Payroll Employment Rises By 280,000 In May

Washington, DC...Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 280,000 in May, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 5.5 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and health
care. Mining employment continued to decline.

Household Survey Data

In May, both the unemployment rate (5.5 percent) and the number of
unemployed persons (8.7 million) were essentially unchanged. Both
measures have shown little movement since February. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men
(5.0 percent), adult women (5.0 percent), teenagers (17.9 percent),
whites (4.7 percent), blacks (10.2 percent), Asians (4.1 percent),
and Hispanics (6.7 percent) showed little or no change in May. (See
tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

The number of unemployed new entrants edged up by 103,000 in May but
is about unchanged over the year. Unemployed new entrants are those
who never previously worked. (See table A-11.)

The number of persons unemployed for less than 5 weeks decreased by
311,000 to 2.4 million in May, following an increase in April. The
number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more)
held at 2.5 million in May and accounted for 28.6 percent of the
unemployed. Over the past 12 months, the number of long-term
unemployed is down by 849,000. (See table A-12.)

In May, the civilian labor force rose by 397,000, and the labor force
participation rate was little changed at 62.9 percent. Since April
2014, the participation rate has remained within a narrow range of
62.7 percent to 62.9 percent. The employment-population ratio, at
59.4 percent, was essentially unchanged in May. (See table A-1.)

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes
referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was about unchanged at
6.7 million in May and has shown little movement in recent months.
These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were
working part time because their hours had been cut back or because
they were unable to find a full-time job. (See table A-8.)

In May, 1.9 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force,
down by 268,000 from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally
adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and
were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the 
prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they
had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. (See
table A-16.)

Among the marginally attached, there were 563,000 discouraged workers
in May, down by 134,000 from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally
adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work
because they believe no jobs are available for them. The remaining 1.3
million persons marginally attached to the labor force in May had not
searched for work for reasons such as school attendance or family
responsibilities. (See table A-16.)

Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 280,000 in May, compared with
an average monthly gain of 251,000 over the prior 12 months. In May,
job gains occurred in professional and business services, leisure
and hospitality, and health care. Employment in mining continued to
decline. (See table B-1.)

Professional and business services added 63,000 jobs in May and
671,000 jobs over the year. In May, employment increased in computer
systems design and related services (+10,000). Employment continued
to trend up in temporary help services (+20,000), in management and
technical consulting services (+7,000), and in architectural and
engineering services (+5,000).

Employment in leisure and hospitality increased by 57,000 in May,
following little change in the prior 2 months. In May, employment
edged up in arts, entertainment, and recreation (+29,000). Employment
in food services and drinking places has shown little net change over
the past 3 months.

Health care added 47,000 jobs in May. Within the industry, employment
in ambulatory care services (which includes home health care services
and outpatient care centers) rose by 28,000. Hospitals added 16,000
jobs over the month. Over the past year, health care has added 408,000
jobs.

Employment in retail trade edged up in May (+31,000). Over the prior
12 months, the industry had added an average of 24,000 jobs per month.
Within retail trade, automobile dealers added 8,000 jobs in May. 

Construction employment continued to trend up over the month (+17,000)
and has increased by 273,000 over the past year.

In May, employment continued on an upward trend in transportation and
warehousing (+13,000). Truck transportation added 9,000 jobs over the
month.

In May, employment continued to trend up in financial activities (+13,000).
Over the past 12 months, the industry has added 160,000 jobs, with
about half of the gain in insurance carriers and related activities.

Employment in mining fell for the fifth month in a row, with a decline
of 17,000 in May. The loss was in support activities for mining.
Employment in mining has decreased by 68,000 thus far this year, after
increasing by 41,000 in 2014.

Employment in other major industries, including manufacturing, wholesale
trade, information, and government, showed little change over the month.

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls
remained at 34.5 hours in May. The manufacturing workweek was unchanged
at 40.7 hours, and factory overtime remained at 3.3 hours. The average
workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm
payrolls edged up by 0.1 hour to 33.7 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)

In May, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm
payrolls rose by 8 cents to $24.96. Over the year, average hourly
earnings have risen by 2.3 percent. Average hourly earnings of private-
sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 6 cents to $20.97
in May. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for March was revised
from +85,000 to +119,000, and the change for April was revised from
+223,000 to +221,000. With these revisions, employment gains in March
and April combined were 32,000 more than previously reported. Over the
past 3 months, job gains have averaged 207,000 per month.

_____________
The Employment Situation for June is scheduled to be released on
Thursday, July 2, 2015, at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).



 

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Summary table A. Household data, seasonally adjusted

[Numbers in thousands]
Category May
2014
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015
May
2015
Change from:
Apr.
2015-
May
2015

Employment status

Civilian noninstitutional population

247,622 250,080 250,266 250,455 189

Civilian labor force

155,629 156,906 157,072 157,469 397

Participation rate

62.8 62.7 62.8 62.9 0.1

Employed

145,868 148,331 148,523 148,795 272

Employment-population ratio

58.9 59.3 59.3 59.4 0.1

Unemployed

9,761 8,575 8,549 8,674 125

Unemployment rate

6.3 5.5 5.4 5.5 0.1

Not in labor force

91,993 93,175 93,194 92,986 -208

Unemployment rates

Total, 16 years and over

6.3 5.5 5.4 5.5 0.1

Adult men (20 years and over)

5.9 5.1 5.0 5.0 0.0

Adult women (20 years and over)

5.7 4.9 4.9 5.0 0.1

Teenagers (16 to 19 years)

19.2 17.5 17.1 17.9 0.8

White

5.4 4.7 4.7 4.7 0.0

Black or African American

11.4 10.1 9.6 10.2 0.6

Asian

5.6 3.2 4.4 4.1 -0.3

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

7.7 6.8 6.9 6.7 -0.2

Total, 25 years and over

5.2 4.4 4.5 4.5 0.0

Less than a high school diploma

9.2 8.6 8.6 8.6 0.0

High school graduates, no college

6.5 5.3 5.4 5.8 0.4

Some college or associate degree

5.5 4.8 4.7 4.4 -0.3

Bachelor’s degree and higher

3.2 2.5 2.7 2.7 0.0

Reason for unemployment

Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs

4,959 4,189 4,136 4,267 131

Job leavers

872 875 828 829 1

Reentrants

2,869 2,689 2,685 2,615 -70

New entrants

1,063 815 868 971 103

Duration of unemployment

Less than 5 weeks

2,553 2,488 2,729 2,418 -311

5 to 14 weeks

2,401 2,312 2,307 2,532 225

15 to 26 weeks

1,451 1,253 1,139 1,293 154

27 weeks and over

3,351 2,563 2,525 2,502 -23

Employed persons at work part time

Part time for economic reasons

7,268 6,705 6,580 6,652 72

Slack work or business conditions

4,404 4,069 3,885 3,891 6

Could only find part-time work

2,558 2,337 2,374 2,390 16

Part time for noneconomic reasons

19,149 19,733 20,056 19,961 -95

Persons not in the labor force (not seasonally adjusted)

Marginally attached to the labor force

2,130 2,055 2,115 1,862

Discouraged workers

697 738 756 563

– Over-the-month changes are not displayed for not seasonally adjusted data.
NOTE: Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. 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.

 

ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Summary table B. Establishment data, seasonally adjusted
Category May
2014
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015(p)
May
2015(p)

EMPLOYMENT BY SELECTED INDUSTRY
(Over-the-month change, in thousands)

Total nonfarm

236 119 221 280

Total private

238 117 206 262

Goods-producing

25 -20 21 6

Mining and logging

2 -14 -15 -18

Construction

11 -12 35 17

Manufacturing

12 6 1 7

Durable goods(1)

19 6 0 1

Motor vehicles and parts

7.3 5.8 4.1 6.6

Nondurable goods

-7 0 1 6

Private service-providing

213 137 185 256

Wholesale trade

6.5 5.4 -2.3 4.1

Retail trade

10.6 31.6 13.3 31.4

Transportation and warehousing

20.2 1.9 10.8 13.1

Utilities

0.2 0.8 0.8 1.1

Information

-5 -2 8 -3

Financial activities

9 13 8 13

Professional and business services(1)

54 39 66 63

Temporary help services

13.4 15.8 16.1 20.1

Education and health services(1)

56 42 64 74

Health care and social assistance

54.2 36.3 59.6 57.7

Leisure and hospitality

57 6 10 57

Other services

5 0 6 2

Government

-2 2 15 18

(3-month average change, in thousands)

Total nonfarm

264 195 202 207

Total private

258 193 195 195

WOMEN AND PRODUCTION AND NONSUPERVISORY EMPLOYEES
AS A PERCENT OF ALL EMPLOYEES(2)

Total nonfarm women employees

49.4 49.3 49.3 49.4

Total private women employees

47.9 47.9 47.9 47.9

Total private production and nonsupervisory employees

82.6 82.5 82.4 82.5

HOURS AND EARNINGS
ALL EMPLOYEES

Total private

Average weekly hours

34.5 34.5 34.5 34.5

Average hourly earnings

$24.40 $24.85 $24.88 $24.96

Average weekly earnings

$841.80 $857.33 $858.36 $861.12

Index of aggregate weekly hours (2007=100)(3)

100.7 102.9 103.0 103.3

Over-the-month percent change

0.2 -0.2 0.1 0.3

Index of aggregate weekly payrolls (2007=100)(4)

117.3 122.0 122.4 123.0

Over-the-month percent change

0.4 0.1 0.3 0.5

DIFFUSION INDEX
(Over 1-month span)(5)

Total private (263 industries)

67.5 59.3 58.4 61.6

Manufacturing (80 industries)

63.1 46.9 51.9 48.8

Footnotes
(1) Includes other industries, not shown separately.
(2) Data relate to production employees in mining and logging and manufacturing, construction employees in construction, and nonsupervisory employees in the service-providing industries.
(3) The indexes of aggregate weekly hours are calculated by dividing the current month’s estimates of aggregate hours by the corresponding annual average aggregate hours.
(4) The indexes of aggregate weekly payrolls are calculated by dividing the current month’s estimates of aggregate weekly payrolls by the corresponding annual average aggregate weekly payrolls.
(5) 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.
(p) Preliminary

NOTE: Data have been revised to reflect March 2014 benchmark levels and updated seasonal adjustment factors.

 

Frequently Asked Questions about Employment and Unemployment Estimates

1. 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 establishment survey
   employment series has a smaller margin of error on the measurement of month-to-
   month change than the household survey because of its much larger sample size. An
   over-the-month employment change of about 100,000 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 establishment survey because it includes self-employed
   workers whose businesses are unincorporated, 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.
   For more information on the differences between the two surveys, please visit
   www.bls.gov/web/empsit/ces_cps_trends.pdf.

2. Are undocumented immigrants counted in the surveys?

   It is likely that both surveys include at least some undocumented immigrants. However,
   neither the establishment nor the household survey is designed to identify the legal
   status of workers. Therefore, it is not possible to determine how many are counted in
   either survey. The establishment survey does not collect data on the legal status of
   workers. The household survey does include questions which identify the foreign and
   native born, but it does not include questions about the legal status of the foreign
   born. Data on the foreign and native born are published each month in table A-7 of
   The Employment Situation news release.

3. 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 and recalculated seasonal
   adjustment factors. For more information on the monthly revisions, please visit
   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
   www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cesbmart.htm.

4. Does the establishment survey sample include small firms?

   Yes; about 40 percent of the establishment survey sample is comprised of business
   establishments with fewer than 20 employees. The establishment survey sample is
   designed to maximize the reliability of the statewide total nonfarm employment
   estimate; firms from all states, size classes, and industries are appropriately
   sampled to achieve that goal.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. Does the official unemployment rate exclude people who want a job but are not currently
   looking for work?

   Yes; however, there are separate estimates of persons outside the labor force who
   want a job, including those who are not currently looking because they believe no
   jobs are available (discouraged workers). In addition, alternative measures of labor
   underutilization (some of which include discouraged workers and other groups not
   officially counted as unemployed) are published each month in table A-15 of The
   Employment Situation news release. For more information about these alternative
   measures, please visit www.bls.gov/cps/lfcharacteristics.htm#altmeasures.

8. How can unusually severe weather affect employment and hours estimates?

   In the establishment survey, the reference period is the pay period that includes
   the 12th of the month. Unusually severe weather is more likely to have an impact on
   average weekly hours than on employment. Average weekly hours are estimated for paid
   time during the pay period, including pay for holidays, sick leave, or other time off.
   The impact of severe weather on hours estimates typically, but not always, results in
   a reduction in average weekly hours. For example, some employees may be off work for
   part of the pay period and not receive pay for the time missed, while some workers,
   such as those dealing with cleanup or repair, may work extra hours.
   
   Typically, it is not possible to precisely quantify the effect of extreme weather on 
   payroll employment estimates. In order for severe weather conditions to reduce
   employment estimates, employees have to be off work without pay for the entire pay
   period. Employees who receive pay for any part of the pay period, even 1 hour, are
   counted in the payroll employment figures. For more information on how often employees
   are paid, please visit www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-3/how-frequently-do-private-
   businesses-pay-workers.htm.

