Technical information:
Household data: (202) 691-6378 USDL 08-1252
http://www.bls.gov/cps/
Establishment data:(202) 691-6555 Transmission of material in this release
http://www.bls.gov/ces/ is embargoed until 8:30 A.M. (EDT),
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Friday, September 5, 2008.
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: AUGUST 2008
The unemployment rate rose from 5.7 to 6.1 percent in August, and non-
farm payroll employment continued to trend down (-84,000), the Bureau of
Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. In August,
employment fell in manufacturing and employment services, while mining and
health care continued to add jobs. Average hourly earnings rose by 7 cents,
or 0.4 percent, over the month.
Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
The number of unemployed persons rose by 592,000 to 9.4 million in August,
and the unemployment rate increased by 0.4 percentage point to 6.1 percent.
Over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed persons has increased by
2.2 million and the unemployment rate has risen by 1.4 percentage points,
with most of the increase occurring over the past 4 months. (See table A-1.)
In August, the unemployment rates for adult men (5.6 percent), adult women
(5.3 percent), whites (5.4 percent), blacks (10.6 percent), and Hispanics
(8.0 percent) rose, while the jobless rate for teenagers was little changed
at 18.9 percent. The unemployment rate for Asians was 4.4 percent in August,
not seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)
Among the unemployed, the number of persons who lost their last job rose by
417,000 to 4.8 million in August, with increases occurring among those on tem-
porary layoff and those who do not expect to be recalled to work. Over the last
4 months, the number of unemployed job losers has increased by 810,000. (See
table A-8.)
In August, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or
more) rose by 163,000 to 1.8 million, an increase of 589,000 over the past 12
months. The newly unemployed--those who were jobless fewer than 5 weeks--
increased by 400,000 over the month. (See table A-9.)
Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
The civilian labor force, at 154.9 million, was about unchanged in August,
and the labor force participation rate remained at 66.1 percent. Total employ-
ment, at 145.5 million, was little changed from July. The employment-population
ratio fell over the month to 62.1 percent in August, down 1.3 percentage points
from its most recent high of 63.4 percent in December 2006. (See table A-1.)
In August, the number of persons who worked part time for economic reasons
was essentially unchanged at 5.7 million. This category includes persons who
indicated that they would like to work full time but were working part time
because their hours had been cut back or they were unable to find full-time jobs.
(See table A-5.)
The number of multiple jobholders increased by 298,000 in August to 8.1 million,
accounting for 5.5 percent of total employed. (See table A-6.)
- 2 -
Table A. Major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
_______________________________________________________________________________
| | |
| Quarterly | |
| averages | Monthly data | July-
Category |_________________|__________________________| Aug.
| | | | | | change
| I | II | June | July | Aug. |
| 2008 | 2008 | 2008 | 2008 | 2008 |
_________________________|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
HOUSEHOLD DATA | Labor force status
|_____________________________________________________
| | | | | |
Civilian labor force ....| 153,661| 154,294| 154,390| 154,603| 154,853| 250
Employment ............| 146,070| 146,089| 145,891| 145,819| 145,477| -342
Unemployment ..........| 7,591| 8,204| 8,499| 8,784| 9,376| 592
Not in labor force ......| 79,146| 79,117| 79,237| 79,261| 79,253| -8
|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
| Unemployment rates
|_____________________________________________________
| | | | | |
All workers .............| 4.9| 5.3| 5.5| 5.7| 6.1| 0.4
Adult men .............| 4.4| 4.9| 5.1| 5.3| 5.6| .3
Adult women ...........| 4.3| 4.6| 4.7| 4.6| 5.3| .7
Teenagers .............| 16.8| 17.4| 18.1| 20.3| 18.9| -1.4
White .................| 4.4| 4.7| 4.9| 5.1| 5.4| .3
Black or African | | | | | |
American ............| 8.8| 9.1| 9.2| 9.7| 10.6| .9
Hispanic or Latino | | | | | |
ethnicity ...........| 6.5| 7.2| 7.7| 7.4| 8.0| .6
|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
ESTABLISHMENT DATA | Employment
|_____________________________________________________
| | | | | |
Nonfarm employment.......| 137,917| 137,699| 137,617|p137,557|p137,473| p-84
Goods-producing (1)....| 21,820| 21,565| 21,491| p21,443| p21,386| p-57
Construction ........| 7,384| 7,242| 7,196| p7,176| p7,168| p-8
Manufacturing .......| 13,690| 13,563| 13,527| p13,489| p13,428| p-61
Service-providing (1)..| 116,097| 116,134| 116,126|p116,114|p116,087| p-27
Retail trade (2)...| 15,434| 15,337| 15,324| p15,306| p15,286| p-20
Professional and | | | | | |
business services .| 18,063| 17,980| 17,927| p17,910| p17,857| p-53
Education and health | | | | | |
services ..........| 18,664| 18,823| 18,891| p18,942| p18,997| p55
Leisure and | | | | | |
hospitality .......| 13,660| 13,683| 13,679| p13,674| p13,670| p-4
Government ..........| 22,358| 22,439| 22,463| p22,469| p22,486| p17
|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
| Hours of work (3)
|_____________________________________________________
| | | | | |
Total private ...........| 33.7| 33.7| 33.7| p33.7| p33.7| p0.0
Manufacturing .........| 41.1| 41.0| 41.0| p41.0| p40.9| p-.1
Overtime ............| 4.0| 3.9| 3.8| p3.8| p3.7| p-.1
|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
| Indexes of aggregate weekly hours (2002=100)(3)
|_____________________________________________________
| | | | | |
Total private ...........| 107.4| 107.2| 107.0| p106.9| p106.8| p-0.1
|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
| Earnings (3)
|_____________________________________________________
Average hourly earnings, | | | | | |
total private .........| $17.81| $17.95| $18.00| p$18.07| p$18.14| p$0.07
Average weekly earnings, | | | | | |
total private .........| 600.80| 605.40| 606.60| p608.96| p611.32| p2.36
_________________________|________|________|________|________|________|________
1 Includes other industries, not shown separately.
2 Quarterly averages and the over-the-month change are calculated using
unrounded data.
3 Data relate to private production and nonsupervisory workers.
p = preliminary.
- 3 -
Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
About 1.6 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached
to the labor force in August, an increase of 275,000 over the past 12 months.
These individuals 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. Among the
marginally attached, there were 381,000 discouraged workers in August, little
changed from a year earlier. Discouraged workers are persons not currently
looking for work specifically because they believe no jobs are available for them.
The other 1.3 million persons marginally attached to the labor force in August
had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such
as school attendance or family responsibilities. (See table A-13.)
Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)
Total nonfarm payroll employment continued to trend down (-84,000) in August.
Thus far in 2008, payroll employment has declined by 605,000, an average loss
of 76,000 per month. Employment continued to decline in manufacturing and employ-
ment services, while health care and mining added jobs. (See table B-1.)
Manufacturing employment fell by 61,000 in August. The largest decline
occurred in motor vehicles and parts (-39,000), which has lost 128,000 jobs
over the past 12 months. In August, employment also fell in 2 industries
related to home building--wood products (-7,000) and furniture and related
products (-7,000). Computer and electronic products manufacturing added
5,000 jobs over the month.
Within professional and business services, employment services lost 53,000
jobs in August; more than two-thirds of the decrease (-37,000) occurred in
temporary help services. Since its most recent peak in August 2006, employ-
ment services has lost 419,000 jobs.
Employment in both wholesale and retail trade continued to trend down over
the month. Within retail trade, motor vehicle and parts dealers shed 14,000
jobs. Since reaching a recent peak in April 2007, employment in motor vehicle
and parts dealers has fallen by 60,000.
Health care employment continued to grow in August (27,000), with more than
half of the gain in hospitals. Over the past 12 months, health care has added
367,000 jobs.
Employment in mining increased by 12,000 in August, with gains occurring in
all the component industries. Over the past 12 months, job growth has been
especially strong in support activities for mining (39,000) and in oil and
gas extraction (17,000).
Construction job losses in July and August averaged 14,000, compared with
an average monthly loss of 45,000 during the first half of 2008. In August,
residential specialty trade contractors lost 14,000 jobs; since a peak in
February 2006, employment in the industry has declined by 388,000.
- 4 -
Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)
In August, the average workweek for production and nonsupervisory workers
on private nonfarm payrolls remained at 33.7 hours, seasonally adjusted.
Both the manufacturing workweek, at 40.9 hours, and factory overtime, at
3.7 hours, fell by 0.1 hour over the month. (See table B-2.)
The index of aggregate weekly hours of production and nonsupervisory
workers on private nonfarm payrolls declined by 0.1 percent in August to
106.8 (2002=100). The manufacturing index fell by 0.9 percent to 90.5.
(See table B-5.)
Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)
In August, average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers
on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 7 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $18.14, season-
ally adjusted. This followed gains of 5 cents in June and 7 cents in July.
Average weekly earnings rose by 0.4 percent in August to $611.32. Over the
past 12 months, average hourly earnings increased by 3.6 percent and average
weekly earnings rose by 3.3 percent. (See tables B-3 and B-4.)
______________________________
The Employment Situation for September 2008 is scheduled to be released on
Friday, October 3, at 8:30 A.M. (EDT).
- 5 -
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 estab-
lishment survey employment series has a smaller margin of error on the mea-
surement of month-to-month change than the household survey because of its
much larger sample size. An over-the-month employment change of 104,000 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 establish-
ment 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?
Neither the establishment nor household survey is designed to identify the
legal status of workers. Thus, while it is likely that both surveys include
at least some undocumented immigrants, it is not possible to determine how many
are counted in either survey. The household survey does include questions about
whether respondents were born outside the United States. Data from these ques-
tions show that foreign-born workers accounted for 15.7 percent of the labor
force in 2007 and 47.7 percent of the net increase in the labor force from 2000
to 2007.
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. For more information on the monthly revisions, please visit
http://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 http://www.bls.
gov/web/cesbmart.htm.
Has the establishment survey understated employment growth because it excludes
the self-employed?
While the establishment survey excludes the self-employed, the household
survey provides monthly estimates of unincorporated self-employment. These
estimates have shown no substantial growth in recent years.
- 6 -
Does the establishment survey sample include small firms?
Yes; about 40 percent of the establishment survey sample is comprised of busi-
ness establishments with fewer than 20 employees. The establishment survey sam-
ple is designed to maximize the reliability of the total nonfarm employment esti-
mate; 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 (discouraged workers and other groups not officially
counted as unemployed) are published each month in the Employment Situation news
release.
- 7 -
Technical Note
This news release presents statistics from two major surveys, the Current
Population Survey (household survey) and the Current Employment Statistics
survey (establishment survey). The household survey provides the information
on the labor force, employment, and unemployment that appears in the A tables,
marked HOUSEHOLD DATA. It is a sample survey of about 60,000 households con-
ducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The establishment survey provides the information on the employment, hours,
and earnings of workers on nonfarm payrolls that appears in the B tables, marked
ESTABLISHMENT DATA. This information is collected from payroll records by BLS
in cooperation with state agencies. The sample includes about 160,000 businesses
and government agencies covering approximately 400,000 individual worksites.
The active sample includes about one-third of all nonfarm payroll workers. The
sample is drawn from a sampling frame of unemployment insurance tax accounts.
For both surveys, the data for a given month relate to a particular week or
pay period. In the household survey, the reference week is generally the calen-
dar 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 unemploy-
ment 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.
- 8 -
Establishment survey. The sample establishments are drawn from private nonfarm
businesses such as factories, offices, and stores, as well as federal, state, and
local government entities. Employees on nonfarm payrolls are those who received pay
for any part of the reference pay period, including persons on paid leave. Persons
are counted in each job they hold. Hours and earnings data are for private busi-
nesses and relate only to production workers in the goods-producing sector and non-
supervisory workers in the service-providing sector. Industries are classified on
the basis of their principal activity in accordance with the 2007 version of the
North American Industry Classification System.
Differences in employment estimates. The numerous conceptual and methodological
differences between the household and establishment surveys result in important dis-
tinctions in the employment estimates derived from the surveys. Among these are:
--The household survey includes agricultural workers, the self-employed, unpaid
family workers, and private household workers among the employed. These groups are
excluded from the establishment survey.
--The household survey includes people on unpaid leave among the employed. The
establishment survey does not.
--The household survey is limited to workers 16 years of age and older. The
establishment survey is not limited by age.
--The household survey has no duplication of individuals, because individuals
are counted only once, even if they hold more than one job. In the establishment
survey, employees working at more than one job and thus appearing on more than
one payroll would be counted separately for each appearance.
Seasonal adjustment
Over the course of a year, the size of the nation's labor force and the levels of
employment and unemployment undergo sharp fluctuations due to such seasonal events as
changes in weather, reduced or expanded production, harvests, major holidays, and the
opening and closing of schools. The effect of such seasonal variation can be very
large; seasonal fluctuations may account for as much as 95 percent of the month-to-
month changes in unemployment.
Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each year,
their influence on statistical trends can be eliminated by adjusting the statistics
from month to month. These adjustments make nonseasonal developments, such as de-
clines in economic activity or increases in the participation of women in the labor
force, easier to spot. For example, the large number of youth entering the labor
force each June is likely to obscure any other changes that have taken place rela-
tive to May, making it difficult to determine if the level of economic activity has
risen or declined. However, because the effect of students finishing school in pre-
vious years is known, the statistics for the current year can be adjusted to allow
for a comparable change. Insofar as the seasonal adjustment is made correctly, the
adjusted figure provides a more useful tool with which to analyze changes in economic
activity.
