Technical information: USDL 98-06
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 9, 1998.
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: DECEMBER 1997
Nonfarm payroll employment rose substantially in December, following a
similar increase in November, and the unemployment rate was about unchanged
at 4.7 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of
Labor reported today. Nonfarm payroll employment grew by 370,000, with
gains occurring in most industry divisions.
Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
Both the number of unemployed persons, 6.4 million, and the
unemployment rate, 4.7 percent, were essentially unchanged in December,
after seasonal adjustment. A year earlier the rate had been 5.3 percent.
The jobless rate for adult men returned to 4.1 percent in December after
falling to 3.9 percent in November. The unemployment rates for other major
worker groups--adult women (4.0 percent), teenagers (14.3 percent), whites
(3.9 percent), blacks (9.9 percent), and Hispanics (7.5 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 was about unchanged in December, at 130.8 million
(seasonally adjusted), following a substantial increase in November. The
number of employed persons has increased by 2.6 million since December
1996, after adjusting for the change in the population controls made in
January 1997. The proportion of the population with jobs, the employment-
population ratio, was at an all-time high of 64.1 percent. (See table A-1.)
About 8.1 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one
job in December. These multiple jobholders made up 6.2 percent of all
employed persons. (See table A-9.)
Both the civilian labor force, 137.2 million (seasonally adjusted),
and the labor force participation rate, 67.2 percent, were essentially
unchanged over the month. (See table A-1.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Seasonally adjusted household data have been revised to incorporate |
|updated seasonal adjustment factors, which reflect the 1997 experience; |
|data back to January 1994 are subject to revision. The January-December|
|1997 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 | 19971/ | 19971/ |Dec.
|_________________|__________________________|change
| III | IV | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. |
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
HOUSEHOLD DATA | Labor force status
|____________________________________________________
Civilian labor force..| 136,379| 136,813| 136,406| 136,864| 137,169| 305
Employment..........| 129,723| 130,421| 129,910| 130,575| 130,777| 202
Unemployment........| 6,656| 6,392| 6,496| 6,289| 6,392| 103
Not in labor force....| 66,988| 67,123| 67,361| 67,077| 66,929| -148
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Unemployment rates
|____________________________________________________
All workers...........| 4.9| 4.7| 4.8| 4.6| 4.7| 0.1
Adult men...........| 4.1| 4.0| 4.1| 3.9| 4.1| .2
Adult women.........| 4.3| 4.0| 4.1| 4.0| 4.0| .0
Teenagers...........| 16.3| 15.0| 15.5| 15.2| 14.3| -.9
White...............| 4.2| 4.0| 4.1| 3.9| 3.9| .0
Black...............| 9.6| 9.7| 9.6| 9.7| 9.9| .2
Hispanic origin.....| 7.6| 7.4| 7.8| 6.9| 7.5| .6
________|________|________|________|________|_______
ESTABLISHMENT DATA | Employment
|____________________________________________________
Nonfarm employment....| 122,575|p123,481| 123,083|p123,495|p123,865| p370
Goods-producing 2/..| 24,750| p24,895| 24,814| p24,891| p24,980| p89
Construction......| 5,635| p5,687| 5,650| p5,680| p5,730| p50
Manufacturing.....| 18,541| p18,636| 18,590| p18,639| p18,678| p39
Service-producing 2/| 97,825| p98,586| 98,269| p98,604| p98,885| p281
Retail trade......| 22,188| p22,352| 22,258| p22,373| p22,425| p52
Services..........| 35,745| p36,115| 35,945| p36,109| p36,290| p181
Government........| 19,746| p19,765| 19,749| p19,762| p19,784| p22
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Hours of work 3/
|____________________________________________________
Total private.........| 34.5| p34.6| 34.5| p34.8| p34.6| p-0.2
Manufacturing.......| 41.8| p42.1| 42.0| p42.1| p42.3| p.2
Overtime..........| 4.7| p4.9| 4.8| p4.9| p4.9| p.0
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Indexes of aggregate weekly hours (1982=100)3/
|____________________________________________________
Total private.........| 140.6| p142.2| 141.2| p142.8| p142.5| p-0.3
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Earnings 3/
|____________________________________________________
Avg. hourly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| $12.30| p$12.45| $12.40| p$12.47| p$12.48| p$0.01
Avg. weekly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| 424.36| p431.19| 427.80| p433.96| p431.81| p-2.15
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
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.
NOTE: Household data have been revised based on the experience through
December 1997.
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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. These were people who wanted and
were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12
months but were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for
work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.
The number of discouraged workers--a subset of the marginally attached
who were not currently looking for jobs specifically because they believed
no jobs were available for them--was 345,000 in December, virtually the same
as a year earlier. (See table A-9.)
Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)
Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 370,000 in December to 123.9
million, after seasonal adjustment; over the year, payroll employment
increased by 3.2 million. In December, services had the largest job gain,
and growth continued in most other industries, including manufacturing and
construction. (See table B-1.)
Manufacturing employment increased by 39,000 in December, bringing the
total job gain for 1997 to 230,000. In December, growth continued for
industrial machinery and equipment, aircraft and parts, electronic
components and accessories, and fabricated metals. These industries added
a total of 189,000 jobs over the year. Several construction-related
industries also had notable increases in December; in fact, lumber and wood
products had the largest job gain in manufacturing. Employment in motor
vehicles and equipment declined by 9,000 in December but increased by
25,000 over the year.
The construction industry posted a substantial job gain for the second
straight month. The increase of 50,000 jobs in December brought the total
gain for 1997 to 209,000, not quite as robust as the 289,000 added in the
prior year. In December, special trade contractors showed the largest gain
(25,000), and heavy construction had its first increase (11,000) since
August.
Within the service-producing sector, employment in the services
industry rose by 181,000 in December. Business services accounted for
nearly half of this growth, with strong gains in both personnel supply
services (45,000) and computer and data processing services (17,000). In
personnel supply, both help supply services and employment agencies
contributed to the increase. Computer services accounted for 1 in every 20
jobs added in 1997. In December, health services had an above-average gain
(26,000), as hospital employment rose by 12,000. Engineering and
management services also showed a large increase (26,000) in December; like
computer services, this small industry accounted for a relatively large
share of job growth in 1997.
Retail trade employment rose by 52,000 in December, with nearly all of
the growth occurring in eating and drinking places and miscellaneous retail
establishments. Employment in department stores was essentially unchanged,
after seasonal adjustment, following a 34,000 increase in November.
Employment in finance, insurance, and real estate increased by 23,000.
Commercial banks and security and commodity brokerages continued their
steady growth, and the insurance industry rounded out its strongest quarter
in over a decade by adding 12,000 jobs. Employment growth also continued
in wholesale trade with widespread increases in durable goods distribution.
In the communications industry, job growth has picked up recently, with an
increase of 6,000 in December and gains totaling 22,000 in the fourth
quarter. Telephone communications accounted for the recent strength. In
- 4 -
contrast, transportation employment declined in November and December,
following gains totaling 182,000 during the first 10 months of the year.
While the trucking industry has contributed to this recent weakness,
December's drop reflected an employment decline in air courier services.
In December, state and local government employment continued to trend
upward, while federal employment continued its downward drift.
Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)
The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on
private nonfarm payrolls decreased by 0.2 hour in December to 34.6 hours,
seasonally adjusted, reversing most of the prior month’s increase. The
manufacturing workweek increased by 0.2 hour to 42.3 hours, a post-World
War II high, and factory overtime remained at 4.9 hours. (See table B-2.)
The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory
workers on private nonfarm payrolls decreased by 0.2 percent to 142.5
(1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index rose by 0.6
percent to 110.2. (See table B-5.)
Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)
Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on
private nonfarm payrolls edged up 1 cent in December to $12.48, seasonally
adjusted. Average weekly earnings decreased by 0.5 percent to $431.81,
reflecting the decline in weekly hours. Over the year, average hourly
earnings rose by 3.7 percent and average weekly earnings by 3.4 percent.
(See table B-3.)
________________________________________
The Employment Situation for January 1998 is scheduled to be released
on Friday, February 6, 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 1997 are subject to revision. (Seasonally adjusted
establishment data will be revised in June, concurrent with the
introduction of annual benchmark adjustments.)
Table B summarizes the effects of the revisions on the overall
unemployment rate since January 1997. Rates for 4 months were revised, in
each case by 0.1 percentage point. Revised seasonally adjusted data for
major labor force series since December 1996 appear in table C.
The January 1998 issue of Employment and Earnings will contain the new
seasonal adjustment factors for major series for the January-June 1998
period. The publication also will contain a description of the current
seasonal adjustment methodology and revised data for the most recent 13
months or 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://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/lf
directory. Historical data for the household series contained in the "A"
tables of this release also can be accessed at the end of the Employment
Situation news release on the BLS internet site.
