Technical information: USDL 99-06
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 8, 1999.
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: DECEMBER 1998
Employment rose in December and the unemployment rate, at 4.3 percent,
was little changed, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department
of Labor reported today. Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 378,000.
Growth was spread throughout the service-producing sector, and unusually
mild weather across much of the country contributed to strength in
construction.
Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
Both the number of unemployed persons, 6.0 million, and the
unemployment rate, 4.3 percent, were little changed in December. The
jobless rate has remained within a narrow range of 4.3 to 4.5 percent since
April. (See note below.) The unemployment rates for the major worker
groups--adult men (3.6 percent), adult women (3.9 percent), teenagers (14.0
percent), whites (3.8 percent), blacks (7.9 percent), and Hispanics (7.6
percent)--showed little or no change in December. (See tables A-1 and A-2.)
Although essentially unchanged in December, the number of persons
unemployed 15 weeks and over has declined by about 300,000 over the year,
after adjusting for the changes in the composite estimation procedure
introduced last January. (See table A-6.)
Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
Total employment increased by 413,000 in December to 132.5 million,
seasonally adjusted. The employment-population ratio--the proportion of
the population age 16 and older with jobs--was essentially unchanged at
64.2 percent. Over the year, employment grew by 2.2 million, after
adjusting for the changes in the composite estimation procedure. (See
table A-1.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
| Seasonally adjusted household data have been revised to |
|incorporate updated seasonal adjustment factors that reflect the |
|1998 experience; data back to January 1994 are subject to revision. |
|The January-December 1998 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 | 1998 1/ | 1998 1/ | Dec.
|_________________|__________________________|change
| III | IV | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. |
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
HOUSEHOLD DATA | Labor force status
|____________________________________________________
Civilian labor force..| 137,656| 138,285| 138,116| 138,193| 138,547| 354
Employment..........| 131,419| 132,166| 131,858| 132,113| 132,526| 413
Unemployment........| 6,237| 6,120| 6,258| 6,080| 6,021| -59
Not in labor force....| 67,827| 67,813| 67,803| 67,911| 67,723| -188
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Unemployment rates
|____________________________________________________
All workers...........| 4.5| 4.4| 4.5| 4.4| 4.3| -0.1
Adult men...........| 3.8| 3.6| 3.6| 3.5| 3.6| .1
Adult women.........| 4.0| 4.0| 4.0| 4.0| 3.9| -.1
Teenagers...........| 14.7| 14.9| 15.7| 15.0| 14.0| -1.0
White...............| 3.9| 3.8| 3.9| 3.8| 3.8| .0
Black...............| 9.2| 8.4| 8.6| 8.6| 7.9| -.7
Hispanic origin.....| 7.3| 7.4| 7.3| 7.3| 7.6| .3
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
ESTABLISHMENT DATA | Employment
|____________________________________________________
Nonfarm employment....| 126,141|p126,820| 126,527|p126,778|p127,156| p378
Goods-producing 2/..| 25,210| p25,222| 25,209| p25,184| p25,272| p88
Construction......| 5,980| p6,075| 6,012| p6,054| p6,158| p104
Manufacturing.....| 18,660| p18,587| 18,633| p18,570| p18,557| p-13
Service-producing 2/| 100,931|p101,599| 101,318|p101,594|p101,884| p290
Retail trade......| 22,561| p22,650| 22,589| p22,654| p22,707| p53
Services..........| 37,691| p38,033| 37,905| p38,041| p38,152| p111
Government........| 19,892| p19,986| 19,948| p19,976| p20,035| p59
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Hours of work 3/
|____________________________________________________
Total private.........| 34.5| p34.6| 34.6| p34.5| p34.6| p0.1
Manufacturing.......| 41.7| p41.7| 41.7| p41.6| p41.8| p.2
Overtime..........| 4.6| p4.5| 4.5| p4.5| p4.5| p.0
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Indexes of aggregate weekly hours (1982=100) 3/
|____________________________________________________
Total private.........| 145.1| p146.0| 145.8| p145.7| p146.5| p0.8
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Earnings 3/
|____________________________________________________
Avg. hourly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| $12.84| p$12.94| $12.90| p$12.93| p$12.98| p$0.05
Avg. weekly earnings, | | | | | |
total private.......| 443.29| p447.18| 446.34| p446.09| p449.11| p3.02
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
1/ Beginning in January 1998, household data reflect new composite
estimation procedures and revised population controls.
2/ Includes other industries, not shown separately.
3/ Data relate to private production or nonsupervisory workers.
p=preliminary.
NOTE: Household data have been revised based on the experience through
December 1998.
- 3 -
The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (those
who would have preferred full-time work) was 3.4 million in December, about
the same as in the previous month. The number of such workers declined by
about 330,000 during the past year, after adjusting for changes in the
composite estimation procedure. (See table A-4.)
Approximately 8.2 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more
than one job in December. These multiple jobholders comprised 6.2 percent
of total employment, the same share as a year earlier. (See table A-10.)
Over the month, the civilian labor force rose by 354,000 to 138.5
million, seasonally adjusted. The labor force participation rate was 67.2
percent, about unchanged from the previous month. (See table A-1.)
Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
About 1.2 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. In December, the number of
marginally attached workers was 257,000 lower than a year earlier.
The number of discouraged workers--a subset of the marginally attached
who were not currently looking for work specifically because they believed
no jobs were available for them--was 358,000 in December, about the same as
a year earlier. (See table A-10.)
Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Data)
Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 378,000 in December to 127.2
million, seasonally adjusted. Job growth in 1998 totaled 2.9 million, a
2.3 percent increase. In December, job gains were spread throughout the
service-producing sector, construction employment increased sharply, and
job losses slowed in manufacturing. (See table B-1.)
The services industry added 111,000 jobs in December, about equal to
the monthly average for the year. Employment in business services rose by
49,000, led by the largest increase in personnel supply since August.
Nevertheless, growth in personnel supply, which includes temporary help
agencies, slowed substantially in 1998 compared to recent years. Robust
job growth continued in computer services where employment rose by 13.3
percent for the year. Engineering and management services employment also
continued its strong growth, increasing by 7.3 percent in 1998. For the
second straight month, agricultural services benefited from unusually mild
weather. Employment in health services was little changed in December,
and, over the year, the number of health service jobs grew by only 1.3
percent, half its 1997 rate. Home health care and nursing homes both lost
jobs in 1998.
Construction employment grew throughout much of 1998 and in December
jumped by 104,000 (after seasonal adjustment). This robust increase was
due in part to unseasonably warm temperatures in the North and East.
Employment gains were widespread within the industry, with the largest
increases in outside activities such as highway construction, masonry,
roofing, and concrete.
Employment in retail trade rose by 53,000 in December, the second large
increase in a row. Over the year, retail trade employment increased by
462,000. In December, eating and drinking places added 33,000 jobs. A
- 4 -
strong employment build-up for the holiday shopping season in department
stores also contributed to the over-the-month gain in retail trade. In
contrast, apparel stores and miscellaneous retail establishments did not
hire for the holiday season at the usual pace, resulting in employment
declines after seasonal adjustment both in December and over the September-
December period as a whole. Reflecting the strength in construction,
employment in building material and garden supply stores had its largest
increase of the year in December (9,000).
Transportation and public utilities employment rose in December by
32,000, the largest over-the-month change for that industry in 1998.
Strong growth in air transportation (13,000), trucking and warehousing
(9,000), and communications (9,000) accounted for most of the increase.
Finance, insurance, and real estate added 28,000 jobs in December,
bringing its over-the-year growth to 273,000 jobs. Within finance, strong
growth continued in mortgage banking and brokerages, where employment rose
by 4,000 in December and by 19.8 percent over the year. Security
brokerages also added 4,000 workers in December, offsetting a decline in
the prior month; this industry grew by 7.6 percent in 1998. Insurance and
real estate both continued their growth trends.
Government employment increased by 59,000 in December, led by gains in
state and local education. Federal government employment declined by
21,000, seasonally adjusted, due in part to light holiday hiring in
December by the Postal Service and the ending of an early phase of work on
the decennial census.
Manufacturing employment continued to decline, although the loss of
13,000 jobs in December was much smaller than the declines in the prior 2
months. Since March, the number of factory jobs has fallen by 272,000.
Within durable goods industries, employment in industrial machinery
declined by 10,000 in December, bringing the total losses since March to
54,000. A decline of 9,000 jobs in motor vehicles manufacturing followed a
small drop in November and left auto employment down 12,000 for the year.
Within nondurable goods industries, employment in food products increased
by 8,000, primarily in the preserved fruits and vegetables industry, which
tends to have volatile month-to-month movements. Employment in
manufacturing industries related to construction and home purchases
(lumber; furniture; and stone, clay, and glass) grew in December and over
the year.
Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)
The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on
private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1 hour in December to 34.6 hours,
seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek increased by 0.2 hour to
41.8 hours, while factory overtime was 4.5 hours for the fourth consecutive
month. (See table B-2.)
The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory
workers on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 0.5 percent to 146.5
(1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index increased by 0.3
percent to 107.5. (See table B-5.)
Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)
Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on
private nonfarm payrolls rose 5 cents in December to $12.98, seasonally
adjusted; this follows 3 months of smaller gains. Average weekly earnings
increased 0.7 percent to $449.11. Over the year, average hourly and weekly
earnings have risen by 3.8 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively. (See
table B-3.)
________________________________________
The Employment Situation for January 1999 is scheduled to be released
on Friday, February 5, 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 1998 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 1998. Rates for 5 months were revised, in
each case by plus or minus 0.1 percentage point. Revised seasonally
adjusted data for major labor force series since December 1997 appear in
table C.
The January 1999 issue of Employment and Earnings will contain the new
seasonal adjustment factors for major series for the January-June 1999
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 changes due to
revision, January-December 1998
----------------------------------------------------------------------
| | |
Month and year | As first | As | Change
| computed | revised |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
| | |
1998 | | |
| | |
January.................| 4.7 | 4.6 | -0.1
February................| 4.6 | 4.6 | .0
March...................| 4.7 | 4.7 | .0
April...................| 4.3 | 4.3 | .0
May.....................| 4.3 | 4.4 | .1
June....................| 4.5 | 4.5 | .0
July....................| 4.5 | 4.5 | .0
August..................| 4.5 | 4.5 | .0
September...............| 4.6 | 4.5 | -.1
October.................| 4.6 | 4.5 | -.1
November................| 4.4 | 4.4 | .0
December................| 1/ 4.4 | 4.3 | -.1
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1/ Not published.
- 6 -
Planned Changes in the Household Survey Data
Effective with the release of data for January 1999, revisions will be
introduced into the population controls used for the household survey.
