Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until USDL-12-1070 

8:30 a.m. (EDT) Friday, June 1, 2012 

Technical information: 

Household data: (202) 691-6378 • cpsinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/cps 

Establishment data: (202) 691-6555 • cesinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/ces 

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov 

THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION — MAY 2012 

Nonfarm payroll employment changed little in May (+69,000), and the unemployment rate was 

essentially unchanged at 8.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment 

increased in health care, transportation and warehousing, and wholesale trade but declined in 

construction. Employment was little changed in most other major industries. 

Household Survey Data 

Both the number of unemployed persons (12.7 million) and the unemployment rate (8.2 percent) 

changed little in May. (See table A-1.) 

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (7.8 percent) and Hispanics 

(11.0 percent) edged up in May, while the rates for adult women (7.4 percent), teenagers (24.6 percent), 

whites (7.4 percent), and blacks (13.6 percent) showed little or no change. The jobless rate for Asians 

was 5.2 percent in May (not seasonally adjusted), down from 7.0 percent a year earlier. (See tables A-1, 

A-2, and A-3.) 

-200

-100

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

M ay-10 Aug-10 No v-10 Feb-11 M ay-11 Aug-11 No v-11 Feb-12 M ay-12

Thousands

Chart 2. Nonfarm payroll employment over-the-month 

change, seasonally adjusted, May 2010 – May 2012

Percent

7.0

8.0

9.0

10.0

11.0

M ay-10 Aug-10 No v-10 Feb-11 M ay-11 Aug-11 No v-11 Feb-12 M ay-12

Chart 1. Unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted, 

May 2010 – May 2012
- 2 - 

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) rose from 5.1 to 5.4 

million in May. These individuals accounted for 42.8 percent of the unemployed. (See table A-12.) 

The civilian labor force participation rate increased in May by 0.2 percentage point to 63.8 percent, 

offsetting a decline of the same amount in April. The employment-population ratio edged up to 58.6 

percent in May. (See table A-1.) 

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as 

involuntary part-time workers) edged up to 8.1 million over the month. These individuals were working 

part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job. (See 

table A-8.) 

In May, 2.4 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, up from 2.2 million a year 

earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and 

were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not 

counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. 

(See table A-16.) 

Among the marginally attached, there were 830,000 discouraged workers in May, about the same as a 

year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not currently 

looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. The remaining 1.6 million persons 

marginally attached to the labor force in May had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the 

survey for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities. (See table A-16.) 

Establishment Survey Data 

Total nonfarm payroll employment changed little in May (+69,000), following a similar change in 

April (+77,000). In comparison, the average monthly gain was 226,000 in the first quarter of the year. In 

May, employment rose in health care, transportation and warehousing, and wholesale trade, while 

construction lost jobs. (See table B-1.) 

Health care employment continued to increase in May (+33,000). Within the industry, employment in 

ambulatory health care services, which includes offices of physicians and outpatient care centers, rose 

by 23,000 over the month. Over the year, health care employment has risen by 340,000. 

Transportation and warehousing added 36,000 jobs over the month. Employment gains in transit and 

ground passenger transportation (+20,000) and in couriers and messengers (+5,000) followed job losses 

in those industries in April. Employment in both industries has shown little net change over the year. In 

May, truck transportation added 7,000 jobs. 

Employment in wholesale trade rose by 16,000 over the month. Since reaching an employment low in 

May 2010, this industry has added 184,000 jobs. 

Manufacturing employment continued to trend up in May (+12,000) following a similar change in 

April (+9,000). Job gains averaged 41,000 per month in the first quarter of this year. In May, 

employment rose in fabricated metal products (+6,000) and in primary metals (+4,000). Since its most 

recent low in January 2010, manufacturing employment has increased by 495,000. 
- 3 - 

Construction employment declined by 28,000 in May, with job losses occurring in specialty trade 

contractors (-18,000) and in heavy and civil engineering construction (-11,000). Since reaching a low in 

January 2011, employment in construction has shown little change on net. 

Employment in professional and business services was essentially unchanged in May. Since the most 

recent low point in September 2009, employment in this industry has grown by 1.4 million. In May, job 

losses in accounting and bookkeeping services (-14,000) and in services to buildings and dwellings 

(-14,000) were offset by small gains elsewhere in the industry. 

Employment in other major industries, including mining and logging, retail trade, information, 

financial activities, leisure and hospitality, and government, changed little in May. 

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 hour to 34.4 

hours in May. The manufacturing workweek declined by 0.3 hour to 40.5 hours, and factory overtime 

declined by 0.1 hour to 3.2 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory 

employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.7 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.) 

In May, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 2 cents to 

$23.41. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 1.7 percent. In May, 

average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees edged down by 1 

cent to $19.70. (See tables B-3 and B-8.) 

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for March was revised from +154,000 to +143,000, 

and the change for April was revised from +115,000 to +77,000. 

The Employment Situation for June is scheduled to be released on Friday, July 6, 2012, at 8:30 

a.m. (EDT). 

 
- 4 - 

Corrections to Women Employee Data from the Establishment Survey 

On May 25, 2012, BLS corrected estimates of women employees in the U.S. Postal 

Service from the establishment survey. BLS staff had discovered data-processing errors 

that occurred during the November 2009–April 2012 period that resulted in an incorrect 

ratio of women employees to all employees in the U.S. Postal Service. The following 

women employee data series that incorporate the U.S. Postal Service employment were 

also corrected: women employees in the federal government, government, serviceproviding sector, and total nonfarm. These data series on women employees were 

affected only to the extent of the error occurring in the estimate of women employees in 

the U.S. Postal Service. Not seasonally adjusted data were revised from November 2009 

through February 2012. Seasonally adjusted data were revised back to January 2002. 