- 9 -
Most 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 supersectors, 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. In both surveys, revisions to historical data
are made once a year.
Reliability of the estimates
Statistics based on the household and establishment surveys are subject to both
sampling and nonsampling error. When a sample rather than the entire population is
surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimates may differ from the "true"
population values they represent. The exact difference, or sampling error, varies
depending on the particular sample selected, and this variability is measured by the
standard error of the estimate. There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of con-
fidence, that an estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard
errors from the "true" population value because of sampling error. BLS analyses are
generally conducted at the 90-percent level of confidence.
For example, the confidence interval for the monthly change in total employment
from the household survey is on the order of plus or minus 430,000. Suppose the
estimate of total employment increases by 100,000 from one month to the next. The
90-percent confidence interval on the monthly change would range from -330,000 to
530,000 (100,000 +/- 430,000). These figures do not mean that the sample results are
off by these magnitudes, but rather that there is about a 90-percent chance that the
"true" over-the-month change lies within this interval. Since this range includes
values of less than zero, we could not say with confidence that employment had, in
fact, increased. If, however, the reported employment rise was half a million, then
all of the values within the 90-percent confidence interval would be greater than zero.
In this case, it is likely (at least a 90-percent chance) that an employment rise had,
in fact, occurred. At an unemployment rate of around 5.5 percent, the 90-percent con-
fidence interval for the monthly change in unemployment is about +/- 280,000, and for
the monthly change in the unemployment rate it is about +/- .19 percentage point.
In general, estimates involving many individuals or establishments have lower stan-
dard errors (relative to the size of the estimate) than estimates which are based on a
small number of observations. The precision of estimates is also improved when the
data are cumulated over time such as for quarterly and annual averages. The seasonal
adjustment process can also improve the stability of the monthly estimates.
- 10 -
The household and establishment surveys are also affected by nonsampling error.
Nonsampling errors can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample a seg-
ment 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 pro-
cessing of the data.
For example, in the establishment survey, estimates for the most recent 2 months are
based on substantially incomplete returns; for this reason, these estimates are labeled
preliminary in the tables. It is only after two successive revisions to a monthly esti-
mate, 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 inabil-
ity 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 uses business
deaths to impute employment for business births. This is incorporated into the sample-
based link relative estimate procedure by simply not reflecting sample units going out
of business, but imputing to them the same trend as the other firms in the sample. 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 uni-
verse micro-level database, and reflects the actual residual net of births and deaths
over the past five 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, the benchmark revision
for total nonfarm employment has averaged 0.2 percent, ranging from less than 0.1 percent
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; TDD message referral phone: 1-800-877-8339.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-1. Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted (1)
Employment status, sex, and age
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional population......... 232,211 233,864 234,107 232,211 233,198 233,405 233,627 233,864 234,107
Civilian labor force....................... 153,493 156,300 155,387 152,886 153,957 154,534 154,390 154,603 154,853
Participation rate................... 66.1 66.8 66.4 65.8 66.0 66.2 66.1 66.1 66.1
Employed................................. 146,406 146,867 145,909 145,753 146,331 146,046 145,891 145,819 145,477
Employment-population ratio.......... 63.0 62.8 62.3 62.8 62.7 62.6 62.4 62.4 62.1
Unemployed............................... 7,088 9,433 9,479 7,133 7,626 8,487 8,499 8,784 9,376
Unemployment rate.................... 4.6 6.0 6.1 4.7 5.0 5.5 5.5 5.7 6.1
Not in labor force......................... 78,717 77,564 78,719 79,325 79,241 78,871 79,237 79,261 79,253
Persons who currently want a job......... 4,965 5,213 5,024 4,733 4,755 4,766 4,888 4,997 4,796
Men, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population......... 112,354 113,154 113,281 112,354 112,803 112,912 113,029 113,154 113,281
Civilian labor force....................... 82,541 84,113 83,296 81,929 82,256 82,602 82,528 82,889 82,807
Participation rate................... 73.5 74.3 73.5 72.9 72.9 73.2 73.0 73.3 73.1
Employed................................. 78,972 78,991 78,423 78,066 78,038 77,954 77,794 77,823 77,632
Employment-population ratio.......... 70.3 69.8 69.2 69.5 69.2 69.0 68.8 68.8 68.5
Unemployed............................... 3,569 5,122 4,872 3,863 4,218 4,648 4,734 5,066 5,176
Unemployment rate.................... 4.3 6.1 5.8 4.7 5.1 5.6 5.7 6.1 6.3
Not in labor force......................... 29,813 29,040 29,986 30,425 30,547 30,310 30,502 30,264 30,474
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population......... 103,723 104,490 104,613 103,723 104,152 104,258 104,371 104,490 104,613
Civilian labor force....................... 78,793 79,752 79,476 78,526 78,776 78,878 79,037 79,327 79,318
Participation rate................... 76.0 76.3 76.0 75.7 75.6 75.7 75.7 75.9 75.8
Employed................................. 75,821 75,643 75,305 75,274 75,148 75,001 74,998 75,094 74,866
Employment-population ratio.......... 73.1 72.4 72.0 72.6 72.2 71.9 71.9 71.9 71.6
Unemployed............................... 2,972 4,110 4,171 3,252 3,628 3,877 4,038 4,234 4,452
Unemployment rate.................... 3.8 5.2 5.2 4.1 4.6 4.9 5.1 5.3 5.6
Not in labor force......................... 24,930 24,738 25,137 25,197 25,376 25,380 25,334 25,163 25,295
Women, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population......... 119,856 120,710 120,825 119,856 120,396 120,493 120,598 120,710 120,825
Civilian labor force....................... 70,952 72,187 72,092 70,957 71,701 71,931 71,862 71,714 72,046
Participation rate................... 59.2 59.8 59.7 59.2 59.6 59.7 59.6 59.4 59.6
Employed................................. 67,433 67,876 67,485 67,687 68,293 68,092 68,097 67,996 67,845
Employment-population ratio.......... 56.3 56.2 55.9 56.5 56.7 56.5 56.5 56.3 56.2
Unemployed............................... 3,519 4,311 4,606 3,270 3,408 3,839 3,765 3,718 4,201
Unemployment rate.................... 5.0 6.0 6.4 4.6 4.8 5.3 5.2 5.2 5.8
Not in labor force......................... 48,904 48,523 48,734 48,900 48,694 48,562 48,735 48,996 48,779
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population......... 111,479 112,290 112,401 111,479 111,990 112,083 112,183 112,290 112,401
Civilian labor force....................... 67,319 68,072 68,440 67,616 68,176 68,390 68,446 68,303 68,672
Participation rate................... 60.4 60.6 60.9 60.7 60.9 61.0 61.0 60.8 61.1
Employed................................. 64,311 64,526 64,462 64,826 65,260 65,138 65,238 65,167 65,047
Employment-population ratio.......... 57.7 57.5 57.3 58.2 58.3 58.1 58.2 58.0 57.9
Unemployed............................... 3,008 3,546 3,979 2,790 2,916 3,252 3,208 3,135 3,625
Unemployment rate.................... 4.5 5.2 5.8 4.1 4.3 4.8 4.7 4.6 5.3
Not in labor force......................... 44,160 44,218 43,961 43,863 43,814 43,693 43,737 43,988 43,729
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian noninstitutional population......... 17,009 17,084 17,092 17,009 17,056 17,064 17,073 17,084 17,092
Civilian labor force....................... 7,382 8,476 7,471 6,744 7,005 7,266 6,907 6,973 6,863
Participation rate................... 43.4 49.6 43.7 39.7 41.1 42.6 40.5 40.8 40.2
Employed................................. 6,274 6,698 6,142 5,653 5,923 5,907 5,655 5,558 5,563
Employment-population ratio.......... 36.9 39.2 35.9 33.2 34.7 34.6 33.1 32.5 32.6
Unemployed............................... 1,108 1,777 1,329 1,092 1,082 1,358 1,253 1,415 1,299
Unemployment rate.................... 15.0 21.0 17.8 16.2 15.4 18.7 18.1 20.3 18.9
Not in labor force......................... 9,626 8,608 9,621 10,264 10,051 9,798 10,166 10,110 10,229
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 HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-2. Employment status of the civilian population by race, sex, and age
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted (1)
Employment status, race, sex, and age
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008
WHITE
Civilian noninstitutional population......... 188,479 189,587 189,747 188,479 189,147 189,281 189,428 189,587 189,747
Civilian labor force....................... 125,033 127,164 126,337 124,596 125,171 125,762 125,704 125,971 125,981
Participation rate..................... 66.3 67.1 66.6 66.1 66.2 66.4 66.4 66.4 66.4
Employed................................. 119,790 120,357 119,475 119,340 119,667 119,661 119,518 119,542 119,222
Employment-population ratio............ 63.6 63.5 63.0 63.3 63.3 63.2 63.1 63.1 62.8
Unemployed............................... 5,243 6,807 6,862 5,256 5,504 6,101 6,186 6,428 6,760
Unemployment rate...................... 4.2 5.4 5.4 4.2 4.4 4.9 4.9 5.1 5.4
Not in labor force......................... 63,447 62,422 63,410 63,883 63,975 63,519 63,724 63,616 63,766
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force....................... 65,174 66,010 65,729 65,009 65,183 65,392 65,402 65,789 65,690
Participation rate..................... 76.2 76.7 76.3 76.0 75.9 76.1 76.1 76.4 76.2
Employed................................. 62,914 63,055 62,683 62,543 62,507 62,491 62,447 62,695 62,446
Employment-population ratio............ 73.6 73.3 72.7 73.1 72.8 72.7 72.6 72.8 72.5
Unemployed............................... 2,261 2,956 3,046 2,466 2,676 2,901 2,955 3,094 3,244
Unemployment rate...................... 3.5 4.5 4.6 3.8 4.1 4.4 4.5 4.7 4.9
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force....................... 53,702 54,186 54,491 53,976 54,211 54,400 54,562 54,424 54,668
Participation rate..................... 59.7 59.9 60.2 60.1 60.1 60.3 60.4 60.2 60.4
Employed................................. 51,512 51,637 51,630 51,991 52,182 52,177 52,282 52,184 52,118
Employment-population ratio............ 57.3 57.1 57.1 57.8 57.8 57.8 57.9 57.7 57.6
Unemployed............................... 2,190 2,549 2,861 1,985 2,029 2,223 2,280 2,240 2,551
Unemployment rate...................... 4.1 4.7 5.3 3.7 3.7 4.1 4.2 4.1 4.7
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force....................... 6,156 6,968 6,117 5,611 5,777 5,971 5,740 5,758 5,623
Participation rate..................... 47.1 53.2 46.7 43.0 44.2 45.7 43.9 44.0 43.0
Employed................................. 5,363 5,665 5,162 4,805 4,978 4,993 4,789 4,664 4,658
Employment-population ratio............ 41.1 43.3 39.4 36.8 38.1 38.2 36.6 35.6 35.6
Unemployed............................... 793 1,303 954 806 799 978 951 1,094 965
Unemployment rate...................... 12.9 18.7 15.6 14.4 13.8 16.4 16.6 19.0 17.2
BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN
Civilian noninstitutional population......... 27,541 27,854 27,896 27,541 27,746 27,780 27,816 27,854 27,896
Civilian labor force....................... 17,621 18,097 18,057 17,524 17,753 17,742 17,716 17,767 17,973
Participation rate..................... 64.0 65.0 64.7 63.6 64.0 63.9 63.7 63.8 64.4
Employed................................. 16,268 16,132 16,132 16,176 16,234 16,029 16,085 16,040 16,074
Employment-population ratio............ 59.1 57.9 57.8 58.7 58.5 57.7 57.8 57.6 57.6
Unemployed............................... 1,352 1,965 1,925 1,347 1,520 1,713 1,632 1,726 1,899
Unemployment rate...................... 7.7 10.9 10.7 7.7 8.6 9.7 9.2 9.7 10.6
Not in labor force......................... 9,920 9,757 9,839 10,017 9,992 10,038 10,100 10,088 9,923
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force....................... 8,036 8,067 8,133 7,967 7,945 7,909 7,997 7,979 8,066
Participation rate..................... 72.5 72.0 72.5 71.9 71.3 70.8 71.5 71.3 71.9
Employed................................. 7,524 7,223 7,329 7,426 7,278 7,202 7,254 7,184 7,239
Employment-population ratio............ 67.9 64.5 65.3 67.0 65.3 64.5 64.9 64.2 64.5
Unemployed............................... 512 844 804 541 667 707 742 795 827
Unemployment rate...................... 6.4 10.5 9.9 6.8 8.4 8.9 9.3 10.0 10.3
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force....................... 8,782 9,019 9,022 8,794 9,038 9,008 8,973 8,985 9,052
Participation rate..................... 63.6 64.5 64.5 63.7 64.9 64.6 64.3 64.3 64.7
Employed................................. 8,200 8,267 8,173 8,226 8,374 8,268 8,305 8,311 8,225
Employment-population ratio............ 59.4 59.1 58.4 59.6 60.1 59.3 59.5 59.5 58.8
Unemployed............................... 582 752 849 568 664 740 668 674 826
Unemployment rate...................... 6.6 8.3 9.4 6.5 7.4 8.2 7.4 7.5 9.1
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force....................... 803 1,011 903 762 771 825 747 802 856
Participation rate..................... 30.3 37.7 33.7 28.8 28.9 30.9 27.9 30.0 31.9
Employed................................. 544 642 631 525 582 558 525 545 609
Employment-population ratio............ 20.5 24.0 23.5 19.8 21.8 20.9 19.6 20.4 22.7
Unemployed............................... 259 369 272 238 189 266 221 257 246
Unemployment rate...................... 32.2 36.5 30.1 31.2 24.5 32.3 29.6 32.0 28.8
ASIAN
Civilian noninstitutional population......... 10,674 10,802 10,840 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Civilian labor force....................... 7,160 7,326 7,301 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Participation rate..................... 67.1 67.8 67.4 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Employed................................. 6,917 7,030 6,978 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Employment-population ratio............ 64.8 65.1 64.4 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Unemployed............................... 242 296 323 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Unemployment rate...................... 3.4 4.0 4.4 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Not in labor force......................... 3,514 3,476 3,539 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted and
seasonally adjusted columns.