These revisions primarily reflect new information on immigration and will
result in an upward shift in the estimated total civilian noninstitutional
population 16 years and over for January 1999. The changes will add
approximately 308,000 to routine population trend growth between December
1998 and January 1999. The impact will vary for subpopulations such as men
(-183,000), women (+491,000), Hispanic origin (-163,000), and non-Hispanic
origin (+471,000). 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 1999 issue of Employment and Earnings.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table C. Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age
(Numbers in thousands)
1997 1998
Employment status, sex, and
age
Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional
population(1).......... 204,098 204,238 204,400 204,547 204,731 204,899 205,085 205,270 205,479 205,699 205,919 206,104 206,270
Civilian labor force.... 137,086 137,288 137,384 137,340 137,232 137,369 137,498 137,407 137,481 138,081 138,116 138,193 138,547
Participation rate 67.2 67.2 67.2 67.1 67.0 67.0 67.0 66.9 66.9 67.1 67.1 67.1 67.2
Employed.............. 130,638 130,943 131,021 130,908 131,280 131,330 131,253 131,176 131,264 131,818 131,858 132,113 132,526
Employment-population
ratio.................. 64.0 64.1 64.1 64.0 64.1 64.1 64.0 63.9 63.9 64.1 64.0 64.1 64.2
Unemployed............ 6,448 6,345 6,363 6,432 5,952 6,039 6,245 6,231 6,217 6,263 6,258 6,080 6,021
Unemployment rate. 4.7 4.6 4.6 4.7 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.4 4.3
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional
population(1).......... 90,339 90,391 90,476 90,502 90,580 90,622 90,700 90,802 90,889 91,003 91,101 91,192 91,220
Civilian labor force.... 69,489 69,547 69,559 69,446 69,616 69,608 69,590 69,738 69,518 69,869 69,913 70,023 70,069
Participation rate 76.9 76.9 76.9 76.7 76.9 76.8 76.7 76.8 76.5 76.8 76.7 76.8 76.8
Employed.............. 66,636 66,892 66,927 66,769 67,173 67,084 66,994 67,056 66,940 67,262 67,362 67,573 67,553
Employment-population
ratio.................. 73.8 74.0 74.0 73.8 74.2 74.0 73.9 73.8 73.7 73.9 73.9 74.1 74.1
Agriculture......... 2,314 2,303 2,297 2,194 2,423 2,331 2,337 2,382 2,420 2,402 2,449 2,374 2,237
Nonagricultural
industries............. 64,322 64,589 64,630 64,575 64,750 64,753 64,657 64,674 64,520 64,860 64,913 65,199 65,316
Unemployed............ 2,853 2,655 2,632 2,677 2,443 2,524 2,596 2,682 2,578 2,607 2,551 2,450 2,516
Unemployment rate. 4.1 3.8 3.8 3.9 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.7 3.7 3.6 3.5 3.6
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional
population(1).......... 98,300 98,420 98,471 98,534 98,583 98,668 98,735 98,778 98,901 98,994 99,037 99,135 99,181
Civilian labor force.... 59,638 59,583 59,625 59,666 59,539 59,583 59,613 59,465 59,708 59,804 59,826 59,896 60,078
Participation rate 60.7 60.5 60.6 60.6 60.4 60.4 60.4 60.2 60.4 60.4 60.4 60.4 60.6
Employed.............. 57,165 57,051 57,097 57,136 57,117 57,235 57,190 57,078 57,295 57,426 57,437 57,503 57,745
Employment-population
ratio.................. 58.2 58.0 58.0 58.0 57.9 58.0 57.9 57.8 57.9 58.0 58.0 58.0 58.2
Agriculture......... 831 805 799 734 726 767 763 781 806 767 771 734 753
Nonagricultural
industries............. 56,334 56,246 56,298 56,402 56,391 56,468 56,427 56,297 56,489 56,659 56,666 56,769 56,992
Unemployed............ 2,473 2,532 2,528 2,530 2,422 2,348 2,423 2,387 2,413 2,378 2,389 2,393 2,333
Unemployment rate. 4.1 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.1 3.9 4.1 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 3.9
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian noninstitutional
population(1).......... 15,459 15,427 15,453 15,511 15,569 15,609 15,651 15,690 15,689 15,702 15,781 15,777 15,868
Civilian labor force.... 7,959 8,158 8,200 8,228 8,077 8,178 8,295 8,204 8,255 8,408 8,377 8,274 8,400
Participation rate 51.5 52.9 53.1 53.0 51.9 52.4 53.0 52.3 52.6 53.5 53.1 52.4 52.9
Employed.............. 6,837 7,000 6,997 7,003 6,990 7,011 7,069 7,042 7,029 7,130 7,059 7,037 7,228
Employment-population
ratio.................. 44.2 45.4 45.3 45.1 44.9 44.9 45.2 44.9 44.8 45.4 44.7 44.6 45.5
Agriculture......... 238 229 249 245 232 253 263 260 266 301 338 240 232
Nonagricultural
industries............. 6,599 6,771 6,748 6,758 6,758 6,758 6,806 6,782 6,763 6,829 6,721 6,797 6,996
Unemployed............ 1,122 1,158 1,203 1,225 1,087 1,167 1,226 1,162 1,226 1,278 1,318 1,237 1,172
Unemployment rate. 14.1 14.2 14.7 14.9 13.5 14.3 14.8 14.2 14.9 15.2 15.7 15.0 14.0
1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used in the
household survey. Seasonally adjusted data have been revised based on the experience through December 1998.
- 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 1998,
the sample included about 390,000 establishments employing about 48 million
people.
For both surveys, the data for a given month relate to a particular week
or pay period. In the household survey, the reference week is generally
the calendar week that contains the 12th day of the month. In the
establishment survey, the reference period is the pay period including the
12th, which may or may not correspond directly to the calendar week.
Coverage, definitions, and differences between surveys
Household survey. The sample is selected to reflect the entire
civilian noninstitutional population. Based on responses to a series of
questions on work and job search activities, each person 16 years and over
in a sample household is classified as employed, unemployed, or not in the
labor force.
People are classified as employed if they did any work at all as paid
employees during the reference week; worked in their own business,
profession, or on their own farm; or worked without pay at least 15 hours
in a family business or farm. People are also counted as employed if they
were temporarily absent from their jobs because of illness, bad weather,
vacation, labor-management disputes, or personal reasons.
People are classified as unemployed if they meet all of the following
criteria: They had no employment during the reference week; they were
available for work at that time; and they made specific efforts to find
employment sometime during the 4-week period ending with the reference
week. Persons laid off from a job and expecting recall need not be
looking for work to be counted as unemployed. The unemployment data
derived from the household survey in no way depend upon the eligibility for
or receipt of unemployment insurance benefits.
The civilian labor force is the sum of employed and unemployed
persons. Those not classified as employed or unemployed are not in the
labor force. The unemployment rate is the number unemployed as a percent
of the labor force. The labor force participation rate is the labor force
as a percent of the population, and the employment-population ratio is the
employed as a percent of the population.
Establishment survey. The sample establishments are drawn from private
nonfarm businesses such as factories, offices, and stores, as well as
Federal, State, and local government entities. Employees on nonfarm
payrolls are those who received pay for any part of the reference pay
period, including persons on paid leave. Persons are counted in each job
they hold. Hours and earnings data are for private businesses and relate
only to production workers in the goods-producing sector and nonsupervisory
workers in the service-producing sector.
- 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.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional population.............. 204,098 206,104 206,270 204,098 205,479 205,699 205,919 206,104 206,270
Civilian labor force............................ 136,742 138,288 138,297 137,086 137,481 138,081 138,116 138,193 138,547
Participation rate........................ 67.0 67.1 67.0 67.2 66.9 67.1 67.1 67.1 67.2
Employed...................................... 130,785 132,577 132,732 130,638 131,264 131,818 131,858 132,113 132,526
Employment-population ratio............... 64.1 64.3 64.3 64.0 63.9 64.1 64.0 64.1 64.2
Agriculture................................. 3,103 3,226 2,953 3,383 3,492 3,470 3,558 3,348 3,222
Nonagricultural industries.................. 127,682 129,351 129,779 127,255 127,772 128,348 128,300 128,765 129,304
Unemployed.................................... 5,957 5,711 5,565 6,448 6,217 6,263 6,258 6,080 6,021
Unemployment rate......................... 4.4 4.1 4.0 4.7 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.4 4.3
Not in labor force.............................. 67,356 67,816 67,973 67,012 67,998 67,618 67,803 67,911 67,723
Men, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population.............. 98,225 99,217 99,309 98,225 98,892 99,006 99,121 99,217 99,309
Civilian labor force............................ 73,153 74,162 74,055 73,562 73,754 74,202 74,189 74,345 74,437
Participation rate........................ 74.5 74.7 74.6 74.9 74.6 74.9 74.8 74.9 75.0
Employed...................................... 69,849 71,256 70,930 70,133 70,503 70,841 70,925 71,182 71,204
Employment-population ratio............... 71.1 71.8 71.4 71.4 71.3 71.6 71.6 71.7 71.7
Unemployed.................................... 3,304 2,906 3,125 3,429 3,251 3,361 3,264 3,163 3,233
Unemployment rate......................... 4.5 3.9 4.2 4.7 4.4 4.5 4.4 4.3 4.3
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population.............. 90,339 91,192 91,220 90,339 90,889 91,003 91,101 91,192 91,220
Civilian labor force............................ 69,350 70,065 69,949 69,489 69,518 69,869 69,913 70,023 70,069
Participation rate........................ 76.8 76.8 76.7 76.9 76.5 76.8 76.7 76.8 76.8
Employed...................................... 66,524 67,809 67,439 66,636 66,940 67,262 67,362 67,573 67,553
Employment-population ratio............... 73.6 74.4 73.9 73.8 73.7 73.9 73.9 74.1 74.1
Agriculture................................. 2,151 2,337 2,076 2,314 2,420 2,402 2,449 2,374 2,237
Nonagricultural industries.................. 64,373 65,472 65,363 64,322 64,520 64,860 64,913 65,199 65,316
Unemployed.................................... 2,826 2,256 2,510 2,853 2,578 2,607 2,551 2,450 2,516
Unemployment rate......................... 4.1 3.2 3.6 4.1 3.7 3.7 3.6 3.5 3.6
Women, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population.............. 105,873 106,887 106,960 105,873 106,587 106,693 106,798 106,887 106,960
Civilian labor force............................ 63,589 64,126 64,242 63,524 63,727 63,879 63,927 63,848 64,110
Participation rate........................ 60.1 60.0 60.1 60.0 59.8 59.9 59.9 59.7 59.9
Employed...................................... 60,936 61,321 61,801 60,505 60,761 60,977 60,933 60,931 61,322
Employment-population ratio............... 57.6 57.4 57.8 57.1 57.0 57.2 57.1 57.0 57.3
Unemployed.................................... 2,653 2,805 2,440 3,019 2,966 2,902 2,994 2,917 2,788
Unemployment rate......................... 4.2 4.4 3.8 4.8 4.7 4.5 4.7 4.6 4.3
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population.............. 98,300 99,135 99,181 98,300 98,901 98,994 99,037 99,135 99,181
Civilian labor force............................ 59,834 60,326 60,337 59,638 59,708 59,804 59,826 59,896 60,078
Participation rate........................ 60.9 60.9 60.8 60.7 60.4 60.4 60.4 60.4 60.6
Employed...................................... 57,647 58,024 58,273 57,165 57,295 57,426 57,437 57,503 57,745
Employment-population ratio............... 58.6 58.5 58.8 58.2 57.9 58.0 58.0 58.0 58.2
Agriculture................................. 788 709 717 831 806 767 771 734 753
Nonagricultural industries.................. 56,859 57,315 57,556 56,334 56,489 56,659 56,666 56,769 56,992
Unemployed.................................... 2,187 2,302 2,065 2,473 2,413 2,378 2,389 2,393 2,333
Unemployment rate......................... 3.7 3.8 3.4 4.1 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 3.9
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian noninstitutional population............. 15,459 15,777 15,868 15,459 15,689 15,702 15,781 15,777 15,868
Civilian labor force............................ 7,558 7,897 8,011 7,959 8,255 8,408 8,377 8,274 8,400
Participation rate........................ 48.9 50.1 50.5 51.5 52.6 53.5 53.1 52.4 52.9
Employed...................................... 6,614 6,744 7,020 6,837 7,029 7,130 7,059 7,037 7,228
Employment-population ratio............... 42.8 42.7 44.2 44.2 44.8 45.4 44.7 44.6 45.5
Agriculture................................. 164 180 161 238 266 301 338 240 232
Nonagricultural industries.................. 6,450 6,564 6,860 6,599 6,763 6,829 6,721 6,797 6,996
Unemployed.................................... 944 1,153 990 1,122 1,226 1,278 1,318 1,237 1,172
Unemployment rate......................... 12.5 14.6 12.4 14.1 14.9 15.2 15.7 15.0 14.0
1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted
and seasonally adjusted columns.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used
in the household survey. Seasonally adjusted data have been revised based on the experience through December 1998.
