Nonfarm employment continued its road to recovery in 2013

Nonfarm payroll employment in the United States continued to recover in 2013, according to data from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey.¹ The economy added a total of 2.3 million nonfarm jobs, averaging 194,000 per month, similar to increases in each of the prior 2 years (see figure 1). Most major industry sectors saw employment gains over the year, with many of the largest 2012 contributors to nonfarm job growth having similar increases in 2013.

Figure 1. Over-the-month change in total nonfarm employment, seasonally adjusted, January 2011–December 2013 (in thousands)

Month	Employment	Over-the-month change	Yearly average over-the-month change
Jan 2011	130,815	70	174
Feb 2011	130,983	168	174
Mar 2011	131,195	212	174
Apr 2011	131,517	322	174
May 2011	131,619	102	174
Jun 2011	131,836	217	174
Jul 2011	131,942	106	174
Aug 2011	132,064	122	174
Sep 2011	132,285	221	174
Oct 2011	132,468	183	174
Nov 2011	132,632	164	174
Dec 2011	132,828	196	174
Jan 2012	133,188	360	186
Feb 2012	133,414	226	186
Mar 2012	133,657	243	186
Apr 2012	133,753	96	186
May 2012	133,863	110	186
Jun 2012	133,951	88	186
Jul 2012	134,111	160	186
Aug 2012	134,261	150	186
Sep 2012	134,422	161	186
Oct 2012	134,647	225	186
Nov 2012	134,850	203	186
Dec 2012	135,064	214	186
Jan 2013	135,261	197	194
Feb 2013	135,541	280	194
Mar 2013	135,682	141	194
Apr 2013	135,885	203	194
May 2013	136,084	199	194
Jun 2013	136,285	201	194
Jul 2013	136,434	149	194
Aug 2013	136,636	202	194
Sep 2013	136,800	164	194
Oct 2013	137,037	237	194
Nov 2013	137,311	274	194
Dec 2013	137,386	84	194
Source: Current Employment Statistics data, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Figure 2. Total nonfarm employment indexed to employment peaks, 1943–2013, seasonally adjusted (index peak = 100)

Months since recession began	Nov 1943	Jun 1990	Jan 2008	Pre-2008 average
0	100	100	100	100
1	99.83	99.97	99.94	99.86
2	99.61	99.77	99.88	99.68
3	99.36	99.69	99.73	99.56
4	98.77	99.55	99.59	99.26
5	98.23	99.41	99.47	98.94
6	98.05	99.36	99.32	98.68
7	97.96	99.25	99.13	98.44
8	97.86	98.97	98.80	98.14
9	97.73	98.83	98.46	97.97
10	97.32	98.64	97.91	97.72
11	97.41	98.52	97.40	97.63
12	97.41	98.61	96.83	97.60
13	97.76	98.58	96.32	97.51
14	97.84	98.58	95.72	97.64
15	97.86	98.61	95.23	97.78
16	97.61	98.63	94.97	97.89
17	96.78	98.58	94.64	97.89
18	96.46	98.60	94.40	98.18
19	96.10	98.65	94.24	98.43
20	95.45	98.59	94.08	98.63
21	94.50	98.64	93.94	98.85
22	89.91	98.78	93.93	98.70
23	90.14	98.90	93.73	99.12
24	91.07	98.96	93.74	99.53
25	91.34	99.02	93.71	99.69
26	93.02	99.15	93.82	100.13
27	91.67	99.18	94.00
28	93.87	99.35	94.37
29	95.54	99.47	94.28
30	96.56	99.66	94.24
31	97.46	99.95	94.21
32	98.44	100.17	94.17
33	99.59		94.34
34	100.21		94.44
35			94.49
36			94.54
37			94.66
38			94.82
39			95.05
40			95.12
41			95.28
42			95.36
43			95.45
44			95.61
45			95.74
46			95.86
47			96.00
48			96.26
49			96.42
50			96.60
51			96.67
52			96.75
53			96.81
54			96.93
55			97.03
56			97.15
57			97.31
58			97.46
59			97.61
60			97.76
61			97.96
62			98.06
63			98.21
64			98.35
65			98.50
66			98.60
67			98.75
68			98.87
69			99.04
70			99.24
71			99.29
Source: Current Employment Statistics data, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Employment recovery continues in 2013

The 2008–2010 employment downturn, with 8.7 million jobs lost, was by far the most severe in magnitude since the inception of the CES survey (also referred to as the establishment survey) in 1939. In relative terms, employment fell by 6.3 percent, a decline second only to the downturn during World War II (see figure 2). From November 1943 to September 1945, payroll employment fell by 10.1 percent, representing 4.3 million jobs lost; the subsequent recovery took 12 months. In contrast, the current employment recovery has been the longest in the history of the CES survey—46 months and counting at the close of the 2013. To put this time span into perspective, the second longest employment recovery lasted 21 months after the employment downturn that ended in May 1991.

Economic indicators, hours, and earnings

CES data serve as principal federal economic indicators. Gains in employment, hours, and earnings indicated steady economic growth in 2013.

Total nonfarm employment and aggregate hours (the product of employment and average weekly hours) tend to coincide closely with business cycle peaks. Temporary help employment and manufacturing average weekly hours often lead business cycle turning points.

Temporary help services employment grew by 8.9 percent over the year, compared with 6.3 percent and 6.7 percent in 2012 and 2011, respectively. Economic theory suggests that business establishments wary of future economic conditions are more likely to purchase labor through temporary help firms to meet short-term fluctuations in demand than hire permanent employees, and that they hire permanent employees only after they are more confident that demand for their products or services has increased (see figure 3).

