lower than in
1997. Social services employment increased by 15,000, and the industry has
added 75,000 jobs since April. In August, computer and data processing
services had a job gain (11,000) that was below the monthly average
(17,000) this year. Employment in engineering and management services was
little changed, following 3 months of strong gains.
Transportation and public utilities added 24,000 jobs in August. Most
of the gain was in transportation (23,000), with about half of that
increase (12,000) in trucking and warehousing. Employment growth in
communications has slowed since April.
Employment in retail trade, and in eating and drinking places in
particular, was little changed in August, following a substantial gain in
July. Employment in wholesale trade increased by 11,000, entirely in
durable goods.
Employment growth in finance, insurance, and real estate in August
(13,000) was well below the average (23,000) for the prior 12 months.
Almost all of the August gain was in finance (12,000), led by mortgage
brokerages (5,000) and security brokerages (3,000). Employment in real
estate did not grow for only the second time this year, and growth in
insurance was sluggish, following 4 months of strong gains.
Government added 57,000 jobs in August, nearly all in local government
(55,000). Local government education increased by 38,000. In contrast,
employment in the federal government continued to decline.
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Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)
The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private
nonfarm payrolls was unchanged in August at 34.6 hours, seasonally
adjusted. It has been at this level since June. The manufacturing
workweek also was unchanged at 41.7 hours. Factory overtime decreased over
the month by 0.3 hour to 4.4 hours. (See table B-2.)
The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory
workers on private nonfarm payrolls was little changed in August at
145.3 (1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index rose by
0.6 percent to 107.9, reflecting the returns from strikes and layoffs in
auto-related industries. The manufacturing index in August was 1.0 percent
lower than in June. (See table B-5.)
Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)
Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on
private nonfarm payrolls rose by 7 cents in August to $12.86, seasonally
adjusted. This follows increases of 3 cents an hour in each of the prior
3 months. Average weekly earnings rose by 0.5 percent in August to $444.96.
Over the year, average hourly and weekly earnings have risen by 4.2 and
3.9 percent, respectively. (See table B-3.)
________________________________________
The Employment Situation for September 1998 is scheduled to be released
on Friday, October 2, at 8:30 A.M. (EDT).
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Explanatory Note
This news release presents statistics from two major surveys, the Current
Population Survey (household survey) and the Current Employment Statistics
survey (establishment survey). The household survey provides the
information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment that appears
in the A tables, marked HOUSEHOLD DATA. It is a sample survey of about
50,000 households conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of
Labor Statistics (BLS).
The establishment survey provides the information on the employment,
hours, and earnings of workers on nonfarm payrolls that appears in the B
tables, marked ESTABLISHMENT DATA. This information is collected from
payroll records by BLS in cooperation with State agencies. In June 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.
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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.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 203,364 205,270 205,479 203,364 204,731 204,899 205,085 205,270 205,479
Civilian labor force.......................... 137,460 139,336 138,379 136,404 137,242 137,364 137,447 137,296 137,415
Participation rate...................... 67.6 67.9 67.3 67.1 67.0 67.0 67.0 66.9 66.9
Employed.................................... 130,865 132,769 132,206 129,747 131,383 131,453 131,209 131,067 131,168
Employment-population ratio............. 64.4 64.7 64.3 63.8 64.2 64.2 64.0 63.9 63.8
Agriculture............................... 3,661 3,866 3,818 3,379 3,350 3,335 3,343 3,441 3,529
Nonagricultural industries................ 127,205 128,903 128,388 126,368 128,033 128,118 127,867 127,626 127,640
Unemployed.................................. 6,594 6,567 6,173 6,657 5,859 5,910 6,237 6,230 6,247
Unemployment rate....................... 4.8 4.7 4.5 4.9 4.3 4.3 4.5 4.5 4.5
Not in labor force............................ 65,904 65,934 67,100 66,960 67,489 67,535 67,639 67,973 68,064
Men, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 97,838 98,785 98,892 97,838 98,503 98,591 98,691 98,785 98,892
Civilian labor force.......................... 74,149 75,467 74,540 73,265 73,799 73,783 73,818 74,027 73,695
Participation rate...................... 75.8 76.4 75.4 74.9 74.9 74.8 74.8 74.9 74.5
Employed.................................... 70,890 72,049 71,537 69,748 70,831 70,685 70,570 70,605 70,441
Employment-population ratio............. 72.5 72.9 72.3 71.3 71.9 71.7 71.5 71.5 71.2
Unemployed.................................. 3,259 3,418 3,003 3,517 2,969 3,098 3,249 3,422 3,253
Unemployment rate....................... 4.4 4.5 4.0 4.8 4.0 4.2 4.4 4.6 4.4
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 89,982 90,802 90,889 89,982 90,580 90,622 90,700 90,802 90,889
Civilian labor force.......................... 69,571 70,202 69,823 69,198 69,697 69,624 69,545 69,790 69,490
Participation rate...................... 77.3 77.3 76.8 76.9 76.9 76.8 76.7 76.9 76.5
Employed.................................... 67,000 67,619 67,464 66,386 67,301 67,190 66,950 67,040 66,901
Employment-population ratio............. 74.5 74.5 74.2 73.8 74.3 74.1 73.8 73.8 73.6
Agriculture............................... 2,424 2,586 2,556 2,311 2,420 2,324 2,333 2,394 2,443
Nonagricultural industries................ 64,576 65,034 64,908 64,075 64,881 64,866 64,617 64,646 64,457
Unemployed.................................. 2,571 2,582 2,359 2,812 2,396 2,434 2,595 2,750 2,589
Unemployment rate....................... 3.7 3.7 3.4 4.1 3.4 3.5 3.7 3.9 3.7
Women, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 105,527 106,484 106,587 105,527 106,228 106,308 106,394 106,484 106,587
Civilian labor force.......................... 63,311 63,869 63,839 63,139 63,443 63,581 63,628 63,270 63,721
Participation rate...................... 60.0 60.0 59.9 59.8 59.7 59.8 59.8 59.4 59.8
Employed.................................... 59,976 60,720 60,669 59,999 60,553 60,768 60,640 60,462 60,727
Employment-population ratio............. 56.8 57.0 56.9 56.9 57.0 57.2 57.0 56.8 57.0
Unemployed.................................. 3,335 3,149 3,170 3,140 2,890 2,813 2,989 2,808 2,994
Unemployment rate....................... 5.3 4.9 5.0 5.0 4.6 4.4 4.7 4.4 4.7
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 98,000 98,778 98,901 98,000 98,583 98,668 98,735 98,778 98,901
Civilian labor force.......................... 59,123 59,101 59,426 59,362 59,486 59,573 59,599 59,359 59,712
Participation rate...................... 60.3 59.8 60.1 60.6 60.3 60.4 60.4 60.1 60.4
Employed.................................... 56,311 56,569 56,786 56,789 57,075 57,253 57,172 57,000 57,286
Employment-population ratio............. 57.5 57.3 57.4 57.9 57.9 58.0 57.9 57.7 57.9