Some of the corrected women employee data series appear in Summary table B and table 

B-5 of this news release. Total employment (jobs held by men and women combined) for 

all data series including the U.S. Postal Service are correct as originally published. For 

more information, see www.bls.gov/bls/ceswomen_usps_correction.htm. 
HOUSEHOLD DATA

Summary table A. Household data, seasonally adjusted

[Numbers in thousands]

Category May

2011

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012

May

2012

Change from:

Apr. 2012-

May 2012

Employment status

Civilian noninstitutional population............................................ 239,313 242,604 242,784 242,966 182

Civilian labor force............................................................ 153,700 154,707 154,365 155,007 642

Participation rate........................................................... 64.2 63.8 63.6 63.8 0.2

Employed.................................................................... 139,808 142,034 141,865 142,287 422

Employment-population ratio........................................... 58.4 58.5 58.4 58.6 0.2

Unemployed................................................................. 13,892 12,673 12,500 12,720 220

Unemployment rate..................................................... 9.0 8.2 8.1 8.2 0.1

Not in labor force............................................................. 85,613 87,897 88,419 87,958 -461

Unemployment rates

Total, 16 years and over....................................................... 9.0 8.2 8.1 8.2 0.1

Adult men (20 years and over).............................................. 8.9 7.6 7.5 7.8 0.3

Adult women (20 years and over).......................................... 8.0 7.4 7.4 7.4 0.0

Teenagers (16 to 19 years)................................................. 24.1 25.0 24.9 24.6 -0.3

White........................................................................... 8.0 7.3 7.4 7.4 0.0

Black or African American................................................... 16.2 14.0 13.0 13.6 0.6

Asian (not seasonally adjusted)............................................. 7.0 6.2 5.2 5.2 –

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.................................................. 11.8 10.3 10.3 11.0 0.7

Total, 25 years and over....................................................... 7.8 6.8 6.8 6.9 0.1

Less than a high school diploma........................................... 14.6 12.6 12.5 13.0 0.5

High school graduates, no college......................................... 9.5 8.0 7.9 8.1 0.2

Some college or associate degree......................................... 8.0 7.5 7.6 7.9 0.3

Bachelor’s degree and higher............................................... 4.5 4.2 4.0 3.9 -0.1

Reason for unemployment

Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs................... 8,250 7,020 6,852 6,989 137

Job leavers....................................................................... 919 1,117 997 891 -106

Reentrants........................................................................ 3,436 3,269 3,341 3,439 98

New entrants..................................................................... 1,229 1,433 1,384 1,367 -17

Duration of unemployment

Less than 5 weeks.............................................................. 2,687 2,572 2,543 2,580 37

5 to 14 weeks.................................................................... 2,912 2,754 2,814 3,002 188

15 to 26 weeks.................................................................. 1,994 1,867 1,884 1,662 -222

27 weeks and over.............................................................. 6,204 5,308 5,101 5,411 310

Employed persons at work part time

Part time for economic reasons............................................... 8,541 7,672 7,853 8,098 245

Slack work or business conditions.......................................... 5,836 5,081 5,187 5,147 -40

Could only find part-time work.............................................. 2,475 2,341 2,367 2,649 282

Part time for noneconomic reasons........................................... 18,481 18,523 18,832 19,393 561

Persons not in the labor force (not seasonally adjusted)

Marginally attached to the labor force........................................ 2,206 2,352 2,363 2,423 –

Discouraged workers......................................................... 822 865 968 830 –

- Over-the-month changes are not displayed for not seasonally adjusted data.

NOTE: Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Detail for the seasonally adjusted data shown in this table will not

necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series. Updated population controls are introduced annually with

the release of January data.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA

Summary table B. Establishment data, seasonally adjusted

Category May

2011

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012p

May

2012p

EMPLOYMENT BY SELECTED INDUSTRY

(Over-the-month change, in thousands)

Total nonfarm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 143 77 69

Total private. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 147 87 82

Goods-producing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 28 4 -15

Mining and logging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 0 0 1

Construction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 -14 -5 -28

Manufacturing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 42 9 12

Durable goods1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 27 11 13

Motor vehicles and parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -1.7 11.3 1.9 5.8

Nondurable goods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -11 15 -2 -1

Private service-providing1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 119 83 97

Wholesale trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.6 5.2 11.1 15.9

Retail trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -4.6 -14.9 27.0 2.3

Transportation and warehousing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.5 6.1 -16.5 35.6

Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 -5 -1 -2

Financial activities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 13 4 3

Professional and business services1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 18 37 -1

Temporary help services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.7 -13.2 12.6 9.2

Education and health services1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 51 29 46

Health care and social assistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.7 33.4 20.9 34.0

Leisure and hospitality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -15 43 -6 -9

Other services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 -1 6

Government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -54 -4 -10 -13

WOMEN AND PRODUCTION AND NONSUPERVISORY EMPLOYEES

AS A PERCENT OF ALL EMPLOYEES2

Total nonfarm women employees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49.5 49.3 49.4 49.4

Total private women employees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48.0 47.8 47.8 47.9

Total private production and nonsupervisory employees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.4 82.6 82.6 82.6

HOURS AND EARNINGS

ALL EMPLOYEES

Total private

Average weekly hours. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34.4 34.5 34.5 34.4

Average hourly earnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 23.02 $ 23.37 $ 23.39 $ 23.41

Average weekly earnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $791.89 $806.27 $806.96 $805.30

Index of aggregate weekly hours (2007=100)3

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94.0 95.9 95.9 95.7

Over-the-month percent change. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0 -0.1 0.0 -0.2

Index of aggregate weekly payrolls (2007=100)4

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103.2 106.8 107.0 106.9

Over-the-month percent change. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.3 0.0 0.2 -0.1

HOURS AND EARNINGS

PRODUCTION AND NONSUPERVISORY EMPLOYEES

Total private

Average weekly hours. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33.6 33.7 33.7 33.7

Average hourly earnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 19.43 $ 19.67 $ 19.71 $ 19.70

Average weekly earnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $652.85 $662.88 $664.23 $663.89

Index of aggregate weekly hours (2002=100)3

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101.0 103.1 103.2 103.3

Over-the-month percent change. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -0.2 -0.2 0.1 0.1

Index of aggregate weekly payrolls (2002=100)4

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131.1 135.5 136.0 136.0

Over-the-month percent change. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0 -0.1 0.4 0.0

DIFFUSION INDEX

(Over 1-month span)5

Total private (266 industries). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54.5 63.5 55.6 59.4

Manufacturing (81 industries). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54.3 69.8 53.7 54.3

1 Includes other industries, not shown separately.

2 Data relate to production employees in mining and logging and manufacturing, construction employees in construction, and nonsupervisory employees in the service-providing

industries.

3 The indexes of aggregate weekly hours are calculated by dividing the current month’s estimates of aggregate hours by the corresponding annual average aggregate hours.

4 The indexes of aggregate weekly payrolls are calculated by dividing the current month’s estimates of aggregate weekly payrolls by the corresponding annual average

aggregate weekly payrolls.

5 Figures are the percent of industries with employment increasing plus one-half of the industries with unchanged employment, where 50 percent indicates an equal balance

between industries with increasing and decreasing employment.

p Preliminary

NOTE: Data in this table have been corrected. For more information see http://www.bls.gov/bls/ceswomen_usps_correction.htm.
Frequently Asked Questions about Employment and Unemployment Estimates 

Why are there two monthly measures of employment? 