2 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 HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-3. Employment status of the Hispanic or Latino population by sex and age
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted (1)
Employment status, sex, and age
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008
HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY
Civilian noninstitutional population......... 31,520 32,179 32,273 31,520 31,911 31,998 32,087 32,179 32,273
Civilian labor force....................... 21,832 22,193 22,262 21,781 21,917 22,102 22,131 22,071 22,226
Participation rate..................... 69.3 69.0 69.0 69.1 68.7 69.1 69.0 68.6 68.9
Employed................................. 20,647 20,505 20,485 20,578 20,404 20,573 20,420 20,435 20,452
Employment-population ratio............ 65.5 63.7 63.5 65.3 63.9 64.3 63.6 63.5 63.4
Unemployed............................... 1,185 1,688 1,777 1,204 1,512 1,529 1,711 1,636 1,774
Unemployment rate...................... 5.4 7.6 8.0 5.5 6.9 6.9 7.7 7.4 8.0
Not in labor force......................... 9,688 9,986 10,011 9,738 9,994 9,896 9,956 10,108 10,048
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force....................... 12,442 12,661 12,697 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Participation rate..................... 84.6 84.5 84.5 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Employed................................. 11,959 11,937 11,824 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Employment-population ratio............ 81.3 79.6 78.7 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Unemployed............................... 483 725 873 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Unemployment rate...................... 3.9 5.7 6.9 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force....................... 8,291 8,268 8,399 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Participation rate..................... 59.9 58.5 59.2 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Employed................................. 7,779 7,650 7,761 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Employment-population ratio............ 56.2 54.1 54.7 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Unemployed............................... 512 618 638 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Unemployment rate...................... 6.2 7.5 7.6 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force....................... 1,099 1,264 1,166 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Participation rate..................... 37.1 41.5 38.1 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Employed................................. 910 919 901 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Employment-population ratio............ 30.8 30.2 29.5 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Unemployed............................... 189 345 265 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Unemployment rate...................... 17.2 27.3 22.8 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted and
seasonally adjusted columns.
2 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 HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-4. Employment status of the civilian population 25 years and over by educational attainment
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Educational attainment
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008
Less than a high school diploma
Civilian labor force......................... 12,015 11,877 12,129 12,047 12,095 12,119 12,178 12,168 12,197
Participation rate....................... 46.4 46.6 47.2 46.5 45.5 45.4 45.9 47.8 47.5
Employed................................... 11,275 10,897 11,020 11,238 11,157 11,118 11,117 11,135 11,022
Employment-population ratio.............. 43.5 42.8 42.9 43.4 42.0 41.6 41.9 43.7 42.9
Unemployed................................. 739 980 1,108 809 938 1,001 1,061 1,033 1,175
Unemployment rate........................ 6.2 8.3 9.1 6.7 7.8 8.3 8.7 8.5 9.6
High school graduates, no college (1)
Civilian labor force......................... 38,388 38,248 38,185 38,575 37,926 38,323 38,170 38,872 38,373
Participation rate....................... 62.7 62.5 62.6 63.0 62.6 62.8 62.8 63.5 62.9
Employed................................... 36,781 36,211 36,059 36,888 36,032 36,349 36,233 36,854 36,191
Employment-population ratio.............. 60.1 59.2 59.1 60.2 59.5 59.5 59.6 60.2 59.3
Unemployed................................. 1,607 2,037 2,126 1,687 1,894 1,974 1,937 2,018 2,182
Unemployment rate........................ 4.2 5.3 5.6 4.4 5.0 5.2 5.1 5.2 5.7
Some college or associate degree
Civilian labor force......................... 35,959 36,791 36,768 36,010 36,688 36,791 36,824 36,444 36,685
Participation rate....................... 71.9 71.7 71.7 72.0 72.2 72.4 71.9 71.1 71.5
Employed................................... 34,622 35,035 34,910 34,672 35,271 35,219 35,264 34,813 34,912
Employment-population ratio.............. 69.2 68.3 68.0 69.3 69.4 69.3 68.9 67.9 68.0
Unemployed................................. 1,337 1,756 1,857 1,339 1,417 1,572 1,559 1,631 1,774
Unemployment rate........................ 3.7 4.8 5.1 3.7 3.9 4.3 4.2 4.5 4.8
Bachelor's degree and higher (2)
Civilian labor force......................... 44,331 44,955 45,220 44,604 45,309 44,566 44,993 45,071 45,422
Participation rate....................... 77.0 77.0 77.2 77.5 78.4 77.7 78.1 77.2 77.5
Employed................................... 43,314 43,703 43,823 43,688 44,376 43,588 43,964 43,993 44,182
Employment-population ratio.............. 75.2 74.8 74.8 75.9 76.8 76.0 76.3 75.3 75.4
Unemployed................................. 1,017 1,252 1,397 915 933 978 1,029 1,078 1,240
Unemployment rate........................ 2.3 2.8 3.1 2.1 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.7
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 HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-5. Employed persons by class of worker and part-time status
(In thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Category
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008
CLASS OF WORKER
Agriculture and related industries........... 2,005 2,372 2,302 1,856 2,109 2,122 2,137 2,123 2,142
Wage and salary workers.................... 1,144 1,444 1,419 1,031 1,244 1,241 1,244 1,258 1,289
Self-employed workers...................... 850 894 850 812 839 849 840 844 817
Unpaid family workers...................... 11 35 33 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Nonagricultural industries................... 144,401 144,495 143,607 143,928 144,258 143,898 143,650 143,589 143,284
Wage and salary workers.................... 134,578 134,662 134,033 134,294 134,761 134,385 134,132 133,951 133,822
Government............................... 20,690 20,509 20,821 21,118 21,333 21,263 21,186 21,098 21,259
Private industries....................... 113,888 114,153 113,212 113,185 113,394 113,116 113,001 112,956 112,607
Private households..................... 819 873 799 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Other industries....................... 113,069 113,280 112,413 112,432 112,650 112,315 112,155 112,157 111,851
Self-employed workers...................... 9,709 9,727 9,490 9,593 9,355 9,384 9,430 9,518 9,381
Unpaid family workers...................... 114 106 84 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
PERSONS AT WORK PART TIME (2)
All industries:
Part time for economic reasons............. 4,494 6,054 5,736 4,517 5,220 5,233 5,416 5,724 5,718
Slack work or business conditions........ 2,838 4,174 4,011 2,955 3,558 3,595 3,816 4,194 4,112
Could only find part-time work........... 1,113 1,481 1,305 1,175 1,323 1,281 1,336 1,286 1,362
Part time for noneconomic reasons.......... 17,663 17,442 17,698 19,779 19,809 19,428 19,496 19,406 19,712
Nonagricultural industries:
Part time for economic reasons............. 4,424 5,947 5,650 4,466 5,125 5,164 5,308 5,599 5,641
Slack work or business conditions........ 2,801 4,111 3,947 2,916 3,513 3,531 3,744 4,156 4,032
Could only find part-time work........... 1,098 1,469 1,294 1,152 1,331 1,288 1,328 1,277 1,350
Part time for noneconomic reasons.......... 17,350 17,080 17,302 19,469 19,456 19,047 19,106 19,051 19,281
1 Data not available.
2 Persons at work excludes employed persons who were absent from their jobs during the entire reference week for reasons such as
vacation, illness, or industrial dispute. Part time for noneconomic reasons excludes persons who usually work full time but worked
only 1 to 34 hours during the reference week for reasons such as holidays, illness, and bad weather.
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 HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-6. Selected employment indicators
(In thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Characteristic
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008
AGE AND SEX
Total, 16 years and over..................... 146,406 146,867 145,909 145,753 146,331 146,046 145,891 145,819 145,477
16 to 19 years............................. 6,274 6,698 6,142 5,653 5,923 5,907 5,655 5,558 5,563
16 to 17 years........................... 2,541 2,445 2,247 2,249 2,072 2,040 1,966 1,974 1,988
18 to 19 years........................... 3,733 4,253 3,895 3,387 3,847 3,807 3,678 3,619 3,570
20 years and over.......................... 140,131 140,169 139,767 140,101 140,408 140,139 140,236 140,261 139,914
20 to 24 years........................... 14,139 14,323 13,954 13,862 13,761 13,704 13,720 13,724 13,683
25 years and over........................ 125,993 125,846 125,812 126,421 126,595 126,394 126,565 126,611 126,281
25 to 54 years......................... 100,319 99,215 99,109 100,531 99,964 99,774 99,813 99,733 99,345
25 to 34 years....................... 31,662 31,465 31,444 31,696 31,639 31,545 31,488 31,468 31,467
35 to 44 years....................... 34,143 33,371 33,194 34,219 33,740 33,701 33,692 33,613 33,287
45 to 54 years....................... 34,514 34,379 34,471 34,616 34,586 34,528 34,634 34,651 34,591
55 years and over...................... 25,674 26,631 26,704 25,890 26,631 26,620 26,751 26,879 26,936
Men, 16 years and over....................... 78,972 78,991 78,423 78,066 78,038 77,954 77,794 77,823 77,632
16 to 19 years............................. 3,152 3,348 3,118 2,792 2,890 2,953 2,795 2,729 2,766
16 to 17 years........................... 1,224 1,215 1,100 1,057 937 990 938 931 947
18 to 19 years........................... 1,927 2,133 2,018 1,738 1,948 1,946 1,879 1,799 1,831
20 years and over.......................... 75,821 75,643 75,305 75,274 75,148 75,001 74,998 75,094 74,866
20 to 24 years........................... 7,539 7,598 7,377 7,318 7,299 7,250 7,202 7,179 7,165
25 years and over........................ 68,282 68,045 67,928 68,047 67,809 67,742 67,832 67,952 67,758
25 to 54 years......................... 54,543 53,755 53,661 54,308 53,678 53,652 53,605 53,643 53,480
25 to 34 years....................... 17,606 17,370 17,326 17,485 17,321 17,309 17,298 17,245 17,221
35 to 44 years....................... 18,717 18,147 18,157 18,646 18,180 18,147 18,133 18,122 18,092
45 to 54 years....................... 18,220 18,237 18,179 18,177 18,177 18,196 18,174 18,276 18,167
55 years and over...................... 13,739 14,290 14,267 13,740 14,131 14,091 14,227 14,309 14,278
Women, 16 years and over..................... 67,433 67,876 67,485 67,687 68,293 68,092 68,097 67,996 67,845
16 to 19 years............................. 3,123 3,350 3,024 2,861 3,033 2,954 2,859 2,829 2,798
16 to 17 years........................... 1,316 1,230 1,147 1,192 1,136 1,050 1,028 1,043 1,041
18 to 19 years........................... 1,806 2,119 1,877 1,649 1,899 1,861 1,799 1,820 1,739
20 years and over.......................... 64,311 64,526 64,462 64,826 65,260 65,138 65,238 65,167 65,047
20 to 24 years........................... 6,600 6,725 6,577 6,544 6,463 6,454 6,518 6,544 6,518
25 years and over........................ 57,711 57,802 57,885 58,374 58,786 58,652 58,733 58,660 58,523
25 to 54 years......................... 45,776 45,460 45,448 46,223 46,286 46,122 46,208 46,090 45,865
25 to 34 years....................... 14,055 14,095 14,118 14,211 14,318 14,236 14,190 14,224 14,246
35 to 44 years....................... 15,426 15,224 15,038 15,573 15,559 15,555 15,559 15,491 15,195
45 to 54 years....................... 16,294 16,142 16,292 16,439 16,409 16,332 16,459 16,376 16,424
55 years and over...................... 11,935 12,341 12,437 12,151 12,500 12,529 12,525 12,570 12,658
MARITAL STATUS
Married men, spouse present.................. 46,201 46,034 45,767 46,193 45,964 45,862 45,911 46,120 45,829
Married women, spouse present................ 35,226 35,571 35,478 35,794 36,177 36,171 36,270 36,185 36,055
Women who maintain families.................. 9,548 8,877 9,036 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS
Full-time workers (2)........................ 122,870 122,378 121,556 120,976 120,856 120,989 120,542 120,537 119,908
Part-time workers (3)........................ 23,535 24,489 24,353 24,884 25,245 24,970 25,419 25,431 25,649
MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS
Total multiple jobholders.................... 7,221 7,743 7,706 7,545 7,644 7,679 7,794 7,757 8,055
