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Economic News Release
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Employment Situation News Release

Technical information:
  Household data:    (202) 691-6378     USDL 08-1367
            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, October 3, 2008.
                                   
                                   
               THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION:  SEPTEMBER 2008

   Nonfarm payroll employment declined by 159,000 in September, and 
the unemployment rate held at 6.1 percent, the Bureau of Labor Sta-
tistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  Employment 
continued to fall in construction, manufacturing, and retail trade,  
while mining and health care 
continued to add jobs.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

   The unemployment rate (6.1 percent) was unchanged in September,
following a 0.4 percentage point rise in August.  The number of
unemployed persons was little changed at 9.5 million.  Over the past
12 months, the number of unemployed persons has increased by 2.2 mil-
lion and the unemployment rate has risen by 1.4 percentage points.
(See table A-1.)
   
   The unemployment rates for adult men (6.1 percent) and blacks (11.4
percent) rose in September.  The jobless rates for teenagers (19.1 per-
cent), whites (5.4 percent), and Hispanics (7.8 percent) were essen-
tially unchanged.  The unemployment rate for adult women declined  to 
4.9 percent, partly offsetting an increase in August.  The unemploy-
ment rate for Asians in September was 3.8 percent, not seasonally ad-
justed.  (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)
   
   In September, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for
27 weeks or more) rose by 167,000 to 2.0 million, an increase of 728,000 
over the past 12 months.  The long-term unemployed accounted for 21.1 per-
cent of total unemployment in September.  (See table A-9.)
   
Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
   
   The civilian labor force (154.7 million) and the labor force parti-
cipation rate (66.0 percent) were essentially unchanged over the month.  
Total employment (145.3 million) and the employment-population ratio 
(62.0 percent) were little changed.  Since a recent high in December 
2006, the employment-population ratio has declined by 1.4 percentage 
points.  (See table A-1.)
   
   The number of persons who worked part time for economic reasons
rose by 337,000 to 6.1 million in September, an increase of 1.6 mil-
lion over the past 12 months.  This category includes persons who
would like to work full time but were working part time because their
hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find full-time
jobs.  (See table A-5.)
   

                               - 2 -


Table A.  Major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted        
(Numbers in thousands)                                                          
_______________________________________________________________________________ 
                         |                 |                          |         
                         |    Quarterly    |                          |         
                         |     averages    |       Monthly data       |  Aug.-  
        Category         |_________________|__________________________|  Sept.  
                         |        |        |        |        |        | change  
                         |   II   |  III   |  July  |  Aug.  |  Sept. |         
                         |  2008  |  2008  |  2008  |  2008  |  2008  |         
_________________________|________|________|________|________|________|________ 
                         |                                                      
     HOUSEHOLD DATA      |                 Labor force status                   
                         |_____________________________________________________ 
                         |        |        |        |        |        |         
Civilian labor force ....| 154,294| 154,730| 154,603| 154,853| 154,732|    -121 
  Employment ............| 146,089| 145,517| 145,819| 145,477| 145,255|    -222 
  Unemployment ..........|   8,204|   9,213|   8,784|   9,376|   9,477|     101 
Not in labor force ......|  79,117|  79,381|  79,261|  79,253|  79,628|     375 
                         |________|________|________|________|________|________ 
                         |                                                      
                         |                 Unemployment rates                   
                         |_____________________________________________________ 
                         |        |        |        |        |        |         
All workers .............|     5.3|     6.0|     5.7|     6.1|     6.1|     0.0 
  Adult men .............|     4.9|     5.7|     5.3|     5.6|     6.1|      .5 
  Adult women ...........|     4.6|     4.9|     4.6|     5.3|     4.9|     -.4 
  Teenagers .............|    17.4|    19.5|    20.3|    18.9|    19.1|      .2 
  White .................|     4.7|     5.3|     5.1|     5.4|     5.4|      .0 
  Black or African       |        |        |        |        |        |         
    American ............|     9.1|    10.6|     9.7|    10.6|    11.4|      .8 
  Hispanic or Latino     |        |        |        |        |        |         
    ethnicity ...........|     7.2|     7.7|     7.4|     8.0|     7.8|     -.2 
                         |________|________|________|________|________|________ 
                         |                                                      
  ESTABLISHMENT DATA     |                     Employment                       
                         |_____________________________________________________ 
                         |        |        |        |        |        |         
Nonfarm employment.......| 137,699|p137,448| 137,550|p137,477|p137,318|   p-159 
  Goods-producing (1)....|  21,565| p21,373|  21,437| p21,380| p21,303|    p-77 
    Construction ........|   7,242|  p7,153|   7,173|  p7,160|  p7,125|    p-35 
    Manufacturing .......|  13,563| p13,433|  13,487| p13,431| p13,380|    p-51 
  Service-providing (1)..| 116,134|p116,075| 116,113|p116,097|p116,015|    p-82 
      Retail trade (2)...|  15,337| p15,272|  15,302| p15,277| p15,237|    p-40 
    Professional and     |        |        |        |        |        |         
      business services .|  17,980| p17,866|  17,904| p17,861| p17,834|    p-27 
    Education and health |        |        |        |        |        |         
      services ..........|  18,823| p18,983|  18,935| p18,994| p19,019|     p25 
    Leisure and          |        |        |        |        |        |         
      hospitality .......|  13,683| p13,643|  13,655| p13,645| p13,628|    p-17 
    Government ..........|  22,439| p22,526|  22,502| p22,533| p22,542|      p9 
                         |________|________|________|________|________|________ 
                         |                                                      
                         |                  Hours of work (3)                   
                         |_____________________________________________________ 
                         |        |        |        |        |        |         
Total private ...........|    33.7|   p33.7|    33.7|   p33.7|   p33.6|   p-0.1 
  Manufacturing .........|    41.0|   p40.9|    41.0|   p40.9|   p40.7|    p-.2 
    Overtime ............|     3.9|    p3.7|     3.8|    p3.7|    p3.6|    p-.1 
                         |________|________|________|________|________|________ 
                         |                                                      
                         |   Indexes of aggregate weekly hours (2002=100)(3)    
                         |_____________________________________________________ 
                         |        |        |        |        |        |         
Total private ...........|   107.2|  p106.7|   106.9|  p106.8|  p106.3|   p-0.5 
                         |________|________|________|________|________|________ 
                         |                                                      
                         |                     Earnings (3)                     
                         |_____________________________________________________ 
Average hourly earnings, |        |        |        |        |        |         
  total private .........|  $17.95| p$18.12|  $18.06| p$18.14| p$18.17|  p$0.03 
Average weekly earnings, |        |        |        |        |        |         
  total private .........|  605.40| p610.15|  608.62| p611.32| p610.51|   p-.81 
_________________________|________|________|________|________|________|________ 
                                                                                
   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 -


   The number of multiple jobholders fell by 398,000 in September to
7.7 million; multiple jobholders made up 5.3 percent of all employed
persons.  (See table A-6.)

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 September, 336,000 more than 12 months
earlier.  These individuals wanted and were available for work and had
looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months.  They are not count-
ed as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks 
preceding the survey.  Among the marginally attached, there were 467,000 
discouraged workers in September; the number of discouraged workers has 
increased by 191,000 from a year earlier.  Discouraged workers are per-
sons not currently looking for work specifically because they believe 
no jobs are available for them.  The other 1.1 million persons margin-
ally attached to the labor force in September had not searched for work 
in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school atten-
dance or family responsibilities.  (See table A-13.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

   Total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 159,000 in September.
Thus far in 2008, payroll employment has fallen by 760,000.  Over the
month, employment continued to decline in manufacturing, construction, 
and retail trade.  Health care and mining continued to add jobs in 
September.  (See table B-1.)
   
   Manufacturing employment fell by 51,000 over the month, bringing
the decline in factory jobs to 442,000 over the past 12 months.  In 
September, job losses continued in motor vehicles and parts (-18,000); 
this industry has shed 140,000 jobs over the past 12 months.  Else-
where among durable goods manufacturers, employment decreased in fab-
ricated metals (- 7,000), wood products (-5,000), and furniture and 
related products (-5,000).  In nondurable goods manufacturing, paper 
products (-3,000) and plastics and rubber products (-4,000) lost jobs 
over the month.
   
   Construction lost 35,000 jobs over the month.  Thus far this year,
all of the components of construction have experienced employment
declines; the majority of the losses have been in the residential
components.
   
   Employment in retail trade dropped by 40,000 in September and by
250,000 over the last 12 months.  Department stores lost 11,000 jobs
in September and 70,000 over the last 12 months.  Employment also
continued to decline in motor vehicle and parts dealers (-10,000);
this industry has lost 48,000 jobs in the past 4 months.  Gasoline 
stations also lost jobs in September (-6,000).
   
   Employment in transportation and warehousing declined by 16,000 in
September and by 57,000 since its peak 12 months earlier.  Over the
month, job losses occurred in trucking (-12,000) and air transporta-
tion (-5,000).
   

                               - 4 -
                               
                                  
   In September, employment in financial activities fell by 17,000,
with nearly half of the decline occurring in securities and investment
firms.  The financial activities industry has lost 172,000 jobs since
its employment peak in December 2006.
   
   Employment in professional and business services continued to trend
down over the month (-27,000), largely reflecting further job cuts in 
employment services.  Computer systems design services and management 
and technical consulting services each added 9,000 jobs in September.
   
   Health care employment continued to increase in September with a
gain of 17,000.  Job growth in the industry averaged 30,000 a month 
over the prior 12 months.  In September, employment also continued 
to grow in mining (8,000).  Mining employment has expanded by 241,000 
since reaching a low in April 2003.
   

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)
   
   In September, the average workweek for production and nonsupervi-
sory workers on private nonfarm payrolls fell by 0.1 hour to 33.6 
hours, seasonally adjusted.  The manufacturing workweek decreased  by 
0.2 hour, and factory overtime decreased by 0.1 hour.  (See table B-2.)
   
   The index of aggregate weekly hours of production and nonsupervi-
sory workers on nonfarm payrolls fell by 0.5 percent in September to 
106.3 (2002=100).  The manufacturing index decreased by 1.0 percent 
to 89.6.  (See table B-5.)
   
Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)
   
   In September, average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervi-
sory workers on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 3 cents, or 0.2 per-
cent, to $18.17, seasonally adjusted.  This followed gains of 6 cents 
in July and 8 cents in August.  Average weekly earnings were $610.51 in 
September.  Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings increased 
by 3.4 percent and average weekly earnings rose by 2.8 percent.  (See 
tables B-3 and B-4.)
   
   
                       ______________________________
   
   
      The Employment Situation for October 2008 is scheduled to be released 
on Friday, November 7, at 8:30 A.M. (EST).





    --------------------------------------------------------------- 
   |                                                               |
   |                          Hurricane Ike                        |
   |                                                               |
   |    Hurricane Ike struck the east coast of Texas and portions  |
   | of coastal Louisiana on September 13th in the midst of the    |
   | establishment survey reference period.  For the weather condi-|
   | tions to have affected payroll employment, people would have  |
   | had to be off work for the entire pay period and not paid for |
   | the time missed.  Therefore, it is unlikely the storm had sub-|
   | stantial effects on the national employment estimates.        |
   |                                                               |
   |    In the household survey, people who miss work for weather- |
   | related events are counted as employed whether or not they    |
   | are paid for the time off.                                    |
   |                                                               |
    --------------------------------------------------------------- 
                                                                     
                                                                      
                                   
                               - 5 -
                               
                               
             Preliminary Estimates of Benchmark Revisions             
                     to the Establishment Survey                    

   In accordance with usual practice, the Bureau of Labor Statistics
is announcing its preliminary estimates of the upcoming annual bench-
mark revision to the establishment survey employment series.  The
final benchmark revision will be issued on February 6, 2009, with the
publication of the January 2009 Employment Situation news release.
   
   Each year, the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey employ-
ment estimates are benchmarked to comprehensive counts of employment 
for the month of March derived from state unemployment insurance tax 
records that nearly all employers are required to file. For national 
CES employment series, the annual benchmark revisions over the last 
10 years have averaged plus or minus two-tenths of one percent at the 
total nonfarm level.  The preliminary estimate of the benchmark revi-
sion shows that there was an accumulated overstatement of CES employ-
ment between March 2007 and March 2008 of 21,000 (0.02 percent of total 
nonfarm employment in March 2008).
   
   Table B shows the March 2008 preliminary benchmark revisions by
major industry sector.  As is typically the case, many of the individ-
ual industry series show larger percentage revisions than the total 
nonfarm series, primarily because statistical sampling error is greater 
at more detailed levels than at a total level.  