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.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
WHITE
Civilian noninstitutional population.............. 170,649 172,084 172,197 170,649 171,655 171,804 171,956 172,084 172,197
Civilian labor force............................ 114,867 115,804 115,796 115,118 115,385 115,751 115,714 115,687 115,996
Participation rate.......................... 67.3 67.3 67.2 67.5 67.2 67.4 67.3 67.2 67.4
Employed...................................... 110,662 111,692 111,647 110,612 110,848 111,221 111,162 111,304 111,560
Employment-population ratio................. 64.8 64.9 64.8 64.8 64.6 64.7 64.6 64.7 64.8
Unemployed.................................... 4,205 4,112 4,149 4,506 4,537 4,530 4,552 4,383 4,436
Unemployment rate........................... 3.7 3.6 3.6 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.8 3.8
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force............................ 59,253 59,707 59,662 59,313 59,384 59,587 59,579 59,634 59,712
Participation rate.......................... 77.3 77.3 77.2 77.4 77.1 77.3 77.2 77.2 77.2
Employed...................................... 57,162 58,041 57,725 57,246 57,450 57,615 57,646 57,806 57,813
Employment-population ratio................. 74.6 75.1 74.7 74.7 74.6 74.7 74.7 74.8 74.8
Unemployed.................................... 2,091 1,666 1,937 2,067 1,934 1,972 1,933 1,828 1,899
Unemployment rate........................... 3.5 2.8 3.2 3.5 3.3 3.3 3.2 3.1 3.2
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force............................ 49,233 49,468 49,429 49,078 49,025 49,108 49,062 49,065 49,230
Participation rate.......................... 60.2 60.1 60.0 60.0 59.7 59.8 59.7 59.6 59.8
Employed...................................... 47,726 47,863 47,960 47,387 47,321 47,456 47,401 47,415 47,585
Employment-population ratio................. 58.4 58.2 58.3 58.0 57.6 57.7 57.6 57.6 57.8
Unemployed.................................... 1,507 1,605 1,469 1,691 1,704 1,652 1,661 1,650 1,645
Unemployment rate........................... 3.1 3.2 3.0 3.4 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.3
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force............................ 6,380 6,629 6,705 6,727 6,976 7,056 7,073 6,988 7,054
Participation rate.......................... 52.1 52.8 53.4 54.9 55.8 56.4 56.4 55.7 56.1
Employed...................................... 5,773 5,789 5,962 5,979 6,077 6,150 6,115 6,083 6,162
Employment-population ratio................. 47.1 46.1 47.4 48.8 48.6 49.1 48.8 48.5 49.0
Unemployed.................................... 607 840 743 748 899 906 958 905 892
Unemployment rate........................... 9.5 12.7 11.1 11.1 12.9 12.8 13.5 13.0 12.6
Men....................................... 9.9 13.6 13.2 11.3 14.2 14.7 14.1 14.1 14.5
Women..................................... 9.1 11.6 8.8 10.9 11.5 10.8 13.0 11.6 10.6
BLACK
Civilian noninstitutional population.............. 24,180 24,529 24,561 24,180 24,418 24,458 24,496 24,529 24,561
Civilian labor force............................ 15,685 16,214 16,136 15,733 15,937 16,027 16,163 16,201 16,157
Participation rate.......................... 64.9 66.1 65.7 65.1 65.3 65.5 66.0 66.0 65.8
Employed...................................... 14,248 14,900 14,993 14,147 14,517 14,584 14,776 14,804 14,884
Employment-population ratio................. 58.9 60.7 61.0 58.5 59.5 59.6 60.3 60.4 60.6
Unemployed.................................... 1,437 1,315 1,143 1,586 1,420 1,443 1,387 1,397 1,273
Unemployment rate........................... 9.2 8.1 7.1 10.1 8.9 9.0 8.6 8.6 7.9
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force............................ 6,945 7,133 7,047 6,966 7,021 6,999 7,144 7,086 7,063
Participation rate.......................... 71.9 72.8 71.9 72.1 72.1 71.7 73.1 72.4 72.0
Employed...................................... 6,374 6,662 6,592 6,366 6,487 6,499 6,653 6,590 6,588
Employment-population ratio................. 66.0 68.0 67.2 65.9 66.6 66.6 68.0 67.3 67.2
Unemployed.................................... 571 471 455 600 534 500 491 496 475
Unemployment rate........................... 8.2 6.6 6.5 8.6 7.6 7.1 6.9 7.0 6.7
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force............................ 7,840 8,071 8,089 7,804 7,903 7,948 7,992 8,051 8,035
Participation rate.......................... 64.8 65.7 65.8 64.5 64.7 64.9 65.2 65.6 65.4
Employed...................................... 7,273 7,501 7,600 7,157 7,302 7,320 7,391 7,443 7,474
Employment-population ratio................. 60.1 61.1 61.8 59.1 59.7 59.8 60.3 60.6 60.8
Unemployed.................................... 567 570 490 647 601 628 601 608 561
Unemployment rate........................... 7.2 7.1 6.1 8.3 7.6 7.9 7.5 7.6 7.0
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force............................ 900 1,010 999 963 1,013 1,080 1,027 1,064 1,059
Participation rate.......................... 37.3 41.1 40.6 39.9 41.3 44.0 41.8 43.3 43.0
Employed...................................... 601 737 801 624 728 765 732 771 822
Employment-population ratio................. 24.9 30.0 32.6 25.8 29.7 31.1 29.8 31.4 33.4
Unemployed.................................... 299 274 198 339 285 315 295 293 237
Unemployment rate........................... 33.3 27.1 19.8 35.2 28.1 29.2 28.7 27.5 22.4
Men....................................... 35.8 32.1 25.7 36.7 29.7 32.7 34.7 33.0 27.3
Women..................................... 31.4 22.2 14.4 34.0 26.8 25.7 23.5 22.1 17.6
HISPANIC ORIGIN
Civilian noninstitutional population.............. 20,629 21,349 21,405 20,629 21,159 21,224 21,286 21,349 21,405
Civilian labor force............................ 13,986 14,384 14,485 13,985 14,316 14,457 14,437 14,389 14,488
Participation rate.......................... 67.8 67.4 67.7 67.8 67.7 68.1 67.8 67.4 67.7
Employed...................................... 12,998 13,425 13,398 12,977 13,257 13,394 13,382 13,345 13,383
Employment-population ratio................. 63.0 62.9 62.6 62.9 62.7 63.1 62.9 62.5 62.5
Unemployed.................................... 987 960 1,087 1,008 1,059 1,063 1,055 1,044 1,105
Unemployment rate........................... 7.1 6.7 7.5 7.2 7.4 7.4 7.3 7.3 7.6
1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted
and seasonally adjusted columns.
NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races"
group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Beginning in January
1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used in the household survey.
Seasonally adjusted data have been revised based on the experience through December 1998.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-3. Employment status of the civilian population 25 years and over by educational attainment, seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted(1)
Educational attainment
Dec. Nov. Dec. Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
Less than a high school diploma
Civilian noninstitutional population...... 29,566 29,084 29,094 29,566 29,204 29,290 28,713 29,084 29,094
Civilian labor force.................... 12,560 12,410 12,509 12,555 12,496 12,563 12,408 12,463 12,500
Percent of population............... 42.5 42.7 43.0 42.5 42.8 42.9 43.2 42.9 43.0
Employed.............................. 11,599 11,548 11,609 11,619 11,612 11,692 11,556 11,574 11,626
Employment-population ratio......... 39.2 39.7 39.9 39.3 39.8 39.9 40.2 39.8 40.0
Unemployed............................ 962 862 900 936 884 871 852 889 874
Unemployment rate................... 7.7 6.9 7.2 7.5 7.1 6.9 6.9 7.1 7.0
High school graduates, no college (2)
Civilian noninstitutional population...... 57,631 57,273 57,115 57,631 57,729 57,589 57,666 57,273 57,115
Civilian labor force.................... 37,940 37,560 37,442 37,805 37,367 37,289 37,540 37,408 37,296
Percent of population............... 65.8 65.6 65.6 65.6 64.7 64.8 65.1 65.3 65.3
Employed.............................. 36,444 36,159 36,066 36,255 35,883 35,783 36,056 35,947 35,873
Employment-population ratio......... 63.2 63.1 63.1 62.9 62.2 62.1 62.5 62.8 62.8
Unemployed............................ 1,497 1,400 1,376 1,550 1,484 1,506 1,484 1,461 1,423
Unemployment rate................... 3.9 3.7 3.7 4.1 4.0 4.0 4.0 3.9 3.8
Less than a bachelor's degree(3)
Civilian noninstitutional population...... 42,085 42,863 43,022 42,085 41,842 41,769 42,573 42,863 43,022
Civilian labor force.................... 31,440 32,126 31,933 31,357 31,117 31,271 31,349 31,727 31,800
Percent of population............... 74.7 75.0 74.2 74.5 74.4 74.9 73.6 74.0 73.9
Employed.............................. 30,464 31,280 31,080 30,335 30,231 30,343 30,423 30,825 30,911
Employment-population ratio......... 72.4 73.0 72.2 72.1 72.3 72.6 71.5 71.9 71.8
Unemployed............................ 976 846 853 1,022 886 928 926 902 889
Unemployment rate................... 3.1 2.6 2.7 3.3 2.8 3.0 3.0 2.8 2.8
College graduates
Civilian noninstitutional population...... 41,822 43,408 43,484 41,822 43,431 43,669 43,520 43,408 43,484
Civilian labor force.................... 33,739 34,775 34,889 33,683 34,739 34,914 34,779 34,554 34,838
Percent of population............... 80.7 80.1 80.2 80.5 80.0 80.0 79.9 79.6 80.1
Employed.............................. 33,204 34,180 34,323 33,086 34,129 34,335 34,108 33,922 34,205
Employment-population ratio......... 79.4 78.7 78.9 79.1 78.6 78.6 78.4 78.1 78.7
Unemployed............................ 535 594 566 597 610 579 671 632 633
Unemployment rate................... 1.6 1.7 1.6 1.8 1.8 1.7 1.9 1.8 1.8
1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation, therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted
and seasonally adjusted columns.