The household survey and establishment survey both produce sample-based estimates of employment 

and both have strengths and limitations. The establishment survey employment series has a smaller 

margin of error on the measurement of month-to-month change than the household survey because of 

its much larger sample size. An over-the-month employment change of about 100,000 is statistically 

significant in the establishment survey, while the threshold for a statistically significant change in the 

household survey is about 400,000. However, the household survey has a more expansive scope than 

the establishment survey because it includes the self-employed, unpaid family workers, agricultural 

workers, and private household workers, who are excluded by the establishment survey. The household 

survey also provides estimates of employment for demographic groups. 

Are undocumented immigrants counted in the surveys? 

It is likely that both surveys include at least some undocumented immigrants. However, neither the 

establishment nor the household survey is designed to identify the legal status of workers. Therefore, it 

is not possible to determine how many are counted in either survey. The establishment survey does not 

collect data on the legal status of workers. The household survey does include questions which identify 

the foreign and native born, but it does not include questions about the legal status of the foreign born. 

Why does the establishment survey have revisions? 

The establishment survey revises published estimates to improve its data series by incorporating 

additional information that was not available at the time of the initial publication of the estimates. 

The establishment survey revises its initial monthly estimates twice, in the immediately succeeding 

2 months, to incorporate additional sample receipts from respondents in the survey and recalculated 

seasonal adjustment factors. For more information on the monthly revisions, please visit 

www.bls.gov/ces/cesrevinfo.htm. 

On an annual basis, the establishment survey incorporates a benchmark revision that re-anchors 

estimates to nearly complete employment counts available from unemployment insurance tax records. 

The benchmark helps to control for sampling and modeling errors in the estimates. For more information 

on the annual benchmark revision, please visit www.bls.gov/web/cesbmart.htm. 

Does the establishment survey sample include small firms? 

Yes; about 40 percent of the establishment survey sample is comprised of business establishments with 

fewer than 20 employees. The establishment survey sample is designed to maximize the reliability of the 

total nonfarm employment estimate; firms from all size classes and industries are appropriately sampled 

to achieve that goal. 

Does the establishment survey account for employment from new businesses? 

Yes; monthly establishment survey estimates include an adjustment to account for the net employment 

change generated by business births and deaths. The adjustment comes from an econometric model that 

forecasts the monthly net jobs impact of business births and deaths based on the actual past values of the 

net impact that can be observed with a lag from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. The 
 

establishment survey uses modeling rather than sampling for this purpose because the survey is not 

immediately able to bring new businesses into the sample. There is an unavoidable lag between the birth 

of a new firm and its appearance on the sampling frame and availability for selection. BLS adds new 

businesses to the survey twice a year. 

Is the count of unemployed persons limited to just those people receiving unemployment insurance 

benefits? 

No; the estimate of unemployment is based on a monthly sample survey of households. All persons who 

are without jobs and are actively seeking and available to work are included among the unemployed. (People 

on temporary layoff are included even if they do not actively seek work.) There is no requirement or 

question relating to unemployment insurance benefits in the monthly survey. 

Does the official unemployment rate exclude people who have stopped looking for work? 

Yes; however, there are separate estimates of persons outside the labor force who want a job, including 

those who have stopped looking because they believe no jobs are available (discouraged workers). In 

addition, alternative measures of labor underutilization (some of which include discouraged workers and 

other groups not officially counted as unemployed) are published each month in The Employment 

Situation news release. 

How can unusually severe weather affect employment and hours estimates? 

In the establishment survey, the reference period is the pay period that includes the 12th of the month. 

Unusually severe weather is more likely to have an impact on average weekly hours than on employment. Average weekly hours are estimated for paid time during the pay period, including pay for 

holidays, sick leave, or other time off. The impact of severe weather on hours estimates typically, but 

not always, results in a reduction in average weekly hours. For example, some employees may be off 

work for part of the pay period and not receive pay for the time missed, while some workers, such as 

those dealing with cleanup or repair, may work extra hours. 

In order for severe weather conditions to reduce the estimate of payroll employment, employees have to 

be off work without pay for the entire pay period. About half of all employees in the payroll survey have 

a 2-week, semi-monthly, or monthly pay period. Employees who receive pay for any part of the pay 

period, even 1 hour, are counted in the payroll employment figures. It is not possible to quantify the 

effect of extreme weather on estimates of employment from the establishment survey. 

In the household survey, the reference period is generally the calendar week that includes the 12th of the 

month. Persons who miss the entire week’s work for weather-related events are counted as employed 

whether or not they are paid for the time off. The household survey collects data on the number of 

persons who usually work full time but had reduced hours, or had a job but were not at work the entire 

week, due to bad weather. Current and historical data are available on the household survey’s most 

requested statistics page at http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost?ln. 
Technical Note 

This news release presents statistics from two major 

surveys, the Current Population Survey (CPS; household 

survey) and the Current Employment Statistics survey 

(CES; establishment survey). The household survey 

provides information on the labor force, employment, and 

unemployment that appears in the "A" tables, marked 

HOUSEHOLD DATA. It is a sample survey of about 

60,000 eligible households conducted by the U.S. Census 

Bureau for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). 

The establishment survey provides information on 

employment, hours, and earnings of employees on nonfarm payrolls; the data appear in the "B" tables, marked 

ESTABLISHMENT DATA. BLS collects these data each 

month from the payroll records of a sample of nonagricultural business establishments. Each month the CES program 

surveys about 141,000 businesses and government 

agencies, representing approximately 486,000 individual 

worksites, in order to provide detailed industry data on 

employment, hours, and earnings of workers on nonfarm 

payrolls. The active sample includes approximately onethird of all nonfarm payroll employees. 

For both surveys, the data for a given month relate to a 

particular week or pay period. In the household survey, the 

reference period is generally the calendar week that 

contains the 12th day of the month. In the establishment 

survey, the reference period is the pay period including the 

12th, which may or may not correspond directly to the 

calendar week. 

Coverage, definitions, and differences between surveys 

Household survey. The sample is selected to reflect 

the entire civilian noninstitutional population. Based on 

responses to a series of questions on work and job search 

activities, each person 16 years and over in a sample 

household is classified as employed, unemployed, or not in 

the labor force. 

People are classified as employed if they did any work 

at all as paid employees during the reference week; worked 

in their own business, profession, or on their own farm; or 

worked without pay at least 15 hours in a family business or 

farm. People are also counted as employed if they were 

temporarily absent from their jobs because of illness, bad 

weather, vacation, labor-management disputes, or personal 

reasons. 