Figure 3. Total private employment and temporary help services employment, seasonally adjusted, January 1990–December 2013 (in thousands)

Month	Total private	Temporary help services
Jan 1990	91,032	1,156
Feb 1990	91,255	1,163
Mar 1990	91,353	1,169
Apr 1990	91,311	1,162
May 1990	91,239	1,162
Jun 1990	91,307	1,164
Jul 1990	91,273	1,165
Aug 1990	91,156	1,159
Sep 1990	91,088	1,163
Oct 1990	90,923	1,141
Nov 1990	90,766	1,136
Dec 1990	90,692	1,129
Jan 1991	90,565	1,141
Feb 1991	90,253	1,125
Mar 1991	90,089	1,116
Apr 1991	89,882	1,112
May 1991	89,742	1,109
Jun 1991	89,777	1,113
Jul 1991	89,704	1,110
Aug 1991	89,741	1,121
Sep 1991	89,797	1,130
Oct 1991	89,763	1,133
Nov 1991	89,672	1,134
Dec 1991	89,683	1,142
Jan 1992	89,690	1,151
Feb 1992	89,624	1,157
Mar 1992	89,653	1,170
Apr 1992	89,788	1,183
May 1992	89,901	1,199
Jun 1992	89,959	1,208
Jul 1992	89,973	1,213
Aug 1992	90,047	1,223
Sep 1992	90,137	1,230
Oct 1992	90,317	1,249
Nov 1992	90,443	1,264
Dec 1992	90,616	1,285
Jan 1993	90,904	1,296
Feb 1993	91,145	1,305
Mar 1993	91,091	1,318
Apr 1993	91,368	1,342
May 1993	91,622	1,364
Jun 1993	91,785	1,379
Jul 1993	91,993	1,399
Aug 1993	92,184	1,412
Sep 1993	92,410	1,428
Oct 1993	92,695	1,463
Nov 1993	92,931	1,467
Dec 1993	93,202	1,483
Jan 1994	93,436	1,500
Feb 1994	93,633	1,528
Mar 1994	94,058	1,567
Apr 1994	94,374	1,594
May 1994	94,667	1,601
Jun 1994	94,973	1,629
Jul 1994	95,323	1,653
Aug 1994	95,596	1,665
Sep 1994	95,916	1,686
Oct 1994	96,124	1,696
Nov 1994	96,520	1,716
Dec 1994	96,774	1,720
Jan 1995	97,090	1,735
Feb 1995	97,284	1,744
Mar 1995	97,486	1,737
Apr 1995	97,641	1,728
May 1995	97,641	1,720
Jun 1995	97,849	1,717
Jul 1995	97,958	1,716
Aug 1995	98,215	1,740
Sep 1995	98,455	1,776
Oct 1995	98,577	1,773
Nov 1995	98,726	1,774
Dec 1995	98,855	1,779
Jan 1996	98,853	1,745
Feb 1996	99,250	1,790
Mar 1996	99,469	1,795
Apr 1996	99,650	1,811
May 1996	99,956	1,829
Jun 1996	100,246	1,850
Jul 1996	100,482	1,866
Aug 1996	100,698	1,884
Sep 1996	100,860	1,891
Oct 1996	101,123	1,879
Nov 1996	101,411	1,911
Dec 1996	101,575	1,928
Jan 1997	101,789	1,949
Feb 1997	102,086	1,974
Mar 1997	102,392	2,004
Apr 1997	102,690	2,026
May 1997	102,950	2,046
Jun 1997	103,158	2,057
Jul 1997	103,445	2,085
Aug 1997	103,475	2,066
Sep 1997	103,925	2,083
Oct 1997	104,207	2,107
Nov 1997	104,490	2,139
Dec 1997	104,788	2,165
Jan 1998	105,060	2,178
Feb 1998	105,240	2,191
Mar 1998	105,385	2,193
Apr 1998	105,640	2,203
May 1998	105,987	2,223
Jun 1998	106,201	2,248
Jul 1998	106,274	2,248
Aug 1998	106,592	2,266
Sep 1998	106,790	2,243
Oct 1998	106,970	2,281
Nov 1998	107,210	2,307
Dec 1998	107,522	2,335
Jan 1999	107,642	2,357
Feb 1999	107,993	2,387
Mar 1999	108,076	2,404
Apr 1999	108,382	2,423
May 1999	108,602	2,439
Jun 1999	108,820	2,451
Jul 1999	109,072	2,479
Aug 1999	109,203	2,481
Sep 1999	109,387	2,474
Oct 1999	109,735	2,550
Nov 1999	109,987	2,573
Dec 1999	110,238	2,605
Jan 2000	110,437	2,619
Feb 2000	110,539	2,623
Mar 2000	110,873	2,644
Apr 2000	111,091	2,676
May 2000	110,972	2,649
Jun 2000	111,187	2,648
Jul 2000	111,384	2,654
Aug 2000	111,400	2,640
Sep 2000	111,636	2,645
Oct 2000	111,614	2,630
Nov 2000	111,822	2,638
Dec 2000	111,920	2,588
Jan 2001	111,859	2,564
Feb 2001	111,860	2,527
Mar 2001	111,796	2,482
Apr 2001	111,468	2,398
May 2001	111,393	2,380
Jun 2001	111,156	2,337
Jul 2001	110,993	2,324
Aug 2001	110,802	2,297
Sep 2001	110,536	2,252
Oct 2001	110,179	2,215
Nov 2001	109,834	2,158
Dec 2001	109,634	2,145
Jan 2002	109,470	2,148
Feb 2002	109,324	2,161
Mar 2002	109,264	2,189
Apr 2002	109,172	2,213
May 2002	109,093	2,218
Jun 2002	109,115	2,221
Jul 2002	109,035	2,202
Aug 2002	108,975	2,232
Sep 2002	108,958	2,200
Oct 2002	109,070	2,196
Nov 2002	109,058	2,183
Dec 2002	108,893	2,174
Jan 2003	108,949	2,192
