Technical information: USDL 97-347
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, October 3, 1997.
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: SEPTEMBER 1997
The unemployment rate was unchanged in September, and returning strikers
bolstered an otherwise modest rise in nonfarm payroll employment, the
Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.
At 4.9 percent, the jobless rate has remained within a very narrow range
since April. The number of payroll jobs rose by 215,000, including a gain
of 166,000 in the air transportation industry, where workers returned from
strike. (Workers on strike are not counted as employed in the
establishment survey.)
Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
The number of unemployed persons, at 6.8 million in September, was
little changed over the month, and the unemployment rate held at 4.9
percent. Over the past 6 months, the unemployment rate has remained within
a tenth of a percentage point of 4.9 percent. Jobless rates for the major
worker groups--adult men (4.1 percent), adult women (4.4 percent),
teenagers (16.7 percent), whites (4.3 percent), blacks (9.6 percent), and
Hispanics (7.6 percent)--showed little or no change in September. (See
tables A-1 and A-2.)
Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
Total employment was essentially unchanged at a seasonally adjusted
level of 129.7 million in September. The proportion of the population that
was employed (the employment-population ratio) was 63.7 percent and has
been at or near this level since March. (See table A-1.)
About 7.8 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one
job in September. They accounted for 6.0 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.)
Both the civilian labor force, 136.5 million, and the labor force
participation rate, 67.0 percent, were about unchanged in September.
(See table A-1.)
Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
About 1.4 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally
attached to the labor force in September--that is, they wanted and were
available for work and had looked for jobs sometime in the prior 12 months.
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Table A. Major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
___________________________________________________________________________
| Quarterly | Monthly data |
| averages | |
|_________________|__________________________|Aug.-
Category | 19971/ | 19971/ |Sept.
|_________________|__________________________|change
| II | III | July | Aug. | Sept. |
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
HOUSEHOLD DATA | Labor force status
|____________________________________________________
Civilian labor force..| 136,157| 136,413| 136,290| 136,480| 136,467| -13
Employment..........| 129,462| 129,742| 129,708| 129,804| 129,715| -89
Unemployment........| 6,695| 6,671| 6,583| 6,677| 6,752| 75
Not in labor force....| 66,678| 66,954| 66,876| 66,884| 67,102| 218
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Unemployment rates
|____________________________________________________
All workers...........| 4.9| 4.9| 4.8| 4.9| 4.9| .0
Adult men...........| 4.1| 4.1| 4.0| 4.1| 4.1| .0
Adult women.........| 4.4| 4.3| 4.2| 4.4| 4.4| .0
Teenagers...........| 15.9| 16.5| 16.4| 16.4| 16.7| 0.3
White...............| 4.1| 4.2| 4.2| 4.2| 4.3| .1
Black...............| 10.2| 9.4| 9.4| 9.3| 9.6| .3
Hispanic origin.....| 7.7| 7.6| 7.9| 7.2| 7.6| .4
________|________|________|________|________|_______
ESTABLISHMENT DATA | Employment
|____________________________________________________
Nonfarm employment....| 121,854|p122,538| 122,440|p122,480|p122,695| p215
Goods-producing 2/..| 24,694| p24,747| 24,713| p24,771| p24,757| p-14
Construction......| 5,616| p5,633| 5,625| p5,637| p5,636| p-1
Manufacturing.....| 18,504| p18,541| 18,514| p18,562| p18,546| p-16
Service-producing 2/| 97,159| p97,791| 97,727| p97,709| p97,938| p229
Retail trade......| 22,045| p22,188| 22,159| p22,191| p22,214| p23
Services..........| 35,436| p35,727| 35,684| p35,699| p35,797| p98
Government........| 19,594| p19,744| 19,719| p19,795| p19,717| p-78
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Hours of work 3/
|____________________________________________________
Total private.........| 34.5| p34.5| 34.4| p34.6| p34.5| p-0.1
Manufacturing.......| 42.0| p41.9| 41.8| p41.9| p41.9| p.0
Overtime..........| 4.8| p4.7| 4.7| p4.7| p4.7| p.0
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Earnings 3/
|____________________________________________________
Avg. hourly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| $12.19| p$12.29| $12.24| p$12.30| p$12.34| p$0.04
Avg. weekly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| 420.85| p424.12| 421.06| p425.58| p425.73| p.15
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
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 -
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 328,000 in September, little changed from a year earlier.
(See table A-9.)
Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)
Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 215,000 in September, after seasonal
adjustment. The bulk of the increase was due to the return of workers who
were on strike in August. (See table B-1.)
Employment in transportation was up by 170,000 in September, as
strikers in the air transportation industry returned to payrolls.
Employment in that industry was down by 6,000 since July, the month before
the strike. In contrast, trucking and warehousing added 18,000 workers
over the same 2 months, reflecting, in part, increased business in the wake
of the strike-generated disruption of package delivery services.
Following an exceptionally small gain in August, employment in the
services industry rose by 98,000 in September, in line with the average
monthly growth during the first 8 months of the year. An increase of
46,000 in business services in September included continued growth in
computer and data processing services (12,000) and a gain in the help
supply industry (10,000). Despite the September increase, employment in
help supply services has fallen by 50,000 since March. Employment in
health services continued its steady growth by adding 19,000 jobs in
September, with half of the increase occurring in hospitals. Employment in
home health services was flat over the month and has not shown any net gain
since April. Engineering and management services continued its strong
growth, adding 14,000 employees in September. In contrast, there were
small declines in amusement and recreation services (-9,000) and child day
care services (-14,000), following strong summer employment growth.
Job gains in wholesale and retail trade were slightly below their
monthly averages for the first 8 months of the year. Growth continued in
the finance industry in September, reflecting employment increases in
mortgage brokerages, security brokerages, and holding companies and other
investment offices.
Government employment fell by 78,000 in September, due primarily to a
decline of 47,000 in local government education (after seasonal
adjustment), following large gains in the prior 3 months. Changing
seasonal patterns due to the earlier start of the school year and the trend
toward year-round schools have made seasonal adjustment of these data
difficult. Employment in local government, except education, fell by
18,000 in September, following strong summer hiring. Federal employment
fell by 9,000, reflecting, in part, the layoff of postal workers hired to
handle increased demand for parcel delivery during the strike in the air
transportation industry.
Within the goods-producing sector, construction employment was
virtually unchanged in September and has shown little growth since May.
Manufacturing employment fell by 16,000 in September, after a large
increase in the prior month. Losses in the motor vehicles industry totaled
14,000, as several plants were shut down for inventory control. Apparel
employment continued a downward trend, declining by 7,000 workers. Of the
manufacturing industries that had been growing, only electronic components
showed a notable increase (4,000).
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Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)
The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on
private nonfarm payrolls decreased by 0.1 hour in September to 34.5 hours,
seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek and factory overtime
remained at 41.9 and 4.7 hours, respectively. (See table B-2.)
The index of aggregate weekly hours of private production or
nonsupervisory workers on nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 percent to
140.5 (1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index was
unchanged in September, at 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 4 cents in September to $12.34, seasonally
adjusted. Average weekly earnings were little changed at $425.73. Over
the past year, average hourly earnings have risen by 3.6 percent and
average weekly earnings by 3.0 percent. (See table B-3.)
________________________________________
The Employment Situation for October 1997 is scheduled to be released on
Friday, November 7, at 8:30 A.M. (EST).
--------------------------------------------------------------------
| 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. |
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Explanatory Note
This news release presents statistics from two major surveys, the Current
Population Survey (household survey) and the Current Employment Statistics
survey (establishment survey). The household survey provides the
information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment that appears
in the A tables, marked HOUSEHOLD DATA. It is a sample survey of about
50,000 households conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of
Labor Statistics (BLS).
The establishment survey provides the information on the employment,
hours, and earnings of workers on nonfarm payrolls that appears in the B
tables, marked ESTABLISHMENT DATA. This information is collected from
payroll records by BLS in cooperation with State agencies. In June 1997,
the sample included about 390,000 establishments employing about 48 million
people.
For both surveys, the data for a given month relate to a particular week
or pay period. In the household survey, the reference week is generally
the calendar week that contains the 12th day of the month. In the
establishment survey, the reference period is the pay period including the
12th, which may or may not correspond directly to the calendar week.
Coverage, definitions, and differences between surveys
Household survey. The sample is selected to reflect the entire
civilian noninstitutional population. Based on responses to a series of
questions on work and job search activities, each person 16 years and over
in a sample household is classified as employed, unemployed, or not in the
labor force.
People are classified as employed if they did any work at all as paid
employees during the reference week; worked in their own business,
profession, or on their own farm; or worked without pay at least 15 hours
in a family business or farm. People are also counted as employed if they
were temporarily absent from their jobs because of illness, bad weather,
vacation, labor-management disputes, or personal reasons.
People are classified as unemployed if they meet all of the following
criteria: They had no employment during the reference week; they were
available for work at that time; and they made specific efforts to find
employment sometime during the 4-week period ending with the reference
week. Persons laid off from a job and expecting recall need not be
looking for work to be counted as unemployed. The unemployment data
derived from the household survey in no way depend upon the eligibility for
or receipt of unemployment insurance benefits.