People are classified as unemployed if they meet all of 

the following criteria: they had no employment during the 

reference week; they were available for work at that time; 

and they made specific efforts to find employment 

sometime during the 4-week period ending with the 

reference week. Persons laid off from a job and expecting 

recall need not be looking for work to be counted as 

unemployed. The unemployment data derived from the 

household survey in no way depend upon the eligibility for 

or receipt of unemployment insurance benefits. 

The civilian labor force is the sum of employed and 

unemployed persons. Those not classified as employed or 

unemployed are not in the labor force. The unemployment 

rate is the number unemployed as a percent of the labor 

force. The labor force participation rate is the labor force 

as a percent of the population, and the employment-population ratio is the employed as a percent of the population. 

Additional information about the household survey can be 

found at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm. 

Establishment survey. The sample establishments are 

drawn from private nonfarm businesses such as factories, 

offices, and stores, as well as from federal, state, and local 

government entities. Employees on nonfarm payrolls are 

those who received pay for any part of the reference pay 

period, including persons on paid leave. Persons are 

counted in each job they hold. Hours and earnings data are 

produced for the private sector for all employees and for 

production and nonsupervisory employees. Production and 

nonsupervisory employees are defined as production and 

related employees in manufacturing and mining and 

logging, construction workers in construction, and nonsupervisory employees in private service-providing industries. 

Industries are classified on the basis of an establishment's principal activity in accordance with the 2012 

version of the North American Industry Classification 

System. Additional information about the establishment 

survey can be found at www.bls.gov/ces/#technical. 

Differences in employment estimates. The numerous conceptual and methodological differences between 

the household and establishment surveys result in important distinctions in the employment estimates derived from 

the surveys. Among these are: 

 The household survey includes agricultural 

workers, the self-employed, unpaid family 

workers, and private household workers among the 

employed. These groups are excluded from the 

establishment survey. 

 The household survey includes people on unpaid 

leave among the employed. The establishment 

survey does not. 

 The household survey is limited to workers 16 

years of age and older. The establishment survey is 

not limited by age. 

 The household survey has no duplication of 

individuals, because individuals are counted only 

once, even if they hold more than one job. In the 

establishment survey, employees working at more 

than one job and thus appearing on more than one 

payroll are counted separately for each appearance. 

 
Seasonal adjustment 

Over the course of a year, the size of the nation's labor 

force and the levels of employment and unemployment 

undergo regularly occurring fluctuations. These events may 

result from seasonal changes in weather, major holidays, 

and the opening and closing of schools. The effect of such 

seasonal variation can be very large. 

Because these seasonal events follow a more or less 

regular pattern each year, their influence on the level of a 

series can be tempered by adjusting for regular seasonal 

variation. These adjustments make nonseasonal 

developments, such as declines in employment or increases 

in the participation of women in the labor force, easier to 

spot. For example, in the household survey, the large 

number of youth entering the labor force each June is likely 

to obscure any other changes that have taken place relative 

to May, making it difficult to determine if the level of 

economic activity has risen or declined. Similarly, in the 

establishment survey, payroll employment in education 

declines by about 20 percent at the end of the spring term 

and later rises with the start of the fall term, obscuring the 

underlying employment trends in the industry. Because 

seasonal employment changes at the end and beginning of 

the school year can be estimated, the statistics can be 

adjusted to make underlying employment patterns more 

discernable. The seasonally adjusted figures provide a more 

useful tool with which to analyze changes in month-tomonth economic activity. 

Many seasonally adjusted series are independently 

adjusted in both the household and establishment surveys. 

However, the adjusted series for many major estimates, 

such as total payroll employment, employment in most 

major sectors, total employment, and unemployment are 

computed by aggregating independently adjusted 

component series. For example, total unemployment is 

derived by summing the adjusted series for four major agesex components; this differs from the unemployment 

estimate that would be obtained by directly adjusting the 

total or by combining the duration, reasons, or more 

detailed age categories. 

For both the household and establishment surveys, a 

concurrent seasonal adjustment methodology is used in 

which new seasonal factors are calculated each month using 

all relevant data, up to and including the data for the current 

month. In the household survey, new seasonal factors are 

used to adjust only the current month's data. In the 

establishment survey, however, new seasonal factors are 

used each month to adjust the three most recent monthly 

estimates. The prior 2 months are routinely revised to 

incorporate additional sample reports and recalculated 

seasonal adjustment factors. In both surveys, 5-year 

revisions to historical data are made once a year. 

Reliability of the estimates 

Statistics based on the household and establishment 

surveys are subject to both sampling and nonsampling 

error. When a sample rather than the entire population is 

surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimates may 

differ from the "true" population values they represent. The 

exact difference, or sampling error, varies depending on the 

particular sample selected, and this variability is measured 

by the standard error of the estimate. There is about a 90-

percent chance, or level of confidence, that an estimate 

based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard 

errors from the "true" population value because of sampling 

error. BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-

percent level of confidence. 

For example, the confidence interval for the monthly 

change in total nonfarm employment from the 

establishment survey is on the order of plus or minus 

100,000. Suppose the estimate of nonfarm employment 

increases by 50,000 from one month to the next. The 90-

percent confidence interval on the monthly change would 

range from -50,000 to +150,000 (50,000 +/- 100,000). 

These figures do not mean that the sample results are off by 

these magnitudes, but rather that there is about a 90-percent 

chance that the "true" over-the-month change lies within 

this interval. Since this range includes values of less than 

zero, we could not say with confidence that nonfarm 

employment had, in fact, increased that month. If, however, 

the reported nonfarm employment rise was 250,000, then 

all of the values within the 90-percent confidence interval 

would be greater than zero. In this case, it is likely (at least 

a 90-percent chance) that nonfarm employment had, in fact, 

risen that month. At an unemployment rate of around 5.5 

percent, the 90-percent confidence interval for the monthly 

change in unemployment as measured by the household 

survey is about +/- 280,000, and for the monthly change in 

the unemployment rate it is about +/- 0.19 percentage point. 

In general, estimates involving many individuals or 

establishments have lower standard errors (relative to the 

size of the estimate) than estimates which are based on a 

small number of observations. The precision of estimates 

also is improved when the data are cumulated over time, 

such as for quarterly and annual averages. 

The household and establishment surveys are also 

affected by nonsampling error, which can occur for many 

reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of the 

population, inability to obtain information for all 

respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness of 

respondents to provide correct information on a timely 

basis, mistakes made by respondents, and errors made in 

the collection or processing of the data. 

For example, in the establishment survey, estimates 

for the most recent 2 months are based on incomplete 

returns; for this reason, these estimates are labeled 

preliminary in the tables. It is only after two successive 

revisions to a monthly estimate, when nearly all sample 

reports have been received, that the estimate is considered 

final. 