   In the household survey, the reference period is generally the calendar week that
   includes the 12th of the month. Persons who miss the entire week's work for weather-
   related events are counted as employed whether or not they are paid for the time
   off. The household survey collects data on the number of persons who had a job but
   were not at work due to bad weather. It also provides a measure of the number of
   persons who usually work full time but had reduced hours due to bad weather. 
   Current and historical data are available on the household survey's most requested
   statistics page, please visit http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost?ln.



 

Technical Note


   This news release presents statistics from two major surveys, the Current
Population Survey (CPS; household survey) and the Current Employment Statistics
survey (CES; establishment survey). The household survey provides 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 eligible households
conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

   The establishment survey provides information on employment, hours, and
earnings of employees on nonfarm payrolls; the data appear in the "B" tables,
marked ESTABLISHMENT DATA. BLS collects these data each month from the payroll
records of a sample of nonagricultural business establishments. Each month
the CES program surveys about 143,000 businesses and government agencies,
representing approximately 588,000 individual worksites, in order to provide
detailed industry data on employment, hours, and earnings of workers on nonfarm
payrolls. The active sample includes approximately one-third of all nonfarm
payroll employees.

   For both surveys, the data for a given month relate to a particular week or
pay period. In the household survey, the reference period is generally the
calendar 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 persons not classified as employed or unemployed are not in the labor 
force. The unemployment 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. Additional information about the 
household survey can be found at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm.

   Establishment survey. The sample establishments are drawn from private
nonfarm businesses such as factories, offices, and stores, as well as
from 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 produced for the private sector for
all employees and for production and nonsupervisory employees. Production
and nonsupervisory employees are defined as production and related employees
in manufacturing and mining and logging, construction workers in construction,
and nonsupervisory employees in private service-providing industries.

   Industries are classified on the basis of an establishment’s principal
activity in accordance with the 2012 version of the North American Industry
Classification System. Additional information about the establishment survey
can be found at www.bls.gov/ces/.

   Differences in employment estimates. The numerous conceptual and methodological
differences between the household and establishment  surveys result in important
distinctions in the employment estimates derived from the surveys. Among these are:

   --The household survey includes agricultural workers, self-employed workers
     whose businesses are unincorporated, 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 are 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 regularly occurring fluctuations. These 
events may result from seasonal changes in weather, major holidays, and the opening
and closing of schools. The effect of such seasonal variation can be very large.

   Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each year,
their influence on the level of a series can be tempered by adjusting for regular
seasonal variation. These adjustments make nonseasonal developments, such as
declines in employment or increases in the participation of women in the labor
force, easier to spot. For example, in the household survey, the large number of
youth entering the labor force each June is likely to obscure any other changes
that have taken place relative to May, making it difficult to determine if the 
level of economic activity has risen or declined. Similarly, in the establishment
survey, payroll employment in education declines by about 20 percent at the end
of the spring term and later rises with the start of the fall term, obscuring the
underlying employment trends in the industry. Because seasonal employment changes
at the end and beginning of the school year can be estimated, the statistics can be
adjusted to make underlying employment patterns more discernable.  The seasonally
adjusted figures provide a more useful tool with which to analyze changes in
month-to-month economic activity.

   Many 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 major sectors, 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. The prior 2 months are routinely revised to
incorporate additional sample reports and recalculated seasonal adjustment factors.
In both surveys, 5-year 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 component of this difference that occurs
because samples differ by chance is known as sampling error, and its variability
is measured by the standard error of the estimate. There is about a 90-percent
chance, or level of confidence, 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 nonfarm
employment from the establishment survey is on the order of plus or minus 105,000.
Suppose the estimate of nonfarm employment increases by 50,000 from one month to
the next. The 90-percent confidence interval on the monthly change would range from
-55,000 to +155,000 (50,000 +/- 105,000). 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
nonfarm employment had, in fact, increased that month. If, however, the reported
nonfarm employment rise was 250,000, 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 nonfarm employment had, in fact, risen that month.
At an unemployment rate of around 6.0 percent, the 90-percent confidence interval
for the monthly change in unemployment as measured by the household survey is
about +/- 300,000, and for the monthly change in the unemployment rate it is about
+/- 0.2 percentage point.

   In general, estimates involving many individuals or establishments have lower
standard errors (relative to the size of the estimate) than estimates which are based
on a small number of observations. The precision of estimates also is improved when
the data are cumulated over time, such as for quarterly and annual averages.

   The household and establishment surveys are also affected by nonsampling error,
which can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment 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
processing of the data.

   For example, in the establishment survey, estimates for the most recent 2 months
are based on incomplete returns; for this reason, these estimates are labeled
preliminary in the tables. It is only after two successive revisions to a monthly
estimate, 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
inability 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 excludes employment losses from business deaths from sample-based
estimation in order to offset the missing employment gains from business births.
This is incorporated into the sample-based estimation procedure by simply not
reflecting sample units going out of business, but imputing to them the same
employment trend as the other firms in the sample. This procedure accounts for
most of the net birth/death employment.

   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 universe micro- level database, and reflects the actual
residual net of births and deaths over the past 5 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, absolute benchmark revisions for total nonfarm
employment have averaged 0.3 percent, with a range from -0.7 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; Federal Relay
Service: (800) 877-8339.



 

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-1. Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age

[Numbers in thousands]
Employment status, sex, and age Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted(1)
May
2014
Apr.
2015
May
2015
May
2014
Jan.
2015
Feb.
2015
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015
May
2015

TOTAL

Civilian noninstitutional population

247,622 250,266 250,455 247,622 249,723 249,899 250,080 250,266 250,455

Civilian labor force

155,841 156,554 157,719 155,629 157,180 157,002 156,906 157,072 157,469

Participation rate

62.9 62.6 63.0 62.8 62.9 62.8 62.7 62.8 62.9

Employed

146,398 148,587 149,349 145,868 148,201 148,297 148,331 148,523 148,795

Employment-population ratio

59.1 59.4 59.6 58.9 59.3 59.3 59.3 59.3 59.4

Unemployed

9,443 7,966 8,370 9,761 8,979 8,705 8,575 8,549 8,674

Unemployment rate

6.1 5.1 5.3 6.3 5.7 5.5 5.5 5.4 5.5

Not in labor force

91,782 93,712 92,736 91,993 92,544 92,898 93,175 93,194 92,986

Persons who currently want a job

7,031 6,096 6,536 6,454 6,358 6,538 6,369 6,258 6,058

Men, 16 years and over

Civilian noninstitutional population

119,582 120,831 120,927 119,582 120,559 120,647 120,738 120,831 120,927

Civilian labor force

82,723 83,358 84,020 82,592 83,771 83,772 83,694 83,805 83,892

Participation rate

69.2 69.0 69.5 69.1 69.5 69.4 69.3 69.4 69.4

Employed

77,619 78,996 79,474 77,345 78,869 79,006 79,014 79,203 79,201

Employment-population ratio

64.9 65.4 65.7 64.7 65.4 65.5 65.4 65.5 65.5

Unemployed

5,104 4,362 4,546 5,247 4,903 4,766 4,680 4,602 4,691

Unemployment rate

6.2 5.2 5.4 6.4 5.9 5.7 5.6 5.5 5.6

Not in labor force

36,859 37,473 36,907 36,990 36,787 36,875 37,044 37,026 37,035

Men, 20 years and over

Civilian noninstitutional population

111,126 112,400 112,498 111,126 112,117 112,209 112,304 112,400 112,498

Civilian labor force

80,020 80,670 81,102 79,836 80,804 80,831 80,752 80,884 80,915

Participation rate

72.0 71.8 72.1 71.8 72.1 72.0 71.9 72.0 71.9

Employed

75,459 76,749 77,137 75,159 76,496 76,588 76,653 76,805 76,833

Employment-population ratio

67.9 68.3 68.6 67.6 68.2 68.3 68.3 68.3 68.3

Unemployed

4,562 3,921 3,965 4,677 4,308 4,243 4,099 4,079 4,082

Unemployment rate

5.7 4.9 4.9 5.9 5.3 5.2 5.1 5.0 5.0

Not in labor force

31,106 31,730 31,396 31,291 31,313 31,379 31,552 31,516 31,583

Women, 16 years and over

Civilian noninstitutional population

128,040 129,434 129,528 128,040 129,165 129,252 129,342 129,434 129,528

Civilian labor force

73,118 73,196 73,699 73,037 73,408 73,230 73,211 73,267 73,577

Participation rate

57.1 56.6 56.9 57.0 56.8 56.7 56.6 56.6 56.8

Employed

68,779 69,591 69,875 68,523 69,332 69,291 69,317 69,320 69,594

Employment-population ratio

53.7 53.8 53.9 53.5 53.7 53.6 53.6 53.6 53.7

Unemployed

4,339 3,605 3,824 4,513 4,076 3,939 3,894 3,947 3,983

Unemployment rate

5.9 4.9 5.2 6.2 5.6 5.4 5.3 5.4 5.4

Not in labor force

54,923 56,238 55,829 55,004 55,756 56,023 56,131 56,167 55,951

Women, 20 years and over

Civilian noninstitutional population

119,852 121,246 121,342 119,852 120,970 121,060 121,152 121,246 121,342

Civilian labor force

70,274 70,509 70,874 70,170 70,558 70,370 70,330 70,419 70,731

Participation rate

58.6 58.2 58.4 58.5 58.3 58.1 58.1 58.1 58.3

Employed

66,466 67,303 67,493 66,164 66,983 66,901 66,874 66,935 67,178

Employment-population ratio

55.5 55.5 55.6 55.2 55.4 55.3 55.2 55.2 55.4

Unemployed

3,809 3,206 3,381 4,006 3,575 3,469 3,455 3,483 3,553

Unemployment rate

5.4 4.5 4.8 5.7 5.1 4.9 4.9 4.9 5.0

Not in labor force

49,577 50,737 50,467 49,682 50,412 50,690 50,823 50,828 50,611

Both sexes, 16 to 19 years

Civilian noninstitutional population

16,644 16,619 16,615 16,644 16,636 16,630 16,624 16,619 16,615

Civilian labor force

5,546 5,375 5,743 5,623 5,817 5,801 5,824 5,769 5,823

Participation rate

33.3 32.3 34.6 33.8 35.0 34.9 35.0 34.7 35.0

Employed

4,473 4,536 4,718 4,545 4,722 4,808 4,804 4,784 4,784

Employment-population ratio

26.9 27.3 28.4 27.3 28.4 28.9 28.9 28.8 28.8

Unemployed

1,072 840 1,025 1,078 1,096 993 1,021 986 1,039

Unemployment rate

19.3 15.6 17.8 19.2 18.8 17.1 17.5 17.1 17.9

Not in labor force

11,098 11,244 10,872 11,021 10,819 10,829 10,800 10,849 10,792

Footnotes
(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
Table A-2. Employment status of the civilian population by race, sex, and age

[Numbers in thousands]
Employment status, race, sex, and age Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted(1)
May
2014
Apr.
2015
May
2015
May
2014
Jan.
2015
Feb.
2015
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015
May
2015