Feb 2003	108,798	2,178
Mar 2003	108,602	2,168
Apr 2003	108,572	2,140
May 2003	108,589	2,182
Jun 2003	108,560	2,212
Jul 2003	108,556	2,263
Aug 2003	108,592	2,249
Sep 2003	108,746	2,256
Oct 2003	108,888	2,266
Nov 2003	108,927	2,277
Dec 2003	109,040	2,300
Jan 2004	109,209	2,291
Feb 2004	109,241	2,303
Mar 2004	109,535	2,314
Apr 2004	109,758	2,346
May 2004	110,065	2,379
Jun 2004	110,152	2,377
Jul 2004	110,179	2,395
Aug 2004	110,291	2,409
Sep 2004	110,444	2,418
Oct 2004	110,769	2,474
Nov 2004	110,798	2,456
Dec 2004	110,926	2,445
Jan 2005	111,018	2,459
Feb 2005	111,248	2,480
Mar 2005	111,386	2,492
Apr 2005	111,735	2,507
May 2005	111,883	2,505
Jun 2005	112,146	2,531
Jul 2005	112,425	2,550
Aug 2005	112,615	2,567
Sep 2005	112,700	2,604
Oct 2005	112,800	2,612
Nov 2005	113,107	2,637
Dec 2005	113,246	2,634
Jan 2006	113,555	2,621
Feb 2006	113,839	2,631
Mar 2006	114,094	2,633
Apr 2006	114,260	2,634
May 2006	114,276	2,650
Jun 2006	114,357	2,649
Jul 2006	114,513	2,648
Aug 2006	114,659	2,657
Sep 2006	114,745	2,648
Oct 2006	114,761	2,639
Nov 2006	114,956	2,637
Dec 2006	115,122	2,643
Jan 2007	115,353	2,647
Feb 2007	115,405	2,642
Mar 2007	115,575	2,636
Apr 2007	115,627	2,628
May 2007	115,753	2,609
Jun 2007	115,810	2,605
Jul 2007	115,813	2,596
Aug 2007	115,742	2,586
Sep 2007	115,774	2,567
Oct 2007	115,838	2,573
Nov 2007	115,919	2,567
Dec 2007	115,974	2,553
Jan 2008	115,977	2,543
Feb 2008	115,862	2,505
Mar 2008	115,756	2,480
Apr 2008	115,535	2,466
May 2008	115,320	2,434
Jun 2008	115,114	2,403
Jul 2008	114,853	2,372
Aug 2008	114,595	2,338
Sep 2008	114,173	2,313
Oct 2008	113,687	2,239
Nov 2008	112,911	2,120
Dec 2008	112,218	2,046
Jan 2009	111,397	1,961
Feb 2009	110,699	1,914
Mar 2009	109,889	1,856
Apr 2009	109,088	1,796
May 2009	108,794	1,773
Jun 2009	108,368	1,752
Jul 2009	108,096	1,749
Aug 2009	107,864	1,747
Sep 2009	107,723	1,769
Oct 2009	107,452	1,792
Nov 2009	107,437	1,850
Dec 2009	107,205	1,894
Jan 2010	107,225	1,945
Feb 2010	107,187	1,975
Mar 2010	107,300	2,004
Apr 2010	107,492	2,032
May 2010	107,586	2,065
Jun 2010	107,696	2,093
Jul 2010	107,816	2,084
Aug 2010	107,933	2,116
Sep 2010	108,040	2,136
Oct 2010	108,239	2,173
Nov 2010	108,388	2,202
Dec 2010	108,482	2,245
Jan 2011	108,554	2,241
Feb 2011	108,777	2,260
Mar 2011	109,008	2,298
Apr 2011	109,328	2,295
May 2011	109,494	2,294
Jun 2011	109,680	2,284
Jul 2011	109,899	2,279
Aug 2011	110,024	2,314
Sep 2011	110,292	2,336
Oct 2011	110,469	2,362
Nov 2011	110,660	2,377
Dec 2011	110,882	2,395
Jan 2012	111,246	2,428
Feb 2012	111,474	2,474
Mar 2012	111,720	2,466
Apr 2012	111,822	2,473
May 2012	111,953	2,486
Jun 2012	112,028	2,509
Jul 2012	112,200	2,519
Aug 2012	112,336	2,522
Sep 2012	112,495	2,496
Oct 2012	112,750	2,515
Nov 2012	112,961	2,535
Dec 2012	113,176	2,546
Jan 2013	113,395	2,551
Feb 2013	113,658	2,573
Mar 2013	113,822	2,590
Apr 2013	114,010	2,612
May 2013	114,232	2,635
Jun 2013	114,433	2,654
Jul 2013	114,603	2,664
Aug 2013	114,783	2,681
Sep 2013	114,936	2,701
Oct 2013	115,183	2,705
Nov 2013	115,455	2,742
Dec 2013	115,541	2,774
Source: Current Employment Statistics data, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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The average workweek of all employees, at 34.3 hours in December 2013, edged down by 0.1 hour over the year. Combining employment growth and relatively flat average weekly hours, the index of aggregate weekly hours continued to trend up over the year (+1.8 percent). The workweek for manufacturing production employees, a leading indicator, increased by 0.2 hour to 41.9 hours in 2013, while the manufacturing workweek for all employees edged up 0.1 hour to 40.9 hours. Manufacturing overtime hours edged up 0.2 hour over the year.