Table B. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates and change due to
revision, January-December 1997
-----------------------------------------------------------------
| As first | |
Month and year | computed | As revised | Change
-----------------------------------------------------------------
| | |
1997 | | |
| | |
January..............| 5.4 | 5.3 | -0.1
February.............| 5.3 | 5.3 | .0
March................| 5.2 | 5.2 | .0
April................| 4.9 | 5.0 | .1
May..................| 4.8 | 4.8 | .0
June.................| 5.0 | 5.0 | .0
July.................| 4.8 | 4.9 | .1
August...............| 4.9 | 4.9 | .0
September............| 4.9 | 4.9 | .0
October..............| 4.7 | 4.8 | .1
November.............| 4.6 | 4.6 | .0
December.............| 1/ 4.7 | 4.7 | .0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1/ Not published.
Planned Changes in the Household Survey Data
Effective with the release of data for January 1998, improvements will
be introduced into the composite estimation procedures used in the
household survey. These changes will simplify processing of the monthly
labor force data at BLS and will allow users of the survey microdata to
replicate more easily 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 are expected to produce somewhat lower
estimates of the civilian labor force and employment. Also effective with
the release of January data, minor revisions will be introduced into the
population controls used for the household survey. These changes and their
effect on the estimates of labor force change and composition will be
described in an article in the February 1998 issue of Employment and
Earnings.
Next month's release also will introduce a new table showing labor
force data for persons 25 years and over by major educational attainment
categories.
- 6 -
HOUSEHOLD DATA
HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table C. Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age
(Numbers in thousands)
1996 1997
Employment status, sex, and
age
Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional
population(1)........... 201636 202285 202389 202513 202674 202832 203000 203166 203364 203570 203767 203941 204098
Civilian labor force...... 135060 135729 135689 136115 136043 136060 136206 136294 136404 136439 136406 136864 137169
Participation rate.. 67.0 67.1 67.0 67.2 67.1 67.1 67.1 67.1 67.1 67.0 66.9 67.1 67.2
Employed................ 127899 128541 128515 129035 129275 129494 129392 129661 129747 129761 129910 130575 130777
Employment-population
ratio................. 63.4 63.5 63.5 63.7 63.8 63.8 63.7 63.8 63.8 63.7 63.8 64.0 64.1
Unemployed.............. 7161 7188 7174 7080 6768 6566 6814 6633 6657 6678 6496 6289 6392
Unemployment rate... 5.3 5.3 5.3 5.2 5.0 4.8 5.0 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.8 4.6 4.7
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional
population(1)........... 89040 89446 89556 89604 89680 89766 89829 89888 89982 90068 90140 90251 90339
Civilian labor force...... 68424 68949 68872 69040 69107 68990 69157 69171 69198 69136 69193 69500 69561
Participation rate.. 76.8 77.1 76.9 77.1 77.1 76.9 77.0 77.0 76.9 76.8 76.8 77.0 77.0
Employed................ 65455 65856 65860 66031 66198 66309 66258 66361 66386 66298 66337 66824 66676
Employment-population
ratio................. 73.5 73.6 73.5 73.7 73.8 73.9 73.8 73.8 73.8 73.6 73.6 74.0 73.8
Agriculture........... 2377 2369 2313 2357 2411 2402 2398 2390 2311 2383 2298 2323 2314
Nonagricultural
industries............... 63078 63487 63547 63674 63787 63907 63860 63971 64075 63915 64039 64501 64362
Unemployed.............. 2969 3093 3012 3009 2909 2681 2899 2810 2812 2838 2856 2676 2885
Unemployment rate... 4.3 4.5 4.4 4.4 4.2 3.9 4.2 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.1 3.9 4.1
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional
population(1)........... 97457 97520 97571 97638 97685 97767 97834 97919 98000 98082 98144 98212 98300
Civilian labor force...... 58731 58832 58791 59070 58975 59129 59195 59232 59362 59432 59338 59348 59624
Participation rate.. 60.3 60.3 60.3 60.5 60.4 60.5 60.5 60.5 60.6 60.6 60.5 60.4 60.7
Employed................ 55870 56078 56021 56322 56357 56488 56575 56693 56789 56883 56919 56953 57255
Employment-population
ratio................. 57.3 57.5 57.4 57.7 57.7 57.8 57.8 57.9 57.9 58.0 58.0 58.0 58.2
Agriculture........... 766 787 774 752 775 760 755 831 824 826 814 833 845
Nonagricultural
industries............... 55104 55291 55247 55570 55582 55728 55820 55862 55965 56057 56105 56120 56410
Unemployed.............. 2861 2754 2770 2748 2618 2641 2620 2539 2573 2549 2419 2395 2369
Unemployment rate... 4.9 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.4 4.5 4.4 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.1 4.0 4.0
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian noninstitutional
population(1)........... 15139 15318 15261 15271 15309 15300 15336 15359 15382 15420 15483 15478 15459
Civilian labor force...... 7905 7948 8026 8005 7961 7941 7854 7891 7844 7871 7875 8016 7984
Participation rate.. 52.2 51.9 52.6 52.4 52.0 51.9 51.2 51.4 51.0 51.0 50.9 51.8 51.6
Employed................ 6574 6607 6634 6682 6720 6697 6559 6607 6572 6580 6654 6798 6846
Employment-population
ratio................. 43.4 43.1 43.5 43.8 43.9 43.8 42.8 43.0 42.7 42.7 43.0 43.9 44.3
Agriculture........... 280 297 253 278 276 256 236 231 244 213 215 228 226
Nonagricultural
industries............... 6294 6310 6381 6404 6444 6441 6323 6376 6328 6367 6439 6570 6620
Unemployed.............. 1331 1341 1392 1323 1241 1244 1295 1284 1272 1291 1221 1218 1138
Unemployment rate... 16.8 16.9 17.3 16.5 15.6 15.7 16.5 16.3 16.2 16.4 15.5 15.2 14.3
1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1997, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey. Seasonally
adjusted data have been revised based on the experience through December 1997.
- 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 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
Dec. Nov. Dec. Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 201,636 203,941 204,098 201,636 203,364 203,570 203,767 203,941 204,098
Civilian labor force.......................... 134,583 136,912 136,742 135,060 136,404 136,439 136,406 136,864 137,169
Participation rate...................... 66.7 67.1 67.0 67.0 67.1 67.0 66.9 67.1 67.2
Employed.................................... 127,903 130,999 130,785 127,899 129,747 129,761 129,910 130,575 130,777
Employment-population ratio............. 63.4 64.2 64.1 63.4 63.8 63.7 63.8 64.0 64.1
Agriculture............................... 3,131 3,259 3,103 3,423 3,379 3,422 3,327 3,384 3,385
Nonagricultural industries................ 124,772 127,739 127,682 124,476 126,368 126,339 126,583 127,191 127,392
Unemployed.................................. 6,680 5,914 5,957 7,161 6,657 6,678 6,496 6,289 6,392
Unemployment rate....................... 5.0 4.3 4.4 5.3 4.9 4.9 4.8 4.6 4.7
Not in labor force............................ 67,053 67,029 67,356 66,576 66,960 67,131 67,361 67,077 66,929
Men, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 96,742 98,141 98,225 96,742 97,838 97,946 98,050 98,141 98,225
Civilian labor force.......................... 71,959 73,426 73,153 72,464 73,265 73,192 73,311 73,682 73,662
Participation rate...................... 74.4 74.8 74.5 74.9 74.9 74.7 74.8 75.1 75.0
Employed.................................... 68,434 70,328 69,849 68,773 69,748 69,656 69,785 70,352 70,195
Employment-population ratio............. 70.7 71.7 71.1 71.1 71.3 71.1 71.2 71.7 71.5
Unemployed.................................. 3,525 3,098 3,304 3,691 3,517 3,536 3,526 3,330 3,467
Unemployment rate....................... 4.9 4.2 4.5 5.1 4.8 4.8 4.8 4.5 4.7
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 89,040 90,251 90,339 89,040 89,982 90,068 90,140 90,251 90,339
Civilian labor force.......................... 68,227 69,455 69,350 68,424 69,198 69,136 69,193 69,500 69,561
Participation rate...................... 76.6 77.0 76.8 76.8 76.9 76.8 76.8 77.0 77.0
Employed.................................... 65,326 66,951 66,524 65,455 66,386 66,298 66,337 66,824 66,676
Employment-population ratio............. 73.4 74.2 73.6 73.5 73.8 73.6 73.6 74.0 73.8
Agriculture............................... 2,213 2,275 2,151 2,377 2,311 2,383 2,298 2,323 2,314
Nonagricultural industries................ 63,112 64,676 64,373 63,078 64,075 63,915 64,039 64,501 64,362
Unemployed.................................. 2,901 2,504 2,826 2,969 2,812 2,838 2,856 2,676 2,885
Unemployment rate....................... 4.3 3.6 4.1 4.3 4.1 4.1 4.1 3.9 4.1