Percent of total employed................ 4.9 5.3 5.3 5.2 5.2 5.3 5.3 5.3 5.5
1 Data not available.
2 Employed full-time workers are persons who usually work 35 hours or more per week.
3 Employed part-time workers are persons who usually work less than 35 hours per week.
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 HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-7. Selected unemployment indicators, seasonally adjusted
Number of
unemployed persons Unemployment rates (1)
(in thousands)
Characteristic
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008
AGE AND SEX
Total, 16 years and over..................... 7,133 8,784 9,376 4.7 5.0 5.5 5.5 5.7 6.1
16 to 19 years............................. 1,092 1,415 1,299 16.2 15.4 18.7 18.1 20.3 18.9
16 to 17 years........................... 512 654 564 18.6 19.7 21.2 23.3 24.9 22.1
18 to 19 years........................... 577 759 739 14.6 13.2 17.5 15.6 17.3 17.1
20 years and over.......................... 6,041 7,369 8,077 4.1 4.5 4.8 4.9 5.0 5.5
20 to 24 years........................... 1,275 1,567 1,612 8.4 8.9 10.4 10.1 10.2 10.5
25 years and over........................ 4,780 5,848 6,507 3.6 3.9 4.1 4.3 4.4 4.9
25 to 54 years......................... 3,933 4,826 5,333 3.8 4.2 4.4 4.5 4.6 5.1
25 to 34 years....................... 1,546 1,862 2,076 4.7 5.1 5.3 5.4 5.6 6.2
35 to 44 years....................... 1,257 1,614 1,723 3.5 3.8 4.2 4.4 4.6 4.9
45 to 54 years....................... 1,129 1,349 1,533 3.2 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.7 4.2
55 years and over...................... 853 1,014 1,161 3.2 3.0 3.3 3.3 3.6 4.1
Men, 16 years and over....................... 3,863 5,066 5,176 4.7 5.1 5.6 5.7 6.1 6.3
16 to 19 years............................. 612 833 724 18.0 16.9 20.7 19.9 23.4 20.7
16 to 17 years........................... 293 387 300 21.7 22.2 23.3 26.2 29.4 24.0
18 to 19 years........................... 311 447 418 15.2 14.5 19.6 17.1 19.9 18.6
20 years and over.......................... 3,252 4,234 4,452 4.1 4.6 4.9 5.1 5.3 5.6
20 to 24 years........................... 715 940 933 8.9 9.9 11.0 11.2 11.6 11.5
25 years and over........................ 2,538 3,308 3,542 3.6 4.0 4.2 4.3 4.6 5.0
25 to 54 years......................... 2,060 2,759 2,909 3.7 4.3 4.4 4.6 4.9 5.2
25 to 34 years....................... 864 1,114 1,173 4.7 5.0 5.4 5.4 6.1 6.4
35 to 44 years....................... 612 925 926 3.2 4.0 4.1 4.5 4.9 4.9
45 to 54 years....................... 584 720 810 3.1 3.8 3.7 3.8 3.8 4.3
55 years and over...................... 479 549 633 3.4 3.0 3.4 3.4 3.7 4.2
Women, 16 years and over..................... 3,270 3,718 4,201 4.6 4.8 5.3 5.2 5.2 5.8
16 to 19 years............................. 480 583 576 14.4 14.0 16.6 16.3 17.1 17.1
16 to 17 years........................... 219 267 264 15.5 17.5 19.0 20.3 20.4 20.2
18 to 19 years........................... 266 312 320 13.9 11.8 15.2 13.9 14.6 15.6
20 years and over.......................... 2,790 3,135 3,625 4.1 4.3 4.8 4.7 4.6 5.3
20 to 24 years........................... 560 627 679 7.9 7.7 9.6 8.8 8.7 9.4
25 years and over........................ 2,242 2,540 2,965 3.7 3.9 4.1 4.2 4.2 4.8
25 to 54 years......................... 1,873 2,067 2,423 3.9 4.0 4.4 4.4 4.3 5.0
25 to 34 years....................... 682 749 903 4.6 5.1 5.1 5.4 5.0 6.0
35 to 44 years....................... 645 689 797 4.0 3.7 4.4 4.2 4.3 5.0
45 to 54 years....................... 545 629 723 3.2 3.4 3.8 3.7 3.7 4.2
55 years and over (2).................. 418 550 587 3.4 2.8 2.8 3.4 4.3 4.5
MARITAL STATUS
Married men, spouse present.................. 1,169 1,523 1,646 2.5 2.8 2.9 3.0 3.2 3.5
Married women, spouse present................ 1,146 1,240 1,390 3.1 3.0 3.1 3.3 3.3 3.7
Women who maintain families (2).............. 633 820 954 6.2 6.8 6.9 7.9 8.5 9.6
FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS
Full-time workers (3)........................ 5,872 7,327 7,928 4.6 5.0 5.5 5.5 5.7 6.2
Part-time workers (4)........................ 1,281 1,486 1,543 4.9 4.9 5.5 5.4 5.5 5.7
1 Unemployment as a percent of the civilian labor force.
2 Not seasonally adjusted.
3 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.
4 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 HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-8. Unemployed persons by reason for unemployment
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Reason
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Job losers and persons who completed
temporary jobs.............................. 3,472 4,562 4,735 3,632 4,014 4,282 4,370 4,407 4,824
On temporary layoff........................ 865 1,134 1,126 981 1,099 1,113 1,077 1,037 1,266
Not on temporary layoff.................... 2,606 3,428 3,609 2,652 2,915 3,169 3,292 3,370 3,559
Permanent job losers..................... 1,852 2,512 2,656 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Persons who completed temporary jobs..... 755 916 953 (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
Job leavers.................................. 870 904 1,105 794 850 870 833 861 999
Reentrants................................... 2,099 2,825 2,729 2,076 2,134 2,460 2,498 2,705 2,652
New entrants................................. 647 1,142 909 603 624 828 748 811 820
PERCENT DISTRIBUTION
Total unemployed............................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Job losers and persons who completed
temporary jobs............................. 49.0 48.4 50.0 51.1 52.7 50.7 51.7 50.2 51.9
On temporary layoff....................... 12.2 12.0 11.9 13.8 14.4 13.2 12.7 11.8 13.6
Not on temporary layoff................... 36.8 36.3 38.1 37.3 38.2 37.5 39.0 38.4 38.3
Job leavers................................. 12.3 9.6 11.7 11.2 11.2 10.3 9.9 9.8 10.7
Reentrants.................................. 29.6 29.9 28.8 29.2 28.0 29.1 29.6 30.8 28.5
New entrants................................ 9.1 12.1 9.6 8.5 8.2 9.8 8.9 9.2 8.8
UNEMPLOYED AS A PERCENT OF THE
CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE
Job losers and persons who completed
temporary jobs............................. 2.3 2.9 3.0 2.4 2.6 2.8 2.8 2.9 3.1
Job leavers................................. .6 .6 .7 .5 .6 .6 .5 .6 .6
Reentrants.................................. 1.4 1.8 1.8 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.7 1.7
New entrants................................ .4 .7 .6 .4 .4 .5 .5 .5 .5
1 Data not available.
NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-9. Unemployed persons by duration of unemployment
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Duration
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Less than 5 weeks...................................... 2,493 3,121 3,142 2,610 2,484 3,244 2,712 2,835 3,235
5 to 14 weeks.......................................... 2,326 3,291 2,999 2,201 2,495 2,469 2,999 2,823 2,821
15 weeks and over...................................... 2,269 3,021 3,338 2,375 2,626 2,773 2,916 3,118 3,402
15 to 26 weeks...................................... 1,021 1,360 1,468 1,124 1,272 1,223 1,328 1,440 1,561
27 weeks and over................................... 1,248 1,661 1,870 1,252 1,353 1,550 1,587 1,678 1,841
Average (mean) duration, in weeks...................... 17.0 16.3 17.6 16.9 16.9 16.6 17.5 17.1 17.4
Median duration, in weeks.............................. 8.8 8.9 9.5 8.6 9.3 8.3 10.0 9.7 9.2
PERCENT DISTRIBUTION
Total unemployed....................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Less than 5 weeks.................................... 35.2 33.1 33.1 36.3 32.7 38.2 31.4 32.3 34.2
5 to 14 weeks........................................ 32.8 34.9 31.6 30.6 32.8 29.1 34.8 32.2 29.8
15 weeks and over.................................... 32.0 32.0 35.2 33.1 34.5 32.7 33.8 35.5 36.0
15 to 26 weeks..................................... 14.4 14.4 15.5 15.6 16.7 14.4 15.4 16.4 16.5
27 weeks and over.................................. 17.6 17.6 19.7 17.4 17.8 18.3 18.4 19.1 19.5
NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-10. Employed and unemployed persons by occupation, not seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
Unemployment
Employed Unemployed rates
Occupation
Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug.
2007 2008 2007 2008 2007 2008
Total, 16 years and over (1)...................... 146,406 145,909 7,088 9,479 4.6 6.1
Management, professional, and related occupations...... 51,403 52,626 1,389 1,779 2.6 3.3
Management, business, and financial operations
occupations......................................... 21,713 22,314 544 645 2.4 2.8
Professional and related occupations................. 29,690 30,312 845 1,135 2.8 3.6
Service occupations.................................... 24,916 25,185 1,531 1,898 5.8 7.0
Sales and office occupations........................... 35,824 35,156 1,661 2,218 4.4 5.9
Sales and related occupations........................ 16,470 16,114 819 1,089 4.7 6.3
Office and administrative support occupations........ 19,354 19,042 842 1,129 4.2 5.6
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance
occupations........................................... 15,925 15,141 835 1,186 5.0 7.3
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations........... 929 1,082 68 93 6.9 7.9
Construction and extraction occupations.............. 9,698 8,927 614 856 6.0 8.7
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations.... 5,298 5,132 153 237 2.8 4.4
Production, transportation, and material moving
occupations........................................... 18,338 17,801 1,004 1,466 5.2 7.6
Production occupations............................... 9,419 8,917 510 771 5.1 8.0
Transportation and material moving occupations....... 8,919 8,883 495 695 5.3 7.3
1 Persons with no previous work experience and persons whose last job was in the Armed Forces are included in the unemployed total.
NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-11. Unemployed persons by industry and class of worker, not seasonally adjusted
Number of
unemployed Unemployment
persons rates
Industry and class of worker (in thousands)
Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug.
2007 2008 2007 2008
Total, 16 years and over (1).................... 7,088 9,479 4.6 6.1
Nonagricultural private wage and salary workers........ 5,377 7,359 4.5 6.1
Mining............................................... 33 17 4.6 1.9
Construction......................................... 558 814 5.3 8.2
Manufacturing........................................ 596 960 3.6 5.7
Durable goods...................................... 341 631 3.3 5.9
Nondurable goods................................... 255 329 4.1 5.4
Wholesale and retail trade........................... 1,028 1,366 5.1 6.6
Transportation and utilities......................... 205 309 3.4 5.2
Information.......................................... 140 144 4.1 4.2
Financial activities................................. 371 409 3.7 4.2
Professional and business services................... 683 961 4.9 6.9
Education and health services........................ 648 844 3.4 4.3
Leisure and hospitality.............................. 877 1,122 7.1 8.7
Other services....................................... 239 412 3.8 6.3
Agriculture and related private wage and salary workers 54 111 4.7 7.6
Government workers..................................... 695 721 3.2 3.3
Self employed and unpaid family workers................ 315 378 2.9 3.5
1 Persons with no previous work experience are included in the unemployed total.
NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-12. Alternative measures of labor underutilization
(Percent)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Measure
Aug. July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug.
2007 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008
U-1 Persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer, as a percent
of the civilian labor force....................... 1.5 1.9 2.1 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.0 2.2
U-2 Job losers and persons who completed temporary
jobs, as a percent of the civilian labor force.... 2.3 2.9 3.0 2.4 2.6 2.8 2.8 2.9 3.1
U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian
labor force (official unemployment rate).......... 4.6 6.0 6.1 4.7 5.0 5.5 5.5 5.7 6.1
U-4 Total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a
percent of the civilian labor force plus
discouraged workers............................... 4.9 6.3 6.3 4.9 5.2 5.7 5.8 6.0 6.3
U-5 Total unemployed, plus discouraged workers, plus
all other marginally attached workers, as a
percent of the civilian labor force plus all
marginally attached workers....................... 5.5 7.0 7.1 5.5 5.8 6.4 6.4 6.6 7.0
U-6 Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached
workers, plus total employed part time for
economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian
labor force plus all marginally attached workers.. 8.4 10.8 10.7 8.4 9.2 9.7 9.9 10.3 10.7
NOTE: Marginally attached workers are persons who currently are neither working nor looking for work but indicate that they want and
are available for a job and have looked for work sometime in the recent past. Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached,
have given a job-market related reason for not looking currently for a job. Persons employed part time for economic reasons are those
who want and are available for full-time work but have had to settle for a part-time schedule. For more information, see "BLS
introduces new range of alternative unemployment measures," in the October 1995 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. Updated population
controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-13. Persons not in the labor force and multiple jobholders by sex, not seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
Total Men Women
Category
Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug.
2007 2008 2007 2008 2007 2008
NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE
Total not in the labor force........................... 78,717 78,719 29,813 29,986 48,904 48,734
Persons who currently want a job...................... 4,965 5,024 2,177 2,057 2,789 2,967
Searched for work and available to work now (1)..... 1,365 1,640 686 809 679 832
Reason not currently looking:
Discouragement over job prospects (2)........... 392 381 209 237 184 144
Reasons other than discouragement (3)........... 972 1,259 477 572 495 688
MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS
Total multiple jobholders (4).......................... 7,221 7,706 3,690 4,040 3,531 3,666
Percent of total employed............................ 4.9 5.3 4.7 5.2 5.2 5.4
Primary job full time, secondary job part time..... 4,065 4,210 2,194 2,351 1,870 1,859
Primary and secondary jobs both part time.......... 1,490 1,755 475 614 1,015 1,141
Primary and secondary jobs both full time.......... 287 345 193 253 94 91
Hours vary on primary or secondary job............. 1,353 1,353 812 805 542 548
1 Data refer to persons who have searched for work during the prior 12 months and were available to take a job during the reference week.