Average hourly earnings of all employees increased 1.9 percent over the year. Aggregate weekly earnings (the product of employment, average weekly hours, and average hourly earnings) rose 4.0 percent in 2013.

Aggregate earnings are an input into personal income, a component of Gross Domestic Product. Gross Domestic Product increased in real terms over the same 12-month span.²

In 2013, the rate of growth in average hourly and weekly earnings outpaced inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers.³ As a result, real earnings for all employees rose over the year.

Industries with the largest job gains in 2013

Figure 4. Distribution of private sector employment gains, seasonally adjusted, December 2012–December 2013

Industry	Percent distribution	Employment (in thousands)
Financial activities	3.17	74
Education and health services	13.89	338
Manufacturing	3.76	88
Wholesale trade	4.16	99
Professional and business services	28.08	677
Construction	6.50	156
Mining and logging	1.35	31
Transportation and warehousing	3.42	75
Retail trade	15.03	345
Other services	1.22	29
Leisure and hospitality	19.26	454
Source: Current Employment Statistics data, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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In December 2013, the 12-month diffusion index for private sector employment stood at 70.5, indicating that job growth was widespread among industries. An index value of 50 or more indicates that more industries are adding jobs than losing them. Over the year, private sector employment increased by 2.4 million (+2.1 percent); this increase was similar to the prior year’s growth. About three-quarters of the gain occurred in four major industry sectors (see figure 4 and table 1), three of which—professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and education and health services—also contributed the largest number of jobs in 2012. Another major contributor to the total private employment gain in 2013 was retail trade, which added more jobs than education and health services over the year. Combined, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, education and health services, and retail trade make up about half of total nonfarm employment.

Business-driven employment gains

Professional and business services added 677,000 jobs in 2013, growing at a slightly faster pace than during the prior year. By October 2012, this industry sector had recovered the number of the jobs it had lost between December 2007 and August 2009. As 2013 came to a close, employment in professional and business services had expanded to 791,000 above its prerecession employment level.

Within the sector, temporary help services contributed about one-third of the 2013 employment gain. Employment growth in the industry accelerated to 8.9 percent over the year (see figure 3). The other major contributors to employment gains within the professional and business services sector occurred in services to buildings and dwellings, in computer systems design and related services, and in management and technical consulting services, which each added about 60,000 jobs over the year.

Computer systems design and management and technical consulting lost relatively fewer jobs during their recent employment downturns, 2.2 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively. Moreover, these two industries have been among the fastest growing within professional and business services since the end of the recession. As a result of the robust recoveries in these industries, the number of computer systems design and management jobs and technical consulting services jobs were back up to their previous highs by July 2010 and November 2010, respectively, and continued to expand through 2013.

Consumer-driven employment gains

Employment trends in retail trade and in leisure and hospitality often coincide with consumer demand, income, and expectations for the future. Several economic statistics related to the consumer indicated economic growth and improved confidence in 2013. Among these positive indicators were a 10.8-percentage-point increase in the Consumer Confidence Index over the year and growth in disposable personal income and retail sales (see table 2).⁴

Leisure and hospitality employment increased by 454,000 in 2013, a gain similar to that in the prior year. By December 2013, employment in the industry stood 887,000 above its December 2007 prerecession peak. During its employment recovery and expansion that began in January 2010, food services and drinking places contributed approximately 80 percent of the employment gain in leisure and hospitality.

In 2013, food services added 341,000 jobs. Full-service and limited-service restaurants have been the two major drivers of job growth within food services and drinking places. The job gains in these industries in 2013 coincided with strong sales in food services and drinking places over the same 12-month period (see figure 5).⁵

Figure 5. Food services and drinking places employment compared with food services and drinking places sales, seasonally adjusted, January 2000-December 2013