WHITE

Civilian noninstitutional population

195,310 196,574 196,673 195,310 196,307 196,392 196,482 196,574 196,673

Civilian labor force

123,443 123,089 124,087 123,278 124,119 123,875 123,739 123,510 123,875

Participation rate

63.2 62.6 63.1 63.1 63.2 63.1 63.0 62.8 63.0

Employed

117,029 117,642 118,457 116,662 118,035 117,992 117,886 117,719 118,048

Employment-population ratio

59.9 59.8 60.2 59.7 60.1 60.1 60.0 59.9 60.0

Unemployed

6,414 5,448 5,630 6,617 6,084 5,883 5,853 5,791 5,827

Unemployment rate

5.2 4.4 4.5 5.4 4.9 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7

Not in labor force

71,867 73,484 72,586 72,031 72,189 72,517 72,743 73,064 72,798

Men, 20 years and over

Civilian labor force

64,482 64,613 64,942 64,332 64,871 64,920 64,899 64,764 64,790

Participation rate

72.4 72.0 72.3 72.2 72.4 72.4 72.4 72.2 72.2

Employed

61,389 61,870 62,297 61,129 61,953 62,015 62,023 61,919 62,037

Employment-population ratio

68.9 69.0 69.4 68.6 69.2 69.2 69.2 69.0 69.1

Unemployed

3,094 2,744 2,645 3,203 2,918 2,906 2,876 2,845 2,753

Unemployment rate

4.8 4.2 4.1 5.0 4.5 4.5 4.4 4.4 4.2

Women, 20 years and over

Civilian labor force

54,599 54,238 54,619 54,508 54,683 54,401 54,256 54,198 54,481

Participation rate

58.2 57.4 57.7 58.1 57.9 57.6 57.4 57.3 57.6

Employed

52,043 52,115 52,347 51,850 52,267 52,105 51,998 51,912 52,121

Employment-population ratio

55.5 55.1 55.3 55.3 55.4 55.2 55.0 54.9 55.1

Unemployed

2,556 2,123 2,271 2,657 2,416 2,296 2,258 2,286 2,359

Unemployment rate

4.7 3.9 4.2 4.9 4.4 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.3

Both sexes, 16 to 19 years

Civilian labor force

4,361 4,239 4,526 4,439 4,565 4,554 4,584 4,548 4,604

Participation rate

35.2 34.4 36.7 35.8 37.0 36.9 37.2 36.9 37.4

Employed

3,598 3,657 3,812 3,682 3,814 3,872 3,865 3,888 3,890

Employment-population ratio

29.0 29.7 30.9 29.7 30.9 31.4 31.3 31.5 31.6

Unemployed

763 582 714 757 751 682 719 660 714

Unemployment rate

17.5 13.7 15.8 17.0 16.4 15.0 15.7 14.5 15.5

BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN

Civilian noninstitutional population

30,787 31,293 31,326 30,787 31,188 31,222 31,257 31,293 31,326

Civilian labor force

18,717 19,380 19,443 18,747 19,040 19,101 19,055 19,397 19,428

Participation rate

60.8 61.9 62.1 60.9 61.0 61.2 61.0 62.0 62.0

Employed

16,618 17,648 17,489 16,604 17,071 17,122 17,129 17,529 17,441

Employment-population ratio

54.0 56.4 55.8 53.9 54.7 54.8 54.8 56.0 55.7

Unemployed

2,099 1,731 1,953 2,143 1,969 1,979 1,926 1,868 1,988

Unemployment rate

11.2 8.9 10.0 11.4 10.3 10.4 10.1 9.6 10.2

Not in labor force

12,070 11,913 11,883 12,041 12,148 12,122 12,202 11,896 11,898

Men, 20 years and over

Civilian labor force

8,516 8,868 8,927 8,519 8,676 8,710 8,711 8,926 8,905

Participation rate

66.9 68.3 68.7 67.0 67.1 67.3 67.2 68.7 68.5

Employed

7,516 8,095 7,994 7,536 7,757 7,805 7,841 8,109 7,995

Employment-population ratio

59.1 62.3 61.5 59.2 60.0 60.3 60.5 62.5 61.5

Unemployed

1,000 773 933 983 919 905 870 817 911

Unemployment rate

11.7 8.7 10.5 11.5 10.6 10.4 10.0 9.2 10.2

Women, 20 years and over

Civilian labor force

9,504 9,868 9,798 9,529 9,667 9,665 9,703 9,792 9,808

Participation rate

61.1 62.4 61.9 61.3 61.3 61.3 61.4 61.9 61.9

Employed

8,619 9,067 8,990 8,586 8,824 8,809 8,807 8,928 8,946

Employment-population ratio

55.4 57.3 56.8 55.2 56.0 55.8 55.8 56.4 56.5

Unemployed

885 801 808 943 843 857 895 864 862

Unemployment rate

9.3 8.1 8.2 9.9 8.7 8.9 9.2 8.8 8.8

Both sexes, 16 to 19 years

Civilian labor force

696 643 718 699 697 726 642 678 715

Participation rate

27.7 25.8 28.8 27.8 27.9 29.1 25.7 27.2 28.7

Employed

483 486 506 482 490 508 481 491 500

Employment-population ratio

19.2 19.5 20.3 19.2 19.6 20.4 19.3 19.7 20.1

Unemployed

214 157 212 217 207 218 161 187 215

Unemployment rate

30.7 24.4 29.6 31.0 29.7 30.0 25.0 27.5 30.1

ASIAN

Civilian noninstitutional population

13,771 14,290 14,403 13,771 14,253 14,291 14,296 14,290 14,403

Civilian labor force

8,755 9,023 9,157 8,778 8,899 9,038 8,934 9,038 9,169

Participation rate

63.6 63.1 63.6 63.7 62.4 63.2 62.5 63.3 63.7

Employed

8,287 8,644 8,804 8,288 8,540 8,680 8,646 8,644 8,794

Employment-population ratio

60.2 60.5 61.1 60.2 59.9 60.7 60.5 60.5 61.1

Unemployed

467 379 353 490 359 358 288 394 375

Unemployment rate

5.3 4.2 3.9 5.6 4.0 4.0 3.2 4.4 4.1

Not in labor force

5,016 5,267 5,246 4,993 5,355 5,253 5,363 5,251 5,234

Footnotes
(1) The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted and seasonally adjusted columns.

NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups will not sum to totals shown in table A-1 because data are not presented for all races. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

 

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-3. Employment status of the Hispanic or Latino population by sex and age

[Numbers in thousands]
Employment status, sex, and age Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted(1)
May
2014
Apr.
2015
May
2015
May
2014
Jan.
2015
Feb.
2015
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015
May
2015

HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY

Civilian noninstitutional population

38,277 39,405 39,483 38,277 39,165 39,244 39,323 39,405 39,483

Civilian labor force

25,183 26,092 26,179 25,169 26,047 25,962 26,087 26,167 26,149

Participation rate

65.8 66.2 66.3 65.8 66.5 66.2 66.3 66.4 66.2

Employed

23,360 24,443 24,521 23,234 24,305 24,238 24,319 24,354 24,385

Employment-population ratio

61.0 62.0 62.1 60.7 62.1 61.8 61.8 61.8 61.8

Unemployed

1,823 1,650 1,658 1,934 1,742 1,724 1,768 1,813 1,764

Unemployment rate

7.2 6.3 6.3 7.7 6.7 6.6 6.8 6.9 6.7

Not in labor force

13,093 13,312 13,304 13,108 13,118 13,282 13,236 13,237 13,334

Men, 20 years and over

Civilian labor force

13,965 14,442 14,505 13,946 14,479 14,465 14,465 14,484 14,479

Participation rate

80.7 81.3 81.5 80.6 82.1 81.8 81.6 81.6 81.4

Employed

13,100 13,646 13,676 13,038 13,647 13,601 13,627 13,614 13,615

Employment-population ratio

75.7 76.8 76.8 75.3 77.3 76.9 76.9 76.7 76.5

Unemployed

865 796 829 909 832 864 837 870 863

Unemployment rate

6.2 5.5 5.7 6.5 5.7 6.0 5.8 6.0 6.0

Women, 20 years and over

Civilian labor force

10,172 10,556 10,575 10,147 10,344 10,309 10,435 10,526 10,537

Participation rate

58.8 58.8 58.8 58.6 58.0 57.7 58.3 58.6 58.6

Employed

9,404 9,876 9,936 9,336 9,704 9,685 9,755 9,802 9,854

Employment-population ratio

54.3 55.0 55.2 53.9 54.4 54.2 54.5 54.6 54.8

Unemployed

767 680 639 811 640 625 680 725 684

Unemployment rate

7.5 6.4 6.0 8.0 6.2 6.1 6.5 6.9 6.5

Both sexes, 16 to 19 years

Civilian labor force

1,047 1,094 1,099 1,076 1,224 1,187 1,187 1,157 1,133

Participation rate

28.6 29.6 29.7 29.4 33.2 32.2 32.2 31.3 30.6

Employed

856 920 910 861 954 952 937 938 916

Employment-population ratio

23.4 24.9 24.6 23.5 25.9 25.8 25.4 25.4 24.8

Unemployed

191 174 190 215 270 235 250 218 217

Unemployment rate

18.2 15.9 17.3 19.9 22.1 19.8 21.1 18.9 19.2

Footnotes
(1) The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted and seasonally adjusted columns.

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
Table A-4. Employment status of the civilian population 25 years and over by educational attainment

[Numbers in thousands]
Educational attainment Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
May
2014
Apr.
2015
May
2015
May
2014
Jan.
2015
Feb.
2015
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015
May
2015

Less than a high school diploma

Civilian labor force

11,131 11,544 11,481 10,816 11,439 11,126 11,089 11,338 11,153

Participation rate

45.3 46.6 45.9 44.1 46.0 46.3 45.1 45.7 44.6

Employed

10,181 10,577 10,561 9,825 10,468 10,196 10,134 10,367 10,192

Employment-population ratio

41.5 42.7 42.2 40.0 42.1 42.4 41.2 41.8 40.7

Unemployed

950 967 919 991 971 929 955 971 961

Unemployment rate

8.5 8.4 8.0 9.2 8.5 8.4 8.6 8.6 8.6

High school graduates, no college(1)

Civilian labor force

36,302 35,565 35,442 36,162 35,418 35,371 35,656 35,577 35,341

Participation rate

58.2 57.2 57.4 58.0 57.9 57.4 57.3 57.2 57.2

Employed

34,091 33,712 33,515 33,811 33,492 33,464 33,752 33,639 33,304

Employment-population ratio

54.7 54.2 54.3 54.2 54.8 54.3 54.2 54.1 53.9

Unemployed

2,211 1,853 1,927 2,351 1,926 1,907 1,904 1,938 2,037

Unemployment rate

6.1 5.2 5.4 6.5 5.4 5.4 5.3 5.4 5.8

Some college or associate degree

Civilian labor force

37,001 37,715 37,403 37,267 37,479 37,490 37,558 37,755 37,594

Participation rate

66.8 67.3 67.0 67.3 67.2 66.8 67.6 67.4 67.4

Employed

35,037 36,044 35,841 35,223 35,540 35,588 35,755 35,996 35,934

Employment-population ratio

63.3 64.3 64.2 63.6 63.8 63.4 64.4 64.2 64.4

Unemployed

1,964 1,671 1,562 2,044 1,939 1,902 1,803 1,759 1,660

Unemployment rate

5.3 4.4 4.2 5.5 5.2 5.1 4.8 4.7 4.4

Bachelor’s degree and higher(2)

Civilian labor force

50,248 51,314 52,052 50,206 51,550 51,583 51,272 51,156 51,938

Participation rate

75.4 74.8 75.2 75.4 74.4 74.4 74.3 74.6 75.0

Employed

48,760 50,013 50,722 48,619 50,084 50,172 50,007 49,758 50,518

Employment-population ratio

73.2 72.9 73.3 73.0 72.3 72.3 72.5 72.5 73.0

Unemployed

1,487 1,301 1,329 1,587 1,466 1,411 1,265 1,399 1,419

Unemployment rate

3.0 2.5 2.6 3.2 2.8 2.7 2.5 2.7 2.7

Footnotes
(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
Table A-5. Employment status of the civilian population 18 years and over by veteran status, period of service, and sex, not seasonally adjusted

[Numbers in thousands]
Employment status, veteran status, and period of service Total Men Women
May
2014
May
2015
May
2014
May
2015
May
2014
May
2015

VETERANS, 18 years and over

Civilian noninstitutional population

21,213 21,251 18,963 19,255 2,250 1,996

Civilian labor force

10,667 10,767 9,300 9,514 1,367 1,253

Participation rate

50.3 50.7 49.0 49.4 60.8 62.8

Employed

10,129 10,227 8,840 9,054 1,288 1,173

Employment-population ratio

47.7 48.1 46.6 47.0 57.3 58.8

Unemployed

538 541 459 460 79 81

Unemployment rate

5.0 5.0 4.9 4.8 5.8 6.4

Not in labor force

10,546 10,484 9,663 9,741 883 743

Gulf War-era II veterans

Civilian noninstitutional population

3,053 3,610 2,458 2,988 595 621

Civilian labor force

2,444 2,946 2,055 2,512 389 434

Participation rate

80.0 81.6 83.6 84.1 65.4 69.9

Employed

2,314 2,787 1,953 2,380 361 406

Employment-population ratio

75.8 77.2 79.4 79.6 60.6 65.4

Unemployed

130 160 102 132 28 28

Unemployment rate

5.3 5.4 5.0 5.3 7.3 6.3

Not in labor force

609 663 403 476 206 187

Gulf War-era I veterans

Civilian noninstitutional population

3,407 3,399 2,705 2,860 702 540

Civilian labor force

2,794 2,725 2,283 2,325 511 400

Participation rate

82.0 80.2 84.4 81.3 72.9 74.0

Employed

2,647 2,586 2,174 2,227 473 359

Employment-population ratio

77.7 76.1 80.4 77.9 67.4 66.5

Unemployed

147 139 108 98 39 41

Unemployment rate

5.3 5.1 4.7 4.2 7.6 10.1

Not in labor force

613 675 422 534 190 140

World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam-era veterans

Civilian noninstitutional population

9,437 8,954 9,083 8,636 354 318

Civilian labor force

2,698 2,374 2,589 2,270 109 104

Participation rate

28.6 26.5 28.5 26.3 30.8 32.8

Employed

2,566 2,257 2,462 2,160 104 97

Employment-population ratio

27.2 25.2 27.1 25.0 29.2 30.4

Unemployed

132 118 127 110 6 8

Unemployment rate

4.9 5.0 4.9 4.8 5.1 7.5

Not in labor force

6,739 6,580 6,494 6,366 245 214

Veterans of other service periods

Civilian noninstitutional population

5,316 5,288 4,717 4,771 599 517

Civilian labor force

2,731 2,722 2,373 2,407 358 315

Participation rate

51.4 51.5 50.3 50.4 59.7 61.0

Employed

2,602 2,598 2,251 2,287 351 311

Employment-population ratio

49.0 49.1 47.7 47.9 58.6 60.1

Unemployed

128 124 122 119 6 5

Unemployment rate

4.7 4.6 5.1 5.0 1.8 1.5

Not in labor force

2,585 2,566 2,344 2,364 241 202

NONVETERANS, 18 years and over

Civilian noninstitutional population

217,547 220,356 96,090 97,162 121,457 123,194

Civilian labor force

143,318 144,962 72,543 73,468 70,774 71,494

Participation rate

65.9 65.8 75.5 75.6 58.3 58.0

Employed

134,856 137,529 68,122 69,617 66,734 67,913

Employment-population ratio

62.0 62.4 70.9 71.7 54.9 55.1

Unemployed

8,462 7,432 4,421 3,851 4,040 3,581

Unemployment rate

5.9 5.1 6.1 5.2 5.7 5.0

Not in labor force

74,229 75,394 23,546 23,693 50,682 51,701

NOTE: Veterans served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces and were not on active duty at the time of the survey. Nonveterans never served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. Veterans could have served anywhere in the world during these periods of service: Gulf War era II (September 2001-present), Gulf War era I (August 1990-August 2001), Vietnam era (August 1964-April 1975), Korean War (July 1950-January 1955), World War II (December 1941-December 1946), and other service periods (all other time periods). Veterans who served in more than one wartime period are classified only in the most recent one. Veterans who served during one of the selected wartime periods and another period are classified only in the wartime period.