Table B.  National Current Employment Statistics March 2008 preliminary
benchmark revisions by major industry sector
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 |                  |Percent benchmark
              Industry           |Benchmark revision|    revision
---------------------------------|------------------|------------------
 Total nonfarm ..................|      -21,000     |        (1)
   Total private ................|      -81,000     |       -0.1
     Natural resources and       |                  |
       mining ...................|            0     |         .0
     Construction ...............|       56,000     |         .8
     Manufacturing ..............|       -7,000     |        -.1
     Trade, transportation,      |                  |
       and utilities ............|       85,000     |         .3
     Information ................|       16,000     |         .5
     Financial activities .......|      -20,000     |        -.2
     Professional and business   |                  |
       services .................|      -46,000     |        -.3
     Education and health        |                  |
       services .................|      -17,000     |        -.1
     Leisure and hospitality ....|     -154,000     |       -1.2
     Other services .............|        6,000     |         .1
   Government ...................|       60,000     |         .3
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
   1 Less than 0.05 percent.







                                  - 6 -


    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.



                                  - 7 -

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.






                                  - 8 - 



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.



                                  - 9 -

   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.



                                  - 10 -

   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.



                                  - 11 -

   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                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                         
                                                  Sept.      Aug.      Sept.     Sept.     May       June      July      Aug.     Sept.  
                                                  2007       2008      2008      2007      2008      2008      2008      2008     2008   
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                      TOTAL                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                         
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........  232,461   234,107   234,360   232,461   233,405   233,627   233,864   234,107   234,360 
    Civilian labor force.......................  153,400   155,387   154,509   153,506   154,534   154,390   154,603   154,853   154,732 
          Participation rate...................     66.0      66.4      65.9      66.0      66.2      66.1      66.1      66.1      66.0 
      Employed.................................  146,448   145,909   145,310   146,260   146,046   145,891   145,819   145,477   145,255 
          Employment-population ratio..........     63.0      62.3      62.0      62.9      62.6      62.4      62.4      62.1      62.0 
      Unemployed...............................    6,952     9,479     9,199     7,246     8,487     8,499     8,784     9,376     9,477 
          Unemployment rate....................      4.5       6.1       6.0       4.7       5.5       5.5       5.7       6.1       6.1 
    Not in labor force.........................   79,061    78,719    79,851    78,955    78,871    79,237    79,261    79,253    79,628 
      Persons who currently want a job.........    4,503     5,024     4,895     4,728     4,766     4,888     4,997     4,796     5,067 
                                                                                                                                         
             Men, 16 years and over                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                         
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........  112,486   113,281   113,414   112,486   112,912   113,029   113,154   113,281   113,414 
    Civilian labor force.......................   82,047    83,296    82,654    82,237    82,602    82,528    82,889    82,807    82,945 
          Participation rate...................     72.9      73.5      72.9      73.1      73.2      73.0      73.3      73.1      73.1 
      Employed.................................   78,407    78,423    77,501    78,229    77,954    77,794    77,823    77,632    77,396 
          Employment-population ratio..........     69.7      69.2      68.3      69.5      69.0      68.8      68.8      68.5      68.2 
      Unemployed...............................    3,640     4,872     5,153     4,008     4,648     4,734     5,066     5,176     5,549 
          Unemployment rate....................      4.4       5.8       6.2       4.9       5.6       5.7       6.1       6.3       6.7 
    Not in labor force.........................   30,439    29,986    30,760    30,249    30,310    30,502    30,264    30,474    30,469 
                                                                                                                                         
             Men, 20 years and over                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                         
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........  103,847   104,613   104,741   103,847   104,258   104,371   104,490   104,613   104,741 
    Civilian labor force.......................   78,667    79,476    79,307    78,689    78,878    79,037    79,327    79,318    79,444 
          Participation rate...................     75.8      76.0      75.7      75.8      75.7      75.7      75.9      75.8      75.8 
      Employed.................................   75,628    75,305    74,844    75,332    75,001    74,998    75,094    74,866    74,631 
          Employment-population ratio..........     72.8      72.0      71.5      72.5      71.9      71.9      71.9      71.6      71.3 
      Unemployed...............................    3,039     4,171     4,463     3,357     3,877     4,038     4,234     4,452     4,813 
          Unemployment rate....................      3.9       5.2       5.6       4.3       4.9       5.1       5.3       5.6       6.1 
    Not in labor force.........................   25,180    25,137    25,434    25,158    25,380    25,334    25,163    25,295    25,298 
                                                                                                                                         
            Women, 16 years and over                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                         
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........  119,975   120,825   120,946   119,975   120,493   120,598   120,710   120,825   120,946 
    Civilian labor force.......................   71,353    72,092    71,855    71,269    71,931    71,862    71,714    72,046    71,787 
          Participation rate...................     59.5      59.7      59.4      59.4      59.7      59.6      59.4      59.6      59.4 
      Employed.................................   68,041    67,485    67,809    68,030    68,092    68,097    67,996    67,845    67,860 
          Employment-population ratio..........     56.7      55.9      56.1      56.7      56.5      56.5      56.3      56.2      56.1 
      Unemployed...............................    3,312     4,606     4,046     3,238     3,839     3,765     3,718     4,201     3,928 
          Unemployment rate....................      4.6       6.4       5.6       4.5       5.3       5.2       5.2       5.8       5.5 
    Not in labor force.........................   48,622    48,734    49,091    48,706    48,562    48,735    48,996    48,779    49,159 
                                                                                                                                         
            Women, 20 years and over                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                         
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........  111,590   112,401   112,518   111,590   112,083   112,183   112,290   112,401   112,518 
    Civilian labor force.......................   68,026    68,440    68,635    67,795    68,390    68,446    68,303    68,672    68,423 
          Participation rate...................     61.0      60.9      61.0      60.8      61.0      61.0      60.8      61.1      60.8 
      Employed.................................   65,170    64,462    65,149    65,033    65,138    65,238    65,167    65,047    65,072 
          Employment-population ratio..........     58.4      57.3      57.9      58.3      58.1      58.2      58.0      57.9      57.8 
      Unemployed...............................    2,855     3,979     3,486     2,762     3,252     3,208     3,135     3,625     3,351 
          Unemployment rate....................      4.2       5.8       5.1       4.1       4.8       4.7       4.6       5.3       4.9 
    Not in labor force.........................   43,564    43,961    43,883    43,795    43,693    43,737    43,988    43,729    44,094 
                                                                                                                                         
           Both sexes, 16 to 19 years                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                         
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........   17,024    17,092    17,101    17,024    17,064    17,073    17,084    17,092    17,101 
    Civilian labor force.......................    6,707     7,471     6,567     7,021     7,266     6,907     6,973     6,863     6,865 
          Participation rate...................     39.4      43.7      38.4      41.2      42.6      40.5      40.8      40.2      40.1 
      Employed.................................    5,649     6,142     5,317     5,895     5,907     5,655     5,558     5,563     5,552 
          Employment-population ratio..........     33.2      35.9      31.1      34.6      34.6      33.1      32.5      32.6      32.5 
      Unemployed...............................    1,058     1,329     1,250     1,126     1,358     1,253     1,415     1,299     1,313 
          Unemployment rate....................     15.8      17.8      19.0      16.0      18.7      18.1      20.3      18.9      19.1 
    Not in labor force.........................   10,317     9,621    10,534    10,003     9,798    10,166    10,110    10,229    10,236 

    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                                                                                              
                                                  Sept.     Aug.      Sept.     Sept.     May       June      July      Aug.      Sept.  
                                                  2007      2008      2008      2007      2008      2008      2008      2008      2008   
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                     WHITE                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                         
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........  188,644   189,747   189,916   188,644   189,281   189,428   189,587   189,747   189,916 
    Civilian labor force.......................  125,191   126,337   125,853   125,316   125,762   125,704   125,971   125,981   125,955 
        Participation rate.....................     66.4      66.6      66.3      66.4      66.4      66.4      66.4      66.4      66.3 
      Employed.................................  120,103   119,475   119,294   119,992   119,661   119,518   119,542   119,222   119,180 
        Employment-population ratio............     63.7      63.0      62.8      63.6      63.2      63.1      63.1      62.8      62.8 
      Unemployed...............................    5,089     6,862     6,559     5,324     6,101     6,186     6,428     6,760     6,775 
        Unemployment rate......................      4.1       5.4       5.2       4.2       4.9       4.9       5.1       5.4       5.4 
    Not in labor force.........................   63,453    63,410    64,063    63,329    63,519    63,724    63,616    63,766    63,961 
                                                                                                                                         
             Men, 20 years and over                                                                                                      
    Civilian labor force.......................   65,220    65,729    65,645    65,257    65,392    65,402    65,789    65,690    65,747 
        Participation rate.....................     76.2      76.3      76.1      76.2      76.1      76.1      76.4      76.2      76.2 
      Employed.................................   62,928    62,683    62,400    62,690    62,491    62,447    62,695    62,446    62,239 
        Employment-population ratio............     73.5      72.7      72.3      73.2      72.7      72.6      72.8      72.5      72.2 
      Unemployed...............................    2,292     3,046     3,245     2,567     2,901     2,955     3,094     3,244     3,508 
        Unemployment rate......................      3.5       4.6       4.9       3.9       4.4       4.5       4.7       4.9       5.3 
                                                                                                                                         
            Women, 20 years and over                                                                                                     
    Civilian labor force.......................   54,350    54,491    54,809    54,229    54,400    54,562    54,424    54,668    54,603 
        Participation rate.....................     60.4      60.2      60.5      60.3      60.3      60.4      60.2      60.4      60.3 
      Employed.................................   52,342    51,630    52,421    52,306    52,177    52,282    52,184    52,118    52,309 
        Employment-population ratio............     58.2      57.1      57.9      58.1      57.8      57.9      57.7      57.6      57.8 
      Unemployed...............................    2,008     2,861     2,388     1,924     2,223     2,280     2,240     2,551     2,294 
        Unemployment rate......................      3.7       5.3       4.4       3.5       4.1       4.2       4.1       4.7       4.2 
                                                                                                                                         
           Both sexes, 16 to 19 years                                                                                                    
    Civilian labor force.......................    5,621     6,117     5,399     5,830     5,971     5,740     5,758     5,623     5,606 
        Participation rate.....................     43.0      46.7      41.2      44.6      45.7      43.9      44.0      43.0      42.8 
      Employed.................................    4,833     5,162     4,473     4,996     4,993     4,789     4,664     4,658     4,632 
        Employment-population ratio............     37.0      39.4      34.2      38.2      38.2      36.6      35.6      35.6      35.4 
      Unemployed...............................      788       954       926       834       978       951     1,094       965       974 
        Unemployment rate......................     14.0      15.6      17.2      14.3      16.4      16.6      19.0      17.2      17.4 
                                                                                                                                         
           BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                         
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........   27,584    27,896    27,939    27,584    27,780    27,816    27,854    27,896    27,939 
    Civilian labor force.......................   17,527    18,057    17,756    17,483    17,742    17,716    17,767    17,973    17,737 
        Participation rate.....................     63.5      64.7      63.6      63.4      63.9      63.7      63.8      64.4      63.5 
      Employed.................................   16,142    16,132    15,767    16,046    16,029    16,085    16,040    16,074    15,714 
        Employment-population ratio............     58.5      57.8      56.4      58.2      57.7      57.8      57.6      57.6      56.2 
      Unemployed...............................    1,384     1,925     1,989     1,437     1,713     1,632     1,726     1,899     2,023 
        Unemployment rate......................      7.9      10.7      11.2       8.2       9.7       9.2       9.7      10.6      11.4 
    Not in labor force.........................   10,057     9,839    10,183    10,101    10,038    10,100    10,088     9,923    10,202 
                                                                                                                                         
             Men, 20 years and over                                                                                                      
    Civilian labor force.......................    7,932     8,133     8,021     7,882     7,909     7,997     7,979     8,066     8,004 
        Participation rate.....................     71.5      72.5      71.4      71.0      70.8      71.5      71.3      71.9      71.2 
      Employed.................................    7,384     7,329     7,126     7,290     7,202     7,254     7,184     7,239     7,052 
        Employment-population ratio............     66.5      65.3      63.4      65.7      64.5      64.9      64.2      64.5      62.8 
      Unemployed...............................      549       804       895       592       707       742       795       827       951 
        Unemployment rate......................      6.9       9.9      11.2       7.5       8.9       9.3      10.0      10.3      11.9 
                                                                                                                                         
            Women, 20 years and over                                                                                                     
    Civilian labor force.......................    8,905     9,022     9,003     8,839     9,008     8,973     8,985     9,052     8,921 
        Participation rate.....................     64.4      64.5      64.2      63.9      64.6      64.3      64.3      64.7      63.6 
      Employed.................................    8,268     8,173     8,122     8,215     8,268     8,305     8,311     8,225     8,089 
        Employment-population ratio............     59.8      58.4      57.9      59.4      59.3      59.5      59.5      58.8      57.7 
      Unemployed...............................      637       849       881       625       740       668       674       826       833 
        Unemployment rate......................      7.2       9.4       9.8       7.1       8.2       7.4       7.5       9.1       9.3 
                                                                                                                                         
           Both sexes, 16 to 19 years                                                                                                    
    Civilian labor force.......................      689       903       732       762       825       747       802       856       812 
        Participation rate.....................     26.0      33.7      27.3      28.7      30.9      27.9      30.0      31.9      30.3 
      Employed.................................      491       631       519       541       558       525       545       609       573 
        Employment-population ratio............     18.5      23.5      19.3      20.4      20.9      19.6      20.4      22.7      21.4 
      Unemployed...............................      198       272       213       220       266       221       257       246       239 
        Unemployment rate......................     28.8      30.1      29.1      28.9      32.3      29.6      32.0      28.8      29.4 
                                                                                                                                         
                     ASIAN                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                         
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........   10,698    10,840    10,820     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
    Civilian labor force.......................    6,997     7,301     7,179     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
        Participation rate.....................     65.4      67.4      66.4     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
      Employed.................................    6,776     6,978     6,904     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
        Employment-population ratio............     63.3      64.4      63.8     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
      Unemployed...............................      222       323       276     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
        Unemployment rate......................      3.2       4.4       3.8     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
    Not in labor force.........................    3,700     3,539     3,640     (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.