The civilian labor force is the sum of employed and unemployed
persons. Those not classified as employed or unemployed are not in the
labor force. The unemployment rate is the number unemployed as a percent
of the labor force. The labor force participation rate is the labor force
as a percent of the population, and the employment-population ratio is the
employed as a percent of the population.
Establishment survey. The sample establishments are drawn from private
nonfarm businesses such as factories, offices, and stores, as well as
Federal, State, and local government entities. Employees on nonfarm
payrolls are those who received pay for any part of the reference pay
period, including persons on paid leave. Persons are counted in each job
they hold. Hours and earnings data are for private businesses and relate
only to production workers in the goods-producing sector and nonsupervisory
workers in the service-producing sector.
- 6 -
Differences in employment estimates. The numerous conceptual and
methodological differences between the household and establishment surveys
result in important distinctions in the employment estimates derived from
the surveys. Among these are:
--The household survey includes agricultural workers, the self-employed,
unpaid family workers, and private household workers among the employed.
These groups are excluded from the establishment survey.
--The household survey includes people on unpaid leave among the
employed. The establishment survey does not.
--The household survey is limited to workers 16 years of age and older.
The establishment survey is not limited by age.
--The household survey has no duplication of individuals, because
individuals are counted only once, even if they hold more than one job. In
the establishment survey, employees working at more than one job and thus
appearing on more than one payroll would be counted separately for each
appearance.
Other differences between the two surveys are described in "Comparing
Employment Estimates from Household and Payroll Surveys," which may be
obtained from BLS upon request.
Seasonal adjustment
Over the course of a year, the size of the nation's labor force and the
levels of employment and unemployment undergo sharp fluctuations due to
such seasonal events as changes in weather, reduced or expanded production,
harvests, major holidays, and the opening and closing of schools. The
effect of such seasonal variation can be very large; seasonal
fluctuations may account for as much as 95 percent of the month-to-month
changes in unemployment.
Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each
year, their influence on statistical trends can be eliminated by adjusting
the statistics from month to month. These adjustments make nonseasonal
developments, such as declines in economic activity or increases in the
participation of women in the labor force, easier to spot. For example,
the large number of youth entering the labor force each June is likely to
obscure any other changes that have taken place relative to May, making it
difficult to determine if the level of economic activity has risen or
declined. However, because the effect of students finishing school in
previous years is known, the statistics for the current year can be
adjusted to allow for a comparable change. Insofar as the seasonal
adjustment is made correctly, the adjusted figure provides a more useful
tool with which to analyze changes in economic activity.
In both the household and establishment surveys, most seasonally adjusted
series are independently adjusted. However, the adjusted series for many
major estimates, such as total payroll employment, employment in most major
industry divisions, total employment, and unemployment are computed by
aggregating independently adjusted component series. For example, total
unemployment is derived by summing the adjusted series for four major age-
sex components; this differs from the unemployment estimate that would be
obtained by directly adjusting the total or by combining the duration,
reasons, or more detailed age categories.
The numerical factors used to make the seasonal adjustments are
recalculated twice a year. For the household survey, the factors are
calculated for the January-June period and again for the July-December
- 7 -
period. For the establishment survey, updated factors for seasonal
adjustment are calculated for the May-October period and introduced along
with new benchmarks, and again for the November-April period. In both
surveys, revisions to historical data are made once a year.
Reliability of the estimates
Statistics based on the household and establishment surveys are subject
to both sampling and nonsampling error. When a sample rather than the
entire population is surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimates
may differ from the "true" population values they represent. The exact
difference, or sampling error, varies depending on the particular sample
selected, and this variability is measured by the standard error of the
estimate. There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that
an estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard
errors from the "true" population value because of sampling error. BLS
analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of confidence.
For example, the confidence interval for the monthly change in total
employment from the household survey is on the order of plus or minus
376,000. Suppose the estimate of total employment increases by 100,000
from one month to the next. The 90-percent confidence interval on the
monthly change would range from -276,000 to 476,000 (100,000 +/- 376,000).
These figures do not mean that the sample results are off by these
magnitudes, but rather that there is about a 90-percent chance that the
"true" over-the-month change lies within this interval. Since this range
includes values of less than zero, we could not say with confidence that
employment had, in fact, increased. If, however, the reported employment
rise was half a million, then all of the values within the 90-percent
confidence interval would be greater than zero. In this case, it is likely
(at least a 90-percent chance) that an employment rise had, in fact,
occurred. The 90-percent confidence interval for the monthly change in
unemployment is +/- 258,000, and for the monthly change in the unemployment
rate it is +/- .21 percentage point.
In general, estimates involving many individuals or establishments have
lower standard errors (relative to the size of the estimate) than estimates
which are based on a small number of observations. The precision of
estimates is also improved when the data are cumulated over time such as
for quarterly and annual averages. The seasonal adjustment process can
also improve the stability of the monthly estimates.
The household and establishment surveys are also affected by nonsampling
error. Nonsampling errors can occur for many reasons, including the
failure to sample a segment of the population, inability to obtain
information for all respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness
of respondents to provide correct information on a timely basis, mistakes
made by respondents, and errors made in the collection or processing of the
data.
For example, in the establishment survey, estimates for the most recent 2
months are based on substantially incomplete returns; for this reason,
these estimates are labeled preliminary in the tables. It is only after
two successive revisions to a monthly estimate, when nearly all sample
reports have been received, that the estimate is considered final.
Another major source of nonsampling error in the establishment survey is
the inability to capture, on a timely basis, employment generated by new
firms. To correct for this systematic underestimation of employment growth
(and other sources of error), a process known as bias adjustment is
included in the survey's estimating procedures, whereby a specified number
of jobs is added to the monthly sample-based change. The size of the
- 8 -
monthly bias adjustment is based largely on past relationships between the
sample-based estimates of employment and the total counts of employment
described below.
The sample-based estimates from the establishment survey are adjusted
once a year (on a lagged basis) to universe counts of payroll employment
obtained from administrative records of the unemployment insurance program.
The difference between the March sample-based employment estimates and the
March universe counts is known as a benchmark revision, and serves as a
rough proxy for total survey error. The new benchmarks also incorporate
changes in the classification of industries. Over the past decade, the
benchmark revision for total nonfarm employment has averaged 0.2 percent,
ranging from zero to 0.6 percent.
Additional statistics and other information
More comprehensive statistics are contained in Employment and Earnings,
published each month by BLS. It is available for $17.00 per issue or
$35.00 per year from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC
20402. All orders must be prepaid by sending a check or money order
payable to the Superintendent of Documents, or by charging to Mastercard or
Visa.