 

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-6. Employment status of the civilian population by sex, age, and disability status, not seasonally adjusted

[Numbers in thousands]
Employment status, sex, and age Persons with a disability Persons with no disability
May
2014
May
2015
May
2014
May
2015

TOTAL, 16 years and over

Civilian noninstitutional population

29,005 29,922 218,617 220,533

Civilian labor force

5,649 5,933 150,192 151,787

Participation rate

19.5 19.8 68.7 68.8

Employed

4,934 5,333 141,464 144,016

Employment-population ratio

17.0 17.8 64.7 65.3

Unemployed

715 600 8,728 7,771

Unemployment rate

12.7 10.1 5.8 5.1

Not in labor force

23,357 23,989 68,425 68,746

Men, 16 to 64 years

Civilian labor force

2,522 2,649 75,560 76,446

Participation rate

33.0 34.1 82.1 82.6

Employed

2,175 2,335 71,039 72,387

Employment-population ratio

28.5 30.1 77.2 78.2

Unemployed

347 314 4,521 4,059

Unemployment rate

13.8 11.9 6.0 5.3

Not in labor force

5,111 5,121 16,497 16,098

Women, 16 to 64 years

Civilian labor force

2,104 2,313 67,191 67,456

Participation rate

27.1 28.5 70.4 70.5

Employed

1,801 2,071 63,338 64,011

Employment-population ratio

23.2 25.6 66.4 66.9

Unemployed

303 242 3,853 3,445

Unemployment rate

14.4 10.5 5.7 5.1

Not in labor force

5,655 5,792 28,195 28,252

Both sexes, 65 years and over

Civilian labor force

1,022 970 7,441 7,885

Participation rate

7.5 6.9 23.9 24.4

Employed

957 927 7,087 7,618

Employment-population ratio

7.0 6.6 22.7 23.6

Unemployed

65 43 354 267

Unemployment rate

6.4 4.5 4.8 3.4

Not in labor force

12,590 13,077 23,733 24,396

NOTE: A person with a disability has at least one of the following conditions: is deaf or has serious difficulty hearing; is blind or has serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses; has serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition; has serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs; has difficulty dressing or bathing; or has difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

 

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-7. Employment status of the civilian population by nativity and sex, not seasonally adjusted

[Numbers in thousands]
Employment status and nativity Total Men Women
May
2014
May
2015
May
2014
May
2015
May
2014
May
2015

Foreign born, 16 years and over

Civilian noninstitutional population

38,637 40,380 18,747 19,629 19,890 20,751

Civilian labor force

25,392 26,331 14,780 15,388 10,613 10,943

Participation rate

65.7 65.2 78.8 78.4 53.4 52.7

Employed

23,977 25,098 14,056 14,740 9,920 10,358

Employment-population ratio

62.1 62.2 75.0 75.1 49.9 49.9

Unemployed

1,416 1,233 723 648 692 585

Unemployment rate

5.6 4.7 4.9 4.2 6.5 5.3

Not in labor force

13,245 14,049 3,967 4,241 9,278 9,807

Native born, 16 years and over

Civilian noninstitutional population

208,985 210,075 100,835 101,297 108,150 108,778

Civilian labor force

130,448 131,388 67,943 68,632 62,505 62,756

Participation rate

62.4 62.5 67.4 67.8 57.8 57.7

Employed

122,421 124,251 63,562 64,734 58,859 59,517

Employment-population ratio

58.6 59.1 63.0 63.9 54.4 54.7

Unemployed

8,027 7,137 4,381 3,899 3,646 3,239

Unemployment rate

6.2 5.4 6.4 5.7 5.8 5.2

Not in labor force

78,537 78,687 32,892 32,665 45,645 46,022

NOTE: The foreign born are those residing in the United States who were not U.S. citizens at birth. That is, they were born outside the United States or one of its outlying areas such as Puerto Rico or Guam, to parents neither of whom was a U.S. citizen. The native born are persons who were born in the United States or one of its outlying areas such as Puerto Rico or Guam or who were born abroad of at least one parent who was a U.S. citizen. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

 

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-8. Employed persons by class of worker and part-time status

[In thousands]
Category Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
May
2014
Apr.
2015
May
2015
May
2014
Jan.
2015
Feb.
2015
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015
May
2015

CLASS OF WORKER

Agriculture and related industries

2,101 2,294 2,431 2,054 2,419 2,430 2,559 2,435 2,405

Wage and salary workers(1)

1,312 1,463 1,536 1,295 1,566 1,572 1,628 1,610 1,536

Self-employed workers, unincorporated

767 799 866 741 835 833 893 794 828

Unpaid family workers

22 32 30

Nonagricultural industries

144,297 146,293 146,918 143,843 145,743 145,880 145,699 146,111 146,417

Wage and salary workers(1)

135,781 137,371 137,648 135,334 136,949 137,447 136,830 137,148 137,175

Government

20,247 20,840 20,902 20,050 20,330 20,582 20,246 20,455 20,613

Private industries

115,534 116,531 116,746 115,312 116,664 116,890 116,654 116,707 116,572

Private households

867 793 770

Other industries

114,667 115,738 115,976 114,481 115,724 116,042 115,839 115,899 115,821

Self-employed workers, unincorporated

8,432 8,837 9,207 8,399 8,725 8,386 8,685 8,826 9,142

Unpaid family workers

84 84 63

PERSONS AT WORK PART TIME(2)

All industries

Part time for economic reasons(3)

6,960 6,356 6,363 7,268 6,810 6,635 6,705 6,580 6,652

Slack work or business conditions

4,177 3,728 3,673 4,404 4,012 3,847 4,069 3,885 3,891

Could only find part-time work

2,519 2,370 2,434 2,558 2,460 2,426 2,337 2,374 2,390

Part time for noneconomic reasons(4)

19,410 20,992 20,192 19,149 19,822 19,837 19,733 20,056 19,961

Nonagricultural industries

Part time for economic reasons(3)

6,917 6,277 6,272 7,201 6,690 6,539 6,620 6,501 6,541

Slack work or business conditions

4,144 3,674 3,624 4,359 3,951 3,791 4,028 3,835 3,830

Could only find part-time work

2,510 2,354 2,416 2,546 2,432 2,415 2,302 2,352 2,419

Part time for noneconomic reasons(4)

19,117 20,622 19,824 18,861 19,446 19,505 19,374 19,705 19,603

Footnotes
(1) Includes self-employed workers whose businesses are incorporated.
(2) Refers to those who worked 1 to 34 hours during the survey reference week and excludes employed persons who were absent from their jobs for the entire week.
(3) Refers to those who worked 1 to 34 hours during the reference week for an economic reason such as slack work or unfavorable business conditions, inability to find full-time work, or seasonal declines in demand.
(4) Refers to persons who usually work part time for noneconomic reasons such as childcare problems, family or personal obligations, school or training, retirement or Social Security limits on earnings, and other reasons. This excludes persons who usually work full time but worked only 1 to 34 hours during the reference week for reasons such as vacations, holidays, illness, and bad weather.

– Data not available.
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
Table A-9. Selected employment indicators

[Numbers in thousands]
Characteristic Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
May
2014
Apr.
2015
May
2015
May
2014
Jan.
2015
Feb.
2015
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015
May
2015

AGE AND SEX

Total, 16 years and over

146,398 148,587 149,349 145,868 148,201 148,297 148,331 148,523 148,795

16 to 19 years

4,473 4,536 4,718 4,545 4,722 4,808 4,804 4,784 4,784

16 to 17 years

1,413 1,482 1,593 1,496 1,651 1,637 1,615 1,630 1,678

18 to 19 years

3,060 3,053 3,126 3,062 3,058 3,186 3,189 3,147 3,128

20 years and over

141,924 144,052 144,630 141,323 143,480 143,489 143,527 143,740 144,011

20 to 24 years

13,855 13,706 13,990 13,956 14,011 14,114 13,823 13,851 14,060

25 years and over

128,069 130,346 130,640 127,353 129,435 129,349 129,614 129,861 129,890

25 to 54 years

95,510 96,742 96,939 95,098 96,464 96,565 96,501 96,482 96,507

25 to 34 years

31,839 32,767 32,935 31,703 32,574 32,682 32,693 32,734 32,786

35 to 44 years

30,978 31,200 31,224 30,858 31,157 31,071 31,095 31,072 31,095

45 to 54 years

32,692 32,775 32,780 32,537 32,734 32,812 32,713 32,676 32,625

55 years and over

32,559 33,605 33,701 32,255 32,971 32,784 33,113 33,379 33,383

Men, 16 years and over

77,619 78,996 79,474 77,345 78,869 79,006 79,014 79,203 79,201

16 to 19 years

2,160 2,247 2,337 2,186 2,372 2,418 2,361 2,399 2,368

16 to 17 years

656 746 803 696 802 791 762 830 845

18 to 19 years

1,504 1,501 1,534 1,492 1,560 1,636 1,584 1,557 1,528

20 years and over

75,459 76,749 77,137 75,159 76,496 76,588 76,653 76,805 76,833

20 to 24 years

7,155 7,050 7,232 7,194 7,198 7,324 7,088 7,158 7,259

25 years and over

68,303 69,698 69,905 67,944 69,248 69,190 69,506 69,633 69,531

25 to 54 years

51,105 51,861 51,950 50,854 51,809 51,860 51,948 51,863 51,716

25 to 34 years

17,166 17,763 17,820 17,100 17,722 17,743 17,804 17,798 17,755

35 to 44 years

16,762 16,832 16,840 16,687 16,807 16,760 16,824 16,818 16,766

45 to 54 years

17,177 17,266 17,290 17,067 17,281 17,357 17,321 17,247 17,195

55 years and over

17,199 17,837 17,955 17,089 17,439 17,330 17,557 17,770 17,816

Women, 16 years and over

68,779 69,591 69,875 68,523 69,332 69,291 69,317 69,320 69,594

16 to 19 years

2,313 2,288 2,382 2,359 2,349 2,389 2,442 2,385 2,416

16 to 17 years

757 736 790 800 849 846 853 800 833

18 to 19 years

1,556 1,553 1,592 1,569 1,499 1,550 1,605 1,590 1,600

20 years and over

66,466 67,303 67,493 66,164 66,983 66,901 66,874 66,935 67,178

20 to 24 years

6,700 6,655 6,758 6,763 6,813 6,790 6,735 6,693 6,801

25 years and over

59,766 60,648 60,735 59,410 60,187 60,159 60,108 60,228 60,358

25 to 54 years

44,405 44,881 44,990 44,244 44,655 44,705 44,552 44,619 44,791

25 to 34 years

14,673 15,004 15,115 14,603 14,852 14,939 14,889 14,936 15,032

35 to 44 years

14,216 14,369 14,385 14,171 14,350 14,311 14,271 14,255 14,329

45 to 54 years

15,516 15,508 15,490 15,470 15,453 15,456 15,392 15,429 15,431

55 years and over

15,361 15,768 15,746 15,166 15,532 15,453 15,556 15,609 15,567

MARITAL STATUS

Married men, spouse present

44,776 45,042 45,077 44,529 44,934 44,951 45,304 45,023 44,792

Married women, spouse present

34,855 35,045 35,035 34,702 34,843 34,910 35,106 34,974 34,879

Women who maintain families

9,563 9,706 9,787

FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS

Full-time workers(1)

119,179 120,402 121,863 118,790 120,711 120,834 121,024 120,772 121,402

Part-time workers(2)

27,219 28,185 27,486 27,210 27,546 27,471 27,301 27,738 27,506

MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS

Total multiple jobholders

7,305 7,000 7,081 7,088 7,485 7,059 7,158 6,986 6,946

Percent of total employed

5.0 4.7 4.7 4.9 5.1 4.8 4.8 4.7 4.7

SELF-EMPLOYMENT

Self-employed workers, incorporated

5,396 5,378 5,457

Self-employed workers, unincorporated

9,199 9,636 10,073 9,139 9,560 9,220 9,579 9,620 9,970

Footnotes
(1) Employed full-time workers are persons who usually work 35 hours or more per week.
(2) Employed part-time workers are persons who usually work less than 35 hours per week.

