Technical information: USDL 97-04
Household data: (202) 606-6378
Transmission of material in this
release is embargoed until
Establishment data: 606-6555 8:30 A.M. (EST),
Media contact: 606-5902 Friday, January 10, 1997.
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: DECEMBER 1996
Nonfarm payroll employment increased in December, and the unemployment
rate was unchanged at 5.3 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The number of payroll jobs rose
by 262,000 over the month, with gains occurring among most of the major
industry groups. Average hourly earnings rose by 6 cents in December,
following a 9 cent rise in the prior month.
Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
Both the number of unemployed persons, 7.2 million, and the unemployment
rate, 5.3 percent, were unchanged in December, although both figures showed
modest improvement in 1996. December jobless rates for the major worker
groups--adult men (4.4 percent), adult women (4.9 percent), teenagers (16.5
percent), whites (4.6 percent), blacks (10.5 percent), and Hispanics (7.7
percent)--showed little or no change over the month. (See tables A-1
and A-2.)
Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
Total employment, at 127.9 million in December, was little changed from
the November level, but has expanded by 2.8 million over the past year.
This gain was split nearly evenly between men and women. The proportion of
the population 16 years and over that was employed (the employment-
population ratio) was 63.4 percent in December, unchanged over the month
but up 0.7 percentage point from a year earlier. (See table A-1.)
The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons rose by
355,000 in December to 4.3 million, after a decline of similar magnitude in
November. The size of this group held at or near 4.3 million for most of
1996. (See table A-3.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Seasonally adjusted household data have been revised to incorporate |
|updated seasonal adjustment factors, which reflect the 1996 experience; |
|data back to January 1994 are subject to revision. The January-December|
|1996 unemployment rates, as originally published and as revised, appear |
|on page 5, along with additional information on the revisions. |
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Table A. Major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
___________________________________________________________________________
| Quarterly | Monthly data |
| averages | |
|_________________|__________________________|Nov.-
Category | 1996 | 1996 |Dec.
|_________________|__________________________|change
| III | IV | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. |
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
HOUSEHOLD DATA | Labor force status
|____________________________________________________
Civilian labor force..| 134,118| 134,830| 134,636| 134,831| 135,022| 191
Employment..........| 127,042| 127,705| 127,617| 127,644| 127,855| 211
Unemployment........| 7,076| 7,124| 7,019| 7,187| 7,167| -20
Not in labor force....| 66,732| 66,627| 66,637| 66,632| 66,614| -18
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Unemployment rates
|____________________________________________________
All workers...........| 5.3| 5.3| 5.2| 5.3| 5.3| .0
Adult men...........| 4.5| 4.4| 4.4| 4.4| 4.4| .0
Adult women.........| 4.7| 4.8| 4.7| 4.8| 4.9| 0.1
Teenagers...........| 16.6| 16.6| 16.3| 16.8| 16.5| -.3
White...............| 4.6| 4.6| 4.5| 4.6| 4.6| .0
Black...............| 10.5| 10.6| 10.7| 10.6| 10.5| -.1
Hispanic origin.....| 8.7| 8.0| 8.2| 8.3| 7.7| -.6
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
ESTABLISHMENT DATA | Employment
|____________________________________________________
Nonfarm employment....| 119,958|p120,483| 120,311|p120,438|p120,700| p262
Goods-producing 1/..| 24,273| p24,313| 24,284| p24,308| p24,348| p40
Construction......| 5,438| p5,487| 5,464| p5,487| p5,510| p23
Manufacturing.....| 18,266| p18,260| 18,254| p18,254| p18,273| p19
Service-producing 1/| 95,685| p96,170| 96,027| p96,130| p96,352| p222
Retail trade......| 21,682| p21,840| 21,803| p21,835| p21,883| p48
Services..........| 34,529| p34,788| 34,709| p34,771| p34,883| p112
Government........| 19,536| p19,503| 19,508| p19,485| p19,516| p31
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Hours of work 2/
|____________________________________________________
Total private.........| 34.4| p34.5| 34.3| p34.5| p34.8| p0.3
Manufacturing.......| 41.7| p41.8| 41.7| p41.7| p42.0| p.3
Overtime..........| 4.5| p4.5| 4.4| p4.5| p4.7| p.2
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Earnings 2/
|____________________________________________________
Avg. hourly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| $11.86| p$11.98| $11.90| p$11.99| p$12.05| p$0.06
Avg. weekly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| 408.50| p413.72| 408.17| p413.66| p419.34| p5.68
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
1/ Includes other industries, not shown separately.
2/ Data relate to private production or nonsupervisory workers.
p=preliminary.
NOTE: Household data have been revised based on the experience through
December 1996.
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About 8.2 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one
job in December. These multiple jobholders comprised 6.4 percent of all
employed persons, up slightly from a year earlier. (See table A-9.)
Both the civilian labor force and the labor force participation rate
were essentially unchanged over the month, though both measures have risen
over the past year. The labor force grew by 2.6 million in 1996, with
women accounting for three-fifths of the increase. The labor force
participation rate rose by 0.6 percentage point over the year, to 67.0
percent in December. (See table A-1.)
Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
About 1.5 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally
attached to the labor force in December--that is, they wanted and were
available for work and had looked for jobs sometime in the prior year.
These persons were not classified as unemployed because they were not
currently looking for work when surveyed in December. The total number of
marginally attached workers was down slightly over the year. (See
table A-9.)
The number of discouraged workers--a subset of marginally attached
workers 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 334,000 in December, also down slightly from a year
earlier.
Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 262,000 in December to
120.7 million, after seasonal adjustment, and rose by 2.6 million over the
year. The private sector added 231,000 jobs in December. (See table B-1.)
Private sector job growth during the fourth quarter averaged 218,000 per
month, well above the third-quarter average of 147,000.
Employment in the services industry increased by 112,000 in December,
the largest gain since May. Increases occurred in nearly all components of
the industry. Business services added 45,000 jobs, following a small loss
in November. Computer services employment continued its rapid rise. Help
supply added 12,000 jobs in December, following a net decline over the
prior 3 months. Elsewhere in services, job gains continued in health
services, engineering and management services, and amusement and
recreation.
Retail trade employment rose by 48,000 in December. Much of the gain
was in eating and drinking places, where estimated growth has been
inconsistent during the year. In December, employment continued to rise in
furniture and home furnishings stores and building supplies retailers, each
of which added workers at a brisk pace in 1996. Following strong seasonal
hiring in October, employment in general merchandise stores declined in
November and December, after seasonal adjustment. Wholesale trade showed
sluggish job growth for the second straight month.
Employment in transportation and public utilities edged up by 5,000 in
December, as strength in air transportation more than offset declines in
trucking, communications, and public utilities. Finance, insurance, and
real estate employment rose by 17,000 in December, continuing its
relatively strong growth trend. Gains were concentrated in finance,
particularly in nondepository institutions, security brokerages, and
holding and other investment offices.
Manufacturing added 19,000 jobs in December. Over-the-month job growth
was widespread, with notable increases occurring in aircraft and in food
and kindred products. From September through December, factory employment
increased by 32,000. Despite this gain, 94,000 factory jobs were lost in
1996, as steep declines in nondurable goods industries were only partially
offset by gains in durables.
- 4 -
Aided by unusually mild weather across most of the country during the
December reference period, employment in the construction industry rose by
23,000 in December. Over the year, construction employment increased by
287,000, more than 2-1/2 times the rise in the prior year.
Government employment rose by 31,000 in December, after seasonal
adjustment. Most of the increase was in the noneducation component of
local government, reversing a decrease in the prior month. Fewer poll
workers had been reported in November than expected by the seasonal
factors, so that there were fewer to dismiss following the elections.
Since federal government employment reached its most recent peak in May
1992, job losses have totaled 322,000 (not counting the Postal Service,
which has added workers).
Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)
The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private
nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.3 hour in December to 34.8 hours,
seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek also rose by 0.3 hour to
42.0 hours and factory overtime, at 4.7 hours, was up by 0.2 hour. Both
the manufacturing workweek and overtime hours were at their highest levels
since early 1995. (See table B-2.)
The index of aggregate weekly hours of private production or
nonsupervisory workers on nonfarm payrolls rose by 0.9 percent, seasonally
adjusted, to 139.2 (1982=100) in December. The manufacturing index
increased by 0.8 percent to 106.9. (See table B-5.)
Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)
Average hourly earnings of private production or nonsupervisory workers
on nonfarm payrolls rose 6 cents in December to $12.05, seasonally
adjusted, following an increase of 9 cents in the prior month. Average
weekly earnings increased by 1.4 percent in December to $419.34. Over the
past year, average hourly earnings rose by 3.8 percent, while average
weekly earnings increased by 5.3 percent. (See table B-3.)
________________________
The Employment Situation for January 1997 is scheduled to be released on
Friday, February 7, at 8:30 A.M. (EST).
- 5 -
Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Household Survey Data
At the end of each calendar year, BLS routinely updates the seasonal
adjustment factors for the labor force series derived from the Current
Population Survey (also referred to as the household survey) to incorporate
the experience of that year. This year, seasonally adjusted data for
January 1994-December 1996 are subject to revision. (Seasonally adjusted
establishment data will be revised in June, concurrently with the
introduction of annual benchmark adjustments.)
Table B summarizes the effects of the revisions on the overall
unemployment rate since January 1996. Rates for 7 months were revised, in
each case by 0.1 percentage point. Revised seasonally adjusted data for
major labor force series, also since January 1996, appear in table C.
The January 1997 issue of Employment and Earnings will contain the new
seasonal adjustment factors for major series for the January-June 1997
period. The publication also will contain a description of the current
seasonal adjustment methodology and revised data for the most recent 13
months or calendar quarters for all regularly published tables containing
seasonally adjusted household survey data. Historical seasonally adjusted
monthly and quarterly data also are available on the Internet. Internet
users can access these data from the
ftp://stats.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/lf directory.