Employment and Earnings also provides measures of sampling error for the
household survey data published in this release. For unemployment and
other labor force categories, these measures appear in tables 1-B through
1-H of its "Explanatory Notes." Measures of the reliability of the data
drawn from the establishment survey and the actual amounts of revision due
to benchmark adjustments are provided in tables 2-B through 2-G of that
publication.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-606-STAT; TDD phone:
202-606-5897; TDD message referral phone: 1-800-326-2577.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-1. Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted(1)
Employment status, sex, and age
Sept. Aug. Sept. Sept. May June July Aug. Sept.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 201,061 203,364 203,570 201,061 202,832 203,000 203,166 203,364 203,570
Civilian labor force.......................... 134,230 137,460 136,375 134,291 136,173 136,200 136,290 136,480 136,467
Participation rate...................... 66.8 67.6 67.0 66.8 67.1 67.1 67.1 67.1 67.0
Employed.................................... 127,529 130,865 129,972 127,248 129,639 129,364 129,708 129,804 129,715
Employment-population ratio............. 63.4 64.4 63.8 63.3 63.9 63.7 63.8 63.8 63.7
Agriculture............................... 3,607 3,661 3,569 3,480 3,430 3,391 3,482 3,383 3,450
Nonagricultural industries................ 123,923 127,205 126,403 123,768 126,209 125,973 126,226 126,421 126,265
Unemployed.................................. 6,700 6,594 6,403 7,043 6,534 6,836 6,583 6,677 6,752
Unemployment rate....................... 5.0 4.8 4.7 5.2 4.8 5.0 4.8 4.9 4.9
Not in labor force............................ 66,831 65,904 67,195 66,770 66,659 66,800 66,876 66,884 67,102
Men, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 96,447 97,838 97,946 96,447 97,559 97,649 97,733 97,838 97,946
Civilian labor force.......................... 72,028 74,149 73,068 72,087 73,200 73,242 73,230 73,315 73,190
Participation rate...................... 74.7 75.8 74.6 74.7 75.0 75.0 74.9 74.9 74.7
Employed.................................... 68,614 70,890 69,890 68,304 69,929 69,567 69,749 69,791 69,639
Employment-population ratio............. 71.1 72.5 71.4 70.8 71.7 71.2 71.4 71.3 71.1
Unemployed.................................. 3,413 3,259 3,178 3,783 3,271 3,674 3,481 3,524 3,551
Unemployment rate....................... 4.7 4.4 4.3 5.2 4.5 5.0 4.8 4.8 4.9
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 88,733 89,982 90,068 88,733 89,766 89,829 89,888 89,982 90,068
Civilian labor force.......................... 68,140 69,571 69,204 68,056 69,059 69,167 69,203 69,301 69,171
Participation rate...................... 76.8 77.3 76.8 76.7 76.9 77.0 77.0 77.0 76.8
Employed.................................... 65,353 67,000 66,648 64,978 66,418 66,266 66,414 66,491 66,325
Employment-population ratio............. 73.7 74.5 74.0 73.2 74.0 73.8 73.9 73.9 73.6
Agriculture............................... 2,439 2,424 2,474 2,366 2,421 2,417 2,411 2,300 2,407
Nonagricultural industries................ 62,914 64,576 64,174 62,612 63,997 63,849 64,003 64,191 63,918
Unemployed.................................. 2,788 2,571 2,556 3,078 2,640 2,901 2,789 2,810 2,846
Unemployment rate....................... 4.1 3.7 3.7 4.5 3.8 4.2 4.0 4.1 4.1
Women, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 104,614 105,527 105,623 104,614 105,274 105,351 105,433 105,527 105,623
Civilian labor force.......................... 62,202 63,311 63,307 62,204 62,973 62,958 63,060 63,165 63,277
Participation rate...................... 59.5 60.0 59.9 59.5 59.8 59.8 59.8 59.9 59.9
Employed.................................... 58,915 59,976 60,082 58,944 59,710 59,796 59,958 60,013 60,076
Employment-population ratio............. 56.3 56.8 56.9 56.3 56.7 56.8 56.9 56.9 56.9
Unemployed.................................. 3,287 3,335 3,225 3,260 3,263 3,162 3,102 3,152 3,201
Unemployment rate....................... 5.3 5.3 5.1 5.2 5.2 5.0 4.9 5.0 5.1
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 97,226 98,000 98,082 97,226 97,767 97,834 97,919 98,000 98,082
Civilian labor force.......................... 58,548 59,123 59,705 58,349 59,130 59,207 59,186 59,408 59,483
Participation rate...................... 60.2 60.3 60.9 60.0 60.5 60.5 60.4 60.6 60.6
Employed.................................... 55,776 56,311 57,038 55,644 56,481 56,585 56,685 56,819 56,882
Employment-population ratio............. 57.4 57.5 58.2 57.2 57.8 57.8 57.9 58.0 58.0
Agriculture............................... 890 888 886 844 743 740 841 836 841
Nonagricultural industries................ 54,886 55,423 56,153 54,800 55,738 55,845 55,844 55,983 56,041
Unemployed.................................. 2,772 2,811 2,666 2,705 2,650 2,621 2,501 2,589 2,601
Unemployment rate....................... 4.7 4.8 4.5 4.6 4.5 4.4 4.2 4.4 4.4
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian noninstitutional population........... 15,101 15,382 15,420 15,101 15,300 15,336 15,359 15,382 15,420
Civilian labor force.......................... 7,541 8,765 7,466 7,886 7,984 7,826 7,901 7,771 7,813
Participation rate...................... 49.9 57.0 48.4 52.2 52.2 51.0 51.4 50.5 50.7
Employed.................................... 6,401 7,554 6,285 6,626 6,740 6,512 6,608 6,493 6,508
Employment-population ratio............. 42.4 49.1 40.8 43.9 44.1 42.5 43.0 42.2 42.2
Agriculture............................... 278 348 209 270 266 234 229 246 202
Nonagricultural industries................ 6,123 7,205 6,076 6,356 6,474 6,279 6,379 6,247 6,306
Unemployed.................................. 1,140 1,212 1,181 1,260 1,244 1,314 1,293 1,278 1,305
Unemployment rate....................... 15.1 13.8 15.8 16.0 15.6 16.8 16.4 16.4 16.7
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
Sept. Aug. Sept. Sept. May June July Aug. Sept.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997
WHITE
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 168,639 170,148 170,290 168,639 169,782 169,897 170,010 170,148 170,290
Civilian labor force.......................... 113,275 115,365 114,614 113,334 114,630 114,691 114,627 114,649 114,694
Participation rate........................ 67.2 67.8 67.3 67.2 67.5 67.5 67.4 67.4 67.4
Employed.................................... 108,495 110,654 110,018 108,217 110,052 109,821 109,853 109,782 109,770
Employment-population ratio............... 64.3 65.0 64.6 64.2 64.8 64.6 64.6 64.5 64.5
Unemployed.................................. 4,780 4,711 4,596 5,117 4,578 4,870 4,774 4,867 4,924
Unemployment rate......................... 4.2 4.1 4.0 4.5 4.0 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.3
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 58,369 59,307 59,052 58,343 59,008 59,088 59,096 59,129 59,035
Participation rate........................ 77.2 77.6 77.2 77.2 77.4 77.5 77.4 77.4 77.2
Employed.................................... 56,344 57,418 57,186 56,042 57,112 56,981 57,030 57,018 56,901
Employment-population ratio............... 74.6 75.2 74.8 74.2 74.9 74.7 74.7 74.6 74.4
Unemployed.................................. 2,024 1,889 1,867 2,301 1,895 2,107 2,066 2,111 2,134
Unemployment rate......................... 3.5 3.2 3.2 3.9 3.2 3.6 3.5 3.6 3.6
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 48,536 48,677 49,214 48,314 48,874 48,924 48,756 48,927 48,997
Participation rate........................ 59.8 59.7 60.3 59.5 60.0 60.1 59.8 60.0 60.0
Employed.................................... 46,591 46,699 47,354 46,394 47,047 47,128 47,055 47,123 47,165
Employment-population ratio............... 57.4 57.3 58.0 57.2 57.8 57.9 57.7 57.8 57.8
Unemployed.................................. 1,945 1,978 1,861 1,920 1,827 1,795 1,701 1,805 1,831
Unemployment rate......................... 4.0 4.1 3.8 4.0 3.7 3.7 3.5 3.7 3.7
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force.......................... 6,370 7,382 6,347 6,677 6,748 6,679 6,775 6,593 6,663
Participation rate........................ 53.4 60.5 51.9 56.0 55.5 54.9 55.6 54.0 54.5
Employed.................................... 5,560 6,538 5,479 5,781 5,893 5,711 5,768 5,641 5,704
Employment-population ratio............... 46.6 53.6 44.8 48.5 48.5 46.9 47.3 46.2 46.7
Unemployed.................................. 811 843 868 896 855 968 1,007 951 959
Unemployment rate......................... 12.7 11.4 13.7 13.4 12.7 14.5 14.9 14.4 14.4
Men..................................... 13.8 12.1 13.7 14.8 12.7 16.3 15.4 15.5 14.6
Women................................... 11.5 10.7 13.7 11.9 12.7 12.6 14.3 13.2 14.1
BLACK
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 23,690 24,043 24,081 23,690 23,950 23,978 24,006 24,043 24,081
Civilian labor force.......................... 15,132 15,953 15,706 15,184 15,434 15,398 15,510 15,804 15,746
Participation rate........................ 63.9 66.4 65.2 64.1 64.4 64.2 64.6 65.7 65.4