Agriculture............................... 888 868 883 824 705 755 747 793 819
Nonagricultural industries................ 55,423 55,701 55,903 55,965 56,370 56,499 56,424 56,207 56,468
Unemployed.................................. 2,811 2,532 2,639 2,573 2,411 2,320 2,427 2,359 2,426
Unemployment rate....................... 4.8 4.3 4.4 4.3 4.1 3.9 4.1 4.0 4.1
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian noninstitutional population........... 15,382 15,690 15,689 15,382 15,569 15,609 15,651 15,690 15,689
Civilian labor force.......................... 8,765 10,033 9,130 7,844 8,059 8,166 8,302 8,147 8,213
Participation rate...................... 57.0 63.9 58.2 51.0 51.8 52.3 53.0 51.9 52.4
Employed.................................... 7,554 8,580 7,955 6,572 7,007 7,010 7,088 7,027 6,981
Employment-population ratio............. 49.1 54.7 50.7 42.7 45.0 44.9 45.3 44.8 44.5
Agriculture............................... 348 412 379 244 225 256 262 254 267
Nonagricultural industries................ 7,205 8,168 7,577 6,328 6,782 6,754 6,826 6,773 6,715
Unemployed.................................. 1,212 1,453 1,175 1,272 1,052 1,156 1,215 1,120 1,232
Unemployment rate....................... 13.8 14.5 12.9 16.2 13.1 14.2 14.6 13.8 15.0
1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted
and seasonally adjusted columns.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used
in the household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-2. Employment status of the civilian population by race, sex, age, and Hispanic origin
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted(1)
Employment status, race, sex, age, and
Hispanic origin
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
WHITE
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 170,148 171,513 171,655 170,148 171,141 171,257 171,387 171,513 171,655
Civilian labor force.......................... 115,365 116,570 115,959 114,669 115,057 115,309 115,137 114,975 115,275
Participation rate........................ 67.8 68.0 67.6 67.4 67.2 67.3 67.2 67.0 67.2
Employed.................................... 110,654 112,047 111,511 109,832 110,859 111,025 110,535 110,630 110,708
Employment-population ratio............... 65.0 65.3 65.0 64.6 64.8 64.8 64.5 64.5 64.5
Unemployed.................................. 4,711 4,523 4,448 4,837 4,198 4,284 4,602 4,346 4,567
Unemployment rate......................... 4.1 3.9 3.8 4.2 3.6 3.7 4.0 3.8 4.0
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 59,307 59,768 59,515 59,118 59,307 59,366 59,257 59,403 59,314
Participation rate........................ 77.6 77.7 77.3 77.4 77.2 77.2 77.0 77.2 77.0
Employed.................................... 57,418 57,953 57,787 57,011 57,562 57,516 57,302 57,436 57,385
Employment-population ratio............... 75.2 75.3 75.0 74.6 74.9 74.8 74.5 74.6 74.5
Unemployed.................................. 1,889 1,816 1,728 2,107 1,745 1,850 1,955 1,967 1,929
Unemployment rate......................... 3.2 3.0 2.9 3.6 2.9 3.1 3.3 3.3 3.3
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 48,677 48,445 48,763 48,910 48,955 49,019 48,886 48,705 49,013
Participation rate........................ 59.7 59.0 59.4 60.0 59.7 59.8 59.6 59.3 59.7
Employed.................................... 46,699 46,711 46,861 47,122 47,300 47,416 47,197 47,087 47,287
Employment-population ratio............... 57.3 56.9 57.1 57.8 57.7 57.8 57.5 57.4 57.6
Unemployed.................................. 1,978 1,734 1,902 1,788 1,654 1,603 1,688 1,618 1,726
Unemployment rate......................... 4.1 3.6 3.9 3.7 3.4 3.3 3.5 3.3 3.5
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force.......................... 7,382 8,356 7,681 6,641 6,795 6,924 6,994 6,867 6,949
Participation rate........................ 60.5 67.0 61.5 54.4 54.9 55.8 56.2 55.1 55.6
Employed.................................... 6,538 7,384 6,863 5,699 5,996 6,093 6,036 6,107 6,036
Employment-population ratio............... 53.6 59.2 54.9 46.7 48.5 49.1 48.5 49.0 48.3
Unemployed.................................. 843 972 818 942 799 831 958 760 913
Unemployment rate......................... 11.4 11.6 10.7 14.2 11.8 12.0 13.7 11.1 13.1
Men..................................... 12.1 12.9 11.4 15.1 12.7 14.0 14.7 13.1 14.3
Women................................... 10.7 10.2 9.9 13.1 10.7 9.8 12.6 8.9 11.9
BLACK
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 24,043 24,381 24,418 24,043 24,289 24,317 24,349 24,381 24,418
Civilian labor force.......................... 15,953 16,413 16,129 15,728 15,907 15,756 16,013 16,059 15,907
Participation rate........................ 66.4 67.3 66.1 65.4 65.5 64.8 65.8 65.9 65.1
Employed.................................... 14,409 14,708 14,663 14,237 14,499 14,344 14,700 14,508 14,476
Employment-population ratio............... 59.9 60.3 60.1 59.2 59.7 59.0 60.4 59.5 59.3
Unemployed.................................. 1,544 1,706 1,466 1,491 1,408 1,412 1,313 1,551 1,431
Unemployment rate......................... 9.7 10.4 9.1 9.5 8.9 9.0 8.2 9.7 9.0
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 7,077 7,173 7,055 7,035 7,097 7,009 7,088 7,120 7,017
Participation rate........................ 73.7 73.7 72.4 73.3 73.2 72.2 73.0 73.2 72.0
Employed.................................... 6,554 6,537 6,548 6,480 6,573 6,536 6,599 6,485 6,470
Employment-population ratio............... 68.3 67.2 67.2 67.5 67.8 67.4 67.9 66.7 66.4
Unemployed.................................. 523 636 507 555 524 473 489 635 547
Unemployment rate......................... 7.4 8.9 7.2 7.9 7.4 6.7 6.9 8.9 7.8
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 7,793 7,910 7,912 7,771 7,822 7,787 7,866 7,921 7,894
Participation rate........................ 64.8 64.8 64.7 64.6 64.3 64.0 64.5 64.9 64.6
Employed.................................... 7,081 7,238 7,267 7,115 7,182 7,130 7,256 7,296 7,296
Employment-population ratio............... 58.8 59.3 59.5 59.1 59.0 58.6 59.5 59.8 59.7
Unemployed.................................. 712 673 645 656 640 657 609 625 597
Unemployment rate......................... 9.1 8.5 8.2 8.4 8.2 8.4 7.7 7.9 7.6
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force.......................... 1,083 1,330 1,161 922 988 960 1,060 1,018 996
Participation rate........................ 44.9 54.3 47.3 38.3 40.6 39.4 43.4 41.6 40.6
Employed.................................... 774 933 848 642 744 678 846 727 709
Employment-population ratio............... 32.1 38.1 34.6 26.6 30.6 27.8 34.6 29.7 28.9
Unemployed.................................. 309 397 313 280 244 283 214 291 287
Unemployment rate......................... 28.5 29.9 27.0 30.4 24.7 29.4 20.2 28.6 28.8
Men..................................... 32.7 31.8 28.8 33.9 23.9 30.2 20.4 30.6 29.7
Women................................... 24.4 27.7 25.3 27.2 25.3 28.8 20.1 26.4 28.1
HISPANIC ORIGIN
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 20,407 21,097 21,159 20,407 20,915 20,975 21,036 21,097 21,159
Civilian labor force.......................... 14,028 14,438 14,420 13,886 14,369 14,458 14,420 14,240 14,277
Participation rate........................ 68.7 68.4 68.2 68.0 68.7 68.9 68.5 67.5 67.5
Employed.................................... 13,014 13,351 13,349 12,867 13,434 13,480 13,328 13,219 13,203
Employment-population ratio............... 63.8 63.3 63.1 63.1 64.2 64.3 63.4 62.7 62.4
Unemployed.................................. 1,014 1,087 1,071 1,019 935 978 1,092 1,022 1,074
Unemployment rate......................... 7.2 7.5 7.4 7.3 6.5 6.8 7.6 7.2 7.5
1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted
and seasonally adjusted columns.
NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races"
group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Beginning in January
1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used in the household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-3. Employment status of the civilian population 25 years and over by educational attainment, seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted(1)
Educational attainment
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
Less than a high school diploma
Civilian noninstitutional population.... 29,314 29,027 29,204 29,314 29,638 29,931 30,064 29,027 29,204
Civilian labor force.................. 12,460 12,269 12,402 12,534 12,664 12,690 12,888 12,548 12,450
Percent of population............. 42.5 42.3 42.5 42.8 42.7 42.4 42.9 43.2 42.6
Employed............................ 11,589 11,426 11,602 11,573 11,773 11,839 11,963 11,648 11,567
Employment-population ratio....... 39.5 39.4 39.7 39.5 39.7 39.6 39.8 40.1 39.6
Unemployed.......................... 872 842 800 961 891 851 925 901 883
Unemployment rate................. 7.0 6.9 6.5 7.7 7.0 6.7 7.2 7.2 7.1
High school graduates, no college (2)
Civilian noninstitutional population.... 57,607 57,374 57,729 57,607 57,484 57,706 57,446 57,374 57,729
Civilian labor force.................. 37,798 36,912 37,305 37,842 37,340 37,496 37,096 37,219 37,381
Percent of population............. 65.6 64.3 64.6 65.7 65.0 65.0 64.6 64.9 64.8
Employed............................ 36,262 35,408 35,898 36,225 35,885 36,114 35,602 35,694 35,898
Employment-population ratio....... 62.9 61.7 62.2 62.9 62.4 62.6 62.0 62.2 62.2
Unemployed.......................... 1,535 1,504 1,407 1,617 1,454 1,383 1,494 1,525 1,483
Unemployment rate................. 4.1 4.1 3.8 4.3 3.9 3.7 4.0 4.1 4.0
Less than a bachelor's degree(3)
Civilian noninstitutional population.... 42,401 42,293 41,842 42,401 42,303 42,024 41,880 42,293 41,842
Civilian labor force.................. 31,689 31,448 31,106 31,445 31,517 31,408 31,227 31,174 30,863
Percent of population............. 74.7 74.4 74.3 74.2 74.5 74.7 74.6 73.7 73.8
Employed............................ 30,673 30,496 30,227 30,438 30,669 30,437 30,333 30,224 29,987
Employment-population ratio....... 72.3 72.1 72.2 71.8 72.5 72.4 72.4 71.5 71.7
Unemployed.......................... 1,016 952 879 1,007 848 971 894 950 876
Unemployment rate................. 3.2 3.0 2.8 3.2 2.7 3.1 2.9 3.0 2.8
College graduates
Civilian noninstitutional population.... 41,232 43,309 43,431 41,232 42,197 42,090 42,464 43,309 43,431
Civilian labor force.................. 32,986 34,481 34,504 33,290 33,989 33,920 34,274 34,721 34,847
Percent of population............. 80.0 79.6 79.4 80.7 80.5 80.6 80.7 80.2 80.2
Employed............................ 32,135 33,839 33,757 32,592 33,419 33,364 33,674 34,146 34,236
Employment-population ratio....... 77.9 78.1 77.7 79.0 79.2 79.3 79.3 78.8 78.8
Unemployed.......................... 852 643 747 698 571 556 600 575 611
Unemployment rate................. 2.6 1.9 2.2 2.1 1.7 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.8
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
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
CHARACTERISTIC
Total employed, 16 years and over............... 130,865 132,769 132,206 129,747 131,383 131,453 131,209 131,067 131,168
Married men, spouse present................... 42,740 42,794 42,875 42,680 42,865 42,471 42,539 42,837 42,833
Married women, spouse present................. 32,472 32,266 32,238 32,861 32,973 32,805 32,805 32,658 32,597
Women who maintain families................... 7,854 7,752 7,900 7,892 7,813 7,848 7,922 7,846 7,932
OCCUPATION
Managerial and professional specialty......... 37,407 38,620 38,558 37,765 38,643 38,641 38,732 39,011 38,916
Technical, sales, and administrative support.. 38,475 38,923 39,045 38,334 38,585 38,401 38,567 38,500 38,889
Service occupations........................... 18,041 18,111 18,081 17,713 17,478 17,749 17,873 17,584 17,727
Precision production, craft, and repair....... 14,349 14,584 14,360 14,038 14,673 14,853 14,509 14,312 14,079
Operators, fabricators, and laborers.......... 18,754 18,431 18,138 18,452 18,447 18,322 18,120 18,145 17,866
Farming, forestry, and fishing................ 3,839 4,098 4,023 3,442 3,495 3,479 3,503 3,503 3,618
CLASS OF WORKER
Agriculture:
Wage and salary workers..................... 2,001 2,285 2,315 1,853 1,987 1,871 1,841 2,018 2,165
Self-employed workers....................... 1,597 1,543 1,466 1,477 1,324 1,395 1,470 1,383 1,345
Unpaid family workers....................... 63 38 37 50 28 51 48 30 28
Nonagricultural industries:
Wage and salary workers..................... 118,116 119,638 119,366 117,372 118,774 119,013 118,654 118,543 118,676
Government................................ 17,706 17,905 17,782 18,203 18,202 18,034 18,497 18,364 18,257
Private industries........................ 100,409 101,733 101,584 99,169 100,571 100,979 100,157 100,179 100,419
Private households...................... 1,005 1,021 914 935 1,014 1,015 961 974 853
Other industries........................ 99,404 100,712 100,670 98,234 99,557 99,964 99,195 99,205 99,566
Self-employed workers....................... 8,959 9,167 8,938 8,955 9,069 9,023 8,969 9,094 8,947
Unpaid family workers....................... 130 98 84 126 124 97 100 91 83
PERSONS AT WORK PART TIME
All industries:
Part time for economic reasons.............. 4,036 4,025 3,508 3,988 3,735 3,772 3,837 3,783 3,463
Slack work or business conditions......... 2,078 2,344 1,908 2,164 2,074 2,104 2,230 2,372 1,989
Could only find part-time work............ 1,518 1,383 1,201 1,487 1,300 1,344 1,246 1,192 1,175
Part time for noneconomic reasons........... 15,398 16,168 15,851 18,096 18,084 18,662 18,665 18,584 18,648
Nonagricultural industries:
Part time for economic reasons.............. 3,877 3,882 3,350 3,832 3,608 3,630 3,676 3,632 3,307
Slack work or business conditions......... 1,972 2,256 1,813 2,066 1,998 2,024 2,151 2,261 1,900
Could only find part-time work............ 1,479 1,339 1,164 1,455 1,276 1,315 1,199 1,162 1,143
Part time for noneconomic reasons........... 14,839 15,528 15,229 17,521 17,470 18,067 18,019 17,972 18,001
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
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
CHARACTERISTIC
Total, 16 years and over....................... 6,657 6,230 6,247 4.9 4.3 4.3 4.5 4.5 4.5
Men, 20 years and over....................... 2,812 2,750 2,589 4.1 3.4 3.5 3.7 3.9 3.7
Women, 20 years and over..................... 2,573 2,359 2,426 4.3 4.1 3.9 4.1 4.0 4.1
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years................... 1,272 1,120 1,232 16.2 13.1 14.2 14.6 13.8 15.0
Married men, spouse present.................. 1,135 998 1,038 2.6 2.2 2.4 2.2 2.3 2.4
Married women, spouse present................ 1,019 947 1,070 3.0 2.8 2.8 2.9 2.8 3.2
Women who maintain families.................. 689 576 575 8.0 7.6 7.7 6.9 6.8 6.8
Full-time workers............................ 5,305 4,957 4,941 4.7 4.2 4.2 4.4 4.4 4.4
Part-time workers............................ 1,346 1,285 1,301 5.5 4.8 4.7 5.2 5.3 5.4
OCCUPATION(2)
Managerial and professional specialty........ 754 676 745 2.0 1.9 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.9
Technical, sales, and administrative support. 1,655 1,522 1,497 4.1 3.7 3.9 3.9 3.8 3.7
Precision production, craft, and repair...... 698 655 680 4.7 3.7 4.4 4.3 4.4 4.6
Operators, fabricators, and laborers......... 1,507 1,354 1,286 7.6 6.1 6.5 6.9 6.9 6.7
Farming, forestry, and fishing............... 268 263 212 7.2 5.8 6.4 6.5 7.0 5.5
INDUSTRY
Nonagricultural private wage and salary
workers...................................... 5,195 4,863 4,991 5.0 4.3 4.5 4.7 4.6 4.7
Goods-producing industries................. 1,524 1,408 1,380 5.3 4.4 4.6 4.7 4.9 4.8
Mining................................... 33 24 24 4.9 2.3 1.3 3.9 3.7 3.9
Construction............................. 618 452 520 9.0 6.3 8.0 8.0 6.7 7.4
Manufacturing............................ 873 932 835 4.1 3.9 3.6 3.6 4.4 3.9
Durable goods.......................... 431 555 470 3.5 3.5 3.0 2.9 4.3 3.7
Nondurable goods....................... 442 377 365 5.0 4.4 4.6 4.6 4.5 4.4
Service-producing industries............... 3,671 3,455 3,611 4.9 4.3 4.5 4.7 4.5 4.7
Transportation and public utilities...... 274 246 269 3.7 3.1 3.0 3.6 3.4 3.7
Wholesale and retail trade............... 1,637 1,482 1,503 6.2 5.2 5.1 5.7 5.6 5.6
Finance, insurance, and real estate...... 236 151 213 3.0 2.2 2.0 2.1 2.0 2.7
Services................................. 1,524 1,575 1,627 4.5 4.3 4.8 4.7 4.5 4.7
Government workers........................... 491 464 408 2.6 2.0 2.4 2.0 2.5 2.2
Agricultural wage and salary workers......... 180 181 164 8.9 8.0 7.9 8.1 8.2 7.0