  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                                                                                                 
                                                   Sept.     Aug.     Sept.      Sept.     May       June      July      Aug.      Sept. 
                                                   2007      2008     2008       2007      2008      2008      2008      2008      2008  
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
          HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                         
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........   31,617    32,273    32,369    31,617    31,998    32,087    32,179    32,273    32,369 
    Civilian labor force.......................   21,759    22,262    22,160    21,872    22,102    22,131    22,071    22,226    22,258 
        Participation rate.....................     68.8      69.0      68.5      69.2      69.1      69.0      68.6      68.9      68.8 
      Employed.................................   20,546    20,485    20,470    20,619    20,573    20,420    20,435    20,452    20,531 
        Employment-population ratio............     65.0      63.5      63.2      65.2      64.3      63.6      63.5      63.4      63.4 
      Unemployed...............................    1,213     1,777     1,691     1,253     1,529     1,711     1,636     1,774     1,727 
        Unemployment rate......................      5.6       8.0       7.6       5.7       6.9       7.7       7.4       8.0       7.8 
    Not in labor force.........................    9,857    10,011    10,209     9,745     9,896     9,956    10,108    10,048    10,111 
                                                                                                                                         
             Men, 20 years and over                                                                                                      
    Civilian labor force.......................   12,424    12,697    12,773      (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)  
        Participation rate.....................     84.2      84.5      84.7      (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)  
      Employed.................................   11,850    11,824    11,892      (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)  
        Employment-population ratio............     80.3      78.7      78.9      (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)  
      Unemployed...............................      574       873       881      (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)  
        Unemployment rate......................      4.6       6.9       6.9      (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)  
                                                                                                                                         
            Women, 20 years and over                                                                                                     
    Civilian labor force.......................    8,242     8,399     8,298      (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)  
        Participation rate.....................     59.3      59.2      58.3      (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)  
      Employed.................................    7,796     7,761     7,760      (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)  
        Employment-population ratio............     56.1      54.7      54.6      (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)  
      Unemployed...............................      446       638       538      (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)  
        Unemployment rate......................      5.4       7.6       6.5      (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)  
                                                                                                                                         
           Both sexes, 16 to 19 years                                                                                                    
    Civilian labor force.......................    1,093     1,166     1,089      (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)  
        Participation rate.....................     36.8      38.1      35.5      (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)  
      Employed.................................      901       901       818      (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)  
        Employment-population ratio............     30.3      29.5      26.7      (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)  
      Unemployed...............................      193       265       271      (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)  
        Unemployment rate......................     17.6      22.8      24.9      (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                                                                                                      
                                                   Sept.     Aug.      Sept.     Sept.     May       June      July      Aug.      Sept. 
                                                   2007      2008      2008      2007      2008      2008      2008      2008      2008  
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
         Less than a high school diploma                                                                                                 
  Civilian labor force.........................   12,250    12,129    12,177    12,181    12,119    12,178    12,168    12,197    12,161 
      Participation rate.......................     46.6      47.2      47.1      46.3      45.4      45.9      47.8      47.5      47.0 
    Employed...................................   11,397    11,020    11,081    11,271    11,118    11,117    11,135    11,022    10,992 
      Employment-population ratio..............     43.3      42.9      42.9      42.8      41.6      41.9      43.7      42.9      42.5 
    Unemployed.................................      853     1,108     1,097       910     1,001     1,061     1,033     1,175     1,169 
      Unemployment rate........................      7.0       9.1       9.0       7.5       8.3       8.7       8.5       9.6       9.6 
                                                                                                                                         
      High school graduates, no college (1)                                                                                              
  Civilian labor force.........................   39,013    38,185    38,415    38,810    38,323    38,170    38,872    38,373    38,313 
      Participation rate.......................     63.3      62.6      62.6      62.9      62.8      62.8      63.5      62.9      62.5 
    Employed...................................   37,398    36,059    36,197    37,036    36,349    36,233    36,854    36,191    35,908 
      Employment-population ratio..............     60.7      59.1      59.0      60.1      59.5      59.6      60.2      59.3      58.6 
    Unemployed.................................    1,615     2,126     2,218     1,774     1,974     1,937     2,018     2,182     2,405 
      Unemployment rate........................      4.1       5.6       5.8       4.6       5.2       5.1       5.2       5.7       6.3 
                                                                                                                                         
        Some college or associate degree                                                                                                 
  Civilian labor force.........................   36,077    36,768    37,054    36,045    36,791    36,824    36,444    36,685    36,991 
      Participation rate.......................     72.0      71.7      72.0      72.0      72.4      71.9      71.1      71.5      71.9 
    Employed...................................   34,907    34,910    35,253    34,801    35,219    35,264    34,813    34,912    35,129 
      Employment-population ratio..............     69.7      68.0      68.5      69.5      69.3      68.9      67.9      68.0      68.3 
    Unemployed.................................    1,170     1,857     1,802     1,243     1,572     1,559     1,631     1,774     1,862 
      Unemployment rate........................      3.2       5.1       4.9       3.4       4.3       4.2       4.5       4.8       5.0 
                                                                                                                                         
        Bachelor's degree and higher (2)                                                                                                 
  Civilian labor force.........................   44,143    45,220    45,140    44,117    44,566    44,993    45,071    45,422    45,200 
      Participation rate.......................     77.5      77.2      77.6      77.5      77.7      78.1      77.2      77.5      77.7 
    Employed...................................   43,248    43,823    43,961    43,253    43,588    43,964    43,993    44,182    44,072 
      Employment-population ratio..............     76.0      74.8      75.5      76.0      76.0      76.3      75.3      75.4      75.7 
    Unemployed.................................      895     1,397     1,178       863       978     1,029     1,078     1,240     1,128 
      Unemployment rate........................      2.0       3.1       2.6       2.0       2.2       2.3       2.4       2.7       2.5 

    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                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                         
                                                  Sept.     Aug.      Sept.     Sept.     May       June      July      Aug.      Sept.  
                                                  2007      2008      2008      2007      2008      2008      2008      2008      2008   
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                 CLASS OF WORKER                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
  Agriculture and related industries...........    2,147     2,302     2,276     2,065     2,122     2,137     2,123     2,142     2,189 
    Wage and salary workers....................    1,248     1,419     1,415     1,178     1,241     1,244     1,258     1,289     1,331 
    Self-employed workers......................      875       850       834       861       849       840       844       817       820 
    Unpaid family workers......................       24        33        28     (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)   
                                                                                                                                         
  Nonagricultural industries...................  144,300   143,607   143,034   144,259   143,898   143,650   143,589   143,284   143,064 
    Wage and salary workers....................  134,553   134,033   133,660   134,573   134,385   134,132   133,951   133,822   133,725 
      Government...............................   21,153    20,821    21,204    21,084    21,263    21,186    21,098    21,259    21,168 
      Private industries.......................  113,400   113,212   112,456   113,502   113,116   113,001   112,956   112,607   112,588 
        Private households.....................      823       799       820     (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)   
        Other industries.......................  112,577   112,413   111,636   112,694   112,315   112,155   112,157   111,851   111,778 
    Self-employed workers......................    9,631     9,490     9,293     9,534     9,384     9,430     9,518     9,381     9,228 
    Unpaid family workers......................      116        84        81     (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)   
                                                                                                                                         
          PERSONS AT WORK PART TIME (2)                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                         
  All industries:                                                                                                                        
    Part time for economic reasons.............    4,137     5,736     5,701     4,499     5,233     5,416     5,724     5,718     6,055 
      Slack work or business conditions........    2,768     4,011     3,983     2,991     3,595     3,816     4,194     4,112     4,232 
      Could only find part-time work...........    1,091     1,305     1,467     1,166     1,281     1,336     1,286     1,362     1,516 
    Part time for noneconomic reasons..........   20,037    17,698    19,582    19,812    19,428    19,496    19,406    19,712    19,371 
                                                                                                                                         
  Nonagricultural industries:                                                                                                            
    Part time for economic reasons.............    4,085     5,650     5,621     4,397     5,164     5,308     5,599     5,641     5,941 
      Slack work or business conditions........    2,736     3,947     3,919     2,922     3,531     3,744     4,156     4,032     4,121 
      Could only find part-time work...........    1,088     1,294     1,465     1,153     1,288     1,328     1,277     1,350     1,537 
    Part time for noneconomic reasons..........   19,679    17,302    19,242    19,451    19,047    19,106    19,051    19,281    19,033 

    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                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                         
                                                  Sept.     Aug.      Sept.     Sept.     May       June      July      Aug.      Sept.  
                                                  2007      2008      2008      2007      2008      2008      2008      2008      2008   
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                   AGE AND SEX                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                         
  Total, 16 years and over.....................  146,448   145,909   145,310   146,260   146,046   145,891   145,819   145,477   145,255 
    16 to 19 years.............................    5,649     6,142     5,317     5,895     5,907     5,655     5,558     5,563     5,552 
      16 to 17 years...........................    2,218     2,247     2,007     2,263     2,040     1,966     1,974     1,988     2,029 
      18 to 19 years...........................    3,431     3,895     3,311     3,641     3,807     3,678     3,619     3,570     3,546 
    20 years and over..........................  140,799   139,767   139,993   140,365   140,139   140,236   140,261   139,914   139,703 
      20 to 24 years...........................   13,849    13,954    13,501    13,975    13,704    13,720    13,724    13,683    13,637 
      25 years and over........................  126,950   125,812   126,492   126,481   126,394   126,565   126,611   126,281   126,093 
        25 to 54 years.........................  100,813    99,109    99,534   100,475    99,774    99,813    99,733    99,345    99,236 
          25 to 34 years.......................   31,717    31,444    31,491    31,598    31,545    31,488    31,468    31,467    31,397 
          35 to 44 years.......................   34,335    33,194    33,397    34,219    33,701    33,692    33,613    33,287    33,300 
          45 to 54 years.......................   34,761    34,471    34,646    34,659    34,528    34,634    34,651    34,591    34,540 
        55 years and over......................   26,137    26,704    26,958    26,006    26,620    26,751    26,879    26,936    26,856 
                                                                                                                                         
  Men, 16 years and over.......................   78,407    78,423    77,501    78,229    77,954    77,794    77,823    77,632    77,396 
    16 to 19 years.............................    2,779     3,118     2,657     2,897     2,953     2,795     2,729     2,766     2,764 
      16 to 17 years...........................    1,040     1,100       945     1,065       990       938       931       947       960 
      18 to 19 years...........................    1,738     2,018     1,712     1,833     1,946     1,879     1,799     1,831     1,811 
    20 years and over..........................   75,628    75,305    74,844    75,332    75,001    74,998    75,094    74,866    74,631 
      20 to 24 years...........................    7,235     7,377     7,114     7,294     7,250     7,202     7,179     7,165     7,173 
      25 years and over........................   68,393    67,928    67,731    68,029    67,742    67,832    67,952    67,758    67,449 
        25 to 54 years.........................   54,511    53,661    53,424    54,237    53,652    53,605    53,643    53,480    53,222 
          25 to 34 years.......................   17,588    17,326    17,243    17,455    17,309    17,298    17,245    17,221    17,138 
          35 to 44 years.......................   18,653    18,157    18,096    18,567    18,147    18,133    18,122    18,092    18,030 
          45 to 54 years.......................   18,269    18,179    18,085    18,215    18,196    18,174    18,276    18,167    18,054 
        55 years and over......................   13,882    14,267    14,307    13,792    14,091    14,227    14,309    14,278    14,227 
                                                                                                                                         