Table B. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates and
change due to revision, January-December 1996
_______________________________________________________
| As first | As |
Month and year | computed | revised | Change
_______________|_____________|_____________|___________
| | |
1996 | | |
| | |
January........| 5.8 | 5.7 | -0.1
February.......| 5.5 | 5.5 | .0
March..........| 5.6 | 5.5 | -.1
April..........| 5.4 | 5.5 | .1
May............| 5.6 | 5.5 | -.1
June...........| 5.3 | 5.3 | .0
July...........| 5.4 | 5.4 | .0
August.........| 5.1 | 5.2 | .1
September......| 5.2 | 5.2 | .0
October........| 5.2 | 5.2 | .0
November.......| 5.4 | 5.3 | -.1
December.......| 1/5.4 | 5.3 | -.1
| | |
_______________|_____________|_____________|___________
1/ Not published.
Planned Changes in the Household Survey Data
Effective with the release of data for January 1997, revisions will be
introduced into the population controls used for the household survey.
These revisions reflect primarily new information on the magnitude and
demographic characteristics of net immigration, and will result in an
upward shift in the estimated civilian noninstitutional population 16 years
and over for January 1997. The changes will add approximately 470,000 on
top of trend growth between December and January. The bulk of the
adjustment will occur among Hispanics and the “other races” category. The
changes and their effect on the estimates of labor force change and
composition will be described in an article slated to appear in the
February 1997 issue of Employment and Earnings.
HOUSEHOLD DATA
HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table C. Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age
(Numbers in thousands)
1995 1996
Employment status, sex, and
age
Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional
population(1)........... 199508 199634 199772 199921 200101 200278 200459 200641 200847 201060 201273 201463 201636
Civilian labor force...... 132422 132899 133070 133464 133427 133759 133709 134165 133898 134291 134636 134831 135022
Participation rate.. 66.4 66.6 66.6 66.8 66.7 66.8 66.7 66.9 66.7 66.8 66.9 66.9 67.0
Employed................ 125068 125311 125706 126062 126125 126428 126590 126889 126988 127248 127617 127644 127855
Employment-population
ratio............... 62.7 62.8 62.9 63.1 63.0 63.1 63.2 63.2 63.2 63.3 63.4 63.4 63.4
Unemployed.............. 7354 7588 7364 7402 7302 7331 7119 7276 6910 7043 7019 7187 7167
Unemployment rate... 5.6 5.7 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.3 5.4 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.3 5.3
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional
population(1)........... 88172 88223 88296 88366 88440 88530 88570 88614 88650 88733 88840 88971 89040
Civilian labor force...... 67303 67556 67688 67886 67829 67996 68088 68222 68044 68056 68273 68391 68369
Participation rate.. 76.3 76.6 76.7 76.8 76.7 76.8 76.9 77.0 76.8 76.7 76.8 76.9 76.8
Employed................ 63997 64258 64416 64562 64573 64788 64933 65071 65165 64978 65299 65349 65367
Employment-population
ratio............... 72.6 72.8 73.0 73.1 73.0 73.2 73.3 73.4 73.5 73.2 73.5 73.4 73.4
Agriculture........... 2257 2382 2371 2376 2310 2342 2318 2366 2347 2366 2400 2355 2356
Nonagricultural
industries.......... 61740 61876 62045 62186 62263 62446 62615 62705 62818 62612 62899 62994 63011
Unemployed.............. 3306 3298 3272 3324 3256 3208 3155 3151 2879 3078 2974 3042 3002
Unemployment rate... 4.9 4.9 4.8 4.9 4.8 4.7 4.6 4.6 4.2 4.5 4.4 4.4 4.4
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional
population(1)........... 96633 96717 96757 96798 96856 96925 96999 97064 97146 97226 97290 97366 97457
Civilian labor force...... 57334 57594 57618 57803 57817 57885 57909 58139 58230 58349 58432 58574 58728
Participation rate.. 59.3 59.5 59.5 59.7 59.7 59.7 59.7 59.9 59.9 60.0 60.1 60.2 60.3
Employed................ 54680 54684 54845 55054 55075 55067 55196 55315 55498 55644 55681 55753 55871
Employment-population
ratio............... 56.6 56.5 56.7 56.9 56.9 56.8 56.9 57.0 57.1 57.2 57.2 57.3 57.3
Agriculture........... 831 849 845 842 842 831 835 847 826 844 800 786 772
Nonagricultural
industries.......... 53849 53835 54000 54212 54233 54236 54361 54468 54672 54800 54881 54967 55099
Unemployed.............. 2654 2910 2773 2749 2742 2818 2713 2824 2732 2705 2751 2821 2857
Unemployment rate... 4.6 5.1 4.8 4.8 4.7 4.9 4.7 4.9 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian noninstitutional
population(1)........... 14703 14694 14719 14757 14805 14823 14890 14963 15051 15101 15143 15126 15139
Civilian labor force...... 7785 7749 7764 7775 7781 7878 7712 7804 7624 7886 7931 7866 7925
Participation rate.. 52.9 52.7 52.7 52.7 52.6 53.1 51.8 52.2 50.7 52.2 52.4 52.0 52.3
Employed................ 6391 6369 6445 6446 6477 6573 6461 6503 6325 6626 6637 6542 6617
Employment-population
ratio............... 43.5 43.3 43.8 43.7 43.7 44.3 43.4 43.5 42.0 43.9 43.8 43.3 43.7
Agriculture........... 256 267 283 252 260 301 255 257 245 270 250 213 298
Nonagricultural
industries.......... 6135 6102 6162 6194 6217 6272 6206 6246 6080 6356 6387 6329 6319
Unemployed.............. 1394 1380 1319 1329 1304 1305 1251 1301 1299 1260 1294 1324 1308
Unemployment rate... 17.9 17.8 17.0 17.1 16.8 16.6 16.2 16.7 17.0 16.0 16.3 16.8 16.5
1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation.
NOTE: Seasonally adjusted data have been revised based on the experience through December 1996.
- 5 -
Explanatory Note
This news release presents statistics from two major surveys, the Current
Population Survey (household survey) and the Current Employment Statistics
survey (establishment survey). The household survey provides the
information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment that appears
in the A tables, marked HOUSEHOLD DATA. It is a sample survey of about
50,000 households conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of
Labor Statistics (BLS).
The establishment survey provides the information on the employment,
hours, and earnings of workers on nonfarm payrolls that appears in the B
tables, marked ESTABLISHMENT DATA. This information is collected from
payroll records by BLS in cooperation with State agencies. In June 1996,
the sample included about 390,000 establishments employing over 47 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 $13.00 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
Dec. Nov. Dec. Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1995 1996 1996 1995 1996 1996 1996 1996 1996
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 199,508 201,463 201,636 199,508 200,847 201,060 201,273 201,463 201,636
Civilian labor force.......................... 132,008 134,973 134,583 132,422 133,898 134,291 134,636 134,831 135,022
Participation rate...................... 66.2 67.0 66.7 66.4 66.7 66.8 66.9 66.9 67.0
Employed.................................... 125,136 128,157 127,903 125,068 126,988 127,248 127,617 127,644 127,855
Employment-population ratio............. 62.7 63.6 63.4 62.7 63.2 63.3 63.4 63.4 63.4
Agriculture............................... 3,072 3,253 3,131 3,344 3,418 3,480 3,450 3,354 3,426
Nonagricultural industries................ 122,064 124,904 124,772 121,724 123,570 123,768 124,167 124,290 124,429
Unemployed.................................. 6,872 6,816 6,680 7,354 6,910 7,043 7,019 7,187 7,167
Unemployment rate....................... 5.2 5.0 5.0 5.6 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.3 5.3
Not in labor force............................ 67,500 66,489 67,053 67,086 66,949 66,770 66,637 66,632 66,614
Men, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 95,661 96,654 96,742 95,661 96,335 96,447 96,556 96,654 96,742
Civilian labor force.......................... 70,936 72,119 71,959 71,363 71,961 72,087 72,363 72,362 72,414
Participation rate...................... 74.2 74.6 74.4 74.6 74.7 74.7 74.9 74.9 74.9
Employed.................................... 67,049 68,565 68,434 67,290 68,368 68,304 68,647 68,589 68,707
Employment-population ratio............. 70.1 70.9 70.7 70.3 71.0 70.8 71.1 71.0 71.0
Unemployed.................................. 3,887 3,555 3,525 4,073 3,593 3,783 3,716 3,773 3,707
Unemployment rate....................... 5.5 4.9 4.9 5.7 5.0 5.2 5.1 5.2 5.1
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 88,172 88,971 89,040 88,172 88,650 88,733 88,840 88,971 89,040
Civilian labor force.......................... 67,164 68,375 68,227 67,303 68,044 68,056 68,273 68,391 68,369
Participation rate...................... 76.2 76.9 76.6 76.3 76.8 76.7 76.8 76.9 76.8
Employed.................................... 63,961 65,502 65,326 63,997 65,165 64,978 65,299 65,349 65,367
Employment-population ratio............. 72.5 73.6 73.4 72.6 73.5 73.2 73.5 73.4 73.4
Agriculture............................... 2,121 2,324 2,213 2,257 2,347 2,366 2,400 2,355 2,356
Nonagricultural industries................ 61,840 63,178 63,112 61,740 62,818 62,612 62,899 62,994 63,011
Unemployed.................................. 3,203 2,874 2,901 3,306 2,879 3,078 2,974 3,042 3,002
Unemployment rate....................... 4.8 4.2 4.3 4.9 4.2 4.5 4.4 4.4 4.4
Women, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 103,847 104,809 104,894 103,847 104,512 104,614 104,717 104,809 104,894
Civilian labor force.......................... 61,072 62,854 62,624 61,059 61,937 62,204 62,273 62,469 62,608
Participation rate...................... 58.8 60.0 59.7 58.8 59.3 59.5 59.5 59.6 59.7
Employed.................................... 58,087 59,593 59,469 57,778 58,620 58,944 58,970 59,055 59,148
Employment-population ratio............. 55.9 56.9 56.7 55.6 56.1 56.3 56.3 56.3 56.4
Unemployed.................................. 2,986 3,261 3,156 3,281 3,317 3,260 3,303 3,414 3,460
Unemployment rate....................... 4.9 5.2 5.0 5.4 5.4 5.2 5.3 5.5 5.5
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 96,633 97,366 97,457 96,633 97,146 97,226 97,290 97,366 97,457
Civilian labor force.......................... 57,506 59,100 58,893 57,334 58,230 58,349 58,432 58,574 58,728
Participation rate...................... 59.5 60.7 60.4 59.3 59.9 60.0 60.1 60.2 60.3
Employed.................................... 55,049 56,395 56,253 54,680 55,498 55,644 55,681 55,753 55,871
Employment-population ratio............. 57.0 57.9 57.7 56.6 57.1 57.2 57.2 57.3 57.3
Agriculture............................... 771 760 715 831 826 844 800 786 772
Nonagricultural industries................ 54,278 55,635 55,538 53,849 54,672 54,800 54,881 54,967 55,099
Unemployed.................................. 2,456 2,705 2,640 2,654 2,732 2,705 2,751 2,821 2,857
Unemployment rate....................... 4.3 4.6 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian noninstitutional population........... 14,703 15,126 15,139 14,703 15,051 15,101 15,143 15,126 15,139
Civilian labor force.......................... 7,338 7,498 7,463 7,785 7,624 7,886 7,931 7,866 7,925
Participation rate...................... 49.9 49.6 49.3 52.9 50.7 52.2 52.4 52.0 52.3
Employed.................................... 6,125 6,261 6,324 6,391 6,325 6,626 6,637 6,542 6,617
Employment-population ratio............. 41.7 41.4 41.8 43.5 42.0 43.9 43.8 43.3 43.7
Agriculture............................... 180 169 203 256 245 270 250 213 298
Nonagricultural industries................ 5,946 6,092 6,121 6,135 6,080 6,356 6,387 6,329 6,319
Unemployed.................................. 1,213 1,237 1,139 1,394 1,299 1,260 1,294 1,324 1,308
Unemployment rate....................... 16.5 16.5 15.3 17.9 17.0 16.0 16.3 16.8 16.5
1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted
and seasonally adjusted columns.