Women, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 104,894 105,799 105,873 104,894 105,527 105,623 105,718 105,799 105,873
Civilian labor force.......................... 62,624 63,486 63,589 62,596 63,139 63,247 63,095 63,182 63,507
Participation rate...................... 59.7 60.0 60.1 59.7 59.8 59.9 59.7 59.7 60.0
Employed.................................... 59,469 60,670 60,936 59,126 59,999 60,105 60,125 60,223 60,582
Employment-population ratio............. 56.7 57.3 57.6 56.4 56.9 56.9 56.9 56.9 57.2
Unemployed.................................. 3,156 2,816 2,653 3,470 3,140 3,142 2,970 2,959 2,925
Unemployment rate....................... 5.0 4.4 4.2 5.5 5.0 5.0 4.7 4.7 4.6
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 97,457 98,212 98,300 97,457 98,000 98,082 98,144 98,212 98,300
Civilian labor force.......................... 58,893 59,787 59,834 58,731 59,362 59,432 59,338 59,348 59,624
Participation rate...................... 60.4 60.9 60.9 60.3 60.6 60.6 60.5 60.4 60.7
Employed.................................... 56,253 57,495 57,647 55,870 56,789 56,883 56,919 56,953 57,255
Employment-population ratio............. 57.7 58.5 58.6 57.3 57.9 58.0 58.0 58.0 58.2
Agriculture............................... 715 806 788 766 824 826 814 833 845
Nonagricultural industries................ 55,538 56,689 56,859 55,104 55,965 56,057 56,105 56,120 56,410
Unemployed.................................. 2,640 2,292 2,187 2,861 2,573 2,549 2,419 2,395 2,369
Unemployment rate....................... 4.5 3.8 3.7 4.9 4.3 4.3 4.1 4.0 4.0
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian noninstitutional population........... 15,139 15,478 15,459 15,139 15,382 15,420 15,483 15,478 15,459
Civilian labor force.......................... 7,463 7,670 7,558 7,905 7,844 7,871 7,875 8,016 7,984
Participation rate...................... 49.3 49.6 48.9 52.2 51.0 51.0 50.9 51.8 51.6
Employed.................................... 6,324 6,552 6,614 6,574 6,572 6,580 6,654 6,798 6,846
Employment-population ratio............. 41.8 42.3 42.8 43.4 42.7 42.7 43.0 43.9 44.3
Agriculture............................... 203 179 164 280 244 213 215 228 226
Nonagricultural industries................ 6,121 6,373 6,450 6,294 6,328 6,367 6,439 6,570 6,620
Unemployed.................................. 1,139 1,118 944 1,331 1,272 1,291 1,221 1,218 1,138
Unemployment rate....................... 15.3 14.6 12.5 16.8 16.2 16.4 15.5 15.2 14.3
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. Seasonally
adjusted data have been revised based on the experience through December 1997.
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.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997
WHITE
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 169,044 170,545 170,649 169,044 170,148 170,290 170,427 170,545 170,649
Civilian labor force.......................... 113,573 115,098 114,867 114,018 114,669 114,758 114,784 115,073 115,263
Participation rate........................ 67.2 67.5 67.3 67.4 67.4 67.4 67.4 67.5 67.5
Employed.................................... 108,686 110,913 110,662 108,752 109,832 109,904 110,063 110,604 110,729
Employment-population ratio............... 64.3 65.0 64.8 64.3 64.6 64.5 64.6 64.9 64.9
Unemployed.................................. 4,887 4,186 4,205 5,266 4,837 4,854 4,721 4,469 4,534
Unemployment rate......................... 4.3 3.6 3.7 4.6 4.2 4.2 4.1 3.9 3.9
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 58,510 59,340 59,253 58,643 59,118 59,110 59,098 59,355 59,389
Participation rate........................ 77.2 77.5 77.3 77.4 77.4 77.3 77.2 77.5 77.5
Employed.................................... 56,302 57,490 57,162 56,401 57,011 56,989 56,966 57,363 57,272
Employment-population ratio............... 74.3 75.1 74.6 74.5 74.6 74.5 74.4 74.9 74.7
Unemployed.................................. 2,208 1,849 2,091 2,242 2,107 2,121 2,132 1,992 2,117
Unemployment rate......................... 3.8 3.1 3.5 3.8 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.4 3.6
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 48,740 49,286 49,233 48,693 48,910 48,955 48,976 48,906 49,134
Participation rate........................ 60.0 60.3 60.2 59.9 60.0 60.0 60.0 59.9 60.1
Employed.................................... 46,860 47,717 47,726 46,615 47,122 47,165 47,284 47,265 47,474
Employment-population ratio............... 57.6 58.4 58.4 57.3 57.8 57.8 57.9 57.8 58.1
Unemployed.................................. 1,880 1,569 1,507 2,078 1,788 1,790 1,692 1,641 1,660
Unemployment rate......................... 3.9 3.2 3.1 4.3 3.7 3.7 3.5 3.4 3.4
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force.......................... 6,323 6,472 6,380 6,682 6,641 6,693 6,710 6,812 6,740
Participation rate........................ 52.7 52.9 52.1 55.6 54.4 54.8 54.9 55.6 55.0
Employed.................................... 5,524 5,705 5,773 5,736 5,699 5,750 5,813 5,976 5,983
Employment-population ratio............... 46.0 46.6 47.1 47.8 46.7 47.0 47.5 48.8 48.8
Unemployed.................................. 800 767 607 946 942 943 897 836 757
Unemployment rate......................... 12.6 11.9 9.5 14.2 14.2 14.1 13.4 12.3 11.2
Men..................................... 14.0 12.5 9.9 15.0 15.1 14.4 14.3 12.8 11.3
Women................................... 11.3 11.1 9.1 13.2 13.1 13.7 12.3 11.6 11.1
BLACK
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 23,794 24,149 24,180 23,794 24,043 24,081 24,117 24,149 24,180
Civilian labor force.......................... 15,254 15,627 15,685 15,299 15,728 15,691 15,555 15,638 15,709
Participation rate........................ 64.1 64.7 64.9 64.3 65.4 65.2 64.5 64.8 65.0
Employed.................................... 13,782 14,232 14,248 13,692 14,237 14,180 14,067 14,128 14,149
Employment-population ratio............... 57.9 58.9 58.9 57.5 59.2 58.9 58.3 58.5 58.5
Unemployed.................................. 1,472 1,395 1,437 1,607 1,491 1,511 1,488 1,510 1,560
Unemployment rate......................... 9.6 8.9 9.2 10.5 9.5 9.6 9.6 9.7 9.9
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 6,808 6,993 6,945 6,820 7,035 6,978 6,945 6,965 6,957
Participation rate........................ 71.7 72.4 71.9 71.8 73.3 72.6 72.3 72.1 72.0
Employed.................................... 6,261 6,486 6,374 6,242 6,480 6,424 6,367 6,420 6,356
Employment-population ratio............... 65.9 67.2 66.0 65.7 67.5 66.8 66.3 66.5 65.8
Unemployed.................................. 547 507 571 578 555 554 578 545 601
Unemployment rate......................... 8.0 7.3 8.2 8.5 7.9 7.9 8.3 7.8 8.6
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force.......................... 7,581 7,740 7,840 7,549 7,771 7,790 7,680 7,731 7,791
Participation rate........................ 63.6 64.0 64.8 63.4 64.6 64.6 63.6 63.9 64.4
Employed.................................... 6,935 7,132 7,273 6,835 7,115 7,135 7,044 7,080 7,163
Employment-population ratio............... 58.2 59.0 60.1 57.4 59.1 59.2 58.3 58.6 59.2
Unemployed.................................. 646 608 567 714 656 655 636 651 628
Unemployment rate......................... 8.5 7.8 7.2 9.5 8.4 8.4 8.3 8.4 8.1
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force.......................... 864 894 900 930 922 923 930 942 961
Participation rate........................ 36.2 37.2 37.3 38.9 38.3 38.3 38.2 39.2 39.8
Employed.................................... 585 614 601 615 642 621 656 628 630
Employment-population ratio............... 24.5 25.5 24.9 25.8 26.6 25.8 26.9 26.1 26.1
Unemployed.................................. 279 280 299 315 280 302 274 314 331
Unemployment rate......................... 32.3 31.4 33.3 33.9 30.4 32.7 29.5 33.3 34.4
Men..................................... 37.6 30.9 35.8 38.1 33.9 37.6 30.1 35.0 36.2
Women................................... 27.8 31.7 31.4 30.1 27.2 28.6 28.8 31.9 33.1
HISPANIC ORIGIN
Civilian noninstitutional population............ 19,505 20,575 20,629 19,505 20,407 20,464 20,519 20,575 20,629
Civilian labor force.......................... 13,151 13,964 13,986 13,139 13,886 13,861 13,896 13,880 13,973
Participation rate........................ 67.4 67.9 67.8 67.4 68.0 67.7 67.7 67.5 67.7
Employed.................................... 12,216 13,050 12,998 12,148 12,867 12,807 12,806 12,921 12,921
Employment-population ratio............... 62.6 63.4 63.0 62.3 63.1 62.6 62.4 62.8 62.6
Unemployed.................................. 935 914 987 991 1,019 1,054 1,090 959 1,052
Unemployment rate......................... 7.1 6.5 7.1 7.5 7.3 7.6 7.8 6.9 7.5
1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted
and seasonally adjusted columns.
NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races"
group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Beginning in January
1997, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey. Seasonally adjusted data have been revised
based on the experience through December 1997.
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.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997
CHARACTERISTIC
Total employed, 16 years and over............... 127,903 130,999 130,785 127,899 129,747 129,761 129,910 130,575 130,777
Married men, spouse present................... 42,628 43,129 43,049 42,533 42,680 42,648 42,771 42,967 42,952
Married women, spouse present................. 32,913 33,162 33,285 32,599 32,861 32,846 32,978 32,840 32,975
Women who maintain families................... 7,443 7,740 7,706 7,562 7,892 7,876 7,865 7,726 7,822
OCCUPATION
Managerial and professional specialty......... 37,411 38,300 38,416 37,206 37,765 37,860 37,844 37,986 38,205
Technical, sales, and administrative support.. 38,208 38,660 38,791 37,961 38,334 38,535 38,537 38,540 38,562
Service occupations........................... 17,089 17,781 17,738 17,224 17,713 17,746 17,723 17,827 17,890
Precision production, craft, and repair....... 13,595 14,186 14,213 13,667 14,038 13,859 14,051 14,191 14,299
Operators, fabricators, and laborers.......... 18,435 18,723 18,495 18,349 18,452 18,302 18,385 18,467 18,394
Farming, forestry, and fishing................ 3,164 3,349 3,132 3,509 3,442 3,483 3,438 3,512 3,472
CLASS OF WORKER
Agriculture:
Wage and salary workers..................... 1,712 1,747 1,653 1,909 1,853 1,889 1,815 1,855 1,844
Self-employed workers....................... 1,369 1,466 1,405 1,459 1,477 1,495 1,475 1,493 1,496
Unpaid family workers....................... 50 46 45 60 50 44 55 49 54
Nonagricultural industries:
Wage and salary workers..................... 115,515 118,638 118,728 115,196 117,372 117,303 117,635 118,083 118,403
Government................................ 18,331 18,384 18,382 18,211 18,203 18,109 18,075 18,170 18,248
Private industries........................ 97,184 100,255 100,346 96,985 99,169 99,194 99,560 99,913 100,155
Private households...................... 951 913 980 925 935 877 877 910 946
Other industries........................ 96,233 99,341 99,366 96,060 98,234 98,317 98,683 99,003 99,209
Self-employed workers....................... 9,120 9,009 8,859 9,147 8,955 8,949 8,930 9,004 8,886
Unpaid family workers....................... 137 92 96 143 126 83 92 97 99
PERSONS AT WORK PART TIME
All industries:
Part time for economic reasons.............. 4,352 3,768 3,869 4,345 3,988 3,928 3,913 3,890 3,855
Slack work or business conditions......... 2,470 2,153 2,323 2,379 2,164 2,187 2,211 2,221 2,230
Could only find part-time work............ 1,548 1,334 1,240 1,653 1,487 1,455 1,406 1,386 1,323
Part time for noneconomic reasons........... 18,898 19,316 19,557 17,758 18,096 17,901 18,113 18,083 18,386
Nonagricultural industries:
Part time for economic reasons.............. 4,140 3,575 3,644 4,164 3,832 3,739 3,732 3,689 3,654
Slack work or business conditions......... 2,313 2,041 2,188 2,241 2,066 2,067 2,103 2,100 2,113
Could only find part-time work............ 1,526 1,300 1,216 1,622 1,455 1,417 1,378 1,346 1,291
Part time for noneconomic reasons........... 18,307 18,708 18,946 17,178 17,521 17,381 17,537 17,486 17,791
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. Seasonally
adjusted data have been revised based on the experience through December 1997.
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.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997
CHARACTERISTIC
Total, 16 years and over....................... 7,161 6,289 6,392 5.3 4.9 4.9 4.8 4.6 4.7
Men, 20 years and over....................... 2,969 2,676 2,885 4.3 4.1 4.1 4.1 3.9 4.1
Women, 20 years and over..................... 2,861 2,395 2,369 4.9 4.3 4.3 4.1 4.0 4.0
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years................... 1,331 1,218 1,138 16.8 16.2 16.4 15.5 15.2 14.3
Married men, spouse present.................. 1,281 1,044 1,151 2.9 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.4 2.6
Married women, spouse present................ 1,247 948 960 3.7 3.0 3.1 2.8 2.8 2.8
Women who maintain families.................. 700 677 653 8.5 8.0 7.8 7.8 8.1 7.7
Full-time workers............................ 5,752 4,987 5,203 5.2 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.4 4.6
Part-time workers............................ 1,454 1,329 1,238 5.9 5.5 5.5 5.3 5.4 5.0
OCCUPATION(2)
Managerial and professional specialty........ 875 652 735 2.3 2.0 2.0 1.8 1.7 1.9
Technical, sales, and administrative support. 1,816 1,575 1,588 4.6 4.1 4.0 3.9 3.9 4.0
Precision production, craft, and repair...... 760 671 708 5.3 4.7 4.8 5.3 4.5 4.7
Operators, fabricators, and laborers......... 1,540 1,420 1,375 7.7 7.6 7.8 7.1 7.1 7.0
Farming, forestry, and fishing............... 284 250 268 7.5 7.2 6.7 7.3 6.6 7.2
INDUSTRY
Nonagricultural private wage and salary
workers...................................... 5,518 4,908 5,030 5.4 5.0 5.0 4.8 4.7 4.8
Goods-producing industries................. 1,682 1,331 1,449 5.9 5.3 5.2 5.0 4.6 5.0
Mining................................... 46 22 22 7.7 4.9 3.4 4.5 3.3 3.3
Construction............................. 627 548 621 9.2 9.0 8.7 8.7 7.9 8.9
Manufacturing............................ 1,009 761 806 4.7 4.1 4.1 3.8 3.6 3.8
Durable goods.......................... 575 382 390 4.5 3.5 3.3 3.1 3.1 3.1
Nondurable goods....................... 434 379 416 5.1 5.0 5.3 4.8 4.4 4.9
Service-producing industries............... 3,836 3,577 3,581 5.2 4.9 4.9 4.7 4.7 4.7
Transportation and public utilities...... 283 233 251 4.0 3.7 3.8 3.3 3.1 3.3
Wholesale and retail trade............... 1,629 1,634 1,555 6.3 6.2 6.2 6.1 6.2 5.8
Finance, insurance, and real estate...... 232 190 218 3.2 3.0 3.0 2.9 2.4 2.8
Services................................. 1,692 1,520 1,557 5.1 4.5 4.6 4.3 4.4 4.5
Government workers........................... 585 426 398 3.1 2.6 2.6 2.4 2.3 2.1
Agricultural wage and salary workers......... 204 175 199 9.7 8.9 9.0 9.6 8.6 9.7
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. Data have been
revised based on the experience through December 1997.
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.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Less than 5 weeks.............................. 2,313 2,295 2,243 2,622 2,564 2,484 2,558 2,423 2,531
5 to 14 weeks.................................. 2,406 1,943 1,949 2,382 2,121 2,115 1,912 2,048 1,922
15 weeks and over.............................. 1,962 1,675 1,765 2,178 2,027 2,109 1,990 1,865 1,964
15 to 26 weeks.............................. 883 791 832 989 950 1,031 919 899 936
27 weeks and over........................... 1,079 884 933 1,189 1,077 1,078 1,071 966 1,028
Average (mean) duration, in weeks.............. 15.6 15.3 16.0 15.8 15.8 15.9 16.3 15.6 16.3
Median duration, in weeks...................... 7.7 7.3 7.4 7.9 7.9 8.1 7.7 7.8 7.7
PERCENT DISTRIBUTION
Total unemployed............................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Less than 5 weeks............................ 34.6 38.8 37.7 36.5 38.2 37.0 39.6 38.2 39.4
5 to 14 weeks................................ 36.0 32.9 32.7 33.2 31.6 31.5 29.6 32.3 30.0
15 weeks and over............................ 29.4 28.3 29.6 30.3 30.2 31.4 30.8 29.4 30.6
15 to 26 weeks............................. 13.2 13.4 14.0 13.8 14.2 15.4 14.2 14.2 14.6
27 weeks and over.......................... 16.1 15.0 15.7 16.6 16.0 16.1 16.6 15.2 16.0
NOTE: Beginning in January 1997, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey. Seasonally
adjusted data have been revised based on the experience through December 1977.