  Women, 16 years and over.....................   68,041    67,485    67,809    68,030    68,092    68,097    67,996    67,845    67,860 
    16 to 19 years.............................    2,871     3,024     2,660     2,998     2,954     2,859     2,829     2,798     2,787 
      16 to 17 years...........................    1,178     1,147     1,061     1,198     1,050     1,028     1,043     1,041     1,068 
      18 to 19 years...........................    1,693     1,877     1,599     1,807     1,861     1,799     1,820     1,739     1,735 
    20 years and over..........................   65,170    64,462    65,149    65,033    65,138    65,238    65,167    65,047    65,072 
      20 to 24 years...........................    6,613     6,577     6,387     6,680     6,454     6,518     6,544     6,518     6,464 
      25 years and over........................   58,557    57,885    58,762    58,452    58,652    58,733    58,660    58,523    58,643 
        25 to 54 years.........................   46,303    45,448    46,110    46,238    46,122    46,208    46,090    45,865    46,014 
          25 to 34 years.......................   14,129    14,118    14,248    14,143    14,236    14,190    14,224    14,246    14,259 
          35 to 44 years.......................   15,681    15,038    15,301    15,652    15,555    15,559    15,491    15,195    15,269 
          45 to 54 years.......................   16,492    16,292    16,561    16,444    16,332    16,459    16,376    16,424    16,486 
        55 years and over......................   12,254    12,437    12,652    12,214    12,529    12,525    12,570    12,658    12,629 
                                                                                                                                         
                 MARITAL STATUS                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                         
  Married men, spouse present..................   46,244    45,767    45,953    46,235    45,862    45,911    46,120    45,829    45,958 
  Married women, spouse present................   35,796    35,478    35,955    35,712    36,171    36,270    36,185    36,055    35,913 
  Women who maintain families..................    9,618     9,036     9,312     (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)   
                                                                                                                                         
            FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                         
  Full-time workers (2)........................  121,728   121,556   120,213   121,387   120,989   120,542   120,537   119,908   119,928 
  Part-time workers (3)........................   24,720    24,353    25,097    24,966    24,970    25,419    25,431    25,649    25,366 
                                                                                                                                         
               MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                         
  Total multiple jobholders....................    7,621     7,706     7,724     7,510     7,679     7,794     7,757     8,055     7,657 
      Percent of total employed................      5.2       5.3       5.3       5.1       5.3       5.3       5.3       5.5       5.3 

    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                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                                                   Sept.     Aug.      Sept.     Sept.     May       June      July      Aug.      Sept. 
                                                   2007      2008      2008      2007      2008      2008      2008      2008      2008  
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                   AGE AND SEX                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                         
  Total, 16 years and over.....................    7,246     9,376     9,477      4.7       5.5       5.5       5.7       6.1       6.1  
    16 to 19 years.............................    1,126     1,299     1,313     16.0      18.7      18.1      20.3      18.9      19.1  
      16 to 17 years...........................      519       564       559     18.6      21.2      23.3      24.9      22.1      21.6  
      18 to 19 years...........................      607       739       759     14.3      17.5      15.6      17.3      17.1      17.6  
    20 years and over..........................    6,120     8,077     8,164      4.2       4.8       4.9       5.0       5.5       5.5  
      20 to 24 years...........................    1,342     1,612     1,605      8.8      10.4      10.1      10.2      10.5      10.5  
      25 years and over........................    4,813     6,507     6,630      3.7       4.1       4.3       4.4       4.9       5.0  
        25 to 54 years.........................    3,966     5,333     5,465      3.8       4.4       4.5       4.6       5.1       5.2  
          25 to 34 years.......................    1,622     2,076     2,055      4.9       5.3       5.4       5.6       6.2       6.1  
          35 to 44 years.......................    1,205     1,723     1,816      3.4       4.2       4.4       4.6       4.9       5.2  
          45 to 54 years.......................    1,139     1,533     1,593      3.2       3.7       3.8       3.7       4.2       4.4  
        55 years and over......................      840     1,161     1,162      3.1       3.3       3.3       3.6       4.1       4.1  
                                                                                                                                         
  Men, 16 years and over.......................    4,008     5,176     5,549      4.9       5.6       5.7       6.1       6.3       6.7  
    16 to 19 years.............................      650       724       737     18.3      20.7      19.9      23.4      20.7      21.0  
      16 to 17 years...........................      298       300       287     21.9      23.3      26.2      29.4      24.0      23.0  
      18 to 19 years...........................      355       418       457     16.2      19.6      17.1      19.9      18.6      20.1  
    20 years and over..........................    3,357     4,452     4,813      4.3       4.9       5.1       5.3       5.6       6.1  
      20 to 24 years...........................      765       933       933      9.5      11.0      11.2      11.6      11.5      11.5  
      25 years and over........................    2,586     3,542     3,917      3.7       4.2       4.3       4.6       5.0       5.5  
        25 to 54 years.........................    2,122     2,909     3,259      3.8       4.4       4.6       4.9       5.2       5.8  
          25 to 34 years.......................      903     1,173     1,251      4.9       5.4       5.4       6.1       6.4       6.8  
          35 to 44 years.......................      634       926     1,070      3.3       4.1       4.5       4.9       4.9       5.6  
          45 to 54 years.......................      584       810       939      3.1       3.7       3.8       3.8       4.3       4.9  
        55 years and over......................      464       633       658      3.3       3.4       3.4       3.7       4.2       4.4  
                                                                                                                                         
  Women, 16 years and over.....................    3,238     4,201     3,928      4.5       5.3       5.2       5.2       5.8       5.5  
    16 to 19 years.............................      476       576       576     13.7      16.6      16.3      17.1      17.1      17.1  
      16 to 17 years...........................      221       264       272     15.6      19.0      20.3      20.4      20.2      20.3  
      18 to 19 years...........................      253       320       302     12.3      15.2      13.9      14.6      15.6      14.8  
    20 years and over..........................    2,762     3,625     3,351      4.1       4.8       4.7       4.6       5.3       4.9  
      20 to 24 years...........................      577       679       672      7.9       9.6       8.8       8.7       9.4       9.4  
      25 years and over........................    2,227     2,965     2,713      3.7       4.1       4.2       4.2       4.8       4.4  
        25 to 54 years.........................    1,844     2,423     2,205      3.8       4.4       4.4       4.3       5.0       4.6  
          25 to 34 years.......................      719       903       805      4.8       5.1       5.4       5.0       6.0       5.3  
          35 to 44 years.......................      570       797       746      3.5       4.4       4.2       4.3       5.0       4.7  
          45 to 54 years.......................      555       723       655      3.3       3.8       3.7       3.7       4.2       3.8  
        55 years and over (2)..................      379       587       516      3.0       2.8       3.4       4.3       4.5       3.9  
                                                                                                                                         
                 MARITAL STATUS                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                         
  Married men, spouse present..................    1,181     1,646     1,826      2.5       2.9       3.0       3.2       3.5       3.8  
  Married women, spouse present................    1,053     1,390     1,285      2.9       3.1       3.3       3.3       3.7       3.5  
  Women who maintain families (2)..............      658       954       830      6.4       6.9       7.9       8.5       9.6       8.2  
                                                                                                                                         
            FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                         
  Full-time workers (3)........................    6,053     7,928     7,980      4.7       5.5       5.5       5.7       6.2       6.2  
  Part-time workers (4)........................    1,241     1,543     1,577      4.7       5.5       5.4       5.5       5.7       5.9  

    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                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                         
                                                   Sept.     Aug.      Sept.     Sept.     May       June      July      Aug.      Sept. 
                                                   2007      2008      2008      2007      2008      2008      2008      2008      2008  
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
              NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                         
  Job losers and persons who completed                                                                                                   
   temporary jobs..............................    3,208     4,735     4,699     3,622     4,282     4,370     4,407     4,824     5,171 
    On temporary layoff........................      613     1,126       904       963     1,113     1,077     1,037     1,266     1,407 
    Not on temporary layoff....................    2,595     3,609     3,795     2,660     3,169     3,292     3,370     3,559     3,764 
      Permanent job losers.....................    1,831     2,656     2,814      (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)  
      Persons who completed temporary jobs.....      764       953       980      (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)  
  Job leavers..................................      902     1,105     1,075       839       870       833       861       999       974 
  Reentrants...................................    2,190     2,729     2,624     2,154     2,460     2,498     2,705     2,652     2,555 
  New entrants.................................      652       909       801       685       828       748       811       820       822 
                                                                                                                                         
              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.............................     46.1      50.0      51.1      49.6      50.7      51.7      50.2      51.9      54.3 
     On temporary layoff.......................      8.8      11.9       9.8      13.2      13.2      12.7      11.8      13.6      14.8 
     Not on temporary layoff...................     37.3      38.1      41.3      36.4      37.5      39.0      38.4      38.3      39.5 
   Job leavers.................................     13.0      11.7      11.7      11.5      10.3       9.9       9.8      10.7      10.2 
   Reentrants..................................     31.5      28.8      28.5      29.5      29.1      29.6      30.8      28.5      26.8 
   New entrants................................      9.4       9.6       8.7       9.4       9.8       8.9       9.2       8.8       8.6 
                                                                                                                                         
         UNEMPLOYED AS A PERCENT OF THE                                                                                                  
                 CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                         
   Job losers and persons who completed                                                                                                  
    temporary jobs.............................      2.1       3.0       3.0       2.4       2.8       2.8       2.9       3.1       3.3 
   Job leavers.................................       .6        .7        .7        .5        .6        .5        .6        .6        .6 
   Reentrants..................................      1.4       1.8       1.7       1.4       1.6       1.6       1.7       1.7       1.7 
   New entrants................................       .4        .6        .5        .4        .5        .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                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                   
                                                             Sept.     Aug.      Sept.     Sept.     May       June      July      Aug.      Sept. 
                                                             2007      2008      2008      2007      2008      2008      2008      2008      2008  
                                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                   
                   NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                   
  Less than 5 weeks......................................    2,563     3,142     2,851     2,537     3,244     2,712     2,835     3,235     2,853 
  5 to 14 weeks..........................................    2,118     2,999     2,840     2,330     2,469     2,999     2,823     2,821     3,051 
  15 weeks and over......................................    2,271     3,338     3,508     2,392     2,773     2,916     3,118     3,402     3,607 
     15 to 26 weeks......................................    1,009     1,468     1,491     1,112     1,223     1,328     1,440     1,561     1,598 
     27 weeks and over...................................    1,261     1,870     2,018     1,280     1,550     1,587     1,678     1,841     2,008 
                                                                                                                                                   
  Average (mean) duration, in weeks......................     16.7      17.6      19.1      16.6      16.6      17.5      17.1      17.4      18.4 
  Median duration, in weeks..............................      8.7       9.5      10.3       8.9       8.3      10.0       9.7       9.2      10.2 
                                                                                                                                                   
                   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....................................     36.9      33.1      31.0      34.9      38.2      31.4      32.3      34.2      30.0 
    5 to 14 weeks........................................     30.5      31.6      30.9      32.1      29.1      34.8      32.2      29.8      32.1 
    15 weeks and over....................................     32.7      35.2      38.1      33.0      32.7      33.8      35.5      36.0      37.9 
      15 to 26 weeks.....................................     14.5      15.5      16.2      15.3      14.4      15.4      16.4      16.5      16.8 
      27 weeks and over..................................     18.1      19.7      21.9      17.6      18.3      18.4      19.1      19.5      21.1 

     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                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                   
                                                               Sept.          Sept.           Sept.          Sept.           Sept.          Sept.  
                                                               2007           2008            2007           2008            2007           2008   
                                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                   
       Total, 16 years and over (1)......................     146,448        145,310          6,952          9,199            4.5            6.0   
  Management, professional, and related occupations......      51,908         53,104          1,098          1,539            2.1            2.8   
    Management, business, and financial operations                                                                                                 
     occupations.........................................      21,528         22,364            401            648            1.8            2.8   
    Professional and related occupations.................      30,380         30,741            697            890            2.2            2.8   
  Service occupations....................................      24,659         24,544          1,509          1,810            5.8            6.9   
  Sales and office occupations...........................      35,761         35,287          1,648          2,074            4.4            5.6   
    Sales and related occupations........................      16,277         16,232            901            984            5.2            5.7   
    Office and administrative support occupations........      19,484         19,055            747          1,091            3.7            5.4   
  Natural resources, construction, and maintenance                                                                                                 
   occupations...........................................      15,926         14,941            885          1,288            5.3            7.9   
    Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations...........         969          1,063             59             92            5.7            8.0   
    Construction and extraction occupations..............       9,503          8,744            633            946            6.2            9.8   
    Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations....       5,454          5,134            193            250            3.4            4.6   
  Production, transportation, and material moving                                                                                                  
   occupations...........................................      18,194         17,434          1,135          1,666            5.9            8.7   
    Production occupations...............................       9,371          8,830            542            830            5.5            8.6   
    Transportation and material moving occupations.......       8,823          8,605            592            836            6.3            8.9   

