May 2015

Release Date: June 5, 2015

Prepared by Staff 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
Current Employment Statistics Survey Summary, May 2015

CES Highlights Release Date: June 5, 2015

+ 57,000 Leisure and hospitality 

 Employment in leisure and hospitality rose 

by 57,000 in May. Arts, entertainment, and 

recreation accounted for 29,000 of the increase. 

Employment in food services and drinking 

places has shown little net change over the past 

3 months (+26,000).

+ 74,000 Education and health services 

 Employment in health care rose by 47,000 

in May. Ambulatory care accounted for 28,000 

of the increase, with home health care 

contributing 8,000 jobs. Hospital employment 

increased by 16,000. Thus far in 2015, 

hospitals have added an average 13,000 jobs 

Total Nonfarm + 280,000 

Total Private + 262,000 

 Nonfarm employment rose by 280,000 in 

May. Professional and business services, 

leisure and hospitality, and health care added 

jobs. Employment fell in mining. 

 The employment change for April revised 

down from +223,000 to +221,000, and the 

change for March revised up from +85,000 to 

+119,000. Incorporating revisions, 

employment has increased by an average 

207,000 per month over the past 3 months.

 Average hourly earnings of all employees 

on private, nonfarm payrolls rose 8 cents in 

May. Hourly earnings were up 2.3 percent over 

the year. In May, average weekly hours were 

unchanged at 34.5 hours. 

+ 63,000 Professional and business services 

 Professional and technical services 

employment continued to trend up in May 

(+19,000). Within this industry, computer 

systems design and related services added 

10,000 jobs over the month and 82,000 jobs

over the year. 

 Administrative and support services added 

39,000 jobs in May. Temporary help services

accounted for about half of the employment 

change. 380 247 216 87 113 35 177188 144 213 164 293 205 314 115 187 219 127 164 256 150 225 317 109 166 188 225 330 236 286 249 213 250 221 423 329 201 266 119 221 280

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

Jan-12 Jul-12 Jan-13 Jul-13 Jan-14 Jul-14 Jan-15

Employment in total nonfarm

Over-the-month change, January 2012 - May 2015

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics, June 05, 2015.

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

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

12-month average
per month, compared to average gains of 8,000 

in the preceding 5 months. 

+ 31,000 Retail Trade 

 Employment in retail trade edged up in 

May. Automobile dealers added 8,000 payroll 

jobs. Over the year, retail trade has added 

314,000 jobs. 

+ 17,000 Construction

 Construction employment continued to 

trend up in May. Over the year, the industry 

has added 273,000 jobs.

+ 13,000 Financial Activities

 Employment continued to trend up in 

financial activities. Over the past 12 months, 

the industry has added 160,000 jobs; insurance 

accounted for 85,000 of the gains.

+ 13,000 Transportation and Warehousing 

 Within transportation and warehousing, 

employment rose in truck transportation 

(+9,000) in May.

- 18,000 Mining and Logging

 Mining employment declined by 17,000 in 

May, with the loss concentrated in support 

activities. Year to date, mining has lost an 

average 14,000 jobs per month, compared to an 

average monthly increase of 3,000 in 2014. 

Support activities has been the primary driver 

of these employment trends. 

18

2

57

74

63

13

-3

1.1

13.1

31.4

4.1

7

17

-18

-40 -20 0 20 40 60 80

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

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 05, 2015.

Data are preliminary.

* denotes significance.

Over-the-month change, May 2015

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Total nonfarm:

280*

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

Current Employment Statistics Survey Summary, May 2015

CES Highlights Release Date: June 5, 2015
500

550

600

650

700

750

800

850

900

950

1,000

Jan-05 Jan-07 Jan-09 Jan-11 Jan-13 Jan-15

Employment in mining and logging

May 2015 Level: 845

OTM Change: -18*

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 05, 2015.

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

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

* denotes significance.

January 2005–May 2015

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Mining & 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: June 5, 2015

 Mining and logging lost 18,000 

jobs over the month. Support 

activities for mining experienced a 

significant decline, losing 17,000 

jobs. 