2 Includes high school diploma or equivalent.
3 Includes the categories, some college, no degree; and associate degree.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used
in the household survey. Seasonally adjusted data have been revised based on the experience through December 1998.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-4. Selected employment indicators
(In thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Category
Dec. Nov. Dec. Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
CHARACTERISTIC
Total employed, 16 years and over................. 130,785 132,577 132,732 130,638 131,264 131,818 131,858 132,113 132,526
Married men, spouse present..................... 43,049 43,483 43,426 42,879 42,874 43,170 43,090 43,209 43,227
Married women, spouse present................... 33,285 33,264 33,502 32,899 32,670 32,891 33,037 32,953 33,093
Women who maintain families..................... 7,706 7,956 8,011 7,788 7,928 7,984 7,940 7,969 8,087
OCCUPATION
Managerial and professional specialty........... 38,416 39,779 40,007 38,159 38,942 39,553 39,679 39,459 39,729
Technical, sales, and administrative support.... 38,791 38,567 38,517 38,570 38,843 38,478 38,431 38,430 38,307
Service occupations............................. 17,738 18,065 17,873 17,847 17,770 17,926 17,692 18,024 17,976
Precision production, craft, and repair......... 14,213 14,478 14,586 14,309 14,158 14,045 14,192 14,552 14,685
Operators, fabricators, and laborers............ 18,495 18,276 18,702 18,302 17,968 18,118 18,168 18,067 18,480
Farming, forestry, and fishing.................. 3,132 3,413 3,046 3,484 3,590 3,585 3,604 3,538 3,396
CLASS OF WORKER
Agriculture:
Wage and salary workers....................... 1,653 1,884 1,683 1,870 2,111 2,145 2,247 2,005 1,912
Self-employed workers......................... 1,405 1,301 1,241 1,479 1,342 1,290 1,282 1,304 1,304
Unpaid family workers......................... 45 41 29 53 31 40 33 40 34
Nonagricultural industries:
Wage and salary workers....................... 118,728 120,296 120,917 118,255 118,840 119,148 119,275 119,718 120,380
Government.................................. 18,382 18,861 18,902 18,200 18,332 18,448 18,547 18,607 18,686
Private industries.......................... 100,346 101,435 102,015 100,055 100,508 100,700 100,728 101,111 101,694
Private households........................ 980 967 962 960 871 918 946 969 943
Other industries.......................... 99,366 100,467 101,053 99,095 99,637 99,782 99,782 100,142 100,751
Self-employed workers......................... 8,859 8,951 8,745 8,918 8,955 9,096 9,030 8,929 8,814
Unpaid family workers......................... 96 104 117 101 88 88 95 112 122
PERSONS AT WORK PART TIME
All industries:
Part time for economic reasons................ 3,869 3,159 3,455 3,836 3,503 3,419 3,404 3,340 3,417
Slack work or business conditions........... 2,323 1,816 2,005 2,237 2,019 1,913 2,031 1,910 1,927
Could only find part-time work.............. 1,240 1,095 1,088 1,309 1,188 1,168 1,136 1,157 1,148
Part time for noneconomic reasons............. 19,557 19,814 19,770 18,487 18,653 18,687 18,667 18,634 18,674
Nonagricultural industries:
Part time for economic reasons................ 3,644 3,018 3,242 3,663 3,339 3,191 3,253 3,191 3,257
Slack work or business conditions........... 2,188 1,737 1,901 2,122 1,926 1,800 1,927 1,824 1,841
Could only find part-time work.............. 1,216 1,073 1,057 1,283 1,155 1,132 1,110 1,130 1,116
Part time for noneconomic reasons............. 18,946 19,305 19,270 17,864 18,031 18,161 18,107 18,110 18,155
NOTE: Persons at work excludes employed persons who were absent from their jobs during the entire reference week for
reasons such as vacation, illness, or industrial dispute. Part time for noneconomic reasons excludes persons who usually
work full time but worked only 1 to 34 hours during the reference week for reasons such as holidays, illness, and bad
weather. Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used
in the household survey. Seasonally adjusted data have been revised based on the experience through December 1998.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-5. Selected unemployment indicators, seasonally adjusted
Number of
unemployed persons Unemployment rates(1)
(in thousands)
Category
Dec. Nov. Dec. Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
CHARACTERISTIC
Total, 16 years and over......................... 6,448 6,080 6,021 4.7 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.4 4.3
Men, 20 years and over......................... 2,853 2,450 2,516 4.1 3.7 3.7 3.6 3.5 3.6
Women, 20 years and over....................... 2,473 2,393 2,333 4.1 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 3.9
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years..................... 1,122 1,237 1,172 14.1 14.9 15.2 15.7 15.0 14.0
Married men, spouse present.................... 1,125 992 1,015 2.6 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.2 2.3
Married women, spouse present.................. 983 987 942 2.9 3.1 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.8
Women who maintain families.................... 663 592 547 7.8 6.8 7.6 6.9 6.9 6.3
Full-time workers.............................. 5,196 4,736 4,781 4.6 4.4 4.3 4.3 4.2 4.2
Part-time workers.............................. 1,262 1,340 1,263 5.1 5.3 5.3 5.5 5.4 5.2
OCCUPATION(2)
Managerial and professional specialty.......... 737 712 728 1.9 1.9 1.8 1.9 1.8 1.8
Technical, sales, and administrative support... 1,604 1,482 1,473 4.0 3.7 3.9 3.9 3.7 3.7
Precision production, craft, and repair........ 700 580 491 4.7 4.5 4.3 4.0 3.8 3.2
Operators, fabricators, and laborers........... 1,340 1,295 1,318 6.8 6.6 7.0 6.8 6.7 6.7
Farming, forestry, and fishing................. 258 237 276 6.9 5.9 7.0 5.4 6.3 7.5
INDUSTRY
Nonagricultural private wage and salary workers 5,036 4,764 4,727 4.8 4.7 4.8 4.6 4.5 4.4
Goods-producing industries................... 1,468 1,307 1,322 5.1 4.8 5.1 4.6 4.6 4.6
Mining..................................... 17 13 24 2.6 3.6 3.0 2.4 2.2 4.3
Construction............................... 647 503 469 9.3 7.4 8.6 6.7 7.0 6.4
Manufacturing.............................. 804 791 829 3.8 3.9 4.0 3.9 3.8 4.0
Durable goods............................ 396 392 423 3.1 3.5 3.7 3.2 3.2 3.4
Nondurable goods......................... 408 399 406 4.8 4.5 4.6 5.1 4.8 4.9
Service-producing industries................. 3,568 3,457 3,405 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.5 4.4
Transportation and public utilities........ 254 246 246 3.3 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.2 3.2
Wholesale and retail trade................. 1,534 1,406 1,519 5.8 5.6 5.7 5.6 5.2 5.5
Finance, insurance, and real estate........ 208 230 232 2.7 2.7 2.4 2.5 2.8 2.8
Services................................... 1,572 1,575 1,408 4.6 4.7 4.5 4.7 4.6 4.1
Government workers............................. 399 394 389 2.1 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.0
Agricultural wage and salary workers........... 193 165 172 9.4 7.4 7.9 6.7 7.6 8.3
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: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used
in the household survey. Data have been revised based on the experience through December 1998.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-6. Duration of unemployment
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Duration
Dec. Nov. Dec. Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Less than 5 weeks................................ 2,243 2,325 2,299 2,558 2,652 2,638 2,754 2,546 2,614
5 to 14 weeks.................................... 1,949 1,930 1,817 1,962 1,956 1,968 1,896 1,983 1,839
15 weeks and over................................ 1,765 1,456 1,449 1,926 1,644 1,636 1,598 1,611 1,578
15 to 26 weeks................................ 832 649 680 921 810 732 732 752 754
27 weeks and over............................. 933 807 769 1,005 834 904 866 859 824
Average (mean) duration, in weeks................ 16.0 14.3 14.1 16.0 13.7 14.3 14.1 14.4 14.1
Median duration, in weeks........................ 7.4 6.4 6.7 7.4 6.8 6.6 5.9 6.7 6.7
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.............................. 37.7 40.7 41.3 39.7 42.4 42.3 44.1 41.5 43.3
5 to 14 weeks.................................. 32.7 33.8 32.7 30.4 31.3 31.5 30.3 32.3 30.5
15 weeks and over.............................. 29.6 25.5 26.0 29.9 26.3 26.2 25.6 26.2 26.2
15 to 26 weeks............................... 14.0 11.4 12.2 14.3 13.0 11.7 11.7 12.2 12.5
27 weeks and over............................ 15.7 14.1 13.8 15.6 13.3 14.5 13.9 14.0 13.7
NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used
in the household survey. Seasonally adjusted data have been revised based on the experience through December 1998.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-7. Reason for unemployment
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Reason
Dec. Nov. Dec. Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Job losers and persons who completed temporary
jobs........................................... 3,051 2,587 2,849 2,966 2,834 2,865 2,813 2,758 2,754
On temporary layoff............................. 1,053 739 934 955 937 909 857 850 841
Not on temporary layoff......................... 1,998 1,848 1,915 2,011 1,897 1,956 1,956 1,908 1,913
Permanent job losers.......................... 1,355 1,217 1,382 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Persons who completed temporary jobs.......... 643 631 533 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Job leavers....................................... 634 651 628 715 734 727 730 677 709
Reentrants........................................ 1,849 2,027 1,706 2,193 2,124 2,161 2,142 2,130 2,031
New entrants...................................... 423 446 381 549 507 501 577 534 504
PERCENT DISTRIBUTION
Total unemployed.................................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Job losers and persons who completed temporary
jobs........................................... 51.2 45.3 51.2 46.2 45.7 45.8 44.9 45.2 45.9
On temporary layoff............................ 17.7 12.9 16.8 14.9 15.1 14.5 13.7 13.9 14.0
Not on temporary layoff........................ 33.5 32.4 34.4 31.3 30.6 31.3 31.2 31.3 31.9
Job leavers...................................... 10.6 11.4 11.3 11.1 11.8 11.6 11.7 11.1 11.8
Reentrants....................................... 31.0 35.5 30.6 34.1 34.3 34.6 34.2 34.9 33.9
New entrants..................................... 7.1 7.8 6.9 8.5 8.2 8.0 9.2 8.8 8.4
UNEMPLOYED AS A PERCENT OF THE
CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE
Job losers and persons who completed temporary
jobs........................................... 2.2 1.9 2.1 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.0 2.0 2.0
Job leavers...................................... .5 .5 .5 .5 .5 .5 .5 .5 .5
Reentrants....................................... 1.4 1.5 1.2 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.5
New entrants..................................... .3 .3 .3 .4 .4 .4 .4 .4 .4
1 Not available.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used
in the household survey. Seasonally adjusted data have been revised based on the experience through December 1998.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-8. Range of alternative measures of labor underutilization
(Percent)
Not seasonally Seasonally adjusted
adjusted
Measure
Dec. Nov. Dec. Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
U-1 Persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer, as a percent of
the civilian
labor force.............................................. 1.3 1.1 1.0 1.4 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.1
U-2 Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs, as
a percent of the
civilian labor force..................................... 2.2 1.9 2.1 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.0 2.0 2.0
U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor
force
(official unemployment rate)............................. 4.4 4.1 4.0 4.7 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.4 4.3
U-4 Total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a percent
of the civilian
labor force plus discouraged workers.................... 4.6 4.3 4.3 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
U-5 Total unemployed, plus discouraged workers, plus all
other marginally
attached workers, as a percent of the civilian labor
force plus all marginally
attached workers........................................ 5.4 5.0 4.8 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
U-6 Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers,
plus total employed
part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the
civilian labor force plus
all marginally attached workers......................... 8.2 7.2 7.3 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
