March 2020

Release Date: April 3, 2020

Prepared by Analysts of the National Estimates Branch

Current Employment Statistics Survey

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

202-691-6555

Email CES

Contents

Summary

Mining & Logging

Construction

Manufacturing

Wholesale Trade

Retail Trade

Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities

Information

Financial Activities

Professional & Business Services

Private Education & Health Services

Leisure & Hospitality

Other Services

Government

Current Employment Statistics Highlights

Detailed Industry Employment Analysis

Current Employment Statistics

Highlights

(NOTE: A previous version of the chart on the 

education and health services page erroneously 

showed a prior 12-month average change of -17,000 

for offices of dentists. The correct value is +1,000, 

and the chart has been corrected and replaced.)
Current Employment Statistics Summary, March 2020

CES Highlights Release Date: April 3, 2020

information about how the establishment 

survey was affected by COVID-19, see the box 

note in the March 2020 Employment Situation

and in frequently asked questions. 

-459,000 Leisure and Hospitality 

 Employment fell sharply by 417,000 in food 

services and drinking places in March, nearly 

offsetting job gains achieved over the 

preceding 24 months. 

 Nonfarm payroll employment declined 

sharply by 701,000 in March, reflecting early

impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and 

efforts to contain the illness. Leisure and 

hospitality accounted for more than half of all 

jobs lost, although weakness was widespread. 

The diffusion index over a 1-month period fell 

to 36.0 from 57.9 in February. An index below 

50 indicates that more industries lost jobs than 

gained them.

 Average hourly earnings of all employees 

on private-sector payrolls rose by 11 cents or 

0.4 percent in March. Over the year, hourly 

earnings have increased by 3.1 percent. 

Average weekly hours decreased by 0.2 hour 

in March to 34.2 hours. 

 The employment change for February 

revised up slightly from +273,000 to +275,000, 

and the change for January revised down from 

+273,000 to +214,000. On net, employment 

over these months is 57,000 lower than 

previously reported.

 Measures from the establishment survey 

pertain to the pay period including March 

12th, which varies by establishment. For more 

12

-24

-459

-76

-52

-1

2

1

-5

-46

1

-18

-29

-7

-600 -500 -400 -300 -200 -100 0 100 200

Government

Other services*

Leisure and hospitality*

Education and health services*

Professional and business services*

Financial activities

Information

Utilities

Transportation and warehousing

Retail trade*

Wholesale trade

Manufacturing

Construction*

Mining and logging*

Employment in total nonfarm

March 2020 Prior 12-month average

Over-the-month change, March 2020

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Total nonfarm:

-701*

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 03, 2020.

Data are preliminary.

* denotes significance

Summary Mining & 

Logging Construction Manufacturing

Trade: 

Wholesale

Retail

Transp., 

Warehousing

& Utilities

Information Financial

Activities

Professional

& Business

Services

Private

Education

& Health

Services

Leisure & 

Hospitality

Other

Services Government
CES Highlights Release Date: April 3, 2020

 Accommodation lost 29,000 jobs in March, 

offsetting modest gains made over the prior 

13 months. 

-76,000 Education and Health Services

 Employment in health care fell by 43,000 in 

March, driven by job losses in offices of 

dentists (-17,000), of physicians (-12,000), and 

of other health care practitioners (-7,000).

 Within social assistance, child day care 

services reduced payroll employment by 

19,000 over the month. Child day care had

added an average 3,000 jobs per month over 

the prior 12-months.

 -52,000 Professional and Business Services 

 Employment in temporary help services fell 

by 50,000 over the month, well below trend. 

Employment had changed little over the prior 

12-month period (-20,000). In March, travel 

arrangement and reservation services lost 

7,000 jobs. Employment changed little 

elsewhere in professional and business 

services.

-46,000 Retail Trade 

 Retail trade lost 46,000 jobs in March. Job 

losses were distributed among a number of 

industries, including clothing and clothing 

accessories stores and furniture stores with 

each losing 10,000 or more jobs.

-29,000 Construction 

 Employment in construction fell by 29,000 

over the month. Nonresidential building and 

heavy and civil engineering construction lost 

11,000 and 10,000 jobs, respectively. 

Construction had added an average 40,000 

jobs per month in January and February.