NOTE: Seasonally adjusted data have been revised based on the experience through December 1996.
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
Dec. Nov. Dec. Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1995 1996 1996 1995 1996 1996 1996 1996 1996
WHITE
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 167,545 168,924 169,044 167,545 168,489 168,639 168,788 168,924 169,044
Civilian labor force.......................... 111,616 113,881 113,573 112,025 112,904 113,334 113,625 113,816 113,991
Participation rate........................ 66.6 67.4 67.2 66.9 67.0 67.2 67.3 67.4 67.4
Employed.................................... 106,490 108,900 108,686 106,525 107,853 108,217 108,527 108,570 108,734
Employment-population ratio............... 63.6 64.5 64.3 63.6 64.0 64.2 64.3 64.3 64.3
Unemployed.................................. 5,126 4,981 4,887 5,500 5,051 5,117 5,098 5,246 5,257
Unemployment rate......................... 4.6 4.4 4.3 4.9 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.6
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 57,675 58,546 58,510 57,795 58,347 58,343 58,539 58,549 58,623
Participation rate........................ 76.7 77.3 77.2 76.9 77.3 77.2 77.4 77.3 77.4
Employed.................................... 55,256 56,410 56,302 55,311 56,143 56,042 56,294 56,276 56,356
Employment-population ratio............... 73.5 74.5 74.3 73.6 74.4 74.2 74.4 74.3 74.4
Unemployed.................................. 2,419 2,136 2,208 2,484 2,204 2,301 2,245 2,273 2,267
Unemployment rate......................... 4.2 3.6 3.8 4.3 3.8 3.9 3.8 3.9 3.9
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 47,764 48,981 48,740 47,696 48,162 48,314 48,380 48,558 48,686
Participation rate........................ 59.1 60.3 60.0 59.0 59.4 59.5 59.6 59.8 59.9
Employed.................................... 45,934 47,029 46,860 45,684 46,232 46,394 46,439 46,530 46,614
Employment-population ratio............... 56.9 57.9 57.6 56.5 57.0 57.2 57.2 57.3 57.3
Unemployed.................................. 1,829 1,952 1,880 2,012 1,930 1,920 1,941 2,028 2,072
Unemployment rate......................... 3.8 4.0 3.9 4.2 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.2 4.3
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force.......................... 6,177 6,354 6,323 6,534 6,395 6,677 6,706 6,709 6,682
Participation rate........................ 53.2 53.0 52.7 56.3 53.8 56.0 56.1 56.0 55.6
Employed.................................... 5,300 5,461 5,524 5,530 5,478 5,781 5,794 5,764 5,764
Employment-population ratio............... 45.7 45.6 46.0 47.7 46.1 48.5 48.5 48.1 48.0
Unemployed.................................. 878 893 800 1,004 917 896 912 945 918
Unemployment rate......................... 14.2 14.0 12.6 15.4 14.3 13.4 13.6 14.1 13.7
Men..................................... 15.4 15.6 14.0 16.1 15.7 14.8 15.4 15.5 14.8
Women................................... 13.0 12.4 11.3 14.6 12.9 11.9 11.6 12.6 12.6
BLACK
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 23,419 23,762 23,794 23,419 23,650 23,690 23,728 23,762 23,794
Civilian labor force.......................... 14,888 15,298 15,254 14,943 15,297 15,184 15,276 15,290 15,306
Participation rate........................ 63.6 64.4 64.1 63.8 64.7 64.1 64.4 64.3 64.3
Employed.................................... 13,489 13,772 13,782 13,413 13,699 13,566 13,647 13,673 13,693
Employment-population ratio............... 57.6 58.0 57.9 57.3 57.9 57.3 57.5 57.5 57.5
Unemployed.................................. 1,399 1,526 1,472 1,530 1,598 1,618 1,629 1,617 1,613
Unemployment rate......................... 9.4 10.0 9.6 10.2 10.4 10.7 10.7 10.6 10.5
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 6,681 6,916 6,808 6,713 6,874 6,834 6,838 6,899 6,833
Participation rate........................ 71.5 72.9 71.7 71.8 73.0 72.6 72.4 72.7 72.0
Employed.................................... 6,080 6,294 6,261 6,057 6,301 6,174 6,199 6,264 6,235
Employment-population ratio............... 65.1 66.3 65.9 64.8 66.9 65.6 65.6 66.0 65.7
Unemployed.................................. 602 622 547 656 573 660 639 635 598
Unemployment rate......................... 9.0 9.0 8.0 9.8 8.3 9.7 9.3 9.2 8.8
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 7,327 7,537 7,581 7,287 7,477 7,435 7,487 7,499 7,544
Participation rate........................ 62.3 63.4 63.6 62.0 63.1 62.7 63.0 63.0 63.3
Employed.................................... 6,815 6,910 6,935 6,742 6,802 6,788 6,822 6,833 6,851
Employment-population ratio............... 58.0 58.1 58.2 57.3 57.4 57.2 57.4 57.4 57.5
Unemployed.................................. 512 627 646 545 675 647 665 666 693
Unemployment rate......................... 7.0 8.3 8.5 7.5 9.0 8.7 8.9 8.9 9.2
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force.......................... 880 845 864 943 946 915 951 892 929
Participation rate........................ 38.0 35.5 36.2 40.7 39.6 38.0 39.6 37.5 38.9
Employed.................................... 594 569 585 614 596 604 626 576 607
Employment-population ratio............... 25.7 23.9 24.5 26.5 25.0 25.1 26.1 24.2 25.4
Unemployed.................................. 286 276 279 329 350 311 325 316 322
Unemployment rate......................... 32.5 32.7 32.3 34.9 37.0 34.0 34.2 35.4 34.7
Men..................................... 37.7 37.5 37.6 38.9 38.2 37.2 36.5 41.2 38.6
Women................................... 27.5 28.3 27.8 31.0 35.8 30.9 31.9 30.0 31.2
HISPANIC ORIGIN
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 18,889 19,454 19,505 18,889 19,292 19,346 19,398 19,454 19,505
Civilian labor force.......................... 12,374 13,248 13,151 12,390 12,864 12,871 12,989 13,182 13,150
Participation rate........................ 65.5 68.1 67.4 65.6 66.7 66.5 67.0 67.8 67.4
Employed.................................... 11,267 12,183 12,216 11,204 11,736 11,801 11,928 12,094 12,141
Employment-population ratio............... 59.6 62.6 62.6 59.3 60.8 61.0 61.5 62.2 62.2
Unemployed.................................. 1,108 1,065 935 1,186 1,128 1,070 1,061 1,088 1,009
Unemployment rate......................... 9.0 8.0 7.1 9.6 8.8 8.3 8.2 8.3 7.7
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. Seasonally adjusted
data have been revised based on the experience through December 1996.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-3. Selected employment indicators
(In thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Category
Dec. Nov. Dec. Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1995 1996 1996 1995 1996 1996 1996 1996 1996
CHARACTERISTIC
Total employed, 16 years and over............... 125,136 128,157 127,903 125,068 126,988 127,248 127,617 127,644 127,855
Married men, spouse present................... 42,129 42,681 42,628 42,082 42,588 42,330 42,617 42,631 42,607
Married women, spouse present................. 32,366 32,867 32,913 32,071 32,665 32,679 32,537 32,509 32,631
Women who maintain families................... 7,209 7,498 7,443 7,271 7,338 7,420 7,392 7,444 7,500
OCCUPATION
Managerial and professional specialty......... 35,856 37,509 37,411 35,680 36,605 36,759 36,917 37,177 37,234
Technical, sales, and administrative support.. 37,474 37,962 38,208 37,152 37,818 37,812 37,951 37,821 37,902
Service occupations........................... 16,730 17,298 17,089 16,884 17,343 17,435 17,295 17,408 17,271
Precision production, craft, and repair....... 13,484 13,644 13,595 13,467 13,660 13,681 13,587 13,508 13,574
Operators, fabricators, and laborers.......... 18,328 18,476 18,435 18,226 18,031 18,069 18,235 18,259 18,310
Farming, forestry, and fishing................ 3,264 3,268 3,164 3,614 3,515 3,557 3,565 3,445 3,496
CLASS OF WORKER
Agriculture:
Wage and salary workers..................... 1,618 1,757 1,712 1,776 1,814 1,834 1,813 1,829 1,878
