Bureau of Labor Statistics

Current Employment Statistics 

Highlights

March 2006

Bureau of Labor Statistics

April 7, 2006
2

All employees on nonfarm payrolls

1990-2006

100,000

110,000

120,000

130,000

140,000

Jan-90Jan-91Jan-92Jan-93Jan-94Jan-95Jan-96Jan-97Jan-98Jan-99Jan-00Jan-01Jan-02Jan-03Jan-04Jan-05Jan-06

100,000

110,000

120,000

130,000

140,000

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 7, 2006.

Notes: Shaded areas denote recessions. Most recent 2 months ofdata are preliminary.

March 2006

Level: 134,966

Change: +211

• Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 211,000 in March to 135.0 million. 

This increase follows gains of 154,000 in January and 225,000 in February. Over 

the year, payroll employment has grown by 2.1 million.

• The average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private 

nonfarm payrolls rose by 3 cents to $16.49, seasonally adjusted. Average hourly 

earnings have increased 21 cents in the last 4 months. Over the year, average 

hourly earnings increased by 3.4 percent.

• Average weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private 

nonfarm payrolls were unchanged in March, and remain at 33.8 hours, seasonally 

adjusted. Since late 2002, the average workweek has been flat, fluctuating 

between 33.6 and 33.8 hours.
3

Employment in total nonfarm and supersectors

Over-the-month change, March 2006 

7

7

-5

11

29

-8

-1

2

16

52

33

42

1

24

-15 -5 5 15 25 35 45 55

Natural resources and mining

Construction

Manufacturing

Wholesale trade

Retail trade

Transportation and warehousing

Utilities

Information

Financial activities

Professional and business services

Education and health services

Leisure and hospitality

Other services

Government

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 7, 2006.

Note: Data are preliminary. 

Total nonfarm: 

+211

• Gains among the goods-producing industries were subdued in March as 

construction, which has accounted for much of the growth in this sector, remained 

essentially unchanged over the month. 

• The private service-providing industries experienced widespread gains in March. 

This sector, led by gains in professional and business services (+52,000), leisure 

and hospitality (+42,000), education and health services (+33,000), and retail 

trade (+29,000), accounted for over 80 percent of total nonfarm growth over the 

month.

• In the public sector, government added 24,000 jobs to payrolls in March. These 

gains occurred primarily among local governments, where both the education and 

non-education components experienced solid growth. 
4

Index of total private aggregate weekly hours

1992-2006

80

85

90

95

100

105

110

Jan-92Jan-93Jan-94Jan-95Jan-96Jan-97Jan-98Jan-99Jan-00Jan-01Jan-02Jan-03Jan-04Jan-05Jan-06

80

85

90

95

100

105

110

Seasonally adjusted, 2002 = 100

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statisti cs survey, April 7, 2006.

Notes: Shaded areas denote recessions. Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

March 2006

Level: 104.4

Change: +0.2

Aggregate weekly hours are the product of average weekly hours and production or nonsupervisory workers.

Index of total private aggregate weekly payrolls

1992-2006

55

68

81

94

107

120

Jan-92Jan-93Jan-94Jan-95Jan-96Jan-97Jan-98Jan-99Jan-00Jan-01Jan-02Jan-03Jan-04Jan-05Jan-06

55

68

81

94

107

120

Seasonally adjusted, 2002 = 100

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statisti cs survey, April 7, 2006.

Notes: Shaded areas denote recessions. Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

March 2006

Level: 115.2

Change: +0.5

Aggregate weekly payrolls are the product of average hourly earnings, average weekly hours, and production or nonsupervisory workers.

• The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on 

private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.2 percent to 104.4 in March, seasonally 

adjusted. Since its most recent trough in August 2003, the index has increased by 

6.3 percent, surpassing the level of its most recent peak (103.9) in October 2000.

• The index of aggregate weekly payrolls of production or nonsupervisory workers 

on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.4 percent to 115.2 in March, 

seasonally adjusted. Over-the-year, this index has grown by 6.1 percent—the 

largest March-to-March increase since 1999-2000.
5

1.4 1.4

5.3

3.0

4.4

1.5

4.5

0.1

1.0

-0.9

3.8

2.0

3.7

5.4

4.8

6.6

1.6

3.6

0.2

3.2

4.8

5.9

5.5

2.8

3.5

4.5

5.8

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Jan-04Feb-04

Mar-04

Apr-04

May-04

Jun-04

Jul-04

Aug-04

Sep-04

Oct-04

Nov-04

Dec-04Jan-05Feb-05

Mar-05

Apr-05

May-05

Jun-05

Jul-05

Aug-05

Sep-05

Oct-05

Nov-05

Dec-05Jan-06Feb-06

Mar-06

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 7, 2006.

Note: Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Employment in mining

Over-the-month change, 2004-06

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

• Employment in mining continued to expand in March, adding 6,000 jobs to 

payrolls. Since reaching an employment trough in April 2003, mining 

employment has increased by 97,000.

• Support activities for mining, particularly those related to oil and gas, accounted 

for much of the over-the-month gain. Oil and gas extraction also posted a gain of 

1,200 jobs—roughly double its prior 12-month trend. Employment in these 

industries continues to be driven by high oil and gas prices which are being 

fueled, at least in part, by increasing demand and ongoing supply disruptions, 

such as those caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
6

Employment in construction

1992-2006

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

Jan-92Jan-93Jan-94Jan-95Jan-96Jan-97Jan-98Jan-99Jan-00Jan-01Jan-02Jan-03Jan-04Jan-05Jan-06

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics Survey, April 7, 2006.