2 Includes thinks no work available, could not find work, lacks schooling or training, employer thinks too young or old, and other types of
discrimination.
3 Includes those who did not actively look for work in the prior 4 weeks for such reasons as school or family responsibilities, ill health, and
transportation problems, as well as a small number for which reason for nonparticipation was not determined.
4 Includes persons who work part time on their primary job and full time on their secondary job(s), not shown separately.
NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector and selected industry detail
(In thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Change
Industry Aug. June July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug. from:
2007 2008 2008p 2008p 2007 2008 2008 2008 2008p 2008p July 2008-
Aug. 2008p
Total nonfarm......... 137,524 138,676 137,208 137,121 137,756 137,764 137,717 137,617 137,557 137,473 -84
Total private........... 116,467 116,236 115,958 115,805 115,544 115,363 115,264 115,154 115,088 114,987 -101
Goods-producing............. 22,589 21,825 21,776 21,785 22,176 21,628 21,577 21,491 21,443 21,386 -57
Natural resources and mining.... 743 777 791 807 727 752 760 768 778 790 12
Logging...................... 62.6 57.5 59.4 60.3 59.5 60.8 59.5 57.3 57.7 57.8 .1
Mining......................... 680.3 719.4 731.8 747.1 667.2 690.9 700.6 710.2 720.0 731.8 11.8
Oil and gas extraction........ 149.0 162.1 164.7 166.9 147.0 154.2 158.3 160.1 162.3 164.3 2.0
Mining, except oil and gas (1) 233.6 238.0 239.9 243.3 226.4 225.8 229.6 230.9 231.9 234.9 3.0
Coal mining.................. 77.8 81.4 81.9 84.1 77.6 79.3 80.5 81.3 81.3 83.6 2.3
Support activities for mining. 297.7 319.3 327.2 336.9 293.8 310.9 312.7 319.2 325.8 332.6 6.8
Construction.................... 7,912 7,421 7,461 7,468 7,605 7,284 7,246 7,196 7,176 7,168 -8
Construction of buildings..... 1,803.0 1,659.8 1,668.8 1,672.9 1,751.2 1,648.2 1,634.9 1,621.5 1,619.4 1,617.9 -1.5
Residential building......... 975.7 867.9 868.8 866.2 945.2 863.9 855.5 845.0 838.5 834.1 -4.4
Nonresidential building...... 827.3 791.9 800.0 806.7 806.0 784.3 779.4 776.5 780.9 783.8 2.9
Heavy and civil engineering
construction................. 1,061.9 1,011.5 1,015.7 1,017.2 999.0 967.4 965.3 959.5 958.0 956.0 -2.0
Specialty trade contractors... 5,047.1 4,750.1 4,776.1 4,777.7 4,854.7 4,668.0 4,645.6 4,615.1 4,598.6 4,593.7 -4.9
Residential specialty trade
contractors................. 2,388.8 2,153.2 2,160.0 2,138.2 2,294.6 2,117.1 2,094.7 2,077.2 2,067.6 2,053.4 -14.2
Nonresidential specialty
trade contractors........... 2,658.3 2,596.9 2,616.1 2,639.5 2,560.1 2,550.9 2,550.9 2,537.9 2,531.0 2,540.3 9.3
Manufacturing................... 13,934 13,627 13,524 13,510 13,844 13,592 13,571 13,527 13,489 13,428 -61
Production workers........... 10,032 9,820 9,718 9,703 9,956 9,799 9,784 9,738 9,700 9,643 -57
Durable goods.................. 8,830 8,629 8,539 8,520 8,792 8,607 8,594 8,564 8,543 8,488 -55
Production workers........... 6,268 6,118 6,023 6,005 6,239 6,112 6,100 6,064 6,039 5,987 -52
Wood products................. 528.5 484.9 483.5 475.5 518.5 490.9 482.4 477.3 473.2 466.5 -6.7
Nonmetallic mineral products.. 511.1 490.0 488.1 486.0 501.2 486.3 482.1 479.3 477.1 476.2 -.9
Primary metals................ 455.2 449.7 444.8 443.4 452.7 450.1 448.7 446.8 445.0 441.5 -3.5
Fabricated metal products..... 1,566.6 1,543.6 1,534.8 1,539.1 1,562.8 1,544.1 1,544.2 1,537.1 1,534.9 1,536.2 1.3
Machinery..................... 1,188.1 1,200.9 1,203.2 1,196.7 1,187.5 1,193.1 1,195.1 1,194.4 1,197.0 1,196.0 -1.0
Computer and electronic
products (1)................. 1,270.3 1,251.9 1,250.6 1,254.8 1,265.6 1,253.8 1,250.1 1,247.1 1,245.6 1,250.7 5.1
Computer and peripheral
equipment................... 186.1 185.7 185.7 187.6 186.1 186.7 186.2 184.6 184.9 187.2 2.3
Communications equipment..... 128.0 132.4 130.4 130.4 128.5 130.9 130.4 131.8 130.3 130.8 .5
Semiconductors and electronic
components.................. 442.3 424.1 425.6 425.6 439.9 426.7 424.2 422.1 423.2 424.2 1.0
Electronic instruments....... 445.1 446.3 445.8 448.1 442.5 445.7 445.6 444.9 444.1 445.5 1.4
Electrical equipment and
appliances................... 428.1 424.8 424.7 422.0 426.1 421.5 422.1 422.0 422.5 420.3 -2.2
Transportation equipment (1).. 1,707.9 1,648.2 1,588.1 1,579.5 1,705.7 1,630.6 1,636.8 1,631.9 1,624.9 1,580.2 -44.7
Motor vehicles and parts (2). 993.1 916.2 863.1 861.7 991.2 908.6 908.4 902.8 902.4 863.4 -39.0
Furniture and related products 535.4 505.0 496.4 490.4 533.0 506.4 503.5 499.5 495.1 488.3 -6.8
Miscellaneous manufacturing... 638.8 630.1 624.5 632.9 638.8 630.2 629.1 628.8 627.9 632.4 4.5
Nondurable goods............... 5,104 4,998 4,985 4,990 5,052 4,985 4,977 4,963 4,946 4,940 -6
Production workers........... 3,764 3,702 3,695 3,698 3,717 3,687 3,684 3,674 3,661 3,656 -5
Food manufacturing............ 1,516.8 1,476.8 1,491.3 1,502.9 1,480.6 1,473.8 1,473.5 1,472.4 1,468.6 1,468.7 .1
Beverages and tobacco products 201.5 196.5 197.6 196.8 196.1 193.3 193.7 192.5 191.9 191.3 -.6
Textile mills................. 166.2 153.5 148.5 149.8 166.4 156.4 155.1 152.2 149.5 150.2 .7
Textile product mills......... 157.1 150.0 148.3 147.7 156.9 152.2 151.0 149.3 148.4 147.7 -.7
Apparel....................... 211.3 199.9 195.5 196.2 211.3 198.0 196.6 196.4 195.6 195.8 .2
Leather and allied products... 33.0 35.0 33.1 33.9 33.3 33.9 33.7 34.6 33.8 34.0 .2
Paper and paper products...... 460.2 459.4 458.7 455.5 459.1 458.4 458.1 456.6 456.0 454.7 -1.3
Printing and related support
activities................... 620.3 604.6 598.6 599.9 621.0 611.7 607.3 601.9 598.8 600.2 1.4
Petroleum and coal products... 115.3 116.9 118.2 117.2 112.5 112.2 113.4 113.8 114.7 114.1 -.6
Chemicals..................... 868.3 865.9 863.2 859.2 864.2 861.3 861.6 859.8 857.4 855.7 -1.7
Plastics and rubber products.. 753.5 739.0 731.9 731.2 750.2 734.1 732.8 733.9 731.0 727.9 -3.1
Service-providing........... 114,935 116,851 115,432 115,336 115,580 116,136 116,140 116,126 116,114 116,087 -27
Private service-providing.. 93,878 94,411 94,182 94,020 93,368 93,735 93,687 93,663 93,645 93,601 -44
Trade, transportation, and
utilities...................... 26,614 26,474 26,367 26,320 26,640 26,496 26,451 26,431 26,392 26,357 -35
Wholesale trade................ 6,066.8 6,072.4 6,052.1 6,025.1 6,047.1 6,043.9 6,038.4 6,034.6 6,018.3 6,007.8 -10.5
Durable goods................. 3,152.5 3,122.0 3,113.0 3,094.9 3,141.9 3,118.1 3,109.8 3,103.6 3,094.5 3,085.1 -9.4
Nondurable goods.............. 2,081.8 2,103.7 2,091.9 2,082.7 2,072.7 2,086.9 2,089.3 2,088.4 2,079.1 2,075.6 -3.5
Electronic markets and agents
and brokers.................. 832.5 846.7 847.2 847.5 832.5 838.9 839.3 842.6 844.7 847.1 2.4
Retail trade...................15,493.8 15,302.7 15,282.9 15,271.8 15,502.3 15,355.7 15,331.8 15,324.2 15,306.1 15,286.2 -19.9
Motor vehicle and parts
dealers (1).................. 1,931.2 1,902.8 1,889.5 1,872.7 1,914.7 1,897.6 1,892.9 1,883.3 1,871.4 1,857.3 -14.1
Automobile dealers........... 1,253.5 1,223.3 1,212.3 1,199.4 1,245.6 1,228.8 1,224.2 1,215.2 1,204.7 1,193.1 -11.6
Furniture and home furnishings
stores....................... 573.4 562.0 559.8 561.8 579.2 569.0 568.5 568.9 568.5 568.1 -.4
Electronics and appliance
stores....................... 533.8 527.8 527.4 525.5 542.7 534.7 539.3 534.9 535.1 534.1 -1.0
Building material and garden
supply stores................ 1,334.1 1,296.7 1,269.5 1,256.8 1,315.6 1,240.5 1,240.3 1,238.2 1,229.8 1,235.2 5.4
Food and beverage stores...... 2,863.9 2,897.7 2,896.4 2,875.3 2,852.2 2,882.4 2,880.7 2,879.2 2,879.7 2,869.1 -10.6
Health and personal care
stores....................... 989.6 992.8 986.9 984.2 989.4 993.4 990.9 990.4 990.4 985.9 -4.5
Gasoline stations............. 872.2 854.5 853.9 851.1 860.8 847.4 841.2 844.4 842.4 840.3 -2.1
Clothing and clothing
accessories stores........... 1,522.7 1,460.0 1,492.0 1,519.5 1,501.5 1,495.4 1,494.5 1,494.8 1,495.7 1,499.3 3.6
Sporting goods, hobby, book,
and music stores............. 651.2 633.7 625.0 649.5 661.8 651.5 653.2 654.5 650.1 658.1 8.0
General merchandise stores (1) 2,928.6 2,895.4 2,904.3 2,897.1 2,978.9 2,939.0 2,928.5 2,939.6 2,947.9 2,944.8 -3.1
Department stores............ 1,532.4 1,475.5 1,482.0 1,471.9 1,573.0 1,528.1 1,514.7 1,516.3 1,519.1 1,512.2 -6.9
Miscellaneous store retailers. 867.9 860.6 859.3 857.4 869.7 863.3 860.8 858.9 858.7 859.1 .4
Nonstore retailers............ 425.2 418.7 418.9 420.9 435.8 441.5 441.0 437.1 436.4 434.9 -1.5
Transportation and warehousing. 4,494.6 4,536.4 4,468.4 4,462.0 4,535.4 4,538.3 4,524.1 4,514.0 4,509.3 4,505.0 -4.3
Air transportation............ 498.2 501.4 498.8 495.6 494.6 504.5 501.3 497.6 496.1 492.6 -3.5
Rail transportation........... 236.5 231.3 230.1 229.3 234.4 233.5 233.0 230.0 229.4 227.6 -1.8
Water transportation.......... 68.5 63.9 64.5 63.8 65.1 62.3 61.3 61.8 61.9 60.7 -1.2
Truck transportation.......... 1,457.3 1,418.8 1,411.4 1,418.7 1,438.2 1,415.2 1,409.8 1,400.1 1,398.1 1,399.5 1.4
Transit and ground passenger
transportation............... 345.9 413.6 355.1 350.4 413.3 418.3 412.9 416.4 416.1 416.7 .6