 Led by declining rig counts (-976 

over the past year), mining 

employment has fallen by 68,000 

thus far in 2015. Job losses have been 

concentrated in support activities for 

mining, which includes support for 

oil and gas operations.
 Construction employment continued to 

trend up (+17,000) over the month. 

Employment in construction has grown by 

273,000 (+4.5 percent) over the past 12 

months. 

 Employment in specialty trade 

contractors continued to trend up over the 

month (+12,000). 

 

 

 

-35 26 18 16 24 11 20

5 36

-3

3 24 17

0

-1-1

-19 15

99

8 19 16 40 22 52 17

-2 2023-2 12 2725 35

-16 69 2630 41 11

7 31 1722 10 30 44 41 31

-12 35 17

-60

-40

-20

0

20

40

60

80

100

Jan-11 Jul-11 Jan-12 Jul-12 Jan-13 Jul-13 Jan-14 Jul-14 Jan-15

Employment in construction

Over-the-month change, January 2011–May 2015

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 05, 2015. 

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Construction

CES Highlights Release Date: June 5, 2015

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
 Manufacturing employment changed little (+7,000) in May. 

Employment in durable goods was essentially unchanged with 

offsetting movements among the industry components. Gains 

occurred in nonmetallic mineral products (+4,000), miscellaneous 

durable goods (+3,000), and motor vehicles and parts (+7,000). 

Fabricated metal products lost 6,000 jobs, with most of the losses 

concentrated in machine shops. 

 The 1-month diffusion index decreased to 48.8 in May from 51.9 

in April. The diffusion index measures the dispersion of employment 

change in manufacturing, with a value below 50 indicating that more 

manufacturing industries are losing jobs than adding.

 In manufacturing, average weekly hours for both all employees

(40.7) and production employees (41.8) remained unchanged over the 

month.

10,500

11,000

11,500

12,000

12,500

13,000

13,500

14,000

14,500

15,000

15,500

16,000

Jan-03 Jan-05 Jan-07 Jan-09 Jan-11 Jan-13 Jan-15

Employment in manufacturing

May 2015 Level: 12,335

OTM Change: 7 

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 05, 2015.

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

* denotes significance.

January 2003–May 2015

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

3.0

-0.9

4.8

1.0

-0.3

-2.7

-5.5

-1.4

3.7

-0.2

-10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8

Miscellaneous durable goods 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

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 05, 2015.

Data are preliminary.

* denotes significance.

Over-the-month change, May 2015

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Durable goods:

1

*

Manufacturing

CES Highlights Release Date: June 5, 2015

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 May (+4,000). 

Employment in the industry has 

increased by 91,000 over the past 12 

months. 

 

 

5,200

5,400

5,600

5,800

6,000

6,200

Jan-05 Jan-07 Jan-09 Jan-11 Jan-13 Jan-15

Employment in wholesale trade

May 2015 Level: 5,905

OTM Change: 4

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 05, 2015.

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

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

* denotes significance.

January 2005–May 2015

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

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: June 5, 2015
 Employment in retail trade edged up in May (+31,000). Over the past 12 

months, the industry has added 314,000 jobs.

NAICS 441 – Motor vehicles and parts dealers

 In May, employment in motor vehicles and parts dealers increased by 

10,000. With this increase, the industry has now recovered all of the 

306,000 jobs that were lost during its most recent employment downturn 

(April 2007–February 2010). Recent strength in the industry coincides with 

high levels of light-vehicle sales (Source: Auto News). 

 

Retail Trade

CES Highlights Release Date: June 5, 2015

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
3,800

4,000

4,200

4,400

4,600

4,800

5,000

Jan-05 Jan-07 Jan-09 Jan-11 Jan-13 Jan-15

Employment in transportation and warehousing

May 2015 Level: 4,761

OTM Change: 13

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 05, 2015.

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

* denotes significance.

