New classifications of payroll employment

June 09, 2003

Total nonfarm payroll employment was little changed (-17,000) in May at 130.1 million. There were job gains in temporary help services and construction, while losses continued in manufacturing.

Employment by domain and ownership, May 2003
[Chart data—TXT]

Several major changes affected the establishment survey data, including the conversion from the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).

Under NAICS, "domains" and "supersectors" replace the old "major industry divisions" and had the following employment levels in May 2003:

Domain or supersectorEmployment
(in thousands)
Goods-producing domain22,075
 Natural resources and mining561
 Construction6,783
 Manufacturing14,731
  
Service-providing domain107,992
 Trade, transportation, and utilities25,307
 Information3,301
 Financial activities7,965
 Professional and business services16,029
 Education and health services16,516
 Leisure and hospitality12,034
 Other services5,320
 Government21,520

The data in this report are from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program. The NAICS conversion has resulted in major definitional changes to many of the previously published series. CES historical time series have been reconstructed as part of the NAICS conversion process. All published series now have a NAICS-based history extending back to at least 1990. See "The Employment Situation: May 2003" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 03- 281.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Editor's Desk, New classifications of payroll employment on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2003/jun/wk2/art01.htm (visited May 22, 2013).

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