1 Not available.
NOTE: This range of alternative measures of labor underutilization replaces the U1-U7 range published in table A-7 of
this release prior to 1994. Marginally attached workers are persons who currently are neither working nor looking for work
but indicate that they want and are available for a job and have looked for work sometime in the recent past. Discouraged
workers, a subset of the marginally attached, have given a job-market related reason for not currently looking for a job.
Persons employed part time for economic reasons are those who want and are available for full-time work but have had to
settle for a part-time schedule. For further information, see "BLS introduces new range of alternative unemployment
measures," in the October 1995 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite
estimation procedures and revised population controls used in the household survey. Seasonally adjusted data have been
revised based on the experience through December 1998.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-9. Unemployed persons by sex and age, seasonally adjusted
Number of
unemployed persons Unemployment rates(1)
(in thousands)
Age and sex
Dec. Nov. Dec. Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1997 1998 1998 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998
Total, 16 years and over.......................... 6,448 6,080 6,021 4.7 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.4 4.3
16 to 24 years.................................. 2,287 2,171 2,153 10.6 10.8 10.9 10.5 9.9 9.8
16 to 19 years................................ 1,122 1,237 1,172 14.1 14.9 15.2 15.7 15.0 14.0
16 to 17 years.............................. 577 595 573 17.8 17.1 17.6 18.2 18.0 16.9
18 to 19 years.............................. 556 646 611 11.8 13.5 13.5 14.0 13.0 12.1
20 to 24 years................................ 1,165 934 981 8.6 8.4 8.2 7.3 6.9 7.2
25 years and over............................... 4,162 3,879 3,864 3.6 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.3 3.3
25 to 54 years................................ 3,668 3,377 3,340 3.7 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.4 3.4
55 years and over............................. 469 516 517 2.8 2.6 2.7 2.7 3.0 3.0
Men, 16 years and over.......................... 3,429 3,163 3,233 4.7 4.4 4.5 4.4 4.3 4.3
16 to 24 years................................ 1,229 1,190 1,247 11.0 11.3 11.9 10.9 10.3 10.8
16 to 19 years.............................. 576 713 717 14.1 15.9 17.4 16.7 16.5 16.4
16 to 17 years............................ 307 344 349 18.4 18.9 20.2 20.9 20.0 19.9
18 to 19 years............................ 266 373 364 11.1 14.2 15.1 13.7 14.4 14.0
20 to 24 years.............................. 653 477 530 9.1 8.5 8.6 7.5 6.6 7.3
25 years and over............................. 2,201 1,952 1,987 3.5 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.1 3.2
25 to 54 years.............................. 1,881 1,652 1,688 3.6 3.3 3.2 3.3 3.1 3.2
55 years and over........................... 319 296 300 3.4 2.6 3.0 2.9 3.1 3.1
Women, 16 years and over........................ 3,019 2,917 2,788 4.8 4.7 4.5 4.7 4.6 4.3
16 to 24 years................................ 1,058 981 906 10.2 10.4 9.8 10.1 9.5 8.7
16 to 19 years.............................. 546 524 455 14.1 13.8 12.9 14.8 13.3 11.3
16 to 17 years............................ 270 251 224 17.1 15.3 14.9 15.4 15.9 13.8
18 to 19 years............................ 290 273 247 12.5 12.8 11.9 14.3 11.4 10.2
20 to 24 years.............................. 512 457 451 7.9 8.2 7.8 7.1 7.1 7.1
25 years and over............................. 1,961 1,927 1,877 3.7 3.5 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.5
25 to 54 years.............................. 1,787 1,725 1,652 3.9 3.7 3.7 3.8 3.8 3.6
55 years and over........................... 150 220 217 2.0 2.7 2.3 2.5 2.9 2.8
1 Unemployment as a percent of the civilian labor force.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used
in the household survey. Data have been revised based on the experience through December 1998.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-10. Persons not in the labor force and multiple jobholders by sex, not seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
Total Men Women
Category
Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec.
1997 1998 1997 1998 1997 1998
NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE
Total not in the labor force...................................... 67,356 67,973 25,072 25,254 42,284 42,719
Persons who currently want a job................................ 4,390 4,187 1,828 1,762 2,562 2,425
Searched for work and vailable to work now(1)................ 1,453 1,196 668 548 785 649
Reason not currently looking:
Discouragement over job prospects(2).................... 345 358 185 214 160 145
Reasons other than discouragement(3)................. 1,108 838 483 334 625 504
MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS
Total multiple jobholders(4)...................................... 8,108 8,220 4,212 4,163 3,896 4,057
Percent of total employed..................................... 6.2 6.2 6.0 5.9 6.4 6.6
Primary job full time, secondary job part time................ 4,574 4,561 2,680 2,574 1,894 1,988
Primary and secondary jobs both part time..................... 1,779 1,778 570 522 1,210 1,255
Primary and secondary jobs both full time..................... 231 233 148 149 83 84
Hours vary on primary or secondary job........................ 1,487 1,613 795 898 693 715
1 Data refer to persons who have searched for work during the prior 12 months and were available to take a job during the
reference week.
2 Includes thinks no work available, could not find work, lacks schooling or training, employer thinks too young or old, and
other types of discrimination.
3 Includes those who did not actively look for work in the prior 4 weeks for such reasons as child-care and transportation
problems, as well as a small number for which reason for nonparticipation was not determined.