    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)                                                          
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                   Sept.                 Sept.                  Sept.                 Sept.      
                                                                   2007                  2008                   2007                  2008       
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                 
         Total, 16 years and over (1)....................          6,952                 9,199                   4.5                   6.0       
  Nonagricultural private wage and salary workers........          5,418                 7,328                   4.6                   6.1       
    Mining...............................................             25                    25                   3.2                   2.8       
    Construction.........................................            596                   970                   5.8                   9.9       
    Manufacturing........................................            673                   984                   4.1                   6.0       
      Durable goods......................................            407                   688                   3.9                   6.5       
      Nondurable goods...................................            266                   296                   4.3                   5.1       
    Wholesale and retail trade...........................          1,027                 1,277                   5.1                   6.2       
    Transportation and utilities.........................            224                   337                   3.7                   5.8       
    Information..........................................            124                   166                   3.7                   5.0       
    Financial activities.................................            316                   380                   3.3                   4.0       
    Professional and business services...................            655                   951                   4.7                   6.9       
    Education and health services........................            630                   835                   3.2                   4.1       
    Leisure and hospitality..............................            892                 1,029                   7.4                   8.2       
    Other services.......................................            257                   374                   4.2                   5.8       
  Agriculture and related private wage and salary workers             53                    84                   4.3                   5.8       
  Government workers.....................................            525                   573                   2.4                   2.6       
  Self employed and unpaid family workers................            304                   414                   2.8                   3.9       

    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                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                          
                                                            Sept.    Aug.     Sept.    Sept.    May      June     July     Aug.     Sept. 
                                                            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      2.1      2.3      1.6      1.8      1.9      2.0      2.2      2.3  
                                                                                                                                          
  U-2 Job losers and persons who completed temporary                                                                                      
       jobs, as a percent of the civilian labor force....    2.1      3.0      3.0      2.4      2.8      2.8      2.9      3.1      3.3  
                                                                                                                                          
  U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian                                                                                      
       labor force (official unemployment rate)..........    4.5      6.1      6.0      4.7      5.5      5.5      5.7      6.1      6.1  
                                                                                                                                          
  U-4 Total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a                                                                                     
       percent of the civilian labor force plus                                                                                           
       discouraged workers...............................    4.7      6.3      6.2      4.9      5.7      5.8      6.0      6.3      6.4  
                                                                                                                                          
  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.......................    5.3      7.1      6.9      5.5      6.4      6.4      6.6      7.0      7.1  
                                                                                                                                          
  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..    8.0     10.7     10.6      8.4      9.7      9.9     10.3     10.7     11.0  

     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                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                   
                                                               Sept.          Sept.          Sept.          Sept.          Sept.          Sept.    
                                                               2007           2008           2007           2008           2007           2008     
                                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                   
                  NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                   
  Total not in the labor force...........................     79,061         79,851         30,439         30,760         48,622         49,091    
   Persons who currently want a job......................      4,503          4,895          1,956          2,133          2,548          2,763    
     Searched for work and available to work now (1).....      1,268          1,604            657            793            611            811    
       Reason not currently looking:                                                                                                               
         Discouragement over job prospects (2)...........        276            467            168            265            108            203    
         Reasons other than discouragement (3)...........        992          1,137            489            529            503            608    
                                                                                                                                                   
                    MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                   
  Total multiple jobholders (4)..........................      7,621          7,724          3,823          3,997          3,798          3,727    
      Percent of total employed..........................        5.2            5.3            4.9            5.2            5.6            5.5    
                                                                                                                                                   
      Primary job full time, secondary job part time.....      4,266          4,199          2,325          2,417          1,941          1,782    
      Primary and secondary jobs both part time..........      1,652          1,844            480            638          1,173          1,206    
      Primary and secondary jobs both full time..........        275            299            193            194             82            105    
      Hours vary on primary or secondary job.............      1,385          1,335            804            717            581            618    

    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                Sept.    July    Aug.     Sept.     Sept.    May      June     July    Aug.     Sept.    from:
                                   2007     2008    2008p    2008p     2007     2008     2008     2008    2008p    2008p  Aug. 2008-
                                                                                                                          Sept. 2008p

          Total nonfarm......... 138,075  137,259  137,231  137,476  137,837  137,717  137,617  137,550  137,477  137,318     -159

        Total private........... 116,013  115,968  115,856  115,103  115,610  115,264  115,154  115,048  114,944  114,776     -168

    Goods-producing.............  22,437   21,778   21,792   21,601   22,138   21,577   21,491   21,437   21,380   21,303      -77

Natural resources and mining....     736      790      806      808      727      760      768      777      789      798        9
   Logging......................    62.6     59.3     60.6     62.2     59.7     59.5     57.3     57.7     58.3     59.6      1.3
 Mining.........................   673.8    731.1    745.1    745.9    667.4    700.6    710.2    719.4    730.3    738.5      8.2
  Oil and gas extraction........   147.0    164.7    166.9    166.0    147.3    158.3    160.1    162.4    164.5    165.9      1.4
  Mining, except oil and gas(1).   231.5    239.4    242.3    238.9    226.7    229.6    230.9    231.3    233.6    233.5      -.1
   Coal mining..................    77.7     81.8     83.9     84.2     78.0     80.5     81.3     81.2     83.5     84.2       .7
  Support activities for mining.   295.3    327.0    335.9    341.0    293.4    312.7    319.2    325.7    332.2    339.1      6.9

Construction....................   7,811    7,462    7,465    7,350    7,589    7,246    7,196    7,173    7,160    7,125      -35
  Construction of buildings..... 1,786.0  1,669.6  1,671.1  1,635.0  1,749.4  1,634.9  1,621.5  1,618.3  1,614.9  1,596.8    -18.1
   Residential building.........   961.4    867.5    864.3    844.0    940.6    855.5    845.0    837.6    832.7    822.0    -10.7
   Nonresidential building......   824.6    802.1    806.8    791.0    808.8    779.4    776.5    780.7    782.2    774.8     -7.4
  Heavy and civil engineering
   construction................. 1,058.2  1,016.4  1,015.2  1,003.6    998.8    965.3    959.5    955.5    950.1    944.6     -5.5
  Specialty trade contractors... 4,966.9  4,775.8  4,778.8  4,711.4  4,840.3  4,645.6  4,615.1  4,598.7  4,595.1  4,583.6    -11.5
   Residential specialty trade
    contractors................. 2,334.7  2,159.5  2,142.1  2,113.1  2,280.6  2,094.7  2,077.2  2,070.0  2,060.1  2,057.9     -2.2
   Nonresidential specialty
    trade contractors........... 2,632.2  2,616.3  2,636.7  2,598.3  2,559.7  2,550.9  2,537.9  2,528.7  2,535.0  2,525.7     -9.3

Manufacturing...................  13,890   13,526   13,521   13,443   13,822   13,571   13,527   13,487   13,431   13,380      -51
   Production workers...........  10,020    9,717    9,718    9,640    9,958    9,784    9,738    9,692    9,643    9,587      -56

 Durable goods..................   8,799    8,539    8,526    8,467    8,778    8,594    8,564    8,541    8,489    8,452      -37
   Production workers...........   6,263    6,024    6,017    5,953    6,245    6,100    6,064    6,033    5,988    5,943      -45

  Wood products.................   518.9    483.0    477.4    468.1    513.1    482.4    477.3    473.3    467.8    463.3     -4.5
  Nonmetallic mineral products..   509.0    487.7    487.0    481.2    501.0    482.1    479.3    476.6    476.0    473.4     -2.6
  Primary metals................   452.8    445.4    443.7    444.5    451.6    448.7    446.8    446.0    442.1    443.5      1.4
  Fabricated metal products..... 1,566.0  1,533.1  1,539.3  1,528.8  1,565.0  1,544.2  1,537.1  1,531.8  1,534.4  1,527.1     -7.3
  Machinery..................... 1,183.4  1,203.7  1,194.7  1,184.9  1,186.2  1,195.1  1,194.4  1,196.5  1,192.7  1,188.7     -4.0
  Computer and electronic
   products(1).................. 1,260.3  1,251.3  1,253.0  1,248.0  1,260.5  1,250.1  1,247.1  1,246.1  1,249.0  1,249.0       .0
   Computer and peripheral
    equipment...................   185.8    185.8    185.7    186.1    185.9    186.2    184.6    185.1    185.8    186.2       .4
   Communications equipment.....   127.9    130.8    130.7    130.4    128.5    130.4    131.8    130.8    131.2    131.0      -.2
   Semiconductors and electronic
    components..................   437.2    425.6    426.0    424.8    437.4    424.2    422.1    423.2    424.5    425.2       .7
   Electronic instruments.......   442.1    445.9    447.6    444.7    442.0    445.6    444.9    444.1    444.9    444.8      -.1
  Electrical equipment and
   appliances...................   426.7    424.9    421.2    417.1    426.0    422.1    422.0    422.4    418.8    416.4     -2.4
  Transportation equipment(1)... 1,712.7  1,588.6  1,587.8  1,578.5  1,706.1  1,636.8  1,631.9  1,624.8  1,588.5  1,575.6    -12.9
   Motor vehicles and parts(2)..   998.1    864.0    866.5    854.7    989.6    908.4    902.8    902.2    867.8    849.6    -18.2
  Furniture and related products   531.6    497.0    490.7    483.9    530.6    503.5    499.5    495.6    488.8    483.5     -5.3
  Miscellaneous manufacturing...   637.9    624.6    630.9    631.7    637.6    629.1    628.8    627.7    630.7    631.1       .4

 Nondurable goods...............   5,091    4,987    4,995    4,976    5,044    4,977    4,963    4,946    4,942    4,928      -14
   Production workers...........   3,757    3,693    3,701    3,687    3,713    3,684    3,674    3,659    3,655    3,644      -11

  Food manufacturing............ 1,509.7  1,491.3  1,506.4  1,512.3  1,476.0  1,473.5  1,472.4  1,469.8  1,472.4  1,475.8      3.4
  Beverages and tobacco products   201.1    198.0    197.2    196.5    195.7    193.7    192.5    192.2    191.6    191.0      -.6
  Textile mills.................   165.5    148.9    150.2    149.4    164.8    155.1    152.2    149.9    150.3    149.0     -1.3
  Textile product mills.........   155.6    148.6    147.5    147.6    156.3    151.0    149.3    148.7    147.9    148.1       .2
  Apparel.......................   211.2    196.0    198.0    197.1    209.2    196.6    196.4    195.9    197.2    194.8     -2.4
  Leather and allied products...    34.0     33.1     35.1     35.5     34.0     33.7     34.6     33.9     35.2     35.1      -.1
  Paper and paper products......   459.1    458.4    453.6    448.4    459.0    458.1    456.6    454.9    452.4    449.4     -3.0
  Printing and related support
   activities...................   623.2    599.0    599.2    596.4    623.0    607.3    601.9    598.9    599.4    596.6     -2.8
  Petroleum and coal products...   115.0    118.1    117.3    116.0    112.9    113.4    113.8    114.6    114.1    113.7      -.4
  Chemicals.....................   865.6    863.4    859.7    851.7    864.3    861.6    859.8    857.1    854.9    852.0     -2.9
  Plastics and rubber products..   750.8    731.7    730.4    724.6    748.4    732.8    733.9    730.2    726.6    722.3     -4.3

    Service-providing........... 115,638  115,481  115,439  115,875  115,699  116,140  116,126  116,113  116,097  116,015      -82

     Private service-providing..  93,576   94,190   94,064   93,502   93,472   93,687   93,663   93,611   93,564   93,473      -91

Trade, transportation, and
 utilities......................  26,584   26,378   26,335   26,221   26,649   26,451   26,431   26,393   26,356   26,298      -58

 Wholesale trade................ 6,056.6  6,050.8  6,024.2  6,004.3  6,055.6  6,038.4  6,034.6  6,017.6  6,008.3  6,004.2     -4.1
  Durable goods................. 3,140.7  3,111.7  3,094.3  3,081.7  3,143.4  3,109.8  3,103.6  3,094.3  3,086.6  3,084.2     -2.4
  Nondurable goods.............. 2,085.0  2,092.2  2,082.7  2,073.2  2,078.5  2,089.3  2,088.4  2,078.4  2,074.3  2,068.7     -5.6
  Electronic markets and agents
   and brokers..................   830.9    846.9    847.2    849.4    833.7    839.3    842.6    844.9    847.4    851.3      3.9