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.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs..... 3,230 2,698 3,051 3,174 3,010 3,007 2,934 2,886 2,991
On temporary layoff................................... 1,045 707 1,053 960 891 893 963 815 961
Not on temporary layoff............................... 2,184 1,992 1,998 2,214 2,119 2,114 1,971 2,071 2,030
Permanent job losers................................ 1,514 1,304 1,355 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Persons who completed temporary jobs................ 670 688 643 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Job leavers............................................. 771 661 634 849 894 853 732 655 692
Reentrants.............................................. 2,189 2,099 1,849 2,567 2,173 2,263 2,247 2,229 2,170
New entrants............................................ 491 456 423 627 554 560 555 560 552
PERCENT DISTRIBUTION
Total unemployed........................................
Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs.... 48.3 45.6 51.2 44.0 45.4 45.0 45.4 45.6 46.7
On temporary layoff.................................. 15.6 12.0 17.7 13.3 13.4 13.4 14.9 12.9 15.0
Not on temporary layoff.............................. 32.7 33.7 33.5 30.7 32.0 31.6 30.5 32.7 31.7
Job leavers............................................ 11.5 11.2 10.6 11.8 13.5 12.8 11.3 10.3 10.8
Reentrants............................................. 32.8 35.5 31.0 35.6 32.8 33.9 34.7 35.2 33.9
New entrants........................................... 7.3 7.7 7.1 8.7 8.4 8.4 8.6 8.8 8.6
UNEMPLOYED AS A PERCENT OF THE
CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE
Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs.... 2.4 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.2
Job leavers............................................ .6 .5 .5 .6 .7 .6 .5 .5 .5
Reentrants............................................. 1.6 1.5 1.4 1.9 1.6 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.6
New entrants........................................... .4 .3 .3 .5 .4 .4 .4 .4 .4
1 Not available.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1997, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey. Seasonally
adjusted data have been revised based on the experience through December 1997.
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.
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....................... 1.5 1.2 1.3 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.4
U-2 Job losers and persons who completed
temporary jobs, as a percent of the civilian
labor force.................................................... 2.4 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.2
U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the
civilian labor force (official unemployment rate).............. 5.0 4.3 4.4 5.3 4.9 4.9 4.8 4.6 4.7
U-4 Total unemployed plus discouraged
workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force
plus discouraged workers....................................... 5.2 4.5 4.6 (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............... 6.0 5.2 5.4 (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.. 9.2 8.0 8.2 (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. Beginning in January 1997,
data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey. Seasonally adjusted data have been revised based
on the experience through December 1997.
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.
1996 1997 1997 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997
Total, 16 years and over.......................... 7,161 6,289 6,392 5.3 4.9 4.9 4.8 4.6 4.7
16 to 24 years.................................. 2,540 2,360 2,300 11.9 11.3 11.2 11.1 10.9 10.6
16 to 19 years................................ 1,331 1,218 1,138 16.8 16.2 16.4 15.5 15.2 14.3
16 to 17 years.............................. 634 574 576 19.3 17.9 19.3 17.5 17.6 17.7
18 to 19 years.............................. 694 646 555 15.1 15.4 14.5 14.1 13.6 11.7
20 to 24 years................................ 1,209 1,142 1,162 9.0 8.4 8.2 8.5 8.4 8.5
25 years and over............................... 4,692 3,923 4,149 4.1 3.7 3.7 3.6 3.4 3.6
25 to 54 years................................ 4,145 3,461 3,659 4.2 3.8 3.8 3.7 3.5 3.7
55 years and over............................. 548 472 480 3.4 3.0 3.1 2.8 2.8 2.8
Men, 16 years and over.......................... 3,691 3,330 3,467 5.1 4.8 4.8 4.8 4.5 4.7
16 to 24 years................................ 1,372 1,325 1,250 12.3 11.9 12.0 12.0 11.6 11.1
16 to 19 years.............................. 722 654 582 17.9 17.3 17.2 16.3 15.6 14.2
16 to 17 years............................ 345 312 310 20.6 18.1 18.8 18.2 18.2 18.4
18 to 19 years............................ 376 349 268 15.9 17.3 16.1 14.8 14.1 11.1
20 to 24 years.............................. 650 671 668 9.2 8.8 9.1 9.5 9.3 9.3
25 years and over............................. 2,318 2,005 2,213 3.8 3.6 3.5 3.5 3.2 3.5
25 to 54 years.............................. 2,025 1,727 1,896 3.9 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.3 3.6
55 years and over........................... 295 278 325 3.3 3.1 3.0 3.0 2.9 3.4
Women, 16 years and over........................ 3,470 2,959 2,925 5.5 5.0 5.0 4.7 4.7 4.6
16 to 24 years................................ 1,168 1,035 1,050 11.5 10.6 10.4 10.1 10.1 10.2
16 to 19 years.............................. 609 564 556 15.8 15.0 15.5 14.7 14.7 14.3
16 to 17 years............................ 289 262 266 17.9 17.7 19.8 16.7 17.0 17.0
18 to 19 years............................ 318 297 287 14.2 13.3 12.8 13.4 13.0 12.4
20 to 24 years.............................. 559 471 494 8.9 7.9 7.3 7.4 7.4 7.6
25 years and over............................. 2,374 1,918 1,936 4.5 3.9 4.0 3.7 3.6 3.6
25 to 54 years.............................. 2,120 1,734 1,763 4.7 4.0 4.1 3.8 3.8 3.9
55 years and over........................... 253 194 155 3.5 3.0 3.2 2.7 2.6 2.1
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. Data have been
revised based on the experience through December 1997.
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.
1996 1997 1996 1997 1996 1997
NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE
Total not in the labor force.................................... 67,053 67,356 24,783 25,072 42,270 42,284
Persons who currently want a job.............................. 4,746 4,390 2,045 1,828 2,702 2,562
Searched for work and available to work now(1)............. 1,463 1,453 707 668 756 785
Reason not currently looking:
Discouragement over job prospects(2).................. 334 345 199 185 135 160
Reasons other than discouragement(3)............... 1,128 1,108 508 483 620 625
MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS
Total multiple jobholders(4).................................... 8,219 8,108 4,293 4,212 3,926 3,896
Percent of total employed................................... 6.4 6.2 6.3 6.0 6.6 6.4
Primary job full time, secondary job part time.............. 4,505 4,574 2,673 2,680 1,833 1,894
Primary and secondary jobs both part time................... 1,892 1,779 572 570 1,320 1,210
Primary and secondary jobs both full time................... 209 231 138 148 70 83
Hours vary on primary or secondary job...................... 1,569 1,487 882 795 687 693
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
Dec. Oct. Nov. Dec. Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1996 1997 1997p 1997p 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997p 1997p
Total......................... 121,464 124,111 124,508 124,695 120,659 122,492 122,792 123,083 123,495 123,865
Total private.................... 101,593 104,081 104,323 104,546 101,145 102,688 103,078 103,334 103,733 104,081