4 Includes persons who work part time on their primary job and full time on their secondary job(s), not shown separately.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used in
the household survey.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry
(In thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Industry
Dec. Oct. Nov. Dec. Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1997 1998 1998p 1998p 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998p 1998p
Total......................... 125,123 127,504 127,820 127,976 124,289 126,191 126,363 126,527 126,778 127,156
Total private.................... 105,077 107,250 107,372 107,575 104,609 106,269 106,435 106,579 106,802 107,121
Goods-producing......................... 25,112 25,522 25,370 25,183 25,193 25,253 25,241 25,209 25,184 25,272
Mining................................ 591 570 563 556 592 571 568 564 560 557
Metal mining........................ 51.8 50.4 50.0 49.8 52 50 50 50 50 50
Coal mining......................... 93.9 89.0 90.1 89.4 94 90 89 89 90 89
Oil and gas extraction.............. 339.8 319.3 313.5 310.5 338 323 321 317 312 309
Nonmetallic minerals, except fuels.. 105.1 111.3 109.3 106.3 108 108 108 108 108 109
Construction.......................... 5,704 6,269 6,186 6,047 5,810 5,989 5,981 6,012 6,054 6,158
General building contractors........ 1,343.5 1,452.2 1,437.2 1,425.3 1,351 1,413 1,410 1,419 1,412 1,434
Heavy construction, except building. 757.6 905.9 869.0 813.9 805 829 820 825 835 865
Special trade contractors........... 3,602.6 3,911.1 3,880.1 3,807.9 3,654 3,747 3,751 3,768 3,807 3,859
Manufacturing......................... 18,817 18,683 18,621 18,580 18,791 18,693 18,692 18,633 18,570 18,557
Production workers................ 13,016 12,867 12,814 12,785 13,001 12,836 12,865 12,821 12,767 12,764
Durable goods........................ 11,149 11,066 11,038 11,021 11,118 11,106 11,090 11,059 11,010 10,997
Production workers................ 7,664 7,570 7,550 7,546 7,644 7,577 7,584 7,566 7,526 7,522
Lumber and wood products............ 797.2 815.3 812.0 808.6 798 802 805 806 808 810
Furniture and fixtures.............. 517.8 525.8 526.6 529.8 515 526 524 524 524 527
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 550.0 572.6 570.7 565.1 555 564 564 564 567 570
Primary metal industries............ 720.1 705.3 700.7 700.0 716 714 712 706 698 697
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 236.2 229.5 226.5 227.6 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Fabricated metal products........... 1,497.8 1,487.0 1,486.3 1,485.5 1,491 1,490 1,487 1,486 1,481 1,480
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 2,198.5 2,164.0 2,156.1 2,153.3 2,196 2,190 2,185 2,175 2,161 2,151
Computer and office equipment..... 380.7 370.9 368.2 365.6 381 373 374 371 369 366
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 1,720.5 1,678.6 1,674.3 1,672.6 1,712 1,694 1,688 1,680 1,669 1,667
Electronic components and
accessories.................... 677.6 652.8 650.1 648.6 676 661 659 654 650 648
Transportation equipment............ 1,890.2 1,882.0 1,882.5 1,884.3 1,878 1,884 1,883 1,887 1,878 1,872
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 1,010.4 997.6 999.3 1,000.1 1,001 995 995 1,000 998 989
Aircraft and parts................ 521.6 522.4 522.0 520.8 519 526 524 523 520 519
Instruments and related products.... 868.7 849.8 845.7 843.5 869 857 855 850 846 844
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 388.0 386.0 382.6 378.2 388 385 387 381 378 379
Nondurable goods..................... 7,668 7,617 7,583 7,559 7,673 7,587 7,602 7,574 7,560 7,560
Production workers................ 5,352 5,297 5,264 5,239 5,357 5,259 5,281 5,255 5,241 5,242
Food and kindred products........... 1,688.3 1,733.8 1,719.1 1,705.9 1,702 1,690 1,704 1,702 1,710 1,718
Tobacco products.................... 43.5 41.9 41.8 42.0 41 40 39 40 40 39
Textile mill products............... 611.3 588.3 583.6 579.8 611 591 593 589 583 579
Apparel and other textile products.. 805.9 753.0 739.1 730.2 808 762 761 746 735 731
Paper and allied products........... 687.1 676.5 674.1 674.2 686 680 679 677 674 673
Printing and publishing............. 1,571.2 1,566.4 1,571.0 1,572.9 1,561 1,568 1,568 1,569 1,566 1,564
Chemicals and allied products....... 1,034.3 1,034.1 1,032.3 1,033.6 1,036 1,036 1,036 1,034 1,034 1,035
Petroleum and coal products......... 136.6 136.5 135.3 133.3 139 134 135 134 134 136
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 1,002.7 1,006.4 1,007.4 1,009.2 1,002 1,006 1,007 1,004 1,006 1,008
Leather and leather products........ 87.2 80.0 79.1 77.5 87 80 80 79 78 77
Service-producing....................... 100,011 101,982 102,450 102,793 99,096 100,938 101,122 101,318 101,594 101,884
Transportation and public utilities... 6,508 6,643 6,651 6,692 6,451 6,570 6,579 6,595 6,609 6,641
Transportation...................... 4,196 4,295 4,297 4,333 4,135 4,235 4,237 4,247 4,254 4,277
Railroad transportation........... 229.1 235.5 234.9 234.3 230 232 234 234 234 235
Local and interurban passenger
transit........................ 469.6 484.4 483.6 484.2 455 469 466 467 469 469
Trucking and warehousing.......... 1,683.7 1,746.7 1,734.4 1,730.7 1,676 1,719 1,716 1,721 1,720 1,729
Water transportation.............. 173.9 193.8 190.5 186.7 179 192 191 191 194 193
Transportation by air............. 1,183.4 1,165.8 1,184.6 1,228.4 1,138 1,161 1,166 1,167 1,168 1,181
Pipelines, except natural gas..... 14.1 14.2 14.1 14.1 14 14 14 14 14 14
Transportation services........... 441.8 454.8 454.9 454.3 443 448 450 453 455 456
Communications and public utilities. 2,312 2,348 2,354 2,359 2,316 2,335 2,342 2,348 2,355 2,364
Communications.................... 1,455.0 1,499.6 1,503.3 1,507.6 1,457 1,483 1,490 1,498 1,501 1,510
Electric, gas, and sanitary
services....................... 856.5 848.6 851.1 851.4 859 852 852 850 854 854
Wholesale trade....................... 6,731 6,889 6,887 6,882 6,731 6,838 6,862 6,864 6,875 6,882
Durable goods....................... 4,000 4,097 4,101 4,103 4,002 4,084 4,094 4,096 4,103 4,105
Nondurable goods.................... 2,731 2,792 2,786 2,779 2,729 2,754 2,768 2,768 2,772 2,777
Retail trade.......................... 22,906 22,653 23,005 23,383 22,245 22,545 22,592 22,589 22,654 22,707
Building materials and garden
supplies......................... 934.9 986.9 982.3 983.3 946 979 984 987 990 999
General merchandise stores.......... 3,072.8 2,858.9 3,037.8 3,159.4 2,771 2,784 2,800 2,812 2,836 2,846
Department stores................. 2,693.7 2,525.6 2,686.9 2,784.0 2,434 2,459 2,466 2,481 2,498 2,512
Food stores......................... 3,581.3 3,561.4 3,592.8 3,623.9 3,517 3,551 3,557 3,554 3,557 3,560
Automotive dealers and service
stations......................... 2,317.8 2,375.8 2,367.2 2,365.5 2,329 2,354 2,361 2,367 2,368 2,376
New and used car dealers.......... 1,051.9 1,070.2 1,069.0 1,070.5 1,056 1,064 1,065 1,067 1,069 1,074
Apparel and accessory stores........ 1,206.9 1,096.7 1,154.0 1,204.0 1,103 1,112 1,109 1,101 1,104 1,101
Furniture and home furnishings
stores........................... 1,081.4 1,078.7 1,107.7 1,137.0 1,035 1,070 1,071 1,076 1,082 1,087
Eating and drinking places.......... 7,637.7 7,760.5 7,735.8 7,793.5 7,682 7,770 7,790 7,778 7,804 7,837
Miscellaneous retail establishments. 3,073.0 2,934.4 3,026.9 3,115.9 2,862 2,925 2,920 2,914 2,913 2,901
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 7,173 7,407 7,417 7,445 7,194 7,372 7,393 7,417 7,439 7,467
Finance............................. 3,478 3,587 3,598 3,621 3,478 3,572 3,578 3,598 3,606 3,621
Depository institutions........... 2,040.8 2,035.1 2,038.8 2,047.6 2,040 2,042 2,038 2,043 2,043 2,047
Commercial banks................ 1,467.3 1,450.7 1,453.2 1,459.9 1,466 1,457 1,456 1,456 1,456 1,458
Savings institutions............ 262.4 263.2 263.3 264.3 263 264 264 265 265 265
Nondepository institutions........ 586.2 638.3 646.4 654.2 586 628 630 640 650 654
Mortgage bankers and brokers.... 261.4 303.7 307.8 312.8 262 294 298 305 310 314
Security and commodity brokers.... 618.8 665.2 662.1 666.3 620 657 662 666 663 667
Holding and other investment
offices........................ 231.8 248.4 250.4 252.6 232 245 248 249 250 253
Insurance........................... 2,289 2,349 2,355 2,362 2,291 2,339 2,346 2,350 2,356 2,364
Insurance carriers................ 1,556.1 1,601.6 1,604.2 1,609.0 1,558 1,595 1,599 1,601 1,604 1,611
Insurance agents, brokers, and
service........................ 732.7 747.8 751.0 753.3 733 744 747 749 752 753
Real estate......................... 1,406 1,471 1,464 1,462 1,425 1,461 1,469 1,469 1,477 1,482
Services2............................. 36,647 38,136 38,042 37,990 36,795 37,691 37,768 37,905 38,041 38,152
Agricultural services............... 636.9 755.9 736.7 687.4 694 718 719 722 737 750
Hotels and other lodging places..... 1,677.9 1,778.9 1,711.8 1,700.9 1,754 1,786 1,781 1,783 1,781 1,778
Personal services................... 1,159.9 1,148.4 1,151.1 1,165.2 1,178 1,185 1,179 1,178 1,180 1,185
Business services................... 8,359.6 8,838.0 8,836.1 8,829.0 8,294 8,619 8,605 8,677 8,716 8,765
Services to buildings............. 948.8 989.8 989.8 988.7 955 978 986 987 988 995
Personnel supply services......... 3,169.0 3,313.8 3,291.4 3,262.1 3,111 3,178 3,152 3,161 3,182 3,209
Help supply services............ 2,829.2 2,969.8 2,945.3 2,911.0 2,783 2,850 2,818 2,829 2,846 2,863
Computer and data processing
services....................... 1,496.6 1,658.5 1,678.2 1,694.2 1,493 1,632 1,643 1,661 1,678 1,692
Auto repair, services, and parking.. 1,138.3 1,171.0 1,171.3 1,171.4 1,143 1,167 1,168 1,169 1,174 1,176
Miscellaneous repair services....... 379.4 391.4 390.8 392.3 380 386 388 389 391 393
Motion pictures..................... 567.8 556.3 556.5 567.8 564 566 568 567 562 564
Amusement and recreation services... 1,455.6 1,658.3 1,563.9 1,555.5 1,625 1,705 1,717 1,718 1,744 1,734
Health services..................... 9,844.8 9,948.3 9,964.1 9,978.4 9,827 9,919 9,937 9,947 9,955 9,958
Offices and clinics of medical
doctors........................ 1,785.3 1,842.3 1,847.2 1,852.8 1,779 1,828 1,835 1,843 1,848 1,846
Nursing and personal care
facilities..................... 1,765.5 1,755.7 1,756.4 1,754.8 1,761 1,754 1,758 1,755 1,753 1,751
Hospitals......................... 3,910.3 3,974.7 3,979.7 3,984.3 3,908 3,966 3,971 3,977 3,978 3,982
Home health care services......... 714.7 667.3 666.3 665.6 713 670 667 662 661 663
Legal services...................... 962.5 989.7 993.0 996.2 963 985 991 995 994 996
Educational services................ 2,273.3 2,385.9 2,422.0 2,371.2 2,160 2,198 2,218 2,238 2,244 2,253
Social services..................... 2,567.4 2,668.7 2,682.9 2,693.1 2,561 2,632 2,652 2,659 2,673 2,688
Child day care services........... 583.2 598.3 601.4 600.8 572 586 583 583 586 590
Residential care.................. 734.9 759.4 762.3 766.2 736 752 758 762 764 767
Museums and botanical and zoological
gardens........................... 88.5 93.1 90.9 91.7 91 92 92 92 93 94
Membership organizations............ 2,242.9 2,267.1 2,265.5 2,270.6 2,255 2,273 2,276 2,281 2,279 2,283
Engineering and management services. 3,097.4 3,288.0 3,306.7 3,321.5 3,111 3,264 3,280 3,293 3,320 3,337
Engineering and architectural
services....................... 889.7 929.4 930.2 931.2 892 927 926 927 931 934
Management and public relations... 986.4 1,078.2 1,090.8 1,094.2 988 1,055 1,066 1,075 1,092 1,095
Services, nec....................... 51.5 53.2 54.6 54.4 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Government............................ 20,046 20,254 20,448 20,401 19,680 19,922 19,928 19,948 19,976 20,035
Federal............................. 2,720 2,694 2,705 2,723 2,688 2,683 2,687 2,713 2,712 2,691
Federal, except Postal Service.... 1,803.1 1,822.8 1,816.3 1,804.8 1,819 1,816 1,813 1,834 1,832 1,821
State............................... 4,691 4,788 4,810 4,789 4,611 4,661 4,680 4,671 4,672 4,706
Education......................... 2,032.2 2,076.4 2,104.6 2,084.8 1,924 1,949 1,960 1,949 1,944 1,974
Other State government............ 2,658.6 2,711.1 2,705.5 2,704.6 2,687 2,712 2,720 2,722 2,728 2,732
Local............................... 12,635 12,772 12,933 12,889 12,381 12,578 12,561 12,564 12,592 12,638
Education......................... 7,309.2 7,359.6 7,491.9 7,485.9 6,965 7,128 7,088 7,083 7,117 7,142
Other local government............ 5,325.9 5,412.4 5,441.2 5,403.5 5,416 5,450 5,473 5,481 5,475 5,496
1 These series are not published seasonally adjusted because the seasonal component, which is small relative to the
trend-cycle and irregular components, cannot be separated with sufficient precision.