Month	Food sales (millions of real dollars, 1982–1984 = 100)	Food services and drinking places establishments employment (in thousands)
Jan 2000	14,535	8,116
Feb 2000	14,639	8,126
Mar 2000	14,835	8,165
Apr 2000	14,754	8,170
May 2000	14,716	8,163
Jun 2000	14,670	8,175
Jul 2000	14,739	8,188
Aug 2000	14,674	8,218
Sep 2000	14,810	8,241
Oct 2000	14,782	8,175
Nov 2000	14,752	8,243
Dec 2000	14,395	8,283
Jan 2001	14,909	8,283
Feb 2001	14,812	8,306
Mar 2001	14,834	8,305
Apr 2001	14,765	8,328
May 2001	14,821	8,354
Jun 2001	14,845	8,375
Jul 2001	14,942	8,403
Aug 2001	15,137	8,394
Sep 2001	14,733	8,388
Oct 2001	14,944	8,378
Nov 2001	14,984	8,383
Dec 2001	15,308	8,383
Jan 2002	15,307	8,421
Feb 2002	15,384	8,386
Mar 2002	15,240	8,387
Apr 2002	15,337	8,376
May 2002	15,252	8,389
Jun 2002	15,360	8,377
Jul 2002	15,342	8,420
Aug 2002	15,295	8,433
Sep 2002	15,367	8,439
Oct 2002	15,244	8,480
Nov 2002	15,381	8,493
Dec 2002	15,411	8,484
Jan 2003	15,344	8,531
Feb 2003	15,239	8,511
Mar 2003	15,500	8,514
Apr 2003	15,504	8,532
May 2003	15,882	8,535
Jun 2003	15,964	8,551
Jul 2003	16,002	8,557
Aug 2003	16,176	8,590
Sep 2003	15,939	8,637
Oct 2003	16,249	8,679
Nov 2003	16,340	8,691
Dec 2003	16,062	8,713
Jan 2004	16,286	8,738
Feb 2004	16,315	8,753
Mar 2004	16,410	8,795
Apr 2004	16,307	8,817
May 2004	16,319	8,841
Jun 2004	16,318	8,852
Jul 2004	16,494	8,857
Aug 2004	16,404	8,851
Sep 2004	16,560	8,898
Oct 2004	16,575	8,930
Nov 2004	16,515	8,948
Dec 2004	16,751	8,970
Jan 2005	16,701	8,999
Feb 2005	16,876	9,027
Mar 2005	16,631	9,052
Apr 2005	17,012	9,101
May 2005	16,914	9,089
Jun 2005	17,058	9,113
Jul 2005	16,960	9,135
Aug 2005	16,945	9,145
Sep 2005	16,759	9,129
Oct 2005	16,885	9,118
Nov 2005	17,156	9,153
Dec 2005	17,162	9,183
Jan 2006	17,553	9,226
Feb 2006	17,319	9,254
Mar 2006	17,441	9,304
Apr 2006	17,336	9,327
May 2006	17,326	9,310
Jun 2006	17,210	9,318
Jul 2006	17,152	9,356
Aug 2006	17,354	9,374
Sep 2006	17,598	9,372
Oct 2006	17,724	9,400
Nov 2006	17,764	9,452
Dec 2006	18,248	9,478
Jan 2007	17,871	9,517
Feb 2007	17,653	9,533
Mar 2007	17,835	9,536
Apr 2007	17,771	9,552
May 2007	17,766	9,572
Jun 2007	17,874	9,584
Jul 2007	17,953	9,593
Aug 2007	17,908	9,602
Sep 2007	17,947	9,620
Oct 2007	18,050	9,637
Nov 2007	17,838	9,658
Dec 2007	18,166	9,673
Jan 2008	17,788	9,662
Feb 2008	17,515	9,659
Mar 2008	17,510	9,648
Apr 2008	17,707	9,632
May 2008	17,698	9,628
Jun 2008	17,536	9,622
Jul 2008	17,469	9,628
Aug 2008	17,479	9,605
Sep 2008	17,510	9,573
Oct 2008	17,554	9,547
Nov 2008	17,857	9,514
Dec 2008	17,997	9,484
Jan 2009	17,957	9,462
Feb 2009	17,823	9,448
Mar 2009	17,661	9,419
Apr 2009	17,728	9,388
May 2009	17,689	9,426
Jun 2009	17,522	9,433
Jul 2009	17,553	9,431
Aug 2009	17,445	9,398
Sep 2009	17,335	9,368
Oct 2009	17,294	9,344
Nov 2009	17,369	9,334
Dec 2009	17,389	9,305
Jan 2010	17,228	9,299
Feb 2010	17,634	9,295
Mar 2010	17,715	9,313
Apr 2010	17,801	9,325
May 2010	17,786	9,342
Jun 2010	17,846	9,350
Jul 2010	17,884	9,357
Aug 2010	18,019	9,380
Sep 2010	18,002	9,429
Oct 2010	18,009	9,452
Nov 2010	18,052	9,459
Dec 2010	17,989	9,479
Jan 2011	17,802	9,489
Feb 2011	18,158	9,515
Mar 2011	18,218	9,550
Apr 2011	18,083	9,578
May 2011	18,200	9,595
Jun 2011	18,339	9,614
Jul 2011	18,273	9,627
Aug 2011	18,354	9,655
Sep 2011	18,501	9,683
Oct 2011	18,679	9,720
Nov 2011	18,636	9,771
Dec 2011	18,692	9,794
Jan 2012	18,906	9,832
Feb 2012	19,050	9,863
Mar 2012	19,128	9,910
Apr 2012	19,170	9,913
May 2012	19,171	9,922
Jun 2012	19,216	9,929
Jul 2012	19,274	9,952
Aug 2012	19,237	10,003
Sep 2012	19,315	10,060
Oct 2012	19,256	10,076
Nov 2012	19,448	10,097
Dec 2012	19,684	10,147
Jan 2013	19,729	10,181
Feb 2013	19,452	10,217
Mar 2013	19,664	10,235
Apr 2013	19,895	10,267
May 2013	19,718	10,310
Jun 2013	19,531	10,347
Jul 2013	19,596	10,382
Aug 2013	19,616	10,406
Sep 2013	19,702	10,419
Oct 2013	20,008	10,453
Nov 2013	20,210	10,475
Dec 2013	20,012	10,487

View Chart Data

Arts, entertainment, and recreation, adding 86,000 jobs in 2013, also contributed to the leisure and hospitality employment gain over the year. While the increase was smaller in magnitude than the annual job gain in food service, it represented relatively faster growth at 4.3 percent—an acceleration over the prior year’s 3.1-percent growth. Amusements, gambling, and recreation contributed 63,000 jobs to the 2013 increase.

Retail trade added 345,000 jobs over the year̶ —more than double the jobs added in 2012. By December 2013, the industry had recovered 75 percent, or 937,000 of the 1.3 million jobs lost between November 2007 and December 2009. Similar to employment and sales in food services and drinking places, employment trends in retail trade coincide with sales growth in the industry (see figure 6).⁶

Figure 6. Retail employment compared with retail sales, seasonally adjusted, January 2000–December 2013