Another major source of nonsampling error in the 

establishment survey is the inability to capture, on a timely 

basis, employment generated by new firms. To correct for 

this systematic underestimation of employment growth, an 

estimation procedure with two components is used to 

account for business births. The first component excludes 
employment losses from business deaths from samplebased estimation in order to offset the missing employment 

gains from business births. This is incorporated into the 

sample-based estimation procedure by simply not reflecting 

sample units going out of business, but imputing to them 

the same employment trend as the other firms in the 

sample. This procedure accounts for most of the net 

birth/death employment. 

The second component is an ARIMA time series 

model designed to estimate the residual net birth/death 

employment not accounted for by the imputation. The 

historical time series used to create and test the ARIMA 

model was derived from the unemployment insurance 

universe micro-level database, and reflects the actual 

residual net of births and deaths over the past 5 years. 

The sample-based estimates from the establishment 

survey are adjusted once a year (on a lagged basis) to 

universe counts of payroll employment obtained from 

administrative records of the unemployment insurance 

program. The difference between the March sample-based 

employment estimates and the March universe counts is 

known as a benchmark revision, and serves as a rough 

proxy for total survey error. The new benchmarks also 

incorporate changes in the classification of industries. Over 

the past decade, absolute benchmark revisions for total 

nonfarm employment have averaged 0.3 percent, with a 

range from -0.7 to 0.6 percent. 

Other information 

Information in this release will be made available to 

sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 

(202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339. 
HOUSEHOLD DATA

Table A-1. Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age

[Numbers in thousands]

Employment status, sex, and age

Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted1

May

2011

Apr.

2012

May

2012

May

2011

Jan.

2012

Feb.

2012

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012

May

2012

TOTAL

Civilian noninstitutional population. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239,313 242,784 242,966 239,313 242,269 242,435 242,604 242,784 242,966

Civilian labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153,449 153,905 154,998 153,700 154,395 154,871 154,707 154,365 155,007

Participation rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64.1 63.4 63.8 64.2 63.7 63.9 63.8 63.6 63.8

Employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140,028 141,995 142,727 139,808 141,637 142,065 142,034 141,865 142,287

Employment-population ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58.5 58.5 58.7 58.4 58.5 58.6 58.5 58.4 58.6

Unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,421 11,910 12,271 13,892 12,758 12,806 12,673 12,500 12,720

Unemployment rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.7 7.7 7.9 9.0 8.3 8.3 8.2 8.1 8.2

Not in labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85,864 88,879 87,968 85,613 87,874 87,564 87,897 88,419 87,958

Persons who currently want a job. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,821 6,328 6,835 6,216 6,319 6,378 6,299 6,366 6,291

Men, 16 years and over

Civilian noninstitutional population. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116,156 117,081 117,177 116,156 116,808 116,896 116,986 117,081 117,177

Civilian labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81,956 81,629 82,409 82,019 82,070 82,165 82,179 81,983 82,350

Participation rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70.6 69.7 70.3 70.6 70.3 70.3 70.2 70.0 70.3

Employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74,441 75,074 75,712 74,217 75,288 75,318 75,369 75,256 75,401

Employment-population ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64.1 64.1 64.6 63.9 64.5 64.4 64.4 64.3 64.3

Unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,515 6,555 6,697 7,802 6,781 6,846 6,810 6,727 6,949

Unemployment rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.2 8.0 8.1 9.5 8.3 8.3 8.3 8.2 8.4

Not in labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34,200 35,452 34,768 34,137 34,739 34,732 34,807 35,098 34,827

Men, 20 years and over

Civilian noninstitutional population. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107,566 108,396 108,503 107,566 108,087 108,188 108,289 108,396 108,503

Civilian labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79,223 78,839 79,511 79,204 79,234 79,317 79,337 79,050 79,382

Participation rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73.7 72.7 73.3 73.6 73.3 73.3 73.3 72.9 73.2

Employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72,427 73,010 73,567 72,161 73,170 73,240 73,286 73,119 73,229

Employment-population ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67.3 67.4 67.8 67.1 67.7 67.7 67.7 67.5 67.5

Unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,796 5,829 5,945 7,043 6,064 6,077 6,051 5,930 6,153

Unemployment rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.6 7.4 7.5 8.9 7.7 7.7 7.6 7.5 7.8

Not in labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,344 29,557 28,991 28,362 28,853 28,870 28,952 29,346 29,121

Women, 16 years and over

Civilian noninstitutional population. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123,157 125,703 125,788 123,157 125,461 125,539 125,619 125,703 125,788

Civilian labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71,492 72,276 72,589 71,681 72,326 72,706 72,529 72,382 72,657

Participation rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58.0 57.5 57.7 58.2 57.6 57.9 57.7 57.6 57.8

Employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65,587 66,921 67,015 65,591 66,349 66,747 66,665 66,609 66,886

Employment-population ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53.3 53.2 53.3 53.3 52.9 53.2 53.1 53.0 53.2

Unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,905 5,355 5,574 6,090 5,977 5,960 5,863 5,773 5,771

Unemployment rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.3 7.4 7.7 8.5 8.3 8.2 8.1 8.0 7.9

Not in labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51,664 53,427 53,200 51,476 53,135 52,833 53,090 53,321 53,131

Women, 20 years and over

Civilian noninstitutional population. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114,954 117,353 117,448 114,954 117,082 117,170 117,260 117,353 117,448

Civilian labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68,728 69,643 69,775 68,878 69,449 69,815 69,589 69,562 69,807

Participation rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59.8 59.3 59.4 59.9 59.3 59.6 59.3 59.3 59.4

Employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63,423 64,822 64,840 63,385 64,078 64,454 64,413 64,425 64,671

Employment-population ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55.2 55.2 55.2 55.1 54.7 55.0 54.9 54.9 55.1

Unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,305 4,820 4,936 5,493 5,370 5,361 5,176 5,137 5,136

Unemployment rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.7 6.9 7.1 8.0 7.7 7.7 7.4 7.4 7.4

Not in labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46,226 47,711 47,672 46,077 47,634 47,355 47,671 47,791 47,641

Both sexes, 16 to 19 years

Civilian noninstitutional population. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,792 17,034 17,015 16,792 17,100 17,078 17,056 17,034 17,015

Civilian labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,498 5,423 5,711 5,618 5,713 5,739 5,781 5,753 5,819

Participation rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32.7 31.8 33.6 33.5 33.4 33.6 33.9 33.8 34.2

Employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,177 4,163 4,320 4,262 4,389 4,371 4,335 4,321 4,388

Employment-population ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24.9 24.4 25.4 25.4 25.7 25.6 25.4 25.4 25.8

Unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,320 1,260 1,391 1,356 1,324 1,367 1,447 1,432 1,431

Unemployment rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24.0 23.2 24.4 24.1 23.2 23.8 25.0 24.9 24.6

Not in labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,295 11,611 11,304 11,174 11,387 11,339 11,274 11,282 11,197

1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted and seasonally adjusted columns.

NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
HOUSEHOLD DATA

Table A-2. Employment status of the civilian population by race, sex, and age

[Numbers in thousands]

Employment status, race, sex, and age

Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted1

May

2011

Apr.

2012

May

2012

May

2011

Jan.

2012

Feb.

2012

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012

May

2012

WHITE

Civilian noninstitutional population. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192,877 192,893 193,004 192,877 192,600 192,691 192,788 192,893 193,004

Civilian labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124,608 122,997 123,897 124,812 123,579 123,848 123,713 123,499 123,989

Participation rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64.6 63.8 64.2 64.7 64.2 64.3 64.2 64.0 64.2

Employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114,989 114,313 115,015 114,827 114,458 114,754 114,697 114,355 114,767

Employment-population ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59.6 59.3 59.6 59.5 59.4 59.6 59.5 59.3 59.5

Unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,618 8,684 8,882 9,985 9,121 9,094 9,016 9,144 9,222

Unemployment rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.7 7.1 7.2 8.0 7.4 7.3 7.3 7.4 7.4

Not in labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68,269 69,896 69,107 68,065 69,021 68,843 69,076 69,394 69,015

Men, 20 years and over

Civilian labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65,416 64,212 64,680 65,372 64,495 64,642 64,552 64,410 64,591

Participation rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74.3 73.3 73.8 74.2 73.8 73.9 73.8 73.5 73.7

Employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60,472 59,975 60,349 60,212 60,059 60,245 60,192 60,046 60,072

Employment-population ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68.7 68.5 68.8 68.4 68.7 68.9 68.8 68.6 68.5

Unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,943 4,237 4,331 5,160 4,436 4,397 4,360 4,364 4,519

Unemployment rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.6 6.6 6.7 7.9 6.9 6.8 6.8 6.8 7.0

Women, 20 years and over

Civilian labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54,709 54,421 54,620 54,872 54,434 54,609 54,473 54,435 54,717

Participation rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59.5 58.8 58.9 59.7 58.9 59.0 58.9 58.8 59.0

Employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50,956 50,919 51,087 50,976 50,729 50,890 50,873 50,719 51,045

Employment-population ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55.4 55.0 55.1 55.4 54.9 55.0 55.0 54.8 55.1

Unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,753 3,502 3,533 3,895 3,705 3,719 3,600 3,716 3,672

Unemployment rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.9 6.4 6.5 7.1 6.8 6.8 6.6 6.8 6.7

Both sexes, 16 to 19 years

Civilian labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,483 4,365 4,597 4,568 4,650 4,596 4,688 4,654 4,681

Participation rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34.9 34.4 36.3 35.6 36.5 36.1 36.9 36.7 36.9

Employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,561 3,419 3,579 3,638 3,670 3,619 3,632 3,591 3,649

Employment-population ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.8 26.9 28.2 28.4 28.8 28.4 28.6 28.3 28.8

Unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 922 946 1,018 929 980 977 1,056 1,063 1,031

Unemployment rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.6 21.7 22.1 20.3 21.1 21.3 22.5 22.8 22.0

BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN

Civilian noninstitutional population. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,063 29,824 29,854 29,063 29,727 29,760 29,792 29,824 29,854

Civilian labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,705 18,227 18,275 17,730 18,206 18,363 18,427 18,274 18,290

Participation rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60.9 61.1 61.2 61.0 61.2 61.7 61.9 61.3 61.3

Employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,867 15,940 15,837 14,862 15,725 15,769 15,843 15,891 15,807

Employment-population ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.2 53.4 53.0 51.1 52.9 53.0 53.2 53.3 52.9

Unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,838 2,286 2,438 2,868 2,482 2,593 2,584 2,383 2,484

Unemployment rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.0 12.5 13.3 16.2 13.6 14.1 14.0 13.0 13.6

Not in labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,358 11,597 11,579 11,333 11,521 11,398 11,365 11,550 11,564

Men, 20 years and over

Civilian labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,024 8,133 8,270 8,038 8,256 8,239 8,283 8,162 8,281

Participation rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67.7 67.0 68.0 67.8 68.4 68.1 68.4 67.3 68.1

Employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,618 7,018 7,082 6,639 7,205 7,064 7,137 7,054 7,102

Employment-population ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55.8 57.8 58.3 56.0 59.7 58.4 58.9 58.1 58.4

Unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,406 1,114 1,188 1,399 1,052 1,175 1,147 1,108 1,179

Unemployment rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.5 13.7 14.4 17.4 12.7 14.3 13.8 13.6 14.2

Women, 20 years and over

Civilian labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,041 9,459 9,327 9,058 9,287 9,410 9,473 9,443 9,346

Participation rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61.9 62.9 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.8 63.1 62.8 62.1

Employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,868 8,503 8,317 7,848 8,113 8,240 8,307 8,423 8,284

Employment-population ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53.9 56.6 55.3 53.7 54.2 55.0 55.4 56.1 55.1

Unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,172 956 1,011 1,210 1,174 1,171 1,166 1,019 1,062

Unemployment rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.0 10.1 10.8 13.4 12.6 12.4 12.3 10.8 11.4

Both sexes, 16 to 19 years

Civilian labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 640 635 678 635 663 713 671 669 664

Participation rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24.6 23.9 25.5 24.4 24.7 26.6 25.1 25.1 25.0

Employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380 419 439 375 407 466 399 413 421

Employment-population ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.6 15.7 16.5 14.4 15.2 17.4 14.9 15.5 15.9

Unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260 216 239 259 255 247 272 256 242

Unemployment rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40.6 34.1 35.2 40.8 38.5 34.7 40.5 38.2 36.5

ASIAN

Civilian noninstitutional population. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,350 12,774 12,749 – – – – – –

See footnotes at end of table.
HOUSEHOLD DATA

Table A-2. Employment status of the civilian population by race, sex, and age — Continued

[Numbers in thousands]

Employment status, race, sex, and age

Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted1

May

2011

Apr.

2012

May

2012

May

2011

Jan.