-24,000 Other Services

 Employment in personal and laundry 

services decreased by 13,000 in March and has 

changed little over the past 12 months 

(+2,000).

-18,000 Manufacturing 

 Manufacturing employment edged down by 

18,000 in March and has shown little net 

change over the past 12 months (+12,000).

-7,000 Mining and Logging 

 Mining employment declined by 6,000 in 

March. Support activities for mining accounted 

for most of the loss (-5,000).

+12,000 Government

 Federal government employment increased 

by 18,000 in March, largely reflecting the

hiring of 17,000 workers for the 2020 Census.

Current Employment Statistics Survey Summary, March 2020

Summary Mining & 

Logging Construction Manufacturing

Trade: 

Wholesale

Retail

Transp., 

Warehousing

& Utilities

Information Financial

Activities

Professional

& Business

Services

Private

Education

& Health

Services

Leisure & 

Hospitality

Other

Services Government
 Mining employment declined by 6,000 in 

March. The majority of job loss came from 

support activities for mining (-5,000).

 The decline in mining employment 

reflected weakness in March indicator data. 

The North American rotary rig count was 

essentially flat, and West Texas 

Intermediate oil prices declined over the 

month. 

500

550

600

650

700

750

800

850

900

950

Jan-10 Jan-12 Jan-14 Jan-16 Jan-18 Jan-20

Employment in mining

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 03, 2020.

Shaded area represents recession as denoted by the National Bureau of Economic Research. 

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

January 2010–March 2020

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Mining and Logging 

Summary Mining & 

Logging Construction Manufacturing

Trade: 

Wholesale

Retail

Transp., 

Warehousing

& Utilities

Information Financial

Activities

Professional

& Business

Services

Private

Education

& Health

Services

Leisure & 

Hospitality

Other

Services Government

CES Highlights Release Date: April 3, 2020
 Construction employment decreased by 

29,000 in March. Nonresidential building 

construction lost 11,000 jobs, heavy and civil 

engineering construction shed 10,000 jobs, 

and employment in specialty trade 

contractors trended down (-10,000). 

 The loss in employment in March follows 

weakness in construction-related indicators 

for February, with declines in residential 

building permits, construction spending and 

in new home sales. 26 42 20

7 12 27

5 30 14 23 39 27 21 865 18 43 1622 31 2023

-2 26 50

-29 2026

9 19

7

4 1617

-2 16 3841

-29

-60

-40

-20

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Jan-17 Jan-18 Jan-19 Jan-20

Employment in construction

Over-the-month change, January 2017–March 2020

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 03, 2020. 

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Construction

Summary Mining & 

Logging Construction Manufacturing

Trade: 

Wholesale

Retail

Transp., 

Warehousing

& Utilities

Information Financial

Activities

Professional

& Business

Services

Private

Education

& Health

Services

Leisure & 

Hospitality

Other

Services Government

CES Highlights Release Date: April 3, 2020
 Employment in manufacturing edged down in March (-18,000). 

 In March, the 1-month diffusion index fell 13.9 points to 36.8, 

indicating that more manufacturing industries are losing jobs than are 

adding jobs. 

 

 In March, average weekly hours fell by 0.3 hour for all manufacturing 

workers and by 0.3 hour for production employees.

13 15

11

5 6

12

-1

44

9

22 22

27

17

30

23 21

26

29

19

13

21

24

20 21 20

5

-3

2

0

9

7

3 3

-41

58

-2

-22

13

-18

-60

-40

-20

0

20

40

60

80

Jan-17 Apr-17 Jul-17 Oct-17 Jan-18 Apr-18 Jul-18 Oct-18 Jan-19 Apr-19 Jul-19 Oct-19 Jan-20

Over-the-month change Annual average

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics, April 03, 2020. Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Over-the-month change, January 2017–March 2020

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Employment in manufacturing

38.0

38.5

39.0

39.5

40.0

40.5

41.0

41.5

42.0

42.5

Jan-07 Jan-09 Jan-11 Jan-13 Jan-15 Jan-17 Jan-19

Average weekly hours, manufacturing

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 03, 2020.

