Bureau of Labor Statistics

Current Employment Statistics 

Highlights

May 2012

Bureau of Labor Statistics

June 1, 2012

   
1

120,000

122,000

124,000

126,000

128,000

130,000

132,000

134,000

136,000

138,000

140,000

Jan-00 Jan-02 Jan-04 Jan-06 Jan-08 Jan-10 Jan-12

Employment in total nonfarm

May 2012

Level: 133,009

Change: 69

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 01, 2012.

Note: Shaded areas represent recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Most recent 2 

months of data are preliminary.

January 2000–May 2012

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands 41 -84 -95 -208 -190 -198 -210 -274 -432 -489 -803 -661 -818-724 -799-692 -361 -482

-339

-231

-199

-202

-42

-171

-40

-35

189

239

516

-167

-58

-51

-27

220

121

120

110

220

246

251

54

84

96

85

202

112

157

223

275

259

143

77

69

-1,000

-800

-600

-400

-200

0

200

400

600

800

Jan-08 Jul-08 Jan-09 Jul-09 Jan-10 Jul-10 Jan-11 Jul-11 Jan-12

Employment in total nonfarm

Over-the-month change, January 2008–May 2012

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 01, 2012.

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

 Nonfarm employment continued to trend up in May (+69,000). 

 Job growth has decelerated each month since January. 

   
2

-13

6

-9

46

-1

3

-2

0

36

2

16

12

-28

1

-40 -20 0 20 40 60

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

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 01, 2012.

Note: Data are preliminary.

Over-the-month change, May 2012

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Total nonfarm:

69

-502

48

652

914

1273

64

-106

6

235

362

178

491

-13

163

-1000 -500 0 500 1000 1500

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

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 01, 2012.

Note: Data are preliminary.

February 2010–May 2012 net change

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Total nonfarm:

69

Total nonfarm: 3,765

Total private: 4,267

 Employment in construction fell; Government employment continued to trend 

down. 

 Education and health care, transportation and warehousing, and wholesale trade 

all experienced job growth in May. Manufacturing employment continued to 

trend up. 

 Since an employment trough in February 2010, most nonfarm job gains have 

come in professional and business services, education and health services, and 

leisure and hospitality. 

   
3

32.0

32.5

33.0

33.5

34.0

34.5

35.0

Jan-00 Jan-02 Jan-04 Jan-06 Jan-08 Jan-10 Jan-12

Average weekly hours, total private

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 01, 2012.

Note: Shaded areas represent recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Most 

recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

January 2000–May 2012

Seasonally adjusted

All employees

Level: 34.4

Change: -0.1

Production employees

Level: 33.7

Change: 0.0

 Average weekly hours for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls declined to 

34.4 hours in May. Average weekly hours for production and nonsupervisory 

employees remained unchanged at 33.7 hours. 

   
4

-3.0

-2.0

-1.0

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

Mar-07 Sep-07 Mar-08 Sep-08 Mar-09 Sep-09 Mar-10 Sep-10 Mar-11 Sep-11 Mar-12

Over-the-year percent change

Average hourly earnings, all employees, and CPI–U*

Total private earnings CPI–U

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 01, 2012.

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Seasonally adjusted

May 2012 Earnings: 1.7

April 2012 CPI-U: 2.3

*1982–84=100

March 2007–May 2012

. 

 Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 1.7 percent. 

In April, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) had an 

over-the-year increase of 2.3 percent. 

 For about a year beginning in late 2010, price increases outpaced increases in 

earnings. Since the third quarter of 2011, however, the gap between the two has 

narrowed. 

 In May 2012, average hourly earnings rose by 2 cents or 0.1 percent. 

   
5

5,400

5,900

6,400

6,900

7,400

Jan-00 Jan-02 Jan-04 Jan-06 Jan-08 Jan-10 Jan-12

Employment in construction

May 2012

Level: 5,516

Change: -28

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 01, 2012.

Note: Shaded areas represent recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Most recent 2 

months of data are preliminary.

January 2000–May 2012

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

-7.7

-10.0

-11.2

1.5

-1.0

-15 -10 -5 0 5

Nonresidential specialty trades

Residential specialty trades

Heavy and civil engineering

Nonresidential building

Residential building

Employment in construction

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 01, 2012.

Note: Data are preliminary.

Over-the-month change, May 2012

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Construction:

-28

 Construction employment declined by 28,000 in May. 

 Job losses were concentrated in specialty trade contractors and heavy and civil 

engineering construction. 

