Transmission of material in this release is embargoed                       USDL-12-1070
until 8:30 a.m. (EDT) Friday, June 1, 2012

Technical information:
 Household data:       (202) 691-6378  *  cpsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/cps
 Establishment data:   (202) 691-6555  *  cesinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/ces

Media contact:         (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


                       THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- MAY 2012


Nonfarm payroll employment changed little in May (+69,000), and the unemployment rate
was essentially unchanged at 8.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported
today. Employment increased in health care, transportation and warehousing, and wholesale
trade but declined in construction. Employment was little changed in most other major
industries.

Household Survey Data

Both the number of unemployed persons (12.7 million) and the unemployment rate (8.2
percent) changed little in May. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (7.8 percent) and
Hispanics (11.0 percent) edged up in May, while the rates for adult women (7.4 percent),
teenagers (24.6 percent), whites (7.4 percent), and blacks (13.6 percent) showed little
or no change. The jobless rate for Asians was 5.2 percent in May (not seasonally
adjusted), down from 7.0 percent a year earlier. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) rose from 5.1
to 5.4 million in May. These individuals accounted for 42.8 percent of the unemployed.
(See table A-12.)

The civilian labor force participation rate increased in May by 0.2 percentage point
to 63.8 percent, offsetting a decline of the same amount in April. The employment-
population ratio edged up to 58.6 percent in May. (See table A-1.)

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to
as involuntary part-time workers) edged up to 8.1 million over the month. These
individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because
they were unable to find a full-time job. (See table A-8.)

In May, 2.4 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, up from 2.2
million a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were
not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job
sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had
not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. (See table A-16.)

Among the marginally attached, there were 830,000 discouraged workers in May, about the
same as a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.)  Discouraged workers are
persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for
them. The remaining 1.6 million persons marginally attached to the labor force in May
had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school
attendance or family responsibilities. (See table A-16.)

Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment changed little in May (+69,000), following a similar
change in April (+77,000). In comparison, the average monthly gain was 226,000 in the
first quarter of the year. In May, employment rose in health care, transportation and
warehousing, and wholesale trade, while construction lost jobs. (See table B-1.)

Health care employment continued to increase in May (+33,000). Within the industry,
employment in ambulatory health care services, which includes offices of physicians
and outpatient care centers, rose by 23,000 over the month. Over the year, health care
employment has risen by 340,000.

Transportation and warehousing added 36,000 jobs over the month. Employment gains in
transit and ground passenger transportation (+20,000) and in couriers and messengers
(+5,000) followed job losses in those industries in April. Employment in both industries
has shown little net change over the year. In May, truck transportation added 7,000 jobs.

Employment in wholesale trade rose by 16,000 over the month. Since reaching an employment
low in May 2010, this industry has added 184,000 jobs.

Manufacturing employment continued to trend up in May (+12,000) following a similar
change in April (+9,000). Job gains averaged 41,000 per month in the first quarter of
this year. In May, employment rose in fabricated metal products (+6,000) and in primary
metals (+4,000). Since its most recent low in January 2010, manufacturing employment has
increased by 495,000.

Construction employment declined by 28,000 in May, with job losses occurring in specialty
trade contractors (-18,000) and in heavy and civil engineering construction (-11,000).
Since reaching a low in January 2011, employment in construction has shown little change
on net.

Employment in professional and business services was essentially unchanged in May. Since
the most recent low point in September 2009, employment in this industry has grown by
1.4 million. In May, job losses in accounting and bookkeeping services (-14,000) and in
services to buildings and dwellings (-14,000) were offset by small gains elsewhere in
the industry.

Employment in other major industries, including mining and logging, retail trade,
information, financial activities, leisure and hospitality, and government, changed 
little in May.

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 hour
to 34.4 hours in May. The manufacturing workweek declined by 0.3 hour to 40.5 hours, and
factory overtime declined by 0.1 hour to 3.2 hours. The average workweek for production
and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.7 hours.
(See tables B-2 and B-7.)

In May, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up
by 2 cents to $23.41. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased
by 1.7 percent. In May, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and
nonsupervisory employees edged down by 1 cent to $19.70. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for March was revised from +154,000 to
+143,000, and the change for April was revised from +115,000 to +77,000.

_____________
The Employment Situation for June is scheduled to be released on Friday, July 6, 2012,
at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).


    _______________________________________________________________________________
   |                                                                               |
   |       Corrections to Women Employee Data from the Establishment Survey        |
   |                                                                               |
   |On May 25, 2012, BLS corrected estimates of women employees in the U.S. Postal |
   |Service from the establishment survey. BLS staff had discovered data-processing|
   |errors that occurred during the November 2009--April 2012 period that resulted |
   |in an incorrect ratio of women employees to all employees in the U.S. Postal   |
   |Service. The following women employee data series that incorporate the U.S.    |
   |Postal Service employment were also corrected: women employees in the federal  |
   |government, government, service-providing sector, and total nonfarm. These     |
   |data series on women employees were affected only to the extent of the error   |
   |occurring in the estimate of women employees in the U.S. Postal Service. Not   |
   |seasonally adjusted data were revised from November 2009 through February 2012.|
   |Seasonally adjusted data were revised back to January 2002. Some of the        |
   |corrected women employee data series appear in Summary table B and table B-5 of|
   |this news release. Total employment (jobs held by men and women combined) for  |
   |all data series including the U.S. Postal Service are correct as originally    |
   |published.                                                                     |
   |                                                                               |
   |For more information, see www.bls.gov/bls/ceswomen_usps_correction.htm.        |
   |_______________________________________________________________________________|

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Summary table A. Household data, seasonally adjusted

[Numbers in thousands]

Category	May 2011	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012	May 2012	Change from: Apr. 2012- May 2012
Employment status
Civilian noninstitutional population	239,313	242,604	242,784	242,966	182
Civilian labor force	153,700	154,707	154,365	155,007	642
Participation rate	64.2	63.8	63.6	63.8	0.2
Employed	139,808	142,034	141,865	142,287	422
Employment-population ratio	58.4	58.5	58.4	58.6	0.2
Unemployed	13,892	12,673	12,500	12,720	220
Unemployment rate	9.0	8.2	8.1	8.2	0.1
Not in labor force	85,613	87,897	88,419	87,958	-461
Unemployment rates
Total, 16 years and over	9.0	8.2	8.1	8.2	0.1
Adult men (20 years and over)	8.9	7.6	7.5	7.8	0.3
Adult women (20 years and over)	8.0	7.4	7.4	7.4	0.0
Teenagers (16 to 19 years)	24.1	25.0	24.9	24.6	-0.3
White	8.0	7.3	7.4	7.4	0.0
Black or African American	16.2	14.0	13.0	13.6	0.6
Asian (not seasonally adjusted)	7.0	6.2	5.2	5.2	-
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity	11.8	10.3	10.3	11.0	0.7
Total, 25 years and over	7.8	6.8	6.8	6.9	0.1
Less than a high school diploma	14.6	12.6	12.5	13.0	0.5
High school graduates, no college	9.5	8.0	7.9	8.1	0.2
Some college or associate degree	8.0	7.5	7.6	7.9	0.3
Bachelor's degree and higher	4.5	4.2	4.0	3.9	-0.1
Reason for unemployment
Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs	8,250	7,020	6,852	6,989	137
Job leavers	919	1,117	997	891	-106
Reentrants	3,436	3,269	3,341	3,439	98
New entrants	1,229	1,433	1,384	1,367	-17
Duration of unemployment
Less than 5 weeks	2,687	2,572	2,543	2,580	37
5 to 14 weeks	2,912	2,754	2,814	3,002	188
15 to 26 weeks	1,994	1,867	1,884	1,662	-222
27 weeks and over	6,204	5,308	5,101	5,411	310
Employed persons at work part time
Part time for economic reasons	8,541	7,672	7,853	8,098	245
Slack work or business conditions	5,836	5,081	5,187	5,147	-40
Could only find part-time work	2,475	2,341	2,367	2,649	282
Part time for noneconomic reasons	18,481	18,523	18,832	19,393	561
Persons not in the labor force (not seasonally adjusted)
Marginally attached to the labor force	2,206	2,352	2,363	2,423	-
Discouraged workers	822	865	968	830	-
- Over-the-month changes are not displayed for not seasonally adjusted data. NOTE: Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Detail for the seasonally adjusted data shown in this table will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Summary table B. Establishment data, seasonally adjusted

Category	May 2011	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012(p)	May 2012(p)
EMPLOYMENT BY SELECTED INDUSTRY (Over-the-month change, in thousands)
Total nonfarm	54	143	77	69
Total private	108	147	87	82
Goods-producing	20	28	4	-15
Mining and logging	9	0	0	1
Construction	3	-14	-5	-28
Manufacturing	8	42	9	12
Durable goods(1)	19	27	11	13
Motor vehicles and parts	-1.7	11.3	1.9	5.8
Nondurable goods	-11	15	-2	-1
Private service-providing(1)	88	119	83	97
Wholesale trade	7.6	5.2	11.1	15.9
Retail trade	-4.6	-14.9	27.0	2.3
Transportation and warehousing	7.5	6.1	-16.5	35.6
Information	0	-5	-1	-2
Financial activities	14	13	4	3
Professional and business services(1)	56	18	37	-1
Temporary help services	1.7	-13.2	12.6	9.2
Education and health services(1)	19	51	29	46
Health care and social assistance	25.7	33.4	20.9	34.0
Leisure and hospitality	-15	43	-6	-9
Other services	3	2	-1	6
Government	-54	-4	-10	-13
WOMEN AND PRODUCTION AND NONSUPERVISORY EMPLOYEES(2) AS A PERCENT OF ALL EMPLOYEES
Total nonfarm women employees	49.5	49.3	49.4	49.4
Total private women employees	48.0	47.8	47.8	47.9
Total private production and nonsupervisory employees	82.4	82.6	82.6	82.6
HOURS AND EARNINGS ALL EMPLOYEES
Total private
Average weekly hours	34.4	34.5	34.5	34.4
Average hourly earnings	$23.02	$23.37	$23.39	$23.41
Average weekly earnings	$791.89	$806.27	$806.96	$805.30
Index of aggregate weekly hours (2007=100)(3)	94.0	95.9	95.9	95.7
Over-the-month percent change	0.0	-0.1	0.0	-0.2
Index of aggregate weekly payrolls (2007=100)(4)	103.2	106.8	107.0	106.9
Over-the-month percent change	0.3	0.0	0.2	-0.1
HOURS AND EARNINGS PRODUCTION AND NONSUPERVISORY EMPLOYEES
Total private
Average weekly hours	33.6	33.7	33.7	33.7
Average hourly earnings	$19.43	$19.67	$19.71	$19.70
Average weekly earnings	$652.85	$662.88	$664.23	$663.89
Index of aggregate weekly hours (2002=100)(3)	101.0	103.1	103.2	103.3
Over-the-month percent change	-0.2	-0.2	0.1	0.1
Index of aggregate weekly payrolls (2002=100)(4)	131.1	135.5	136.0	136.0
Over-the-month percent change	0.0	-0.1	0.4	0.0
DIFFUSION INDEX(5) (Over 1-month span)
Total private (266 industries)	54.5	63.5	55.6	59.4
Manufacturing (81 industries)	54.3	69.8	53.7	54.3
Footnotes (1) Includes other industries, not shown separately. (2) Data relate to production employees in mining and logging and manufacturing, construction employees in construction, and nonsupervisory employees in the service-providing industries. (3) The indexes of aggregate weekly hours are calculated by dividing the current month's estimates of aggregate hours by the corresponding annual average aggregate hours. (4) The indexes of aggregate weekly payrolls are calculated by dividing the current month's estimates of aggregate weekly payrolls by the corresponding annual average aggregate weekly payrolls. (5) 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. (p) Preliminary
NOTE: Data in this table have been corrected. For more information see http://www.bls.gov/bls/ceswomen_usps_correction.htm.

Frequently Asked Questions about Employment and Unemployment Estimates

Why are there two monthly measures of employment?

The household survey and establishment survey both produce sample-based estimates
of employment and both have strengths and limitations. The establishment survey
employment series has a smaller margin of error on the measurement of month-to-
month change than the household survey because of its much larger sample size. An
over-the-month employment change of about 100,000 is statistically significant in
the establishment survey, while the threshold for a statistically significant
change in the household survey is about 400,000. However, the household survey has
a more expansive scope than the establishment survey because it includes the self-
employed, unpaid family workers, agricultural workers, and private household workers,
who are excluded by the establishment survey. The household survey also provides
estimates of employment for demographic groups.

Are undocumented immigrants counted in the surveys?

It is likely that both surveys include at least some undocumented immigrants. However,
neither the establishment nor the household survey is designed to identify the legal
status of workers. Therefore, it is not possible to determine how many are counted in
either survey. The establishment survey does not collect data on the legal status of
workers. The household survey does include questions which identify the foreign and
native born, but it does not include questions about the legal status of the foreign
born.

Why does the establishment survey have revisions?

The establishment survey revises published estimates to improve its data series by
incorporating additional information that was not available at the time of the
initial publication of the estimates. The establishment survey revises its initial
monthly estimates twice, in the immediately succeeding 2 months, to incorporate
additional sample receipts from respondents in the survey and recalculated seasonal
adjustment factors. For more information on the monthly revisions, please visit
www.bls.gov/ces/cesrevinfo.htm.