Month	Food sales (millions of real dollars, 1982–1984 = 100)	Retail trade employment (in thousands)
Jan 2000	143,817	15,150
Feb 2000	145,376	15,181
Mar 2000	146,109	15,197
Apr 2000	143,817	15,220
May 2000	143,823	15,298
Jun 2000	144,122	15,253
Jul 2000	143,129	15,259
Aug 2000	143,377	15,287
Sep 2000	145,053	15,298
Oct 2000	144,489	15,317
Nov 2000	143,645	15,324
Dec 2000	143,525	15,339
Jan 2001	143,924	15,376
Feb 2001	143,597	15,360
Mar 2001	142,164	15,378
Apr 2001	144,418	15,348
May 2001	143,975	15,257
Jun 2001	142,945	15,263
Jul 2001	142,624	15,257
Aug 2001	143,501	15,207
Sep 2001	140,290	15,206
Oct 2001	150,941	15,195
Nov 2001	146,683	15,170
Dec 2001	144,616	15,147
Jan 2002	144,278	15,091
Feb 2002	144,762	15,073
Mar 2002	144,008	15,074
Apr 2002	145,748	15,069
May 2002	143,515	15,072
Jun 2002	144,663	15,051
Jul 2002	146,006	15,042
Aug 2002	146,807	15,045
Sep 2002	144,162	14,990
Oct 2002	144,604	14,975
Nov 2002	145,212	14,986
Dec 2002	146,202	14,970
Jan 2003	146,377	14,980
Feb 2003	143,360	14,956
Mar 2003	145,648	14,925
Apr 2003	145,880	14,896
May 2003	146,180	14,919
Jun 2003	147,706	14,897
Jul 2003	148,844	14,890
Aug 2003	150,636	14,884
Sep 2003	149,348	14,905
Oct 2003	148,627	14,936
Nov 2003	150,464	14,954
Dec 2003	149,644	14,924
Jan 2004	149,718	14,921
Feb 2004	150,500	14,964
Mar 2004	153,003	14,969
Apr 2004	151,019	15,017
May 2004	153,183	15,034
Jun 2004	150,446	15,056
Jul 2004	151,981	15,078
Aug 2004	152,199	15,062
Sep 2004	154,498	15,066
Oct 2004	154,665	15,100
Nov 2004	154,529	15,124
Dec 2004	156,385	15,130
Jan 2005	155,427	15,124
Feb 2005	156,099	15,152
Mar 2005	155,517	15,187
Apr 2005	157,481	15,190
May 2005	155,997	15,241
Jun 2005	159,938	15,263
Jul 2005	161,268	15,296
Aug 2005	157,873	15,336
Sep 2005	155,987	15,354
Oct 2005	156,243	15,334
Nov 2005	158,262	15,326
Dec 2005	158,371	15,345
Jan 2006	161,982	15,344
Feb 2006	160,461	15,355
Mar 2006	160,912	15,364
Apr 2006	161,086	15,377
May 2006	159,644	15,353
Jun 2006	159,986	15,316
Jul 2006	160,361	15,325
Aug 2006	159,612	15,325
Sep 2006	159,368	15,338
Oct 2006	159,989	15,351
Nov 2006	160,228	15,370
Dec 2006	161,494	15,397
Jan 2007	160,751	15,397
Feb 2007	160,672	15,451
Mar 2007	161,305	15,479
Apr 2007	160,012	15,524
May 2007	161,689	15,515
Jun 2007	160,017	15,529
Jul 2007	160,349	15,510
Aug 2007	160,859	15,506
Sep 2007	161,676	15,507
Oct 2007	161,263	15,513
Nov 2007	161,532	15,516
Dec 2007	159,529	15,576
Jan 2008	159,234	15,571
Feb 2008	157,397	15,570
Mar 2008	157,109	15,528
Apr 2008	157,527	15,506
May 2008	157,104	15,429
Jun 2008	156,172	15,379
Jul 2008	154,219	15,335
Aug 2008	153,508	15,299
Sep 2008	150,199	15,245
Oct 2008	145,462	15,172
Nov 2008	142,398	15,103
Dec 2008	139,509	14,981
Jan 2009	141,296	14,870
Feb 2009	140,549	14,783
Mar 2009	138,333	14,715
Apr 2009	138,568	14,618
May 2009	140,054	14,549
Jun 2009	141,029	14,554
Jul 2009	141,652	14,537
Aug 2009	144,576	14,495
Sep 2009	140,223	14,479
Oct 2009	141,066	14,447
Nov 2009	142,149	14,387
Dec 2009	142,664	14,373
Jan 2010	142,730	14,325
Feb 2010	142,673	14,381
Mar 2010	146,141	14,394
Apr 2010	146,983	14,420
May 2010	146,150	14,414
Jun 2010	145,965	14,437
Jul 2010	145,866	14,436
Aug 2010	146,701	14,454
Sep 2010	147,626	14,451
Oct 2010	149,442	14,472
Nov 2010	150,025	14,500
Dec 2010	150,382	14,481
Jan 2011	151,109	14,484
Feb 2011	151,543	14,538
Mar 2011	152,560	14,555
Apr 2011	152,734	14,567
May 2011	152,025	14,632
Jun 2011	153,129	14,643
Jul 2011	153,193	14,679
Aug 2011	152,816	14,714
Sep 2011	153,546	14,710
Oct 2011	155,383	14,736
Nov 2011	155,589	14,738
Dec 2011	154,929	14,757
Jan 2012	155,509	14,762
Feb 2012	157,328	14,818
Mar 2012	158,027	14,803
Apr 2012	157,131	14,808
May 2012	157,077	14,833
Jun 2012	155,606	14,827
Jul 2012	156,705	14,814
Aug 2012	157,980	14,802
Sep 2012	159,210	14,802
Oct 2012	158,772	14,834
Nov 2012	159,385	14,861
Dec 2012	159,701	14,915
Jan 2013	160,589	14,917
Feb 2013	160,905	14,944
Mar 2013	160,548	14,953
Apr 2013	160,925	14,944
May 2013	161,659	14,967
Jun 2013	162,485	15,002
Jul 2013	162,813	15,040
Aug 2013	163,030	15,089
Sep 2013	162,892	15,118
Oct 2013	163,498	15,146
Nov 2013	163,570	15,187
Dec 2013	163,109	15,210
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

View Chart Data

Within retail trade, food and beverage stores contributed the largest number of jobs over the year, 86,000. As 2013 came to a close, employment in food and beverage stores had expanded to 101,000 above its March 2008 peak. Furthermore, job growth in food stores accelerated each year since employment started to recover in 2010.