Self-employed workers....................... 1,422 1,435 1,369 1,535 1,525 1,557 1,560 1,464 1,475
Unpaid family workers....................... 32 61 50 42 64 91 71 68 66
Nonagricultural industries:
Wage and salary workers..................... 113,084 115,737 115,515 112,742 114,539 114,765 115,018 115,133 115,212
Government................................ 18,274 18,456 18,331 18,206 18,265 18,092 18,132 18,270 18,266
Private industries........................ 94,810 97,282 97,184 94,536 96,274 96,673 96,886 96,863 96,946
Private households...................... 973 953 951 964 973 981 992 956 934
Other industries........................ 93,838 96,329 96,233 93,572 95,301 95,692 95,894 95,907 96,012
Self-employed workers....................... 8,883 9,035 9,120 8,881 8,896 8,811 8,967 9,023 9,109
Unpaid family workers....................... 97 132 137 105 122 129 137 140 149
PERSONS AT WORK PART TIME
All industries:
Part time for economic reasons.............. 4,410 3,860 4,352 4,411 4,339 4,302 4,286 3,983 4,338
Slack work or business conditions......... 2,609 2,052 2,470 2,492 2,437 2,398 2,258 2,107 2,353
Could only find part-time work............ 1,485 1,499 1,548 1,589 1,596 1,617 1,683 1,559 1,653
Part time for noneconomic reasons........... 18,477 19,398 18,898 17,406 18,184 17,823 17,754 17,957 17,868
Nonagricultural industries:
Part time for economic reasons.............. 4,218 3,700 4,140 4,258 4,182 4,130 4,118 3,815 4,162
Slack work or business conditions......... 2,491 1,959 2,313 2,394 2,310 2,284 2,147 2,001 2,214
Could only find part-time work............ 1,464 1,480 1,526 1,560 1,588 1,580 1,647 1,543 1,622
Part time for noneconomic reasons........... 17,882 18,751 18,307 16,775 17,555 17,204 17,123 17,313 17,237
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. Seasonally adjusted data have been revised based on the experience through December 1996.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-4. Selected unemployment indicators, seasonally adjusted
Number of
unemployed persons Unemployment rates(1)
(in thousands)
Category
Dec. Nov. Dec. Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1995 1996 1996 1995 1996 1996 1996 1996 1996
CHARACTERISTIC
Total, 16 years and over....................... 7,354 7,187 7,167 5.6 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.3 5.3
Men, 20 years and over....................... 3,306 3,042 3,002 4.9 4.2 4.5 4.4 4.4 4.4
Women, 20 years and over..................... 2,654 2,821 2,857 4.6 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years................... 1,394 1,324 1,308 17.9 17.0 16.0 16.3 16.8 16.5
Married men, spouse present.................. 1,370 1,327 1,306 3.2 2.9 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0
Married women, spouse present................ 1,239 1,227 1,261 3.7 3.4 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7
Women who maintain families.................. 531 715 686 6.8 8.5 8.3 8.5 8.8 8.4
Full-time workers............................ 5,919 5,800 5,754 5.5 5.0 5.1 5.1 5.3 5.2
Part-time workers............................ 1,442 1,384 1,425 5.9 5.9 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.8
OCCUPATION(2)
Managerial and professional specialty........ 899 866 899 2.5 2.2 2.3 2.2 2.3 2.4
Technical, sales, and administrative support. 1,719 1,800 1,837 4.4 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.6
Precision production, craft, and repair...... 829 811 770 5.8 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.7 5.4
Operators, fabricators, and laborers......... 1,676 1,524 1,505 8.4 8.0 7.5 7.7 7.7 7.6
Farming, forestry, and fishing............... 296 286 293 7.6 6.4 7.1 7.0 7.7 7.7
INDUSTRY
Nonagricultural private wage and salary
workers...................................... 5,830 5,595 5,538 5.8 5.4 5.3 5.3 5.5 5.4
Goods-producing industries................. 1,832 1,717 1,699 6.5 5.7 5.6 5.8 6.1 5.9
Mining................................... 43 28 44 6.9 4.5 5.1 5.8 4.9 7.6
Construction............................. 733 689 633 11.3 9.1 9.3 9.6 10.3 9.4
Manufacturing............................ 1,056 1,000 1,022 5.0 4.7 4.4 4.7 4.7 4.8
Durable goods.......................... 548 563 594 4.4 4.0 4.2 4.4 4.5 4.7
Nondurable goods....................... 508 437 428 5.8 5.8 4.7 5.1 5.1 5.0
Service-producing industries............... 3,998 3,878 3,839 5.5 5.2 5.2 5.1 5.2 5.2
Transportation and public utilities...... 335 250 282 4.8 4.1 4.1 4.4 3.5 4.0
Wholesale and retail trade............... 1,700 1,654 1,597 6.5 6.3 6.2 6.2 6.3 6.2
Finance, insurance, and real estate...... 215 211 230 2.9 2.5 3.0 2.9 2.9 3.1
Services................................. 1,748 1,763 1,730 5.5 5.2 5.3 5.0 5.3 5.2
Government workers........................... 509 533 572 2.7 2.8 3.0 2.9 2.8 3.0
Agricultural wage and salary workers......... 249 224 216 12.3 7.6 10.8 10.0 10.9 10.3
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: Data have been revised based on the experience through December 1996.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-5. Duration of unemployment
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Duration
Dec. Nov. Dec. Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1995 1996 1996 1995 1996 1996 1996 1996 1996
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Less than 5 weeks.............................. 2,327 2,721 2,313 2,683 2,534 2,522 2,556 2,819 2,671
5 to 14 weeks.................................. 2,405 2,109 2,406 2,368 2,199 2,245 2,265 2,252 2,357
15 weeks and over.............................. 2,140 1,986 1,962 2,367 2,273 2,277 2,294 2,184 2,179
15 to 26 weeks.............................. 1,014 907 883 1,120 1,003 1,040 1,062 1,018 976
27 weeks and over........................... 1,126 1,079 1,079 1,247 1,270 1,237 1,232 1,166 1,203
Average (mean) duration, in weeks.............. 16.2 15.8 15.6 16.4 17.2 16.9 16.7 16.0 15.8
Median duration, in weeks...................... 8.2 7.3 7.7 8.2 8.5 8.6 8.3 7.7 7.8
PERCENT DISTRIBUTION
Total unemployed............................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Less than 5 weeks............................ 33.9 39.9 34.6 36.2 36.2 35.8 35.9 38.9 37.1
5 to 14 weeks................................ 35.0 30.9 36.0 31.9 31.4 31.9 31.8 31.0 32.7
15 weeks and over............................ 31.1 29.1 29.4 31.9 32.4 32.3 32.2 30.1 30.2
15 to 26 weeks............................. 14.8 13.3 13.2 15.1 14.3 14.8 14.9 14.0 13.5
27 weeks and over.......................... 16.4 15.8 16.1 16.8 18.1 17.6 17.3 16.1 16.7
NOTE: Seasonally adjusted data have been revised based on the experience through December 1996.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-6. Reason for unemployment
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally Seasonally adjusted
adjusted
Reason
Dec. Nov. Dec. Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1995 1996 1996 1995 1996 1996 1996 1996 1996
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs..... 3,533 3,126 3,230 3,512 3,095 3,236 3,171 3,261 3,221
On temporary layoff................................... 1,090 871 1,045 1,024 931 989 957 994 987
Not on temporary layoff............................... 2,443 2,255 2,184 2,488 2,164 2,247 2,214 2,267 2,234
Permanent job losers................................ 1,716 1,549 1,514 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Persons who completed temporary jobs................ 727 706 670 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Job leavers............................................. 795 838 771 879 775 800 797 825 845
Reentrants.............................................. 2,098 2,370 2,189 2,443 2,467 2,441 2,489 2,523 2,556
New entrants............................................ 446 482 491 587 552 559 577 586 626
PERCENT DISTRIBUTION
Total unemployed........................................
Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs.... 51.4 45.9 48.3 47.3 44.9 46.0 45.1 45.3 44.4
On temporary layoff.................................. 15.9 12.8 15.6 13.8 13.5 14.1 13.6 13.8 13.6
Not on temporary layoff.............................. 35.6 33.1 32.7 33.5 31.4 31.9 31.5 31.5 30.8
Job leavers............................................ 11.6 12.3 11.5 11.8 11.2 11.4 11.3 11.5 11.7
Reentrants............................................. 30.5 34.8 32.8 32.9 35.8 34.7 35.4 35.1 35.3
New entrants........................................... 6.5 7.1 7.3 7.9 8.0 7.9 8.2 8.1 8.6
UNEMPLOYED AS A PERCENT OF THE
CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE
Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs.... 2.7 2.3 2.4 2.7 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4
Job leavers............................................ .6 .6 .6 .7 .6 .6 .6 .6 .6
Reentrants............................................. 1.6 1.8 1.6 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.9 1.9
New entrants........................................... .3 .4 .4 .4 .4 .4 .4 .4 .5
1 Not available.
NOTE: Seasonally adjusted data have been revised based on the experience through December 1996.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-7. Range of alternative measures of labor underutilization
(Percent)
Not seasonally Seasonally adjusted
adjusted
Measure
Dec. Nov. Dec. Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1995 1996 1996 1995 1996 1996 1996 1996 1996
U-1 Persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer,
as a percent of the civilian labor force....................... 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.6
U-2 Job losers and persons who completed
temporary jobs, as a percent of the civilian
labor force.................................................... 2.7 2.3 2.4 2.7 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4
U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the
civilian labor force (official unemployment rate).............. 5.2 5.0 5.0 5.6 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.3 5.3
U-4 Total unemployed plus discouraged
workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force
plus discouraged workers....................................... 5.5 5.3 5.2 (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............... 6.4 6.1 6.0 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
U-6 Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers, plus
total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of
the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers.. 9.7 8.9 9.2 (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. Seasonally adjusted data
have been revised based on the experience through December 1996.
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
Dec. Nov. Dec. Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1995 1996 1996 1995 1996 1996 1996 1996 1996
Total, 16 years and over.......................... 7,354 7,187 7,167 5.6 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.3 5.3
16 to 24 years.................................. 2,626 2,531 2,526 12.4 11.7 11.5 11.7 11.9 11.9
16 to 19 years................................ 1,394 1,324 1,308 17.9 17.0 16.0 16.3 16.8 16.5
16 to 17 years.............................. 659 555 641 20.5 18.9 17.6 18.0 17.0 19.3
18 to 19 years.............................. 742 788 677 16.2 15.7 14.7 15.3 17.0 14.7
20 to 24 years................................ 1,232 1,207 1,218 9.2 8.6 8.9 8.9 9.0 9.1
25 years and over............................... 4,784 4,630 4,696 4.3 4.0 4.1 4.0 4.1 4.1
25 to 54 years................................ 4,214 4,131 4,147 4.4 4.1 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.2
55 years and over............................. 553 493 542 3.5 3.2 3.3 3.2 3.1 3.3
Men, 16 years and over.......................... 4,073 3,773 3,707 5.7 5.0 5.2 5.1 5.2 5.1
16 to 24 years................................ 1,466 1,378 1,366 13.0 12.0 12.1 12.3 12.5 12.3
16 to 19 years.............................. 767 731 705 18.9 18.2 17.5 18.1 18.4 17.4
16 to 17 years............................ 354 309 343 21.3 21.5 19.2 19.6 18.9 20.6
18 to 19 years............................ 413 448 364 17.2 16.1 16.2 17.1 19.0 15.4
20 to 24 years.............................. 699 647 661 9.7 8.4 9.0 8.9 9.2 9.3
25 years and over............................. 2,610 2,390 2,337 4.3 3.8 4.0 3.8 3.9 3.8
25 to 54 years.............................. 2,305 2,098 2,032 4.5 3.9 4.2 4.0 4.0 3.9
55 years and over........................... 295 283 303 3.4 3.2 3.3 3.0 3.1 3.4
Women, 16 years and over........................ 3,281 3,414 3,460 5.4 5.4 5.2 5.3 5.5 5.5
16 to 24 years................................ 1,160 1,153 1,160 11.7 11.5 10.9 11.0 11.3 11.4
16 to 19 years.............................. 627 593 603 16.8 15.8 14.4 14.4 15.2 15.5
16 to 17 years............................ 305 246 298 19.6 16.3 16.0 16.2 15.1 18.1
18 to 19 years............................ 329 340 313 15.2 15.2 13.1 13.4 15.0 14.0
20 to 24 years.............................. 533 560 557 8.6 8.9 8.7 8.9 8.9 8.9
25 years and over............................. 2,174 2,240 2,359 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.3 4.5
25 to 54 years.............................. 1,909 2,033 2,115 4.3 4.3 4.2 4.4 4.5 4.7
55 years and over........................... 258 210 239 3.7 3.0 3.4 3.4 3.0 3.3
1 Unemployment as a percent of the civilian labor force.
NOTE: Data have been revised based on the experience through December 1996.
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
Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec.
1995 1996 1995 1996 1995 1996
NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE
Total not in the labor force.................................... 67,500 67,053 24,725 24,783 42,775 42,270
Persons who currently want a job.............................. 5,466 4,746 2,318 2,045 3,147 2,702
Searched for work and available to work now(1)............. 1,619 1,463 809 707 811 756
Reason not currently looking:
Discouragement over job prospects(2).................. 425 334 261 199 164 135
Reasons other than discouragement(3)............... 1,194 1,128 547 508 647 620
MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS
Total multiple jobholders(4).................................... 7,700 8,219 3,965 4,293 3,735 3,926
Percent of total employed................................... 6.2 6.4 5.9 6.3 6.4 6.6
Primary job full time, secondary job part time.............. 4,295 4,505 2,466 2,672 1,829 1,833
Primary and secondary jobs both part time................... 1,741 1,892 514 572 1,227 1,320
Primary and secondary jobs both full time................... 234 209 156 138 78 70
Hours vary on primary or secondary job...................... 1,403 1,569 809 882 594 687
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.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry
(In thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Industry
Dec. Oct. Nov. Dec. Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1995 1996 1996p 1996p 1995 1996 1996 1996 1996p 1996p
Total......................... 118,936 121,242 121,526 121,501 118,136 120,052 120,050 120,311 120,438 120,700
Total private.................... 99,226 101,454 101,553 101,620 98,789 100,446 100,531 100,803 100,953 101,184
Goods-producing......................... 24,090 24,648 24,506 24,274 24,160 24,298 24,257 24,284 24,308 24,348
Mining................................ 570 572 572 565 570 570 567 566 567 565
Metal mining........................ 50.2 51.6 52.0 51.6 51 52 52 52 53 52
Coal mining......................... 102.4 97.9 97.7 96.6 102 99 98 98 97 97
Oil and gas extraction.............. 313.2 310.9 312.0 310.3 310 311 309 308 309 307
Nonmetallic minerals, except fuels.. 103.9 111.3 109.8 106.4 107 108 108 108 108 109
Construction.......................... 5,131 5,733 5,630 5,415 5,223 5,437 5,449 5,464 5,487 5,510
General building contractors........ 1,198.2 1,271.7 1,260.6 1,240.9 1,202 1,232 1,233 1,233 1,238 1,245
Heavy construction, except building. 705.4 842.1 796.7 719.7 750 770 765 765 763 765
Special trade contractors........... 3,227.7 3,619.4 3,572.3 3,454.7 3,271 3,435 3,451 3,466 3,486 3,500
Manufacturing......................... 18,389 18,343 18,304 18,294 18,367 18,291 18,241 18,254 18,254 18,273
Production workers................ 12,722 12,686 12,645 12,633 12,708 12,626 12,591 12,606 12,605 12,617
Durable goods........................ 10,695 10,715 10,719 10,734 10,667 10,711 10,675 10,684 10,690 10,708
Production workers................ 7,332 7,342 7,341 7,353 7,309 7,339 7,307 7,318 7,321 7,330
Lumber and wood products............ 762.0 777.9 773.6 770.2 763 769 766 769 770 771
Furniture and fixtures.............. 508.3 501.9 503.8 505.5 506 499 500 499 501 503
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 528.1 546.8 542.0 533.5 534 536 537 538 537 539
Primary metal industries............ 711.8 702.7 703.9 704.5 709 706 706 702 702 702
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 241.6 233.8 234.4 234.5 240 237 237 234 234 233
Fabricated metal products........... 1,446.5 1,462.9 1,465.6 1,466.1 1,441 1,456 1,456 1,459 1,461 1,460
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 2,086.7 2,080.2 2,083.6 2,093.4 2,084 2,089 2,082 2,088 2,087 2,090
Computer and office equipment..... 357.1 359.2 360.2 360.8 357 359 359 360 360 360
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 1,651.6 1,650.2 1,650.7 1,648.7 1,645 1,654 1,649 1,648 1,646 1,642
Electronic components and
accessories.................... 606.4 610.5 610.4 612.0 605 615 613 611 611 611