2012

Feb.

2012

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012

May

2012

Civilian labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,377 7,965 8,080 – – – – – –

Participation rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65.0 62.4 63.4 – – – – – –

Employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,863 7,553 7,656 – – – – – –

Employment-population ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60.5 59.1 60.0 – – – – – –

Unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 514 412 424 – – – – – –

Unemployment rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.0 5.2 5.2 – – – – – –

Not in labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,973 4,809 4,669 – – – – – –

1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted and seasonally adjusted columns.

- Data not available.

NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups will not sum to totals shown in table A-1 because data are not presented for all races. Updated population controls are introduced

annually with the release of January data.
HOUSEHOLD DATA

Table A-3. Employment status of the Hispanic or Latino population by sex and age

[Numbers in thousands]

Employment status, sex, and age

Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted1

May

2011

Apr.

2012

May

2012

May

2011

Jan.

2012

Feb.

2012

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012

May

2012

HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY

Civilian noninstitutional population.................. 34,311 36,546 36,626 34,311 36,301 36,384 36,463 36,546 36,626

Civilian labor force................................. 22,642 24,201 24,534 22,754 24,045 24,206 24,128 24,253 24,567

Participation rate................................. 66.0 66.2 67.0 66.3 66.2 66.5 66.2 66.4 67.1

Employed......................................... 20,124 21,839 21,984 20,060 21,513 21,628 21,638 21,755 21,867

Employment-population ratio................ 58.7 59.8 60.0 58.5 59.3 59.4 59.3 59.5 59.7

Unemployed...................................... 2,518 2,362 2,550 2,695 2,532 2,579 2,491 2,498 2,700

Unemployment rate........................... 11.1 9.8 10.4 11.8 10.5 10.7 10.3 10.3 11.0

Not in labor force................................... 11,668 12,345 12,092 11,557 12,256 12,178 12,335 12,293 12,059

Men, 20 years and over

Civilian labor force................................. 12,940 13,284 13,486 – – – – – –

Participation rate................................. 81.5 80.8 81.8 – – – – – –

Employed......................................... 11,636 12,146 12,195 – – – – – –

Employment-population ratio................ 73.3 73.9 74.0 – – – – – –

Unemployed...................................... 1,304 1,138 1,291 – – – – – –

Unemployment rate........................... 10.1 8.6 9.6 – – – – – –

Women, 20 years and over

Civilian labor force................................. 8,799 9,826 9,904 – – – – – –

Participation rate................................. 58.5 59.7 60.1 – – – – – –

Employed......................................... 7,820 8,886 8,993 – – – – – –

Employment-population ratio................ 52.0 54.0 54.5 – – – – – –

Unemployed...................................... 979 939 911 – – – – – –

Unemployment rate........................... 11.1 9.6 9.2 – – – – – –

Both sexes, 16 to 19 years

Civilian labor force................................. 904 1,092 1,144 – – – – – –

Participation rate................................. 26.6 29.9 31.3 – – – – – –

Employed......................................... 668 807 796 – – – – – –

Employment-population ratio................ 19.7 22.1 21.8 – – – – – –

Unemployed...................................... 236 285 348 – – – – – –

Unemployment rate........................... 26.1 26.1 30.4 – – – – – –

1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted and seasonally adjusted columns.

- Data not available.

NOTE: Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release

of January data.
HOUSEHOLD DATA

Table A-4. Employment status of the civilian population 25 years and over by educational attainment

[Numbers in thousands]

Educational attainment

Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted

May

2011

Apr.

2012

May

2012

May

2011

Jan.

2012

Feb.

2012

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012

May

2012

Less than a high school diploma

Civilian labor force.................................... 11,669 11,490 11,670 11,468 11,469 11,488 11,493 11,366 11,451

Participation rate.................................... 46.0 45.7 45.8 45.2 45.6 46.6 46.3 45.2 44.9

Employed............................................ 10,072 10,069 10,242 9,789 9,968 10,006 10,044 9,947 9,960

Employment-population ratio................... 39.7 40.1 40.2 38.6 39.7 40.6 40.4 39.6 39.1

Unemployed......................................... 1,597 1,421 1,428 1,678 1,501 1,483 1,449 1,419 1,491

Unemployment rate.............................. 13.7 12.4 12.2 14.6 13.1 12.9 12.6 12.5 13.0

High school graduates, no college1

Civilian labor force.................................... 37,670 36,812 37,119 37,591 36,850 36,799 36,475 36,718 36,924

Participation rate.................................... 60.4 59.3 59.8 60.3 59.6 59.0 59.0 59.2 59.5

Employed............................................ 34,247 33,959 34,239 34,018 33,737 33,761 33,573 33,834 33,928

Employment-population ratio................... 54.9 54.7 55.2 54.5 54.6 54.1 54.3 54.5 54.7

Unemployed......................................... 3,423 2,852 2,880 3,573 3,113 3,039 2,902 2,884 2,996

Unemployment rate.............................. 9.1 7.7 7.8 9.5 8.4 8.3 8.0 7.9 8.1

Some college or associate degree

Civilian labor force.................................... 36,659 36,966 36,899 36,784 37,214 37,282 37,405 37,168 37,079

Participation rate.................................... 69.4 68.6 68.5 69.7 69.2 69.1 69.3 69.0 68.8

Employed............................................ 33,898 34,270 34,157 33,828 34,525 34,571 34,613 34,344 34,155

Employment-population ratio................... 64.2 63.6 63.4 64.1 64.2 64.1 64.2 63.7 63.4

Unemployed......................................... 2,761 2,696 2,741 2,956 2,689 2,711 2,793 2,824 2,924

Unemployment rate.............................. 7.5 7.3 7.4 8.0 7.2 7.3 7.5 7.6 7.9

Bachelor’s degree and higher2

Civilian labor force.................................... 46,778 48,075 48,191 46,898 47,481 47,890 48,191 47,977 48,232

Participation rate.................................... 77.2 76.4 76.7 77.4 75.6 76.4 76.2 76.2 76.8

Employed............................................ 44,766 46,310 46,408 44,803 45,492 45,875 46,189 46,062 46,355

Employment-population ratio................... 73.9 73.6 73.9 74.0 72.4 73.1 73.1 73.2 73.8

Unemployed......................................... 2,012 1,765 1,783 2,095 1,989 2,015 2,002 1,915 1,877

Unemployment rate.............................. 4.3 3.7 3.7 4.5 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.0 3.9

1 Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent.