 Retail trade...................15,387.6 15,286.7 15,274.1 15,127.1 15,487.3 15,331.8 15,324.2 15,302.4 15,277.0 15,236.9    -40.1
  Motor vehicle and parts
   dealers(1)................... 1,927.1  1,888.9  1,871.6  1,855.6  1,916.0  1,892.9  1,883.3  1,870.6  1,855.6  1,845.4    -10.2
   Automobile dealers........... 1,252.3  1,212.1  1,197.6  1,186.6  1,246.6  1,224.2  1,215.2  1,204.3  1,191.2  1,182.6     -8.6
  Furniture and home furnishings
   stores.......................   568.2    561.3    561.1    556.5    576.2    568.5    568.9    569.2    567.3    565.0     -2.3
  Electronics and appliance
   stores.......................   532.7    528.1    527.4    522.1    540.1    539.3    534.9    535.2    534.7    530.8     -3.9
  Building material and garden
   supply stores................ 1,283.6  1,270.0  1,256.0  1,225.6  1,291.9  1,240.3  1,238.2  1,230.1  1,234.7  1,231.4     -3.3
  Food and beverage stores...... 2,854.4  2,896.8  2,877.0  2,854.3  2,856.0  2,880.7  2,879.2  2,879.5  2,868.8  2,863.0     -5.8
  Health and personal care
   stores.......................   987.3    986.7    983.8    981.2    990.1    990.9    990.4    990.0    985.4    986.2       .8
  Gasoline stations.............   870.5    853.6    852.4    839.3    864.2    841.2    844.4    841.3    840.2    834.5     -5.7
  Clothing and clothing
   accessories stores........... 1,472.9  1,490.5  1,517.4  1,472.3  1,502.4  1,494.5  1,494.8  1,494.8  1,498.3  1,500.9      2.6
  Sporting goods, hobby, book,
   and music stores.............   660.8    625.2    648.9    647.0    665.1    653.2    654.5    649.3    654.1    651.4     -2.7
  General merchandise stores(1). 2,922.9  2,908.9  2,904.6  2,884.2  2,976.5  2,928.5  2,939.6  2,948.4  2,946.4  2,935.3    -11.1
   Department stores............ 1,530.8  1,481.9  1,474.3  1,461.3  1,570.5  1,514.7  1,516.3  1,517.2  1,511.1  1,500.3    -10.8
  Miscellaneous store retailers.   873.5    857.7    853.3    858.7    873.3    860.8    858.9    857.4    856.4    857.5      1.1
  Nonstore retailers............   433.7    419.0    420.6    430.3    435.5    441.0    437.1    436.6    435.1    435.5       .4

 Transportation and warehousing. 4,585.7  4,476.3  4,473.4  4,527.5  4,551.2  4,524.1  4,514.0  4,513.6  4,510.5  4,494.4    -16.1
  Air transportation............   497.8    498.6    494.8    488.5    494.5    501.3    497.6    495.2    491.0    486.4     -4.6
  Rail transportation...........   235.3    233.0    232.1    232.1    234.6    233.0    230.0    232.1    230.2    231.4      1.2
  Water transportation..........    66.6     64.7     63.9     60.9     65.0     61.3     61.8     61.9     60.6     59.6     -1.0
  Truck transportation.......... 1,458.4  1,413.2  1,421.5  1,405.8  1,440.6  1,409.8  1,400.1  1,398.3  1,401.1  1,388.8    -12.3
  Transit and ground passenger
   transportation...............   427.7    354.9    351.8    435.2    417.8    412.9    416.4    417.1    418.8    422.6      3.8
  Pipeline transportation.......    39.8     43.7     43.2     43.0     40.1     42.2     42.8     43.3     43.0     43.3       .3
  Scenic and sightseeing
   transportation...............    34.7     39.7     39.0     34.7     29.8     31.1     31.3     30.6     30.5     30.3      -.2
  Support activities for
   transportation...............   585.3    591.1    591.8    589.3    586.5    587.1    587.0    590.3    590.7    589.8      -.9
  Couriers and messengers.......   577.3    581.3    577.9    578.6    580.3    587.2    587.7    586.5    587.1    584.9     -2.2
  Warehousing and storage.......   662.8    656.1    657.4    659.4    662.0    658.2    659.3    658.3    657.5    657.3      -.2

 Utilities......................   554.2    564.5    562.9    562.4    554.8    557.1    558.1    559.8    559.7    562.6      2.9

Information.....................   3,016    2,997    2,988    2,966    3,031    3,002    2,997    2,988    2,983    2,980       -3
  Publishing industries, except
   Internet.....................   890.9    875.7    871.7    866.0    893.7    879.7    877.0    873.0    870.6    868.8     -1.8
  Motion picture and sound
   recording industries.........   378.5    385.9    383.9    375.9    384.3    380.9    382.0    379.1    379.0    380.7      1.7
  Broadcasting, except Internet.   327.8    320.8    319.1    321.0    327.0    321.2    319.6    320.4    318.3    319.8      1.5
  Telecommunications............ 1,019.8  1,016.0  1,014.7  1,008.4  1,024.4  1,017.7  1,018.9  1,016.1  1,016.3  1,012.9     -3.4
  Data processing, hosting and
   related services.............   271.3    267.4    266.3    264.9    273.1    272.1    269.8    268.3    267.7    266.8      -.9
  Other information services....   128.0    131.6    132.1    130.0    128.8    130.1    130.0    130.8    131.3    130.5      -.8

Financial activities............   8,282    8,279    8,258    8,172    8,294    8,226    8,213    8,206    8,201    8,184      -17
 Finance and insurance.......... 6,115.7  6,105.4  6,088.7  6,046.3  6,136.0  6,098.8  6,088.0  6,081.1  6,078.7  6,067.6    -11.1
  Monetary authorities - central
   bank.........................    20.8     21.1     21.0     20.8     20.9     21.0     20.9     20.9     20.9     20.9       .0
  Credit intermediation and
   related activities(1)........ 2,840.6  2,799.5  2,789.6  2,773.5  2,856.7  2,800.5  2,794.0  2,788.6  2,786.9  2,789.4      2.5
   Depository credit
    intermediation(1)........... 1,824.7  1,824.1  1,821.3  1,806.1  1,831.0  1,820.6  1,818.1  1,815.3  1,814.3  1,812.2     -2.1
    Commercial banking.......... 1,344.9  1,347.0  1,345.6  1,335.4  1,350.1  1,343.4  1,343.1  1,340.9  1,340.8  1,340.7      -.1
  Securities, commodity
   contracts, investments.......   852.9    862.9    865.3    853.2    853.2    866.6    866.0    860.6    862.2    854.4     -7.8
  Insurance carriers and related
   activities................... 2,313.4  2,333.9  2,324.3  2,310.6  2,317.0  2,323.2  2,319.2  2,323.2  2,320.3  2,314.7     -5.6
  Funds, trusts, and other
   financial vehicles...........    88.0     88.0     88.5     88.2     88.2     87.5     87.9     87.8     88.4     88.2      -.2
 Real estate and rental and
  leasing....................... 2,166.1  2,173.9  2,169.7  2,125.9  2,157.7  2,127.3  2,125.1  2,125.3  2,122.4  2,116.0     -6.4
  Real estate................... 1,493.6  1,492.7  1,497.5  1,466.1  1,489.8  1,466.4  1,466.2  1,463.7  1,464.8  1,460.0     -4.8
  Rental and leasing services...   642.2    648.0    640.0    627.4    637.8    629.5    627.2    629.3    625.5    623.7     -1.8
  Lessors of nonfinancial
   intangible assets............    30.3     33.2     32.2     32.4     30.1     31.4     31.7     32.3     32.1     32.3       .2

Professional and business
 services.......................  18,133   18,022   18,016   17,933   18,000   17,982   17,927   17,904   17,861   17,834      -27
 Professional and technical
  services(1)................... 7,655.9  7,834.4  7,816.4  7,789.3  7,729.7  7,839.1  7,850.3  7,855.4  7,861.2  7,873.3     12.1
   Legal services............... 1,170.2  1,183.9  1,171.1  1,156.6  1,178.6  1,172.2  1,171.3  1,168.8  1,167.1  1,165.1     -2.0
   Accounting and bookkeeping
    services....................   891.0    896.0    892.8    897.1    964.5    973.8    978.0    976.3    977.7    976.4     -1.3
   Architectural and engineering
    services.................... 1,449.8  1,491.5  1,487.7  1,467.7  1,443.2  1,464.9  1,466.2  1,466.0  1,466.1  1,462.8     -3.3
   Computer systems design and
    related services............ 1,372.2  1,421.6  1,426.3  1,431.3  1,375.5  1,408.9  1,411.7  1,419.7  1,425.8  1,434.3      8.5
   Management and technical
    consulting services.........   968.4  1,024.0  1,025.2  1,030.2    967.2  1,006.9  1,014.6  1,019.0  1,020.5  1,029.3      8.8
 Management of companies and
  enterprises................... 1,850.5  1,841.6  1,841.4  1,823.8  1,854.7  1,836.4  1,837.8  1,830.2  1,830.3  1,825.8     -4.5
 Administrative and waste
  services...................... 8,626.5  8,346.1  8,357.9  8,320.3  8,415.3  8,306.0  8,239.2  8,218.1  8,169.4  8,134.8    -34.6
  Administrative and support
   services(1).................. 8,266.3  7,972.2  7,983.8  7,951.2  8,057.4  7,939.8  7,873.5  7,852.3  7,801.6  7,767.3    -34.3
   Employment services(1)....... 3,672.2  3,337.6  3,373.6  3,380.9  3,533.0  3,421.8  3,363.3  3,339.9  3,292.5  3,263.6    -28.9
    Temporary help services..... 2,682.1  2,383.3  2,413.7  2,429.9  2,565.1  2,451.6  2,415.3  2,391.6  2,356.5  2,332.4    -24.1
   Business support services....   797.2    778.5    775.2    776.1    802.7    789.2    785.2    786.2    784.6    783.8      -.8
   Services to buildings and
    dwellings................... 1,930.8  1,987.9  1,972.9  1,932.1  1,863.2  1,865.9  1,867.4  1,864.4  1,866.5  1,863.8     -2.7
  Waste management and
   remediation services.........   360.2    373.9    374.1    369.1    357.9    366.2    365.7    365.8    367.8    367.5      -.3

Education and health services...  18,372   18,593   18,653   18,947   18,451   18,820   18,891   18,935   18,994   19,019       25
 Educational services........... 2,917.5  2,776.9  2,785.8  3,086.8  2,967.7  3,047.3  3,099.2  3,111.6  3,127.0  3,131.2      4.2
 Health care and social
  assistance....................15,454.1 15,815.7 15,867.2 15,860.6 15,483.0 15,772.4 15,791.3 15,823.3 15,867.1 15,887.7     20.6
  Health care(3)................13,019.6 13,372.3 13,405.2 13,373.3 13,027.5 13,274.7 13,298.3 13,333.1 13,362.2 13,378.8     16.6
   Ambulatory health care
    services(1)................. 5,514.5  5,699.0  5,720.2  5,716.2  5,523.1  5,649.9  5,667.7  5,693.2  5,706.4  5,721.3     14.9
    Offices of physicians....... 2,216.5  2,283.3  2,286.8  2,284.9  2,219.1  2,265.2  2,273.1  2,281.1  2,282.9  2,287.6      4.7
    Outpatient care centers.....   507.5    520.5    522.8    517.7    509.3    516.6    516.7    520.3    522.5    519.5     -3.0
    Home health care services...   924.3    963.1    969.7    968.1    925.2    951.0    954.5    960.8    964.6    966.7      2.1
   Hospitals.................... 4,543.0  4,678.0  4,684.3  4,673.3  4,541.6  4,635.0  4,642.9  4,653.5  4,667.4  4,670.9      3.5
   Nursing and residential care
    facilities(1)............... 2,962.1  2,995.3  3,000.7  2,983.8  2,962.8  2,989.8  2,987.7  2,986.4  2,988.4  2,986.6     -1.8
    Nursing care facilities..... 1,606.7  1,608.9  1,610.2  1,601.9  1,604.3  1,612.1  1,608.9  1,606.5  1,605.2  1,601.4     -3.8
  Social assistance(1).......... 2,434.5  2,443.4  2,462.0  2,487.3  2,455.5  2,497.7  2,493.0  2,490.2  2,504.9  2,508.9      4.0
   Child day care services......   851.9    790.0    806.1    848.4    857.4    860.2    848.8    842.2    849.2    853.1      3.9