Goods-producing......................... 24,459 25,165 25,090 24,896 24,540 24,765 24,771 24,814 24,891 24,980
Mining................................ 570 580 576 571 571 573 576 574 572 572
Metal mining........................ 53.9 53.4 53.1 52.5 54 54 54 53 54 53
Coal mining......................... 93.6 90.9 90.3 90.2 94 91 91 91 90 90
Oil and gas extraction.............. 317.7 325.9 323.9 323.3 316 321 323 323 322 321
Nonmetallic minerals, except fuels.. 104.7 110.1 108.2 105.4 107 107 108 107 106 108
Construction.......................... 5,420 5,921 5,815 5,624 5,521 5,637 5,642 5,650 5,680 5,730
General building contractors........ 1,272.7 1,350.3 1,345.1 1,331.6 1,281 1,306 1,305 1,311 1,326 1,340
Heavy construction, except building. 726.2 839.8 791.1 721.2 772 764 762 758 758 769
Special trade contractors........... 3,421.3 3,730.4 3,678.4 3,571.1 3,468 3,567 3,575 3,581 3,596 3,621
Manufacturing......................... 18,469 18,664 18,699 18,701 18,448 18,555 18,553 18,590 18,639 18,678
Production workers................ 12,757 12,919 12,938 12,945 12,743 12,815 12,818 12,851 12,884 12,928
Durable goods........................ 10,828 11,005 11,055 11,077 10,803 10,957 10,952 10,985 11,019 11,050
Production workers................ 7,418 7,562 7,600 7,625 7,398 7,525 7,518 7,545 7,572 7,603
Lumber and wood products............ 786.2 809.1 805.3 804.9 788 798 798 800 800 807
Furniture and fixtures.............. 508.2 512.2 514.3 516.9 505 506 508 509 510 513
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 537.5 550.6 545.1 537.7 543 541 541 543 541 543
Primary metal industries............ 710.7 714.5 718.5 721.9 707 711 713 716 716 718
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 237.9 236.3 237.2 238.5 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Fabricated metal products........... 1,463.6 1,485.0 1,491.1 1,494.6 1,458 1,475 1,477 1,482 1,485 1,489
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 2,121.0 2,166.9 2,177.7 2,187.8 2,119 2,165 2,168 2,176 2,183 2,186
Computer and office equipment..... 366.1 385.9 384.2 385.7 366 385 384 386 384 386
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 1,654.4 1,669.4 1,682.8 1,688.4 1,647 1,661 1,663 1,666 1,676 1,681
Electronic components and
accessories.................... 610.1 643.7 650.2 654.8 609 637 639 644 650 654
Transportation equipment............ 1,804.5 1,847.4 1,872.3 1,876.8 1,793 1,855 1,840 1,849 1,868 1,865
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 970.4 976.9 994.4 995.3 961 985 973 977 995 986
Aircraft and parts................ 480.3 518.6 524.2 526.2 479 514 515 518 521 525
Instruments and related products.... 856.0 859.7 860.8 863.5 856 858 858 859 860 863
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 386.3 390.6 386.6 384.5 387 387 386 385 380 385
Nondurable goods..................... 7,641 7,659 7,644 7,624 7,645 7,598 7,601 7,605 7,620 7,628
Production workers................ 5,339 5,357 5,338 5,320 5,345 5,290 5,300 5,306 5,312 5,325
Food and kindred products........... 1,674.9 1,727.1 1,709.1 1,693.0 1,689 1,679 1,688 1,690 1,701 1,707
Tobacco products.................... 44.6 43.9 43.7 43.6 42 40 40 41 42 41
Textile mill products............... 614.9 603.4 603.4 602.9 615 604 605 604 602 603
Apparel and other textile products.. 837.5 808.5 801.1 793.2 840 810 803 800 797 795
Paper and allied products........... 679.3 675.4 678.1 679.5 678 675 675 675 677 678
Printing and publishing............. 1,544.7 1,548.5 1,557.4 1,562.0 1,534 1,547 1,547 1,548 1,552 1,552
Chemicals and allied products....... 1,026.0 1,027.2 1,027.8 1,028.5 1,028 1,024 1,026 1,028 1,030 1,030
Petroleum and coal products......... 138.0 139.1 138.0 135.2 140 138 138 137 137 138
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 986.7 995.8 995.8 997.6 985 991 990 993 993 996
Leather and leather products........ 94.3 90.0 89.5 88.0 94 90 89 89 89 88
Service-producing....................... 97,005 98,946 99,418 99,799 96,119 97,727 98,021 98,269 98,604 98,885
Transportation and public utilities... 6,365 6,542 6,542 6,565 6,288 6,289 6,473 6,497 6,498 6,488
Transportation...................... 4,143 4,289 4,286 4,305 4,065 4,049 4,232 4,247 4,243 4,227
Railroad transportation........... 227.6 229.4 229.7 227.8 228 225 227 226 229 228
Local and interurban passenger
transit........................ 465.4 476.3 475.9 478.3 449 464 457 458 460 463
Trucking and warehousing.......... 1,658.3 1,731.9 1,720.0 1,717.0 1,642 1,703 1,708 1,710 1,702 1,703
Water transportation.............. 169.2 179.1 173.8 171.8 173 179 176 178 177 176
Transportation by air............. 1,183.5 1,216.5 1,233.3 1,253.9 1,133 1,025 1,211 1,221 1,221 1,200
Pipelines, except natural gas..... 14.3 14.3 14.2 14.2 14 14 14 14 14 14
Transportation services........... 424.9 441.6 439.4 441.8 426 439 439 440 440 443
Communications and public utilities. 2,222 2,253 2,256 2,260 2,223 2,240 2,241 2,250 2,255 2,261
Communications.................... 1,347.0 1,389.2 1,395.4 1,397.9 1,347 1,376 1,376 1,385 1,392 1,398
Electric, gas, and sanitary
services....................... 875.3 863.5 860.9 862.3 876 864 865 865 863 863
Wholesale trade....................... 6,560 6,735 6,742 6,745 6,559 6,675 6,687 6,712 6,730 6,743
Durable goods....................... 3,854 3,979 3,994 4,006 3,855 3,957 3,962 3,978 3,995 4,006
Nondurable goods.................... 2,706 2,756 2,748 2,739 2,704 2,718 2,725 2,734 2,735 2,737
Retail trade.......................... 22,541 22,341 22,722 23,079 21,912 22,189 22,215 22,258 22,373 22,425
Building materials and garden
supplies......................... 904.4 929.8 925.9 926.1 914 929 926 926 932 936
General merchandise stores.......... 3,068.0 2,883.3 3,065.0 3,159.0 2,769 2,822 2,818 2,824 2,855 2,851
Department stores................. 2,676.5 2,532.5 2,694.7 2,755.4 2,425 2,470 2,469 2,474 2,508 2,497
Food stores......................... 3,530.7 3,521.4 3,554.6 3,587.8 3,468 3,505 3,507 3,520 3,519 3,521
Automotive dealers and service
stations......................... 2,292.0 2,342.2 2,336.6 2,334.5 2,304 2,325 2,331 2,336 2,340 2,346
New and used car dealers.......... 1,044.3 1,063.1 1,061.2 1,058.5 1,048 1,057 1,057 1,060 1,062 1,062
Apparel and accessory stores........ 1,207.3 1,104.7 1,158.7 1,208.9 1,106 1,102 1,102 1,108 1,112 1,107
Furniture and home furnishings
stores........................... 1,064.1 1,059.2 1,086.1 1,113.9 1,021 1,044 1,049 1,055 1,061 1,068
Eating and drinking places.......... 7,500.1 7,609.8 7,584.2 7,631.8 7,551 7,618 7,626 7,626 7,657 7,683
Miscellaneous retail establishments. 2,974.8 2,890.9 3,010.5 3,117.3 2,779 2,844 2,856 2,863 2,897 2,913
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 6,942 7,098 7,108 7,136 6,962 7,068 7,082 7,108 7,132 7,155
Finance............................. 3,342 3,432 3,449 3,471 3,343 3,414 3,427 3,444 3,458 3,471
Depository institutions........... 2,030.3 2,046.3 2,054.2 2,065.3 2,030 2,048 2,048 2,052 2,059 2,065
Commercial banks................ 1,475.8 1,490.6 1,496.7 1,504.8 1,475 1,491 1,491 1,495 1,500 1,504
Savings institutions............ 255.5 249.1 249.6 250.6 256 252 251 250 250 251
Nondepository institutions........ 532.9 554.3 555.3 560.7 532 549 554 559 558 559
Mortgage bankers and brokers.... 239.0 249.2 249.8 250.9 240 245 249 252 252 251
Security and commodity brokers.... 566.8 604.6 608.9 612.8 568 595 600 605 610 614
Holding and other investment
offices........................ 212.2 227.1 230.3 232.2 213 222 225 228 231 233
Insurance........................... 2,218 2,239 2,244 2,256 2,221 2,232 2,232 2,239 2,246 2,258
Insurance carriers................ 1,504.4 1,516.6 1,520.1 1,528.6 1,507 1,510 1,511 1,516 1,520 1,531
Insurance agents, brokers, and
service........................ 713.6 722.4 724.2 727.0 714 722 721 723 726 727