General merchandise stores added 64,000 jobs in 2013, following a loss of 83,000 jobs in 2012.

Although their increases were smaller in magnitude, motor vehicle and parts dealers; building material and garden supply stores; and sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores saw stronger employment gains in 2013, adding 64,000, 39,000, and 35,000 jobs, respectively. The employment increase in motor vehicles and parts dealers coincided with a strong 6.5-percent over-the-year sales increase in motor vehicles and parts dealers.⁷

Clothing and clothing accessories stores and miscellaneous store retailers both trended downward in 2013.

Construction employment recovery continues

During the collapse of the housing market, construction was the first industry sector to see sustained job losses leading into the 2007–2009 recession. Employment in the industry peaked in April 2006 and then declined until January 2011. Construction lost 2.3 million jobs during this period—nearly one-third of its total employment. Employment growth in construction increased by 2.7 percent in 2013, compared with increases of 2.0 percent in 2012 and 2.6 percent in 2011.

From January 2011 through December 2013, construction regained 444,000 or 19.4 percent of the jobs it had lost during the industry’s employment downturn. Over half of the recovered jobs were among specialty trade contractors and were split nearly evenly between the residential and nonresidential components.

In 2013, construction contributed 156,000 jobs to total nonfarm employment. The largest portion of the 2013 construction employment gain came from residential specialty trade contractors (+74,000). Construction of buildings added 56,000 jobs, which were concentrated in residential construction (+42,000). Employment in nonresidential construction industries edged up by 37,000 over the year, while employment remained essentially flat in heavy and civil engineering construction (+3,000).

Employment rose by 5.5 percent in residential construction industries in 2013; this growth was more than double the rate for 2012. The stronger growth in residential construction employment coincided with improvement in other economic indicators for the industry. New home construction starts reached their highest level in nearly 6 years in December 2013, while the Housing Market Index, which tracks builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes, increased 10 percentage points, reaching its highest level in over 7 years in August 2013.⁸ Residential construction spending increased greatly over the year—18.3 percent—compared with an 8.0-percent over-the-year increase in total private construction spending.⁹ The positive residential construction indicators coincided with employment growth accelerating in wood product manufacturing, an industry that primarily produces wood materials used in construction projects.

Expansion continues in mining employment

Mining contributed 31,000 jobs to total nonfarm employment over the year. Employment growth in the industry increased by 3.6 percent in 2013, up from 2.3 percent the prior year. Within the industry sector, essentially all of the job gain occurred in support activities for mining (+21,000) and oil and gas extraction (+12,000).

Slowing job growth in health care and social assistance

Employment growth in health care slowed to 1.4 percent over the year, compared with a 1.9-percent increase in 2012. Real personal health care expenditures increased by 2.2 percent in 2013, similar to expenditures in the prior year.¹⁰ Employment trends among the health care industries varied, with job growth slowing in hospitals and accelerating in ambulatory health care services (see figure 7).

Figure 7. Indexes of employment in health care services, seasonally adjusted, January 2009–December 2013

Month	Ambulatory health care services	Nursing and residential care	Hospitals
Jan 2009	100.0	100.0	100.0
Feb 2009	100.2	100.3	100.1
Mar 2009	100.3	100.4	100.0
Apr 2009	100.6	100.5	99.9
May 2009	101.0	100.7	100.0
Jun 2009	101.3	100.8	100.0
Jul 2009	101.5	101.1	100.0
Aug 2009	101.7	101.3	100.0
Sep 2009	102.1	101.4	100.0
Oct 2009	102.3	101.6	100.1
Nov 2009	102.6	101.7	100.1
Dec 2009	102.9	101.6	100.1
Jan 2010	103.2	101.5	100.1
Feb 2010	103.4	101.6	100.1
Mar 2010	103.9	101.9	100.1
Apr 2010	104.0	102.1	100.1
May 2010	104.2	102.1	100.1
Jun 2010	104.4	102.2	100.3
Jul 2010	104.6	102.4	100.2
Aug 2010	104.9	102.6	100.3
Sep 2010	105.1	102.6	100.3
Oct 2010	105.4	102.7	100.4
Nov 2010	105.7	102.9	100.5
Dec 2010	105.8	103.2	100.6
Jan 2011	105.9	103.3	100.6
Feb 2011	106.2	103.3	100.6
Mar 2011	106.5	103.4	100.8
Apr 2011	106.8	103.6	100.9
May 2011	106.9	103.7	101.1
Jun 2011	107.3	103.8	101.1
Jul 2011	107.6	103.9	101.2
Aug 2011	107.9	104.0	101.3
Sep 2011	108.2	104.1	101.6
Oct 2011	108.4	104.1	101.6
Nov 2011	108.6	103.9	101.7
Dec 2011	108.7	103.9	101.8
Jan 2012	108.9	104.1	102.0
Feb 2012	109.3	104.1	102.2
Mar 2012	109.5	104.3	102.3
Apr 2012	109.8	104.4	102.3
May 2012	110.2	104.6	102.3
Jun 2012	110.3	104.6	102.3
Jul 2012	110.4	104.7	102.4
Aug 2012	110.6	104.7	102.5
Sep 2012	111.0	104.9	102.5
Oct 2012	111.3	104.9	102.6
Nov 2012	111.6	105.0	102.7
Dec 2012	111.8	105.4	102.7
Jan 2013	112.2	105.0	102.6
Feb 2013	112.4	105.3	102.7
Mar 2013	112.5	105.4	102.7
Apr 2013	112.9	105.5	102.8
May 2013	113.2	105.6	102.7
Jun 2013	113.4	105.7	102.7
Jul 2013	113.6	105.6	102.6
Aug 2013	114.0	106.0	102.7
Sep 2013	114.2	105.8	102.8
Oct 2013	114.5	105.9	102.8
Nov 2013	114.9	106.1	102.8
Dec 2013	114.9	106.2	102.7
Sources: Current Employment Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and author's calculations.