Employed.................................... 13,547 14,409 14,220 13,566 13,837 13,793 14,055 14,341 14,236
Employment-population ratio............... 57.2 59.9 59.1 57.3 57.8 57.5 58.5 59.6 59.1
Unemployed.................................. 1,585 1,544 1,487 1,618 1,597 1,605 1,455 1,463 1,510
Unemployment rate......................... 10.5 9.7 9.5 10.7 10.3 10.4 9.4 9.3 9.6
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 6,840 7,077 7,026 6,834 6,831 6,926 6,957 7,072 7,006
Participation rate........................ 72.6 73.7 73.1 72.6 71.5 72.4 72.6 73.7 72.9
Employed.................................... 6,190 6,554 6,484 6,174 6,255 6,296 6,386 6,541 6,459
Employment-population ratio............... 65.7 68.3 67.4 65.6 65.5 65.8 66.6 68.1 67.2
Unemployed.................................. 651 523 542 660 575 630 572 532 548
Unemployment rate......................... 9.5 7.4 7.7 9.7 8.4 9.1 8.2 7.5 7.8
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 7,429 7,793 7,810 7,435 7,693 7,615 7,689 7,803 7,818
Participation rate........................ 62.6 64.8 64.8 62.7 64.1 63.5 64.0 64.8 64.8
Employed.................................... 6,767 7,081 7,132 6,788 6,974 6,921 7,053 7,146 7,161
Employment-population ratio............... 57.0 58.8 59.2 57.2 58.1 57.7 58.7 59.4 59.4
Unemployed.................................. 662 712 678 647 719 694 636 658 657
Unemployment rate......................... 8.9 9.1 8.7 8.7 9.4 9.1 8.3 8.4 8.4
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force.......................... 863 1,083 870 915 910 857 864 928 921
Participation rate........................ 35.9 44.9 36.1 38.0 37.9 35.4 35.7 38.5 38.3
Employed.................................... 591 774 603 604 608 577 616 655 616
Employment-population ratio............... 24.6 32.1 25.0 25.1 25.3 23.8 25.5 27.2 25.6
Unemployed.................................. 272 309 267 311 302 281 247 273 305
Unemployment rate......................... 31.5 28.5 30.7 34.0 33.2 32.7 28.6 29.4 33.1
Men..................................... 32.1 32.7 33.0 37.2 32.6 41.1 32.9 33.1 38.7
Women................................... 30.9 24.4 28.7 30.9 33.8 24.5 25.1 26.2 28.4
HISPANIC ORIGIN
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 19,346 20,407 20,464 19,346 20,236 20,293 20,351 20,407 20,464
Civilian labor force.......................... 12,912 14,028 13,864 12,871 13,746 13,807 13,866 13,910 13,827
Participation rate........................ 66.7 68.7 67.8 66.5 67.9 68.0 68.1 68.2 67.6
Employed.................................... 11,895 13,014 12,882 11,801 12,730 12,756 12,768 12,911 12,780
Employment-population ratio............... 61.5 63.8 62.9 61.0 62.9 62.9 62.7 63.3 62.5
Unemployed.................................. 1,016 1,014 982 1,070 1,016 1,051 1,098 999 1,047
Unemployment rate......................... 7.9 7.2 7.1 8.3 7.4 7.6 7.9 7.2 7.6
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
Sept. Aug. Sept. Sept. May June July Aug. Sept.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997
CHARACTERISTIC
Total employed, 16 years and over............... 127,529 130,865 129,972 127,248 129,639 129,364 129,708 129,804 129,715
Married men, spouse present................... 42,603 42,740 42,825 42,330 42,273 42,448 42,589 42,697 42,527
Married women, spouse present................. 32,798 32,472 33,007 32,679 32,445 32,519 32,866 32,933 32,843
Women who maintain families................... 7,443 7,854 7,899 7,420 7,858 7,847 7,901 7,941 7,891
OCCUPATION
Managerial and professional specialty......... 36,759 37,407 37,833 36,759 37,318 37,493 37,558 37,775 37,869
Technical, sales, and administrative support.. 37,725 38,475 38,523 37,812 38,362 38,142 38,193 38,322 38,600
Service occupations........................... 17,200 18,041 17,595 17,435 17,390 17,412 17,523 17,774 17,809
Precision production, craft, and repair....... 13,881 14,349 13,988 13,681 14,380 14,364 14,282 13,972 13,822
Operators, fabricators, and laborers.......... 18,199 18,754 18,345 18,069 18,647 18,597 18,515 18,473 18,226
Farming, forestry, and fishing................ 3,766 3,839 3,688 3,557 3,680 3,499 3,554 3,407 3,499
CLASS OF WORKER
Agriculture:
Wage and salary workers..................... 1,899 2,001 1,940 1,834 1,941 1,929 1,913 1,841 1,898
Self-employed workers....................... 1,616 1,597 1,586 1,557 1,444 1,404 1,492 1,487 1,527
Unpaid family workers....................... 92 63 43 91 50 40 53 51 40
Nonagricultural industries:
Wage and salary workers..................... 114,960 118,116 117,380 114,765 116,969 116,653 117,104 117,323 117,286
Government................................ 18,052 17,706 17,979 18,092 17,807 18,099 18,338 18,254 18,033
Private industries........................ 96,909 100,409 99,401 96,673 99,162 98,554 98,766 99,069 99,253
Private households...................... 976 1,005 869 981 967 870 910 946 864
Other industries........................ 95,932 99,404 98,532 95,692 98,195 97,684 97,856 98,122 98,389
Self-employed workers....................... 8,825 8,959 8,935 8,811 9,106 9,126 8,887 8,923 8,926
Unpaid family workers....................... 138 130 87 129 148 128 131 129 81
PERSONS AT WORK PART TIME
All industries:
Part time for economic reasons.............. 4,012 4,036 3,638 4,302 4,019 4,025 4,017 3,992 3,916
Slack work or business conditions......... 2,215 2,078 1,986 2,398 2,300 2,375 2,211 2,122 2,159
Could only find part-time work............ 1,531 1,518 1,405 1,617 1,391 1,347 1,522 1,519 1,476
Part time for noneconomic reasons........... 18,223 15,398 18,097 17,823 18,336 18,322 18,015 18,093 17,690
Nonagricultural industries:
Part time for economic reasons.............. 3,852 3,877 3,475 4,130 3,806 3,782 3,872 3,854 3,728
Slack work or business conditions......... 2,114 1,972 1,881 2,284 2,159 2,220 2,102 2,037 2,040
Could only find part-time work............ 1,495 1,479 1,365 1,580 1,347 1,298 1,509 1,485 1,435
Part time for noneconomic reasons........... 17,530 14,839 17,506 17,204 17,780 17,663 17,418 17,519 17,180
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
Sept. Aug. Sept. Sept. May June July Aug. Sept.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997
CHARACTERISTIC
Total, 16 years and over....................... 7,043 6,677 6,752 5.2 4.8 5.0 4.8 4.9 4.9
Men, 20 years and over....................... 3,078 2,810 2,846 4.5 3.8 4.2 4.0 4.1 4.1
Women, 20 years and over..................... 2,705 2,589 2,601 4.6 4.5 4.4 4.2 4.4 4.4
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years................... 1,260 1,278 1,305 16.0 15.6 16.8 16.4 16.4 16.7
Married men, spouse present.................. 1,319 1,131 1,161 3.0 2.6 2.7 2.6 2.6 2.7
Married women, spouse present................ 1,138 1,009 1,064 3.4 3.2 3.2 3.1 3.0 3.1
Women who maintain families.................. 676 701 662 8.3 7.6 8.0 7.4 8.1 7.7
Full-time workers............................ 5,644 5,311 5,353 5.1 4.7 4.9 4.7 4.7 4.8
Part-time workers............................ 1,369 1,363 1,340 5.6 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.6 5.5
OCCUPATION(2)
Managerial and professional specialty........ 880 767 776 2.3 2.1 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
Technical, sales, and administrative support. 1,770 1,662 1,575 4.5 3.8 4.3 4.1 4.2 3.9
Precision production, craft, and repair...... 787 690 694 5.4 4.6 4.7 4.9 4.7 4.8
Operators, fabricators, and laborers......... 1,470 1,535 1,583 7.5 7.1 7.4 7.4 7.7 8.0
Farming, forestry, and fishing............... 271 271 240 7.1 6.2 8.1 6.0 7.4 6.4
INDUSTRY
Nonagricultural private wage and salary
workers...................................... 5,441 5,227 5,280 5.3 5.0 5.0 4.9 5.0 5.1
Goods-producing industries................. 1,568 1,552 1,479 5.6 5.2 5.2 5.4 5.4 5.2
Mining................................... 31 36 19 5.1 3.0 2.3 3.8 5.3 2.9
Construction............................. 614 635 581 9.3 8.4 8.5 8.7 9.3 8.6
Manufacturing............................ 923 881 879 4.4 4.2 4.1 4.3 4.1 4.2
Durable goods.......................... 521 443 400 4.2 3.5 3.5 3.4 3.6 3.3
Nondurable goods....................... 402 438 479 4.7 5.3 5.0 5.5 4.9 5.5
Service-producing industries............... 3,873 3,675 3,801 5.2 4.9 5.0 4.7 4.9 5.0
Transportation and public utilities...... 288 288 293 4.1 3.6 2.9 3.4 3.9 3.9
Wholesale and retail trade............... 1,633 1,635 1,663 6.2 6.1 6.5 6.0 6.2 6.3
Finance, insurance, and real estate...... 221 238 239 3.0 3.2 2.5 3.2 3.0 3.0
Services................................. 1,731 1,514 1,606 5.3 4.6 4.8 4.3 4.5 4.7
Government workers........................... 552 497 485 3.0 2.4 2.9 2.8 2.6 2.6
Agricultural wage and salary workers......... 223 192 185 10.8 7.1 10.6 7.5 9.5 8.9
1 Unemployment as a percent of the civilian labor force.
2 Seasonally adjusted unemployment data for service occupations are not available because the seasonal component, which
is small relative to the trend-cycle and irregular components, cannot be separated with sufficient precision.