– Data not available.
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
Table A-10. Selected unemployment indicators, seasonally adjusted
Characteristic Number of
unemployed persons
(in thousands)
Unemployment rates
May
2014
Apr.
2015
May
2015
May
2014
Jan.
2015
Feb.
2015
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015
May
2015

AGE AND SEX

Total, 16 years and over

9,761 8,549 8,674 6.3 5.7 5.5 5.5 5.4 5.5

16 to 19 years

1,078 986 1,039 19.2 18.8 17.1 17.5 17.1 17.9

16 to 17 years

448 407 402 23.0 19.9 18.6 18.1 20.0 19.3

18 to 19 years

628 560 629 17.0 18.2 16.4 17.1 15.1 16.7

20 years and over

8,683 7,563 7,635 5.8 5.2 5.1 5.0 5.0 5.0

20 to 24 years

1,739 1,466 1,584 11.1 9.8 10.0 10.4 9.6 10.1

25 years and over

6,984 6,054 6,057 5.2 4.6 4.5 4.4 4.5 4.5

25 to 54 years

5,446 4,687 4,771 5.4 4.8 4.6 4.5 4.6 4.7

25 to 34 years

2,251 2,003 2,012 6.6 5.9 5.4 5.6 5.8 5.8

35 to 44 years

1,653 1,387 1,427 5.1 4.4 4.5 4.1 4.3 4.4

45 to 54 years

1,541 1,297 1,332 4.5 4.1 3.8 3.7 3.8 3.9

55 years and over

1,531 1,377 1,290 4.5 4.1 4.3 3.9 4.0 3.7

Men, 16 years and over

5,247 4,602 4,691 6.4 5.9 5.7 5.6 5.5 5.6

16 to 19 years

570 522 609 20.7 20.0 17.8 19.8 17.9 20.5

16 to 17 years

230 220 238 24.8 20.8 19.2 20.5 21.0 22.0

18 to 19 years

335 280 361 18.3 19.4 17.3 19.6 15.2 19.1

20 years and over

4,677 4,079 4,082 5.9 5.3 5.2 5.1 5.0 5.0

20 to 24 years

974 844 900 11.9 11.5 10.9 11.2 10.5 11.0

25 years and over

3,753 3,207 3,194 5.2 4.6 4.6 4.4 4.4 4.4

25 to 54 years

2,935 2,427 2,473 5.5 4.7 4.6 4.5 4.5 4.6

25 to 34 years

1,262 1,011 1,061 6.9 5.8 5.6 5.6 5.4 5.6

35 to 44 years

894 704 748 5.1 4.4 4.3 4.1 4.0 4.3

45 to 54 years

778 712 664 4.4 3.9 3.9 3.7 4.0 3.7

55 years and over

818 780 721 4.6 4.1 4.6 4.1 4.2 3.9

Women, 16 years and over

4,513 3,947 3,983 6.2 5.6 5.4 5.3 5.4 5.4

16 to 19 years

507 464 430 17.7 17.6 16.4 15.2 16.3 15.1

16 to 17 years

218 187 163 21.4 19.0 18.0 15.8 18.9 16.4

18 to 19 years

293 280 269 15.7 16.9 15.4 14.5 15.0 14.4

20 years and over

4,006 3,483 3,553 5.7 5.1 4.9 4.9 4.9 5.0

20 to 24 years

765 622 684 10.2 7.9 9.0 9.5 8.5 9.1

25 years and over

3,232 2,847 2,863 5.2 4.7 4.5 4.4 4.5 4.5

25 to 54 years

2,511 2,260 2,298 5.4 4.9 4.6 4.6 4.8 4.9

25 to 34 years

989 992 951 6.3 5.9 5.2 5.7 6.2 6.0

35 to 44 years

759 683 679 5.1 4.4 4.7 4.2 4.6 4.5

45 to 54 years

763 585 668 4.7 4.4 3.8 3.7 3.7 4.1

55 years and over

715 602 585 4.5 4.1 4.0 3.7 3.7 3.6

MARITAL STATUS

Married men, spouse present

1,527 1,392 1,329 3.3 2.9 3.0 2.8 3.0 2.9

Married women, spouse present

1,433 1,222 1,189 4.0 3.3 3.2 3.1 3.4 3.3

Women who maintain families(1)

873 730 717 8.4 8.1 7.7 8.1 7.0 6.8

FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS

Full-time workers(2)

8,143 7,068 7,214 6.4 5.9 5.7 5.6 5.5 5.6

Part-time workers(3)

1,597 1,443 1,420 5.5 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9

Footnotes
(1) Not seasonally adjusted.
(2) 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.
(3) 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
Table A-11. Unemployed persons by reason for unemployment

[Numbers in thousands]
Reason Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
May
2014
Apr.
2015
May
2015
May
2014
Jan.
2015
Feb.
2015
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015
May
2015

NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED

Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs

4,613 3,977 3,962 4,959 4,242 4,180 4,189 4,136 4,267

On temporary layoff

770 871 818 1,002 902 1,021 999 950 1,041

Not on temporary layoff

3,843 3,106 3,144 3,958 3,339 3,158 3,190 3,185 3,226

Permanent job losers

2,843 2,224 2,175 2,890 2,371 2,212 2,223 2,238 2,217

Persons who completed temporary jobs

1,000 882 969 1,067 968 946 967 948 1,009

Job leavers

819 780 771 872 851 884 875 828 829

Reentrants

3,000 2,465 2,719 2,869 2,829 2,655 2,689 2,685 2,615

New entrants

1,009 745 918 1,063 1,033 972 815 868 971

PERCENT DISTRIBUTION

Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs

48.9 49.9 47.3 50.8 47.4 48.1 48.9 48.6 49.1

On temporary layoff

8.2 10.9 9.8 10.3 10.1 11.7 11.7 11.2 12.0

Not on temporary layoff

40.7 39.0 37.6 40.5 37.3 36.3 37.2 37.4 37.2

Job leavers

8.7 9.8 9.2 8.9 9.5 10.2 10.2 9.7 9.5

Reentrants

31.8 30.9 32.5 29.4 31.6 30.5 31.4 31.5 30.1

New entrants

10.7 9.4 11.0 10.9 11.5 11.2 9.5 10.2 11.2

UNEMPLOYED AS A PERCENT OF THE
CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE

Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs

3.0 2.5 2.5 3.2 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.6 2.7

Job leavers

0.5 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.5

Reentrants

1.9 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7

New entrants

0.6 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.6

NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

 

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-12. Unemployed persons by duration of unemployment

[Numbers in thousands]
Duration Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
May
2014
Apr.
2015
May
2015
May
2014
Jan.
2015
Feb.
2015
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015
May
2015

NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED

Less than 5 weeks

2,617 2,235 2,473 2,553 2,383 2,431 2,488 2,729 2,418

5 to 14 weeks

1,928 1,930 2,046 2,401 2,318 2,223 2,312 2,307 2,532

15 weeks and over

4,898 3,802 3,851 4,801 4,180 4,044 3,816 3,663 3,795

15 to 26 weeks

1,532 1,238 1,346 1,451 1,380 1,335 1,253 1,139 1,293

27 weeks and over

3,366 2,564 2,505 3,351 2,800 2,709 2,563 2,525 2,502

Average (mean) duration, in weeks

35.9 32.8 31.9 34.3 32.3 31.7 30.7 30.8 30.7

Median duration, in weeks

15.9 13.5 12.6 14.5 13.4 13.1 12.2 11.7 11.6

PERCENT DISTRIBUTION

Less than 5 weeks

27.7 28.1 29.5 26.2 26.8 27.9 28.9 31.4 27.6

5 to 14 weeks

20.4 24.2 24.4 24.6 26.1 25.6 26.8 26.5 29.0

15 weeks and over

51.9 47.7 46.0 49.2 47.1 46.5 44.3 42.1 43.4

15 to 26 weeks

16.2 15.5 16.1 14.9 15.5 15.4 14.5 13.1 14.8

27 weeks and over

35.6 32.2 29.9 34.3 31.5 31.1 29.8 29.0 28.6

NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

 

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-13. Employed and unemployed persons by occupation, not seasonally adjusted

[Numbers in thousands]
Occupation Employed Unemployed Unemployment
rates
May
2014
May
2015
May
2014
May
2015
May
2014
May
2015

Total, 16 years and over(1)

146,398 149,349 9,443 8,370 6.1 5.3

Management, professional, and related occupations

56,202 58,155 1,795 1,460 3.1 2.4

Management, business, and financial operations occupations

23,145 23,891 802 709 3.3 2.9

Professional and related occupations

33,057 34,264 993 751 2.9 2.1

Service occupations

26,173 26,296 1,952 1,853 6.9 6.6

Sales and office occupations

33,530 33,838 2,254 1,909 6.3 5.3

Sales and related occupations

15,861 15,962 1,161 987 6.8 5.8

Office and administrative support occupations

17,669 17,876 1,093 923 5.8 4.9

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations

13,499 13,754 1,098 977 7.5 6.6

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations

1,008 1,086 110 112 9.8 9.3

Construction and extraction occupations

7,692 7,821 797 632 9.4 7.5

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

4,799 4,847 192 233 3.8 4.6

Production, transportation, and material moving
occupations

16,994 17,306 1,312 1,212 7.2 6.5

Production occupations

8,252 8,481 630 549 7.1 6.1

Transportation and material moving occupations

8,742 8,825 682 664 7.2 7.0

Footnotes
(1) Persons with no previous work experience and persons whose last job was in the U.S. Armed Forces are included in the unemployed total.

NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

 

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-14. Unemployed persons by industry and class of worker, not seasonally adjusted
Industry and class of worker Number of
unemployed
persons
(in thousands)
Unemployment
rates
May
2014
May
2015
May
2014
May
2015

Total, 16 years and over(1)

9,443 8,370 6.1 5.3

Nonagricultural private wage and salary workers

7,243 6,379 5.9 5.2

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction

26 72 2.6 7.2

Construction

747 569 8.6 6.7

Manufacturing

826 702 5.3 4.6

Durable goods

516 405 5.2 4.1

Nondurable goods

310 297 5.5 5.4

Wholesale and retail trade

1,313 1,237 6.4 6.0

Transportation and utilities

321 261 5.2 4.2

Information

163 90 5.5 3.3

Financial activities

456 214 4.8 2.3

Professional and business services

1,028 963 6.5 6.1

Education and health services

876 806 3.9 3.5

Leisure and hospitality

1,113 1,117 8.1 7.9

Other services

372 348 5.7 5.3

Agriculture and related private wage and salary workers

102 151 7.4 9.2

Government workers

622 491 3.0 2.3

Self-employed workers, unincorporated, and unpaid family workers

467 431 4.8 4.1

Footnotes
(1) Persons with no previous work experience and persons whose last job was in the U.S. Armed Forces are included in the unemployed total.

NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

 

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-15. Alternative measures of labor underutilization

[Percent]
Measure Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
May
2014
Apr.
2015
May
2015
May
2014
Jan.
2015
Feb.
2015
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015
May
2015

U-1 Persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer, as a percent of the civilian labor force

3.1 2.4 2.4 3.1 2.7 2.6 2.4 2.3 2.4

U-2 Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs, as a percent of the civilian labor force

3.0 2.5 2.5 3.2 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.6 2.7

U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor force (official unemployment rate)

6.1 5.1 5.3 6.3 5.7 5.5 5.5 5.4 5.5

U-4 Total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus discouraged workers

6.5 5.5 5.6 6.7 6.1 6.0 5.9 5.9 5.8

U-5 Total unemployed, plus discouraged workers, plus all other persons marginally attached to the labor force, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force

7.3 6.4 6.4 7.5 7.0 6.8 6.7 6.7 6.6

U-6 Total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force

11.7 10.4 10.4 12.1 11.3 11.0 10.9 10.8 10.8

NOTE: Persons marginally attached to the labor force are those 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 past 12 months. Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached, have given a job-market related reason for not currently looking for work. 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. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

 

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-16. Persons not in the labor force and multiple jobholders by sex, not seasonally adjusted

[Numbers in thousands]
Category Total Men Women
May
2014
May
2015
May
2014
May
2015
May
2014
May
2015

NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE

Total not in the labor force

91,782 92,736 36,859 36,907 54,923 55,829

Persons who currently want a job

7,031 6,536 3,261 2,969 3,770 3,567

Marginally attached to the labor force(1)

2,130 1,862 1,066 918 1,064 945

Discouraged workers(2)

697 563 422 327 275 236

Other persons marginally attached to the labor force(3)

1,433 1,300 644 591 789 709

MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS

Total multiple jobholders(4)

7,305 7,081 3,647 3,441 3,658 3,641

Percent of total employed

5.0 4.7 4.7 4.3 5.3 5.2

Primary job full time, secondary job part time

3,875 3,796 2,147 1,993 1,727 1,803

Primary and secondary jobs both part time

2,026 1,870 681 640 1,345 1,229

Primary and secondary jobs both full time

260 284 180 183 80 102

Hours vary on primary or secondary job

1,123 1,093 625 598 499 496

Footnotes
(1) Data refer to persons who want a job, have searched for work during the prior 12 months, and were available to take a job during the reference week, but had not looked for work in the past 4 weeks.
(2) Includes those who did not actively look for work in the prior 4 weeks for reasons such as 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 number for whom reason for nonparticipation was not determined.
(4) Includes a small number of 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
Table B-1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector and selected industry detail

[In thousands]
Industry Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
May
2014
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015(p)
May
2015(p)
May
2014
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015(p)
May
2015(p)
Change from:
Apr.2015 – May2015(p)

Total nonfarm

139,297 140,298 141,450 142,420 138,621 141,178 141,399 141,679 280

Total private

117,080 118,010 119,107 120,102 116,780 119,270 119,476 119,738 262

Goods-producing

19,175 19,145 19,380 19,593 19,156 19,540 19,561 19,567 6

Mining and logging

884 867 852 838 888 878 863 845 -18

Logging

49.7 52.3 50.7 52.4 51.5 54.5 54.6 54.0 -0.6

Mining

834.6 814.3 801.6 785.6 836.0 823.2 808.4 791.2 -17.2

Oil and gas extraction

196.0 196.6 192.0 193.0 196.4 197.7 194.3 193.8 -0.5

Mining, except oil and gas(1)

209.3 197.9 200.5 204.9 207.1 204.0 202.3 202.5 0.2

Coal mining

74.3 70.7 70.0 69.4 74.2 70.7 70.3 69.5 -0.8

Support activities for mining

429.3 419.8 409.1 387.7 432.5 421.5 411.8 394.9 -16.9

Construction

6,151 6,012 6,255 6,441 6,114 6,335 6,370 6,387 17

Construction of buildings

1,340.2 1,359.0 1,374.8 1,408.8 1,347.3 1,411.1 1,406.5 1,410.9 4.4

Residential building

651.9 660.2 675.4 694.9 651.6 691.0 693.9 695.7 1.8

Nonresidential building

688.3 698.8 699.4 713.9 695.7 720.1 712.6 715.2 2.6

Heavy and civil engineering construction

939.5 853.8 926.1 966.8 916.7 933.6 940.5 940.9 0.4

Specialty trade contractors

3,871.1 3,799.4 3,954.3 4,065.2 3,849.6 3,990.6 4,022.8 4,035.1 12.3

Residential specialty trade contractors

1,666.9 1,637.8 1,718.8 1,777.1 1,652.5 1,735.5 1,750.7 1,757.4 6.7

Nonresidential specialty trade contractors

2,204.2 2,161.6 2,235.5 2,288.1 2,197.1 2,255.1 2,272.1 2,277.7 5.6

Manufacturing

12,140 12,266 12,273 12,314 12,154 12,327 12,328 12,335 7

Durable goods

7,661 7,782 7,784 7,806 7,659 7,806 7,806 7,807 1

Wood products

371.7 373.4 375.8 378.6 371.3 378.4 377.0 376.8 -0.2

Nonmetallic mineral products

388.4 389.2 399.1 407.4 383.9 399.8 399.2 402.9 3.7

Primary metals

398.7 405.6 404.7 404.4 397.8 405.8 405.9 404.5 -1.4

Fabricated metal products

1,452.7 1,468.2 1,470.0 1,466.9 1,451.3 1,473.6 1,474.5 1,469.0 -5.5

Machinery

1,125.2 1,138.6 1,131.5 1,129.3 1,125.0 1,138.3 1,133.3 1,130.6 -2.7

Computer and electronic products(1)

1,044.7 1,055.4 1,053.1 1,054.5 1,047.4 1,057.5 1,057.0 1,056.7 -0.3

Computer and peripheral equipment

159.2 168.2 168.2 170.3 160.3 169.7 169.9 171.4 1.5

Communications equipment

92.9 90.0 89.4 89.1 93.4 90.0 89.6 89.3 -0.3

Semiconductors and electronic components

366.8 369.7 369.3 368.3 367.4 370.2 370.5 369.7 -0.8

Electronic instruments

388.2 390.4 388.9 390.3 388.7 390.4 389.4 389.7 0.3

Electrical equipment and appliances

373.9 371.7 370.7 373.2 375.5 372.9 372.5 373.5 1.0

Transportation equipment(1)

1,552.6 1,608.6 1,602.3 1,609.9 1,554.0 1,603.7 1,607.1 1,611.9 4.8

Motor vehicles and parts(2)

866.9 919.9 915.1 924.2 868.3 915.5 919.6 926.2 6.6

Furniture and related products

370.3 384.6 386.3 387.2 369.5 386.3 387.2 386.3 -0.9

Miscellaneous durable goods manufacturing

582.4 586.7 590.6 594.1 583.3 589.9 591.8 594.8 3.0

Nondurable goods

4,479 4,484 4,489 4,508 4,495 4,521 4,522 4,528 6

Food manufacturing

1,461.6 1,469.9 1,465.4 1,466.8 1,478.8 1,492.3 1,487.1 1,486.6 -0.5

Textile mills

117.0 118.7 118.8 119.8 117.0 118.8 118.8 119.4 0.6

Textile product mills

113.1 113.3 113.7 114.5 113.6 114.3 114.9 115.0 0.1

Apparel

139.6 137.9 135.8 136.8 139.8 137.5 136.2 136.8 0.6

Paper and paper products

373.2 365.4 366.3 366.5 373.5 367.1 367.0 366.9 -0.1

Printing and related support activities

453.6 446.7 447.2 447.8 453.9 447.7 448.0 447.2 -0.8

Petroleum and coal products

111.3 102.4 108.1 109.5 110.3 105.0 108.7 108.9 0.2

Chemicals

801.0 809.0 808.9 810.5 801.1 810.0 811.0 811.9 0.9

Plastics and rubber products

673.7 684.8 686.9 691.1 672.0 686.1 686.6 689.6 3.0

Miscellaneous nondurable goods manufacturing

234.8 235.5 238.2 244.9 235.2 242.5 243.7 245.3 1.6

Private service-providing

97,905 98,865 99,727 100,509 97,624 99,730 99,915 100,171 256

Trade, transportation, and utilities

26,228 26,454 26,570 26,791 26,297 26,787 26,810 26,860 50

Wholesale trade

5,826.9 5,873.4 5,889.0 5,915.3 5,814.4 5,903.6 5,901.3 5,905.4 4.1

Durable goods

2,908.4 2,935.0 2,938.6 2,951.2 2,907.1 2,945.3 2,947.4 2,948.6 1.2

Nondurable goods

2,021.5 2,030.7 2,043.2 2,053.9 2,011.5 2,046.4 2,044.5 2,046.2 1.7

Electronic markets and agents and brokers

897.0 907.7 907.2 910.2 895.8 911.9 909.4 910.6 1.2

Retail trade

15,236.3 15,328.8 15,429.2 15,571.2 15,318.1 15,587.4 15,600.7 15,632.1 31.4

Motor vehicle and parts dealers(1)

1,858.6 1,897.6 1,909.2 1,927.5 1,850.4 1,911.4 1,911.4 1,921.0 9.6

Automobile dealers

1,180.6 1,210.4 1,214.2 1,225.2 1,178.5 1,217.4 1,218.0 1,225.7 7.7

Furniture and home furnishings stores

444.1 457.0 457.9 460.7 451.3 464.0 465.4 467.5 2.1

Electronics and appliance stores

468.7 491.6 489.2 488.4 482.9 499.7 501.3 503.3 2.0

Building material and garden supply stores

1,301.1 1,244.0 1,303.1 1,333.4 1,228.3 1,257.8 1,260.2 1,263.8 3.6

Food and beverage stores

2,981.3 2,991.0 3,003.5 3,029.6 2,986.0 3,026.7 3,031.7 3,031.3 -0.4

Health and personal care stores

1,015.2 1,022.4 1,019.9 1,025.3 1,020.5 1,029.7 1,028.2 1,029.7 1.5

Gasoline stations

881.2 884.8 895.2 904.5 881.0 898.3 901.7 899.7 -2.0

Clothing and clothing accessories stores

1,336.4 1,325.8 1,322.8 1,339.9 1,381.4 1,380.3 1,376.9 1,385.4 8.5

Sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores

595.0 590.6 590.2 588.5 611.3 611.1 610.0 608.5 -1.5

General merchandise stores(1)

3,050.5 3,108.7 3,110.4 3,125.2 3,106.9 3,156.8 3,159.0 3,163.8 4.8

Department stores

1,310.9 1,304.4 1,297.4 1,296.1 1,352.6 1,339.3 1,332.6 1,328.1 -4.5

Miscellaneous store retailers

818.9 797.5 809.7 826.8 818.7 821.6 822.2 821.6 -0.6

Nonstore retailers

485.3 517.8 518.1 521.4 499.4 530.0 532.7 536.5 3.8

Transportation and warehousing

4,613.2 4,693.3 4,694.2 4,742.7 4,614.1 4,736.7 4,747.5 4,760.6 13.1

Air transportation

443.0 442.3 445.6 447.3 441.1 443.5 445.3 445.9 0.6

Rail transportation

234.7 244.4 246.0 246.6 234.2 245.1 246.3 246.4 0.1

Water transportation

67.7 64.8 65.2 65.4 67.5 66.1 66.1 65.3 -0.8

Truck transportation

1,413.0 1,413.5 1,423.7 1,448.2 1,411.5 1,439.6 1,441.3 1,449.9 8.6

Transit and ground passenger transportation

476.8 485.0 483.8 488.4 460.9 471.8 470.6 472.6 2.0

Pipeline transportation

46.8 48.2 48.8 49.3 46.8 48.3 48.6 49.3 0.7

Scenic and sightseeing transportation

33.8 25.0 28.3 33.9 31.1 30.8 31.1 31.4 0.3

Support activities for transportation

626.1 639.6 644.7 645.0 625.7 642.6 646.2 645.1 -1.1

Couriers and messengers

542.6 579.6 557.3 562.1 559.3 590.8 590.7 589.9 -0.8

Warehousing and storage

728.7 750.9 750.8 756.5 736.0 758.1 761.3 764.8 3.5

Utilities

551.4 558.0 558.0 562.2 550.7 559.7 560.5 561.6 1.1

Information

2,725 2,774 2,786 2,787 2,723 2,778 2,786 2,783 -3

Publishing industries, except Internet

721.0 716.7 716.3 714.2 724.9 719.1 718.5 717.8 -0.7

Motion picture and sound recording industries

382.9 381.1 388.4 388.6 371.7 379.8 382.5 378.2 -4.3

Broadcasting, except Internet

283.1 289.1 289.5 288.7 284.7 289.7 290.1 289.8 -0.3

Telecommunications

849.4 863.2 864.7 865.6 852.4 864.1 868.2 868.1 -0.1

Data processing, hosting and related services

276.0 292.1 294.7 296.6 275.3 292.6 292.9 295.6 2.7

Other information services

212.1 231.7 232.6 233.3 213.9 233.0 233.8 233.9 0.1

Financial activities

7,940 8,046 8,060 8,101 7,951 8,090 8,098 8,111 13

Finance and insurance

5,896.7 5,999.8 5,998.4 6,019.8 5,913.8 6,011.7 6,020.7 6,033.5 12.8

Monetary authorities – central bank

18.3 18.4 18.2 18.2 18.5 18.5 18.4 18.3 -0.1

Credit intermediation and related
activities(1)

2,554.8 2,564.8 2,560.9 2,572.0 2,562.6 2,572.1 2,574.2 2,579.9 5.7

Depository credit intermediation(1)

1,705.5 1,695.6 1,694.0 1,697.0 1,708.7 1,698.9 1,698.5 1,700.7 2.2

Commercial banking

1,292.1 1,279.6 1,275.7 1,277.5 1,295.1 1,281.0 1,278.7 1,280.7 2.0

Securities, commodity contracts, investments, and funds and trusts

875.4 890.8 891.9 893.3 878.3 892.5 894.3 895.5 1.2

Insurance carriers and related activities

2,448.2 2,525.8 2,527.4 2,536.3 2,454.4 2,528.6 2,533.8 2,539.8 6.0

Real estate and rental and leasing

2,043.4 2,046.5 2,061.4 2,081.4 2,036.7 2,078.0 2,077.5 2,077.7 0.2

Real estate

1,481.8 1,491.9 1,503.7 1,511.9 1,480.3 1,510.4 1,512.0 1,511.2 -0.8

Rental and leasing services

538.0 531.6 534.7 545.9 532.5 544.4 542.3 543.1 0.8

Lessors of nonfinancial intangible assets

23.6 23.0 23.0 23.6 23.9 23.2 23.2 23.4 0.2

Professional and business services

19,002 19,343 19,602 19,688 19,005 19,547 19,613 19,676 63

Professional and technical services(1)