1 Unemployment as a percent of the civilian labor force.
2 Seasonally adjusted unemployment data for service occupations are not available because the seasonal component, which
is small relative to the trend-cycle and irregular components, cannot be separated with sufficient precision.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used
in the household survey.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-6. Duration of unemployment
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Duration
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Less than 5 weeks.............................. 2,409 2,845 2,509 2,564 2,632 2,634 2,519 2,625 2,675
5 to 14 weeks.................................. 2,322 2,179 2,150 2,121 1,901 1,954 2,084 1,983 1,960
15 weeks and over.............................. 1,863 1,543 1,514 2,027 1,417 1,462 1,621 1,600 1,647
15 to 26 weeks.............................. 780 685 679 950 584 656 852 793 820
27 weeks and over........................... 1,084 858 835 1,077 833 806 769 807 827
Average (mean) duration, in weeks.............. 16.0 13.7 13.7 15.8 14.3 14.6 13.8 14.3 13.5
Median duration, in weeks...................... 8.0 6.3 7.0 7.9 6.4 5.9 6.6 6.6 6.9
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............................ 36.5 43.3 40.6 38.2 44.2 43.5 40.5 42.3 42.6
5 to 14 weeks................................ 35.2 33.2 34.8 31.6 31.9 32.3 33.5 31.9 31.2
15 weeks and over............................ 28.3 23.5 24.5 30.2 23.8 24.2 26.0 25.8 26.2
15 to 26 weeks............................. 11.8 10.4 11.0 14.2 9.8 10.8 13.7 12.8 13.0
27 weeks and over.......................... 16.4 13.1 13.5 16.0 14.0 13.3 12.4 13.0 13.2
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
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Job losers and persons who completed temporary
jobs......................................... 2,859 2,847 2,715 3,010 2,631 2,772 2,819 2,908 2,852
On temporary layoff........................... 716 935 782 891 696 786 841 966 978
Not on temporary layoff....................... 2,143 1,912 1,932 2,119 1,935 1,986 1,978 1,941 1,874
Permanent job losers........................ 1,438 1,316 1,342 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Persons who completed temporary jobs........ 705 596 590 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Job leavers..................................... 958 817 795 894 625 748 766 799 740
Reentrants...................................... 2,217 2,173 2,157 2,173 2,096 2,033 2,096 2,042 2,132
New entrants.................................... 561 731 506 554 511 493 532 463 503
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......................................... 43.4 43.3 44.0 45.4 44.9 45.8 45.4 46.8 45.8
On temporary layoff.......................... 10.9 14.2 12.7 13.4 11.9 13.0 13.5 15.6 15.7
Not on temporary layoff...................... 32.5 29.1 31.3 32.0 33.0 32.8 31.8 31.3 30.1
Job leavers.................................... 14.5 12.4 12.9 13.5 10.7 12.4 12.3 12.9 11.9
Reentrants..................................... 33.6 33.1 34.9 32.8 35.7 33.6 33.7 32.9 34.2
New entrants................................... 8.5 11.1 8.2 8.4 8.7 8.2 8.6 7.5 8.1
UNEMPLOYED AS A PERCENT OF THE
CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE
Job losers and persons who completed temporary
jobs......................................... 2.1 2.0 2.0 2.2 1.9 2.0 2.1 2.1 2.1
Job leavers.................................... .7 .6 .6 .7 .5 .5 .6 .6 .5
Reentrants..................................... 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.6
New entrants................................... .4 .5 .4 .4 .4 .4 .4 .3 .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
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
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.............................................. 1.4 1.1 1.1 1.5 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.2
U-2 Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs, as
a percent of the
civilian labor force..................................... 2.1 2.0 2.0 2.2 1.9 2.0 2.1 2.1 2.1
U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor
force
(official unemployment rate)............................. 4.8 4.7 4.5 4.9 4.3 4.3 4.5 4.5 4.5
U-4 Total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a percent
of the civilian
labor force plus discouraged workers.................... 5.0 5.0 4.7 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
U-5 Total unemployed, plus discouraged workers, plus all
other marginally
attached workers, as a percent of the civilian labor
force plus all marginally
attached workers........................................ 5.7 5.6 5.3 (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......................... 8.6 8.5 7.8 (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
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
Total, 16 years and over.......................... 6,657 6,230 6,247 4.9 4.3 4.3 4.5 4.5 4.5
16 to 24 years.................................. 2,393 2,230 2,417 11.3 9.5 10.0 10.6 10.3 11.1
16 to 19 years................................ 1,272 1,120 1,232 16.2 13.1 14.2 14.6 13.8 15.0
16 to 17 years.............................. 559 494 557 17.9 15.2 15.8 18.2 15.2 17.1
18 to 19 years.............................. 722 637 678 15.4 11.6 13.2 12.3 12.9 13.8
20 to 24 years................................ 1,121 1,109 1,185 8.4 7.4 7.6 8.1 8.2 8.7
25 years and over............................... 4,296 3,940 3,853 3.7 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.3
25 to 54 years................................ 3,778 3,460 3,391 3.8 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.5 3.4
55 years and over............................. 504 479 450 3.0 2.5 2.4 2.5 2.8 2.6
Men, 16 years and over.......................... 3,517 3,422 3,253 4.8 4.0 4.2 4.4 4.6 4.4
16 to 24 years................................ 1,334 1,293 1,301 11.9 9.7 11.0 10.8 11.4 11.4
16 to 19 years.............................. 705 672 664 17.3 14.0 16.0 15.3 15.9 15.8
16 to 17 years............................ 295 294 311 18.1 14.9 17.9 21.0 17.3 18.6
18 to 19 years............................ 417 371 357 17.3 13.3 14.8 11.8 14.6 14.2
20 to 24 years.............................. 629 621 637 8.8 7.3 8.1 8.2 8.7 8.9
25 years and over............................. 2,220 2,104 1,979 3.6 3.0 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.2
25 to 54 years.............................. 1,921 1,816 1,729 3.6 3.0 3.1 3.3 3.4 3.3
55 years and over........................... 284 283 241 3.1 2.6 2.4 2.5 2.9 2.5
Women, 16 years and over........................ 3,140 2,808 2,994 5.0 4.6 4.4 4.7 4.4 4.7
16 to 24 years................................ 1,059 937 1,116 10.6 9.2 9.0 10.3 9.1 10.7
16 to 19 years.............................. 567 448 568 15.0 12.1 12.3 13.9 11.5 14.2
16 to 17 years............................ 264 200 246 17.7 15.5 13.5 15.1 12.9 15.5
18 to 19 years............................ 305 266 322 13.3 9.8 11.4 12.7 11.2 13.3
20 to 24 years.............................. 492 489 548 7.9 7.5 6.9 8.0 7.7 8.6
25 years and over............................. 2,076 1,836 1,874 3.9 3.6 3.5 3.6 3.5 3.5
25 to 54 years.............................. 1,857 1,644 1,663 4.0 3.7 3.8 3.8 3.6 3.6
55 years and over........................... 220 196 209 3.0 2.4 2.4 2.6 2.6 2.8
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
Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug.