Pipeline transportation....... 40.3 43.2 43.8 43.7 40.1 41.3 42.2 42.8 43.3 43.4 .1
Scenic and sightseeing
transportation............... 37.7 37.4 40.0 39.4 29.3 31.3 31.1 31.3 31.0 31.0 .0
Support activities for
transportation............... 582.9 590.0 588.5 586.2 583.7 588.2 587.1 587.0 587.8 587.1 -.7
Couriers and messengers....... 570.8 583.5 579.8 577.3 579.2 585.0 587.2 587.7 586.8 588.1 1.3
Warehousing and storage....... 656.5 653.3 656.4 657.6 657.5 658.7 658.2 659.3 658.8 658.3 -.5
Utilities...................... 558.4 562.7 563.7 561.5 555.1 557.7 557.1 558.1 558.5 557.9 -.6
Information..................... 3,031 3,021 2,997 2,989 3,024 3,007 3,002 2,997 2,988 2,985 -3
Publishing industries, except
Internet..................... 898.8 878.0 876.8 874.5 897.0 882.8 879.7 877.0 874.2 873.0 -1.2
Motion picture and sound
recording industries......... 383.0 398.4 385.1 383.1 376.3 382.5 380.9 382.0 378.3 378.0 -.3
Broadcasting, except Internet. 326.6 320.3 320.7 318.9 325.2 320.8 321.2 319.6 319.9 318.1 -1.8
Telecommunications............ 1,022.9 1,021.5 1,015.7 1,013.4 1,025.1 1,018.0 1,017.7 1,018.9 1,015.9 1,015.6 -.3
Data processing, hosting and
related services............. 271.2 272.1 267.1 266.3 272.3 272.2 272.1 269.8 268.1 267.7 -.4
Other information services.... 128.1 130.9 131.6 132.9 127.6 130.7 130.1 130.0 131.2 132.3 1.1
Financial activities............ 8,363 8,274 8,281 8,259 8,312 8,229 8,226 8,213 8,210 8,207 -3
Finance and insurance.......... 6,156.5 6,108.0 6,107.4 6,089.1 6,148.4 6,103.8 6,098.8 6,088.0 6,084.6 6,083.0 -1.6
Monetary authorities - central
bank......................... 21.3 21.0 21.1 21.0 21.1 21.1 21.0 20.9 20.9 20.9 .0
Credit intermediation and
related activities (1)....... 2,875.4 2,804.4 2,801.9 2,788.2 2,870.4 2,807.9 2,800.5 2,794.0 2,789.8 2,785.0 -4.8
Depository credit
intermediation (1).......... 1,832.2 1,822.0 1,824.7 1,822.2 1,825.8 1,822.9 1,820.6 1,818.1 1,816.7 1,816.5 -.2
Commercial banking.......... 1,352.3 1,347.3 1,347.6 1,347.0 1,347.3 1,344.2 1,343.4 1,343.1 1,341.7 1,342.2 .5
Securities, commodity
contracts, investments....... 853.8 869.8 862.6 866.8 852.6 867.2 866.6 866.0 862.3 866.3 4.0
Insurance carriers and related
activities................... 2,317.4 2,325.2 2,333.8 2,324.6 2,315.4 2,319.7 2,323.2 2,319.2 2,323.7 2,322.3 -1.4
Funds, trusts, and other
financial vehicles........... 88.6 87.6 88.0 88.5 88.9 87.9 87.5 87.9 87.9 88.5 .6
Real estate and rental and
leasing....................... 2,206.6 2,166.1 2,173.2 2,169.7 2,163.3 2,124.9 2,127.3 2,125.1 2,125.4 2,124.0 -1.4
Real estate................... 1,522.3 1,492.3 1,492.7 1,494.1 1,493.9 1,465.7 1,466.4 1,466.2 1,464.4 1,463.9 -.5
Rental and leasing services... 653.5 641.7 647.3 643.2 638.9 627.4 629.5 627.2 628.7 628.1 -.6
Lessors of nonfinancial
intangible assets............ 30.8 32.1 33.2 32.4 30.5 31.8 31.4 31.7 32.3 32.0 -.3
Professional and business
services....................... 18,157 18,090 18,021 17,994 17,979 18,031 17,982 17,927 17,910 17,857 -53
Professional and technical
services (1).................. 7,653.4 7,834.3 7,837.1 7,815.3 7,688.0 7,845.6 7,839.1 7,850.3 7,858.8 7,864.8 6.0
Legal services............... 1,177.4 1,188.4 1,184.5 1,172.8 1,174.2 1,172.5 1,172.2 1,171.3 1,170.3 1,169.9 -.4
Accounting and bookkeeping
services.................... 874.7 910.2 896.4 894.1 954.0 986.1 973.8 978.0 979.1 981.8 2.7
Architectural and engineering
services.................... 1,458.9 1,482.7 1,492.9 1,485.5 1,439.0 1,464.9 1,464.9 1,466.2 1,467.6 1,466.8 -.8
Computer systems design and
related services............ 1,372.5 1,413.3 1,421.8 1,427.2 1,371.2 1,403.9 1,408.9 1,411.7 1,419.6 1,425.9 6.3
Management and technical
consulting services......... 962.9 1,016.4 1,024.4 1,025.0 956.3 1,001.3 1,006.9 1,014.6 1,017.5 1,019.1 1.6
Management of companies and
enterprises................... 1,855.6 1,847.9 1,841.9 1,839.9 1,849.2 1,841.0 1,836.4 1,837.8 1,835.0 1,835.0 .0
Administrative and waste
services...................... 8,647.5 8,407.3 8,341.6 8,338.5 8,441.3 8,344.4 8,306.0 8,239.2 8,216.6 8,156.9 -59.7
Administrative and support
services (1)................. 8,283.1 8,035.7 7,967.6 7,964.3 8,083.4 7,978.9 7,939.8 7,873.5 7,850.5 7,788.9 -61.6
Employment services (1)...... 3,670.6 3,391.3 3,335.3 3,362.9 3,570.2 3,462.2 3,421.8 3,363.3 3,336.6 3,283.2 -53.4
Temporary help services..... 2,660.5 2,436.9 2,381.8 2,409.3 2,589.4 2,487.1 2,451.6 2,415.3 2,391.8 2,354.9 -36.9
Business support services.... 796.2 781.1 777.8 771.1 803.8 792.8 789.2 785.2 784.8 781.0 -3.8
Services to buildings and
dwellings................... 1,960.8 1,991.6 1,988.1 1,974.7 1,858.0 1,864.6 1,865.9 1,867.4 1,867.2 1,870.8 3.6
Waste management and
remediation services......... 364.4 371.6 374.0 374.2 357.9 365.5 366.2 365.7 366.1 368.0 1.9
Education and health services... 18,068 18,700 18,592 18,640 18,422 18,757 18,820 18,891 18,942 18,997 55
Educational services........... 2,632.8 2,876.0 2,776.3 2,781.4 2,981.3 3,030.5 3,047.3 3,099.2 3,113.5 3,129.8 16.3
Health care and social
assistance....................15,434.7 15,823.5 15,815.9 15,858.3 15,440.8 15,726.1 15,772.4 15,791.3 15,828.9 15,867.0 38.1
Health care (3)...............13,031.8 13,328.3 13,372.1 13,402.0 12,997.8 13,236.3 13,274.7 13,298.3 13,338.1 13,365.0 26.9
Ambulatory health care
services (1)................ 5,514.2 5,682.0 5,698.9 5,710.2 5,504.4 5,632.8 5,649.9 5,667.7 5,692.2 5,698.8 6.6
Offices of physicians....... 2,214.9 2,275.9 2,283.6 2,285.2 2,211.7 2,259.6 2,265.2 2,273.1 2,281.8 2,281.7 -.1
Outpatient care centers..... 507.2 516.7 519.8 521.5 507.2 514.9 516.6 516.7 519.9 521.6 1.7
Home health care services... 925.0 957.7 962.8 965.7 923.0 946.1 951.0 954.5 960.5 962.6 2.1
Hospitals.................... 4,546.0 4,650.9 4,677.3 4,686.5 4,533.4 4,616.2 4,635.0 4,642.9 4,657.2 4,672.0 14.8
Nursing and residential care
facilities (1).............. 2,971.6 2,995.4 2,995.9 3,005.3 2,960.0 2,987.3 2,989.8 2,987.7 2,988.7 2,994.2 5.5
Nursing care facilities..... 1,609.4 1,611.0 1,609.8 1,614.7 1,604.8 1,610.7 1,612.1 1,608.9 1,609.0 1,610.6 1.6
Social assistance (1)......... 2,402.9 2,495.2 2,443.8 2,456.3 2,443.0 2,489.8 2,497.7 2,493.0 2,490.8 2,502.0 11.2
Child day care services...... 812.5 842.8 788.2 799.5 850.7 858.1 860.2 848.8 839.9 843.6 3.7
Leisure and hospitality......... 14,108 14,251 14,329 14,254 13,494 13,690 13,679 13,679 13,674 13,670 -4
Arts, entertainment, and
recreation.................... 2,235.6 2,264.7 2,308.2 2,268.1 1,970.5 2,021.1 2,013.1 2,011.7 2,008.4 2,010.6 2.2
Performing arts and spectator
sports....................... 437.8 464.8 463.7 465.6 409.2 436.4 434.7 438.0 437.2 438.1 .9
Museums, historical sites,
zoos, and parks.............. 141.6 144.0 146.7 144.1 131.1 132.6 133.9 132.7 132.7 133.3 .6
Amusements, gambling, and
recreation................... 1,656.2 1,655.9 1,697.8 1,658.4 1,430.2 1,452.1 1,444.5 1,441.0 1,438.5 1,439.2 .7
Accommodation and food services11,872.3 11,985.9 12,020.8 11,986.2 11,523.6 11,668.7 11,665.8 11,667.4 11,665.7 11,659.7 -6.0
Accommodation................. 1,977.4 1,927.7 1,978.2 1,959.6 1,844.1 1,853.0 1,849.0 1,843.4 1,837.8 1,829.5 -8.3
Food services and drinking
places....................... 9,894.9 10,058.2 10,042.6 10,026.6 9,679.5 9,815.7 9,816.8 9,824.0 9,827.9 9,830.2 2.3
Other services.................. 5,537 5,601 5,595 5,564 5,497 5,525 5,527 5,525 5,529 5,528 -1
Repair and maintenance........ 1,265.0 1,261.1 1,250.2 1,237.9 1,259.6 1,254.0 1,251.7 1,245.6 1,242.9 1,234.7 -8.2
Personal and laundry services. 1,311.4 1,331.7 1,322.4 1,320.1 1,305.7 1,309.9 1,310.6 1,312.8 1,313.6 1,315.1 1.5
Membership associations and
organizations................ 2,960.1 3,007.7 3,021.9 3,006.4 2,931.2 2,961.4 2,964.3 2,966.5 2,972.1 2,978.2 6.1
Government...................... 21,057 22,440 21,250 21,316 22,212 22,401 22,453 22,463 22,469 22,486 17
Federal........................ 2,745 2,757 2,776 2,767 2,724 2,734 2,740 2,744 2,748 2,747 -1
Federal, except U.S. Postal
Service...................... 1,984.8 2,031.9 2,043.6 2,047.4 1,963.4 1,996.0 2,006.5 2,013.1 2,017.8 2,023.6 5.8
U.S. Postal Service........... 759.8 725.3 732.3 719.4 760.6 737.9 733.3 731.0 729.7 723.0 -6.7
State government............... 4,854 4,980 4,906 4,924 5,123 5,170 5,174 5,179 5,188 5,191 3
State government education.... 2,019.0 2,127.1 2,054.8 2,081.7 2,313.6 2,340.8 2,344.4 2,354.3 2,364.3 2,370.8 6.5
State government, excluding
education.................... 2,835.4 2,852.8 2,850.9 2,842.5 2,809.5 2,829.1 2,829.7 2,824.9 2,823.3 2,819.9 -3.4
Local government............... 13,458 14,703 13,568 13,625 14,365 14,497 14,539 14,540 14,533 14,548 15
Local government education.... 6,914.8 8,055.1 6,855.7 6,961.6 7,972.0 8,032.1 8,060.0 8,053.2 8,037.2 8,037.2 .0
Local government, excluding
education.................... 6,543.1 6,648.3 6,712.3 6,663.5 6,393.4 6,465.0 6,479.2 6,486.8 6,496.2 6,511.2 15.0
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.
NOTE: Data reflect the conversion to the 2007 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
as the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry, replacing NAICS 2002.