Transportation equipment............ 1,780.0 1,768.7 1,775.2 1,793.5 1,764 1,784 1,764 1,764 1,772 1,781
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 975.4 951.2 950.8 962.7 959 967 955 950 951 953
Aircraft and parts................ 447.2 464.3 471.1 475.8 446 454 455 463 469 474
Instruments and related products.... 830.4 832.4 831.4 833.4 831 833 831 833 830 834
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 389.6 390.8 389.0 385.2 390 385 384 384 384 386
Nondurable goods..................... 7,694 7,628 7,585 7,560 7,700 7,580 7,566 7,570 7,564 7,565
Production workers................ 5,390 5,344 5,304 5,280 5,399 5,287 5,284 5,288 5,284 5,287
Food and kindred products........... 1,659.3 1,682.6 1,651.9 1,638.4 1,674 1,641 1,639 1,641 1,646 1,652
Tobacco products.................... 44.0 43.2 42.8 43.3 41 39 40 41 42 41
Textile mill products............... 648.1 633.8 630.8 628.8 649 633 631 633 628 629
Apparel and other textile products.. 880.4 840.9 832.3 819.0 883 837 835 834 827 822
Paper and allied products........... 685.4 673.9 675.3 675.8 685 673 674 674 675 675
Printing and publishing............. 1,545.6 1,527.0 1,531.1 1,534.2 1,535 1,527 1,527 1,528 1,525 1,523
Chemicals and allied products....... 1,024.1 1,016.9 1,014.6 1,016.0 1,025 1,021 1,017 1,017 1,017 1,017
Petroleum and coal products......... 137.8 140.0 138.4 135.4 140 139 139 138 138 138
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 969.0 974.8 974.1 975.2 967 976 971 971 974 974
Leather and leather products........ 100.7 94.5 93.3 94.2 101 94 93 93 92 94
Service-producing....................... 94,846 96,594 97,020 97,227 93,976 95,754 95,793 96,027 96,130 96,352
Transportation and public utilities... 6,310 6,387 6,403 6,425 6,249 6,342 6,337 6,338 6,355 6,360
Transportation...................... 4,040 4,103 4,112 4,141 3,977 4,056 4,052 4,059 4,065 4,077
Railroad transportation........... 235.7 232.4 232.4 230.7 237 230 230 231 231 231
Local and interurban passenger
transit........................ 451.5 477.4 476.8 479.8 436 463 458 458 460 463
Trucking and warehousing.......... 1,927.7 1,901.7 1,902.6 1,916.3 1,874 1,882 1,877 1,877 1,872 1,866
Water transportation.............. 168.8 171.7 169.5 167.4 172 173 171 172 173 171
Transportation by air............. 819.2 858.2 867.5 882.8 820 850 855 859 866 882
Pipelines, except natural gas..... 14.4 13.8 13.8 13.9 14 14 14 14 14 14
Transportation services........... 422.5 447.4 449.1 449.6 424 444 447 448 449 450
Communications and public utilities. 2,270 2,284 2,291 2,284 2,272 2,286 2,285 2,279 2,290 2,283
Communications.................... 1,362.1 1,397.8 1,404.9 1,400.5 1,362 1,398 1,398 1,393 1,403 1,398
Electric, gas, and sanitary
services....................... 907.9 885.8 885.6 883.3 910 888 887 886 887 885
Wholesale trade....................... 6,499 6,661 6,661 6,661 6,498 6,603 6,619 6,643 6,648 6,657
Durable goods....................... 3,801 3,881 3,887 3,893 3,802 3,871 3,877 3,885 3,889 3,893
Nondurable goods.................... 2,698 2,780 2,774 2,768 2,696 2,732 2,742 2,758 2,759 2,764
Retail trade.......................... 21,923 21,837 22,183 22,487 21,334 21,672 21,702 21,803 21,835 21,883
Building materials and garden
supplies......................... 871.2 937.6 934.1 932.9 882 923 930 936 940 945
General merchandise stores.......... 2,956.9 2,811.7 2,978.0 3,036.5 2,674 2,745 2,737 2,765 2,763 2,748
Department stores................. 2,593.4 2,487.3 2,626.8 2,666.0 2,348 2,422 2,415 2,442 2,437 2,421
Food stores......................... 3,461.1 3,457.0 3,487.4 3,519.3 3,402 3,442 3,440 3,454 3,454 3,457
Automotive dealers and service
stations......................... 2,208.2 2,309.1 2,304.6 2,301.9 2,220 2,291 2,297 2,303 2,308 2,314
New and used car dealers.......... 1,005.4 1,044.4 1,042.9 1,042.0 1,008 1,037 1,039 1,041 1,042 1,045
Apparel and accessory stores........ 1,206.8 1,101.2 1,154.2 1,201.6 1,106 1,098 1,100 1,108 1,105 1,101
Furniture and home furnishings
stores........................... 984.0 999.5 1,029.7 1,058.4 945 989 991 998 1,006 1,017
Eating and drinking places.......... 7,389.0 7,484.4 7,462.8 7,501.7 7,441 7,489 7,504 7,517 7,528 7,555
Miscellaneous retail establishments. 2,845.6 2,736.6 2,832.1 2,934.2 2,664 2,695 2,703 2,722 2,731 2,746
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 6,866 7,007 7,016 7,034 6,887 6,999 7,009 7,026 7,036 7,053
Finance............................. 3,265 3,342 3,356 3,372 3,266 3,339 3,341 3,355 3,361 3,372
Depository institutions........... 2,020.3 2,027.1 2,031.8 2,036.5 2,020 2,028 2,029 2,035 2,035 2,036
Commercial banks................ 1,466.1 1,472.2 1,477.3 1,482.4 1,465 1,471 1,474 1,478 1,479 1,481
Savings institutions............ 267.1 259.1 257.8 256.5 267 265 261 260 258 257
Nondepository institutions........ 484.5 523.0 528.6 535.0 484 519 522 526 530 534
Mortgage bankers and brokers.... 215.9 235.1 237.8 241.9 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Security and commodity brokers.... 526.8 548.1 551.0 554.1 528 548 547 549 552 555
Holding and other investment
offices........................ 233.6 244.1 244.2 246.2 234 244 243 245 244 247
Insurance........................... 2,247 2,258 2,259 2,264 2,251 2,259 2,265 2,263 2,263 2,267
Insurance carriers................ 1,542.6 1,547.5 1,546.9 1,550.3 1,546 1,551 1,554 1,551 1,550 1,553
Insurance agents, brokers, and
service........................ 704.4 710.6 711.9 713.7 705 708 711 712 713 714
Real estate......................... 1,354 1,407 1,401 1,398 1,370 1,401 1,403 1,408 1,412 1,414
Services2............................. 33,538 34,914 34,784 34,739 33,661 34,532 34,607 34,709 34,771 34,883
Agricultural services............... 543.7 644.6 622.7 570.9 591 619 617 621 627 620
Hotels and other lodging places..... 1,580.3 1,691.0 1,629.4 1,626.0 1,648 1,684 1,686 1,690 1,692 1,698
Personal services................... 1,152.7 1,155.5 1,157.4 1,173.4 1,167 1,179 1,182 1,184 1,185 1,189
Business services................... 7,024.6 7,449.4 7,397.8 7,385.8 6,963 7,269 7,267 7,292 7,281 7,326
Services to buildings............. 888.8 892.9 886.4 880.3 892 893 891 894 885 884
Personnel supply services......... 2,586.7 2,836.6 2,770.6 2,741.6 2,534 2,696 2,691 2,697 2,670 2,685
Help supply services............ 2,285.2 2,521.7 2,453.2 2,422.6 2,239 2,393 2,387 2,391 2,361 2,373
Computer and data processing
services....................... 1,139.3 1,236.1 1,253.2 1,269.7 1,137 1,218 1,226 1,239 1,252 1,267
Auto repair, services, and parking.. 1,041.3 1,117.3 1,118.8 1,127.5 1,047 1,105 1,108 1,117 1,121 1,132
Miscellaneous repair services....... 357.8 368.0 368.9 369.4 359 366 367 366 371 371
Motion pictures..................... 508.3 522.2 525.4 536.9 508 524 539 536 529 535
Amusement and recreation services... 1,319.2 1,485.4 1,393.3 1,394.4 1,473 1,515 1,522 1,534 1,548 1,560
Health services..................... 9,425.8 9,640.8 9,669.5 9,691.0 9,412 9,591 9,621 9,642 9,661 9,677
Offices and clinics of medical
doctors........................ 1,641.4 1,689.6 1,693.5 1,704.9 1,635 1,681 1,686 1,689 1,692 1,699
Nursing and personal care
facilities..................... 1,719.0 1,755.6 1,762.3 1,764.0 1,715 1,749 1,751 1,754 1,757 1,761
Hospitals......................... 3,818.0 3,866.1 3,873.3 3,881.6 3,818 3,849 3,863 3,869 3,875 3,882
Home health care services......... 651.3 663.9 666.6 663.8 650 658 661 663 664 662
Legal services...................... 922.4 932.7 939.4 941.3 924 935 934 937 941 943
Educational services................ 2,085.5 2,148.4 2,182.8 2,135.5 1,978 2,014 2,005 2,015 2,025 2,026
Social services..................... 2,372.9 2,420.1 2,430.9 2,430.8 2,360 2,392 2,410 2,416 2,420 2,421
Child day care services........... 581.1 594.0 595.4 593.5 567 577 575 580 579 579
Residential care.................. 648.8 670.1 673.8 674.6 649 672 672 673 675 675
Museums and botanical and zoological
gardens........................... 79.1 86.5 83.4 84.1 82 85 85 85 86 87
Membership organizations............ 2,124.7 2,140.8 2,142.2 2,143.5 2,136 2,154 2,150 2,151 2,153 2,155
Engineering and management services. 2,807.5 2,918.5 2,928.7 2,934.7 2,821 2,906 2,921 2,930 2,938 2,950
Engineering and architectural
services....................... 822.4 857.3 860.1 857.8 825 848 853 854 859 861
Management and public relations... 861.0 923.5 929.3 933.2 865 907 917 922 931 937
Services, nec....................... 45.0 46.0 45.9 46.2 (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3)
Government............................ 19,710 19,788 19,973 19,881 19,347 19,606 19,519 19,508 19,485 19,516
Federal............................. 2,819 2,716 2,718 2,749 2,790 2,739 2,739 2,731 2,732 2,720
Federal, except Postal Service.... 1,924.3 1,866.8 1,857.8 1,848.7 1,939 1,888 1,883 1,878 1,872 1,864
State............................... 4,722 4,756 4,781 4,732 4,634 4,674 4,658 4,640 4,638 4,648
Education......................... 2,052.4 2,088.3 2,122.0 2,078.1 1,939 1,984 1,975 1,960 1,958 1,967
Other State government............ 2,669.2 2,667.8 2,658.8 2,654.3 2,695 2,690 2,683 2,680 2,680 2,681
Local............................... 12,169 12,316 12,474 12,400 11,923 12,193 12,122 12,137 12,115 12,148
Education......................... 6,984.6 7,043.3 7,155.3 7,143.8 6,649 6,862 6,787 6,794 6,796 6,801
Other local government............ 5,184.7 5,272.8 5,318.3 5,255.8 5,274 5,331 5,335 5,343 5,319 5,347
1 This series is not suitable for seasonal adjustment because it has very little seasonal and irregular movement.
Thus, the not seasonally adjusted series can be used for analysis of cyclical and long-term trends.