1997 1998 1997 1998 1997 1998
NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE
Total not in the labor force.................................... 65,904 67,100 23,688 24,352 42,216 42,748
Persons who currently want a job.............................. 5,030 5,180 1,899 1,992 3,132 3,188
Searched for work and vailable to work now(1).............. 1,298 1,251 575 580 723 671
Reason not currently looking:
Discouragement over job prospects(2).................. 311 280 175 168 136 112
Reasons other than discouragement(3)............... 987 971 400 412 586 559
MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS
Total multiple jobholders(4).................................... 7,583 7,462 4,123 4,015 3,460 3,447
Percent of total employed................................... 5.8 5.6 5.8 5.6 5.8 5.7
Primary job full time, secondary job part time.............. 4,313 4,344 2,584 2,541 1,730 1,803
Primary and secondary jobs both part time................... 1,437 1,408 447 469 990 939
Primary and secondary jobs both full time................... 258 271 161 184 97 87
Hours vary on primary or secondary job...................... 1,528 1,384 909 796 618 588
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
Aug. June July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
1997 1998 1998p 1998p 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998p 1998p
Total......................... 122,711 126,873 125,795 125,998 122,894 125,234 125,562 125,751 125,819 126,184
Total private.................... 104,292 106,982 106,994 107,308 103,285 105,470 105,734 105,938 105,992 106,300
Goods-producing......................... 25,437 25,632 25,436 25,696 24,972 25,339 25,301 25,304 25,118 25,227
Mining................................ 602 585 583 581 592 582 579 578 571 569
Metal mining........................ 54.8 51.7 51.4 51.4 54 51 51 51 50 50
Coal mining......................... 95.5 91.2 89.4 88.5 95 92 92 90 89 88
Oil and gas extraction.............. 340.0 331.0 330.6 328.5 336 332 329 330 325 323
Nonmetallic minerals, except fuels.. 112.0 111.4 111.8 112.1 107 107 107 107 107 108
Construction.......................... 6,039 6,175 6,301 6,335 5,699 5,930 5,917 5,946 5,967 5,983
General building contractors........ 1,379.9 1,442.2 1,471.3 1,473.9 1,318 1,385 1,388 1,401 1,406 1,409
Heavy construction, except building. 865.8 878.3 895.3 904.5 791 819 819 821 828 829
Special trade contractors........... 3,793.4 3,854.0 3,934.7 3,956.1 3,590 3,726 3,710 3,724 3,733 3,745
Manufacturing......................... 18,796 18,872 18,552 18,780 18,681 18,827 18,805 18,780 18,580 18,675
Production workers................ 13,005 13,014 12,698 12,916 12,908 13,007 12,971 12,943 12,753 12,830
Durable goods........................ 11,046 11,205 10,931 11,105 11,028 11,170 11,156 11,144 10,978 11,095
Production workers................ 7,579 7,681 7,417 7,579 7,573 7,666 7,642 7,626 7,476 7,580
Lumber and wood products............ 809.5 811.3 814.1 818.6 794 802 803 801 802 803
Furniture and fixtures.............. 508.1 526.3 519.2 522.4 509 524 526 524 527 524
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 564.0 573.2 570.0 575.2 552 561 559 562 562 564
Primary metal industries............ 710.5 718.9 696.9 713.2 712 718 716 717 705 716
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 234.8 236.0 234.1 234.0 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Fabricated metal products........... 1,478.2 1,497.0 1,463.3 1,483.0 1,478 1,498 1,495 1,490 1,478 1,485
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 2,166.1 2,213.5 2,185.1 2,179.6 2,172 2,201 2,201 2,202 2,191 2,190
Computer and office equipment..... 380.6 377.2 375.7 372.8 379 377 376 375 374 372
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 1,693.2 1,716.3 1,694.8 1,692.9 1,694 1,720 1,716 1,714 1,699 1,694
Electronic components and
accessories.................... 661.1 674.4 667.8 662.3 660 678 677 672 667 661
Transportation equipment............ 1,858.5 1,892.0 1,741.9 1,873.3 1,862 1,890 1,886 1,882 1,765 1,876
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 997.1 1,002.0 852.4 988.2 998 1,004 998 993 872 989
Aircraft and parts................ 506.7 523.7 524.0 522.7 508 525 524 524 526 526
Instruments and related products.... 865.9 866.6 861.5 860.2 865 867 866 864 861 858
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 391.8 389.4 384.6 386.8 390 389 388 388 388 385
Nondurable goods..................... 7,750 7,667 7,621 7,675 7,653 7,657 7,649 7,636 7,602 7,580
Production workers................ 5,426 5,333 5,281 5,337 5,335 5,341 5,329 5,317 5,277 5,250
Food and kindred products........... 1,758.4 1,703.9 1,728.0 1,766.2 1,682 1,708 1,710 1,706 1,696 1,692
Tobacco products.................... 40.7 36.7 36.5 39.7 41 42 41 40 40 39
Textile mill products............... 616.2 603.0 590.3 590.3 613 605 603 599 592 589
Apparel and other textile products.. 824.5 783.1 759.1 760.1 822 787 780 776 772 754
Paper and allied products........... 688.6 687.4 682.7 682.7 684 686 685 682 680 680
Printing and publishing............. 1,554.7 1,572.2 1,570.8 1,567.7 1,556 1,565 1,566 1,570 1,571 1,569
Chemicals and allied products....... 1,037.0 1,043.7 1,043.3 1,042.6 1,032 1,035 1,039 1,037 1,038 1,037
Petroleum and coal products......... 142.8 139.2 138.9 138.6 139 137 136 137 135 135
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 997.7 1,014.0 992.0 1,006.5 995 1,008 1,006 1,006 997 1,005
Leather and leather products........ 89.5 83.3 79.5 80.8 89 84 83 83 81 80
Service-producing....................... 97,274 101,241 100,359 100,302 97,922 99,895 100,261 100,447 100,701 100,957
Transportation and public utilities... 6,255 6,572 6,545 6,564 6,264 6,513 6,534 6,538 6,556 6,580
Transportation...................... 3,946 4,218 4,187 4,205 3,973 4,173 4,191 4,196 4,214 4,237
Railroad transportation........... 226.7 233.2 234.4 235.6 225 231 232 232 232 233
Local and interurban passenger
transit........................ 391.8 459.0 403.9 401.3 455 453 459 458 467 466
Trucking and warehousing.......... 1,702.1 1,722.9 1,733.9 1,749.7 1,675 1,702 1,703 1,709 1,712 1,724
Water transportation.............. 190.2 190.3 197.5 197.7 181 181 185 183 188 191
Transportation by air............. 976.9 1,150.2 1,154.5 1,156.0 981 1,147 1,151 1,154 1,155 1,160
Pipelines, except natural gas..... 14.6 14.5 14.6 14.5 14 14 14 14 14 14
Transportation services........... 443.9 447.7 447.9 450.6 442 445 447 446 446 449
Communications and public utilities. 2,309 2,354 2,358 2,359 2,291 2,340 2,343 2,342 2,342 2,343
Communications.................... 1,439.9 1,493.6 1,495.5 1,499.3 1,430 1,484 1,486 1,488 1,488 1,490
Electric, gas, and sanitary