Notes: Shaded areas denote recessions. Most recent 2 months ofdata are preliminary.

March 2006

Level: 7,504

Change: +7

• Employment in construction was essentially unchanged in March, following 

strong gains in the prior 2 months. Mild winter weather, which allowed firms to 

bring on additional workers earlier in the season, and a residential housing market 

that appears to be cooling both contributed to the current month’s slowdown in 

employment growth. Construction, however, has added 311,000 jobs over the 

year, growing at a rate of 4.3 percent 

• March’s weakness was concentrated largely in specialty trade contractors 

(-3,100), an industry which has grown steadily in recent years. In fact, March’s 

movement represents only the second employment loss experienced by this 

industry since March 2003. The residential portion of specialty trade contractors 

was entirely responsible for this drop, shedding 10,700 jobs—the largest onemonth decline in the history of the series (which extends back to January 2001).
7

Employment in retail trade

1990-2006

12,000

13,000

14,000

15,000

16,000

Jan-90Jan-91Jan-92Jan-93Jan-94Jan-95Jan-96Jan-97Jan-98Jan-99Jan-00Jan-01Jan-02Jan-03Jan-04Jan-06Jan-06

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics Survey, April 7, 2006.

Notes: Shaded areas denote recessions. Most recent 2 months ofdata are preliminary.

March 2006

Level: 15,341.9

Change: 29.4

• Retail trade added 29,000 jobs to payrolls in March. The industry is now just 0.2 

percent below its December 2000 peak.

• This above-average job gain was concentrated in general merchandise stores, 

which had its largest over-the-month employment increase since February 2002.

• Building material and garden supply stores experienced slightly above-average

job growth. Employment in this industry has expanded by 44,000 over the year.
8

-2

9 9

15

20

7

-19

15

27

-9

3

19

15

6

-1

4

1

13

22

19

17

29

16

6

21 21

16

-25

-15

-5

5

15

25

35

Jan-04Feb-04

Mar-04

Apr-04

May-04

Jun-04

Jul-04

Aug-04

Sep-04

Oct-04

Nov-04

Dec-04Jan-05Feb-05

Mar-05

Apr-05

May-05

Jun-05

Jul-05

Aug-05

Sep-05

Oct-05

Nov-05

Dec-05Jan-06Feb-06

Mar-06

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 7, 2006.

Note: Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Employment in financial activities

Over-the-month change, 2004-06

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

• Employment in financial activities edged up over the month, following stronger 

gains in January and February. Financial activities employment has risen by 

185,000 over the year.

• Employment in most of the industry was flat in March; however, depository credit 

intermediation and insurance carriers and related activities added 7,000 jobs each, 

following similar gains in February. The gain in depository credit intermediation 

was concentrated in commercial banking.
9

Employment in selected professional and business services 

Over-the-month change, March 2006

3.0

-0.4

6.6

3.6

4.5

20.0

1.9

8.6

-5 0 5 10 15 20 25

Legal services

Accounting and

bookkeeping services

Architectural and

engineering services

Computer systems design

and related services

Management and technical

consulting services

Employment services

Business support services

Services to buildings and

dwellings

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics Survey, April 7, 2006.

Note: Data are preliminary.

Professional and

Business services:+52

• Professional and business services grew for the fifth straight month, adding 

52,000 jobs in February. The industry has added 469,000 jobs over the year. 

• Employment growth was spread amongst the component industries.

• Employment notched up in administrative and support services, which includes 

temporary help services and services to buildings. Temporary help employment 

has changed little since November.
10

Employment in health care 

Over-the-month change, March 2006

15.9

5.6

1.6

3.9

8.4

0.0

0 4 8 12 16

Offices of physicians

Outpatient care centers

Home health care

services

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 7, 2006.

Note: Data are preliminary.

Health care:

+24.3

Ambulatory health 

care services

Hospitals

Nursing and residential 

care facilities

• Health care continued in March with average job growth. Over the year, 

employment has expanded by 293,000. 

• Ambulatory health care services contributed the largest employment increase in 

March, adding 16,000 jobs and reflecting continued job growth in hospitals, 

doctors’ offices, and home health care services.
11

31.1

7.7

36.6

15.1

30.4

6.1

9.8

4.5

35.7

45.3

14.8

23.1

27.427.4

16.6

27.2

5.6

17.3

26.1

14.0

-22.0

12.8

33.3

20.3

36.9

26.5

33.1

-30

-20

-10

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Jan-04Feb-04

Mar-04

Apr-04

May-04

Jun-04

Jul-04

Aug-04

Sep-04

Oct-04

Nov-04

Dec-04Jan-05Feb-05

Mar-05

Apr-05

May-05

Jun-05

Jul-05

Aug-05

Sep-05

Oct-05

Nov-05

Dec-05Jan-06Feb-06

Mar-06

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 7, 2006.

Note: Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Employment in food services and drinking places

Over-the-month change, 2004-06

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

• Food services and drinking places continued its trend of solid job growth by 

adding 33,000 jobs in March. Over-the-year, this industry has added 231,000 jobs 

to payrolls and accounted for over 80 percent of the jobs added to the leisure and 

hospitality industry. The continued job growth coincides with strong sales in food 

services and drinking places industry.