Leisure and hospitality.........  13,712   14,324   14,253   13,753   13,552   13,679   13,679   13,655   13,645   13,628      -17
 Arts, entertainment, and
  recreation.................... 2,045.2  2,306.7  2,264.3  2,029.8  1,985.3  2,013.1  2,011.7  1,999.5  1,995.4  1,984.4    -11.0
  Performing arts and spectator
   sports.......................   427.6    462.2    465.4    437.5    414.3    434.7    438.0    433.1    433.0    429.0     -4.0
  Museums, historical sites,
   zoos, and parks..............   134.2    147.1    143.0    132.5    131.6    133.9    132.7    132.1    131.9    130.8     -1.1
  Amusements, gambling, and
   recreation................... 1,483.4  1,697.4  1,655.9  1,459.8  1,439.4  1,444.5  1,441.0  1,434.3  1,430.5  1,424.6     -5.9
 Accommodation and food 
  services......................11,667.1 12,016.9 11,989.1 11,722.9 11,567.0 11,665.8 11,667.4 11,655.6 11,649.1 11,643.4     -5.7
  Accommodation................. 1,891.3  1,976.6  1,957.4  1,859.9  1,856.4  1,849.0  1,843.4  1,835.8  1,827.5  1,826.6      -.9
  Food services and drinking
   places....................... 9,775.8 10,040.3 10,031.7  9,863.0  9,710.6  9,816.8  9,824.0  9,819.8  9,821.6  9,816.8     -4.8

Other services..................   5,477    5,597    5,561    5,510    5,495    5,527    5,525    5,530    5,524    5,530        6
  Repair and maintenance........ 1,264.3  1,250.4  1,237.6  1,237.6  1,262.5  1,251.7  1,245.6  1,243.8  1,234.4  1,236.6      2.2
  Personal and laundry services. 1,302.1  1,323.7  1,324.7  1,317.0  1,304.4  1,310.6  1,312.8  1,315.1  1,318.1  1,319.0       .9
  Membership associations and
   organizations................ 2,910.3  3,023.0  2,998.3  2,955.2  2,927.6  2,964.3  2,966.5  2,970.8  2,971.3  2,974.8      3.5

Government......................  22,062   21,291   21,375   22,373   22,227   22,453   22,463   22,502   22,533   22,542        9
 Federal........................   2,729    2,776    2,767    2,758    2,721    2,740    2,744    2,750    2,747    2,750        3
  Federal, except U.S. Postal
   Service...................... 1,968.9  2,043.4  2,048.0  2,040.7  1,961.4  2,006.5  2,013.1  2,018.6  2,025.2  2,031.8      6.6
  U.S. Postal Service...........   759.9    732.3    719.4    717.4    759.3    733.3    731.0    731.5    721.6    717.8     -3.8
 State government...............   5,139    4,911    4,938    5,215    5,138    5,174    5,179    5,193    5,203    5,208        5
  State government education.... 2,333.6  2,059.1  2,080.8  2,393.3  2,327.7  2,344.4  2,354.3  2,366.7  2,372.2  2,379.7      7.5
  State government, excluding
   education.................... 2,805.0  2,851.9  2,857.3  2,821.7  2,810.3  2,829.7  2,824.9  2,826.5  2,830.7  2,828.6     -2.1
 Local government...............  14,194   13,604   13,670   14,400   14,368   14,539   14,540   14,559   14,583   14,584        1
  Local government education.... 7,803.9  6,896.4  7,014.0  7,931.1  7,970.6  8,060.0  8,053.2  8,072.5  8,082.1  8,098.4     16.3
  Local government, excluding
   education.................... 6,389.7  6,707.1  6,655.9  6,468.8  6,397.5  6,479.2  6,486.8  6,486.5  6,501.2  6,485.2    -16.0


  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                       Sept.  July   Aug.   Sept.   Sept.  May    June   July   Aug.   Sept.    from:
                                                 2007   2008   2008p  2008p   2007   2008   2008   2008   2008p  2008p  Aug. 2008-
                                                                                                                        Sept. 2008p


        Total private.........................   34.2   33.7   33.9   33.7    33.8   33.7   33.7   33.7   33.7   33.6      -0.1

    Goods-producing...........................   41.1   40.3   40.7   40.4    40.6   40.2   40.3   40.3   40.3   40.0       -.3

Natural resources and mining..................   46.8   44.9   45.7   44.8    46.2   44.6   45.0   44.8   45.4   44.4      -1.0

Construction..................................   39.5   39.2   39.5   38.9    38.9   38.5   38.7   38.7   38.7   38.5       -.2

Manufacturing.................................   41.7   40.6   41.1   41.0    41.4   41.0   41.0   41.0   40.9   40.7       -.2
   Overtime hours.............................    4.4    3.7    3.9    3.8     4.2    3.9    3.8    3.8    3.7    3.6       -.1

 Durable goods................................   42.0   40.8   41.4   41.2    41.6   41.2   41.2   41.3   41.2   40.9       -.3
   Overtime hours.............................    4.4    3.6    3.9    3.7     4.2    3.9    3.8    3.8    3.7    3.5       -.2

  Wood products...............................   40.2   39.3   39.4   38.9    39.7   39.1   39.3   39.0   39.0   38.4       -.6
  Nonmetallic mineral products................   43.4   42.9   43.2   42.5    42.7   42.3   42.1   42.5   42.4   41.8       -.6
  Primary metals..............................   42.8   42.1   42.8   42.5    42.6   42.2   42.5   42.4   42.8   42.4       -.4
  Fabricated metal products...................   42.1   40.8   41.4   41.4    41.9   41.4   41.2   41.2   41.3   41.2       -.1
  Machinery...................................   42.8   41.8   42.6   42.1    42.7   42.1   42.1   42.1   42.8   42.1       -.7
  Computer and electronic products............   41.0   40.8   41.0   41.2    40.6   41.2   41.2   41.1   41.1   40.9       -.2
  Electrical equipment and appliances.........   41.4   40.4   40.7   41.2    41.2   41.1   41.0   40.9   40.9   41.1        .2
  Transportation equipment....................   43.2   41.2   42.0   42.1    42.8   42.1   42.2   42.6   41.8   41.8        .0
   Motor vehicles and parts(2)................   42.7   40.1   41.3   41.4    42.1   41.6   41.6   42.1   40.6   41.0        .4
  Furniture and related products..............   39.9   38.4   38.8   37.9    39.4   38.8   39.0   38.3   38.0   37.5       -.5
  Miscellaneous manufacturing.................   39.8   38.7   39.5   38.7    39.7   39.2   39.2   39.1   39.4   38.6       -.8

 Nondurable goods.............................   41.3   40.3   40.6   40.7    40.9   40.5   40.5   40.5   40.5   40.2       -.3
   Overtime hours.............................    4.5    3.7    3.9    4.0     4.1    3.8    3.8    3.7    3.7    3.7        .0

  Food manufacturing..........................   41.5   40.5   40.7   41.0    40.7   40.8   40.6   40.5   40.4   40.3       -.1
  Beverages and tobacco products..............   40.6   39.1   38.6   38.0    40.8   39.7   39.0   38.9   38.3   38.3        .0
  Textile mills...............................   40.8   38.9   39.7   39.7    40.4   39.0   38.9   39.4   39.6   39.2       -.4
  Textile product mills.......................   39.9   39.2   39.0   38.2    39.9   38.7   39.1   39.2   38.8   38.2       -.6
  Apparel.....................................   37.1   36.7   36.4   36.2    37.2   36.0   36.4   37.0   36.5   36.4       -.1
  Leather and allied products.................   37.8   37.8   37.2   37.6    37.9   38.7   38.5   38.4   37.7   37.9        .2
  Paper and paper products....................   43.9   42.3   42.9   43.0    43.2   42.5   42.7   42.6   43.0   42.5       -.5
  Printing and related support activities.....   39.4   37.5   38.3   38.5    38.9   38.5   38.1   38.0   38.2   38.0       -.2
  Petroleum and coal products.................   44.1   46.1   44.7   45.1    43.4   44.2   44.4   45.4   44.8   44.5       -.3
  Chemicals...................................   42.1   41.7   41.7   41.8    42.0   41.3   41.8   41.9   41.6   41.6        .0
  Plastics and rubber products................   41.9   40.7   41.2   41.1    41.6   41.0   41.1   41.3   41.3   40.9       -.4

     Private service-providing................   32.8   32.4   32.5   32.3    32.4   32.4   32.4   32.3   32.4   32.3       -.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities..........   33.9   33.4   33.4   33.5    33.3   33.3   33.3   33.2   33.2   33.2        .0

 Wholesale trade..............................   38.7   38.3   38.3   38.1    38.2   38.3   38.3   38.4   38.3   38.1       -.2

 Retail trade.................................   30.7   30.3   30.3   30.4    30.2   30.1   30.1   30.0   30.1   30.1        .0

 Transportation and warehousing...............   37.2   36.4   36.7   36.6    36.9   36.5   36.5   36.4   36.4   36.4        .0

 Utilities....................................   43.0   42.3   42.1   43.2    42.5   42.4   42.8   42.4   42.3   42.8        .5

Information...................................   37.0   36.8   36.9   37.0    36.5   36.6   36.6   36.7   36.7   36.8        .1

Financial activities..........................   36.3   35.6   35.8   35.6    35.7   36.0   35.9   35.7   36.0   35.9       -.1

Professional and business services............   35.2   34.7   35.0   34.9    34.8   34.8   34.8   34.8   34.9   34.9        .0

Education and health services.................   32.9   32.6   32.6   32.5    32.6   32.7   32.6   32.6   32.6   32.5       -.1

Leisure and hospitality.......................   25.6   25.8   25.8   24.9    25.4   25.3   25.3   25.2   25.2   25.1       -.1

Other services................................   31.1   30.9   31.1   30.8    30.9   30.8   30.8   30.8   30.9   30.8       -.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                         Sept.     July     Aug.      Sept.      Sept.     July     Aug.      Sept.
                                                   2007      2008     2008p     2008p      2007      2008     2008p     2008p

        Total private........................... $17.64    $17.98    $18.05    $18.20    $603.29   $605.93   $611.90   $613.34
         Seasonally adjusted....................  17.57     18.06     18.14     18.17     593.87    608.62    611.32    610.51

    Goods-producing.............................  18.91     19.37     19.50     19.58     777.20    780.61    793.65    791.03

Natural resources and mining....................  20.93     22.41     23.02     23.17     979.52   1006.21   1052.01   1038.02

Construction....................................  21.32     21.90     22.15     22.28     842.14    858.48    874.93    866.69

Manufacturing...................................  17.39     17.71     17.74     17.82     725.16    719.03    729.11    730.62

 Durable goods..................................  18.35     18.63     18.70     18.80     770.70    760.10    774.18    774.56
  Wood products.................................  13.65     14.22     14.23     14.33     548.73    558.85    560.66    557.44
  Nonmetallic mineral products..................  16.94     16.94     16.86     16.97     735.20    726.73    728.35    721.23
  Primary metals................................  19.83     20.42     20.30     20.35     848.72    859.68    868.84    864.88
  Fabricated metal products.....................  16.61     16.94     17.07     17.15     699.28    691.15    706.70    710.01
  Machinery.....................................  17.79     17.93     17.91     18.00     761.41    749.47    762.97    757.80
  Computer and electronic products..............  20.20     21.15     21.24     21.30     828.20    862.92    870.84    877.56
  Electrical equipment and appliances...........  16.10     15.87     15.96     15.98     666.54    641.15    649.57    658.38
  Transportation equipment......................  23.42     23.68     23.86     23.94    1011.74    975.62   1002.12   1007.87
  Furniture and related products................  14.36     14.52     14.60     14.56     572.96    557.57    566.48    551.82
  Miscellaneous manufacturing...................  14.78     15.35     15.34     15.42     588.24    594.05    605.93    596.75

 Nondurable goods...............................  15.77     16.19     16.13     16.23     651.30    652.46    654.88    660.56
  Food manufacturing............................  13.65     14.01     13.99     14.03     566.48    567.41    569.39    575.23
  Beverages and tobacco products................  18.40     18.86     18.43     18.85     747.04    737.43    711.40    716.30
  Textile mills.................................  13.16     13.77     13.65     13.71     536.93    535.65    541.91    544.29
  Textile product mills.........................  11.73     11.80     11.75     11.87     468.03    462.56    458.25    453.43
  Apparel.......................................  11.17     11.35     11.31     11.45     414.41    416.55    411.68    414.49
  Leather and allied products...................  12.24     12.85     12.94     12.80     462.67    485.73    481.37    481.28
  Paper and paper products......................  18.54     19.07     18.80     18.95     813.91    806.66    806.52    814.85
  Printing and related support activities.......  16.37     16.82     16.80     16.87     644.98    630.75    643.44    649.50
  Petroleum and coal products...................  25.95     27.70     27.76     28.35    1144.40   1276.97   1240.87   1278.59
  Chemicals.....................................  19.52     19.46     19.50     19.72     821.79    811.48    813.15    824.30
  Plastics and rubber products..................  15.45     15.84     15.87     15.94     647.36    644.69    653.84    655.13

