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Bureau of Labor Statistics > Current Employment Statistics > Home

Current Employment Statistics - CES (National)

The Current Employment Statistics (CES) program produces detailed industry estimates of nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings of workers on payrolls. CES National Estimates produces data for the nation, and CES State and Metro Area produces estimates for all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and about 450 metropolitan areas and divisions.

Each month, CES surveys approximately 145,000 businesses and government agencies, representing approximately 697,000 individual worksites.

Notices

The impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the Employment Situation Read More »
2020 CES Preliminary Benchmark Revision Read More »
BLS modified the Current Employment Statistics net birth-death model in order to reflect changes in the relationship between business births and deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read More »

Charts

The Employment Situation for October 2020 is scheduled to be released on November 6, 2020, at 8:30 A.M. Eastern Time.
Real Earnings for October 2020 is scheduled to be released on November 12, 2020, at 8:30 A.M. Eastern Time.

Nonfarm payroll employment rises by 661,000 in September; unemployment rate falls to 7.9%

10/02/2020

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 661,000 in September, and the unemployment rate declined to 7.9 percent. These improvements in the labor market reflect the continued resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
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Real average hourly earnings decrease 0.1% over the month in September

10/13/2020

Real average hourly earnings decreased 0.1 percent over the month in September, seasonally adjusted. Average hourly earnings increased 0.1 percent and CPI-U increased 0.2 percent. Real average weekly earnings increased 0.2 percent over the month.
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Publications

The Economics Daily

Real weekly earnings up 3.9 percent for year ended August 2020

Real average hourly earnings increased 3.3 percent from August 2019 to August 2020. The change in real average hourly earnings combined with an increase of 0.6 percent in the average workweek resulted in a 3.9-percent increase in real average weekly earnings over this period. The increases in real average hourly and weekly earnings largely reflect the substantial job loss over the year among lower-paid workers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to contain it. read more »

Monthly Labor Review

Exploring changes in real average hourly earnings, June 2009 to December 2019

This article examines trends in real average hourly earnings (1982–84 dollars) for all employees from June 2009 to December 2019. It looks at real earnings at the total private and major industry levels, with more detailed analysis for select industries. read more »

Beyond the Numbers

The 2020 census and CES employment

This Beyond the Numbers article describes how census workers affect CES employment estimates. Typically, a mass movement of workers onto—and then off of—the Census Bureau payroll occurs around the turn of every decade. read more »

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Latest Numbers

Change in Total Nonfarm Payroll Employment: +661,000(p) in Sep 2020

Change in Total Private Average Hourly Earnings for All Employees: +$0.02(p) in Sep 2020

Change in Total Private Average Weekly Hours for All Employees: +0.1(p) in Sep 2020

Percent change in Total Private Aggregate Weekly Hours for All Employees: +1.1%(p) in Sep 2020

Change in Manufacturing Average Weekly Hours for All Employees: +0.2(p) in Sep 2020

Change in Manufacturing Average Weekly Overtime for All Employees: -0.1(p) in Sep 2020

Change in Total Private Real Average Hourly Earnings for All Employees: -$0.01(p) in Sep 2020