2 Includes other industries, not shown separately.
p = preliminary.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-2. Average weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers1 on private nonfarm payrolls by industry
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Industry
Dec. Oct. Nov. Dec. Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1997 1998 1998p 1998p 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998p 1998p
Total private.................... 34.8 34.6 34.7 34.7 34.7 34.6 34.4 34.6 34.5 34.6
Goods-producing......................... 42.0 41.4 41.2 41.8 41.4 41.1 40.8 41.1 40.9 41.2
Mining................................ 45.2 43.9 43.9 43.5 44.9 43.8 43.2 43.8 43.5 43.2
Construction.......................... 38.5 40.0 38.5 39.2 39.0 39.1 38.4 39.1 38.8 39.7
Manufacturing......................... 43.0 41.9 42.1 42.6 42.2 41.7 41.6 41.7 41.6 41.8
Overtime hours.................... 5.4 4.7 4.7 4.9 4.9 4.6 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5
Durable goods........................ 43.9 42.5 42.7 43.3 43.0 42.3 42.2 42.3 42.2 42.3
Overtime hours.................... 5.8 4.8 4.9 5.2 5.2 4.8 4.7 4.6 4.6 4.6
Lumber and wood products............ 41.2 41.5 41.5 41.8 41.0 41.2 40.6 41.1 41.2 41.7
Furniture and fixtures.............. 42.1 40.8 40.8 41.6 40.7 40.7 40.1 40.4 40.1 40.3
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 43.7 44.0 43.6 43.7 43.6 43.6 43.3 43.4 43.4 43.8
Primary metal industries............ 46.1 43.6 44.1 44.7 45.2 44.1 43.7 43.7 43.8 43.8
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 46.0 43.2 43.1 44.1 45.4 44.5 44.2 43.9 43.1 43.6
Fabricated metal products........... 44.0 42.6 42.8 43.6 42.9 42.3 42.3 42.3 42.1 42.4
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 44.8 42.4 42.6 43.0 43.7 43.1 42.7 42.7 42.3 41.9
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 43.1 41.5 42.1 42.3 42.0 41.7 41.5 41.5 41.4 41.1
Transportation equipment............ 45.6 44.2 44.4 45.8 44.5 42.6 43.7 43.7 43.9 44.7
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 46.3 44.5 44.9 47.2 44.9 42.3 44.3 43.8 44.4 45.6
Instruments and related products.... 42.9 41.1 41.5 42.0 41.9 41.4 41.0 41.1 41.0 41.0
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 41.4 40.1 40.1 40.3 40.6 40.1 39.6 39.7 39.4 39.5
Nondurable goods..................... 41.8 41.1 41.3 41.7 41.0 40.9 40.8 40.9 40.8 40.9
Overtime hours.................... 4.7 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.4 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.3
Food and kindred products........... 42.4 42.0 42.4 43.0 41.6 41.5 41.7 41.5 41.7 42.2
Tobacco products.................... 40.1 39.1 38.6 37.8 38.8 39.6 37.7 38.5 38.1 36.7
Textile mill products............... 42.2 41.1 41.3 41.3 41.7 41.0 40.4 41.1 40.8 40.8
Apparel and other textile products.. 38.1 37.6 37.6 37.9 37.5 37.5 37.3 37.3 37.3 37.3
Paper and allied products........... 44.6 43.6 43.9 44.2 43.7 43.3 43.6 43.5 43.5 43.3
Printing and publishing............. 39.2 38.4 38.6 38.7 38.6 38.5 38.1 38.2 38.1 38.1
Chemicals and allied products....... 44.0 43.2 43.3 43.6 43.2 43.3 43.2 43.3 43.0 42.6
Petroleum and coal products......... 42.2 43.9 43.9 44.7 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 43.0 41.8 42.1 42.9 42.1 41.6 41.7 41.8 41.6 41.9
Leather and leather products........ 38.8 37.6 37.9 38.4 38.4 38.1 37.4 37.4 37.5 37.8
Service-producing....................... 32.9 32.8 33.0 32.9 32.9 32.9 32.8 32.9 32.9 32.9
Transportation and public utilities... 39.8 39.3 39.7 39.0 39.9 39.3 39.3 39.3 39.3 39.0
Wholesale trade....................... 38.4 38.3 38.7 38.5 38.3 38.4 38.2 38.3 38.5 38.5
Retail trade.......................... 29.2 28.9 28.9 29.2 28.9 29.0 29.0 29.1 29.0 28.9
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 35.9 36.1 37.0 36.1 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Services.............................. 32.6 32.6 32.8 32.7 32.7 32.7 32.5 32.7 32.6 32.8
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.
1997 1998 1998p 1998p 1997 1998 1998p 1998p
Total private.................... $12.53 $12.92 $12.99 $12.99 $436.04 $447.03 $450.75 $450.75
Seasonally adjusted............. 12.50 12.90 12.93 12.98 433.75 446.34 446.09 449.11
Goods-producing......................... 14.21 14.49 14.49 14.55 596.82 599.89 596.99 608.19
Mining................................ 16.52 17.13 17.32 17.41 746.70 752.01 760.35 757.34
Construction.......................... 16.37 16.86 16.80 16.83 630.25 674.40 646.80 659.74
Manufacturing......................... 13.47 13.54 13.60 13.69 579.21 567.33 572.56 583.19
Durable goods........................ 14.07 14.03 14.08 14.17 617.67 596.28 601.22 613.56
Lumber and wood products............ 10.93 11.23 11.26 11.34 450.32 466.05 467.29 474.01
Furniture and fixtures.............. 10.79 10.99 10.98 11.10 454.26 448.39 447.98 461.76
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 13.39 13.68 13.67 13.72 585.14 601.92 596.01 599.56
Primary metal industries............ 15.42 15.31 15.31 15.38 710.86 667.52 675.17 687.49
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 18.15 18.21 18.30 18.18 834.90 786.67 788.73 801.74
Fabricated metal products........... 13.03 13.19 13.23 13.36 573.32 561.89 566.24 582.50
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 14.41 14.55 14.63 14.69 645.57 616.92 623.24 631.67
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 13.13 13.14 13.19 13.31 565.90 545.31 555.30 563.01
Transportation equipment............ 18.09 17.49 17.56 17.57 824.90 773.06 779.66 804.71
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 18.66 17.70 17.75 17.74 863.96 787.65 796.98 837.33
Instruments and related products.... 13.68 13.83 13.87 13.99 586.87 568.41 575.61 587.58
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 10.80 11.00 11.02 11.14 447.12 441.10 441.90 448.94
Nondurable goods..................... 12.58 12.82 12.88 12.97 525.84 526.90 531.94 540.85
Food and kindred products........... 11.71 11.82 11.95 12.01 496.50 496.44 506.68 516.43
Tobacco products.................... 18.69 17.08 17.43 17.28 749.47 667.83 672.80 653.18
Textile mill products............... 10.25 10.44 10.49 10.55 432.55 429.08 433.24 435.72
Apparel and other textile products.. 8.42 8.65 8.63 8.71 320.80 325.24 324.49 330.11
Paper and allied products........... 15.27 15.58 15.63 15.76 681.04 679.29 686.16 696.59
Printing and publishing............. 13.30 13.60 13.54 13.65 521.36 522.24 522.64 528.26
Chemicals and allied products....... 16.92 17.22 17.28 17.33 744.48 743.90 748.22 755.59
Petroleum and coal products......... 20.55 21.05 20.90 21.10 867.21 924.10 917.51 943.17
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 11.76 11.89 11.97 12.06 505.68 497.00 503.94 517.37
Leather and leather products........ 9.21 9.46 9.42 9.40 357.35 355.70 357.02 360.96
Service-producing....................... 11.96 12.40 12.50 12.49 393.48 406.72 412.50 410.92
Transportation and public utilities... $15.17 $15.43 $15.53 $15.57 $603.77 $606.40 $616.54 $607.23
Wholesale trade....................... 13.72 14.13 14.29 14.27 526.85 541.18 553.02 549.40
Retail trade.......................... 8.51 8.86 8.87 8.89 248.49 256.05 256.34 259.59
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 13.64 14.20 14.41 14.33 489.68 512.62 533.17 517.31
Services.............................. 12.61 13.01 13.14 13.18 411.09 424.13 430.99 430.99
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 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998p 1998p from:
Nov. 1998-
Dec. 1998
Total private:
Current dollars.............. $12.50 $12.85 $12.87 $12.90 $12.93 $12.98 0.4
Constant (1982) dollars2..... 7.63 7.78 7.79 7.79 7.79 N.A. (3)
Goods-producing............... 14.15 14.39 14.39 14.43 14.46 14.50 .3
Mining...................... 16.46 17.10 17.15 17.20 17.35 17.32 -.2
Construction................ 16.34 16.67 16.57 16.69 16.76 16.81 .3
Manufacturing............... 13.37 13.52 13.57 13.57 13.58 13.58 .0
Excluding overtime4....... 12.63 12.81 12.90 12.88 12.89 12.89 .0
Service-producing............. 11.95 12.35 12.38 12.41 12.44 12.49 .4
Transportation and public
utilities................ 15.16 15.35 15.42 15.42 15.45 15.56 .7
Wholesale trade............. 13.71 14.16 14.14 14.19 14.24 14.26 .1
Retail trade................ 8.51 8.83 8.86 8.85 8.85 8.90 .6
Finance, insurance, and real
estate................... 13.66 14.16 14.17 14.24 14.34 14.36 .1
Services.................... 12.50 12.95 12.99 13.03 13.05 13.09 .3
1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
2 The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) is used to
deflate this series.