services....................... 869.0 860.8 862.6 859.9 861 856 857 854 854 853
Wholesale trade....................... 6,700 6,864 6,875 6,868 6,671 6,798 6,815 6,821 6,825 6,836
Durable goods....................... 3,975 4,093 4,101 4,096 3,959 4,050 4,059 4,067 4,071 4,082
Nondurable goods.................... 2,725 2,771 2,774 2,772 2,712 2,748 2,756 2,754 2,754 2,754
Retail trade.......................... 22,209 22,643 22,662 22,715 22,043 22,335 22,423 22,448 22,545 22,561
Building materials and garden
supplies......................... 961.8 1,023.7 1,013.6 1,000.1 940 971 972 975 976 978
General merchandise stores.......... 2,688.3 2,724.2 2,735.3 2,760.1 2,723 2,784 2,788 2,784 2,791 2,796
Department stores................. 2,361.6 2,401.6 2,411.7 2,433.7 2,393 2,447 2,462 2,457 2,455 2,469
Food stores......................... 3,520.8 3,558.0 3,571.8 3,572.3 3,503 3,533 3,542 3,538 3,550 3,557
Automotive dealers and service
stations......................... 2,343.2 2,371.9 2,383.5 2,385.2 2,317 2,337 2,345 2,351 2,353 2,355
New and used car dealers.......... 1,056.2 1,065.4 1,069.7 1,069.3 1,052 1,058 1,060 1,064 1,066 1,065
Apparel and accessory stores........ 1,095.8 1,095.8 1,104.4 1,112.3 1,098 1,105 1,106 1,108 1,113 1,113
Furniture and home furnishings
stores........................... 1,003.5 1,047.4 1,055.5 1,060.6 1,013 1,045 1,055 1,058 1,064 1,072
Eating and drinking places.......... 7,825.3 7,962.7 7,939.9 7,959.4 7,633 7,681 7,714 7,726 7,780 7,775
Miscellaneous retail establishments. 2,770.1 2,859.5 2,857.9 2,864.8 2,816 2,879 2,901 2,908 2,918 2,915
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 7,192 7,402 7,457 7,464 7,110 7,289 7,311 7,333 7,368 7,381
Finance............................. 3,446 3,567 3,592 3,598 3,423 3,521 3,536 3,547 3,566 3,578
Depository institutions........... 2,043.7 2,054.6 2,060.6 2,057.9 2,028 2,041 2,044 2,042 2,044 2,046
Commercial banks................ 1,472.2 1,468.9 1,472.8 1,470.8 1,460 1,463 1,463 1,459 1,460 1,461
Savings institutions............ 263.1 266.1 267.0 265.6 261 263 264 264 265 264
Nondepository institutions........ 572.8 619.4 626.0 630.5 571 605 611 616 623 628
Mortgage bankers and brokers.... 253.9 287.8 292.2 297.0 253 278 281 284 290 295
Security and commodity brokers.... 606.5 651.1 660.6 663.4 602 636 641 648 655 658
Holding and other investment
offices........................ 222.7 242.2 245.1 245.8 222 239 240 241 244 246
Insurance........................... 2,271 2,336 2,347 2,347 2,265 2,312 2,320 2,328 2,336 2,338
Insurance carriers................ 1,543.5 1,591.1 1,600.8 1,601.7 1,538 1,574 1,579 1,586 1,593 1,595
Insurance agents, brokers, and
service........................ 727.9 745.0 745.9 745.0 727 738 741 742 743 743
Real estate......................... 1,475 1,499 1,518 1,519 1,422 1,456 1,455 1,458 1,466 1,465
Services2............................. 36,499 37,869 38,019 38,001 36,225 37,196 37,350 37,494 37,580 37,715
Agricultural services............... 749.7 788.4 792.3 786.7 685 706 700 706 713 719
Hotels and other lodging places..... 1,877.5 1,874.6 1,921.5 1,914.7 1,740 1,767 1,769 1,773 1,781 1,785
Personal services................... 1,138.3 1,158.2 1,142.0 1,142.0 1,180 1,186 1,190 1,186 1,184 1,185
Business services................... 8,129.1 8,592.7 8,602.9 8,712.2 8,055 8,422 8,491 8,556 8,560 8,624
Services to buildings............. 944.3 985.9 986.8 987.3 937 965 975 975 980 976
Personnel supply services......... 3,055.6 3,197.4 3,168.9 3,268.0 2,991 3,140 3,156 3,189 3,152 3,188
Help supply services............ 2,727.5 2,856.6 2,834.1 2,925.2 2,657 2,806 2,818 2,853 2,816 2,858
Computer and data processing
services....................... 1,434.6 1,598.9 1,617.9 1,628.7 1,433 1,561 1,578 1,601 1,619 1,630
Auto repair, services, and parking.. 1,132.9 1,166.5 1,169.4 1,172.5 1,127 1,146 1,153 1,159 1,162 1,166
Miscellaneous repair services....... 381.8 390.5 390.8 390.4 378 383 385 387 385 386
Motion pictures..................... 567.2 558.7 562.4 568.3 554 563 567 554 553 558
Amusement and recreation services... 1,839.7 1,935.8 2,011.5 1,961.6 1,580 1,660 1,662 1,670 1,691 1,689
Health services..................... 9,769.1 9,926.8 9,943.1 9,946.2 9,749 9,873 9,887 9,905 9,904 9,928
Offices and clinics of medical
doctors........................ 1,753.4 1,818.1 1,827.2 1,832.3 1,747 1,801 1,806 1,813 1,818 1,826
Nursing and personal care
facilities..................... 1,765.0 1,762.3 1,762.9 1,764.7 1,757 1,760 1,762 1,761 1,756 1,758
Hospitals......................... 3,882.0 3,959.5 3,977.0 3,973.5 3,878 3,938 3,945 3,953 3,963 3,968
Home health care services......... 715.4 684.7 672.0 668.6 716 687 684 683 672 671
Legal services...................... 955.8 994.9 999.6 992.6 949 972 977 980 983 985
Educational services................ 1,831.6 2,004.5 1,912.8 1,892.8 2,128 2,192 2,195 2,200 2,189 2,199
Social services..................... 2,497.2 2,622.8 2,651.6 2,642.7 2,532 2,595 2,609 2,627 2,655 2,670
Child day care services........... 528.0 567.0 532.1 533.8 578 577 575 581 582 583
Residential care.................. 727.7 753.9 757.2 758.0 720 746 749 747 749 752
Museums and botanical and zoological
gardens........................... 96.7 98.4 99.8 98.9 90 92 91 91 91 92
Membership organizations............ 2,291.0 2,306.3 2,344.6 2,310.0 2,252 2,265 2,266 2,270 2,275 2,271
Engineering and management services. 3,046.9 3,253.8 3,278.4 3,273.7 3,032 3,178 3,212 3,234 3,258 3,262
Engineering and architectural
services....................... 886.7 932.6 939.2 940.5 873 910 913 921 927 928
Management and public relations... 964.8 1,046.5 1,058.7 1,058.0 959 1,011 1,029 1,037 1,050 1,052
Services, nec....................... 50.4 52.6 52.8 52.1 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Government............................ 18,419 19,891 18,801 18,690 19,609 19,764 19,828 19,813 19,827 19,884
Federal............................. 2,705 2,695 2,693 2,683 2,691 2,674 2,671 2,674 2,677 2,672
Federal, except Postal Service.... 1,851.7 1,839.6 1,834.7 1,821.6 1,833 1,814 1,810 1,813 1,811 1,804
State............................... 4,361 4,493 4,431 4,412 4,602 4,620 4,637 4,632 4,653 4,660
Education......................... 1,640.4 1,759.0 1,661.1 1,656.6 1,917 1,925 1,932 1,933 1,943 1,944
Other State government............ 2,720.7 2,733.7 2,769.8 2,755.0 2,685 2,695 2,705 2,699 2,710 2,716
Local............................... 11,353 12,703 11,677 11,595 12,316 12,470 12,520 12,507 12,497 12,552
Education......................... 5,763.4 7,078.6 5,928.0 5,918.9 6,933 7,023 7,053 7,045 7,067 7,105
Other local government............ 5,589.4 5,624.0 5,749.4 5,676.1 5,383 5,447 5,467 5,462 5,430 5,447
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.