View Chart Data

Within the health care industries, hospitals experienced the most marked change in employment trend over the year. Hospital employment peaked in April 2013 and then started to decline, resulting in zero net change over the year. The downward employment trend in the industry coincides with an increasing deficit between hospital insurance income and hospital insurance cost rates, as calculated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.¹¹

Ambulatory health care services continued to add jobs in 2013. Employment gains averaged 15,000 per month, the same as in 2012. Within ambulatory care, offices of physicians, outpatient care centers, and home health care services accounted for 78 percent of the employment gain. Over-the-year job growth accelerated in the latter two industries compared with 2012 but decelerated in offices of physicians.

Nursing and residential care facilities employment rose by 26,000 over the year, but within the industry, nursing care facilities continued to trend down. Since its employment peak in June 2011 through the end of 2013, the industry lost 26,000 jobs.

Social assistance employment also continued to grow in 2013; job gains totaled 104,000 over the year, compared with 201,000 jobs added in 2012. The majority of these gains occurred in services for the elderly and disabled, an industry that provides in-home nonmedical assistance to elderly and disabled people.¹²

Industries with moderate employment growth

Employment continued to trend up over the year in wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, manufacturing, and financial activities. Wholesale trade matched its 2012 employment growth rate, while employment growth decelerated in the latter three industries in 2013.

Over the year, wholesale trade added 99,000 jobs, representing a 1.7-percent gain. Within the sector, durable goods contributed nearly half of the job gain (+44,000), followed by electronic markets and agents and brokers, which added 33,000 jobs over the year. Acceleration of job growth in electronic markets was offset by decelerating growth in the durable and nondurable good components of wholesale trade.

Wholesale trade employment declined by 602,000, or 10.0 percent, from November 2007 to May 2010. By the end of 2013, the industry had regained 59.3 percent of the jobs it had lost during its employment downturn.

Although manufacturing employment increased by 89,000, or 0.7 percent, over the year, the employment growth rate was half that of 2012. The bulk of the manufacturing employment gain in 2013 occurred in durable goods (+78,000), with motor vehicles and parts manufacturing adding 46,000 jobs.

The annual job growth in motor vehicles and parts slowed by 2.2 percentage points in 2013 compared with 2012; however, the 5.3-percent increase in the industry’s employment over the year was more than twice that of total private employment (+2.1 percent). Employment growth in motor vehicle and parts manufacturing mirrored strong employment growth in motor vehicles and parts dealers’ employment and sales in the United States.

Transportation and warehousing employment increased by 74,000 in 2013; however, job growth slowed to 1.7 percent from 2.9 percent in 2012. Couriers and messengers (+19,000) and truck transportation (+20,000) accounted for half of the employment increase over the past year.

Financial activities employment continued its slow upward trend in 2013. The industry added 75,000 jobs over the year—a 1.0-percent gain. The over-the-year change was nearly all attributable to real estate (+39,000) and insurance carriers and related activities (+32,000). Financial activities has recovered 227,000 of the 719,000 jobs lost between December 2006 and February 2011.

Employment trends shifting in government

Government employment edged down by 34,000 over the year after declining by 58,000 in 2012.

Federal government employment declined by 78,000, or 2.8 percent, over the year. The majority of the loss occurred in federal except U.S. Postal Service (–69,000), after 2 years of little change in this portion of federal government employment. This trend coincided with an ongoing decrease in real consumption expenditures and gross investment by the federal government.¹³ As the Postal Service continued to face financial difficulties, it implemented voluntary early retirement and replaced career employees with noncareer employees.¹⁴ As a result, employment in the U.S. Postal Service continued to trend down(–10,000), although the decrease was smaller than in prior years.

Conversely, in 2013, both state and local governments began to recover from their employment downturns. The changes in employment trends mirrored similar trend changes in both consumption expenditures and gross investment by state and local governments, which, in the second quarter of 2013, began to increase after a downward trend that had lasted more than 3 years.¹⁵

State government gained 39,000 jobs between an employment low in July 2013 and December 2013, with essentially all of the gain occurring in state government education. State education, which includes state colleges and universities, was not strongly affected by the most recent recession: state government education accounted for only 11,000 of the 189,000 public sector jobs lost between state government’s employment’s all-time high in August 2008 and its most recent low in July 2013. The non-education component of state government employment changed little in 2013.

Local government employment also started to recover over the year, edging up by 39,000 jobs between an employment low in March 2013 and December 2013; however, in contrast to state government employment, most of the change occurred in the non-education portion. The education component of local government employment, which primarily consists of local public school jobs, showed little net change from December 2012 to December 2013.

OVER THE YEAR, NONFARM PAYROLL EMPLOYMENT CONTINUED TO RECOVER after a severe downturn from January 2008 through February 2010, thereby posting the lengthiest employment recovery in the history of the CES survey. Professional and business services, food services and drinking places, retail trade, and health care continued as the major contributors to job growth in 2013. Employment growth accelerated over the year in professional and business services, retail trade, construction, and mining, while manufacturing, health care, financial activities, and transportation and warehousing experienced slower job growth. In the public sector, federal government employment continued to trend down, while state and local government employment started to recover.