Shaded area represents recession as denoted by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

January 2007–March 2020

Seasonally adjusted

Production employees

Level: 41.4

Change: -0.3

All employees

Level: 40.4

Change: -0.3

Manufacturing

CES Highlights Release Date: April 3, 2020

Summary Mining & 

Logging Construction Manufacturing

Trade: 

Wholesale

Retail

Transp., 

Warehousing

& Utilities

Information Financial

Activities

Professional

& Business

Services

Private

Education

& Health

Services

Leisure & 

Hospitality

Other

Services Government
 Employment in wholesale trade changed little in 

March (+1,000). Over the most recent 12 months, 

the industry’s employment has edged up by 

56,000. 

 

6

2

3

5

-5

7

1

-1

3

5

0

6

-5

1 13

-19

3

7 12 19

-3

3

7

8

6

6

-4 13

4

1

7

1

6 10

3

7

4

-2

1

-30

-20

-10

0

10

20

30

Jan-17 Jan-18 Jan-19 Jan-20

Employment in wholesale trade

Over-the-month change, January 2017–March 2020

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 03, 2020. 

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Wholesale Trade

Summary Mining & 

Logging Construction Manufacturing

Trade:

Wholesale

Retail

Transp., 

Warehousing

& Utilities

Information Financial

Activities

Professional

& Business

Services

Private

Education

& Health

Services

Leisure & 

Hospitality

Other

Services Government

CES Highlights Release Date: April 3, 2020
 Employment in retail trade declined by 

46,000 in March. Over the year, industry 

employment showed little net change 

(-19,000).

 Employment declines occurred in clothing 

and clothing accessories stores (-16,000), 

furniture and home furnishing stores 

(-10,000), sporting goods, hobby, book, and 

music stores (-9,000), while employment in 

general merchandise stores increased by 

10,000.

 Recent retail-related economic indicators 

are mostly negative. Both Retail Sales and 

Auto Sales declined in February. The Consumer 

Confidence Index declined in March.

Retail Trade

Summary Mining & 

Logging Construction Manufacturing

Trade:

Wholesale

Retail

Transp., 

Warehousing

& Utilities

Information Financial

Activities

Professional

& Business

Services

Private

Education

& Health

Services

Leisure & 

Hospitality

Other

Services Government

CES Highlights Release Date: April 3, 2020
 Employment in transportation and 

warehousing changed little in March 

(-5,000). Over the past 12 months, the 

industry’s employment has risen by 

81,000.

 Among the component industries, 

support activities for transportation lost 

6,000 jobs, while warehousing and 

storage added 8,000. So far this year, 

warehousing and storage has added 

23,000 jobs, close to the 25,000 jobs it 

added in all of 2019.

Transportation and Warehousing

Summary Mining & 

Logging Construction Manufacturing

Trade: 

Wholesale

Retail

Transp., 

Warehousing

& Utilities

Information Financial

Activities

Professional

& Business

Services

Private

Education

& Health

Services

Leisure & 

Hospitality

Other

Services Government

CES Highlights Release Date: April 3, 2020
 Employment in utilities was flat in 

March (+1,000).

542

544

546

548

550

552

554

556

558

560

562

Jan-10 Jan-12 Jan-14 Jan-16 Jan-18 Jan-20

Employment in utilities

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 03, 2020.

Shaded area represents recession as denoted by the National Bureau of Economic Research. 

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

January 2010–March 2020

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Utilities

Summary Mining & 

Logging Construction Manufacturing

Trade: 

Wholesale

Retail

Transp., 

Warehousing

& Utilities

Information Financial

Activities

Professional

& Business

Services

Private

Education

& Health

Services

Leisure & 

Hospitality

Other

Services Government

CES Highlights Release Date: April 3, 2020
 Employment in information changed little 

in March (+2,000).

 Over the past 12 months, employment in 

publishing industries, except internet 

expanded by 17,000 and other information 

services (such as news syndicates, libraries 

and archives, and internet publishing and 

broadcasting and web search portals) added 

30,000. This growth was partially offset by 

job losses in telecommunications (-25,000).

7

-5

-1

-4

-5

3

2

6

-4

1 1

6

-4

0

11

13

-2

0

4

0

-2

12

-1

4

-11

-2

10

-6

8

12

-3

-1

5

-1

9 9

11

3

2

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

Jan-17 Jul-17 Jan-18 Jul-18 Jan-19 Jul-19 Jan-20

Over-the-month change Annual average

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics, April 03, 2020.

