Economic News Releases

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation

March 10, 2010
Private industry employers spent an average of $27.42 per hour worked for employee compensation in December 2009. Wages and salaries averaged $19.41 and benefits, $8.00. Private industry costs for employees averaged $1.86 per hour worked for paid leave benefits and $2.25 for legally required benefits.
Full text: (HTML) (PDF)

Regional and State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly)

March 10, 2010
In January, 30 states and the District of Columbia recorded over-the-month unemployment rate increases, 9 states registered decreases, and 11 states had no change. Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 31 states and the District of Columbia, decreased in 18 states, and remained unchanged in 1 state.
Full text: (HTML) (PDF)

The Editor's Desk

Hires and separations by industry, 2009

March 11, 2010
In 2009, for the third year in a row, annual levels fell for hires, total separations, quits, and other separations, while rising for layoffs and discharges. Full Text »

BLS Feature

Profile of the Working Poor

Profile of the working poor

In 2008, according to the Census Bureau, 39.8 million people, or 13.2 percent of the Nation’s population, lived at or below the official poverty level. In 2008, about 8.9 million adults were among the “working poor,” 1.4 million more than in 2007. Read more »

Program Perspectives

On Benefits by Wage LevelOn Benefits by Wage Level

BLS presents data on benefits by wage level for several benefits including retirement, health, life insurance, holidays, and vacations. Read more »

Spotlight on Statistics

African American History Month

African American History Month

African American History Month, has been observed since 1976. Take a look at BLS data that provide an economic snapshot of African Americans in the United States today.   Read more »

Issues in Labor Statistics

Recession leads to lackluster employment in the trucking industry

Issues in Labor Statistics

A dramatic slowdown in consumer demand has been crippling the Nation's trucking firms.
Read more »

Labor Force Characteristics by Race and Ethnicity

Labor Force Characteristics by Race and Ethnicity, 2008

Labor market problems for blacks or African Americans and Hispanics or Latinos were especially acute in 2008.
Read more »

Regional Offices

BLS Regional Information Map Southwest Information Office (Dallas, TX) Southeast Information Office (Atlanta, GA) Mountain/Plains Information Office (Kansas City, MO) Midwest Information Office (Chicago, IL) New England Information Office (Boston, MA) Mid-Atlantic Information Office (Philadelphia, PA) New York-New Jersey Information Office (New York, NY) New York-New Jersey Information Office (New York, NY)
Click on a region from the map.

Career Information for Kids

Career Information for Kids

What Are You Interested In?

Spacer