8,254.2 8,620.4 8,665.0 8,547.8 8,310.4 8,562.7 8,585.1 8,603.9 18.8

Legal services

1,115.4 1,115.8 1,117.3 1,119.0 1,118.8 1,119.8 1,121.9 1,122.2 0.3

Accounting and bookkeeping services

906.2 1,116.3 1,099.5 944.0 952.3 997.7 996.0 990.2 -5.8

Architectural and engineering services

1,371.0 1,396.2 1,409.7 1,421.8 1,372.6 1,415.6 1,417.9 1,422.4 4.5

Computer systems design and related services

1,772.8 1,821.9 1,846.2 1,855.7 1,774.0 1,835.1 1,845.8 1,856.1 10.3

Management and technical consulting services

1,229.3 1,283.2 1,294.9 1,304.0 1,232.0 1,295.8 1,302.9 1,309.9 7.0

Management of companies and enterprises

2,165.5 2,192.6 2,190.5 2,204.1 2,167.4 2,199.6 2,200.0 2,204.4 4.4

Administrative and waste services

8,582.6 8,529.9 8,746.2 8,936.3 8,527.2 8,785.0 8,827.5 8,867.4 39.9

Administrative and support services(1)

8,197.4 8,146.2 8,356.7 8,540.5 8,142.6 8,393.0 8,433.4 8,472.0 38.6

Employment services(1)

3,376.8 3,427.3 3,489.5 3,582.0 3,390.2 3,539.5 3,553.4 3,579.5 26.1

Temporary help services

2,730.4 2,770.2 2,825.9 2,905.4 2,742.8 2,866.9 2,883.0 2,903.1 20.1

Business support services

863.5 908.4 912.0 903.1 876.8 910.3 916.4 915.7 -0.7

Services to buildings and dwellings

2,013.1 1,831.0 1,970.5 2,053.5 1,934.6 1,954.6 1,971.3 1,977.9 6.6

Waste management and remediation services

385.2 383.7 389.5 395.8 384.6 392.0 394.1 395.4 1.3

Education and health services

21,468 22,007 22,099 22,088 21,409 21,863 21,927 22,001 74

Educational services

3,440.1 3,617.9 3,634.8 3,536.3 3,407.8 3,460.8 3,464.9 3,481.6 16.7

Health care and social assistance

18,028.0 18,388.9 18,464.6 18,551.2 18,000.8 18,402.5 18,462.1 18,519.8 57.7

Health care(3)

14,640.7 14,927.9 14,985.7 15,048.9 14,646.4 14,959.4 15,007.4 15,054.2 46.8

Ambulatory health care services(1)

6,609.4 6,808.7 6,844.7 6,882.6 6,611.3 6,827.2 6,850.8 6,878.4 27.6

Offices of physicians

2,455.7 2,524.8 2,534.4 2,542.3 2,462.2 2,529.0 2,537.6 2,543.5 5.9

Outpatient care centers

710.0 732.3 735.9 740.8 708.5 733.0 736.0 740.5 4.5

Home health care services

1,256.0 1,294.3 1,304.3 1,316.4 1,254.3 1,301.0 1,304.5 1,312.9 8.4

Hospitals

4,772.3 4,845.2 4,855.9 4,870.8 4,777.5 4,848.7 4,863.6 4,879.3 15.7

Nursing and residential care facilities(1)

3,259.0 3,274.0 3,285.1 3,295.5 3,257.6 3,283.5 3,293.0 3,296.5 3.5

Nursing care facilities

1,653.2 1,645.0 1,649.5 1,652.9 1,652.0 1,649.6 1,653.3 1,653.9 0.6

Social assistance(1)

3,387.3 3,461.0 3,478.9 3,502.3 3,354.4 3,443.1 3,454.7 3,465.6 10.9

Child day care services

877.4 886.0 891.2 897.4 850.8 866.7 869.6 872.6 3.0

Leisure and hospitality

14,942 14,644 14,983 15,393 14,667 15,039 15,049 15,106 57

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

2,187.5 1,983.7 2,090.4 2,256.4 2,100.8 2,143.2 2,141.9 2,170.9 29.0

Performing arts and spectator sports

470.2 443.5 473.5 506.1 445.8 463.1 463.9 476.8 12.9

Museums, historical sites, and similar institutions

152.2 137.8 143.4 151.7 146.3 145.1 145.1 146.8 1.7

Amusements, gambling, and recreation

1,565.1 1,402.4 1,473.5 1,598.6 1,508.7 1,535.0 1,532.9 1,547.3 14.4

Accommodation and food services

12,754.8 12,660.3 12,892.3 13,136.3 12,566.1 12,895.5 12,906.6 12,935.1 28.5

Accommodation

1,899.7 1,834.9 1,851.0 1,911.2 1,892.9 1,901.7 1,895.0 1,906.5 11.5

Food services and drinking places

10,855.1 10,825.4 11,041.3 11,225.1 10,673.2 10,993.8 11,011.6 11,028.6 17.0

Other services

5,600 5,597 5,627 5,661 5,572 5,626 5,632 5,634 2

Repair and maintenance

1,252.0 1,261.9 1,268.0 1,277.3 1,242.0 1,264.0 1,263.7 1,266.5 2.8

Personal and laundry services

1,381.2 1,373.2 1,387.6 1,399.8 1,366.4 1,381.9 1,385.4 1,386.5 1.1

Membership associations and organizations

2,966.3 2,962.2 2,971.7 2,983.6 2,963.7 2,980.0 2,982.5 2,981.2 -1.3

Government

22,217 22,288 22,343 22,318 21,841 21,908 21,923 21,941 18

Federal

2,726.0 2,719.0 2,742.0 2,735.0 2,726.0 2,733.0 2,735.0 2,738.0 3.0

Federal, except U.S. Postal Service

2,136.5 2,125.8 2,135.3 2,142.0 2,133.4 2,137.7 2,139.3 2,142.9 3.6

U.S. Postal Service

589.0 592.8 606.4 592.9 592.5 594.9 595.9 595.5 -0.4

State government

5,081.0 5,239.0 5,249.0 5,111.0 5,054.0 5,082.0 5,083.0 5,083.0 0.0

State government education

2,419.3 2,600.7 2,606.5 2,461.2 2,401.0 2,437.6 2,439.9 2,440.4 0.5

State government, excluding education

2,661.4 2,638.2 2,642.2 2,649.8 2,652.9 2,644.6 2,643.3 2,642.6 -0.7

Local government

14,410.0 14,330.0 14,352.0 14,472.0 14,061.0 14,093.0 14,105.0 14,120.0 15.0

Local government education

8,124.1 8,133.7 8,128.2 8,158.7 7,774.2 7,790.2 7,798.6 7,808.5 9.9

Local government, excluding education

6,285.8 6,196.4 6,223.7 6,313.3 6,286.4 6,302.4 6,305.9 6,311.1 5.2

Footnotes
(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 have been revised to reflect March 2014 benchmark levels and updated seasonal adjustment factors.

 

ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-2. Average weekly hours and overtime of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted
Industry May
2014
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015(p)
May
2015(p)

AVERAGE WEEKLY HOURS

Total private

34.5 34.5 34.5 34.5

Goods-producing

40.6 40.4 40.3 40.3

Mining and logging

44.5 44.5 44.1 43.7

Construction

39.0 38.9 38.9 38.9

Manufacturing

41.1 40.9 40.7 40.7

Durable goods

41.6 41.2 41.1 41.1

Nondurable goods

40.2 40.2 40.1 40.1

Private service-providing

33.3 33.4 33.3 33.4

Trade, transportation, and utilities

34.5 34.6 34.6 34.6

Wholesale trade

38.9 38.8 38.8 38.9

Retail trade

31.3 31.4 31.4 31.4

Transportation and warehousing

38.6 38.9 38.9 39.1

Utilities

42.3 43.0 42.7 42.5

Information

36.8 36.4 36.4 36.5

Financial activities

37.3 37.5 37.6 37.7

Professional and business services

36.3 36.2 36.0 36.2

Education and health services

32.7 32.8 32.8 32.8

Leisure and hospitality

26.1 26.2 26.2 26.2

Other services

31.8 31.8 31.7 31.8

AVERAGE OVERTIME HOURS

Manufacturing

3.5 3.3 3.3 3.3

Durable goods

3.6 3.3 3.2 3.2

Nondurable goods

3.4 3.4 3.4 3.4

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

NOTE: Data have been revised to reflect March 2014 benchmark levels and updated seasonal adjustment factors.

 

ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-3. Average hourly and weekly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted
Industry Average hourly earnings Average weekly earnings
May
2014
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015(p)
May
2015(p)
May
2014
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015(p)
May
2015(p)

Total private

$24.40 $24.85 $24.88 $24.96 $841.80 $857.33 $858.36 $861.12

Goods-producing

25.61 26.05 26.09 26.12 1,039.77 1,052.42 1,051.43 1,052.64

Mining and logging

30.85 31.00 30.94 31.02 1,372.83 1,379.50 1,364.45 1,355.57

Construction

26.61 27.23 27.28 27.34 1,037.79 1,059.25 1,061.19 1,063.53

Manufacturing

24.72 25.09 25.13 25.16 1,015.99 1,026.18 1,022.79 1,024.01

Durable goods

26.07 26.41 26.44 26.47 1,084.51 1,088.09 1,086.68 1,087.92

Nondurable goods

22.33 22.75 22.83 22.84 897.67 914.55 915.48 915.88

Private service-providing

24.11 24.56 24.60 24.69 802.86 820.30 819.18 824.65

Trade, transportation, and utilities

21.39 21.65 21.69 21.78 737.96 749.09 750.47 753.59

Wholesale trade

28.07 28.40 28.47 28.73 1,091.92 1,101.92 1,104.64 1,117.60

Retail trade

16.98 17.30 17.35 17.41 531.47 543.22 544.79 546.67

Transportation and warehousing

22.92 22.84 22.81 22.77 884.71 888.48 887.31 890.31

Utilities

35.46 36.87 36.94 36.99 1,499.96 1,585.41 1,577.34 1,572.08

Information

33.87 34.51 34.51 34.63 1,246.42 1,256.16 1,256.16 1,264.00

Financial activities

30.59 31.33 31.38 31.52 1,141.01 1,174.88 1,179.89 1,188.30

Professional and business services

29.21 29.85 29.92 29.98 1,060.32 1,080.57 1,077.12 1,085.28

Education and health services

24.66 25.09 25.10 25.19 806.38 822.95 823.28 826.23

Leisure and hospitality

13.82 14.22 14.30 14.32 360.70 372.56 374.66 375.18

Other services

21.87 22.27 22.22 22.36 695.47 708.19 704.37 711.05

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

NOTE: Data have been revised to reflect March 2014 benchmark levels and updated seasonal adjustment factors.

 

ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-4. Indexes of aggregate weekly hours and payrolls for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted

[2007=100]
Industry Index of aggregate weekly hours(1) Index of aggregate weekly payrolls(2)
May
2014
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015(p)
May
2015(p)
Percent change from:
Apr.
2015 – May
2015(p)
May
2014
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015(p)
May
2015(p)
Percent change from:
Apr.
2015 – May
2015(p)

Total private

100.7 102.9 103.0 103.3 0.3 117.3 122.0 122.4 123.0 0.5

Goods-producing

88.6 89.9 89.8 89.8 0.0 102.6 105.9 105.9 106.1 0.2

Mining and logging

124.2 122.8 119.6 116.0 -3.0 153.8 152.8 148.6 144.5 -2.8

Construction

82.2 84.9 85.4 85.6 0.2 95.0 100.5 101.2 101.7 0.5

Manufacturing

89.9 90.7 90.3 90.3 0.0 103.3 105.8 105.5 105.7 0.2

Durable goods

89.7 90.5 90.3 90.3 0.0 103.9 106.2 106.1 106.2 0.1

Nondurable goods

90.2 90.7 90.5 90.6 0.1 102.2 104.7 104.8 105.0 0.2

Private service-providing

104.0 106.6 106.5 107.1 0.6 121.6 126.9 127.0 128.2 0.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities

98.7 100.8 100.9 101.1 0.2 113.6 117.5 117.8 118.5 0.6

Wholesale trade

98.7 99.9 99.9 100.2 0.3 115.6 118.5 118.7 120.2 1.3

Retail trade

97.4 99.4 99.5 99.7 0.2 109.3 113.7 114.1 114.8 0.6

Transportation and warehousing

101.9 105.5 105.7 106.5 0.8 118.6 122.2 122.3 123.1 0.7

Utilities

100.8 104.1 103.5 103.3 -0.2 118.1 126.8 126.4 126.2 -0.2

Information

91.5 92.3 92.6 92.8 0.2 110.4 113.5 113.8 114.4 0.5

Financial activities

97.1 99.4 99.7 100.1 0.4 115.9 121.4 122.1 123.1 0.8

Professional and business services

108.5 111.3 111.1 112.0 0.8 128.4 134.6 134.6 136.1 1.1

Education and health services

112.4 115.1 115.4 115.8 0.3 130.5 136.0 136.5 137.4 0.7

Leisure and hospitality

109.2 112.4 112.5 112.9 0.4 121.8 129.0 129.8 130.5 0.5

Other services

98.2 99.1 98.9 99.3 0.4 121.9 125.3 124.7 126.0 1.0

Footnotes
(1) The indexes of aggregate weekly hours are calculated by dividing the current month’s estimates of aggregate hours by the corresponding 2007 annual average aggregate hours. Aggregate hours estimates are the product of estimates of average weekly hours and employment.
(2) The indexes of aggregate weekly payrolls are calculated by dividing the current month’s estimates of aggregate weekly payrolls by the corresponding 2007 annual average aggregate weekly payrolls. Aggregate payrolls estimates are the product of estimates of average hourly earnings, average weekly hours, and employment.
(p) Preliminary

NOTE: Data have been revised to reflect March 2014 benchmark levels and updated seasonal adjustment factors.