On an annual basis, the establishment survey incorporates a benchmark revision that
re-anchors estimates to nearly complete employment counts available from unemployment
insurance tax records. The benchmark helps to control for sampling and modeling errors
in the estimates. For more information on the annual benchmark revision, please visit
www.bls.gov/web/cesbmart.htm.

Does the establishment survey sample include small firms?

Yes; about 40 percent of the establishment survey sample is comprised of business
establishments with fewer than 20 employees. The establishment survey sample is
designed to maximize the reliability of the total nonfarm employment estimate; firms
from all size classes and industries are appropriately sampled to achieve that goal.

Does the establishment survey account for employment from new businesses?

Yes; monthly establishment survey estimates include an adjustment to account for
the net employment change generated by business births and deaths. The adjustment
comes from an econometric model that forecasts the monthly net jobs impact of
business births and deaths based on the actual past values of the net impact that
can be observed with a lag from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. The
establishment survey uses modeling rather than sampling for this purpose because the
survey is not immediately able to bring new businesses into the sample. There is an
unavoidable lag between the birth of a new firm and its appearance on the sampling
frame and availability for selection. BLS adds new businesses to the survey twice a
year.

Is the count of unemployed persons limited to just those people receiving
unemployment insurance benefits?

No; the estimate of unemployment is based on a monthly sample survey of households.
All persons who are without jobs and are actively seeking and available to work
are included among the unemployed. (People on temporary layoff are included even if
they do not actively seek work.) There is no requirement or question relating to
unemployment insurance benefits in the monthly survey.

Does the official unemployment rate exclude people who have stopped
looking for work?

Yes; however, there are separate estimates of persons outside the labor force who
want a job, including those who have stopped looking because they believe no jobs
are available (discouraged workers). In addition, alternative measures of labor
underutilization (some of which include discouraged workers and other groups not
officially counted as unemployed) are published each month in The Employment
Situation news release.

How can unusually severe weather affect employment and hours estimates?

In the establishment survey, the reference period is the pay period that includes
the 12th of the month. Unusually severe weather is more likely to have an impact
on average weekly hours than on employment. Average weekly hours are estimated for
paid time during the pay period, including pay for holidays, sick leave, or other
time off. The impact of severe weather on hours estimates typically, but not always,
results in a reduction in average weekly hours. For example, some employees may be
off work for part of the pay period and not receive pay for the time missed, while
some workers, such as those dealing with cleanup or repair, may work extra hours.

In order for severe weather conditions to reduce the estimate of payroll employment,
employees have to be off work without pay for the entire pay period. About half of
all employees in the payroll survey have a 2-week, semi-monthly, or monthly pay
period. Employees who receive pay for any part of the pay period, even 1 hour, are
counted in the payroll employment figures. It is not possible to quantify the effect
of extreme weather on estimates of employment from the establishment survey.


In the household survey, the reference period is generally the calendar week that
includes the 12th of the month. Persons who miss the entire week’s work for weather-
related events are counted as employed whether or not they are paid for the time off.
The household survey collects data on the number of persons who usually work full
time but had reduced hours, or had a job but were not at work due to bad weather.
Current and historical data are available on the household survey’s most requested
statistics page at http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost?ln.

Technical Note


   This news release presents statistics from two major surveys, the
Current Population Survey (CPS; household survey) and the Current Employment
Statistics survey (CES; establishment survey). The household survey provides
information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment that appears
in the "A" tables, marked HOUSEHOLD DATA. It is a sample survey of about
60,000 eligible households conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). 

   The establishment survey provides information on employment, hours, 
and earnings of employees on nonfarm payrolls; the data appear in the 
"B" tables, marked ESTABLISHMENT DATA. BLS collects these data each 
month from the payroll records of a sample of nonagricultural business
establishments. Each month the CES program surveys about 141,000 businesses
and government agencies, representing approximately 486,000 individual worksites,
in order to provide detailed industry data on employment, hours, and earnings of
workers on nonfarm payrolls. The active sample includes approximately one-third
of all nonfarm payroll employees. 

   For both surveys, the data for a given month relate to a particular week
or pay period. In the household survey, the reference period 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. Additional information about
the household survey can be found at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm.

   Establishment survey. The sample establishments are drawn from private
nonfarm businesses such as factories, offices, and stores, as well as 
from 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 produced for the private sector
for all employees and for production and nonsupervisory employees. 
Production and nonsupervisory employees are defined as production and 
related employees in manufacturing and mining and logging, construction
workers in construction, and nonsupervisory employees in private service-
providing industries. 

   Industries are classified on the basis of an establishment’s principal
activity in accordance with the 2012 version of the North American Industry
Classification System. Additional information about the establishment survey
can be found at www.bls.gov/ces/#technical.

   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 are counted
     separately for each appearance.
  
Seasonal adjustment

   Over the course of a year, the size of the nation's labor force and
the levels of employment and unemployment undergo regularly occurring
fluctuations. These events may result from seasonal changes in weather, 
major holidays, and the opening and closing of schools. The effect of 
such seasonal variation can be very large.

   Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern
each year, their influence on the level of a series can be tempered by
adjusting for regular seasonal variation. These adjustments make 
nonseasonal developments, such as declines in employment or increases
in the participation of women in the labor force, easier to spot. For
example, in the household survey, 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. Similarly, in
the establishment survey, payroll employment in education declines by
about 20 percent at the end of the spring term and later rises with
the start of the fall term, obscuring the underlying employment trends
in the industry. Because seasonal employment changes at the end and
beginning of the school year can be estimated, the statistics can be
adjusted to make underlying employment patterns more discernable.  The
seasonally adjusted figures provide a more useful tool with which to
analyze changes in month-to-month economic activity.

   Many seasonally adjusted series are independently adjusted in both
the household and establishment surveys. However, the adjusted series
for many major estimates, such as total payroll employment, employment
in most major sectors, 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.

   For both the household and establishment surveys, a concurrent
seasonal adjustment methodology is used in which new seasonal factors
are calculated each month using all relevant data, up to and including
the data for the current month. In the household survey, new seasonal
factors are used to adjust only the current month's data. In the 
establishment survey, however, new seasonal factors are used each month 
to adjust the three most recent monthly estimates. The prior 2 months 
are routinely revised to incorporate additional sample reports and 
recalculated seasonal adjustment factors. In both surveys, 5-year 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 nonfarm employment from the establishment survey is on the order
of plus or minus 100,000. Suppose the estimate of nonfarm employment
increases by 50,000 from one month to the next. The 90-percent confidence
interval on the monthly change would range from -50,000 to +150,000 
(50,000 +/- 100,000). 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 nonfarm employment had, in fact, increased that month.
If, however, the reported nonfarm employment rise was 250,000, 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
nonfarm employment had, in fact, risen that month. At an unemployment rate
of around 5.5 percent, the 90-percent confidence interval for the monthly
change in unemployment as measured by the household survey is about 
+/- 280,000, and for the monthly change in the unemployment rate it is
about +/-0.19 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 also is improved when the data are cumulated over time, such
as for quarterly and annual averages.

   The household and establishment surveys are also affected by
nonsampling error, which 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 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, an estimation procedure with two components is used to account
for business births. The first component excludes employment losses from
business deaths from sample-based estimation in order to offset the 
missing employment gains from business births. This is incorporated into
the sample-based estimation procedure by simply not reflecting sample
units going out of business, but imputing to them the same employment
trend as the other firms in the sample. This procedure accounts for most
of the net birth/death employment.

   The second component is an ARIMA time series model designed to estimate
the residual net birth/death employment not accounted for by the 
imputation. The historical time series used to create and test the ARIMA
model was derived from the unemployment insurance universe micro-level
database, and reflects the actual residual net of births and deaths over
the past 5 years.

   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, absolute
benchmark revisions  for total nonfarm employment have averaged 0.3 percent,
with a range from -0.7 to 0.6 percent.

Other information

   Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay
Service: (800) 877-8339.

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-1. Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age

[Numbers in thousands]

Employment status, sex, and age	Not seasonally adjusted			Seasonally adjusted(1)
	May 2011	Apr. 2012	May 2012	May 2011	Jan. 2012	Feb. 2012	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012	May 2012
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional population	239,313	242,784	242,966	239,313	242,269	242,435	242,604	242,784	242,966
Civilian labor force	153,449	153,905	154,998	153,700	154,395	154,871	154,707	154,365	155,007
Participation rate	64.1	63.4	63.8	64.2	63.7	63.9	63.8	63.6	63.8
Employed	140,028	141,995	142,727	139,808	141,637	142,065	142,034	141,865	142,287
Employment-population ratio	58.5	58.5	58.7	58.4	58.5	58.6	58.5	58.4	58.6
Unemployed	13,421	11,910	12,271	13,892	12,758	12,806	12,673	12,500	12,720
Unemployment rate	8.7	7.7	7.9	9.0	8.3	8.3	8.2	8.1	8.2
Not in labor force	85,864	88,879	87,968	85,613	87,874	87,564	87,897	88,419	87,958
Persons who currently want a job	6,821	6,328	6,835	6,216	6,319	6,378	6,299	6,366	6,291
Men, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population	116,156	117,081	117,177	116,156	116,808	116,896	116,986	117,081	117,177
Civilian labor force	81,956	81,629	82,409	82,019	82,070	82,165	82,179	81,983	82,350
Participation rate	70.6	69.7	70.3	70.6	70.3	70.3	70.2	70.0	70.3
Employed	74,441	75,074	75,712	74,217	75,288	75,318	75,369	75,256	75,401
Employment-population ratio	64.1	64.1	64.6	63.9	64.5	64.4	64.4	64.3	64.3
Unemployed	7,515	6,555	6,697	7,802	6,781	6,846	6,810	6,727	6,949
Unemployment rate	9.2	8.0	8.1	9.5	8.3	8.3	8.3	8.2	8.4
Not in labor force	34,200	35,452	34,768	34,137	34,739	34,732	34,807	35,098	34,827
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population	107,566	108,396	108,503	107,566	108,087	108,188	108,289	108,396	108,503
Civilian labor force	79,223	78,839	79,511	79,204	79,234	79,317	79,337	79,050	79,382
Participation rate	73.7	72.7	73.3	73.6	73.3	73.3	73.3	72.9	73.2
Employed	72,427	73,010	73,567	72,161	73,170	73,240	73,286	73,119	73,229
Employment-population ratio	67.3	67.4	67.8	67.1	67.7	67.7	67.7	67.5	67.5
Unemployed	6,796	5,829	5,945	7,043	6,064	6,077	6,051	5,930	6,153
Unemployment rate	8.6	7.4	7.5	8.9	7.7	7.7	7.6	7.5	7.8
Not in labor force	28,344	29,557	28,991	28,362	28,853	28,870	28,952	29,346	29,121
Women, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population	123,157	125,703	125,788	123,157	125,461	125,539	125,619	125,703	125,788
Civilian labor force	71,492	72,276	72,589	71,681	72,326	72,706	72,529	72,382	72,657
Participation rate	58.0	57.5	57.7	58.2	57.6	57.9	57.7	57.6	57.8
Employed	65,587	66,921	67,015	65,591	66,349	66,747	66,665	66,609	66,886
Employment-population ratio	53.3	53.2	53.3	53.3	52.9	53.2	53.1	53.0	53.2
Unemployed	5,905	5,355	5,574	6,090	5,977	5,960	5,863	5,773	5,771
Unemployment rate	8.3	7.4	7.7	8.5	8.3	8.2	8.1	8.0	7.9
Not in labor force	51,664	53,427	53,200	51,476	53,135	52,833	53,090	53,321	53,131
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population	114,954	117,353	117,448	114,954	117,082	117,170	117,260	117,353	117,448
Civilian labor force	68,728	69,643	69,775	68,878	69,449	69,815	69,589	69,562	69,807
Participation rate	59.8	59.3	59.4	59.9	59.3	59.6	59.3	59.3	59.4
Employed	63,423	64,822	64,840	63,385	64,078	64,454	64,413	64,425	64,671
Employment-population ratio	55.2	55.2	55.2	55.1	54.7	55.0	54.9	54.9	55.1
Unemployed	5,305	4,820	4,936	5,493	5,370	5,361	5,176	5,137	5,136
Unemployment rate	7.7	6.9	7.1	8.0	7.7	7.7	7.4	7.4	7.4
Not in labor force	46,226	47,711	47,672	46,077	47,634	47,355	47,671	47,791	47,641
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian noninstitutional population	16,792	17,034	17,015	16,792	17,100	17,078	17,056	17,034	17,015
Civilian labor force	5,498	5,423	5,711	5,618	5,713	5,739	5,781	5,753	5,819
Participation rate	32.7	31.8	33.6	33.5	33.4	33.6	33.9	33.8	34.2
Employed	4,177	4,163	4,320	4,262	4,389	4,371	4,335	4,321	4,388
Employment-population ratio	24.9	24.4	25.4	25.4	25.7	25.6	25.4	25.4	25.8
Unemployed	1,320	1,260	1,391	1,356	1,324	1,367	1,447	1,432	1,431
Unemployment rate	24.0	23.2	24.4	24.1	23.2	23.8	25.0	24.9	24.6
Not in labor force	11,295	11,611	11,304	11,174	11,387	11,339	11,274	11,282	11,197
Footnotes (1) The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted and seasonally adjusted columns.
NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-2. Employment status of the civilian population by race, sex, and age