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.
1997 1998 1998p 1998p 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998p 1998p
Total private.................... 35.0 34.7 34.8 35.2 34.7 34.5 34.7 34.6 34.6 34.6
Goods-producing......................... 41.5 41.2 40.9 41.3 41.3 40.8 41.1 41.0 41.1 41.1
Mining................................ 45.6 44.0 44.1 44.2 45.6 44.1 44.6 43.8 44.9 44.0
Construction.......................... 39.7 39.1 40.1 40.1 38.8 38.7 38.6 38.4 39.2 39.1
Manufacturing......................... 42.0 41.8 41.1 41.7 41.9 41.4 41.8 41.8 41.7 41.7
Overtime hours.................... 4.9 4.6 4.4 4.6 4.8 4.5 4.6 4.6 4.7 4.4
Durable goods........................ 42.7 42.4 41.5 42.2 42.8 41.9 42.4 42.3 42.2 42.2
Overtime hours.................... 5.2 4.8 4.4 4.6 5.1 4.6 4.8 4.8 4.8 4.6
Lumber and wood products............ 41.3 41.6 41.2 41.7 41.0 41.2 41.2 41.3 41.2 41.3
Furniture and fixtures.............. 40.5 40.8 40.2 41.0 40.2 40.7 40.7 41.0 40.6 40.7
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 43.8 43.8 43.7 44.2 43.1 43.3 43.5 43.2 43.5 43.7
Primary metal industries............ 44.7 44.4 43.2 43.5 45.0 43.9 44.5 44.4 43.7 43.8
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 44.8 45.0 43.9 43.8 45.1 44.9 45.6 45.1 43.8 44.1
Fabricated metal products........... 42.5 42.6 41.5 42.2 42.5 41.8 42.6 42.5 42.3 42.3
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 43.1 43.2 42.2 42.5 43.5 42.6 43.0 43.2 42.9 43.0
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 41.7 41.4 40.7 41.5 41.9 41.1 41.4 41.4 41.4 41.7
Transportation equipment............ 44.3 42.9 41.0 42.5 44.4 42.1 43.3 42.7 42.6 42.4
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 44.7 42.7 39.7 42.0 44.9 42.0 43.3 42.4 41.9 41.8
Instruments and related products.... 42.1 41.3 40.7 41.1 42.2 41.3 41.4 41.3 41.5 41.4
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 40.3 39.9 39.2 39.7 40.2 40.1 40.0 40.0 40.0 39.9
Nondurable goods..................... 40.9 40.9 40.6 41.0 40.7 40.7 41.0 40.9 41.0 40.9
Overtime hours.................... 4.6 4.3 4.3 4.5 4.3 4.2 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.3
Food and kindred products........... 41.8 41.5 41.7 42.2 41.2 41.3 41.8 41.7 42.1 41.8
Tobacco products.................... 37.8 39.9 39.2 39.4 38.0 38.2 39.3 39.0 40.5 39.7
Textile mill products............... 41.6 41.5 40.4 41.1 41.3 41.0 41.3 41.1 41.0 40.9
Apparel and other textile products.. 37.4 37.8 36.9 37.5 37.1 37.7 37.4 37.4 37.3 37.4
Paper and allied products........... 43.4 43.5 42.9 43.0 43.5 43.0 43.5 43.6 43.4 43.2
Printing and publishing............. 38.6 37.9 38.1 38.5 38.3 38.2 38.4 38.2 38.4 38.5
Chemicals and allied products....... 43.0 43.2 42.7 43.0 43.3 43.1 43.1 43.2 43.0 43.3
Petroleum and coal products......... 43.0 43.2 44.6 42.5 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 41.7 42.0 41.1 41.4 41.8 41.7 42.1 42.0 42.1 41.6
Leather and leather products........ 38.4 38.1 36.5 38.0 38.1 37.3 37.3 37.6 36.6 37.8
Service-producing....................... 33.3 33.0 33.2 33.5 32.9 32.9 33.0 32.9 33.0 32.9
Transportation and public utilities... 40.5 39.6 39.7 40.2 40.1 39.6 39.8 39.5 39.6 39.6
Wholesale trade....................... 38.5 38.3 38.4 38.7 38.4 38.3 38.5 38.2 38.4 38.4
Retail trade.......................... 29.7 29.3 29.8 29.9 29.0 29.0 29.1 29.0 29.1 29.0
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 36.1 36.0 36.1 36.9 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Services.............................. 32.9 32.7 32.9 33.2 32.7 32.6 32.7 32.7 32.7 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.
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.
1997 1998 1998p 1998p 1997 1998 1998p 1998p
Total private.................... $12.22 $12.66 $12.66 $12.75 $427.70 $439.30 $440.57 $448.80
Seasonally adjusted............. 12.34 12.76 12.79 12.86 428.20 441.50 442.53 444.96
Goods-producing......................... 13.96 14.27 14.34 14.42 579.34 587.92 586.51 595.55
Mining................................ 15.98 16.73 16.77 16.93 728.69 736.12 739.56 748.31
Construction.......................... 16.12 16.44 16.63 16.76 639.96 642.80 666.86 672.08
Manufacturing......................... 13.14 13.43 13.38 13.46 551.88 561.37 549.92 561.28
Durable goods........................ 13.70 13.94 13.79 13.95 584.99 591.06 572.29 588.69
Lumber and wood products............ 10.81 11.10 11.20 11.24 446.45 461.76 461.44 468.71
Furniture and fixtures.............. 10.59 10.81 10.93 10.98 428.90 441.05 439.39 450.18
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 13.21 13.58 13.62 13.63 578.60 594.80 595.19 602.45
Primary metal industries............ 15.16 15.53 15.58 15.46 677.65 689.53 673.06 672.51
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 18.00 18.53 18.54 18.35 806.40 833.85 813.91 803.73
Fabricated metal products........... 12.75 13.00 12.88 13.05 541.88 553.80 534.52 550.71
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 14.03 14.40 14.42 14.39 604.69 622.08 608.52 611.58
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 12.75 13.08 13.16 13.23 531.68 541.51 535.61 549.05
Transportation equipment............ 17.43 17.45 16.92 17.39 772.15 748.61 693.72 739.08
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 17.83 17.84 16.96 17.72 797.00 761.77 673.31 744.24
Instruments and related products.... 13.48 13.71 13.74 13.77 567.51 566.22 559.22 565.95
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 10.57 10.82 10.84 10.84 425.97 431.72 424.93 430.35
Nondurable goods..................... 12.33 12.69 12.79 12.75 504.30 519.02 519.27 522.75
Food and kindred products........... 11.51 11.76 11.77 11.76 481.12 488.04 490.81 496.27
Tobacco products.................... 19.86 20.89 20.69 18.98 750.71 833.51 811.05 747.81
Textile mill products............... 10.02 10.36 10.36 10.41 416.83 429.94 418.54 427.85
Apparel and other textile products.. 8.23 8.50 8.48 8.54 307.80 321.30 312.91 320.25
Paper and allied products........... 15.11 15.45 15.62 15.57 655.77 672.08 670.10 669.51
Printing and publishing............. 13.07 13.33 13.43 13.44 504.50 505.21 511.68 517.44
Chemicals and allied products....... 16.57 17.05 17.22 17.18 712.51 736.56 735.29 738.74
Petroleum and coal products......... 19.97 20.71 20.84 20.71 858.71 894.67 929.46 880.18
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 11.57 11.81 11.91 11.83 482.47 496.02 489.50 489.76
Leather and leather products........ 8.90 9.35 9.25 9.43 341.76 356.24 337.63 358.34
Service-producing....................... 11.64 12.13 12.13 12.21 387.61 400.29 402.72 409.04
Transportation and public utilities... $15.04 $15.22 $15.34 $15.32 $609.12 $602.71 $609.00 $615.86
Wholesale trade....................... 13.48 13.89 13.99 14.12 518.98 531.99 537.22 546.44