January 2005–May 2015

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands 1011

-3

0

6

3

7

1

-3

9

3

6

4

5

-10 14

-1

0

1

1

1

4

5

2

0

1

4

9

3

4

3

1

4

3

2 12

1

3

-5

2

9

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

Jan-12 Jul-12 Jan-13 Jul-13 Jan-14 Jul-14 Jan-15

Employment in truck transportation

Over-the-month change, January 2012–May 2015

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 05, 2015. Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Transportation and Warehousing

CES Highlights Release Date: June 5, 2015

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

 Transportation and warehousing employment continued to trend up in 

May (+13,000). Truck transportation (+9,000) and pipeline transportation 

(+1,000) experienced significant job gains in May. Employment in the 

remaining component industries changed little.

NAICS 484 – Truck transportation

 Truck transportation employment increased by 9,000 in May. Over the 

year, truck transportation has added 38,000 jobs, an increase of 2.7 percent.
 Utilities employment edged up by 1,000 

over the month. Since reaching a trough in 

February 2014, the industry has recovered 

13,000 jobs. 

 

 

 

 

540

545

550

555

560

565

570

Jan-05 Jan-07 Jan-09 Jan-11 Jan-13 Jan-15

Employment in utilities

May 2015 Level: 562

OTM Change: 1

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 05, 2015.

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

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

* denotes significance.

January 2005–May 2015

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Utilities

CES Highlights Release Date: : June 5, 2015

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
2,500

2,600

2,700

2,800

2,900

3,000

3,100

3,200

Jan-05 Jan-07 Jan-09 Jan-11 Jan-13 Jan-15

Employment in information

May 2015 Level: 2,783

OTM Change: -3

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 05, 2015.

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

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

* denotes significance.

January 2005–May 2015

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Information

 Information employment 

changed little in May (-3,000). 

Over the past 12 months, however, 

information has added 60,000 jobs 

on net (2.2 percent).

 

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: June 5, 2015
 Financial activities continued its upward 

employment trend in May (+13,000), in line 

with its prior 12-month average change of 

13,000. Financial activities has recovered 61 

percent of the jobs lost in its last peak-totrough period (December 2006–February 

2011).

 

 

 

 

7,400

7,600

7,800

8,000

8,200

8,400

8,600

Jan-05 Jan-07 Jan-09 Jan-11 Jan-13 Jan-15

Employment in financial activities

May 2015 Level: 8,111

OTM Change: 13

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 05, 2015.

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

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

* denotes significance.

January 2005–May 2015

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

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: June 5, 2015
 Professional and business services added 63,000 jobs in May. In 

2015, the industry has added an average of 47,000 jobs per month, 

weaker than the 59,000 jobs added per month during 2014. 

Administrative and support services led the gains, adding 39,000 jobs 

in May. Professional and technical services (+19,000) and management 

of companies and enterprises (+4,000) continued their upward 

employment trends. 

 

NAICS 5415 – Computer systems design and related services

 In May, computer systems design and related services added 10,000 

jobs, continuing a strong upward trend. The industry has contributed 

36 percent of the gains in professional and technical services in 2015. 

19

4

40*

-30

-10

10

30

50

70

90

110

Jan-12 Jul-12 Jan-13 Jul-13 Jan-14 Jul-14 Jan-15

Professional and business services

Over-the-month change, January 2012 - May 2015

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Professional and technical services

Management of companies and enterprises

Administrative and waste services

May 2015:

Level: 1,856

OTM change: 63*

7

10*

5

-6

0

Management and technical consulting

Computer systems design and related

Architectural and engineering

Accounting and bookkeeping

Legal

Professional and technical services

Over-the-month change, May 2015

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

May-15 Prior-12 month avg. OTMC

May 2015

Level: 8,604

OTM change: 19

Professional and Business Services

CES Highlights Release Date: June 5, 2015

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
 In May, private education and health services employment grew by 

74,000. Within the industry, health care added 47,000 jobs, while 

employment in social assistance and in educational services continued 

to trend up over the month. 