[Numbers in thousands]

Employment status, race, sex, and age	Not seasonally adjusted			Seasonally adjusted(1)
	May 2011	Apr. 2012	May 2012	May 2011	Jan. 2012	Feb. 2012	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012	May 2012
WHITE
Civilian noninstitutional population	192,877	192,893	193,004	192,877	192,600	192,691	192,788	192,893	193,004
Civilian labor force	124,608	122,997	123,897	124,812	123,579	123,848	123,713	123,499	123,989
Participation rate	64.6	63.8	64.2	64.7	64.2	64.3	64.2	64.0	64.2
Employed	114,989	114,313	115,015	114,827	114,458	114,754	114,697	114,355	114,767
Employment-population ratio	59.6	59.3	59.6	59.5	59.4	59.6	59.5	59.3	59.5
Unemployed	9,618	8,684	8,882	9,985	9,121	9,094	9,016	9,144	9,222
Unemployment rate	7.7	7.1	7.2	8.0	7.4	7.3	7.3	7.4	7.4
Not in labor force	68,269	69,896	69,107	68,065	69,021	68,843	69,076	69,394	69,015
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force	65,416	64,212	64,680	65,372	64,495	64,642	64,552	64,410	64,591
Participation rate	74.3	73.3	73.8	74.2	73.8	73.9	73.8	73.5	73.7
Employed	60,472	59,975	60,349	60,212	60,059	60,245	60,192	60,046	60,072
Employment-population ratio	68.7	68.5	68.8	68.4	68.7	68.9	68.8	68.6	68.5
Unemployed	4,943	4,237	4,331	5,160	4,436	4,397	4,360	4,364	4,519
Unemployment rate	7.6	6.6	6.7	7.9	6.9	6.8	6.8	6.8	7.0
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force	54,709	54,421	54,620	54,872	54,434	54,609	54,473	54,435	54,717
Participation rate	59.5	58.8	58.9	59.7	58.9	59.0	58.9	58.8	59.0
Employed	50,956	50,919	51,087	50,976	50,729	50,890	50,873	50,719	51,045
Employment-population ratio	55.4	55.0	55.1	55.4	54.9	55.0	55.0	54.8	55.1
Unemployed	3,753	3,502	3,533	3,895	3,705	3,719	3,600	3,716	3,672
Unemployment rate	6.9	6.4	6.5	7.1	6.8	6.8	6.6	6.8	6.7
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force	4,483	4,365	4,597	4,568	4,650	4,596	4,688	4,654	4,681
Participation rate	34.9	34.4	36.3	35.6	36.5	36.1	36.9	36.7	36.9
Employed	3,561	3,419	3,579	3,638	3,670	3,619	3,632	3,591	3,649
Employment-population ratio	27.8	26.9	28.2	28.4	28.8	28.4	28.6	28.3	28.8
Unemployed	922	946	1,018	929	980	977	1,056	1,063	1,031
Unemployment rate	20.6	21.7	22.1	20.3	21.1	21.3	22.5	22.8	22.0
BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN
Civilian noninstitutional population	29,063	29,824	29,854	29,063	29,727	29,760	29,792	29,824	29,854
Civilian labor force	17,705	18,227	18,275	17,730	18,206	18,363	18,427	18,274	18,290
Participation rate	60.9	61.1	61.2	61.0	61.2	61.7	61.9	61.3	61.3
Employed	14,867	15,940	15,837	14,862	15,725	15,769	15,843	15,891	15,807
Employment-population ratio	51.2	53.4	53.0	51.1	52.9	53.0	53.2	53.3	52.9
Unemployed	2,838	2,286	2,438	2,868	2,482	2,593	2,584	2,383	2,484
Unemployment rate	16.0	12.5	13.3	16.2	13.6	14.1	14.0	13.0	13.6
Not in labor force	11,358	11,597	11,579	11,333	11,521	11,398	11,365	11,550	11,564
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force	8,024	8,133	8,270	8,038	8,256	8,239	8,283	8,162	8,281
Participation rate	67.7	67.0	68.0	67.8	68.4	68.1	68.4	67.3	68.1
Employed	6,618	7,018	7,082	6,639	7,205	7,064	7,137	7,054	7,102
Employment-population ratio	55.8	57.8	58.3	56.0	59.7	58.4	58.9	58.1	58.4
Unemployed	1,406	1,114	1,188	1,399	1,052	1,175	1,147	1,108	1,179
Unemployment rate	17.5	13.7	14.4	17.4	12.7	14.3	13.8	13.6	14.2
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force	9,041	9,459	9,327	9,058	9,287	9,410	9,473	9,443	9,346
Participation rate	61.9	62.9	62.0	62.0	62.0	62.8	63.1	62.8	62.1
Employed	7,868	8,503	8,317	7,848	8,113	8,240	8,307	8,423	8,284
Employment-population ratio	53.9	56.6	55.3	53.7	54.2	55.0	55.4	56.1	55.1
Unemployed	1,172	956	1,011	1,210	1,174	1,171	1,166	1,019	1,062
Unemployment rate	13.0	10.1	10.8	13.4	12.6	12.4	12.3	10.8	11.4
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force	640	635	678	635	663	713	671	669	664
Participation rate	24.6	23.9	25.5	24.4	24.7	26.6	25.1	25.1	25.0
Employed	380	419	439	375	407	466	399	413	421
Employment-population ratio	14.6	15.7	16.5	14.4	15.2	17.4	14.9	15.5	15.9
Unemployed	260	216	239	259	255	247	272	256	242
Unemployment rate	40.6	34.1	35.2	40.8	38.5	34.7	40.5	38.2	36.5
ASIAN
Civilian noninstitutional population	11,350	12,774	12,749	-	-	-	-	-	-
Civilian labor force	7,377	7,965	8,080	-	-	-	-	-	-
Participation rate	65.0	62.4	63.4	-	-	-	-	-	-
Employed	6,863	7,553	7,656	-	-	-	-	-	-
Employment-population ratio	60.5	59.1	60.0	-	-	-	-	-	-
Unemployed	514	412	424	-	-	-	-	-	-
Unemployment rate	7.0	5.2	5.2	-	-	-	-	-	-
Not in labor force	3,973	4,809	4,669	-	-	-	-	-	-
Footnotes (1) The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted and seasonally adjusted columns.
- Data not available. NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups will not sum to totals shown in table A-1 because data are not presented for all races. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-3. Employment status of the Hispanic or Latino population by sex and age

[Numbers in thousands]

Employment status, sex, and age	Not seasonally adjusted			Seasonally adjusted(1)
	May 2011	Apr. 2012	May 2012	May 2011	Jan. 2012	Feb. 2012	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012	May 2012
HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY
Civilian noninstitutional population	34,311	36,546	36,626	34,311	36,301	36,384	36,463	36,546	36,626
Civilian labor force	22,642	24,201	24,534	22,754	24,045	24,206	24,128	24,253	24,567
Participation rate	66.0	66.2	67.0	66.3	66.2	66.5	66.2	66.4	67.1
Employed	20,124	21,839	21,984	20,060	21,513	21,628	21,638	21,755	21,867
Employment-population ratio	58.7	59.8	60.0	58.5	59.3	59.4	59.3	59.5	59.7
Unemployed	2,518	2,362	2,550	2,695	2,532	2,579	2,491	2,498	2,700
Unemployment rate	11.1	9.8	10.4	11.8	10.5	10.7	10.3	10.3	11.0
Not in labor force	11,668	12,345	12,092	11,557	12,256	12,178	12,335	12,293	12,059
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force	12,940	13,284	13,486	-	-	-	-	-	-
Participation rate	81.5	80.8	81.8	-	-	-	-	-	-
Employed	11,636	12,146	12,195	-	-	-	-	-	-
Employment-population ratio	73.3	73.9	74.0	-	-	-	-	-	-
Unemployed	1,304	1,138	1,291	-	-	-	-	-	-
Unemployment rate	10.1	8.6	9.6	-	-	-	-	-	-
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force	8,799	9,826	9,904	-	-	-	-	-	-
Participation rate	58.5	59.7	60.1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Employed	7,820	8,886	8,993	-	-	-	-	-	-
Employment-population ratio	52.0	54.0	54.5	-	-	-	-	-	-
Unemployed	979	939	911	-	-	-	-	-	-
Unemployment rate	11.1	9.6	9.2	-	-	-	-	-	-
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force	904	1,092	1,144	-	-	-	-	-	-
Participation rate	26.6	29.9	31.3	-	-	-	-	-	-
Employed	668	807	796	-	-	-	-	-	-
Employment-population ratio	19.7	22.1	21.8	-	-	-	-	-	-
Unemployed	236	285	348	-	-	-	-	-	-
Unemployment rate	26.1	26.1	30.4	-	-	-	-	-	-
Footnotes (1) The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted and seasonally adjusted columns.
- Data not available. NOTE: Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-4. Employment status of the civilian population 25 years and over by educational attainment

[Numbers in thousands]

Educational attainment	Not seasonally adjusted			Seasonally adjusted
	May 2011	Apr. 2012	May 2012	May 2011	Jan. 2012	Feb. 2012	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012	May 2012
Less than a high school diploma
Civilian labor force	11,669	11,490	11,670	11,468	11,469	11,488	11,493	11,366	11,451
Participation rate	46.0	45.7	45.8	45.2	45.6	46.6	46.3	45.2	44.9
Employed	10,072	10,069	10,242	9,789	9,968	10,006	10,044	9,947	9,960
Employment-population ratio	39.7	40.1	40.2	38.6	39.7	40.6	40.4	39.6	39.1
Unemployed	1,597	1,421	1,428	1,678	1,501	1,483	1,449	1,419	1,491
Unemployment rate	13.7	12.4	12.2	14.6	13.1	12.9	12.6	12.5	13.0
High school graduates, no college(1)
Civilian labor force	37,670	36,812	37,119	37,591	36,850	36,799	36,475	36,718	36,924
Participation rate	60.4	59.3	59.8	60.3	59.6	59.0	59.0	59.2	59.5
Employed	34,247	33,959	34,239	34,018	33,737	33,761	33,573	33,834	33,928
Employment-population ratio	54.9	54.7	55.2	54.5	54.6	54.1	54.3	54.5	54.7
Unemployed	3,423	2,852	2,880	3,573	3,113	3,039	2,902	2,884	2,996
Unemployment rate	9.1	7.7	7.8	9.5	8.4	8.3	8.0	7.9	8.1
Some college or associate degree
Civilian labor force	36,659	36,966	36,899	36,784	37,214	37,282	37,405	37,168	37,079
Participation rate	69.4	68.6	68.5	69.7	69.2	69.1	69.3	69.0	68.8
Employed	33,898	34,270	34,157	33,828	34,525	34,571	34,613	34,344	34,155
Employment-population ratio	64.2	63.6	63.4	64.1	64.2	64.1	64.2	63.7	63.4
Unemployed	2,761	2,696	2,741	2,956	2,689	2,711	2,793	2,824	2,924
Unemployment rate	7.5	7.3	7.4	8.0	7.2	7.3	7.5	7.6	7.9
Bachelor's degree and higher(2)
Civilian labor force	46,778	48,075	48,191	46,898	47,481	47,890	48,191	47,977	48,232
Participation rate	77.2	76.4	76.7	77.4	75.6	76.4	76.2	76.2	76.8
Employed	44,766	46,310	46,408	44,803	45,492	45,875	46,189	46,062	46,355
Employment-population ratio	73.9	73.6	73.9	74.0	72.4	73.1	73.1	73.2	73.8
Unemployed	2,012	1,765	1,783	2,095	1,989	2,015	2,002	1,915	1,877
Unemployment rate	4.3	3.7	3.7	4.5	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.0	3.9
Footnotes (1) Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent. (2) Includes persons with bachelor's, master's, professional, and doctoral degrees.
NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-5. Employment status of the civilian population 18 years and over by veteran status, period of service, and sex, not seasonally adjusted

[Numbers in thousands]