Retail trade.......................... 8.30 8.70 8.71 8.73 246.51 254.91 259.56 261.03
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 13.38 13.93 13.93 14.14 483.02 501.48 502.87 521.77
Services.............................. 12.12 12.70 12.67 12.76 398.75 415.29 416.84 423.63
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 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998p 1998p from:
July 1998-
Aug. 1998
Total private:
Current dollars.............. $12.34 $12.70 $12.73 $12.76 $12.79 $12.86 0.5
Constant (1982) dollars2..... 7.58 7.74 7.73 7.75 7.75 N.A. (3)
Goods-producing............... 13.95 14.25 14.27 14.28 14.31 14.41 .7
Mining...................... 16.16 16.72 16.77 16.73 16.84 17.09 1.5
Construction................ 16.06 16.45 16.46 16.51 16.64 16.69 .3
Manufacturing............... 13.20 13.44 13.47 13.46 13.43 13.54 .8
Excluding overtime4....... 12.49 12.76 12.78 12.76 12.72 12.84 .9
Service-producing............. 11.80 12.19 12.23 12.26 12.30 12.36 .5
Transportation and public
utilities................ 15.02 15.32 15.31 15.29 15.36 15.34 -.1
Wholesale trade............. 13.56 13.88 14.00 13.98 14.07 14.15 .6
Retail trade................ 8.37 8.70 8.72 8.73 8.78 8.82 .5
Finance, insurance, and real
estate................... 13.51 14.00 14.03 14.07 14.09 14.19 .7
Services.................... 12.35 12.76 12.81 12.87 12.90 12.96 .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 .0 percent from June 1998 to July 1998, the latest month available.
4 Derived by assuming that overtime hours are paid at the rate of time and one-half.
N.A. = not available.
p = preliminary.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-5. Indexes of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers1 on private nonfarm payrolls by
industry
(1982=100)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Industry
Aug. June July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
1997 1998 1998p 1998p 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998p 1998p
Total private.................... 144.8 146.9 147.4 149.3 141.7 144.0 144.9 144.8 145.2 145.3
Goods-producing......................... 117.8 117.3 115.2 118.0 114.4 114.9 115.3 114.9 114.2 114.6
Mining................................ 59.4 55.8 55.9 55.5 58.1 55.4 56.0 54.7 55.6 54.0
Construction.......................... 171.0 171.0 179.3 180.7 155.7 161.5 160.5 160.5 164.4 164.1
Manufacturing......................... 110.1 109.7 105.2 108.5 109.2 108.7 109.4 109.0 107.3 107.9
Durable goods........................ 113.0 113.7 107.3 111.5 113.0 112.2 113.1 112.7 110.0 111.7
Lumber and wood products............ 145.7 146.9 146.2 148.7 141.6 143.8 143.8 143.7 143.8 144.3
Furniture and fixtures.............. 128.6 134.4 130.4 133.8 128.0 133.7 134.0 134.4 134.0 133.4
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 116.8 118.7 117.6 120.5 112.3 114.1 114.7 114.4 115.4 116.2
Primary metal industries............ 94.2 94.9 88.8 92.0 95.2 93.7 94.6 94.4 91.1 93.1
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 72.8 73.9 71.5 71.3 73.3 73.4 74.5 73.7 71.6 72.0
Fabricated metal products........... 117.7 119.4 113.1 116.9 117.8 117.5 119.2 118.4 116.9 117.2
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 108.2 111.4 106.7 107.3 109.8 109.1 110.1 110.9 109.4 109.7
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 110.6 110.2 106.2 108.5 111.3 110.1 110.7 110.3 108.8 109.3
Transportation equipment............ 129.7 126.4 107.0 122.1 130.5 124.6 127.0 124.7 113.2 122.2
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 170.2 160.1 121.1 152.3 171.6 158.9 161.8 157.2 131.7 151.7
Instruments and related products.... 76.5 76.5 74.7 75.6 76.7 76.6 76.6 76.1 76.5 76.1
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 104.3 102.3 98.7 100.7 103.7 103.4 102.0 101.6 102.0 101.0
Nondurable goods..................... 106.1 104.3 102.4 104.5 103.9 104.0 104.4 104.0 103.5 102.6
Food and kindred products........... 124.1 118.1 120.3 125.5 115.9 118.3 119.9 119.3 119.1 117.6
Tobacco products.................... 57.9 53.9 52.5 60.1 56.5 62.5 62.3 59.9 60.2 59.0
Textile mill products............... 90.2 88.4 83.7 85.1 88.9 87.4 87.7 86.9 85.5 84.5
Apparel and other textile products.. 73.6 69.9 65.8 66.8 73.0 70.0 68.8 68.5 68.1 66.3
Paper and allied products........... 111.1 111.0 108.6 109.1 110.3 109.9 110.7 110.5 109.2 109.1
Printing and publishing............. 126.4 124.1 124.1 125.3 125.5 124.7 125.6 125.0 125.3 125.4
Chemicals and allied products....... 100.7 103.5 101.9 102.5 100.8 102.7 102.8 103.1 102.8 102.6
Petroleum and coal products......... 77.7 75.5 78.2 74.7 75.6 73.1 73.9 73.1 75.1 72.2
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 146.1 149.6 142.7 146.3 146.0 148.1 148.9 148.4 147.0 146.8
Leather and leather products........ 40.0 37.0 33.5 35.9 39.2 36.7 36.1 35.8 34.9 35.4
Service-producing....................... 156.9 160.2 161.9 163.4 154.0 157.0 158.2 158.2 159.1 159.1
Transportation and public utilities... 128.7 131.8 131.7 134.1 127.5 130.2 131.5 130.5 131.4 132.4
Wholesale trade....................... 127.3 129.3 129.6 130.4 126.4 127.9 128.8 127.9 128.8 128.6
Retail trade.......................... 142.9 143.6 146.3 146.9 138.4 139.8 141.1 140.7 141.9 141.3
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 131.3 135.7 137.1 140.0 129.8 134.2 134.9 134.8 136.0 136.2
Services.............................. 191.2 196.3 198.5 200.2 187.9 192.3 193.7 194.5 195.0 195.3
1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
p = preliminary.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-6. Diffusion indexes of employment change, seasonally adjusted
(Percent)
Time span Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
Private nonfarm payrolls, 356 industries1
Over 1-month span:
1994.............. 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 56.9 56.6 59.0 p53.5 p54.8
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 64.2 61.7 60.4 p57.7 p58.0
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.............. 72.1 70.9 69.4 p63.6 p63.5
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 73.0 72.9 72.3
1998.............. p70.9 p70.5
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 48.6 45.0 47.8 p39.6 p47.1
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 50.7 46.4 43.2 p38.8 p37.8
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.............. 61.5 56.8 52.2 p40.6 p41.4
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 60.4 59.4 58.3
1998.............. p51.1 p54.0
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: September 22, 2000
URL: http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/pub/empsit_0898.htm
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