 

ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-5. Employment of women on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted
Industry Women employees (in thousands) Percent of all employees
May
2014
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015(p)
May
2015(p)
May
2014
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015(p)
May
2015(p)

Total nonfarm

68,442 69,668 69,756 69,945 49.4 49.3 49.3 49.4

Total private

55,976 57,138 57,215 57,386 47.9 47.9 47.9 47.9

Goods-producing

4,192 4,270 4,274 4,271 21.9 21.9 21.8 21.8

Mining and logging

117 121 119 117 13.2 13.8 13.8 13.8

Construction

772 797 803 805 12.6 12.6 12.6 12.6

Manufacturing

3,303 3,352 3,352 3,349 27.2 27.2 27.2 27.2

Durable goods

1,765 1,809 1,811 1,815 23.0 23.2 23.2 23.2

Nondurable goods

1,538 1,543 1,541 1,534 34.2 34.1 34.1 33.9

Private service-providing

51,784 52,868 52,941 53,115 53.0 53.0 53.0 53.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities

10,661 10,867 10,862 10,887 40.5 40.6 40.5 40.5

Wholesale trade

1,720.2 1,735.8 1,737.7 1,737.8 29.6 29.4 29.4 29.4

Retail trade

7,718.3 7,873.4 7,862.4 7,890.6 50.4 50.5 50.4 50.5

Transportation and warehousing

1,088.1 1,123.3 1,127.1 1,124.2 23.6 23.7 23.7 23.6

Utilities

134.1 134.5 134.3 134.0 24.4 24.0 24.0 23.9

Information

1,090 1,117 1,115 1,113 40.0 40.2 40.0 40.0

Financial activities

4,560 4,630 4,629 4,628 57.4 57.2 57.2 57.1

Professional and business services

8,487 8,702 8,725 8,767 44.7 44.5 44.5 44.6

Education and health services

16,445 16,817 16,866 16,927 76.8 76.9 76.9 76.9

Leisure and hospitality

7,625 7,792 7,799 7,843 52.0 51.8 51.8 51.9

Other services

2,916 2,943 2,945 2,950 52.3 52.3 52.3 52.4

Government

12,466 12,530 12,541 12,559 57.1 57.2 57.2 57.2

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

NOTE: Data have been revised to reflect March 2014 benchmark levels and updated seasonal adjustment factors.

 

ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-6. Employment of production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted(1)

[In thousands]
Industry May
2014
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015(p)
May
2015(p)

Total private

96,516 98,374 98,501 98,744

Goods-producing

13,807 14,086 14,101 14,122

Mining and logging

653 644 632 619

Construction

4,615 4,761 4,797 4,816

Manufacturing

8,539 8,681 8,672 8,687

Durable goods

5,270 5,379 5,374 5,386

Nondurable goods

3,269 3,302 3,298 3,301

Private service-providing

82,709 84,288 84,400 84,622

Trade, transportation, and utilities

22,225 22,579 22,566 22,599

Wholesale trade

4,701.5 4,748.3 4,743.1 4,733.5

Retail trade

13,088.2 13,277.2 13,265.8 13,295.6

Transportation and warehousing

3,990.5 4,102.9 4,106.7 4,118.5

Utilities

445.1 450.4 450.7 451.5

Information

2,205 2,252 2,257 2,254

Financial activities

6,137 6,245 6,251 6,257

Professional and business services

15,735 16,085 16,141 16,194

Education and health services

18,804 19,185 19,232 19,295

Leisure and hospitality

12,959 13,257 13,267 13,330

Other services

4,644 4,685 4,686 4,693

Footnotes
(1) Data relate to production employees in mining and logging and manufacturing, construction employees in construction, and nonsupervisory employees in the service-providing industries. These groups account for approximately four-fifths of the total employment on private nonfarm payrolls.
(p) Preliminary

NOTE: Data have been revised to reflect March 2014 benchmark levels and updated seasonal adjustment factors.

 

ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-7. Average weekly hours and overtime of production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry May
2014
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015(p)
May
2015(p)

AVERAGE WEEKLY HOURS

Total private

33.7 33.7 33.6 33.7

Goods-producing

41.6 41.2 41.2 41.1

Mining and logging

47.0 46.2 45.9 45.7

Construction

39.7 39.4 39.4 39.3

Manufacturing

42.2 41.8 41.8 41.8

Durable goods

42.7 42.1 42.1 42.1

Nondurable goods

41.3 41.4 41.4 41.4

Private service-providing

32.4 32.4 32.4 32.4

Trade, transportation, and utilities

33.6 33.6 33.6 33.7

Wholesale trade

38.7 38.6 38.6 38.5

Retail trade

29.9 30.0 30.0 30.0

Transportation and warehousing

38.5 38.7 38.7 38.9

Utilities

42.2 42.8 42.5 42.7

Information

35.9 36.0 36.0 36.0

Financial activities

36.7 37.1 37.1 37.2

Professional and business services

35.6 35.4 35.2 35.3

Education and health services

32.0 32.0 32.1 32.1

Leisure and hospitality

25.2 25.0 25.0 25.0

Other services

30.8 30.7 30.6 30.7

AVERAGE OVERTIME HOURS

Manufacturing

4.6 4.3 4.2 4.2

Durable goods

4.8 4.3 4.2 4.2

Nondurable goods

4.3 4.3 4.3 4.3

Footnotes
(1) Data relate to production employees in mining and logging and manufacturing, construction employees in construction, and nonsupervisory employees in the service-providing industries. These groups account for approximately four-fifths of the total employment on private nonfarm payrolls.
(p) Preliminary

NOTE: Data have been revised to reflect March 2014 benchmark levels and updated seasonal adjustment factors.

 

ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-8. Average hourly and weekly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry Average hourly earnings Average weekly earnings
May
2014
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015(p)
May
2015(p)
May
2014
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015(p)
May
2015(p)

Total private

$20.55 $20.88 $20.91 $20.97 $692.54 $703.66 $702.58 $706.69

Goods-producing

21.56 21.83 21.86 21.89 896.90 899.40 900.63 899.68

Mining and logging

26.83 26.46 26.27 26.40 1,261.01 1,222.45 1,205.79 1,206.48

Construction

24.65 25.10 25.13 25.20 978.61 988.94 990.12 990.36

Manufacturing

19.53 19.77 19.80 19.82 824.17 826.39 827.64 828.48

Durable goods

20.67 20.86 20.86 20.90 882.61 878.21 878.21 879.89

Nondurable goods

17.64 17.96 18.03 18.02 728.53 743.54 746.44 746.03

Private service-providing

20.34 20.67 20.71 20.77 659.02 669.71 671.00 672.95

Trade, transportation, and utilities

18.25 18.54 18.55 18.60 613.20 622.94 623.28 626.82

Wholesale trade

23.15 23.52 23.54 23.65 895.91 907.87 908.64 910.53

Retail trade

14.38 14.62 14.66 14.71 429.96 438.60 439.80 441.30

Transportation and warehousing

20.54 20.76 20.71 20.68 790.79 803.41 801.48 804.45

Utilities

32.77 33.99 33.88 34.10 1,382.89 1,454.77 1,439.90 1,456.07

Information

28.62 28.51 28.74 28.89 1,027.46 1,026.36 1,034.64 1,040.04

Financial activities

24.60 25.15 25.19 25.29 902.82 933.07 934.55 940.79

Professional and business services

24.24 24.54 24.60 24.69 862.94 868.72 865.92 871.56

Education and health services

21.58 21.94 21.97 22.02 690.56 702.08 705.24 706.84

Leisure and hospitality

12.03 12.35 12.38 12.39 303.16 308.75 309.50 309.75

Other services

18.41 18.79 18.77 18.86 567.03 576.85 574.36 579.00

Footnotes
(1) Data relate to production employees in mining and logging and manufacturing, construction employees in construction, and nonsupervisory employees in the service-providing industries. These groups account for approximately four-fifths of the total employment on private nonfarm payrolls.
(p) Preliminary

NOTE: Data have been revised to reflect March 2014 benchmark levels and updated seasonal adjustment factors.

 

ESTABLISHMENT DATA
Table B-9. Indexes of aggregate weekly hours and payrolls for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted(1)

[2002=100]
Industry Index of aggregate weekly hours(2) Index of aggregate weekly payrolls(3)
May
2014
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015(p)
May
2015(p)
Percent change from:
Apr.
2015 – May
2015(p)
May
2014
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015(p)
May
2015(p)
Percent change from:
Apr.
2015 – May
2015(p)

Total private

108.4 110.5 110.3 110.9 0.5 148.8 154.1 154.1 155.4 0.8

Goods-producing

87.8 88.7 88.8 88.7 -0.1 115.9 118.6 118.8 118.9 0.1

Mining and logging

163.1 158.1 154.2 150.3 -2.5 254.5 243.3 235.5 230.8 -2.0

Construction

91.7 93.9 94.6 94.8 0.2 122.1 127.3 128.4 129.0 0.5

Manufacturing

82.7 83.3 83.2 83.4 0.2 105.7 107.7 107.7 108.0 0.3

Durable goods

84.6 85.1 85.0 85.2 0.2 109.1 110.8 110.7 111.2 0.5

Nondurable goods

79.5 80.5 80.4 80.5 0.1 99.2 102.2 102.5 102.5 0.0

Private service-providing

114.2 116.3 116.5 116.8 0.3 159.2 164.9 165.4 166.3 0.5

Trade, transportation, and utilities

104.1 105.8 105.7 106.2 0.5 135.5 139.9 139.9 140.9 0.7

Wholesale trade

107.2 107.9 107.8 107.3 -0.5 146.1 149.5 149.5 149.5 0.0

Retail trade

99.1 100.8 100.7 101.0 0.3 122.1 126.3 126.6 127.3 0.6

Transportation and warehousing

115.6 119.5 119.6 120.6 0.8 150.7 157.4 157.2 158.2 0.6

Utilities

96.1 98.6 98.0 98.6 0.6 131.4 139.9 138.5 140.3 1.3

Information

90.3 92.5 92.7 92.6 -0.1 128.0 130.6 131.9 132.5 0.5

Financial activities

106.0 109.1 109.2 109.6 0.4 160.5 168.8 169.2 170.5 0.8

Professional and business services

125.5 127.6 127.3 128.1 0.6 181.1 186.4 186.4 188.2 1.0

Education and health services

128.4 131.0 131.8 132.2 0.3 182.9 189.7 191.0 192.1 0.6

Leisure and hospitality

119.6 121.4 121.5 122.1 0.5 163.4 170.3 170.8 171.8 0.6

Other services

100.3 100.9 100.6 101.0 0.4 134.6 138.1 137.5 138.9 1.0

Footnotes
(1) Data relate to production employees in mining and logging and manufacturing, construction employees in construction, and nonsupervisory employees in the service-providing industries. These groups account for approximately four-fifths of the total employment on private nonfarm payrolls.
(2) The indexes of aggregate weekly hours are calculated by dividing the current month’s estimates of aggregate hours by the corresponding 2002 annual average aggregate hours. Aggregate hours estimates are the product of estimates of average weekly hours and employment.
(3) The indexes of aggregate weekly payrolls are calculated by dividing the current month’s estimates of aggregate weekly payrolls by the corresponding 2002 annual average aggregate weekly payrolls. Aggregate payrolls estimates are the product of estimates of average hourly earnings, average weekly hours, and employment.
(p) Preliminary

NOTE: Data have been revised to reflect March 2014 benchmark levels and updated seasonal adjustment factors.