See http://www.bls.gov/ces/cesnaics07.htm for more details.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-2. Average weekly hours of production and nonsupervisory workers (1) on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector
and selected industry detail
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Change
Industry Aug. June July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug. from:
2007 2008 2008p 2008p 2007 2008 2008 2008 2008p 2008p July 2008-
Aug. 2008p
Total private......................... 34.0 34.1 33.7 33.9 33.8 33.8 33.7 33.7 33.7 33.7 0.0
Goods-producing........................... 40.9 40.7 40.2 40.7 40.6 40.4 40.2 40.3 40.3 40.3 .0
Natural resources and mining.................. 45.9 45.4 44.9 45.5 45.7 44.9 44.6 45.0 44.9 45.2 .3
Construction.................................. 39.6 39.3 39.2 39.6 38.8 38.9 38.5 38.7 38.7 38.8 .1
Manufacturing................................. 41.5 41.2 40.6 41.0 41.3 41.0 41.0 41.0 41.0 40.9 -.1
Overtime hours............................. 4.3 3.9 3.7 3.9 4.2 4.0 3.9 3.8 3.8 3.7 -.1
Durable goods................................ 41.8 41.5 40.8 41.2 41.7 41.3 41.2 41.2 41.3 41.2 -.1
Overtime hours............................. 4.4 3.9 3.6 3.9 4.2 4.0 3.9 3.8 3.8 3.7 -.1
Wood products............................... 39.9 40.0 39.3 39.4 39.6 38.8 39.1 39.3 39.0 39.1 .1
Nonmetallic mineral products................ 43.4 42.8 42.9 43.1 42.8 42.2 42.3 42.1 42.6 42.4 -.2
Primary metals.............................. 42.8 42.9 41.7 42.5 43.0 42.4 42.2 42.5 42.2 42.5 .3
Fabricated metal products................... 41.8 41.3 40.8 41.4 41.7 41.6 41.4 41.2 41.2 41.3 .1
Machinery................................... 42.4 42.2 41.8 42.3 42.6 42.5 42.1 42.1 42.2 42.5 .3
Computer and electronic products............ 40.5 41.5 40.9 40.9 40.6 41.1 41.2 41.2 41.2 41.0 -.2
Electrical equipment and appliances......... 41.1 41.2 40.4 40.7 41.2 41.1 41.1 41.0 40.8 40.9 .1
Transportation equipment.................... 43.4 42.6 41.2 41.8 43.1 42.3 42.1 42.2 42.6 41.7 -.9
Motor vehicles and parts (2)............... 43.2 42.2 40.0 40.9 42.2 41.9 41.6 41.6 42.0 40.2 -1.8
Furniture and related products.............. 40.3 39.2 38.4 38.6 39.7 38.7 38.8 39.0 38.4 38.1 -.3
Miscellaneous manufacturing................. 39.4 39.3 38.9 39.7 39.4 39.3 39.2 39.2 39.3 39.5 .2
Nondurable goods............................. 40.9 40.6 40.3 40.6 40.8 40.5 40.5 40.5 40.5 40.5 .0
Overtime hours............................. 4.3 3.8 3.7 4.0 4.1 3.9 3.8 3.8 3.7 3.8 .1
Food manufacturing.......................... 40.9 40.6 40.5 40.8 40.6 40.8 40.8 40.6 40.6 40.5 -.1
Beverages and tobacco products.............. 41.6 39.5 39.2 40.0 41.0 39.6 39.7 39.0 39.1 39.4 .3
Textile mills............................... 39.7 39.0 38.8 39.5 39.9 38.4 39.0 38.9 39.3 39.4 .1
Textile product mills....................... 39.9 39.7 38.9 39.5 39.9 38.3 38.7 39.1 39.1 39.3 .2
Apparel..................................... 37.1 36.6 36.5 36.6 37.2 36.6 36.0 36.4 36.8 36.7 -.1
Leather and allied products................. 37.5 38.9 37.8 36.9 37.7 38.6 38.7 38.5 38.3 37.4 -.9
Paper and paper products.................... 43.1 42.6 42.1 42.9 43.1 43.3 42.5 42.7 42.4 43.0 .6
Printing and related support activities..... 39.2 37.8 37.5 38.3 39.1 38.5 38.5 38.1 38.0 38.2 .2
Petroleum and coal products................. 43.5 45.2 45.9 44.2 43.7 43.2 44.2 44.4 45.2 44.4 -.8
Chemicals................................... 42.1 42.0 41.7 41.6 42.1 41.3 41.3 41.8 41.8 41.5 -.3
Plastics and rubber products................ 41.1 41.4 40.7 41.1 41.3 41.0 41.0 41.1 41.3 41.2 -.1
Private service-providing................ 32.5 32.8 32.4 32.5 32.4 32.4 32.4 32.4 32.3 32.4 .1
Trade, transportation, and utilities.......... 33.5 33.7 33.4 33.4 33.3 33.4 33.3 33.3 33.2 33.3 .1
Wholesale trade.............................. 38.2 38.9 38.3 38.3 38.2 38.3 38.3 38.3 38.4 38.3 -.1
Retail trade................................. 30.4 30.5 30.3 30.3 30.1 30.2 30.1 30.1 30.0 30.1 .1
Transportation and warehousing............... 37.2 36.9 36.4 36.8 36.9 36.7 36.5 36.5 36.4 36.5 .1
Utilities.................................... 42.4 43.0 42.3 42.0 42.4 42.6 42.4 42.8 42.3 42.2 -.1
Information................................... 36.5 37.1 36.8 36.8 36.4 36.5 36.6 36.6 36.7 36.7 .0
Financial activities.......................... 35.6 36.5 35.6 35.9 35.8 35.9 36.0 35.9 35.7 36.1 .4
Professional and business services............ 34.8 35.4 34.7 35.1 34.7 34.8 34.8 34.8 34.8 35.0 .2
Education and health services................. 32.6 32.7 32.6 32.6 32.6 32.6 32.7 32.6 32.6 32.6 .0
Leisure and hospitality....................... 26.0 25.9 25.8 25.8 25.4 25.4 25.3 25.3 25.2 25.2 .0
Other services................................ 31.0 31.1 30.9 31.1 30.8 30.8 30.8 30.8 30.8 30.9 .1
1 Data relate to production workers in natural resources and mining and manufacturing, construction workers in construction,
and nonsupervisory workers in the service-providing industries. These groups account for approximately four-fifths of the
total employment on private nonfarm payrolls.
2 Includes motor vehicles, motor vehicle bodies and trailers, and motor vehicle parts.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: Data reflect the conversion to the 2007 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
as the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry, replacing NAICS 2002.
See http://www.bls.gov/ces/cesnaics07.htm for more details.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-3. Average hourly and weekly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers (1) on private nonfarm payrolls
by industry sector and selected industry detail
Average hourly earnings Average weekly earnings
Industry Aug. June July Aug. Aug. June July Aug.
2007 2008 2008p 2008p 2007 2008 2008p 2008p
Total private........................... $17.42 $17.96 $17.99 $18.05 $592.28 $612.44 $606.26 $611.90
Seasonally adjusted.................... 17.51 18.00 18.07 18.14 591.84 606.60 608.96 611.32
Goods-producing............................. 18.81 19.24 19.38 19.53 769.33 783.07 779.08 794.87
Natural resources and mining.................... 20.97 21.74 22.44 23.09 962.52 987.00 1007.56 1050.60
Construction.................................... 21.13 21.69 21.92 22.19 836.75 852.42 859.26 878.72
Manufacturing................................... 17.31 17.71 17.72 17.74 718.37 729.65 719.43 727.34
Durable goods.................................. 18.27 18.67 18.64 18.68 763.69 774.81 760.51 769.62
Wood products................................. 13.61 14.12 14.23 14.21 543.04 564.80 559.24 559.87
Nonmetallic mineral products.................. 16.88 16.98 16.94 16.85 732.59 726.74 726.73 726.24
Primary metals................................ 19.72 20.25 20.47 20.28 844.02 868.73 853.60 861.90
Fabricated metal products..................... 16.58 16.92 16.93 17.07 693.04 698.80 690.74 706.70
Machinery..................................... 17.69 17.87 17.94 17.88 750.06 754.11 749.89 756.32
Computer and electronic products.............. 20.06 21.06 21.16 21.23 812.43 873.99 865.44 868.31
Electrical equipment and appliances........... 16.03 15.75 15.86 15.95 658.83 648.90 640.74 649.17
Transportation equipment...................... 23.33 23.79 23.72 23.93 1012.52 1013.45 977.26 1000.27
Furniture and related products................ 14.31 14.58 14.49 14.59 576.69 571.54 556.42 563.17
Miscellaneous manufacturing................... 14.77 15.15 15.35 15.21 581.94 595.40 597.12 603.84
Nondurable goods............................... 15.69 16.08 16.20 16.18 641.72 652.85 652.86 656.91
Food manufacturing............................ 13.61 13.95 14.01 14.02 556.65 566.37 567.41 572.02
Beverages and tobacco products................ 17.78 18.57 18.80 18.57 739.65 733.52 736.96 742.80
Textile mills................................. 13.21 13.58 13.76 13.66 524.44 529.62 533.89 539.57
Textile product mills......................... 11.74 11.80 11.80 11.75 468.43 468.46 459.02 464.13
Apparel....................................... 11.12 11.36 11.35 11.26 412.55 415.78 414.28 412.12
Leather and allied products................... 12.10 12.88 12.85 12.81 453.75 501.03 485.73 472.69
Paper and paper products...................... 18.30 18.89 19.18 18.99 788.73 804.71 807.48 814.67
Printing and related support activities....... 16.28 16.78 16.79 16.69 638.18 634.28 629.63 639.23
Petroleum and coal products................... 25.43 27.17 27.69 27.74 1106.21 1228.08 1270.97 1226.11
Chemicals..................................... 19.47 19.33 19.43 19.66 819.69 811.86 810.23 817.86
Plastics and rubber products.................. 15.45 15.69 15.86 15.92 635.00 649.57 645.50 654.31
Private service-providing.................. 17.05 17.64 17.64 17.68 554.13 578.59 571.54 574.60
Trade, transportation, and utilities............ 15.81 16.20 16.20 16.22 529.64 545.94 541.08 541.75
Wholesale trade................................ 19.58 20.05 20.11 20.20 747.96 779.95 770.21 773.66
Retail trade................................... 12.78 12.92 12.93 12.96 388.51 394.06 391.78 392.69
Transportation and warehousing................. 17.84 18.44 18.49 18.43 663.65 680.44 673.04 678.22
Utilities...................................... 27.73 29.01 28.41 28.60 1175.75 1247.43 1201.74 1201.20
Information..................................... 23.85 24.73 24.74 24.73 870.53 917.48 910.43 910.06
Financial activities............................ 19.65 20.27 20.22 20.25 699.54 739.86 719.83 726.98
Professional and business services.............. 20.01 21.03 21.01 21.04 696.35 744.46 729.05 738.50
Education and health services................... 18.20 18.68 18.87 18.87 593.32 610.84 615.16 615.16
Leisure and hospitality......................... 10.39 10.77 10.72 10.79 270.14 278.94 276.58 278.38
Other services.................................. 15.43 15.85 15.80 15.81 478.33 492.94 488.22 491.69
1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: Data reflect the conversion to the 2007 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
as the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry, replacing NAICS 2002.
See http://www.bls.gov/ces/cesnaics07.htm for more details.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-4. Average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers (1) on private nonfarm payrolls
by industry sector and selected industry detail, seasonally adjusted
Percent
Industry Aug. Apr. May June July Aug. change from:
2007 2008 2008 2008 2008p 2008p July 2008-
Aug. 2008p
Total private:
Current dollars........................ $17.51 $17.89 $17.95 $18.00 $18.07 $18.14 0.4
Constant (1982) dollars (2)............ 8.35 8.27 8.24 8.17 8.12 N.A. (3)
Goods-producing............................. 18.73 19.12 19.17 19.25 19.35 19.42 .4
Natural resources and mining.................... 21.09 21.61 21.71 22.01 22.54 23.05 2.3
Construction.................................... 21.01 21.60 21.70 21.77 21.86 22.05 .9
Manufacturing................................... 17.33 17.62 17.65 17.71 17.79 17.75 -.2
Excluding overtime (4)....................... 16.49 16.80 16.85 16.93 17.00 16.98 -.1
Durable goods.................................. 18.27 18.58 18.61 18.67 18.76 18.68 -.4
Nondurable goods............................... 15.71 15.99 16.04 16.11 16.15 16.20 .3
Private service-providing.................. 17.19 17.58 17.64 17.69 17.75 17.82 .4
Trade, transportation, and utilities............ 15.85 16.11 16.16 16.19 16.19 16.24 .3
Wholesale trade................................ 19.66 20.05 20.06 20.12 20.16 20.27 .5
Retail trade................................... 12.80 12.85 12.90 12.90 12.90 12.95 .4
Transportation and warehousing................. 17.79 18.33 18.38 18.39 18.38 18.41 .2
Utilities...................................... 27.99 28.56 28.81 29.14 28.61 28.88 .9
Information..................................... 23.97 24.50 24.67 24.74 24.87 24.86 .0
Financial activities............................ 19.75 20.16 20.23 20.26 20.31 20.35 .2
Professional and business services.............. 20.25 20.84 20.90 21.01 21.12 21.27 .7
Education and health services................... 18.20 18.64 18.71 18.75 18.83 18.88 .3
Leisure and hospitality......................... 10.50 10.79 10.81 10.85 10.87 10.91 .4
Other services.................................. 15.51 15.79 15.81 15.85 15.89 15.91 .1
1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
2 The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) is used to deflate this series.
3 Change was -.6 percent from June 2008 to July 2008, the latest month available.
4 Derived by assuming that overtime hours are paid at the rate of time and one-half.
N.A. = not available.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: Data reflect the conversion to the 2007 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
as the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry, replacing NAICS 2002.