Real estate......................... 1,382 1,427 1,415 1,409 1,398 1,422 1,423 1,425 1,428 1,426
Services2............................. 34,726 36,200 36,119 36,125 34,884 35,702 35,850 35,945 36,109 36,290
Agricultural services............... 587.3 712.2 684.4 627.8 638 675 680 684 690 684
Hotels and other lodging places..... 1,663.5 1,762.0 1,692.6 1,680.4 1,738 1,747 1,756 1,765 1,761 1,755
Personal services................... 1,176.6 1,160.2 1,160.9 1,171.4 1,194 1,185 1,187 1,188 1,195 1,188
Business services................... 7,488.1 7,930.6 7,962.3 7,976.0 7,437 7,657 7,732 7,759 7,834 7,915
Services to buildings............. 891.2 905.6 903.9 904.3 895 894 902 902 904 909
Personnel supply services......... 2,762.7 2,921.6 2,926.5 2,911.9 2,721 2,732 2,762 2,770 2,819 2,864
Help supply services............ 2,440.4 2,576.3 2,577.9 2,556.3 2,406 2,395 2,423 2,427 2,484 2,513
Computer and data processing
services....................... 1,258.9 1,386.4 1,403.0 1,420.8 1,256 1,360 1,375 1,387 1,401 1,418
Auto repair, services, and parking.. 1,106.7 1,150.1 1,149.8 1,148.9 1,112 1,139 1,145 1,148 1,153 1,154
Miscellaneous repair services....... 379.1 390.6 389.5 389.1 380 388 388 388 389 390
Motion pictures..................... 530.6 541.3 547.5 562.7 530 550 549 550 549 561
Amusement and recreation services... 1,323.7 1,518.7 1,419.1 1,426.9 1,483 1,563 1,568 1,563 1,587 1,602
Health services..................... 9,577.3 9,754.2 9,778.1 9,809.1 9,567 9,712 9,731 9,750 9,770 9,796
Offices and clinics of medical
doctors........................ 1,707.9 1,763.5 1,769.3 1,779.5 1,703 1,745 1,754 1,763 1,771 1,774
Nursing and personal care
facilities..................... 1,750.8 1,766.3 1,770.2 1,772.6 1,747 1,765 1,764 1,766 1,767 1,769
Hospitals......................... 3,839.5 3,898.2 3,910.3 3,922.9 3,839 3,884 3,892 3,900 3,909 3,921
Home health care services......... 674.8 688.7 687.0 683.9 673 685 684 682 683 682
Legal services...................... 938.7 959.8 966.8 971.6 940 957 962 963 968 973
Educational services................ 2,149.6 2,250.4 2,289.5 2,240.5 2,040 2,094 2,105 2,110 2,121 2,127
Social services..................... 2,433.5 2,515.7 2,524.9 2,534.4 2,426 2,497 2,502 2,507 2,514 2,529
Child day care services........... 587.6 611.2 613.3 611.5 575 600 597 594 595 599
Residential care.................. 681.8 706.4 708.4 715.7 683 703 707 709 710 717
Museums and botanical and zoological
gardens........................... 84.3 90.0 86.3 87.0 87 88 88 88 89 90
Membership organizations............ 2,180.1 2,192.7 2,188.0 2,198.4 2,191 2,206 2,202 2,204 2,200 2,210
Engineering and management services. 2,892.8 3,054.4 3,062.6 3,083.6 2,906 3,027 3,038 3,061 3,072 3,098
Engineering and architectural
services....................... 850.7 893.4 894.7 898.6 854 881 886 891 893 902
Management and public relations... 908.2 978.9 978.3 984.3 911 968 969 976 978 988
Services, nec....................... 46.9 49.1 49.4 49.6 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Government............................ 19,871 20,030 20,185 20,149 19,514 19,804 19,714 19,749 19,762 19,784
Federal............................. 2,757 2,667 2,681 2,720 2,728 2,690 2,680 2,687 2,696 2,689
Federal, except Postal Service.... 1,854.5 1,818.2 1,813.2 1,809.1 1,870 1,830 1,824 1,832 1,828 1,824
State............................... 4,703 4,779 4,805 4,761 4,621 4,664 4,662 4,663 4,671 4,678
Education......................... 2,036.3 2,089.7 2,124.3 2,085.3 1,927 1,961 1,962 1,962 1,966 1,975
Other State government............ 2,666.9 2,689.6 2,680.2 2,676.0 2,694 2,703 2,700 2,701 2,705 2,703
Local............................... 12,411 12,584 12,699 12,668 12,165 12,450 12,372 12,399 12,395 12,417
Education......................... 7,152.4 7,220.3 7,329.1 7,310.4 6,815 7,030 6,957 6,963 6,964 6,968
Other local government............ 5,258.8 5,363.3 5,370.1 5,357.3 5,350 5,420 5,415 5,436 5,431 5,449
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
Dec. Oct. Nov. Dec. Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1996 1997 1997p 1997p 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997p 1997p
Total private.................... 34.9 34.6 34.8 34.8 34.7 34.6 34.5 34.5 34.8 34.6
Goods-producing......................... 41.8 41.6 41.4 42.0 41.3 41.1 41.2 41.3 41.2 41.5
Mining................................ 46.0 45.4 45.5 45.1 45.7 45.5 45.1 45.2 45.4 44.8
Construction.......................... 38.6 39.7 37.8 38.4 38.9 38.6 38.9 38.8 38.1 38.8
Manufacturing......................... 42.8 42.2 42.6 43.1 42.0 41.8 41.9 42.0 42.1 42.3
Overtime hours.................... 5.1 5.0 5.2 5.4 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.9
Durable goods........................ 43.6 43.0 43.3 44.0 42.7 42.7 42.6 42.8 42.9 43.1
Overtime hours.................... 5.5 5.3 5.5 5.8 4.9 5.0 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.2
Lumber and wood products............ 41.2 41.5 41.6 41.3 41.0 40.8 40.9 41.1 41.4 41.1
Furniture and fixtures.............. 41.6 40.7 41.3 41.8 40.1 40.0 40.2 40.0 40.6 40.4
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 43.1 43.9 43.2 43.5 43.4 43.0 43.1 43.1 43.0 43.7
Primary metal industries............ 45.3 45.1 45.5 46.1 44.6 45.0 44.9 45.1 45.3 45.3
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 45.1 45.0 45.5 45.7 44.6 45.2 45.1 45.3 45.3 45.2
Fabricated metal products........... 43.6 42.9 43.3 44.0 42.4 42.3 42.4 42.6 42.6 42.9
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 44.4 43.3 44.0 44.9 43.3 43.4 43.4 43.4 43.8 43.7
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 42.9 41.9 42.5 43.2 41.8 41.7 41.7 41.8 41.9 42.1
Transportation equipment............ 45.6 44.6 44.6 45.9 44.6 44.3 43.9 44.4 44.1 44.9
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 46.5 45.1 44.9 46.6 45.2 44.7 44.1 45.0 44.4 45.3
Instruments and related products.... 43.0 41.9 42.6 43.3 42.0 42.3 42.0 41.9 42.2 42.2
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 41.1 40.8 41.0 41.3 40.4 40.2 40.3 40.2 40.3 40.7
Nondurable goods..................... 41.6 41.1 41.5 41.8 40.9 40.7 40.9 40.8 41.1 41.1
Overtime hours.................... 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.3 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.5
Food and kindred products........... 42.0 41.8 42.2 42.4 41.3 41.0 41.2 41.2 41.6 41.7
Tobacco products.................... 41.9 39.7 39.5 40.8 41.1 37.5 38.1 38.7 39.3 39.8
Textile mill products............... 42.0 41.4 41.9 42.1 41.5 41.2 41.4 41.3 41.5 41.7
Apparel and other textile products.. 37.9 37.6 37.6 38.2 37.4 37.1 37.3 37.2 37.1 37.6
Paper and allied products........... 44.5 43.8 44.3 44.9 43.7 43.4 43.7 43.7 44.0 44.0
Printing and publishing............. 39.0 38.9 39.2 39.3 38.4 38.3 38.7 38.7 38.8 38.7
Chemicals and allied products....... 44.4 43.3 43.7 43.8 43.5 43.3 43.4 43.2 43.4 42.9
Petroleum and coal products......... 43.9 43.3 43.4 41.5 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 42.6 41.9 42.5 43.1 41.8 41.7 41.6 41.8 42.2 42.2
Leather and leather products........ 39.3 38.6 38.5 38.6 38.8 38.0 38.4 38.6 38.0 38.1
Service-producing....................... 33.0 32.8 33.0 32.9 33.0 32.9 32.8 32.8 33.1 32.8
Transportation and public utilities... 39.9 39.8 40.3 39.7 39.9 40.1 39.9 39.8 40.2 39.6
Wholesale trade....................... 38.7 38.4 38.7 38.4 38.5 38.4 38.3 38.3 38.7 38.2
Retail trade.......................... 29.3 28.8 28.8 29.2 29.0 29.1 28.8 28.9 28.9 28.9
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 36.7 35.9 36.7 35.9 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Services.............................. 32.7 32.6 32.8 32.6 (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.