2 Includes other industries, not shown separately.
3 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.
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
Dec. Oct. Nov. Dec. Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1995 1996 1996p 1996p 1995 1996 1996 1996 1996p 1996p
Total private.................... 34.5 34.5 34.5 34.9 34.3 34.4 34.7 34.3 34.5 34.8
Goods-producing......................... 41.2 41.5 41.4 41.8 40.6 41.1 41.0 41.0 41.0 41.3
Mining................................ 45.0 45.9 45.4 46.4 44.7 44.8 45.4 45.4 44.7 46.1
Construction.......................... 38.1 39.9 38.7 38.5 38.5 38.7 38.6 38.8 38.8 38.8
Manufacturing......................... 42.0 41.9 42.1 42.8 41.2 41.7 41.7 41.7 41.7 42.0
Overtime hours.................... 4.7 4.7 4.8 5.1 4.2 4.5 4.5 4.4 4.5 4.7
Durable goods........................ 42.8 42.6 42.8 43.6 41.9 42.5 42.5 42.4 42.4 42.7
Overtime hours.................... 5.1 4.9 5.1 5.5 4.5 4.8 4.8 4.7 4.7 4.9
Lumber and wood products............ 40.4 41.4 41.1 41.2 40.1 40.9 40.9 40.9 41.1 41.0
Furniture and fixtures.............. 40.7 40.2 40.4 41.4 39.4 39.5 39.5 39.5 39.8 40.1
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 42.6 44.0 43.4 43.2 42.9 43.2 43.2 43.3 43.1 43.5
Primary metal industries............ 44.4 44.4 44.5 45.0 43.7 44.5 44.5 44.4 44.1 44.3
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 44.6 44.4 45.2 44.9 44.2 44.2 44.4 44.6 44.8 44.4
Fabricated metal products........... 43.2 42.7 42.9 43.8 42.0 42.5 42.4 42.4 42.3 42.7
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 44.1 42.9 43.2 44.4 42.9 42.8 43.0 42.9 42.9 43.2
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 42.3 41.7 42.1 42.9 41.2 41.7 41.6 41.5 41.4 41.8
Transportation equipment............ 43.9 44.2 44.5 45.6 42.7 44.7 44.3 43.9 44.1 44.6
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 45.5 45.0 45.1 46.6 43.8 46.4 45.2 44.7 44.5 45.2
Instruments and related products.... 42.1 41.7 42.1 42.9 41.2 41.7 41.9 41.7 41.7 41.9
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 40.1 40.3 40.6 41.0 39.5 39.8 39.8 39.8 39.9 40.5
Nondurable goods..................... 40.8 40.9 41.2 41.7 40.2 40.6 40.7 40.6 40.7 41.0
Overtime hours.................... 4.1 4.4 4.4 4.6 3.9 4.0 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.4
Food and kindred products........... 41.3 41.6 41.8 42.1 40.6 40.6 41.0 41.1 41.2 41.5
Tobacco products.................... 39.1 41.2 41.2 42.4 38.7 39.8 40.3 39.9 40.6 42.1
Textile mill products............... 40.6 41.1 41.6 41.9 40.3 40.9 40.9 40.9 41.3 41.6
Apparel and other textile products.. 37.3 37.6 37.6 38.1 36.8 37.4 37.3 37.4 37.3 37.6
Paper and allied products........... 43.7 43.7 44.1 44.6 42.9 43.3 43.5 43.4 43.6 43.8
Printing and publishing............. 38.5 38.4 38.7 38.9 37.8 38.4 38.3 38.2 38.2 38.3
Chemicals and allied products....... 43.9 43.2 43.7 44.3 43.1 43.3 43.1 43.2 43.3 43.5
Petroleum and coal products......... 43.2 43.6 44.0 44.4 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 42.2 41.6 41.6 42.7 41.6 41.7 41.6 41.5 41.2 41.9
Leather and leather products........ 38.1 39.0 39.5 39.5 37.7 38.9 38.8 38.4 39.2 39.1
Service-producing....................... 32.7 32.6 32.6 33.1 32.6 32.6 33.0 32.6 32.8 33.0
Transportation and public utilities... 39.6 39.8 39.9 40.1 39.6 39.7 40.1 39.6 39.9 40.1
Wholesale trade....................... 38.3 38.3 38.3 38.7 38.2 38.3 38.5 38.1 38.3 38.6
Retail trade.......................... 29.0 28.7 28.6 29.2 28.7 28.8 28.9 28.7 28.9 28.8
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 35.7 35.7 35.8 36.8 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Services.............................. 32.3 32.4 32.4 32.7 (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
Dec. Oct. Nov. Dec. Dec. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1995 1996 1996p 1996p 1995 1996 1996p 1996p
Total private.................... $11.61 $11.96 $12.00 $12.07 $400.55 $412.62 $414.00 $421.24
Seasonally adjusted............. 11.61 11.90 11.99 12.05 398.22 408.17 413.66 419.34
Goods-producing......................... 13.22 13.62 13.63 13.73 544.66 565.23 564.28 573.91
Mining................................ 15.54 15.54 15.66 15.86 699.30 713.29 710.96 735.90
Construction.......................... 15.13 15.73 15.59 15.64 576.45 627.63 603.33 602.14
Manufacturing......................... 12.60 12.84 12.92 13.09 529.20 538.00 543.93 560.25
Durable goods........................ 13.14 13.42 13.49 13.66 562.39 571.69 577.37 595.58
Lumber and wood products............ 10.29 10.56 10.57 10.65 415.72 437.18 434.43 438.78
Furniture and fixtures.............. 10.00 10.28 10.28 10.42 407.00 413.26 415.31 431.39
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 12.53 12.91 12.93 12.93 533.78 568.04 561.16 558.58
Primary metal industries............ 14.70 15.10 15.20 15.21 652.68 670.44 676.40 684.45
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 17.35 17.99 18.12 18.13 773.81 798.76 819.02 814.04
Fabricated metal products........... 12.39 12.52 12.60 12.77 535.25 534.60 540.54 559.33
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 13.47 13.71 13.81 14.02 594.03 588.16 596.59 622.49
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 11.93 12.32 12.34 12.53 504.64 513.74 519.51 537.54
Transportation equipment............ 16.92 17.30 17.37 17.60 742.79 764.66 772.97 802.56
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 17.60 17.81 17.92 18.18 800.80 801.45 808.19 847.19
Instruments and related products.... 12.89 13.26 13.31 13.39 542.67 552.94 560.35 574.43
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 10.28 10.48 10.54 10.59 412.23 422.34 427.92 434.19
Nondurable goods..................... 11.84 12.01 12.11 12.26 483.07 491.21 498.93 511.24
Food and kindred products........... 11.18 11.18 11.40 11.53 461.73 465.09 476.52 485.41
Tobacco products.................... 17.84 17.99 18.91 18.84 697.54 741.19 779.09 798.82
Textile mill products............... 9.57 9.72 9.76 9.91 388.54 399.49 406.02 415.23
Apparel and other textile products.. 7.82 8.02 8.01 8.14 291.69 301.55 301.18 310.13
Paper and allied products........... 14.51 14.75 14.85 15.03 634.09 644.58 654.89 670.34
Printing and publishing............. 12.49 12.80 12.81 12.94 480.87 491.52 495.75 503.37
Chemicals and allied products....... 16.06 16.32 16.40 16.44 705.03 705.02 716.68 728.29
Petroleum and coal products......... 19.43 19.32 19.53 20.42 839.38 842.35 859.32 906.65
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 11.15 11.27 11.32 11.47 470.53 468.83 470.91 489.77
Leather and leather products........ 8.34 8.72 8.73 8.86 317.75 340.08 344.84 349.97
Service-producing....................... 11.08 11.39 11.45 11.52 362.32 371.31 373.27 381.31
Transportation and public utilities... $14.44 $14.54 $14.61 $14.61 $571.82 $578.69 $582.94 $585.86
Wholesale trade....................... 12.61 12.91 13.04 13.17 482.96 494.45 499.43 509.68
Retail trade.......................... 7.80 8.11 8.13 8.14 226.20 232.76 232.52 237.69
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 12.57 12.88 12.97 13.07 448.75 459.82 464.33 480.98
Services.............................. 11.66 11.94 12.03 12.18 376.62 386.86 389.77 398.29
1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: Average hourly and weekly earnings for durable goods, industrial machinery and equipment, electronic and other
electrical equipment, and transportation equipment from March 1995 forward may differ slightly from those previously
published because of corrections to the estimates for some component industries.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-4. Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers1 on private nonfarm
payrolls by industry, seasonally adjusted
Percent
Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. change
Industry 1995 1996 1996 1996 1996p 1996p from:
Nov. 1996-
Dec. 1996
Total private:
Current dollars.............. $11.61 $11.87 $11.91 $11.90 $11.99 $12.05 0.5
Constant (1982) dollars2..... 7.44 7.45 7.45 7.42 7.45 N.A. (3)
Goods-producing............... 13.19 13.56 13.56 13.57 13.62 13.70 .6
Mining...................... 15.51 15.63 15.67 15.65 15.76 15.82 .4
Construction................ 15.15 15.49 15.53 15.55 15.55 15.67 .8
Manufacturing............... 12.51 12.89 12.87 12.88 12.93 13.01 .6
Excluding overtime4....... 11.89 12.22 12.21 12.21 12.26 12.31 .4
Service-producing............. 11.08 11.30 11.36 11.35 11.45 11.51 .5
Transportation and public
utilities................ 14.39 14.61 14.58 14.50 14.58 14.56 -.1
Wholesale trade............. 12.60 12.88 12.99 12.91 13.06 13.16 .8
Retail trade................ 7.81 8.01 8.01 8.09 8.13 8.15 .2
Finance, insurance, and real
estate................... 12.55 12.85 12.92 12.86 13.01 13.05 .3
Services.................... 11.57 11.82 11.89 11.90 12.00 12.08 .7
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 October 1996 to November 1996, 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
Dec. Oct. Nov. Dec. Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1995 1996 1996p 1996p 1995 1996 1996 1996 1996p 1996p
Total private.................... 135.4 138.8 138.7 140.5 134.3 136.9 138.0 137.1 138.0 139.2
Goods-producing......................... 109.7 114.0 112.7 112.5 108.8 110.6 110.3 110.5 110.6 111.6
Mining................................ 53.6 56.1 55.6 56.0 53.2 54.3 54.7 54.7 53.9 55.6
Construction.......................... 136.4 163.0 154.6 146.3 141.2 148.0 147.9 149.0 149.8 150.8
Manufacturing......................... 107.7 107.2 107.4 109.0 105.6 106.3 105.9 105.9 106.0 106.9
Durable goods........................ 109.6 109.2 109.7 111.9 106.8 108.9 108.3 108.2 108.3 109.3
Lumber and wood products............ 133.6 140.6 138.5 138.3 132.9 136.9 136.2 137.1 138.0 137.9
Furniture and fixtures.............. 128.5 125.7 126.4 130.1 123.6 122.9 122.9 122.6 123.6 125.1
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 105.4 113.8 110.8 108.3 107.6 109.2 109.2 109.9 108.9 110.4
Primary metal industries............ 93.2 92.2 92.7 93.9 91.3 92.9 92.6 92.4 91.6 92.0
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 74.1 71.8 73.1 72.6 72.6 72.6 72.5 72.5 73.2 71.7
Fabricated metal products........... 116.6 116.9 117.6 120.0 112.8 115.8 115.3 115.5 115.4 116.4
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 106.3 102.5 103.4 107.0 103.3 102.8 102.7 102.8 102.9 103.8
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 110.7 108.1 109.2 110.6 107.4 108.7 108.0 107.4 106.9 107.4
Transportation equipment............ 122.1 122.1 123.4 128.1 117.6 125.0 122.3 121.4 122.7 124.4
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 169.2 162.5 163.2 171.0 160.2 172.9 164.5 161.8 161.1 164.1
Instruments and related products.... 74.4 73.7 74.3 76.0 72.6 73.5 74.0 73.6 73.5 74.2
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 103.7 104.7 105.1 104.6 102.6 101.1 101.1 101.1 101.4 103.7
Nondurable goods..................... 105.2 104.5 104.3 105.1 103.8 102.6 102.6 102.7 102.8 103.7
Food and kindred products........... 113.6 117.6 115.4 115.0 113.1 110.6 111.8 112.4 113.1 114.6
Tobacco products.................... 66.2 69.9 68.5 72.7 61.3 57.2 61.9 63.2 66.4 66.7
Textile mill products............... 92.4 91.9 92.5 93.1 91.8 91.1 90.9 91.3 91.5 92.5
Apparel and other textile products.. 79.2 76.1 75.3 75.1 78.3 75.3 74.9 74.8 74.1 74.2
Paper and allied products........... 110.6 109.5 110.5 112.1 108.6 107.9 108.8 108.8 109.3 110.0
Printing and publishing............. 126.0 123.3 124.9 125.6 122.7 123.6 123.0 122.8 122.7 122.4
Chemicals and allied products....... 103.4 99.2 100.1 101.3 101.6 99.8 99.2 99.2 99.3 99.7
Petroleum and coal products......... 71.8 76.3 75.6 74.3 74.3 75.8 75.1 73.4 74.8 77.2
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 143.8 142.6 142.6 146.5 141.7 142.8 142.1 141.5 140.9 143.3
Leather and leather products........ 45.8 43.8 43.5 44.2 45.8 43.0 42.9 42.5 42.8 43.8
Service-producing....................... 146.9 150.0 150.4 153.1 145.7 148.7 150.4 149.0 150.2 151.6
Transportation and public utilities... 128.5 131.1 131.6 132.7 127.0 129.4 130.8 129.2 130.4 131.2
Wholesale trade....................... 123.3 126.5 126.4 127.7 123.1 125.3 126.3 125.4 126.2 127.3
Retail trade.......................... 138.2 135.6 137.7 142.7 132.5 135.0 135.7 135.5 136.4 136.3
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 123.5 125.9 126.3 130.5 124.1 126.3 129.6 125.0 127.6 131.1
Services.............................. 172.0 179.6 178.7 180.2 173.4 177.5 179.8 178.2 179.4 181.6
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:
1992.............. 43.7 43.7 50.0 57.3 55.5 50.1 52.2 49.0 52.1 56.3 53.2 57.4
1993.............. 60.0 60.8 51.3 58.6 61.7 55.2 57.7 57.0 61.8 59.7 61.8 59.6
1994.............. 58.8 62.1 66.0 64.2 60.3 63.5 61.5 62.1 60.8 61.5 63.1 63.9
1995.............. 63.2 59.3 54.9 54.6 51.4 55.1 54.1 57.4 51.8 54.8 56.3 59.4
1996.............. 52.4 63.2 60.0 52.4 62.2 57.4 55.8 57.3 52.7 63.1 p56.9 p60.3
Over 3-month span:
1992.............. 39.7 41.9 49.7 57.0 58.4 55.8 50.6 50.1 52.8 54.4 57.6 61.2
1993.............. 63.8 61.2 61.1 59.8 63.1 62.9 59.7 63.1 64.5 67.1 64.6 63.5
1994.............. 67.1 69.5 70.4 68.7 66.4 66.0 68.5 69.5 65.3 65.6 68.0 67.8
1995.............. 66.6 63.2 56.9 53.4 54.2 52.9 56.6 53.8 54.2 54.6 58.3 57.0
1996.............. 60.7 61.8 61.2 60.0 61.0 63.6 60.3 56.7 60.8 p59.6 p65.6
Over 6-month span:
1992.............. 43.3 46.8 47.5 52.5 54.9 56.7 53.8 52.2 55.5 57.6 63.9 61.9
1993.............. 63.3 65.2 63.8 64.2 62.4 65.9 65.7 63.9 66.3 67.3 70.6 69.5
1994.............. 70.8 71.6 69.0 69.8 69.5 69.5 69.2 69.0 69.2 68.5 69.1 66.6
1995.............. 66.3 60.8 58.7 54.4 53.5 54.1 53.1 56.3 55.9 54.1 56.2 61.8
1996.............. 60.3 62.9 63.8 63.8 62.6 59.0 65.2 p62.6 p62.6
Over 12-month span:
1992.............. 47.2 42.3 42.7 44.1 48.0 52.5 55.8 60.7 59.7 61.4 62.9 62.9
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 69.4 65.7 65.0
1995.............. 62.6 60.8 60.1 61.2 58.1 57.7 54.5 58.7 58.6 57.3 59.4 59.8
1996.............. 61.0 61.7 61.5 61.1 p62.6 p65.2
Manufacturing payrolls, 139 industries1
Over 1-month span:
1992.............. 37.4 39.9 43.9 56.8 50.0 48.9 52.2 44.6 47.5 47.8 51.4 54.7
1993.............. 52.5 56.5 50.7 45.7 54.0 45.7 49.3 49.3 59.4 53.2 53.6 55.0
1994.............. 56.5 60.1 59.7 58.6 53.2 57.9 57.6 53.6 55.8 54.7 57.2 59.4
1995.............. 56.8 55.0 46.0 45.3 39.2 40.3 45.0 45.0 42.4 45.3 46.4 47.5
1996.............. 42.1 48.2 48.2 39.6 53.2 49.6 43.9 50.0 44.6 54.3 p46.8 p52.9
Over 3-month span:
1992.............. 29.9 33.5 43.9 49.6 55.4 53.2 46.8 47.8 45.7 47.5 51.1 54.7
1993.............. 60.8 58.3 53.2 47.8 48.9 54.0 50.4 58.3 57.6 59.7 54.7 57.6
1994.............. 63.7 64.4 66.2 60.8 56.1 56.8 60.8 58.6 54.0 56.1 60.1 60.8
1995.............. 60.4 51.8 43.5 34.9 33.1 32.0 33.1 35.6 38.8 39.6 40.6 38.8
1996.............. 38.8 39.9 37.8 43.2 45.3 47.5 45.7 40.6 50.7 p46.0 p52.2
Over 6-month span:
1992.............. 32.4 34.9 39.9 46.8 52.2 54.3 48.2 47.8 51.1 51.1 56.8 56.5
1993.............. 56.5 59.0 56.8 55.4 50.7 57.9 59.4 56.5 57.6 58.6 64.4 60.8
1994.............. 62.2 64.4 60.4 61.5 59.0 56.8 56.5 57.2 60.1 55.8 59.7 55.8
1995.............. 55.4 45.0 38.5 33.5 27.7 28.8 28.8 30.6 33.5 33.1 34.2 38.8
1996.............. 32.0 37.4 37.1 38.1 42.4 37.8 48.6 p43.5 p45.0
Over 12-month span:
1992.............. 42.4 36.7 36.3 36.0 39.6 45.7 50.0 55.8 57.9 56.8 58.3 56.5
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 55.8 49.6 47.5
1995.............. 42.1 40.3 39.9 40.6 34.5 31.7 25.9 28.8 28.1 24.1 27.0 29.1
1996.............. 33.1 33.1 33.8 35.6 p36.3 p41.7
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: July 02, 1998
URL: http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/pub/empsit_1296.htm
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