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Over-the-month change, January 2017–March 2020

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Employment in information

Information

Summary Mining & 

Logging Construction Manufacturing

Trade: 

Wholesale

Retail

Transp., 

Warehousing

& Utilities

Information Financial

Activities

Professional

& Business

Services

Private

Education

& Health

Services

Leisure & 

Hospitality

Other

Services Government

CES Highlights Release Date: April 3, 2020
 Employment in financial activities 

changed little in March (-1,000), 

following a gain of 31,000 in February. 

Over the most recent 12 months, the 

industry has added 146,000 jobs. Within 

credit intermediation and related 

activities, commercial banking (-3,000) 

lost jobs over the month.

 While the average 30-year fixed 

mortgage rate remained low, the 

Consumer Confidence Index declined in 

March.

Financial Activities

Summary Mining & 

Logging Construction Manufacturing

Trade: 

Wholesale

Retail

Transp., 

Warehousing

& Utilities

Information Financial

Activities

Professional

& Business

Services

Private

Education

& Health

Services

Leisure & 

Hospitality

Other

Services Government

CES Highlights Release Date: April 3,2020

30

2

8

15

8

16

12

9

8

5

12

4

6

29

5

7

22

19

8

13

22

18

10

8

11

14

17

14

6

5

21

15

3

21

12

10

9

31

-1

-5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Jan-17 Jul-17 Jan-18 Jul-18 Jan-19 Jul-19 Jan-20

Over-the-month change Annual average

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics, April 03, 2020.

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Over-the-month change, January 2017–March 2020

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Employment in financial activities
 Employment in professional and business services decreased by 

52,000 in March, the largest decline since June 2009. The industry 

had added an average 33,000 jobs per month over the 12 months 

prior to March. 

 

 Within administrative and waste services, temporary help 

services lost 50,000 jobs in March, the largest monthly decline since 

April 2009. Employment in travel arrangement and reservation 

services decreased by 7,000 in March. 

 

 50

9 2930 57 35 42 28

3 48 3034 55 43 424546 34 20 41 3337 2326

-2 38 12 50 27 4143 40 25 42 37 22 20 36

-52

-80

-60

-40

-20

0

20

40

60

80

Jan-17 Jul-17 Jan-18 Jul-18 Jan-19 Jul-19 Jan-20

Employment in professional and business services

Over-the-month change, January 2017–March 2020

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 03, 2020. Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

6

-9 13

-4 24 16

9

0

-2

6

7

0

5 145

5

-3

-5

-1

1

2

4

-6

6

-28

-3

-11

0

-4

-5

-5

4

7

-6

3

5

-4-4

-50

-80

-60

-40

-20

0

20

40

Jan-17 Jul-17 Jan-18 Jul-18 Jan-19 Jul-19 Jan-20

Employment in temporary help services

Over-the-month change, January 2017–March 2020

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 03, 2020. Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Professional and Business Services

CES Highlights Release Date: April 3, 2020

Summary Mining & 

Logging Construction Manufacturing

Trade: 

Wholesale

Retail

Transp., 

Warehousing

& Utilities

Information Financial

Activities

Professional

& Business

Services

Private

Education

& Health

Services

Leisure & 

Hospitality

Other

Services Government
 Employment in health care declined by 

43,000 in March. Within ambulatory health 

care services, offices of dentists (-17,000), 

offices of physicians (-12,000), and offices of 

other health practitioners (-7,000) lost jobs. 

 In March, social assistance lost 19,000 jobs, 

with child day care services accounting for all 

of the losses (-19,000). 

(NOTE: A previous version of the chart on this 

page erroneously showed a prior 12-month 

average change of -17,000 for offices of 

dentists. The correct value is +1,000, and the 

chart has been corrected and replaced.)

-2

0

-6

5

-17

-12

-41

-60 -40 -20 0 20 40

Nursing and residential care

Hospitals

 - Home health care services

 - Outpatient care centers

 - Offices of dentists*

 - Offices of physicians*

Ambulatory health care services1*

Employment in selected health care industries

March 2020 Prior 12-month average

Over-the-month change, March 2020

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Health care 

industries:

-43*

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 03, 2020.

Data are preliminary.