NOTE: Beginning in January 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
Sept. Aug. Sept. Sept. May June July Aug. Sept.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Less than 5 weeks.............................. 2,581 2,409 2,525 2,522 2,523 2,538 2,352 2,598 2,470
5 to 14 weeks.................................. 1,998 2,322 1,896 2,245 2,022 2,211 2,071 2,134 2,142
15 weeks and over.............................. 2,122 1,863 1,982 2,277 2,071 2,063 2,157 2,012 2,127
15 to 26 weeks.............................. 935 780 933 1,040 1,078 1,045 1,082 931 1,035
27 weeks and over........................... 1,187 1,084 1,049 1,237 993 1,018 1,074 1,082 1,092
Average (mean) duration, in weeks.............. 16.9 16.0 16.0 16.9 15.1 15.1 16.6 15.9 16.0
Median duration, in weeks...................... 8.5 8.0 8.3 8.6 7.7 7.7 8.5 7.8 8.4
PERCENT DISTRIBUTION
Total unemployed............................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Less than 5 weeks............................ 38.5 36.5 39.4 35.8 38.1 37.3 35.7 38.5 36.7
5 to 14 weeks................................ 29.8 35.2 29.6 31.9 30.6 32.5 31.5 31.6 31.8
15 weeks and over............................ 31.7 28.3 31.0 32.3 31.3 30.3 32.8 29.8 31.6
15 to 26 weeks............................. 14.0 11.8 14.6 14.8 16.3 15.3 16.5 13.8 15.4
27 weeks and over.......................... 17.7 16.4 16.4 17.6 15.0 14.9 16.3 16.0 16.2
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
Sept. Aug. Sept. Sept. May June July Aug. Sept.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs..... 2,812 2,859 2,616 3,236 2,902 3,145 2,903 3,064 3,017
On temporary layoff................................... 674 716 595 989 871 925 877 865 878
Not on temporary layoff............................... 2,138 2,143 2,021 2,247 2,031 2,220 2,026 2,199 2,140
Permanent job losers................................ 1,450 1,438 1,384 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Persons who completed temporary jobs................ 688 705 637 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Job leavers............................................. 892 958 980 800 801 829 822 915 868
Reentrants.............................................. 2,495 2,217 2,307 2,441 2,306 2,359 2,244 2,144 2,259
New entrants............................................ 500 561 501 559 574 481 553 544 561
PERCENT DISTRIBUTION
Total unemployed........................................
Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs.... 42.0 43.4 40.9 46.0 44.1 46.2 44.5 46.0 45.0
On temporary layoff.................................. 10.1 10.9 9.3 14.1 13.2 13.6 13.4 13.0 13.1
Not on temporary layoff.............................. 31.9 32.5 31.6 31.9 30.9 32.6 31.1 33.0 31.9
Job leavers............................................ 13.3 14.5 15.3 11.4 12.2 12.2 12.6 13.7 12.9
Reentrants............................................. 37.2 33.6 36.0 34.7 35.0 34.6 34.4 32.2 33.7
New entrants........................................... 7.5 8.5 7.8 7.9 8.7 7.1 8.5 8.2 8.4
UNEMPLOYED AS A PERCENT OF THE
CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE
Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs.... 2.1 2.1 1.9 2.4 2.1 2.3 2.1 2.2 2.2
Job leavers............................................ .7 .7 .7 .6 .6 .6 .6 .7 .6
Reentrants............................................. 1.9 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.7
New entrants........................................... .4 .4 .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
Sept. Aug. Sept. Sept. May June July Aug. Sept.
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 1.4 1.5 1.7 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.6
U-2 Job losers and persons who completed
temporary jobs, as a percent of the civilian
labor force.................................................... 2.1 2.1 1.9 2.4 2.1 2.3 2.1 2.2 2.2
U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the
civilian labor force (official unemployment rate).............. 5.0 4.8 4.7 5.2 4.8 5.0 4.8 4.9 4.9
U-4 Total unemployed plus discouraged
workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force
plus discouraged workers....................................... 5.3 5.0 4.9 (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 5.7 5.6 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
U-6 Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers, plus
total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of
the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers.. 9.0 8.6 8.3 (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
Sept. Aug. Sept. Sept. May June July Aug. Sept.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997
Total, 16 years and over.......................... 7,043 6,677 6,752 5.2 4.8 5.0 4.8 4.9 4.9
16 to 24 years.................................. 2,442 2,390 2,410 11.5 10.9 11.5 10.9 11.3 11.3
16 to 19 years................................ 1,260 1,278 1,305 16.0 15.6 16.8 16.4 16.4 16.7
16 to 17 years.............................. 579 544 640 17.6 18.4 17.3 17.5 17.7 19.5
18 to 19 years.............................. 680 732 666 14.7 13.7 16.3 15.8 15.6 14.6
20 to 24 years................................ 1,182 1,112 1,105 8.9 8.2 8.4 7.7 8.3 8.1
25 years and over............................... 4,612 4,318 4,342 4.1 3.7 3.8 3.7 3.7 3.8
25 to 54 years................................ 4,080 3,786 3,830 4.2 3.8 3.9 3.8 3.8 3.9
55 years and over............................. 530 500 518 3.3 2.9 3.1 3.0 3.0 3.1
Men, 16 years and over.......................... 3,783 3,524 3,551 5.2 4.5 5.0 4.8 4.8 4.9
16 to 24 years................................ 1,340 1,340 1,356 12.1 10.3 12.1 11.4 12.0 12.1
16 to 19 years.............................. 705 714 705 17.5 15.2 19.0 17.2 17.8 17.5
16 to 17 years............................ 319 282 317 19.2 17.8 19.9 18.6 17.5 18.9
18 to 19 years............................ 385 429 387 16.2 13.5 18.2 16.2 18.1 16.5
20 to 24 years.............................. 635 626 651 9.0 7.5 8.2 8.1 8.7 9.1
25 years and over............................. 2,445 2,218 2,177 4.0 3.4 3.7 3.5 3.6 3.5
25 to 54 years.............................. 2,168 1,917 1,922 4.2 3.5 3.8 3.6 3.6 3.6
55 years and over........................... 291 279 273 3.3 2.8 3.1 3.0 3.0 2.9
Women, 16 years and over........................ 3,260 3,152 3,201 5.2 5.2 5.0 4.9 5.0 5.1
16 to 24 years................................ 1,102 1,050 1,053 10.9 11.6 10.8 10.4 10.5 10.3
16 to 19 years.............................. 555 564 600 14.4 16.0 14.4 15.5 15.0 15.8
16 to 17 years............................ 260 262 323 16.0 19.0 14.4 16.4 17.8 20.1
18 to 19 years............................ 295 303 279 13.1 13.8 14.3 15.4 13.1 12.6
20 to 24 years.............................. 547 486 453 8.7 8.9 8.6 7.3 7.8 7.1
25 years and over............................. 2,167 2,100 2,165 4.2 4.0 3.9 3.9 4.0 4.1
25 to 54 years.............................. 1,912 1,869 1,908 4.2 4.2 4.0 4.1 4.1 4.2
55 years and over........................... 239 221 245 3.4 3.0 3.2 3.0 3.0 3.4
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
Sept. Sept. Sept. Sept. Sept. Sept.
1996 1997 1996 1997 1996 1997
NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE
Total not in the labor force.................................... 66,831 67,195 24,419 24,878 42,412 42,317
Persons who currently want a job.............................. 5,219 4,705 1,948 1,888 3,271 2,816
Searched for work and available to work now(1)............. 1,518 1,363 681 667 836 696
Reason not currently looking:
Discouragement over job prospects(2).................. 391 328 218 213 173 115
Reasons other than discouragement(3)............... 1,127 1,035 464 454 663 581
MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS
Total multiple jobholders(4).................................... 7,808 7,838 4,197 4,220 3,611 3,618
Percent of total employed................................... 6.1 6.0 6.1 6.0 6.1 6.0
Primary job full time, secondary job part time.............. 4,253 4,438 2,565 2,611 1,688 1,827
Primary and secondary jobs both part time................... 1,714 1,601 506 514 1,208 1,087
Primary and secondary jobs both full time................... 258 238 199 183 58 55
Hours vary on primary or secondary job...................... 1,547 1,528 914 894 633 634
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
Sept. July Aug. Sept. Sept. May June July Aug. Sept.