NAICS 621 —Ambulatory health care services

 Ambulatory health care services added 28,000 jobs in May. Within 

the industry, employment grew by 8,000 in home health care services, 

while employment continued to trend up in offices of physicians 

(+6,000), and outpatient care centers (+5,000).

NAICS 622 –- Hospitals

 Hospital employment increased by 16,000 in May. The industry has 

added 113,000 jobs since an employment trough in February 2014.

4

16

8

5

6

28

-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

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

May 2015 Prior 6-month average

Over-the-month change, May 2015

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Health care 

industries:

47*

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 05, 2015.

Data are preliminary.

 ̊Includes additional component industries not shown separately.

* denotes significance.

0

0

8

9

6

2

6

2

9

33

4 16

7

5

1

1

1

3

0

2

4

3

1

-1

3

1

8

-16

1

-3

0

-3

-2

1

-6

-5

-1

3

3

5

2

-2 10

7

3 11

9 13 11 10 1516

-25

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

25

Jan-11 Jul-11 Jan-12 Jul-12 Jan-13 Jul-13 Jan-14 Jul-14 Jan-15

Employment in hospitals

Over-the-month change, January 2011–May 2015

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 05, 2015. Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Private Education and Health Services

CES Highlights Release Date: June 5, 2015

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
17

12

29

-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Food services and drinking places

Accommodation

Arts, entertainment, and recreation*

Employment in leisure and hospitality

May 2015 Prior 6-month average

Over-the-month change, May 2015

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Leisure and 

hospitality:

57*

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 05, 2015.

Data are preliminary.

* denotes significance.

14.4

1.7

12.9

29

-5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

 -Amusements, gambling, and recreation

 -Museums, historical sites, and similar institutions

 -Performing arts and spectator sports*

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Over-the-month change, May 2015

Employment in component industries in arts, entertainment, and recreation

Leisure and Hospitality

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: June 5, 2015

 Leisure and hospitality employment grew by 57,000 in 

May after changing little (+16,000) over the prior 2 months. 

NAICS 71—Arts, entertainment, and recreation

 Component industries within arts, entertainment, and 

recreation were the major contributors to leisure and 

hospitality’s employment increase in May. Performing arts 

and spectator sports employment rose by 13,000. 

NAICS 722—Food Services and Drinking Places

 Employment in food services and drinking places has 

changed little over the past 3 months (+26,000). The industry 

had added 139,000 over the preceding 3 months.

 

 
 Other services employment changed 

little (+2,000) in May, and there was 

little change in any component industry. 

Other services has added 319,000 jobs 

since its most recent trough, reached in 

June 2010.

5,200

5,250

5,300

5,350

5,400

5,450

5,500

5,550

5,600

5,650

5,700

Jan-05 Jan-07 Jan-09 Jan-11 Jan-13 Jan-15

Employment in other services

May 2015 Level: 5,634

OTM Change: 2

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 05, 2015.

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

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

* denotes significance.

January 2005–May 2015

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

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: June 5, 2015
 Government employment changed little in May (+18,000). Over the 

past 12 months, government has gained a total of 100,000 jobs.

 

 

5

10

-1

1

0

4

-6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

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

May 2015 Prior 6-month average

Over-the-month change, May 2015

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Government:

18

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 05, 2015.

Data are preliminary.

* denotes significance.

21,400

21,600

21,800

22,000

22,200

22,400

22,600

22,800

23,000

23,200

23,400

Jan-05 Jan-07 Jan-09 Jan-11 Jan-13 Jan-15

Employment in government

May 2015 Level: 21,941

OTM Change: 18

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, June 05, 2015.

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

* denotes significance.

January 2005–May 2015

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Government

CES Highlights Release Date: June 5, 2015

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
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

Michael Calvillo

Steve Crestol

Tyler Downing

Brittney Forbes

Lyda Ghanbari

Mike McCall

John Mullins

Michael Osifalujo

Edward Park

Kara Sullivan

Jay Stuart

Parth Tikiwala

Current Employment Statistics Highlights

Detailed Industry Employment Analysis