3 Change was .0 percent from October 1998 to November 1998, the latest month available.
4 Derived by assuming that overtime hours are paid at the rate of time and one-half.
N.A. = not available.
p = preliminary.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-5. Indexes of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers1 on private nonfarm payrolls by
industry
(1982=100)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Industry
Dec. Oct. Nov. Dec. Dec. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
1997 1998 1998p 1998p 1997 1998 1998 1998 1998p 1998p
Total private.................... 144.7 146.8 147.4 147.5 143.6 145.3 144.9 145.8 145.7 146.5
Goods-producing......................... 117.0 117.6 116.0 116.4 116.0 114.7 114.1 114.6 114.0 115.6
Mining................................ 57.7 54.2 53.5 52.3 57.5 54.0 53.1 53.5 52.6 52.1
Construction.......................... 153.9 177.6 168.1 166.3 159.3 164.3 160.9 164.8 164.5 172.1
Manufacturing......................... 113.0 108.7 108.8 109.9 110.6 108.0 108.0 107.8 107.2 107.5
Durable goods........................ 117.5 112.1 112.4 114.0 114.6 111.8 111.7 111.6 110.8 111.1
Lumber and wood products............ 143.0 147.0 146.6 146.7 142.6 143.8 141.9 143.9 144.6 146.4
Furniture and fixtures.............. 136.4 134.3 134.4 138.4 131.1 133.7 131.4 132.4 131.4 133.3
Stone, clay, and glass products..... 113.4 119.7 118.1 116.6 114.9 116.0 115.4 115.7 116.5 118.1
Primary metal industries............ 98.6 91.2 91.5 92.7 96.3 93.3 92.3 91.6 90.7 90.5
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products....................... 75.2 68.5 67.4 69.6 73.8 71.9 71.0 70.1 67.3 68.9
Fabricated metal products........... 123.6 118.4 118.9 121.1 119.9 117.5 117.7 117.5 116.6 117.3
Industrial machinery and equipment.. 114.8 106.9 107.2 108.1 111.7 110.0 108.7 108.4 106.7 105.2
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................ 116.8 107.9 108.9 109.8 113.0 109.1 108.9 108.0 106.6 106.0
Transportation equipment............ 136.2 127.7 128.5 132.8 131.8 122.8 126.5 127.1 126.5 128.4
Motor vehicles and equipment...... 178.5 163.0 165.1 173.6 171.2 153.5 161.9 161.1 161.6 165.5
Instruments and related products.... 78.7 74.9 75.2 76.5 76.9 75.9 75.2 75.0 74.5 74.5
Miscellaneous manufacturing......... 105.4 101.5 100.6 99.8 103.9 101.5 100.3 98.6 97.5 98.1
Nondurable goods..................... 106.8 103.9 103.9 104.4 105.1 102.8 103.0 102.6 102.2 102.6
Food and kindred products........... 119.5 122.6 122.4 122.6 118.4 116.8 118.9 118.2 119.5 121.4
Tobacco products.................... 68.2 64.1 63.2 62.6 61.5 58.8 57.9 59.1 58.5 56.4
Textile mill products............... 90.8 84.9 84.5 83.9 89.9 85.0 84.3 85.2 83.6 82.7
Apparel and other textile products.. 73.1 66.6 65.2 64.9 72.2 67.5 67.0 65.2 64.3 63.9
Paper and allied products........... 114.1 109.3 109.7 110.7 111.6 109.1 109.9 109.2 108.6 108.3
Printing and publishing............. 129.8 124.7 125.8 126.1 126.7 125.4 124.1 124.5 123.5 123.0
Chemicals and allied products....... 104.0 102.6 102.6 103.7 102.0 102.8 102.7 102.8 101.9 101.5
Petroleum and coal products......... 71.6 76.0 75.2 74.9 74.2 73.8 73.9 73.6 74.1 77.3
Rubber and misc. plastics products.. 151.6 147.8 148.8 152.2 148.2 146.6 147.3 147.1 146.8 148.4
Leather and leather products........ 39.3 34.5 34.4 33.9 38.9 35.1 33.9 33.9 33.4 33.1
Service-producing....................... 157.2 159.9 161.6 161.5 156.0 159.0 158.7 159.7 159.9 160.3
Transportation and public utilities... 132.0 132.8 134.2 132.8 131.0 131.2 131.2 131.6 131.9 131.4
Wholesale trade....................... 127.2 129.8 130.8 129.9 126.9 129.0 128.7 129.1 129.9 130.0
Retail trade.......................... 145.4 141.4 143.9 147.6 139.2 141.3 141.5 142.0 141.7 141.5
Finance, insurance, and real estate... 129.9 135.3 138.8 136.2 130.9 136.2 135.6 136.6 137.6 137.0
Services.............................. 189.4 197.1 197.8 196.4 191.0 195.2 194.6 196.4 196.3 197.9
1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
p = preliminary.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-6. Diffusion indexes of employment change, seasonally adjusted
(Percent)
Time span Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
Private nonfarm payrolls, 356 industries1
Over 1-month span:
1994.............. 59.3 60.5 67.0 64.5 58.6 63.3 63.8 61.7 61.5 60.4 64.0 61.7
1995.............. 62.5 60.0 54.9 55.6 47.8 55.6 54.8 59.0 58.0 55.8 54.5 58.8
1996.............. 50.8 64.6 59.6 56.6 62.8 61.0 57.3 61.5 56.0 62.5 62.2 60.7
1997.............. 58.0 61.4 59.8 63.6 60.1 54.6 61.1 59.1 60.0 64.3 62.4 64.9
1998.............. 63.8 58.7 59.6 56.9 56.6 59.0 55.1 53.9 53.5 52.4 p54.4 p59.3
Over 3-month span:
1994.............. 64.5 69.2 69.9 68.4 66.6 67.1 69.0 69.5 66.2 65.6 66.6 66.3
1995.............. 63.6 61.4 59.4 53.1 55.2 53.2 59.7 60.1 59.1 58.0 56.6 54.6
1996.............. 61.9 62.8 64.0 63.8 63.5 64.9 64.2 61.5 63.9 64.2 67.0 66.6
1997.............. 64.9 63.3 65.6 66.2 63.9 61.2 60.1 65.9 67.4 68.1 70.8 71.9
1998.............. 68.4 67.3 64.2 61.7 60.4 58.4 57.2 56.7 56.0 p54.4 p58.0
Over 6-month span:
1994.............. 70.9 69.9 69.7 71.2 70.2 69.8 69.8 70.2 68.7 67.4 66.7 65.4
1995.............. 66.4 60.1 59.1 57.3 59.0 60.1 57.6 60.4 59.7 59.3 61.1 63.2
1996.............. 62.8 65.4 64.7 65.7 66.2 65.0 66.4 66.0 66.2 67.6 66.9 66.3
1997.............. 67.6 67.0 65.3 64.9 65.6 67.3 68.0 67.3 70.6 72.3 73.3 72.6
1998.............. 72.1 70.9 69.4 63.5 64.5 61.8 59.0 p58.6 p59.1
Over 12-month span:
1994.............. 70.2 71.6 71.8 71.8 72.1 71.8 71.5 72.1 70.1 69.5 66.6 65.0
1995.............. 63.6 62.4 62.6 63.3 61.7 61.9 58.7 62.2 62.2 61.5 63.5 65.4
1996.............. 64.5 66.7 64.5 65.6 68.5 67.3 67.7 66.4 68.0 69.9 69.1 68.3
1997.............. 69.8 67.6 69.2 70.1 69.8 69.8 71.2 71.2 71.1 73.0 72.9 72.3
1998.............. 71.2 69.5 69.5 66.6 p64.5 p63.2
Manufacturing payrolls, 139 industries1
Over 1-month span:
1994.............. 56.8 56.5 60.1 59.0 53.6 58.3 59.0 55.8 53.6 56.5 58.3 56.8
1995.............. 54.7 54.3 46.4 53.2 42.4 44.2 46.4 49.6 48.6 52.2 45.3 48.2
1996.............. 42.8 54.7 48.2 42.1 55.4 50.7 47.1 55.4 47.8 52.9 54.3 55.4
1997.............. 49.3 54.3 50.0 56.8 51.4 52.2 50.4 48.9 56.5 57.2 56.1 60.8
1998.............. 55.8 51.8 52.5 48.6 45.0 47.8 39.6 47.5 43.2 38.8 p37.4 p47.8
Over 3-month span:
1994.............. 60.4 63.7 63.7 60.4 57.6 59.7 61.9 56.8 54.3 55.4 60.8 59.0
1995.............. 56.8 50.0 47.8 42.1 43.2 38.8 40.6 43.5 48.2 47.1 45.3 39.9
1996.............. 43.9 46.8 46.0 47.5 46.4 49.3 51.4 50.0 53.6 51.1 57.6 54.7
1997.............. 54.3 49.3 54.3 54.0 55.4 50.4 47.5 52.2 57.9 62.6 64.7 65.5
1998.............. 60.1 59.0 50.7 46.4 43.2 38.8 36.7 34.2 41.4 p30.9 p35.6
Over 6-month span:
1994.............. 60.4 62.9 61.2 62.6 59.4 57.2 57.6 58.6 58.6 54.7 57.2 55.0
1995.............. 55.4 46.4 42.8 40.3 41.4 42.4 41.0 41.0 43.9 43.2 43.2 45.3
1996.............. 42.1 45.3 46.4 47.1 48.2 48.6 51.1 50.4 52.9 52.9 53.2 52.2
1997.............. 54.3 54.3 51.4 52.9 51.4 55.0 56.8 57.6 60.4 64.4 67.6 65.8
1998.............. 61.5 56.8 52.2 39.2 40.6 34.5 30.9 p29.1 p32.4
Over 12-month span:
1994.............. 57.9 58.6 60.8 60.8 60.8 63.3 59.4 60.1 57.2 56.5 50.4 49.6
1995.............. 46.0 44.2 46.0 47.8 41.0 41.7 38.5 38.8 36.3 38.5 39.9 44.6
1996.............. 43.5 47.5 45.3 45.3 50.4 49.6 50.4 48.6 51.1 55.0 54.0 51.8
1997.............. 57.2 52.5 54.7 56.5 57.9 57.6 58.6 58.6 60.4 60.4 59.4 58.3
1998.............. 50.7 51.1 50.4 41.7 p37.4 p36.0
1 Based on seasonally adjusted data for 1-, 3-, and 6-month spans and unadjusted data for the 12-month span. Data are
centered within the span.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: Figures are the percent of industries with employment increasing plus one-half of the industries with
unchanged employment, where 50 percent indicates an equal balance between industries with increasing and decreasing
employment.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Contact: (cpsinfo@bls.gov) Division of Labor Force Statistics-BLS
Last revised: February 05, 1999
URL: http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/pub/empsit_1298.htm
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