Employment status, veteran status, and period of service	Total		Men		Women
	May 2011	May 2012	May 2011	May 2012	May 2011	May 2012
VETERANS, 18 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population	21,664	21,224	19,864	19,412	1,800	1,812
Civilian labor force	11,421	11,228	10,316	10,077	1,105	1,152
Participation rate	52.7	52.9	51.9	51.9	61.4	63.6
Employed	10,477	10,348	9,457	9,263	1,020	1,085
Employment-population ratio	48.4	48.8	47.6	47.7	56.7	59.9
Unemployed	944	880	859	814	85	67
Unemployment rate	8.3	7.8	8.3	8.1	7.7	5.8
Not in labor force	10,243	9,996	9,548	9,335	695	660
Gulf War-era II veterans
Civilian noninstitutional population	2,394	2,620	1,984	2,178	409	442
Civilian labor force	1,923	2,074	1,647	1,781	276	293
Participation rate	80.3	79.2	83.0	81.8	67.3	66.2
Employed	1,691	1,812	1,435	1,556	256	256
Employment-population ratio	70.6	69.1	72.3	71.4	62.4	57.8
Unemployed	232	263	212	226	20	37
Unemployment rate	12.1	12.7	12.9	12.7	7.3	12.7
Not in labor force	471	546	337	397	134	149
Gulf War-era I veterans
Civilian noninstitutional population	2,850	3,032	2,420	2,545	430	487
Civilian labor force	2,374	2,571	2,073	2,185	301	386
Participation rate	83.3	84.8	85.7	85.8	70.1	79.2
Employed	2,207	2,410	1,929	2,039	278	370
Employment-population ratio	77.5	79.5	79.7	80.1	64.8	76.0
Unemployed	167	161	144	145	23	16
Unemployment rate	7.0	6.3	6.9	6.6	7.5	4.1
Not in labor force	476	462	347	360	129	101
World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam-era veterans
Civilian noninstitutional population	10,470	9,936	10,139	9,615	331	321
Civilian labor force	3,605	3,369	3,480	3,250	124	118
Participation rate	34.4	33.9	34.3	33.8	37.6	36.9
Employed	3,337	3,135	3,223	3,023	114	112
Employment-population ratio	31.9	31.6	31.8	31.4	34.5	35.0
Unemployed	267	234	257	228	10	6
Unemployment rate	7.4	6.9	7.4	7.0	8.1	5.2
Not in labor force	6,866	6,567	6,659	6,365	207	202
Veterans of other service periods
Civilian noninstitutional population	5,950	5,636	5,320	5,074	630	562
Civilian labor force	3,519	3,215	3,115	2,860	404	354
Participation rate	59.1	57.0	58.6	56.4	64.1	63.1
Employed	3,242	2,992	2,870	2,645	372	347
Employment-population ratio	54.5	53.1	53.9	52.1	59.0	61.8
Unemployed	278	223	245	215	32	7
Unemployment rate	7.9	6.9	7.9	7.5	8.0	2.1
Not in labor force	2,431	2,421	2,205	2,214	226	207
NONVETERANS, 18 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population	209,119	212,936	91,916	93,271	117,203	119,665
Civilian labor force	140,321	141,926	70,803	71,452	69,517	70,474
Participation rate	67.1	66.7	77.0	76.6	59.3	58.9
Employed	128,348	131,032	64,405	65,822	63,943	65,211
Employment-population ratio	61.4	61.5	70.1	70.6	54.6	54.5
Unemployed	11,973	10,894	6,398	5,631	5,574	5,263
Unemployment rate	8.5	7.7	9.0	7.9	8.0	7.5
Not in labor force	68,799	71,010	21,113	21,819	47,686	49,191
NOTE: Veterans served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces and were not on active duty at the time of the survey. Nonveterans never served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. Veterans could have served anywhere in the world during these periods of service: Gulf War era II (September 2001-present), Gulf War era I (August 1990-August 2001), Vietnam era (August 1964-April 1975), Korean War (July 1950-January 1955), World War II (December 1941-December 1946), and other service periods (all other time periods). Veterans who served in more than one wartime period are classified only in the most recent one. Veterans who served during one of the selected wartime periods and another period are classified only in the wartime period. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-6. Employment status of the civilian population by sex, age, and disability status, not seasonally adjusted

[Numbers in thousands]

Employment status, sex, and age	Persons with a disability		Persons with no disability
	May 2011	May 2012	May 2011	May 2012
TOTAL, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population	27,669	28,059	211,644	214,907
Civilian labor force	5,828	5,821	147,621	149,177
Participation rate	21.1	20.7	69.7	69.4
Employed	4,917	5,068	135,111	137,658
Employment-population ratio	17.8	18.1	63.8	64.1
Unemployed	911	752	12,510	11,519
Unemployment rate	15.6	12.9	8.5	7.7
Not in labor force	21,841	22,238	64,024	65,730
Men, 16 to 64 years
Civilian labor force	2,682	2,586	75,258	75,401
Participation rate	35.3	34.9	82.5	82.4
Employed	2,218	2,225	68,474	69,344
Employment-population ratio	29.2	30.0	75.1	75.8
Unemployed	464	362	6,784	6,056
Unemployment rate	17.3	14.0	9.0	8.0
Not in labor force	4,911	4,819	15,948	16,078
Women, 16 to 64 years
Civilian labor force	2,280	2,282	66,109	66,922
Participation rate	29.2	29.1	70.9	70.7
Employed	1,919	1,964	60,748	61,894
Employment-population ratio	24.6	25.0	65.2	65.4
Unemployed	360	318	5,361	5,028
Unemployment rate	15.8	13.9	8.1	7.5
Not in labor force	5,531	5,564	27,107	27,712
Both sexes, 65 years and over
Civilian labor force	867	953	6,254	6,854
Participation rate	7.1	7.4	23.0	23.8
Employed	780	880	5,889	6,420
Employment-population ratio	6.4	6.9	21.6	22.3
Unemployed	87	73	365	435
Unemployment rate	10.0	7.6	5.8	6.3
Not in labor force	11,399	11,855	20,969	21,939
NOTE: A person with a disability has at least one of the following conditions: is deaf or has serious difficulty hearing; is blind or has serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses; has serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition; has serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs; has difficulty dressing or bathing; or has difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor's office or shopping because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-7. Employment status of the civilian population by nativity and sex, not seasonally adjusted

[Numbers in thousands]

Employment status and nativity	Total		Men		Women
	May 2011	May 2012	May 2011	May 2012	May 2011	May 2012
Foreign born, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population	36,348	37,504	18,200	18,291	18,149	19,213
Civilian labor force	24,253	24,878	14,511	14,405	9,741	10,473
Participation rate	66.7	66.3	79.7	78.8	53.7	54.5
Employed	22,216	23,038	13,333	13,409	8,883	9,629
Employment-population ratio	61.1	61.4	73.3	73.3	48.9	50.1
Unemployed	2,037	1,840	1,178	996	859	844
Unemployment rate	8.4	7.4	8.1	6.9	8.8	8.1
Not in labor force	12,095	12,625	3,688	3,886	8,407	8,740
Native born, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population	202,965	205,462	97,957	98,887	105,008	106,575
Civilian labor force	129,196	130,120	67,445	68,004	61,751	62,115
Participation rate	63.7	63.3	68.9	68.8	58.8	58.3
Employed	117,812	119,689	61,108	62,303	56,704	57,386
Employment-population ratio	58.0	58.3	62.4	63.0	54.0	53.8
Unemployed	11,384	10,431	6,337	5,701	5,047	4,729
Unemployment rate	8.8	8.0	9.4	8.4	8.2	7.6
Not in labor force	73,769	75,342	30,512	30,882	43,257	44,460
NOTE: The foreign born are those residing in the United States who were not U.S. citizens at birth. That is, they were born outside the United States or one of its outlying areas such as Puerto Rico or Guam, to parents neither of whom was a U.S. citizen. The native born are persons who were born in the United States or one of its outlying areas such as Puerto Rico or Guam or who were born abroad of at least one parent who was a U.S. citizen. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-8. Employed persons by class of worker and part-time status

[In thousands]

Category	Not seasonally adjusted			Seasonally adjusted
	May 2011	Apr. 2012	May 2012	May 2011	Jan. 2012	Feb. 2012	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012	May 2012
CLASS OF WORKER
Agriculture and related industries	2,315	2,107	2,371	2,244	2,208	2,185	2,218	2,150	2,274
Wage and salary workers(1)	1,435	1,282	1,482	1,389	1,376	1,353	1,394	1,342	1,423
Self-employed workers, unincorporated	850	798	843	827	800	814	811	793	815
Unpaid family workers	31	26	46	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nonagricultural industries	137,713	139,888	140,356	137,508	139,491	139,945	139,984	139,749	140,037
Wage and salary workers(1)	128,822	131,257	131,493	128,773	130,569	131,365	131,370	131,136	131,322
Government	20,690	20,356	20,322	20,348	20,583	20,617	20,338	19,896	20,059
Private industries	108,132	110,901	111,172	108,531	109,966	110,778	111,114	111,249	111,421
Private households	799	724	834	-	-	-	-	-	-
Other industries	107,333	110,176	110,337	107,722	109,353	110,138	110,469	110,527	110,613
Self-employed workers, unincorporated	8,812	8,558	8,784	8,648	8,769	8,477	8,514	8,512	8,598
Unpaid family workers	79	72	78	-	-	-	-	-	-
PERSONS AT WORK PART TIME(2)
All industries
Part time for economic reasons(3)	8,270	7,694	7,837	8,541	8,230	8,119	7,672	7,853	8,098
Slack work or business conditions	5,646	4,997	4,961	5,836	5,372	5,446	5,081	5,187	5,147
Could only find part-time work	2,396	2,467	2,620	2,475	2,551	2,404	2,341	2,367	2,649
Part time for noneconomic reasons(4)	18,656	19,443	19,694	18,481	18,636	18,827	18,523	18,832	19,393
Nonagricultural industries
Part time for economic reasons(3)	8,144	7,581	7,736	8,396	8,083	7,988	7,584	7,737	7,982
Slack work or business conditions	5,547	4,909	4,901	5,729	5,278	5,356	5,000	5,086	5,078
Could only find part-time work	2,382	2,456	2,588	2,452	2,563	2,365	2,295	2,324	2,616
Part time for noneconomic reasons(4)	18,313	19,097	19,319	18,113	18,298	18,399	18,100	18,418	18,930
Footnotes (1) Includes self-employed workers whose businesses are incorporated. (2) Refers to those who worked 1 to 34 hours during the survey reference week and excludes employed persons who were absent from their jobs for the entire week. (3) Refers to those who worked 1 to 34 hours during the reference week for an economic reason such as slack work or unfavorable business conditions, inability to find full-time work, or seasonal declines in demand. (4) Refers to persons who usually work part time for noneconomic reasons such as childcare problems, family or personal obligations, school or training, retirement or Social Security limits on earnings, and other reasons. This excludes persons who usually work full time but worked only 1 to 34 hours during the reference week for reasons such as vacations, holidays, illness, and bad weather.
- Data not available. NOTE: Detail for the seasonally adjusted data shown in this table will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-9. Selected employment indicators

[Numbers in thousands]

Characteristic	Not seasonally adjusted			Seasonally adjusted
	May 2011	Apr. 2012	May 2012	May 2011	Jan. 2012	Feb. 2012	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012	May 2012
AGE AND SEX
Total, 16 years and over	140,028	141,995	142,727	139,808	141,637	142,065	142,034	141,865	142,287
16 to 19 years	4,177	4,163	4,320	4,262	4,389	4,371	4,335	4,321	4,388
16 to 17 years	1,203	1,304	1,347	1,266	1,333	1,337	1,395	1,421	1,418
18 to 19 years	2,974	2,859	2,974	2,979	3,064	3,050	2,955	2,875	2,968
20 years and over	135,850	137,832	138,407	135,546	137,248	137,694	137,699	137,544	137,899
20 to 24 years	12,868	13,224	13,360	12,966	13,335	13,395	13,371	13,329	13,429
25 years and over	122,983	124,608	125,046	122,600	123,901	124,243	124,407	124,166	124,472
25 to 54 years	94,088	94,307	94,520	93,892	93,991	94,056	94,267	94,128	94,205
25 to 34 years	30,617	30,750	30,748	30,634	30,367	30,483	30,568	30,724	30,714
35 to 44 years	30,402	30,640	30,656	30,288	30,614	30,638	30,672	30,539	30,519
45 to 54 years	33,069	32,917	33,116	32,970	33,009	32,935	33,027	32,866	32,971
55 years and over	28,895	30,300	30,527	28,708	29,910	30,187	30,140	30,038	30,268
Men, 16 years and over	74,441	75,074	75,712	74,217	75,288	75,318	75,369	75,256	75,401
16 to 19 years	2,013	2,064	2,145	2,055	2,118	2,079	2,083	2,136	2,173
16 to 17 years	579	633	628	597	620	650	656	685	655
18 to 19 years	1,435	1,431	1,518	1,447	1,487	1,424	1,424	1,461	1,513
20 years and over	72,427	73,010	73,567	72,161	73,170	73,240	73,286	73,119	73,229
20 to 24 years	6,764	6,778	6,909	6,759	7,003	6,851	6,927	6,863	6,898
25 years and over	65,663	66,232	66,658	65,423	66,169	66,376	66,327	66,156	66,308
25 to 54 years	50,480	50,290	50,525	50,327	50,358	50,382	50,393	50,329	50,304
25 to 34 years	16,698	16,566	16,648	16,745	16,440	16,498	16,538	16,624	16,654
35 to 44 years	16,475	16,417	16,500	16,406	16,573	16,564	16,470	16,425	16,421
45 to 54 years	17,308	17,308	17,377	17,176	17,346	17,319	17,385	17,280	17,229
55 years and over	15,183	15,942	16,133	15,096	15,811	15,994	15,934	15,827	16,004
Women, 16 years and over	65,587	66,921	67,015	65,591	66,349	66,747	66,665	66,609	66,886
16 to 19 years	2,164	2,099	2,175	2,207	2,270	2,293	2,252	2,184	2,215
16 to 17 years	625	671	719	669	713	687	739	736	762
18 to 19 years	1,540	1,427	1,456	1,532	1,577	1,625	1,531	1,414	1,454
20 years and over	63,423	64,822	64,840	63,385	64,078	64,454	64,413	64,425	64,671
20 to 24 years	6,104	6,446	6,451	6,207	6,332	6,544	6,444	6,467	6,531
25 years and over	57,320	58,376	58,389	57,177	57,732	57,867	58,079	58,010	58,165
25 to 54 years	43,608	44,017	43,995	43,565	43,633	43,674	43,873	43,800	43,901
25 to 34 years	13,920	14,185	14,101	13,889	13,928	13,985	14,030	14,099	14,060
35 to 44 years	13,927	14,223	14,156	13,882	14,041	14,074	14,202	14,114	14,098
45 to 54 years	15,761	15,609	15,738	15,794	15,664	15,615	15,642	15,586	15,742
55 years and over	13,712	14,359	14,394	13,612	14,099	14,193	14,206	14,211	14,264
MARITAL STATUS
Married men, spouse present	43,124	43,530	43,903	43,043	43,658	43,556	43,635	43,582	43,798
Married women, spouse present	33,894	34,369	34,673	33,847	34,445	34,341	34,325	34,207	34,620
Women who maintain families	8,930	9,530	9,516	-	-	-	-	-	-
FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS
Full-time workers(1)	112,618	113,999	114,634	112,294	113,845	114,408	115,290	114,478	114,212
Part-time workers(2)	27,410	27,996	28,092	27,460	27,739	27,576	26,912	27,420	28,038
MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS
Total multiple jobholders	7,084	6,947	7,174	6,924	7,038	6,999	6,985	6,870	6,959
Percent of total employed	5.1	4.9	5.0	5.0	5.0	4.9	4.9	4.8	4.9
SELF-EMPLOYMENT
Self-employed workers, incorporated	5,232	5,258	5,419	-	-	-	-	-	-
Self-employed workers, unincorporated	9,661	9,357	9,627	9,475	9,569	9,291	9,325	9,305	9,413
Footnotes (1) Employed full-time workers are persons who usually work 35 hours or more per week. (2) Employed part-time workers are persons who usually work less than 35 hours per week.
- Data not available. NOTE: Detail for the seasonally adjusted data shown in this table will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-10. Selected unemployment indicators, seasonally adjusted