1 Includes additional component industries not shown separately.

* denotes significance

Private Education and Health Services

Summary Mining & 

Logging Construction Manufacturing

Trade: 

Wholesale

Retail

Transp., 

Warehousing

& Utilities

Information Financial

Activities

Professional

& Business

Services

Private

Education

& Health

Services

Leisure & 

Hospitality

Other

Services Government

CES Highlights Release Date: April 3, 2020
 Leisure and hospitality lost 459,000 jobs in March, as many businesses cut 

back operations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The employment 

loss, the largest 1-month loss in the history of the series (since 1939) 

coincided with a sharp decrease in consumer confidence. 

 The March decline was concentrated in food services and drinking places, 

which lost 417,000 jobs, also the largest 1-month loss in the history of the 

series (since 1990). Sales for this industry began to weaken in February. 

Accommodation employment also contracted in March (-29,000).

5,000

7,000

9,000

11,000

13,000

15,000

17,000

19,000

Employment in leisure and hospitality

March 2020 Level: 16,393 OTM Change: -459*

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 03, 2020.

Shaded area represents recession as denoted by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

January 1990–March 2020

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

-417

-29

-13

-600 -500 -400 -300 -200 -100 0 100 200

Food services and drinking places*

Accommodation*

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

Employment in leisure and hospitality

March 2020 Prior 12-month average

Over-the-month change, March 2020

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Leisure and 

hospitality:

-459*

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 03, 2020.

Data are preliminary.

* denotes significance

Leisure and Hospitality

CES Highlights Release Date: April 3, 2020

Summary Mining & 

Logging Construction Manufacturing

Trade: 

Wholesale

Retail

Transp., 

Warehousing

& Utilities

Information Financial

Activities

Professional

& Business

Services

Private

Education

& Health

Services

Leisure & 

Hospitality

Other

Services Government
 Employment in other services

decreased by 24,000 in March. This is 

the industry’s largest monthly decline 

since March 2009. 

 In March, personal and laundry 

services lost 13,000 jobs. In response to 

the coronavirus, several states have 

ordered the closure of personal care 

businesses—such as barbershops, 

beauty salons, and nail salons. Although 

most of these closure orders came after 

the CES reference period, many business 

reported weakened demand early in 

March. 16 11

33 11

8

7

6

-7 22 11

0

5

4

-3

7 1213

-15

3

5

8

-3

8

3

1 1515

-3 15

9

5

-3

0 16

2 10

8

-24

-40

-30

-20

-10

0

10

20

30

40

Jan-17 Jul-17 Jan-18 Jul-18 Jan-19 Jul-19 Jan-20

Employment in other services

Over-the-month change, January 2017–March 2020

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 03, 2020. 

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Other Services

Summary Mining & 

Logging Construction Manufacturing

Trade: 

Wholesale

Retail

Transp., 

Warehousing

& Utilities

Information Financial

Activities

Professional

& Business

Services

Private

Education

& Health

Services

Leisure & 

Hospitality

Other

Services Government

CES Highlights Release Date: April 3, 2020
 Within government, hiring for Census 

2020 accounted for 17,000 of the increase in 

federal government employment. 

8

0

-6

-9

-2

20

-20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Local government, excluding education

Local government education

State government, excluding education

State government education

U.S. Postal Service*

Federal, except U.S. Postal Service*

Employment in selected government

March 2020 Prior 12-month average

Over-the-month change, March 2020

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Government:

12

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 03, 2020.

Data are preliminary.

* denotes significance

Government

Summary Mining & 

Logging Construction Manufacturing

Trade: 

Wholesale

Retail

Transp., 

Warehousing

& Utilities

Information Financial

Activities

Professional

& Business

Services

Private

Education

& Health

Services

Leisure & 

Hospitality

Other

Services Government

CES Highlights Release Date: April 3, 2020
Prepared by Staff of the National Estimates Branch

Current Employment Statistics Survey

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

202-691-6555

Email CES

CES Analysts

Osman Alhassan

Ryan Ansell

Hyun Choi

Steve Crestol

Tyler Downing

Katelynn Harris

Mike McCall

John Mullins

Michael Osifalujo

Rhiannon Sneeringer

Carson Wilson

Current Employment Statistics Highlights

Detailed Industry Employment Analysis