Bureau of Labor Statistics

Current Employment Statistics 

Highlights

February 2012

Bureau of Labor Statistics

March 9, 2012
2

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

February 2012

Level: 132,697

Change: 227

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 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–February 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

284

227

-1,000

-800

-600

-400

-200

0

200

400

600

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–February 2012

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

• Total nonfarm employment rose by 227,000 in February, compared to an average 

increase of 245,000 over the last 3 months. 

• Over the last two years, nonfarm payrolls have added 3.5 million jobs. Of the 8.8 million 

net jobs lost between January 2008 and February 2010, 40 percent have been recovered. 

 
3

-6

-6

44

71

82

6

-1

1

11

-7

8

31

-13

6

-20 0 20 40 60 80 100

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, March 09, 2012.

Note: Data are preliminary.

Over-the-month change, February 2012

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Total nonfarm:

227

-485

43

630

794

1209

41

-110

6

205

356

148

429

25

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, March 09, 2012.

Note: Data are preliminary.

February 2010–Februrary 2012 net change

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Total nonfarm:

227

Total nonfarm: 3,453

Total private: 3,938

• In February, employment gains were notably strong in professional and business services, 

education and health services, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing. Combined, 

these 4 industries accounted for essentially all of the jobs added to nonfarm payrolls over 

the month. 

• Since an employment trough in February 2010, nearly all of the goods-producing and 

service-providing industries have rebounded and added jobs on net over the last 2 years, 

with the exception of government and information. 

• The private service-providing industries have accounted for 84 percent of the 3.9 million 

jobs added to private payrolls since February 2010. Government employment has 

declined by nearly half a million jobs in that same timeframe. 
4

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, March 09, 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–February 2012

Seasonally adjusted

All employees

Level: 34.5

Change: 0.0

Production employees

Level: 33.8

Change: 0.1

90

92

94

96

98

100

102

Mar-06 Sep-06 Mar-07 Sep-07 Mar-08 Sep-08 Mar-09 Sep-09 Mar-10 Sep-10 Mar-11 Sep-11

Seasonally adjusted, 2007=100

Index of aggregate weekly hours 

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

March 2006–February 2012

February 2012

Level: 95.7

Change: 0.2%

Total private, all employees

• Average weekly hours for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls remained 

unchanged in February, while production and nonsupervisory employees saw average 

weekly hours increase by 0.1 hour. 

• Similar to January, the index of aggregate weekly hours rose by 0.2 percent; the index 

has consistently trended up since early 2010. 
5

-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

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, March 09, 2012.

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Seasonally adjusted

February 2012 Earnings: 1.9

January 2012 CPI-U: 2.9

*1982–84=100

March 2007–February 2012

• Average hourly earnings for all employees in private industry rose by 3 cents, or 0.1 

percent, in February. 

• Over the prior 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 1.9 percent. In 

January, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) had an over-theyear increase of 2.9 percent; growth in prices has recently been outpacing growth in 

earnings. 
6

• Employment in mining rose by 7,000 in February, with most of the gains concentrated in 

support activities for mining (+5,000). 

• Since a low in October 2009, mining employment has expanded by 180,000. Although 

support activities accounts for less than half of all mining jobs, it contributed more than 

two-thirds of jobs gained since the trough. 

 

550

600

650

700

750

800

850

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

Employment in mining and logging

February 2012

Level: 838

Change: 6

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employ ment Statistics survey, March 09, 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–February 2012

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

550

600

650

700

750

800

850

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

Employment in mining and logging

February 2012

Level: 838

Change: 6

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employ ment Statistics survey, March 09, 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–February 2012

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
7

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

February 2012

Level: 5,554

Change: -13

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 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–February 2012

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

• After 2 consecutive months of solid job gains, construction employment changed little in 

February, 

• Nonresidential specialty trade contractors lost 14,000 jobs in February. 

• Despite the loss in February, employment in construction has increased by 98,000 since a 

trough in January 2011. 
8

-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

31

-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–February 2012

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

• For the third month in a row, manufacturing has experienced solid job growth with 

31,000 jobs added in February. 

• The 1-month diffusion index of manufacturing employment fell from 73.5 in January to 

56.8 in February. This indicates a narrower dispersion of the job growth within 

manufacturing from January to February. The diffusion index measures the dispersion of 

employment change in manufacturing, with a value above 50 indicating that more 

manufacturing industries are adding jobs than losing them over the month. 
9

-1.6

3.1

8.3

2.0

-0.6

4.5

11.4

1.2

1.9

1.1

-5 0 5 10 15

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, March 09, 2012.

Note: Data are preliminary.