Characteristic	Number of unemployed persons (in thousands)			Unemployment rates
	May 2011	Apr. 2012	May 2012	May 2011	Jan. 2012	Feb. 2012	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012	May 2012
AGE AND SEX
Total, 16 years and over	13,892	12,500	12,720	9.0	8.3	8.3	8.2	8.1	8.2
16 to 19 years	1,356	1,432	1,431	24.1	23.2	23.8	25.0	24.9	24.6
16 to 17 years	515	509	512	28.9	28.8	29.9	28.8	26.4	26.5
18 to 19 years	841	935	914	22.0	20.5	20.8	22.9	24.5	23.5
20 years and over	12,536	11,068	11,289	8.5	7.7	7.7	7.5	7.4	7.6
20 to 24 years	2,225	2,029	1,989	14.6	13.3	13.8	13.2	13.2	12.9
25 years and over	10,310	9,034	9,297	7.8	7.0	7.0	6.8	6.8	6.9
25 to 54 years	8,231	7,017	7,196	8.1	7.4	7.3	7.1	6.9	7.1
25 to 34 years	3,150	2,711	2,727	9.3	9.0	8.7	8.6	8.1	8.2
35 to 44 years	2,506	2,139	2,231	7.6	6.8	6.8	6.4	6.5	6.8
45 to 54 years	2,575	2,167	2,238	7.2	6.4	6.4	6.2	6.2	6.4
55 years and over	2,077	2,026	2,096	6.7	5.9	5.9	6.2	6.3	6.5
Men, 16 years and over	7,802	6,727	6,949	9.5	8.3	8.3	8.3	8.2	8.4
16 to 19 years	759	797	796	27.0	25.3	27.0	26.7	27.2	26.8
16 to 17 years	268	279	267	31.0	32.0	33.5	30.1	28.9	28.9
18 to 19 years	489	521	523	25.3	22.3	23.9	25.1	26.3	25.7
20 years and over	7,043	5,930	6,153	8.9	7.7	7.7	7.6	7.5	7.8
20 to 24 years	1,258	1,124	1,130	15.7	14.2	15.6	14.1	14.1	14.1
25 years and over	5,757	4,781	5,006	8.1	6.9	6.7	6.8	6.7	7.0
25 to 54 years	4,621	3,720	3,808	8.4	7.2	7.1	7.0	6.9	7.0
25 to 34 years	1,807	1,459	1,435	9.7	9.0	8.6	8.6	8.1	7.9
35 to 44 years	1,340	1,129	1,166	7.6	6.4	6.4	6.5	6.4	6.6
45 to 54 years	1,473	1,132	1,207	7.9	6.2	6.2	6.0	6.1	6.5
55 years and over	1,136	1,062	1,197	7.0	5.9	5.7	6.3	6.3	7.0
Women, 16 years and over	6,090	5,773	5,771	8.5	8.3	8.2	8.1	8.0	7.9
16 to 19 years	597	635	635	21.3	21.1	20.7	23.4	22.5	22.3
16 to 17 years	247	230	246	27.0	25.8	26.1	27.6	23.8	24.4
18 to 19 years	352	414	390	18.7	18.6	17.8	20.7	22.7	21.2
20 years and over	5,493	5,137	5,136	8.0	7.7	7.7	7.4	7.4	7.4
20 to 24 years	967	905	859	13.5	12.3	11.7	12.2	12.3	11.6
25 years and over	4,553	4,253	4,291	7.4	7.2	7.2	6.8	6.8	6.9
25 to 54 years	3,610	3,297	3,388	7.7	7.6	7.6	7.2	7.0	7.2
25 to 34 years	1,343	1,252	1,292	8.8	9.0	8.8	8.6	8.2	8.4
35 to 44 years	1,165	1,010	1,065	7.7	7.4	7.3	6.4	6.7	7.0
45 to 54 years	1,102	1,035	1,031	6.5	6.6	6.6	6.5	6.2	6.1
55 years and over(1)	876	878	847	6.0	5.9	6.1	5.9	5.8	5.6
MARITAL STATUS
Married men, spouse present	2,726	2,370	2,440	6.0	5.1	5.0	5.1	5.2	5.3
Married women, spouse present	2,067	1,919	1,799	5.8	5.6	5.5	5.3	5.3	4.9
Women who maintain families(1)	1,303	1,078	1,168	12.7	12.0	11.7	10.8	10.2	10.9
FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS
Full-time workers(2)	12,059	10,691	10,858	9.7	8.8	8.8	8.6	8.5	8.7
Part-time workers(3)	1,830	1,846	1,826	6.2	5.9	6.0	6.2	6.3	6.1
Footnotes (1) Not seasonally adjusted. (2) Full-time workers are unemployed persons who have expressed a desire to work full time (35 hours or more per week) or are on layoff from full-time jobs. (3) Part-time workers are unemployed persons who have expressed a desire to work part time (less than 35 hours per week) or are on layoff from part-time jobs.
NOTE: Detail for the seasonally adjusted data shown in this table will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-11. Unemployed persons by reason for unemployment

[Numbers in thousands]

Reason	Not seasonally adjusted			Seasonally adjusted
	May 2011	Apr. 2012	May 2012	May 2011	Jan. 2012	Feb. 2012	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012	May 2012
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs	7,885	6,555	6,607	8,250	7,321	7,209	7,020	6,852	6,989
On temporary layoff	1,004	1,009	909	1,218	1,284	1,135	1,120	1,083	1,106
Not on temporary layoff	6,881	5,546	5,699	7,031	6,037	6,075	5,900	5,768	5,883
Permanent job losers	5,566	4,397	4,458	5,621	4,807	4,755	4,632	4,529	4,553
Persons who completed temporary jobs	1,315	1,149	1,240	1,410	1,230	1,320	1,268	1,239	1,330
Job leavers	869	962	849	919	939	1,031	1,117	997	891
Reentrants	3,477	3,184	3,513	3,436	3,325	3,361	3,269	3,341	3,439
New entrants	1,190	1,210	1,302	1,229	1,253	1,392	1,433	1,384	1,367
PERCENT DISTRIBUTION
Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs	58.8	55.0	53.8	59.6	57.0	55.5	54.7	54.5	55.1
On temporary layoff	7.5	8.5	7.4	8.8	10.0	8.7	8.7	8.6	8.7
Not on temporary layoff	51.3	46.6	46.4	50.8	47.0	46.7	46.0	45.9	46.4
Job leavers	6.5	8.1	6.9	6.6	7.3	7.9	8.7	7.9	7.0
Reentrants	25.9	26.7	28.6	24.8	25.9	25.9	25.5	26.6	27.1
New entrants	8.9	10.2	10.6	8.9	9.8	10.7	11.2	11.0	10.8
UNEMPLOYED AS A PERCENT OF THE CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE
Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs	5.1	4.3	4.3	5.4	4.7	4.7	4.5	4.4	4.5
Job leavers	0.6	0.6	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.6	0.6
Reentrants	2.3	2.1	2.3	2.2	2.2	2.2	2.1	2.2	2.2
New entrants	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.9
NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-12. Unemployed persons by duration of unemployment

[Numbers in thousands]

Duration	Not seasonally adjusted			Seasonally adjusted
	May 2011	Apr. 2012	May 2012	May 2011	Jan. 2012	Feb. 2012	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012	May 2012
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Less than 5 weeks	2,664	2,165	2,572	2,687	2,486	2,541	2,572	2,543	2,580
5 to 14 weeks	2,356	2,368	2,442	2,912	2,884	2,807	2,754	2,814	3,002
15 weeks and over	8,401	7,377	7,257	8,197	7,498	7,397	7,175	6,984	7,073
15 to 26 weeks	2,235	2,109	1,852	1,994	1,980	1,971	1,867	1,884	1,662
27 weeks and over	6,166	5,268	5,405	6,204	5,518	5,426	5,308	5,101	5,411
Average (mean) duration, in weeks(1)	41.2	42.0	41.4	39.6	40.1	40.0	39.4	39.1	39.7
Median duration, in weeks	23.8	22.3	22.0	21.9	21.1	20.3	19.9	19.4	20.1
PERCENT DISTRIBUTION
Less than 5 weeks	19.8	18.2	21.0	19.5	19.3	19.9	20.6	20.6	20.4
5 to 14 weeks	17.6	19.9	19.9	21.1	22.4	22.0	22.0	22.8	23.7
15 weeks and over	62.6	61.9	59.1	59.4	58.3	58.0	57.4	56.6	55.9
15 to 26 weeks	16.7	17.7	15.1	14.5	15.4	15.5	14.9	15.3	13.1
27 weeks and over	45.9	44.2	44.0	45.0	42.9	42.6	42.5	41.3	42.8
Footnotes (1) Beginning in January 2011, this series reflects a change to the collection of data on unemployment duration. For more information, see www.bls.gov/cps/duration.htm.
NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-13. Employed and unemployed persons by occupation, not seasonally adjusted

[Numbers in thousands]

Occupation	Employed		Unemployed		Unemployment rates
	May 2011	May 2012	May 2011	May 2012	May 2011	May 2012
Total, 16 years and over(1)	140,028	142,727	13,421	12,271	8.7	7.9
Management, professional, and related occupations	52,778	54,156	2,419	2,275	4.4	4.0
Management, business, and financial operations occupations	21,355	22,691	1,094	966	4.9	4.1
Professional and related occupations	31,423	31,465	1,325	1,309	4.0	4.0
Service occupations	24,959	25,870	2,607	2,482	9.5	8.8
Sales and office occupations	32,804	32,684	3,172	2,782	8.8	7.8
Sales and related occupations	15,376	15,179	1,596	1,308	9.4	7.9
Office and administrative support occupations	17,428	17,504	1,576	1,474	8.3	7.8
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	12,942	12,908	1,900	1,609	12.8	11.1
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	1,033	1,114	117	133	10.2	10.7
Construction and extraction occupations	7,071	6,971	1,375	1,153	16.3	14.2
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	4,838	4,823	408	323	7.8	6.3
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	16,546	17,109	2,100	1,784	11.3	9.4
Production occupations	8,113	8,433	1,094	814	11.9	8.8
Transportation and material moving occupations	8,433	8,676	1,006	970	10.7	10.1
Footnotes (1) Persons with no previous work experience and persons whose last job was in the U.S. Armed Forces are included in the unemployed total.
NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-14. Unemployed persons by industry and class of worker, not seasonally adjusted

Industry and class of worker	Number of unemployed persons (in thousands)		Unemployment rates
	May 2011	May 2012	May 2011	May 2012
Total, 16 years and over(1)	13,421	12,271	8.7	7.9
Nonagricultural private wage and salary workers	10,628	9,419	8.9	7.8
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction	32	47	3.8	4.5
Construction	1,367	1,150	16.3	14.2
Manufacturing	1,453	1,099	9.6	7.1
Durable goods	920	683	9.6	7.2
Nondurable goods	533	416	9.6	7.1
Wholesale and retail trade	1,845	1,654	9.0	8.1
Transportation and utilities	483	480	8.0	7.8
Information	227	230	7.3	7.8
Financial activities	612	462	6.8	5.1
Professional and business services	1,429	1,296	9.8	8.5
Education and health services	1,242	1,172	5.7	5.3
Leisure and hospitality	1,402	1,326	10.6	9.7
Other services	536	501	8.4	7.8
Agriculture and related private wage and salary workers	131	148	8.7	9.5
Government workers	836	899	3.9	4.2
Self-employed workers, unincorporated, and unpaid family workers	636	503	6.1	4.9
Footnotes (1) Persons with no previous work experience and persons whose last job was in the U.S. Armed Forces are included in the unemployed total.
NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-15. Alternative measures of labor underutilization

[Percent]