   
6

-20

-28

-39

-56

-31

-59

-75

-79

-84

-130

-114

-179

-297

-166

-172

-179

-167

-143

-61

-41

-44

-49

-34

-30

-8

4

8

32

34

10

20

-17 2

0

9

15

52

37

26

28

8

12

30

3

-3

9

3

28

52

30

42

9

12

-350

-300

-250

-200

-150

-100

-50

0

50

100

Jan-08 Jul-08 Jan-09 Jul-09 Jan-10 Jul-10 Jan-11 Jul-11 Jan-12

Employment in manufacturing

Over-the-month change, January 2008–May 2012

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 01, 2012.

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

38.0

38.5

39.0

39.5

40.0

40.5

41.0

41.5

42.0

42.5

Jan-00 Jan-02 Jan-04 Jan-06 Jan-08 Jan-10 Jan-12

Average weekly hours, manufacturing

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 01, 2012.

Note: Shaded areas represent recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Most 

recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

January 2000–May 2012 Seasonally adjusted

Production employees

Level: 41.5

Change: -0.2

All employees

Level: 40.5

Change: -0.3

 Manufacturing employment continued to trend up (+12,000) in May, just as it did 

in April (+9,000). These changes reflect a slowdown from the average monthly 

gains of 41,000 in the first quarter of 2012. 

 The manufacturing workweek for all employees fell by 0.3 hour in May to 40.5 

hours, while the average hours of production employees declined by 0.2 hour to 

41.5 

   
7

0.8

-2.1

4.1

1.2

1.7

2.5

5.7

3.8

-3.0

-1.4

-4 -2 0 2 4 6 8

Miscellaneous manufacturing

Furniture and related products

Transportation equipment

Electrical equipment and appliances

Computer and electronic products

Machinery

Fabricated metal products

Primary metals

Nonmetallic mineral products

Wood products

Employment in durable goods

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 01, 2012.

Note: Data are preliminary.

Over-the-month change, May 2012

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Durable goods:

13

 Employment in durable goods manufacturing increased by 13,000 in May and has 

expanded by 489,000 since a recent low in January 2010. 

 In May, job gains in durable goods were spread out across most of the component 

industries. 

   
8

5,400

5,500

5,600

5,700

5,800

5,900

6,000

6,100

6,200

6,300

Jan-00 Jan-02 Jan-04 Jan-06 Jan-08 Jan-10 Jan-12

Employment in wholesale trade

May 2012

Level: 5,623

Change: 16

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 01, 2012.

Note: Shaded areas represent recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Most recent 2 

months of data are preliminary.

January 2000–May 2012

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands -1 -11 -11 -22 -14 -14 -20-19 -14 -37 -37 -41 -34 -48-45 -44 -25-24

-25

-17

-15

-18

-13

-15

-23

-8

-2

-1

-3 5

3

0 6

9

7

5

10

13

14

7

8

6

2

5

-3

12

7

15

15

7

5

11

16

-60

-50

-40

-30

-20

-10

0

10

20

Jan-08 Jul-08 Jan-09 Jul-09 Jan-10 Jul-10 Jan-11 Jul-11 Jan-12

Employment in wholesale trade

Over-the-month change, January 2008–May 2012

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 01, 2012.

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

 Wholesale trade employment increased by 16,000 in May, in line with its prior 6-

month average. 

 Wholesale trade has recovered 184,000 jobs since its most recent trough, in May 

2010, representing a recovery of about one-third of the jobs lost during the 

industry’s most recent downturn. 

   
9

3

1

5

4

-14

-8

-10

-15

-33

-13

-52

-18

-24

-30

-34

-42

-21

-18

-24

-7

-8

-12

-11

13

-26

-9

9

9

9

15

15

-3

15

8

12

3

1

25

8

10

8

11

-4

7

2

3

10

5

17

14

6

-16

36

-60

-40

-20

0

20

40

60

Jan-08 Jul-08 Jan-09 Jul-09 Jan-10 Jul-10 Jan-11 Jul-11 Jan-12

Employment in transportation 

Over-the-month change, January 2008–May 2012

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 01, 2012.

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

 In May, employment in transportation and warehousing increased by 36,000 

partially offsetting declines in April. 

 These 2 months of large fluctuations can be traced to employment for transit and 

ground passenger transportation and for courier services, which both drove the 

large changes in April and May. Employment in these two industries has shown 

little net change over the past 12 months. 