See http://www.bls.gov/ces/cesnaics07.htm for more details.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-5. Indexes of aggregate weekly hours of production and nonsupervisory workers(1) on private nonfarm payrolls
by industry sector and selected industry detail
(2002=100)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Percent
Industry Aug. June July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug. change from:
2007 2008 2008p 2008p 2007 2008 2008 2008 2008p 2008p July 2008-
Aug. 2008p
Total private......................... 109.1 109.4 107.9 108.3 107.4 107.5 107.1 107.0 106.9 106.8 -0.1
Goods-producing........................... 104.8 100.4 98.8 100.2 101.7 98.6 97.9 97.6 97.3 97.0 -.3
Natural resources and mining.................. 137.3 139.4 141.0 147.3 133.3 134.6 134.6 137.0 138.6 142.9 3.1
Construction.................................. 122.3 113.0 113.4 115.1 114.3 109.3 107.5 107.3 106.8 107.1 .3
Manufacturing................................. 95.6 92.9 90.6 91.3 94.4 92.2 92.1 91.6 91.3 90.5 -.9
Durable goods................................ 98.4 95.4 92.3 92.9 97.7 94.8 94.4 93.9 93.7 92.7 -1.1
Wood products............................... 93.3 84.3 83.3 82.9 90.4 83.2 82.0 81.6 80.7 80.2 -.6
Nonmetallic mineral products................ 102.4 98.4 98.0 98.7 98.6 95.6 95.1 94.5 94.6 94.8 .2
Primary metals.............................. 90.8 90.9 87.0 87.8 91.0 90.3 89.2 89.4 88.4 87.7 -.8
Fabricated metal products................... 105.1 102.4 100.2 101.7 104.7 103.3 103.0 101.7 101.3 101.4 .1
Machinery................................... 102.5 103.6 102.6 103.3 103.2 103.9 103.1 102.6 103.4 104.1 .7
Computer and electronic products............ 101.2 103.6 101.2 100.9 101.4 103.1 102.9 102.3 101.9 101.3 -.6
Electrical equipment and appliances......... 88.6 89.4 87.7 87.9 88.6 88.3 88.6 88.4 88.2 88.1 -.1
Transportation equipment.................... 99.4 93.0 85.6 86.0 98.5 91.5 91.5 91.0 91.0 85.8 -5.7
Motor vehicles and parts(2)................ 87.7 77.7 68.4 69.6 85.3 76.6 76.3 75.4 75.7 68.4 -9.6
Furniture and related products.............. 89.3 80.7 77.7 77.2 87.2 80.3 79.8 79.3 77.4 75.9 -1.9
Miscellaneous manufacturing................. 91.3 90.3 88.0 92.0 91.4 90.3 89.9 89.8 89.9 91.5 1.8
Nondurable goods............................. 90.7 88.6 87.7 88.5 89.4 88.0 87.9 87.7 87.4 87.2 -.2
Food manufacturing.......................... 104.5 100.6 101.6 103.2 100.8 101.2 101.1 100.5 100.2 99.8 -.4
Beverages and tobacco products.............. 108.0 94.4 95.4 96.6 102.7 89.0 90.7 90.5 90.3 90.4 .1
Textile mills............................... 53.7 49.2 47.2 48.4 54.4 49.5 49.7 48.8 48.6 48.8 .4
Textile product mills....................... 77.6 74.4 71.6 72.2 77.1 72.4 72.8 72.5 72.0 71.7 -.4
Apparel..................................... 60.5 57.3 56.2 56.3 60.8 56.4 55.1 55.8 56.5 56.4 -.2
Leather and allied products................. 66.9 75.8 69.7 69.7 68.0 71.9 72.1 74.3 72.1 71.4 -1.0
Paper and paper products.................... 86.5 85.8 84.7 85.9 86.0 86.8 85.3 85.3 84.7 85.6 1.1
Printing and related support activities..... 91.5 86.3 84.6 86.8 91.4 89.2 88.6 86.6 85.7 86.7 1.2
Petroleum and coal products................. 97.0 102.8 106.2 103.2 94.7 95.7 97.8 98.5 101.2 100.2 -1.0
Chemicals................................... 95.6 98.8 97.4 96.3 94.9 95.9 96.3 97.1 96.8 95.8 -1.0
Plastics and rubber products................ 90.4 89.7 87.2 87.9 90.5 88.0 88.0 88.3 88.6 87.8 -.9
Private service-providing................. 110.1 112.1 110.4 110.5 109.1 109.8 109.7 109.7 109.3 109.6 .3
Trade, transportation, and utilities.......... 105.3 105.7 104.4 104.1 104.7 104.8 104.4 104.3 103.8 103.9 .1
Wholesale trade.............................. 110.4 113.0 110.9 110.3 110.0 110.7 110.6 110.5 110.5 110.0 -.5
Retail trade................................. 102.3 101.5 100.7 100.6 101.3 100.8 100.4 100.3 99.9 100.0 .1
Transportation and warehousing............... 109.0 110.2 107.0 107.9 109.0 109.5 108.8 108.4 108.0 108.0 .0
Utilities.................................... 97.0 100.1 98.6 97.2 96.4 97.8 97.2 98.7 97.4 97.0 -.4
Information................................... 100.2 102.3 100.7 100.3 99.6 100.0 100.2 100.0 100.0 99.9 -.1
Financial activities.......................... 108.8 111.4 108.7 109.5 108.7 108.7 108.9 108.6 108.0 109.3 1.2
Professional and business services............ 116.9 118.5 115.6 116.7 115.3 116.1 115.6 115.3 115.1 115.2 .1
Education and health services................. 111.1 115.4 114.4 114.7 113.3 115.4 116.1 116.2 116.6 116.9 .3
Leisure and hospitality....................... 119.2 119.9 120.2 119.3 111.2 112.6 112.0 112.0 111.6 111.5 -.1
Other services................................ 100.5 102.0 101.4 101.5 99.1 99.6 99.6 99.5 99.6 100.1 .5
1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
2 Includes motor vehicles, motor vehicle bodies and trailers, and motor vehicle parts.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: The indexes of aggregate weekly hours are calculated by dividing the current month's estimates of aggregate hours
by the corresponding 2002 annual average levels. Aggregate hours estimates are the product of estimates of average
weekly hours and production and nonsupervisory worker employment.
Data reflect the conversion to the 2007 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
as the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry, replacing NAICS 2002.
See http://www.bls.gov/ces/cesnaics07.htm for more details.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-6. Indexes of aggregate weekly payrolls of production and nonsupervisory workers(1) on private nonfarm payrolls
by industry sector and selected industry detail
(2002=100)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Percent
Industry Aug. June July Aug. Aug. Apr. May June July Aug. change from:
2007 2008 2008p 2008p 2007 2008 2008 2008 2008p 2008p July 2008-
Aug. 2008p
Total private......................... 126.9 131.3 129.7 130.7 125.7 128.5 128.4 128.7 129.1 129.4 0.2
Goods-producing........................... 120.7 118.3 117.3 119.9 116.6 115.5 114.9 115.1 115.2 115.4 .2
Natural resources and mining.................. 167.5 176.3 184.0 197.7 163.5 169.1 170.0 175.4 181.7 191.6 5.4
Construction.................................. 139.5 132.4 134.3 137.9 129.7 127.5 126.0 126.2 126.1 127.5 1.1
Manufacturing................................. 108.2 107.5 104.9 105.9 107.0 106.3 106.3 106.1 106.2 105.1 -1.0
Durable goods................................ 112.3 111.2 107.4 108.4 111.5 110.0 109.7 109.4 109.7 108.1 -1.5
Nondurable goods............................. 100.6 100.6 100.4 101.1 99.2 99.4 99.6 99.8 99.7 99.9 .2
Private service-providing................. 128.7 135.5 133.6 134.0 128.6 132.3 132.7 133.0 133.0 133.9 .7
Trade, transportation, and utilities.......... 118.7 122.2 120.6 120.4 118.4 120.5 120.3 120.4 119.9 120.4 .4
Wholesale trade.............................. 127.3 133.5 131.4 131.3 127.4 130.8 130.7 131.0 131.2 131.3 .1
Retail trade................................. 112.0 112.4 111.6 111.8 111.1 111.1 111.0 110.9 110.4 111.1 .6
Transportation and warehousing............... 123.4 128.9 125.5 126.2 123.0 127.4 126.8 126.4 125.9 126.1 .2
Utilities.................................... 112.3 121.2 116.9 116.0 112.6 116.6 116.9 120.0 116.3 117.0 .6
Information................................... 118.3 125.3 123.3 122.8 118.2 121.3 122.3 122.5 123.1 123.0 -.1
Financial activities.......................... 132.2 139.6 135.9 137.1 132.7 135.5 136.2 136.0 135.6 137.5 1.4
Professional and business services............ 139.2 148.2 144.6 146.1 138.9 143.9 143.8 144.2 144.6 145.7 .8
Education and health services................. 132.9 141.8 142.0 142.3 135.5 141.4 142.8 143.2 144.3 145.2 .6
Leisure and hospitality....................... 140.6 146.7 146.3 146.2 132.6 138.0 137.5 138.1 137.7 138.2 .4
Other services................................ 113.0 117.8 116.7 116.9 112.0 114.6 114.8 115.0 115.3 116.0 .6
1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: The indexes of aggregate weekly payrolls are calculated by dividing the current month's estimates of aggregate
payrolls by the corresponding 2002 annual average levels. Aggregate payroll estimates are the product of estimates of
average hourly earnings, average weekly hours, and production and nonsupervisory worker employment.
Data reflect the conversion to the 2007 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
as the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry, replacing NAICS 2002.
See http://www.bls.gov/ces/cesnaics07.htm for more details.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-7. Diffusion indexes of employment change
(Percent)
Time span Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
Private nonfarm payrolls, 274 industries(1)
Over 1-month span:
2004 .............. 50.5 50.5 64.1 62.6 61.7 58.9 56.0 50.0 56.9 56.9 51.3 51.8
2005 .............. 52.2 60.6 54.2 58.2 55.8 58.2 58.0 61.3 54.7 53.6 62.4 54.7
2006 .............. 65.1 60.9 64.4 59.3 53.3 52.7 60.4 58.9 53.5 55.8 57.1 56.0
2007 .............. 51.6 51.8 52.7 51.1 56.6 50.4 52.2 51.6 56.4 54.6 48.2 48.5
2008 .............. 45.4 41.4 47.4 45.6 46.4 42.3 p41.4 p48.9
Over 3-month span:
2004 .............. 54.4 52.9 57.3 63.5 68.8 66.6 61.3 56.4 57.7 59.5 61.9 54.6
2005 .............. 52.2 55.5 57.5 60.8 58.9 61.9 60.4 63.9 61.1 54.4 54.9 61.3
2006 .............. 67.2 66.2 66.6 65.5 60.6 58.2 56.0 58.9 55.7 56.4 57.1 58.4
2007 .............. 58.4 54.7 55.3 54.7 56.2 53.3 53.1 54.7 58.4 56.8 54.7 52.4
2008 .............. 46.7 42.7 42.3 44.0 43.1 44.0 p38.3 p40.1
Over 6-month span:
2004 .............. 50.0 51.6 55.3 60.9 63.7 65.1 65.1 63.9 60.4 61.7 58.2 56.0
2005 .............. 54.6 57.3 56.8 57.5 57.5 58.2 64.4 62.8 62.0 59.3 61.5 62.0
2006 .............. 63.1 64.4 67.2 67.0 64.4 66.4 61.5 61.7 60.4 59.7 60.8 56.0
2007 .............. 59.1 56.4 57.5 56.8 58.8 58.2 56.2 58.0 58.2 57.1 54.6 53.8
2008 .............. 51.5 49.8 44.7 46.5 43.6 39.1 p38.9 p41.2
Over 12-month span:
2004 .............. 40.5 42.3 45.1 48.9 51.3 58.2 57.5 55.7 57.3 58.8 60.6 60.8
2005 .............. 60.6 60.8 59.7 58.9 58.0 60.0 60.9 63.3 60.4 58.9 59.5 61.7
2006 .............. 67.2 65.1 65.5 62.6 64.8 66.4 64.4 64.4 66.2 65.1 64.4 65.5
2007 .............. 62.6 59.1 60.4 58.9 59.5 58.4 57.5 58.8 61.7 60.4 59.9 57.7
2008 .............. 53.8 54.6 52.6 50.4 49.3 45.8 p45.8 p42.9
Manufacturing payrolls, 84 industries(1)
Over 1-month span:
2004 .............. 43.5 47.6 47.0 63.7 50.6 51.2 58.3 42.9 42.9 48.2 42.3 39.9
2005 .............. 36.3 48.8 42.9 44.6 42.3 35.1 38.1 47.0 45.8 46.4 47.0 47.0
2006 .............. 57.7 45.8 54.8 48.8 38.1 53.0 50.6 44.0 36.3 40.5 38.1 39.3
2007 .............. 47.6 35.7 30.4 29.8 37.5 39.3 41.7 33.3 40.5 45.2 44.6 36.3
2008 .............. 40.5 28.6 38.1 35.1 44.6 30.4 p28.6 p38.7
Over 3-month span:
2004 .............. 41.1 40.5 43.5 56.5 58.9 61.3 57.7 47.0 46.4 41.7 44.6 38.7
2005 .............. 38.1 39.3 42.3 44.6 36.3 37.5 33.3 39.9 45.8 41.7 38.7 49.4
2006 .............. 54.8 52.4 47.6 48.8 44.6 50.6 42.9 47.6 36.3 37.5 32.1 34.5
2007 .............. 33.9 28.6 32.1 27.4 29.8 32.7 31.0 34.5 32.1 39.3 44.0 41.7
2008 .............. 35.7 27.4 26.8 29.2 29.8 35.7 p23.8 p25.6
Over 6-month span:
2004 .............. 29.2 31.5 32.7 44.6 49.4 54.8 59.5 56.0 51.2 51.8 44.0 38.7
2005 .............. 33.9 38.1 35.1 36.9 32.1 32.1 41.7 35.7 36.3 36.9 37.5 42.3
2006 .............. 42.9 45.2 50.6 47.6 48.2 47.6 46.4 48.8 43.5 41.7 38.7 29.8
2007 .............. 34.5 27.4 23.8 27.4 31.5 34.5 33.3 31.0 29.2 35.1 34.5 32.7
2008 .............. 34.5 33.9 32.1 28.0 26.8 20.8 p21.4 p26.8
Over 12-month span:
2004 .............. 13.1 14.3 13.1 20.2 23.2 35.7 36.9 38.1 36.9 44.0 44.6 44.6
2005 .............. 44.6 43.5 41.7 40.5 36.3 35.1 32.1 33.9 32.7 33.3 33.3 38.1
2006 .............. 44.6 40.5 40.5 39.3 39.3 44.6 41.7 42.3 46.4 48.2 45.2 44.0
2007 .............. 39.3 36.3 36.9 28.6 29.8 26.2 26.8 29.2 30.4 29.8 33.3 33.9
2008 .............. 29.8 29.8 29.8 24.4 27.4 24.4 p25.0 p22.6
1 Based on seasonally adjusted data for 1-, 3-, 6-month spans and unadjusted data for the 12-month span.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: Figures are the percent of industries with employment increasing plus one-half of the industries with
unchanged employment, where 50 percent indicates an equal balance between industries with increasing and decreasing
employment.
Data reflect the conversion to the 2007 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
as the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry, replacing NAICS 2002.
See http://www.bls.gov/ces/cesnaics07.htm for more details.
United States Department of Labor