1996 1997 1997p 1997p 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997p 1997p
Total......................... 120,454 122,232 122,236 123,139 120,019 121,834 122,056 122,440 122,480 122,695
Total private.................... 101,187 103,616 103,743 103,669 100,506 102,269 102,417 102,721 102,685 102,978
Goods-producing......................... 24,852 25,002 25,242 25,175 24,439 24,702 24,714 24,713 24,771 24,757
Mining................................ 577 584 584 580 571 576 574 574 572 575
Metal mining........................ 54.6 55.5 55.3 54.5 54 54 54 54 54 54
Coal mining......................... 95.3 92.1 91.6 91.1 95 93 92 91 91 91
Oil and gas extraction.............. 317.2 324.7 324.6 322.8 316 321 320 321 320 322
Nonmetallic minerals, except fuels.. 110.2 112.1 112.1 111.5 106 108 108 108 107 108
Construction.......................... 5,725 5,947 5,980 5,931 5,441 5,628 5,622 5,625 5,637 5,636
General building contractors........ 1,302.7 1,366.3 1,369.2 1,349.5 1,259 1,300 1,302 1,308 1,306 1,303
Heavy construction, except building. 851.7 828.0 834.8 841.2 771 777 766 761 762 761
Special trade contractors........... 3,570.8 3,752.5 3,775.5 3,740.5 3,411 3,551 3,554 3,556 3,569 3,572
Manufacturing......................... 18,550 18,471 18,678 18,664 18,427 18,498 18,518 18,514 18,562 18,546
Production workers................ 12,840 12,721 12,917 12,927 12,723 12,790 12,791 12,792 12,818 12,814
Durable goods........................ 10,805 10,861 10,979 10,981 10,771 10,864 10,891 10,910 10,964 10,947
Production workers................ 7,402 7,420 7,533 7,546 7,372 7,454 7,466 7,482 7,530 7,519
Lumber and wood products............ 794.8 807.4 814.2 810.5 782 800 797 796 798 797
Furniture and fixtures.............. 504.5 500.5 506.2 507.0 503 508 508 510 506 506
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 551.5 549.8 552.7 551.1 541 540 538 541 541 540
Primary metal industries............ 712.2 703.1 715.6 716.7 711 708 709 708 715 716
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 240.9 235.6 239.7 240.4 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Fabricated metal products........... 1,455.9 1,454.7 1,476.0 1,478.5 1,452 1,468 1,470 1,468 1,475 1,475
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 2,103.5 2,151.1 2,158.1 2,160.5 2,108 2,146 2,152 2,155 2,165 2,166
Computer and office equipment..... 362.6 383.7 384.3 381.5 364 378 379 381 384 383
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 1,652.1 1,650.7 1,661.6 1,666.6 1,652 1,644 1,651 1,658 1,663 1,666
Electronic components and
accessories.................... 609.0 632.7 637.5 640.0 610 622 628 632 637 641
Transportation equipment............ 1,788.0 1,803.6 1,846.9 1,840.8 1,783 1,809 1,824 1,826 1,856 1,836
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 969.7 945.1 983.8 976.0 965 960 967 965 985 971
Aircraft and parts................ 461.3 507.7 511.4 514.0 461 498 505 510 514 515
Instruments and related products.... 854.4 858.4 859.3 859.5 854 854 856 859 858 859
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 388.3 381.7 388.2 389.4 385 387 386 389 387 386
Nondurable goods..................... 7,745 7,610 7,699 7,683 7,656 7,634 7,627 7,604 7,598 7,599
Production workers................ 5,438 5,301 5,384 5,381 5,351 5,336 5,325 5,310 5,288 5,295
Food and kindred products........... 1,754.0 1,716.4 1,759.1 1,753.7 1,682 1,693 1,692 1,684 1,679 1,683
Tobacco products.................... 43.5 37.8 40.4 42.0 41 41 41 41 40 40
Textile mill products............... 620.4 603.4 607.9 608.7 618 609 607 608 604 607
Apparel and other textile products.. 861.1 793.9 810.4 808.9 853 818 816 810 808 801
Paper and allied products........... 680.9 677.9 679.7 678.2 678 677 675 675 675 676
Printing and publishing............. 1,531.2 1,547.3 1,546.5 1,540.9 1,536 1,546 1,550 1,549 1,547 1,546
Chemicals and allied products....... 1,029.8 1,028.3 1,029.8 1,027.1 1,029 1,030 1,027 1,023 1,024 1,027
Petroleum and coal products......... 143.7 141.1 141.2 140.0 141 139 138 138 138 138
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 985.7 977.2 993.6 993.6 984 988 989 986 993 992
Leather and leather products........ 95.0 86.6 90.5 90.1 94 93 92 90 90 89
Service-producing....................... 95,602 97,230 96,994 97,964 95,580 97,132 97,342 97,727 97,709 97,938
Transportation and public utilities... 6,334 6,425 6,267 6,497 6,290 6,431 6,434 6,443 6,284 6,451
Transportation...................... 4,103 4,169 4,011 4,252 4,066 4,187 4,193 4,202 4,043 4,213
Railroad transportation........... 231.7 230.6 226.9 227.7 230 226 230 229 225 226
Local and interurban passenger
transit........................ 457.8 396.2 396.2 475.2 444 458 457 461 462 460
Trucking and warehousing.......... 1,672.1 1,707.2 1,725.1 1,732.2 1,651 1,687 1,686 1,692 1,702 1,710
Water transportation.............. 177.5 186.8 186.8 180.9 173 176 178 176 179 176
Transportation by air............. 1,128.6 1,194.5 1,020.3 1,180.7 1,134 1,192 1,192 1,193 1,021 1,187
Pipelines, except natural gas..... 14.5 14.6 14.6 14.2 14 14 14 14 14 14
Transportation services........... 420.9 438.6 441.0 440.6 420 434 436 437 440 440
Communications and public utilities. 2,231 2,256 2,256 2,245 2,224 2,244 2,241 2,241 2,241 2,238
Communications.................... 1,350.5 1,378.4 1,384.3 1,381.6 1,345 1,372 1,372 1,372 1,376 1,376
Electric, gas, and sanitary
services....................... 880.0 877.1 872.1 863.2 879 872 869 869 865 862
Wholesale trade....................... 6,527 6,706 6,709 6,697 6,513 6,630 6,634 6,664 6,674 6,684
Durable goods....................... 3,821 3,962 3,970 3,953 3,826 3,909 3,917 3,938 3,955 3,959
Nondurable goods.................... 2,706 2,744 2,739 2,744 2,687 2,721 2,717 2,726 2,719 2,725
Retail trade.......................... 21,797 22,289 22,368 22,290 21,718 22,026 22,079 22,159 22,191 22,214
Building materials and garden
supplies......................... 907.1 964.5 950.4 934.1 901 932 928 930 929 928
General merchandise stores.......... 2,712.4 2,750.4 2,782.8 2,792.2 2,739 2,787 2,798 2,803 2,822 2,822
Department stores................. 2,381.7 2,413.4 2,438.7 2,449.2 2,403 2,452 2,450 2,458 2,470 2,473
Food stores......................... 3,446.2 3,523.9 3,521.5 3,504.5 3,445 3,482 3,487 3,502 3,505 3,504
Automotive dealers and service
stations......................... 2,305.2 2,348.5 2,352.5 2,346.2 2,289 2,316 2,315 2,318 2,325 2,330
New and used car dealers.......... 1,044.8 1,060.4 1,062.5 1,063.1 1,040 1,054 1,056 1,055 1,058 1,058
Apparel and accessory stores........ 1,083.7 1,088.2 1,100.4 1,083.4 1,101 1,099 1,097 1,096 1,102 1,101
Furniture and home furnishings
stores........................... 987.9 1,032.3 1,035.1 1,037.1 998 1,032 1,034 1,042 1,044 1,047
Eating and drinking places.......... 7,642.2 7,805.1 7,827.1 7,767.6 7,509 7,572 7,595 7,639 7,622 7,633
Miscellaneous retail establishments. 2,711.8 2,776.0 2,798.3 2,824.4 2,736 2,806 2,825 2,829 2,842 2,849
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 6,936 7,148 7,150 7,085 6,925 7,029 7,034 7,058 7,066 7,075
Finance............................. 3,314 3,431 3,437 3,420 3,317 3,389 3,394 3,405 3,413 3,424
Depository institutions........... 2,022.0 2,064.2 2,065.0 2,044.7 2,023 2,043 2,044 2,048 2,048 2,046
Commercial banks................ 1,467.3 1,503.4 1,504.2 1,488.7 1,468 1,488 1,487 1,490 1,492 1,490
Savings institutions............ 258.4 254.6 253.5 249.7 259 253 254 253 252 251
Nondepository institutions........ 523.7 547.4 549.2 552.0 525 542 543 545 548 553
Mortgage bankers and brokers.... 235.0 245.2 245.0 246.5 235 244 243 243 244 247
Security and commodity brokers.... 557.9 597.3 600.0 598.4 558 586 586 592 595 599
Holding and other investment
offices........................ 209.9 222.3 222.9 224.6 211 218 221 220 222 226
Insurance........................... 2,218 2,241 2,239 2,227 2,220 2,222 2,226 2,230 2,232 2,229