   
10

0

-40

-63

1

-68

-41

-61

-71

-70

-116

-184

-120

-144

-184

-133

-148

-64

-100

-31

-22

-1

8

56

14

44

29

-3

79

32

67

8

45

23

55

79

82

46

49

88

50

56

5

39

40

59

41

39

72

79

89

18

37

-1

-250

-200

-150

-100

-50

0

50

100

150

Jan-08 Jul-08 Jan-09 Jul-09 Jan-10 Jul-10 Jan-11 Jul-11 Jan-12

Employment in professional and business services

Over-the-month change, January 2008–May 2012

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 01, 2012.

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

-14.3

6.1

0.8

2.0

2.2

5.3

0.3

-14.0

-4.0

-20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10

- Services to buildings

- Employment services

Administrative and waste services ̊

Management of companies

- Management and technical consulting

- Computer systems design

- Architectural and engineering

- Accounting and bookkeeping

Professional and technical ̊

Employment in selected professional and business services

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 01, 2012.

Note: Data are preliminary.

 ̊Includes additional component industries not shown separately.

Over-the-month change, May 2012

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Professional and 

business services:

-1

 Although employment in professional and business services was essentially 

unchanged in May, it has grown by 1.4 million since a recent low point in 

September 2009. 

 In May, losses in accounting and bookkeeping services (-14,000) and services to 

buildings and dwellings (-14,000) were offset by small gains elsewhere in the 

industry. 

   
11

35

29

30

37

28

21

33

19

14

18

31

23

15

22

10

11

30

24

19

18

22

22

23

20

16

15

36

12

15

11

19

22

16

28

19

23

10

20

32

36

18

26

32

26

46

24

4

23

34

38

32

22

33

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Jan-08 Jul-08 Jan-09 Jul-09 Jan-10 Jul-10 Jan-11 Jul-11 Jan-12

Employment in health care 

Over-the-month change, January 2008–May 2012

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 01, 2012.

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

5.5

4.5

6.9

4.6

9.9

22.8

0 5 10 15 20 25

Nursing and residential care

Hospitals

- Home health care services

- Outpatient care centers

- Offices of physicians

Ambulatory health care services ̊

Employment in selected health care industries

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 01, 2012.

Note: Data are preliminary.

 ̊Includes additional component industries not shown separately.

Over-the-month change, May 2012

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Health care 

industries:

33

 Employment in health care, continued to expand in May, rising by 33,000. 

Ambulatory health care services drove job growth, over the month. 

 Health care has added 340,000 jobs to its payrolls over the past year. 

   
12

11,000

11,500

12,000

12,500

13,000

13,500

14,000

Jan-00 Jan-02 Jan-04 Jan-06 Jan-08 Jan-10 Jan-12

Employment in leisure and hospitality

May 2012

Level: 13,576

Change: -9

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 01, 2012.

Note: Shaded areas represent recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Most recent 2 

months of data are preliminary.

January 2000–May 2012

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands -4-5 -9 -25 -12 -3

7

-18

-28

-26

-36

-22

-25

-24

-24

-30

38

6

-8

-24

-28

-24

-11

-38

-1

-9

25

19

11 1

1

30

54

16

13

15

0

42

38

33

2

7

5

20

28

24

53

25

26

35

27

9

7

-60

-40

-20

0

20

40

60

Jan-08 Jul-08 Jan-09 Jul-09 Jan-10 Jul-10 Jan-11 Jul-11 Jan-12

Employment in food services and drinking places

Over-the-month change, January 2008–May 2012

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 01, 2012.

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

 Leisure and hospitality employment edged down for the second consecutive 

month in May (-9,000). 

 The industry’s average monthly job gain was 38,000 over the 6 months ending in 

March. These gains came mostly in food services and drinking places. 

   
13

20,000

20,500

21,000

21,500

22,000

22,500

23,000

23,500

Jan-00 Jan-02 Jan-04 Jan-06 Jan-08 Jan-10 Jan-12

Employment in government

May 2012

Level: 21,969

Change: -13

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 01, 2012.

Note: Shaded areas represent recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Most recent 2 

months of data are preliminary.

January 2000–May 2012

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

0.4

-3.3

-1.1

-3.7

-2.9

-2.0

-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1

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

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 01, 2012.

Note: Data are preliminary.

Over-the-month change, May 2012

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Government:

-13

 Government employment continued to edge downward in May (-13,000), with 

small declines distributed throughout the sector. 

 The industry has averaged monthly job losses of 5,000 year-to-date, compared 

with average monthly job losses of 22,000 throughout 2011.