     Private service-providing..................  17.31     17.63     17.68     17.86     567.77    571.21    574.60    576.88

Trade, transportation, and utilities............  16.00     16.21     16.25     16.29     542.40    541.41    542.75    545.72

 Wholesale trade................................  19.85     20.12     20.23     20.21     768.20    770.60    774.81    770.00

 Retail trade...................................  12.91     12.93     12.96     13.02     396.34    391.78    392.69    395.81

 Transportation and warehousing.................  17.96     18.53     18.52     18.51     668.11    674.49    679.68    677.47

 Utilities......................................  28.27     28.48     28.61     28.80    1215.61   1204.70   1204.48   1244.16

Information.....................................  24.22     24.70     24.75     24.97     896.14    908.96    913.28    923.89

Financial activities............................  19.88     20.20     20.28     20.41     721.64    719.12    726.02    726.60

Professional and business services..............  20.34     20.99     21.05     21.27     715.97    728.35    736.75    742.32

Education and health services...................  18.33     18.85     18.84     18.93     603.06    614.51    614.18    615.23

Leisure and hospitality.........................  10.53     10.72     10.80     10.89     269.57    276.58    278.64    271.16

Other services..................................  15.58     15.80     15.84     15.99     484.54    488.22    492.62    492.49


  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                         Sept.    May      June     July    Aug.     Sept. change from:
                                                   2007     2008     2008     2008    2008p    2008p  Aug. 2008-
                                                                                                      Sept.2008p
        Total private:
         Current dollars........................ $17.57   $17.95   $18.00   $18.06   $18.14   $18.17      0.2
         Constant (1982) dollars(2).............   8.35     8.24     8.17     8.12     8.17     N.A.     (3)

    Goods-producing.............................  18.78    19.17    19.25    19.33    19.40    19.45       .3

Natural resources and mining....................  20.99    21.71    22.01    22.54    23.02    23.17       .7

Construction....................................  21.12    21.70    21.77    21.84    22.01    22.06       .2

Manufacturing...................................  17.34    17.65    17.71    17.78    17.75    17.79       .2
   Excluding overtime(4)........................  16.50    16.85    16.93    16.99    16.98    17.04       .4

 Durable goods..................................  18.28    18.61    18.67    18.75    18.70    18.74       .2

 Nondurable goods...............................  15.74    16.04    16.11    16.14    16.16    16.21       .3

     Private service-providing..................  17.26    17.64    17.69    17.74    17.82    17.85       .2

Trade, transportation, and utilities............  15.90    16.16    16.19    16.20    16.26    16.24      -.1

 Wholesale trade................................  19.72    20.06    20.12    20.16    20.30    20.25      -.2

 Retail trade...................................  12.83    12.90    12.90    12.90    12.95    12.93      -.2

 Transportation and warehousing.................  17.86    18.38    18.39    18.41    18.47    18.45      -.1

 Utilities......................................  28.14    28.81    29.14    28.65    28.86    28.74      -.4

Information.....................................  24.01    24.67    24.74    24.82    24.86    24.85       .0

Financial activities............................  19.76    20.23    20.26    20.30    20.38    20.44       .3

Professional and business services..............  20.36    20.90    21.01    21.12    21.28    21.38       .5

Education and health services...................  18.29    18.71    18.75    18.81    18.85    18.89       .2

Leisure and hospitality.........................  10.55    10.81    10.85    10.86    10.90    10.91       .1

Other services..................................  15.55    15.81    15.85    15.90    15.93    15.97       .3


  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 July 2008 to Aug. 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                      Sept.  July   Aug.   Sept.   Sept.  May    June   July   Aug.   Sept.  change from:
                                                2007   2008   2008p  2008p   2007   2008   2008   2008   2008p  2008p   Aug. 2008-
                                                                                                                        Sept. 2008p

        Total private.........................  109.2  107.9  108.4  107.0   107.6  107.1  107.0  106.9  106.8  106.3      -0.5

    Goods-producing...........................  104.6   99.1  100.3   98.4   101.6   97.9   97.6   97.2   97.0   95.7      -1.3

Natural resources and mining..................  138.8  140.8  147.4  145.2   134.5  134.6  137.0  138.3  143.3  141.6      -1.2

Construction..................................  120.3  113.5  114.8  110.9   114.3  107.5  107.3  106.7  106.9  105.5      -1.3

Manufacturing.................................   95.9   90.5   91.7   90.7    94.6   92.1   91.6   91.2   90.5   89.6      -1.0

 Durable goods................................   98.8   92.3   93.6   92.1    97.6   94.4   93.9   93.6   92.7   91.3      -1.5
  Wood products...............................   91.7   83.2   82.7   79.4    89.3   82.0   81.6   80.5   79.6   77.3      -2.9
  Nonmetallic mineral products................  101.9   98.0   99.0   95.9    98.3   95.1   94.5   94.2   94.5   92.5      -2.1
  Primary metals..............................   90.7   87.9   88.9   88.5    90.1   89.2   89.4   89.0   88.9   88.2       -.8
  Fabricated metal products...................  106.0  100.1  102.2  101.3   105.3  103.0  101.7  101.2  101.7  100.8       -.9
  Machinery...................................  103.7  102.7  103.4  101.0   103.7  103.1  102.6  102.9  103.9  101.3      -2.5
  Computer and electronic products............  102.7  101.0  101.6  100.6   101.5  102.9  102.3  101.6  101.7   99.9      -1.8
  Electrical equipment and appliances.........   89.2   87.6   87.5   87.7    88.8   88.6   88.4   88.3   87.5   87.5        .0
  Transportation equipment....................   99.7   85.6   87.1   86.6    98.5   91.5   91.0   90.9   86.8   86.0       -.9
   Motor vehicles and parts(2)................   87.4   68.6   70.8   69.5    85.6   76.3   75.4   75.9   69.7   68.4      -1.9
  Furniture and related products..............   87.5   77.8   77.6   74.7    86.3   79.8   79.3   77.2   75.6   74.0      -2.1
  Miscellaneous manufacturing.................   92.4   87.7   91.2   89.2    92.1   89.9   89.8   89.5   90.8   88.9      -2.1

 Nondurable goods.............................   91.4   87.7   88.5   88.4    89.5   87.9   87.7   87.3   87.2   86.3      -1.0
  Food manufacturing..........................  105.4  101.5  103.1  104.6   100.7  101.1  100.5   99.9   99.8   99.9        .1
  Beverages and tobacco products..............  103.5   94.6   93.3   91.5   100.1   90.7   90.5   89.5   87.9   87.7       -.2
  Textile mills...............................   55.4   47.5   48.8   48.4    54.7   49.7   48.8   48.8   49.0   47.9      -2.2
  Textile product mills.......................   76.4   72.4   71.4   70.4    76.4   72.8   72.5   72.6   71.1   70.4      -1.0
  Apparel.....................................   60.9   56.6   56.7   56.3    60.2   55.1   55.8   56.9   56.7   55.8      -1.6
  Leather and allied products.................   70.2   69.7   73.3   75.3    70.3   72.1   74.3   72.6   74.7   74.9        .3
  Paper and paper products....................   87.8   85.1   85.6   84.8    86.2   85.3   85.3   84.9   85.2   83.7      -1.8
  Printing and related support activities.....   93.0   84.7   86.7   86.6    92.1   88.6   86.6   85.8   86.5   85.7       -.9
  Petroleum and coal products.................   99.5  106.5  104.6  104.5    95.6   97.8   98.5  101.5  101.3  100.0      -1.3
  Chemicals...................................   95.4   97.4   96.2   95.1    94.8   96.3   97.1   96.9   95.5   95.0       -.5
  Plastics and rubber products................   91.9   87.1   88.0   86.8    90.9   88.0   88.3   88.3   87.8   86.2      -1.8

    Private service-providing.................  110.7  110.5  110.6  109.2   109.3  109.7  109.7  109.3  109.6  109.1       -.5

Trade, transportation, and utilities..........  106.4  104.4  104.2  104.0   104.8  104.4  104.3  103.8  103.6  103.4       -.2

 Wholesale trade..............................  111.8  110.9  110.3  109.2   110.3  110.6  110.5  110.5  110.0  109.2       -.7

 Retail trade.................................  102.5  100.8  100.7   99.9   101.7  100.4  100.3   99.9  100.0   99.8       -.2

 Transportation and warehousing...............  111.3  107.2  107.9  109.1   109.4  108.8  108.4  108.2  107.9  107.6       -.3

 Utilities....................................   97.6   98.8   97.8   99.8    96.7   97.2   98.7   97.9   97.6   99.0       1.4

Information...................................  100.9  100.7  100.5  100.1   100.1  100.2  100.0  100.0   99.9  100.3        .4

Financial activities..........................  109.9  108.8  109.1  107.4   108.3  108.9  108.6  107.9  108.9  108.4       -.5

Professional and business services............  118.2  115.7  116.5  115.7   115.9  115.6  115.3  115.1  115.0  114.8       -.2

Education and health services.................  113.9  114.4  114.8  116.2   113.4  116.1  116.2  116.5  117.0  116.8       -.2

Leisure and hospitality.......................  113.7  120.1  119.4  111.0   111.6  112.0  112.0  111.5  111.4  110.8       -.5

Other services................................   99.6  101.4  101.3   99.2    99.4   99.6   99.5   99.6   99.9   99.7       -.2


  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                      Sept.  July   Aug.   Sept.   Sept.  May    June   July   Aug.   Sept.  change from:
                                                2007   2008   2008p  2008p   2007   2008   2008   2008   2008p  2008p   Aug. 2008-
                                                                                                                        Sept. 2008p

        Total private.........................  128.8  129.6  130.8  130.1   126.3  128.4  128.7  129.0  129.5  129.1      -0.3

    Goods-producing...........................  121.2  117.5  119.8  118.0   116.8  114.9  115.1  115.0  115.2  114.0      -1.0

Natural resources and mining..................  168.9  183.5  197.4  195.7   164.2  170.0  175.4  181.3  191.9  190.8       -.6

Construction..................................  138.5  134.2  137.3  133.4   130.4  126.0  126.2  125.9  127.0  125.7      -1.0

Manufacturing.................................  109.1  104.9  106.3  105.7   107.3  106.3  106.1  106.0  105.1  104.2       -.9

 Durable goods................................  113.2  107.4  109.3  108.1   111.4  109.7  109.4  109.6  108.2  106.8      -1.3

 Nondurable goods.............................  101.9  100.3  100.9  101.4    99.5   99.6   99.8   99.6   99.6   98.9       -.7

    Private service-providing.................  131.4  133.5  134.1  133.7   129.3  132.7  133.0  133.0  133.9  133.6       -.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities..........  121.4  120.7  120.8  120.8   118.9  120.3  120.4  120.0  120.2  119.8       -.3

 Wholesale trade..............................  130.7  131.5  131.4  130.0   128.1  130.7  131.0  131.2  131.5  130.2      -1.0

 Retail trade.................................  113.4  111.7  111.8  111.5   111.8  111.0  110.9  110.4  111.0  110.6       -.4

 Transportation and warehousing...............  126.8  126.0  126.8  128.1   124.0  126.8  126.4  126.3  126.4  126.0       -.3

 Utilities....................................  115.2  117.5  116.8  120.0   113.6  116.9  120.0  117.1  117.6  118.8       1.0

Information...................................  121.0  123.1  123.2  123.7   119.0  122.3  122.5  122.9  123.0  123.4        .3

Financial activities..........................  135.1  135.9  136.9  135.5   132.3  136.2  136.0  135.5  137.2  137.0       -.1

Professional and business services............  143.0  144.5  145.9  146.4   140.4  143.8  144.2  144.7  145.6  146.0        .3

Education and health services.................  137.3  141.8  142.2  144.6   136.4  142.8  143.2  144.1  144.9  145.0        .1

Leisure and hospitality.......................  136.0  146.3  146.5  137.3   133.7  137.5  138.1  137.5  137.9  137.3       -.4

Other services................................  113.1  116.8  117.0  115.6   112.6  114.8  115.0  115.4  116.0  116.0        .0


  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     38.3    p44.7    p38.1


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     36.3    p38.3    p36.1


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     37.6    p38.9    p37.2


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     44.7    p42.3    p41.2

                                                        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     26.8    p34.5    p26.8


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     24.4    p23.2    p20.8


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     19.6    p20.2    p21.4


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     23.8    p22.0    p25.0


  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.






Last Modified Date: October 03, 2008