Measure	Not seasonally adjusted			Seasonally adjusted
	May 2011	Apr. 2012	May 2012	May 2011	Jan. 2012	Feb. 2012	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012	May 2012
U-1 Persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer, as a percent of the civilian labor force	5.5	4.8	4.7	5.3	4.9	4.8	4.6	4.5	4.6
U-2 Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs, as a percent of the civilian labor force	5.1	4.3	4.3	5.4	4.7	4.7	4.5	4.4	4.5
U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor force (official unemployment rate)	8.7	7.7	7.9	9.0	8.3	8.3	8.2	8.1	8.2
U-4 Total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus discouraged workers	9.2	8.3	8.4	9.5	8.9	8.9	8.7	8.7	8.7
U-5 Total unemployed, plus discouraged workers, plus all other persons marginally attached to the labor force, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force	10.0	9.1	9.3	10.3	9.9	9.8	9.6	9.5	9.6
U-6 Total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force	15.4	14.1	14.3	15.8	15.1	14.9	14.5	14.5	14.8
NOTE: Persons marginally attached to the labor force are those 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 past 12 months. Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached, have given a job-market related reason for not currently looking for work. 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. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-16. Persons not in the labor force and multiple jobholders by sex, not seasonally adjusted

[Numbers in thousands]

Category	Total		Men		Women
	May 2011	May 2012	May 2011	May 2012	May 2011	May 2012
NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE
Total not in the labor force	85,864	87,968	34,200	34,768	51,664	53,200
Persons who currently want a job	6,821	6,835	3,337	3,214	3,484	3,622
Marginally attached to the labor force(1)	2,206	2,423	1,158	1,239	1,047	1,183
Discouraged workers(2)	822	830	469	469	353	360
Other persons marginally attached to the labor force(3)	1,384	1,593	689	770	695	823
MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS
Total multiple jobholders(4)	7,084	7,174	3,491	3,605	3,593	3,569
Percent of total employed	5.1	5.0	4.7	4.8	5.5	5.3
Primary job full time, secondary job part time	3,731	3,655	1,987	2,111	1,744	1,544
Primary and secondary jobs both part time	1,883	1,979	670	639	1,214	1,340
Primary and secondary jobs both full time	295	250	185	170	111	80
Hours vary on primary or secondary job	1,130	1,245	629	656	501	589
Footnotes (1) Data refer to persons who want a job, have searched for work during the prior 12 months, and were available to take a job during the reference week, but had not looked for work in the past 4 weeks. (2) Includes those who did not actively look for work in the prior 4 weeks for reasons such as 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 school or family responsibilities, ill health, and transportation problems, as well as a number for whom reason for nonparticipation was not determined. (4) Includes a small number of persons who work part time on their primary job and full time on their secondary job(s), not shown separately.
NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector and selected industry detail

[In thousands]

Industry	Not seasonally adjusted				Seasonally adjusted
	May 2011	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012(p)	May 2012(p)	May 2011	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012(p)	May 2012(p)	Change from: Apr.2012 - May2012(p)
Total nonfarm	131,889	132,081	132,938	133,727	131,227	132,863	132,940	133,009	69
Total private	109,354	109,676	110,537	111,337	109,097	110,871	110,958	111,040	82
Goods-producing	18,007	17,890	18,090	18,327	18,001	18,318	18,322	18,307	-15
Mining and logging	774	823	827	835	777	837	837	838	1
Logging	46.4	46.2	44.4	46.6	48.2	48.3	47.8	48.3	0.5
Mining	727.4	776.3	782.6	788.7	728.3	788.8	789.1	789.8	0.7
Oil and gas extraction	171.3	191.1	191.7	193.1	171.4	192.3	193.1	193.0	-0.1
Mining, except oil and gas(1)	220.3	211.9	216.4	223.5	217.8	220.5	220.2	221.1	0.9
Coal mining	87.1	85.6	84.9	85.4	87.2	85.9	85.3	85.6	0.3
Support activities for mining	335.8	373.3	374.5	372.1	339.1	376.0	375.8	375.7	-0.1
Construction	5,540	5,220	5,391	5,560	5,498	5,549	5,544	5,516	-28
Construction of buildings	1,206.7	1,172.0	1,188.3	1,223.6	1,211.4	1,228.4	1,226.3	1,226.8	0.5
Residential building	558.1	538.5	545.8	563.4	559.8	568.0	566.3	565.3	-1.0
Nonresidential building	648.6	633.5	642.5	660.2	651.6	660.4	660.0	661.5	1.5
Heavy and civil engineering construction	854.9	760.8	817.3	854.2	831.6	839.2	841.8	830.6	-11.2
Specialty trade contractors	3,478.8	3,286.9	3,385.8	3,482.3	3,455.4	3,481.8	3,475.9	3,458.2	-17.7
Residential specialty trade contractors	1,472.5	1,372.2	1,424.2	1,470.6	1,454.3	1,460.1	1,462.5	1,452.5	-10.0
Nonresidential specialty trade contractors	2,006.3	1,914.7	1,961.6	2,011.7	2,001.1	2,021.7	2,013.4	2,005.7	-7.7
Manufacturing	11,693	11,847	11,872	11,932	11,726	11,932	11,941	11,953	12
Durable goods	7,253	7,420	7,439	7,475	7,264	7,455	7,466	7,479	13
Wood products	338.8	326.3	329.2	332.0	337.3	333.4	331.8	330.4	-1.4
Nonmetallic mineral products	371.3	358.3	364.3	369.4	367.8	370.1	368.7	365.7	-3.0
Primary metals	388.4	404.0	405.8	409.5	389.1	405.6	406.4	410.2	3.8
Fabricated metal products	1,339.4	1,383.7	1,389.4	1,398.8	1,345.2	1,390.5	1,396.1	1,401.8	5.7
Machinery	1,048.1	1,096.7	1,098.9	1,102.3	1,051.8	1,098.1	1,101.8	1,104.3	2.5
Computer and electronic products(1)	1,102.9	1,108.3	1,105.4	1,108.1	1,106.3	1,110.3	1,109.0	1,110.7	1.7
Computer and peripheral equipment	157.1	163.3	164.0	164.1	157.6	163.4	164.3	164.3	0.0
Communications equipment	115.8	110.2	109.1	109.2	116.1	110.7	109.7	109.5	-0.2
Semiconductors and electronic components	381.4	387.3	386.2	387.4	383.2	387.6	387.0	389.0	2.0
Electronic instruments	403.7	402.4	401.4	402.5	404.3	403.2	402.9	402.9	0.0
Electrical equipment and appliances	365.2	372.6	370.6	373.4	366.5	374.7	373.0	374.2	1.2
Transportation equipment(1)	1,371.2	1,447.7	1,448.5	1,450.9	1,372.6	1,443.6	1,448.0	1,452.1	4.1
Motor vehicles and parts(2)	711.8	767.1	766.2	771.0	710.7	762.3	764.2	770.0	5.8
Furniture and related products	355.8	347.9	351.2	352.6	354.4	351.4	352.7	350.6	-2.1
Miscellaneous manufacturing	571.4	574.6	575.7	577.7	573.4	577.4	578.3	579.1	0.8
Nondurable goods	4,440	4,427	4,433	4,457	4,462	4,477	4,475	4,474	-1
Food manufacturing	1,441.1	1,425.8	1,428.0	1,441.2	1,460.7	1,454.8	1,457.3	1,458.5	1.2
Beverages and tobacco products	185.7	189.8	191.9	199.0	186.9	196.8	197.0	199.7	2.7
Textile mills	121.9	120.0	119.9	119.7	121.1	120.1	119.7	119.0	-0.7
Textile product mills	118.2	113.1	114.2	114.8	118.0	114.0	114.1	114.0	-0.1
Apparel	152.7	149.7	150.6	150.3	152.7	150.4	150.3	149.8	-0.5
Leather and allied products	28.8	30.1	30.2	29.7	28.9	30.1	30.2	29.8	-0.4
Paper and paper products	388.2	392.0	390.2	390.7	389.5	394.3	392.6	391.8	-0.8
Printing and related support activities	471.0	454.4	455.6	456.9	471.5	456.3	457.5	457.1	-0.4
Petroleum and coal products	113.5	111.0	113.9	115.2	112.3	114.5	114.6	114.1	-0.5
Chemicals	783.4	798.4	795.4	794.7	785.0	799.9	797.3	796.1	-1.2
Plastics and rubber products	635.3	642.7	642.8	645.0	635.2	645.5	644.7	643.9	-0.8
Private service-providing	91,347	91,786	92,447	93,010	91,096	92,553	92,636	92,733	97
Trade, transportation, and utilities	24,941	24,937	25,054	25,270	24,993	25,243	25,264	25,318	54
Wholesale trade	5,533.3	5,562.7	5,588.7	5,632.6	5,525.2	5,595.6	5,606.7	5,622.6	15.9
Durable goods	2,753.8	2,767.2	2,770.4	2,789.0	2,754.0	2,780.8	2,781.4	2,788.8	7.4
Nondurable goods	1,945.1	1,947.0	1,965.4	1,984.2	1,937.3	1,962.7	1,969.7	1,975.5	5.8
Electronic markets and agents and brokers	834.4	848.5	852.9	859.4	833.9	852.1	855.6	858.3	2.7
Retail trade	14,569.4	14,495.5	14,590.4	14,696.5	14,626.1	14,726.3	14,753.3	14,755.6	2.3
Motor vehicle and parts dealers(1)	1,691.7	1,704.6	1,718.2	1,722.4	1,684.0	1,719.1	1,717.2	1,715.8	-1.4
Automobile dealers	1,053.7	1,074.9	1,080.1	1,083.7	1,053.0	1,080.1	1,081.1	1,083.5	2.4
Furniture and home furnishings stores	433.7	442.7	441.3	444.1	441.0	449.7	449.1	451.8	2.7
Electronics and appliance stores	523.1	504.1	503.1	495.8	531.7	509.1	509.3	504.6	-4.7
Building material and garden supply stores	1,210.7	1,150.7	1,205.1	1,220.6	1,145.3	1,154.7	1,158.1	1,149.8	-8.3
Food and beverage stores	2,823.8	2,834.0	2,835.8	2,867.6	2,824.6	2,863.0	2,861.7	2,867.8	6.1
Health and personal care stores	976.6	987.8	988.3	992.0	978.1	994.7	996.3	993.5	-2.8
Gasoline stations	831.9	817.6	824.8	833.7	829.2	829.9	830.6	830.4	-0.2
Clothing and clothing accessories stores	1,308.3	1,314.8	1,321.3	1,328.9	1,348.3	1,365.7	1,365.1	1,371.8	6.7
Sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores	559.3	548.6	551.0	558.6	577.5	566.9	570.3	573.9	3.6
General merchandise stores(1)	3,020.8	3,015.4	3,021.4	3,028.2	3,067.3	3,067.8	3,087.5	3,083.4	-4.1
Department stores	1,497.0	1,503.3	1,498.0	1,494.2	1,538.7	1,541.5	1,546.7	1,542.5	-4.2
Miscellaneous store retailers	769.2	749.0	757.9	779.5	767.2	768.9	771.5	775.8	4.3
Nonstore retailers	420.3	426.2	422.2	425.1	431.9	436.8	436.6	437.0	0.4
Transportation and warehousing	4,283.4	4,318.3	4,314.3	4,378.7	4,287.0	4,359.3	4,342.8	4,378.4	35.6
Air transportation	456.4	456.5	456.9	458.1	456.2	457.5	458.6	457.7	-0.9
Rail transportation	228.1	232.5	233.7	234.1	228.9	233.5	233.9	234.4	0.5
Water transportation	62.5	65.7	65.2	66.3	62.5	67.5	66.3	66.1	-0.2
Truck transportation	1,293.4	1,307.9	1,317.7	1,339.3	1,298.7	1,333.3	1,336.0	1,343.3	7.3
Transit and ground passenger transportation	454.8	444.3	430.4	455.4	436.8	431.6	417.3	437.4	20.1
Pipeline transportation	42.8	43.7	43.6	43.8	42.9	43.8	43.9	43.9	0.0
Scenic and sightseeing transportation	31.5	26.2	29.2	33.8	29.3	32.8	32.5	31.6	-0.9
Support activities for transportation	560.2	578.3	580.9	583.6	561.7	582.1	581.7	584.9	3.2
Couriers and messengers	515.3	519.2	510.7	516.7	525.5	528.3	520.9	526.0	5.1
Warehousing and storage	638.4	644.0	646.0	647.6	644.5	648.9	651.7	653.1	1.4
Utilities	555.1	560.8	560.9	561.9	554.7	561.8	561.2	561.2	0.0
Information	2,676	2,625	2,627	2,634	2,671	2,631	2,630	2,628	-2
Publishing industries, except Internet	745.8	739.0	738.0	736.0	749.1	740.9	740.3	739.7	-0.6
Motion picture and sound recording industries	371.8	356.3	365.4	375.7	361.7	360.2	364.9	364.9	0.0
Broadcasting, except Internet	279.7	281.8	281.7	280.8	281.9	282.2	282.0	282.2	0.2
Telecommunications	876.2	838.9	833.5	832.2	878.2	838.6	835.5	833.5	-2.0
Data processing, hosting and related services	246.3	242.5	242.6	242.3	244.2	241.7	240.9	240.6	-0.3
Other information services	156.3	166.6	165.6	166.5	156.2	167.6	166.4	166.6	0.2
Financial activities	7,684	7,681	7,695	7,721	7,693	7,717	7,721	7,724	3
Finance and insurance	5,749.2	5,762.4	5,757.1	5,755.6	5,758.4	5,763.6	5,765.4	5,761.6	-3.8
Monetary authorities - central bank	18.7	18.8	18.9	17.8	18.7	18.7	18.7	17.9	-0.8
Credit intermediation and related activities(1)	2,558.7	2,585.3	2,578.0	2,575.4	2,564.2	2,582.9	2,579.7	2,577.6	-2.1
Depository credit intermediation(1)	1,738.4	1,752.0	1,747.5	1,743.5	1,741.7	1,752.6	1,748.7	1,745.2	-3.5
Commercial banking	1,316.3	1,325.4	1,320.2	1,316.2	1,319.8	1,325.5	1,321.8	1,319.5	-2.3
Securities, commodity contracts, investments	804.5	800.2	797.5	796.7	806.8	800.6	799.5	799.0	-0.5
Insurance carriers and related activities	2,282.0	2,273.5	2,278.4	2,281.1	2,283.0	2,276.7	2,282.6	2,282.3	-0.3
Funds, trusts, and other financial vehicles	85.3	84.6	84.3	84.6	85.7	84.7	84.9	84.8	-0.1
Real estate and rental and leasing	1,934.7	1,918.4	1,938.3	1,964.9	1,934.8	1,953.5	1,955.9	1,962.5	6.6
Real estate	1,408.9	1,394.9	1,410.0	1,422.1	1,409.7	1,417.1	1,418.5	1,421.2	2.7
Rental and leasing services	501.8	500.0	504.9	519.4	501.0	512.7	513.9	517.8	3.9
Lessors of nonfinancial intangible assets	24.0	23.5	23.4	23.4	24.1	23.7	23.5	23.5	0.0
Professional and business services	17,291	17,599	17,793	17,808	17,298	17,779	17,816	17,815	-1
Professional and technical services(1)	7,612.4	7,964.0	7,987.9	7,834.6	7,684.6	7,892.9	7,911.7	7,907.7	-4.0
Legal services	1,111.5	1,110.6	1,114.4	1,116.5	1,115.1	1,115.8	1,119.3	1,119.9	0.6
Accounting and bookkeeping services	876.5	1,091.6	1,071.6	894.0	931.5	969.5	965.1	951.1	-14.0
Architectural and engineering services	1,288.4	1,299.4	1,312.5	1,321.1	1,291.6	1,317.1	1,323.4	1,323.7	0.3
Computer systems design and related services	1,519.4	1,569.1	1,579.5	1,582.1	1,523.9	1,576.5	1,581.1	1,586.4	5.3
Management and technical consulting services	1,061.3	1,109.9	1,118.9	1,122.0	1,066.0	1,119.3	1,124.4	1,126.6	2.2
Management of companies and enterprises	1,911.9	1,933.6	1,932.6	1,940.8	1,914.9	1,939.6	1,941.7	1,943.7	2.0
Administrative and waste services	7,766.2	7,701.3	7,872.5	8,032.3	7,698.4	7,946.8	7,962.9	7,963.7	0.8
Administrative and support services(1)	7,402.2	7,338.1	7,504.6	7,661.7	7,334.2	7,575.5	7,591.3	7,592.8	1.5
Employment services(1)	2,932.8	3,031.2	3,070.5	3,151.6	2,930.5	3,129.3	3,142.7	3,148.8	6.1
Temporary help services	2,300.2	2,383.8	2,420.5	2,493.5	2,295.9	2,469.1	2,481.7	2,490.9	9.2
Business support services	802.9	816.0	809.1	807.3	811.0	813.5	813.3	815.8	2.5
Services to buildings and dwellings	1,849.7	1,673.6	1,797.0	1,858.2	1,775.8	1,799.8	1,799.1	1,784.8	-14.3
Waste management and remediation services	364.0	363.2	367.9	370.6	364.2	371.3	371.6	370.9	-0.7
Education and health services	19,880	20,379	20,418	20,372	19,823	20,232	20,261	20,307	46
Educational services	3,267.1	3,475.6	3,483.5	3,384.2	3,226.1	3,318.7	3,327.1	3,339.0	11.9
Health care and social assistance	16,612.8	16,903.4	16,934.7	16,987.9	16,596.7	16,913.4	16,934.3	16,968.3	34.0
Health care(3)	13,984.3	14,259.8	14,287.4	14,328.4	14,003.6	14,289.0	14,310.9	14,343.7	32.8
Ambulatory health care services(1)	6,109.3	6,274.5	6,303.6	6,332.1	6,115.2	6,290.2	6,311.9	6,334.7	22.8
Offices of physicians	2,336.1	2,405.8	2,407.9	2,421.0	2,342.6	2,410.7	2,416.7	2,426.6	9.9
Outpatient care centers	620.7	649.9	652.2	656.3	620.9	649.7	651.2	655.8	4.6
Home health care services	1,130.4	1,169.5	1,185.2	1,194.1	1,130.2	1,172.8	1,184.0	1,190.9	6.9
Hospitals	4,711.5	4,802.7	4,798.5	4,804.5	4,721.3	4,808.1	4,809.7	4,814.2	4.5
Nursing and residential care facilities(1)	3,163.5	3,182.6	3,185.3	3,191.8	3,167.1	3,190.7	3,189.3	3,194.8	5.5
Nursing care facilities	1,667.5	1,660.2	1,658.0	1,658.6	1,668.9	1,664.8	1,660.9	1,660.5	-0.4
Social assistance(1)	2,628.5	2,643.6	2,647.3	2,659.5	2,593.1	2,624.4	2,623.4	2,624.6	1.2
Child day care services	872.4	856.4	859.4	866.0	847.5	838.3	837.8	839.9	2.1
Leisure and hospitality	13,517	13,230	13,507	13,819	13,280	13,591	13,585	13,576	-9
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	1,972.5	1,797.9	1,879.6	1,975.5	1,899.3	1,942.6	1,924.0	1,905.3	-18.7
Performing arts and spectator sports	406.6	388.3	413.4	428.7	386.6	409.6	407.8	407.7	-0.1
Museums, historical sites, and similar institutions	136.1	127.6	131.5	136.3	130.7	135.4	133.6	131.6	-2.0
Amusements, gambling, and recreation	1,429.8	1,282.0	1,334.7	1,410.5	1,382.0	1,397.6	1,382.6	1,366.0	-16.6
Accommodation and food services	11,544.5	11,431.6	11,627.1	11,843.4	11,380.2	11,648.0	11,661.3	11,670.2	8.9
Accommodation	1,786.5	1,740.7	1,761.5	1,814.4	1,790.6	1,809.0	1,813.7	1,815.5	1.8
Food services and drinking places	9,758.0	9,690.9	9,865.6	10,029.0	9,589.6	9,839.0	9,847.6	9,854.7	7.1
Other services	5,358	5,335	5,353	5,386	5,338	5,360	5,359	5,365	6
Repair and maintenance	1,168.3	1,156.1	1,160.3	1,166.7	1,158.9	1,158.8	1,157.3	1,157.8	0.5
Personal and laundry services	1,297.3	1,287.2	1,296.2	1,308.1	1,282.8	1,293.4	1,292.6	1,293.3	0.7
Membership associations and organizations	2,892.4	2,891.4	2,896.7	2,911.4	2,896.1	2,908.1	2,908.7	2,913.4	4.7
Government	22,535	22,405	22,401	22,390	22,130	21,992	21,982	21,969	-13
Federal	2,871.0	2,811.0	2,823.0	2,823.0	2,869.0	2,826.0	2,824.0	2,819.0	-5.0
Federal, except U.S. Postal Service	2,237.5	2,197.5	2,201.2	2,210.7	2,232.5	2,208.6	2,206.1	2,204.1	-2.0
U.S. Postal Service	633.2	613.8	622.1	612.2	636.8	617.7	618.2	615.3	-2.9
State government	5,120.0	5,212.0	5,222.0	5,111.0	5,087.0	5,073.0	5,078.0	5,073.0	-5.0
State government education	2,404.7	2,563.4	2,568.4	2,447.6	2,376.6	2,414.3	2,420.5	2,416.8	-3.7
State government, excluding education	2,715.3	2,648.9	2,654.0	2,662.9	2,710.2	2,658.3	2,657.3	2,656.2	-1.1
Local government	14,544.0	14,382.0	14,356.0	14,456.0	14,174.0	14,093.0	14,080.0	14,077.0	-3.0
Local government education	8,278.9	8,230.7	8,185.6	8,217.1	7,899.2	7,845.8	7,833.9	7,830.6	-3.3
Local government, excluding education	6,265.0	6,151.0	6,170.4	6,238.8	6,274.3	6,246.7	6,245.6	6,246.0	0.4
Footnotes (1) Includes other industries, not shown separately. (2) Includes motor vehicles, motor vehicle bodies and trailers, and motor vehicle parts. (3) Includes ambulatory health care services, hospitals, and nursing and residential care facilities. (p) Preliminary

ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-2. Average weekly hours and overtime of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted

Industry	May 2011	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012(p)	May 2012(p)
AVERAGE WEEKLY HOURS
Total private	34.4	34.5	34.5	34.4
Goods-producing	40.0	40.2	40.3	40.1
Mining and logging	44.7	44.1	44.0	43.7
Construction	38.4	38.5	38.7	38.5
Manufacturing	40.5	40.7	40.8	40.5
Durable goods	40.8	41.1	41.1	40.9
Nondurable goods	39.9	40.0	40.1	39.9
Private service-providing	33.3	33.4	33.3	33.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	34.5	34.7	34.6	34.5
Wholesale trade	38.6	38.7	38.6	38.6
Retail trade	31.5	31.9	31.8	31.5
Transportation and warehousing	38.7	38.2	38.3	38.2
Utilities	42.0	41.4	41.7	41.5
Information	36.6	36.6	36.5	36.3
Financial activities	37.2	37.2	37.2	37.1
Professional and business services	35.7	35.9	35.9	35.8
Education and health services	33.0	32.9	32.9	32.9
Leisure and hospitality	25.8	26.1	26.1	26.0
Other services	31.8	31.7	31.6	31.6
AVERAGE OVERTIME HOURS
Manufacturing	3.1	3.3	3.3	3.2
Durable goods	3.1	3.3	3.3	3.2
Nondurable goods	3.2	3.3	3.3	3.2
Footnotes (p) Preliminary

ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-3. Average hourly and weekly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted

Industry	Average hourly earnings				Average weekly earnings
	May 2011	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012(p)	May 2012(p)	May 2011	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012(p)	May 2012(p)
Total private	$23.02	$23.37	$23.39	$23.41	$791.89	$806.27	$806.96	$805.30
Goods-producing	24.39	24.67	24.70	24.69	975.60	991.73	995.41	990.07
Mining and logging	28.23	28.82	28.77	28.74	1,261.88	1,270.96	1,265.88	1,255.94
Construction	25.38	25.65	25.68	25.75	974.59	987.53	993.82	991.38
Manufacturing	23.67	23.92	23.96	23.92	958.64	973.54	977.57	968.76
Durable goods	25.19	25.31	25.35	25.29	1,027.75	1,040.24	1,041.89	1,034.36
Nondurable goods	21.15	21.54	21.58	21.57	843.89	861.60	865.36	860.64
Private service-providing	22.70	23.07	23.07	23.11	755.91	770.54	768.23	767.25
Trade, transportation, and utilities	20.00	20.29	20.32	20.36	690.00	704.06	703.07	702.42
Wholesale trade	26.30	26.66	26.65	26.70	1,015.18	1,031.74	1,028.69	1,030.62
Retail trade	15.84	16.10	16.13	16.14	498.96	513.59	512.93	508.41
Transportation and warehousing	21.52	21.94	22.02	22.02	832.82	838.11	843.37	841.16
Utilities	33.66	33.68	33.72	33.54	1,413.72	1,394.35	1,406.12	1,391.91
Information	31.59	31.65	31.74	31.76	1,156.19	1,158.39	1,158.51	1,152.89
Financial activities	27.73	28.83	28.85	29.01	1,031.56	1,072.48	1,073.22	1,076.27
Professional and business services	27.65	28.03	27.98	28.04	987.11	1,006.28	1,004.48	1,003.83
Education and health services	23.61	24.07	24.05	24.06	779.13	791.90	791.25	791.57
Leisure and hospitality	13.24	13.32	13.35	13.29	341.59	347.65	348.44	345.54
Other services	20.41	20.55	20.54	20.59	649.04	651.44	649.06	650.64
Footnotes (p) Preliminary

ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-4. Indexes of aggregate weekly hours and payrolls for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted

[2007=100]