1996 1997 1997p 1997p 1996 1997 1997p 1997p
Total private.................... $12.06 $12.43 $12.51 $12.51 $420.89 $430.08 $435.35 $435.35
Seasonally adjusted............. 12.03 12.40 12.47 12.48 417.44 427.80 433.96 431.81
Goods-producing......................... 13.73 14.11 14.11 14.18 573.91 586.98 584.15 595.56
Mining................................ 15.95 16.19 16.38 16.43 733.70 735.03 745.29 740.99
Construction.......................... 15.66 16.30 16.25 16.33 604.48 647.11 614.25 627.07
Manufacturing......................... 13.07 13.29 13.36 13.46 559.40 560.84 569.14 580.13
Durable goods........................ 13.64 13.89 13.96 14.05 594.70 597.27 604.47 618.20
Lumber and wood products............ 10.61 10.86 10.90 10.90 437.13 450.69 453.44 450.17
Furniture and fixtures.............. 10.43 10.67 10.69 10.81 433.89 434.27 441.50 451.86
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 12.93 13.32 13.37 13.41 557.28 584.75 577.58 583.34
Primary metal industries............ 15.15 15.34 15.35 15.35 686.30 691.83 698.43 707.64
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 17.92 18.22 18.14 18.04 808.19 819.90 825.37 824.43
Fabricated metal products........... 12.79 12.90 12.96 13.08 557.64 553.41 561.17 575.52
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 13.97 14.22 14.30 14.40 620.27 615.73 629.20 646.56
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 12.54 12.91 12.96 12.99 537.97 540.93 550.80 561.17
Transportation equipment............ 17.57 17.92 17.98 18.10 801.19 799.23 801.91 830.79
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 18.12 18.50 18.56 18.66 842.58 834.35 833.34 869.56
Instruments and related products.... 13.39 13.63 13.71 13.74 575.77 571.10 584.05 594.94
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 10.59 10.65 10.74 10.83 435.25 434.52 440.34 447.28
Nondurable goods..................... 12.24 12.40 12.48 12.58 509.18 509.64 517.92 525.84
Food and kindred products........... 11.46 11.45 11.56 11.68 481.32 478.61 487.83 495.23
Tobacco products.................... 18.67 17.95 17.79 19.08 782.27 712.62 702.71 778.46
Textile mill products............... 9.92 10.10 10.16 10.25 416.64 418.14 425.70 431.53
Apparel and other textile products.. 8.15 8.32 8.34 8.44 308.89 312.83 313.58 322.41
Paper and allied products........... 14.95 15.19 15.25 15.29 665.28 665.32 675.58 686.52
Printing and publishing............. 12.90 13.20 13.25 13.31 503.10 513.48 519.40 523.08
Chemicals and allied products....... 16.45 16.65 16.84 16.88 730.38 720.95 735.91 739.34
Petroleum and coal products......... 20.26 20.29 20.37 20.47 889.41 878.56 884.06 849.51
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 11.51 11.64 11.64 11.80 490.33 487.72 494.70 508.58
Leather and leather products........ 8.83 9.13 9.11 9.15 347.02 352.42 350.74 353.19
Service-producing....................... 11.50 11.87 11.98 11.95 379.50 389.34 395.34 393.16
Transportation and public utilities... $14.60 $15.04 $15.13 $15.14 $582.54 $598.59 $609.74 $601.06
Wholesale trade....................... 13.20 13.56 13.73 13.69 510.84 520.70 531.35 525.70
Retail trade.......................... 8.16 8.47 8.51 8.50 239.09 243.94 245.09 248.20
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 13.02 13.53 13.70 13.62 477.83 485.73 502.79 488.96
Services.............................. 12.16 12.42 12.57 12.62 397.63 404.89 412.30 411.41
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
Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. change
Industry 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997p 1997p from:
Nov. 1997-
Dec. 1997
Total private:
Current dollars.............. $12.03 $12.31 $12.35 $12.40 $12.47 $12.48 0.1
Constant (1982) dollars2..... 7.45 7.56 7.56 7.58 7.62 N.A. (3)
Goods-producing............... 13.69 13.94 13.97 14.07 14.10 14.14 .3
Mining...................... 15.88 16.07 16.20 16.27 16.43 16.35 -.5
Construction................ 15.69 16.03 16.08 16.12 16.22 16.35 .8
Manufacturing............... 12.99 13.20 13.22 13.35 13.36 13.37 .1
Excluding overtime4....... 12.29 12.50 12.51 12.60 12.62 12.62 .0
Service-producing............. 11.47 11.77 11.81 11.85 11.94 11.92 -.2
Transportation and public
utilities................ 14.56 15.01 14.95 15.01 15.04 15.11 .5
Wholesale trade............. 13.17 13.54 13.54 13.57 13.72 13.67 -.4
Retail trade................ 8.16 8.36 8.42 8.46 8.50 8.50 .0
Finance, insurance, and real
estate................... 13.00 13.49 13.47 13.54 13.65 13.60 -.4
Services.................... 12.04 12.33 12.36 12.41 12.49 12.49 .0
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 .5 percent from October 1997 to November 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
Dec. Oct. Nov. Dec. Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1996 1997 1997p 1997p 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997p 1997p
Total private.................... 140.5 142.9 143.8 144.0 139.1 140.8 140.9 141.2 142.8 142.5
Goods-producing......................... 113.4 116.9 115.7 116.0 112.4 113.0 113.3 113.6 113.9 115.1
Mining................................ 55.9 57.0 56.7 55.7 55.7 56.3 56.1 56.1 56.1 55.6
Construction.......................... 146.8 167.2 155.4 151.2 151.2 152.9 154.2 153.5 152.1 156.1
Manufacturing......................... 110.0 109.9 111.0 112.5 107.8 108.1 108.3 108.7 109.5 110.2
Durable goods........................ 112.9 113.3 114.8 117.1 110.3 112.0 111.8 112.5 113.3 114.3
Lumber and wood products............ 141.1 146.3 145.8 145.1 140.9 141.5 142.1 143.0 144.3 144.9
Furniture and fixtures.............. 131.4 130.6 132.6 135.0 125.7 126.7 127.6 127.3 129.6 129.5
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 109.1 114.6 111.4 110.6 111.0 109.7 110.0 110.5 110.0 112.3
Primary metal industries............ 95.3 95.7 97.2 99.2 93.3 95.2 95.0 95.9 96.5 96.8
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 74.1 73.6 74.7 75.8 72.9 73.4 74.1 74.0 74.0 74.7
Fabricated metal products........... 119.4 119.4 121.2 123.8 115.5 117.2 117.4 118.4 118.5 120.0
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 108.8 108.9 111.2 114.1 105.7 108.9 108.9 109.7 111.2 111.0
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 111.3 109.9 112.7 115.4 108.0 108.9 109.0 109.4 110.5 112.0
Transportation equipment............ 129.3 129.6 131.7 136.0 125.5 129.7 127.6 129.6 130.1 131.8
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 172.2 168.1 170.8 177.0 165.6 169.1 164.7 168.3 169.1 170.3
Instruments and related products.... 77.9 75.5 76.8 78.6 75.8 75.8 75.6 75.4 76.0 76.5
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 104.7 105.4 104.5 104.4 103.4 102.5 102.0 101.8 100.5 103.4
Nondurable goods..................... 106.1 105.3 105.8 106.2 104.5 102.8 103.5 103.6 104.3 104.6
Food and kindred products........... 117.6 121.6 120.8 119.6 116.9 114.8 116.2 116.5 118.4 118.9
Tobacco products.................... 73.4 68.2 67.9 69.4 65.1 57.6 58.5 61.3 64.2 61.1
Textile mill products............... 90.9 88.1 89.1 89.6 90.0 87.6 88.2 88.0 87.9 88.7
Apparel and other textile products.. 76.1 72.8 72.2 72.5 75.3 71.7 71.6 71.2 70.7 71.6
Paper and allied products........... 112.3 110.0 111.0 113.1 110.2 108.5 109.5 109.5 110.0 110.7
Printing and publishing............. 127.0 126.2 128.2 129.1 123.9 124.5 125.6 125.8 126.3 125.9
Chemicals and allied products....... 102.8 101.1 102.6 103.4 101.0 100.1 100.9 100.8 102.0 101.3
Petroleum and coal products......... 74.6 75.9 74.9 69.8 77.0 74.9 74.2 73.1 73.9 71.8
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 147.8 146.8 148.8 151.3 144.5 144.9 144.7 145.6 147.0 147.9
Leather and leather products........ 44.1 40.6 40.2 39.3 43.5 39.7 39.5 40.3 39.1 38.6
Service-producing....................... 152.6 154.6 156.4 156.5 151.0 153.2 153.3 153.6 155.8 154.8
Transportation and public utilities... 131.1 133.1 134.6 133.3 129.3 128.2 132.2 132.1 133.1 131.2
Wholesale trade....................... 125.6 127.6 128.7 127.4 125.0 126.5 126.2 126.7 128.2 126.7
Retail trade.......................... 143.6 139.3 142.1 146.3 137.6 139.7 138.5 139.2 140.1 140.2
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 128.2 128.4 131.5 129.1 128.3 129.4 128.6 128.1 132.9 129.2
Services.............................. 180.0 187.1 188.1 186.7 181.1 184.9 185.0 185.3 188.4 187.6
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 58.7 56.5 64.2 p61.7 p61.9
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 59.1 65.0 65.3 p66.9 p70.2
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 64.3 66.7 67.0 p69.0 p70.8
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 66.2 69.4 70.4 p69.1 p70.5
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 49.6 54.3 57.6 p59.4 p57.6
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 48.6 53.6 55.8 p62.6 p65.1
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 48.6 52.2 55.0 p57.9 p60.4
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 47.8 52.2 55.0 p56.5 p57.2
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: February 06, 1998
URL: http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/pub/empsit_1297.htm
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