Insurance carriers................ 1,509.2 1,516.5 1,515.4 1,506.4 1,510 1,503 1,506 1,509 1,510 1,507
Insurance agents, brokers, and
service........................ 708.7 724.2 723.5 721.0 710 719 720 721 722 722
Real estate......................... 1,404 1,476 1,474 1,438 1,388 1,418 1,414 1,423 1,421 1,422
Services2............................. 34,741 36,046 36,007 35,925 34,621 35,451 35,522 35,684 35,699 35,797
Agricultural services............... 665.0 747.7 738.6 716.4 630 669 668 673 675 679
Hotels and other lodging places..... 1,772.1 1,893.0 1,893.4 1,799.5 1,722 1,752 1,744 1,747 1,748 1,749
Personal services................... 1,156.9 1,141.5 1,141.5 1,154.7 1,189 1,189 1,182 1,182 1,183 1,187
Business services................... 7,464.9 7,707.0 7,760.7 7,824.8 7,354 7,618 7,645 7,682 7,660 7,706
Services to buildings............. 899.7 905.7 904.0 906.0 898 903 903 901 895 904
Personnel supply services......... 2,822.6 2,774.7 2,812.2 2,860.9 2,706 2,744 2,748 2,767 2,734 2,740
Help supply services............ 2,507.6 2,435.3 2,471.7 2,520.1 2,398 2,409 2,407 2,425 2,397 2,407
Computer and data processing
services....................... 1,222.2 1,343.9 1,357.4 1,364.9 1,226 1,322 1,337 1,347 1,357 1,369
Auto repair, services, and parking.. 1,099.3 1,146.6 1,144.6 1,145.3 1,097 1,136 1,131 1,137 1,136 1,143
Miscellaneous repair services....... 378.7 391.1 391.3 389.2 377 384 386 387 388 388
Motion pictures..................... 520.6 547.7 556.2 539.2 530 532 537 539 546 549
Amusement and recreation services... 1,537.4 1,859.3 1,832.3 1,627.0 1,471 1,542 1,561 1,576 1,567 1,558
Health services..................... 9,503.8 9,725.9 9,734.0 9,720.4 9,514 9,673 9,673 9,697 9,712 9,731
Offices and clinics of medical
doctors........................ 1,691.5 1,751.4 1,752.3 1,750.1 1,691 1,740 1,740 1,745 1,744 1,750
Nursing and personal care
facilities..................... 1,740.1 1,768.4 1,771.8 1,765.3 1,739 1,764 1,761 1,762 1,765 1,764
Hospitals......................... 3,817.4 3,890.5 3,889.4 3,886.8 3,823 3,864 3,869 3,877 3,884 3,893
Home health care services......... 669.2 685.1 684.4 687.0 668 682 682 685 685 685
Legal services...................... 925.7 972.2 965.2 957.6 933 952 953 957 958 965
Educational services................ 1,979.0 1,821.9 1,798.1 2,053.8 2,022 2,062 2,074 2,089 2,092 2,100
Social services..................... 2,401.7 2,472.5 2,458.2 2,478.6 2,421 2,466 2,474 2,494 2,499 2,498
Child day care services........... 574.5 535.7 546.9 588.3 573 587 590 594 600 586
Residential care.................. 674.5 708.9 709.8 705.5 678 695 698 702 703 709
Museums and botanical and zoological
gardens........................... 86.3 96.3 94.8 89.9 85 88 88 88 88 88
Membership organizations............ 2,171.0 2,275.6 2,243.6 2,183.5 2,188 2,201 2,202 2,209 2,206 2,201
Engineering and management services. 2,862.9 3,030.2 3,038.2 3,028.3 2,872 2,971 2,988 3,010 3,025 3,039
Engineering and architectural
services....................... 849.9 891.2 894.6 888.8 845 869 877 878 880 884
Management and public relations... 888.4 967.3 974.2 970.2 886 941 950 959 969 968
Services, nec....................... 47.9 49.4 49.0 48.8 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Government............................ 19,267 18,616 18,493 19,470 19,513 19,565 19,639 19,719 19,795 19,717
Federal............................. 2,739 2,713 2,706 2,682 2,740 2,703 2,694 2,689 2,691 2,682
Federal, except Postal Service.... 1,890.4 1,867.5 1,852.4 1,833.0 1,884 1,851 1,843 1,839 1,831 1,826
State............................... 4,577 4,431 4,413 4,600 4,640 4,636 4,640 4,671 4,667 4,663
Education......................... 1,873.9 1,679.7 1,678.5 1,900.3 1,941 1,943 1,950 1,972 1,965 1,968
Other State government............ 2,703.3 2,751.6 2,734.2 2,699.6 2,699 2,693 2,690 2,699 2,702 2,695
Local............................... 11,951 11,472 11,374 12,188 12,133 12,226 12,305 12,359 12,437 12,372
Education......................... 6,621.1 5,769.7 5,752.2 6,792.6 6,796 6,850 6,902 6,954 7,017 6,970
Other local government............ 5,329.6 5,702.7 5,621.9 5,395.1 5,337 5,376 5,403 5,405 5,420 5,402
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
Sept. July Aug. Sept. Sept. May June July Aug. Sept.
1996 1997 1997p 1997p 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997p 1997p
Total private.................... 34.9 34.7 35.0 34.7 34.7 34.5 34.6 34.4 34.6 34.5
Goods-producing......................... 41.8 41.0 41.5 41.9 41.1 41.4 41.1 41.2 41.1 41.2
Mining................................ 45.9 45.2 45.7 45.3 45.3 46.0 45.4 45.4 45.6 44.7
Construction.......................... 39.7 40.1 39.7 40.0 38.7 39.4 38.7 39.0 38.6 39.0
Manufacturing......................... 42.3 41.2 42.0 42.4 41.7 42.0 41.8 41.8 41.9 41.9
Overtime hours.................... 5.1 4.5 4.9 5.2 4.5 4.8 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.7
Durable goods........................ 43.1 41.9 42.7 43.1 42.5 42.8 42.6 42.6 42.7 42.6
Overtime hours.................... 5.3 4.7 5.2 5.5 4.8 5.2 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0
Lumber and wood products............ 41.6 40.8 41.2 41.4 40.9 41.0 41.0 41.1 40.7 40.7
Furniture and fixtures.............. 40.4 39.5 40.5 41.0 39.6 40.4 39.9 40.0 40.0 40.2
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 44.3 43.3 43.8 44.1 43.2 43.4 42.9 43.1 43.0 43.0
Primary metal industries............ 44.8 43.9 44.8 45.5 44.4 44.8 44.7 44.4 45.1 45.1
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 44.6 44.3 45.0 45.4 44.3 44.7 44.5 44.3 45.4 45.2
Fabricated metal products........... 43.1 41.6 42.6 43.0 42.4 42.6 42.4 42.4 42.4 42.3
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 43.3 42.8 43.1 43.8 43.1 43.6 43.3 43.4 43.4 43.6
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 42.0 41.2 41.7 42.3 41.6 42.0 42.0 42.0 41.7 41.8
Transportation equipment............ 45.1 42.4 44.2 44.4 44.4 44.5 44.2 43.7 44.2 43.7
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 46.2 42.2 44.8 44.9 45.3 45.2 44.8 44.0 44.8 44.0
Instruments and related products.... 42.0 41.2 42.1 42.1 41.8 41.9 41.8 41.7 42.3 42.0
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 40.4 39.5 40.3 40.8 39.9 40.3 40.1 40.4 40.2 40.3
Nondurable goods..................... 41.3 40.4 41.0 41.4 40.7 40.8 40.6 40.6 40.7 40.8
Overtime hours.................... 4.7 4.3 4.6 4.9 4.1 4.3 4.1 4.3 4.2 4.3
Food and kindred products........... 42.2 41.1 41.8 42.3 41.0 41.4 40.9 41.1 41.1 41.1
Tobacco products.................... 42.0 35.3 36.5 37.6 40.4 38.4 37.6 36.1 36.2 36.2
Textile mill products............... 41.4 40.6 41.6 41.9 40.9 41.4 41.2 41.3 41.2 41.4
Apparel and other textile products.. 37.6 36.6 37.6 37.8 37.3 37.1 37.4 36.9 37.3 37.5
Paper and allied products........... 44.0 43.3 43.4 44.1 43.5 43.8 43.4 43.5 43.4 43.6
Printing and publishing............. 38.8 38.1 38.6 39.3 38.3 38.3 38.3 38.4 38.3 38.8
Chemicals and allied products....... 43.3 42.7 43.1 43.7 43.1 43.3 43.1 43.0 43.4 43.5
Petroleum and coal products......... 44.2 42.7 42.9 43.7 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 42.1 41.0 41.7 41.9 41.6 41.6 41.5 41.7 41.7 41.4
Leather and leather products........ 39.2 37.8 38.2 38.8 38.7 38.2 38.1 38.4 37.8 38.3
Service-producing....................... 33.0 33.1 33.2 32.8 32.9 32.7 32.9 32.7 32.9 32.7
Transportation and public utilities... 40.3 39.4 40.5 40.0 39.8 39.5 39.6 39.0 40.1 39.5
Wholesale trade....................... 38.6 38.3 38.5 38.5 38.4 38.4 38.5 38.3 38.4 38.4
Retail trade.......................... 29.1 29.6 29.7 28.9 28.9 28.9 28.9 28.8 29.1 28.7
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 36.5 35.8 36.0 35.8 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Services.............................. 32.6 32.8 32.9 32.5 (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
Sept. July Aug. Sept. Sept. July Aug. Sept.