Industry	Index of aggregate weekly hours(1)					Index of aggregate weekly payrolls(2)
	May 2011	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012(p)	May 2012(p)	Percent change from: Apr. 2012 - May 2012(p)	May 2011	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012(p)	May 2012(p)	Percent change from: Apr. 2012 - May 2012(p)
Total private	94.0	95.9	95.9	95.7	-0.2	103.2	106.8	107.0	106.9	-0.1
Goods-producing	82.0	83.9	84.1	83.6	-0.6	90.4	93.5	93.9	93.3	-0.6
Mining and logging	109.1	116.0	115.7	115.1	-0.5	123.7	134.2	133.7	132.8	-0.7
Construction	72.8	73.6	74.0	73.2	-1.1	80.3	82.1	82.5	81.9	-0.7
Manufacturing	85.4	87.4	87.6	87.1	-0.6	94.0	97.2	97.7	96.9	-0.8
Durable goods	83.4	86.3	86.4	86.1	-0.3	93.4	97.0	97.3	96.7	-0.6
Nondurable goods	88.9	89.4	89.6	89.1	-0.6	95.4	97.7	98.1	97.5	-0.6
Private service-providing	97.4	99.3	99.1	98.9	-0.2	107.1	111.0	110.7	110.7	0.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	93.8	95.3	95.1	95.0	-0.1	100.9	104.0	104.0	104.1	0.1
Wholesale trade	93.1	94.5	94.4	94.7	0.3	102.1	105.1	105.0	105.5	0.5
Retail trade	93.6	95.4	95.3	94.4	-0.9	98.0	101.6	101.6	100.7	-0.9
Transportation and warehousing	95.0	95.3	95.2	95.7	0.5	103.7	106.1	106.4	107.0	0.6
Utilities	100.8	100.6	101.3	100.8	-0.5	112.1	112.0	112.8	111.7	-1.0
Information	89.3	87.9	87.7	87.1	-0.7	100.4	99.1	99.1	98.5	-0.6
Financial activities	94.3	94.6	94.6	94.4	-0.2	102.1	106.5	106.6	106.9	0.3
Professional and business services	97.1	100.4	100.6	100.3	-0.3	108.8	114.0	114.0	114.0	0.0
Education and health services	106.5	108.4	108.5	108.8	0.3	117.8	122.2	122.3	122.6	0.2
Leisure and hospitality	97.8	101.2	101.2	100.7	-0.5	104.4	108.8	109.0	108.0	-0.9
Other services	94.1	94.1	93.8	93.9	0.1	108.9	109.8	109.4	109.8	0.4
Footnotes (1) The indexes of aggregate weekly hours are calculated by dividing the current month's estimates of aggregate hours by the corresponding 2007 annual average aggregate hours. Aggregate hours estimates are the product of estimates of average weekly hours and employment. (2) The indexes of aggregate weekly payrolls are calculated by dividing the current month's estimates of aggregate weekly payrolls by the corresponding 2007 annual average aggregate weekly payrolls. Aggregate payrolls estimates are the product of estimates of average hourly earnings, average weekly hours, and employment. (p) Preliminary

ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-5. Employment of women on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted

Industry	Women employees (in thousands)				Percent of all employees
	May 2011	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012(p)	May 2012(p)	May 2011	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012(p)	May 2012(p)
Total nonfarm	64,968	65,540	65,624	65,719	49.5	49.3	49.4	49.4
Total private	52,324	52,974	53,060	53,158	48.0	47.8	47.8	47.9
Goods-producing	4,057	4,076	4,087	4,086	22.5	22.3	22.3	22.3
Mining and logging	104	112	112	112	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4
Construction	704	707	709	705	12.8	12.7	12.8	12.8
Manufacturing	3,249	3,257	3,266	3,269	27.7	27.3	27.4	27.3
Durable goods	1,717	1,729	1,734	1,735	23.6	23.2	23.2	23.2
Nondurable goods	1,532	1,528	1,532	1,534	34.3	34.1	34.2	34.3
Private service-providing	48,267	48,898	48,973	49,072	53.0	52.8	52.9	52.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	10,037	10,037	10,055	10,091	40.2	39.8	39.8	39.9
Wholesale trade	1,659.3	1,682.5	1,686.1	1,689.2	30.0	30.1	30.1	30.0
Retail trade	7,232.4	7,204.2	7,223.0	7,248.2	49.4	48.9	49.0	49.1
Transportation and warehousing	1,009.7	1,010.8	1,006.1	1,013.0	23.6	23.2	23.2	23.1
Utilities	135.4	139.3	140.0	140.1	24.4	24.8	24.9	25.0
Information	1,084	1,063	1,064	1,062	40.6	40.4	40.5	40.4
Financial activities	4,496	4,485	4,477	4,474	58.4	58.1	58.0	57.9
Professional and business services	7,682	7,880	7,901	7,906	44.4	44.3	44.3	44.4
Education and health services	15,229	15,520	15,545	15,594	76.8	76.7	76.7	76.8
Leisure and hospitality	6,927	7,094	7,103	7,107	52.2	52.2	52.3	52.3
Other services	2,812	2,819	2,828	2,838	52.7	52.6	52.8	52.9
Government	12,644	12,566	12,564	12,561	57.1	57.1	57.2	57.2
Footnotes (p) Preliminary
NOTE: Data in this table have been corrected. For more information see http://www.bls.gov/bls/ceswomen_usps_correction.htm.

ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-6. Employment of production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted(1)

[In thousands]

Industry	May 2011	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012(p)	May 2012(p)
Total private	89,929	91,595	91,688	91,741
Goods-producing	12,967	13,241	13,239	13,213
Mining and logging	584	633	635	633
Construction	4,155	4,199	4,184	4,146
Manufacturing	8,228	8,409	8,420	8,434
Durable goods	4,977	5,143	5,157	5,171
Nondurable goods	3,251	3,266	3,263	3,263
Private service-providing	76,962	78,354	78,449	78,528
Trade, transportation, and utilities	21,164	21,422	21,454	21,500
Wholesale trade	4,428.0	4,503.6	4,515.3	4,532.9
Retail trade	12,601.5	12,708.9	12,733.8	12,732.0
Transportation and warehousing	3,690.9	3,761.8	3,757.7	3,791.3
Utilities	443.6	447.5	446.7	443.4
Information	2,146	2,119	2,120	2,118
Financial activities	5,895	5,924	5,932	5,942
Professional and business services	14,213	14,658	14,695	14,702
Education and health services	17,362	17,741	17,768	17,803
Leisure and hospitality	11,713	12,003	11,998	11,984
Other services	4,469	4,487	4,482	4,479
Footnotes (1) Data relate to production employees in mining and logging and manufacturing, construction employees in construction, and nonsupervisory employees in the service-providing industries. These groups account for approximately four-fifths of the total employment on private nonfarm payrolls. (p) Preliminary

ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-7. Average weekly hours and overtime of production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted(1)

Industry	May 2011	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012(p)	May 2012(p)
AVERAGE WEEKLY HOURS
Total private	33.6	33.7	33.7	33.7
Goods-producing	40.9	41.2	41.2	41.0
Mining and logging	46.5	47.2	47.6	46.9
Construction	39.1	39.3	39.3	39.0
Manufacturing	41.5	41.6	41.7	41.5
Durable goods	41.8	42.1	42.1	41.9
Nondurable goods	40.9	40.9	41.0	40.8
Private service-providing	32.4	32.5	32.4	32.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	33.7	33.8	33.8	33.8
Wholesale trade	38.6	38.6	38.6	38.5
Retail trade	30.4	30.7	30.6	30.6
Transportation and warehousing	37.9	37.7	37.8	38.1
Utilities	42.4	40.4	41.1	41.2
Information	36.4	36.0	35.9	35.7
Financial activities	36.4	36.7	36.6	36.5
Professional and business services	35.2	35.2	35.2	35.3
Education and health services	32.3	32.4	32.3	32.3
Leisure and hospitality	24.8	25.0	24.9	24.9
Other services	30.8	30.7	30.6	30.5
AVERAGE OVERTIME HOURS
Manufacturing	4.1	4.2	4.2	4.1
Durable goods	4.2	4.4	4.4	4.3
Nondurable goods	4.0	4.0	3.9	3.9
Footnotes (1) Data relate to production employees in mining and logging and manufacturing, construction employees in construction, and nonsupervisory employees in the service-providing industries. These groups account for approximately four-fifths of the total employment on private nonfarm payrolls. (p) Preliminary

ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-8. Average hourly and weekly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted(1)

Industry	Average hourly earnings				Average weekly earnings
	May 2011	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012(p)	May 2012(p)	May 2011	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012(p)	May 2012(p)
Total private	$19.43	$19.67	$19.71	$19.70	$652.85	$662.88	$664.23	$663.89
Goods-producing	20.63	20.89	20.93	20.91	843.77	860.67	862.32	857.31
Mining and logging	24.46	25.62	25.77	25.66	1,137.39	1,209.26	1,226.65	1,203.45
Construction	23.57	23.93	23.91	23.98	921.59	940.45	939.66	935.22
Manufacturing	18.92	19.06	19.12	19.09	785.18	792.90	797.30	792.24
Durable goods	20.11	20.16	20.21	20.19	840.60	848.74	850.84	845.96
Nondurable goods	17.05	17.28	17.36	17.29	697.35	706.75	711.76	705.43
Private service-providing	19.18	19.41	19.45	19.44	621.43	630.83	630.18	631.80
Trade, transportation, and utilities	17.12	17.36	17.39	17.39	576.94	586.77	587.78	587.78
Wholesale trade	21.98	22.14	22.17	22.20	848.43	854.60	855.76	854.70
Retail trade	13.43	13.78	13.77	13.83	408.27	423.05	421.36	423.20
Transportation and warehousing	19.45	19.58	19.63	19.44	737.16	738.17	742.01	740.66
Utilities	30.84	31.11	31.58	31.29	1,307.62	1,256.84	1,297.94	1,289.15
Information	26.61	26.79	26.93	26.63	968.60	964.44	966.79	950.69
Financial activities	21.80	22.45	22.53	22.58	793.52	823.92	824.60	824.17
Professional and business services	23.10	23.24	23.25	23.27	813.12	818.05	818.40	821.43
Education and health services	20.71	21.01	21.04	21.00	668.93	680.72	679.59	678.30
Leisure and hospitality	11.49	11.58	11.64	11.58	284.95	289.50	289.84	288.34
Other services	17.28	17.37	17.38	17.41	532.22	533.26	531.83	531.01
Footnotes (1) Data relate to production employees in mining and logging and manufacturing, construction employees in construction, and nonsupervisory employees in the service-providing industries. These groups account for approximately four-fifths of the total employment on private nonfarm payrolls. (p) Preliminary

ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-9. Indexes of aggregate weekly hours and payrolls for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted(1)

[2002=100]

Industry	Index of aggregate weekly hours(2)					Index of aggregate weekly payrolls(3)
	May 2011	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012(p)	May 2012(p)	Percent change from: Apr. 2012 - May 2012(p)	May 2011	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012(p)	May 2012(p)	Percent change from: Apr. 2012 - May 2012(p)
Total private	101.0	103.1	103.2	103.3	0.1	131.1	135.5	136.0	136.0	0.0
Goods-producing	81.0	83.4	83.4	82.8	-0.7	102.4	106.7	106.8	106.0	-0.7
Mining and logging	144.3	158.8	160.6	157.8	-1.7	205.3	236.6	240.7	235.4	-2.2
Construction	81.3	82.6	82.3	81.0	-1.6	103.5	106.8	106.3	104.8	-1.4
Manufacturing	78.4	80.3	80.6	80.3	-0.4	97.0	100.1	100.8	100.3	-0.5
Durable goods	78.2	81.4	81.6	81.4	-0.2	98.2	102.4	103.0	102.6	-0.4
Nondurable goods	78.3	78.7	78.8	78.4	-0.5	94.4	96.1	96.7	95.8	-0.9
Private service-providing	106.6	108.9	108.7	109.1	0.4	140.2	144.9	144.9	145.5	0.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	99.4	100.9	101.1	101.3	0.2	121.4	125.0	125.4	125.7	0.2
Wholesale trade	100.7	102.4	102.6	102.8	0.2	130.3	133.5	134.0	134.4	0.3
Retail trade	97.0	98.8	98.6	98.6	0.0	111.6	116.6	116.4	116.9	0.4
Transportation and warehousing	105.3	106.8	106.9	108.7	1.7	129.9	132.6	133.1	134.1	0.8
Utilities	96.2	92.5	93.9	93.4	-0.5	123.8	120.1	123.8	122.0	-1.5
Information	89.2	87.1	86.9	86.3	-0.7	117.4	115.5	115.8	113.8	-1.7
Financial activities	102.7	104.0	103.9	103.8	-0.1	138.4	144.4	144.7	144.9	0.1
Professional and business services	112.1	115.6	115.9	116.3	0.3	154.1	159.9	160.4	161.1	0.4
Education and health services	121.0	124.0	123.8	124.0	0.2	164.7	171.3	171.2	171.2	0.0
Leisure and hospitality	106.4	109.9	109.4	109.3	-0.1	138.8	144.5	144.7	143.7	-0.7
Other services	96.5	96.6	96.2	95.8	-0.4	121.5	122.3	121.8	121.5	-0.2
Footnotes (1) Data relate to production employees in mining and logging and manufacturing, construction employees in construction, and nonsupervisory employees in the service-providing industries. These groups account for approximately four-fifths of the total employment on private nonfarm payrolls. (2) The indexes of aggregate weekly hours are calculated by dividing the current month's estimates of aggregate hours by the corresponding 2002 annual average aggregate hours. Aggregate hours estimates are the product of estimates of average weekly hours and employment. (3) The indexes of aggregate weekly payrolls are calculated by dividing the current month's estimates of aggregate weekly payrolls by the corresponding 2002 annual average aggregate weekly payrolls. Aggregate payrolls estimates are the product of estimates of average hourly earnings, average weekly hours, and employment. (p) Preliminary