Over-the-month change, February 2012

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Durable goods:

31

• Since a trough in January 2010, employment in the industry has risen by 433,000; durable 

goods manufacturers have added 444,000 jobs in the same period. 

• Growth in durable goods manufacturing accounted for all of the jobs added in February. 

Fabricated metal products, transportation equipment, machinery, and furniture and related 

products all experienced robust job growth. 
10

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, March 09, 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–February 2012 Seasonally adjusted

Production employees

Level: 41.9

Change: 0.1

All employees

Level: 41

Change: 0.1

-8

0

-23

-19

9

-1

-21

-35

-15

-43

6

-28

-100

16

-17

-36

-36

-26

19

-4

-3

-2

-10

-1

12

-6

3

6

11

-1

16

-11

-1

-1

0

-1

18

6

6

4

1

5

9

-3

5

12

4

9

9

8

-120

-100

-80

-60

-40

-20

0

20

40

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

Employment in transportation equipment

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

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

• The factory workweek for both all employees and for production employees continued to 

increase in February, expanding by 0.1 hour each. Average weekly overtime for all 

employees remained unchanged. 

• Combining the job gain in manufacturing with the longer workweek, the index of 

aggregate weekly hours of all employees rose by 0.5 percent in February. 

• Transportation equipment employment continued trending upward in February. Since 

reaching a trough in December 2009, the industry has added 122,000 jobs. 
11

14,000

14,200

14,400

14,600

14,800

15,000

15,200

15,400

15,600

15,800

16,000

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

Employment in retail trade

February 2012

Level: 14,750

Change: -7

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 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–February 2012

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

• Employment in retail trade changed little in February. 

• A large job loss in department stores (-25,000) offset a gain of similar magnitude in that 

industry in January. 

 
12

3,900

4,000

4,100

4,200

4,300

4,400

4,500

4,600

4,700

4,800

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

Employment in transportation and warehousing

February 2012

Level: 4,349

Change: 11

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 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–February 2012

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

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

16

11

-60

-50

-40

-30

-20

-10

0

10

20

30

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–February 2012

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

• Transportation and warehousing employment continued to trend upward in February. 

• Since a recent trough in February 2010, employment in the industry has expanded by 

205,000. 

 
13

15,000

15,500

16,000

16,500

17,000

17,500

18,000

18,500

19,000

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

Employment in professional and business services

February 2012

Level: 17,751

Change: 82

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 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–February 2012

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

-2.8

61.1

49.9

-1.4

7.4

10.2

4.3

7.3

34.2

-20 0 20 40 60 80

- 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, March 09, 2012.

Note: Data are preliminary.

 ̊Includes additional component industries not shown separately.

Over-the-month change, February 2012

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Professional and 

business services:

82

• Professional and business services employment rose sharply in February, growing by 

82,000. 

• Employment in professional and business services has grown by 1.4 million since the 

most recent low point in September 2009. 

• February’s job gains were widely dispersed, with notable gains in temporary help 

services. 

 
14

1,700

1,800

1,900

2,000

2,100

2,200

2,300

2,400

2,500

2,600

2,700

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

Employment in temporary help services

February 2012

Level: 2,474

Change: 45

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 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–February 2012

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

• Just over half of the jobs added to professional and business services in February are 

attributed to employment growth in temporary help services (+45,000). 

• Since the most recent low in August 2009, temporary help services has added 723,000 

jobs and accounted for more than half of the employment gain within professional and 

business services. 

 
15

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

43

49

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

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–February 2012

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

5.4

15.4

5.0

4.3

9.5

28.2

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

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, March 09, 2012.

Note: Data are preliminary.

 ̊Includes additional component industries not shown separately.

Over-the-month change, February 2012

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Health care 

industries:

49

• Employment in health care rose sharply by 49,000 in February, with widespread gains 

throughout the industry. 

• Ambulatory health care services added 28,000 jobs, with notable gains in offices of 

physicians and outpatient care centers. 

• Hospital employment continued to trend up, with a 15,000 gain in February. 

 
16

8,100

8,300

8,500

8,700

8,900

9,100

9,300

9,500

9,700

9,900

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

Employment in food services and drinking places

February 2012

Level: 9,822

Change: 41

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 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–February 2012

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

• Food services and drinking places added 41,000 jobs in February. 

• Since a recent low in February 2010, food services has added 531,000 jobs, averaging 

22,000 jobs per month. 

 
17

• For the second consecutive month, government employment changed little in February. 

• Since August 2008, employment at the state and local level has declined by 149,000 and 

498,000, respectively. 

20,000

20,500

21,000

21,500

22,000

22,500

23,000

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

Employment in government

February 2012

Level: 21,986

Change: -6

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 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–February 2012

Seasonally adjusted, in thousands