1996 1997 1997p 1997p 1996 1997 1997p 1997p
Total private.................... $11.95 $12.15 $12.20 $12.39 $417.06 $421.61 $427.00 $429.93
Seasonally adjusted............. 11.91 12.24 12.30 12.34 413.28 421.06 425.58 425.73
Goods-producing......................... 13.66 13.93 13.96 14.08 570.99 571.13 579.34 589.95
Mining................................ 15.73 16.03 15.96 16.28 722.01 724.56 729.37 737.48
Construction.......................... 15.75 16.00 16.09 16.28 625.28 641.60 638.77 651.20
Manufacturing......................... 12.90 13.11 13.15 13.25 545.67 540.13 552.30 561.80
Durable goods........................ 13.52 13.62 13.71 13.82 582.71 570.68 585.42 595.64
Lumber and wood products............ 10.57 10.82 10.80 10.86 439.71 441.46 444.96 449.60
Furniture and fixtures.............. 10.27 10.53 10.60 10.69 414.91 415.94 429.30 438.29
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 12.99 13.20 13.19 13.28 575.46 571.56 577.72 585.65
Primary metal industries............ 15.18 15.28 15.20 15.33 680.06 670.79 680.96 697.52
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 18.10 18.09 17.98 18.31 807.26 801.39 809.10 831.27
Fabricated metal products........... 12.67 12.69 12.81 12.86 546.08 527.90 545.71 552.98
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 13.77 14.01 14.01 14.17 596.24 599.63 603.83 620.65
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 12.35 12.69 12.76 12.89 518.70 522.83 532.09 545.25
Transportation equipment............ 17.45 17.23 17.48 17.63 787.00 730.55 772.62 782.77
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 18.04 17.54 17.88 18.09 833.45 740.19 801.02 812.24
Instruments and related products.... 13.31 13.54 13.53 13.69 559.02 557.85 569.61 576.35
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 10.48 10.52 10.57 10.61 423.39 415.54 425.97 432.89
Nondurable goods..................... 12.01 12.37 12.33 12.41 496.01 499.75 505.53 513.77
Food and kindred products........... 11.19 11.52 11.51 11.52 472.22 473.47 481.12 487.30
Tobacco products.................... 18.37 20.95 19.77 18.23 771.54 739.54 721.61 685.45
Textile mill products............... 9.78 10.01 10.02 10.09 404.89 406.41 416.83 422.77
Apparel and other textile products.. 8.00 8.20 8.24 8.37 300.80 300.12 309.82 316.39
Paper and allied products........... 14.74 15.18 15.14 15.18 648.56 657.29 657.08 669.44
Printing and publishing............. 12.82 13.01 13.06 13.21 497.42 495.68 504.12 519.15
Chemicals and allied products....... 16.25 16.59 16.56 16.58 703.63 708.39 713.74 724.55
Petroleum and coal products......... 19.35 20.02 19.95 20.52 855.27 854.85 855.86 896.72
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 11.31 11.57 11.58 11.66 476.15 474.37 482.89 488.55
Leather and leather products........ 8.69 8.75 8.89 9.13 340.65 330.75 339.60 354.24
Service-producing....................... 11.36 11.56 11.60 11.81 374.88 382.64 385.12 387.37
Transportation and public utilities... $14.57 $14.95 $14.95 $14.99 $587.17 $589.03 $605.48 $599.60
Wholesale trade....................... 13.03 13.37 13.46 13.50 502.96 512.07 518.21 519.75
Retail trade.......................... 8.06 8.27 8.29 8.43 234.55 244.79 246.21 243.63
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 12.89 13.18 13.32 13.44 470.49 471.84 479.52 481.15
Services.............................. 11.89 12.07 12.11 12.36 387.61 395.90 398.42 401.70
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
Sept. May June July Aug. Sept. change
Industry 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997p 1997p from:
Aug. 1997-
Sept. 1997
Total private:
Current dollars.............. $11.91 $12.19 $12.23 $12.24 $12.30 $12.34 0.3
Constant (1982) dollars2..... 7.45 7.52 7.54 7.53 7.56 N.A. (3)
Goods-producing............... 13.57 13.85 13.86 13.86 13.94 13.99 .4
Mining...................... 15.70 16.05 16.12 16.10 16.09 16.25 1.0
Construction................ 15.59 15.91 15.95 15.96 16.03 16.11 .5
Manufacturing............... 12.87 13.11 13.12 13.11 13.20 13.23 .2
Excluding overtime4....... 12.20 12.38 12.42 12.41 12.50 12.51 .1
Service-producing............. 11.35 11.63 11.69 11.70 11.76 11.79 .3
Transportation and public
utilities................ 14.51 14.80 14.85 14.95 14.96 14.93 -.2
Wholesale trade............. 13.03 13.33 13.42 13.38 13.53 13.50 -.2
Retail trade................ 8.04 8.28 8.30 8.32 8.36 8.41 .6
Finance, insurance, and real
estate................... 12.91 13.18 13.29 13.30 13.46 13.46 .0
Services.................... 11.89 12.20 12.26 12.26 12.32 12.35 .2
1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
2 The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) is used to
deflate this series.
3 Change was .4 percent from July 1997 to August 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
Sept. July Aug. Sept. Sept. May June July Aug. Sept.
1996 1997 1997p 1997p 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997p 1997p
Total private.................... 139.9 142.7 143.8 142.7 137.9 140.0 140.6 140.2 140.7 140.5
Goods-producing......................... 115.7 114.1 116.8 117.7 111.3 113.7 112.7 112.9 113.0 113.2
Mining................................ 56.6 57.2 57.7 57.0 54.9 57.3 56.3 56.3 56.5 55.3
Construction.......................... 162.2 169.5 169.0 169.0 148.1 156.2 152.8 154.1 152.8 154.4
Manufacturing......................... 109.6 105.8 109.3 110.6 107.1 108.3 107.8 107.8 108.2 108.2
Durable goods........................ 111.2 108.4 112.2 113.6 109.4 111.4 111.0 111.1 112.1 111.8
Lumber and wood products............ 144.1 143.5 146.4 146.7 138.6 142.9 142.2 142.3 141.0 141.2
Furniture and fixtures.............. 127.0 122.9 128.0 129.8 123.9 128.0 126.7 127.3 126.7 127.0
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 115.6 112.4 114.5 115.1 109.9 110.2 108.7 110.0 109.7 109.4
Primary metal industries............ 94.4 91.2 94.9 96.6 93.2 93.9 94.0 93.2 95.7 95.7
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 74.3 72.1 74.6 75.3 74.0 72.6 72.3 72.0 75.0 75.1
Fabricated metal products........... 117.2 112.9 117.9 119.4 115.1 117.1 116.8 116.5 117.5 117.0
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 104.7 106.2 107.4 109.6 104.4 108.5 108.1 108.5 109.0 109.4
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 109.2 106.0 108.8 110.9 108.1 108.2 108.5 109.1 109.1 109.9
Transportation equipment............ 126.5 119.5 128.4 128.8 124.2 126.8 126.2 125.7 129.5 126.7
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 170.4 151.6 168.8 167.6 166.6 165.4 165.6 163.1 169.7 163.9
Instruments and related products.... 75.7 73.7 75.5 75.8 75.4 75.1 75.2 75.1 75.8 75.6
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 104.2 99.1 103.2 104.8 101.8 103.2 102.3 103.4 102.5 102.4
Nondurable goods..................... 107.3 102.2 105.4 106.6 103.9 104.0 103.4 103.1 102.9 103.3
Food and kindred products........... 125.0 118.2 124.0 125.3 115.1 117.3 115.8 115.6 115.1 115.6
Tobacco products.................... 71.6 48.8 55.1 61.0 64.0 58.9 57.8 57.2 53.8 53.8
Textile mill products............... 90.5 86.3 89.1 89.9 89.0 88.8 88.2 88.5 87.6 88.6
Apparel and other textile products.. 77.9 69.5 72.6 73.0 76.4 73.0 73.2 72.0 71.8 71.5
Paper and allied products........... 111.3 109.2 109.6 111.5 109.4 110.4 109.0 109.0 108.5 109.7
Printing and publishing............. 125.0 124.0 125.3 126.5 123.7 125.1 125.2 125.4 124.5 125.5
Chemicals and allied products....... 101.3 98.8 100.2 101.9 100.6 100.5 99.7 99.3 100.4 101.1
Petroleum and coal products......... 79.0 76.2 76.5 77.2 76.8 75.0 74.2 73.5 73.9 75.1
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 145.8 139.9 145.5 146.7 143.8 144.7 144.2 144.3 145.1 144.6
Leather and leather products........ 44.1 37.7 40.5 40.7 42.8 41.7 41.0 40.7 39.5 39.4
Service-producing....................... 150.7 155.6 156.0 153.8 149.9 151.8 153.1 152.5 153.1 152.7
Transportation and public utilities... 131.5 130.3 128.6 133.3 129.0 131.0 131.3 129.3 127.5 130.5
Wholesale trade....................... 124.8 127.1 127.5 127.1 123.9 125.9 126.2 126.0 126.4 126.5
Retail trade.......................... 137.2 142.9 143.8 139.5 135.8 138.0 138.2 138.2 139.8 137.8
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 127.7 129.7 130.3 127.9 128.1 127.3 130.5 127.4 128.9 128.3
Services.............................. 180.2 187.8 188.2 185.3 179.9 182.3 184.5 184.4 184.8 184.6
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 58.8 p57.4 p54.8
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 58.7 p59.3 p61.9
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 64.6 p63.9 p64.3
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.............. 67.3 p65.9 p69.7
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 51.8 p50.4 p52.2
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 48.9 p49.6 p52.2
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 49.3 p49.3 p51.8
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.............. 51.4 p47.8 p52.2
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: November 07, 1997
URL: http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/pub/empsit_0997.htm
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