2 Includes persons with bachelor’s, master’s, professional, and doctoral degrees.

NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
HOUSEHOLD DATA

Table A-5. Employment status of the civilian population 18 years and over by veteran status, period of service,

and sex, not seasonally adjusted

[Numbers in thousands]

Employment status, veteran status, and period of service

Total Men Women

May

2011

May

2012

May

2011

May

2012

May

2011

May

2012

VETERANS, 18 years and over

Civilian noninstitutional population. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21,664 21,224 19,864 19,412 1,800 1,812

Civilian labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,421 11,228 10,316 10,077 1,105 1,152

Participation rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52.7 52.9 51.9 51.9 61.4 63.6

Employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,477 10,348 9,457 9,263 1,020 1,085

Employment-population ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48.4 48.8 47.6 47.7 56.7 59.9

Unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 944 880 859 814 85 67

Unemployment rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.3 7.8 8.3 8.1 7.7 5.8

Not in labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,243 9,996 9,548 9,335 695 660

Gulf War-era II veterans

Civilian noninstitutional population. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,394 2,620 1,984 2,178 409 442

Civilian labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,923 2,074 1,647 1,781 276 293

Participation rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80.3 79.2 83.0 81.8 67.3 66.2

Employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,691 1,812 1,435 1,556 256 256

Employment-population ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70.6 69.1 72.3 71.4 62.4 57.8

Unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232 263 212 226 20 37

Unemployment rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.1 12.7 12.9 12.7 7.3 12.7

Not in labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471 546 337 397 134 149

Gulf War-era I veterans

Civilian noninstitutional population. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,850 3,032 2,420 2,545 430 487

Civilian labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,374 2,571 2,073 2,185 301 386

Participation rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83.3 84.8 85.7 85.8 70.1 79.2

Employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,207 2,410 1,929 2,039 278 370

Employment-population ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77.5 79.5 79.7 80.1 64.8 76.0

Unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 161 144 145 23 16

Unemployment rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.0 6.3 6.9 6.6 7.5 4.1

Not in labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476 462 347 360 129 101

World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam-era veterans

Civilian noninstitutional population. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,470 9,936 10,139 9,615 331 321

Civilian labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,605 3,369 3,480 3,250 124 118

Participation rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34.4 33.9 34.3 33.8 37.6 36.9

Employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,337 3,135 3,223 3,023 114 112

Employment-population ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31.9 31.6 31.8 31.4 34.5 35.0

Unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267 234 257 228 10 6

Unemployment rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.4 6.9 7.4 7.0 8.1 5.2

Not in labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,866 6,567 6,659 6,365 207 202

Veterans of other service periods

Civilian noninstitutional population. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,950 5,636 5,320 5,074 630 562

Civilian labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,519 3,215 3,115 2,860 404 354

Participation rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59.1 57.0 58.6 56.4 64.1 63.1

Employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,242 2,992 2,870 2,645 372 347

Employment-population ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54.5 53.1 53.9 52.1 59.0 61.8

Unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278 223 245 215 32 7

Unemployment rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.9 6.9 7.9 7.5 8.0 2.1

Not in labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,431 2,421 2,205 2,214 226 207

NONVETERANS, 18 years and over

Civilian noninstitutional population. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209,119 212,936 91,916 93,271 117,203 119,665

Civilian labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140,321 141,926 70,803 71,452 69,517 70,474

Participation rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67.1 66.7 77.0 76.6 59.3 58.9

Employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128,348 131,032 64,405 65,822 63,943 65,211

Employment-population ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61.4 61.5 70.1 70.6 54.6 54.5

Unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,973 10,894 6,398 5,631 5,574 5,263

Unemployment rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.5 7.7 9.0 7.9 8.0 7.5

Not in labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68,799 71,010 21,113 21,819 47,686 49,191

NOTE: Veterans served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces and were not on active duty at the time of the survey. Nonveterans never served on active duty in the U.S.

Armed Forces. Veterans could have served anywhere in the world during these periods of service: Gulf War era II (September 2001-present), Gulf War era I (August 1990-August

2001), Vietnam era (August 1964-April 1975), Korean War (July 1950-January 1955), World War II (December 1941-December 1946), and other service periods (all other time

periods). Veterans who served in more than one wartime period are classified only in the most recent one. Veterans who served during one of the selected wartime periods and

another period are classified only in the wartime period. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
HOUSEHOLD DATA

Table A-6. Employment status of the civilian population by sex, age, and disability status, not seasonally

adjusted

[Numbers in thousands]

Employment status, sex, and age

Persons with a disability Persons with no disability

May

2011

May

2012

May

2011

May

2012

TOTAL, 16 years and over

Civilian noninstitutional population....................................................... 27,669 28,059 211,644 214,907

Civilian labor force...................................................................... 5,828 5,821 147,621 149,177

Participation rate...................................................................... 21.1 20.7 69.7 69.4

Employed.............................................................................. 4,917 5,068 135,111 137,658

Employment-population ratio..................................................... 17.8 18.1 63.8 64.1

Unemployed........................................................................... 911 752 12,510 11,519

Unemployment rate................................................................ 15.6 12.9 8.5 7.7

Not in labor force........................................................................ 21,841 22,238 64,024 65,730

Men, 16 to 64 years

Civilian labor force...................................................................... 2,682 2,586 75,258 75,401

Participation rate...................................................................... 35.3 34.9 82.5 82.4

Employed.............................................................................. 2,218 2,225 68,474 69,344

Employment-population ratio..................................................... 29.2 30.0 75.1 75.8

Unemployed........................................................................... 464 362 6,784 6,056

Unemployment rate................................................................ 17.3 14.0 9.0 8.0

Not in labor force........................................................................ 4,911 4,819 15,948 16,078

Women, 16 to 64 years

Civilian labor force...................................................................... 2,280 2,282 66,109 66,922

Participation rate...................................................................... 29.2 29.1 70.9 70.7

Employed.............................................................................. 1,919 1,964 60,748 61,894

Employment-population ratio..................................................... 24.6 25.0 65.2 65.4

Unemployed........................................................................... 360 318 5,361 5,028

Unemployment rate................................................................ 15.8 13.9 8.1 7.5

Not in labor force........................................................................ 5,531 5,564 27,107 27,712

Both sexes, 65 years and over

Civilian labor force...................................................................... 867 953 6,254 6,854

Participation rate...................................................................... 7.1 7.4 23.0 23.8

Employed.............................................................................. 780 880 5,889 6,420

Employment-population ratio..................................................... 6.4 6.9 21.6 22.3

Unemployed........................................................................... 87 73 365 435

Unemployment rate................................................................ 10.0 7.6 5.8 6.3

Not in labor force........................................................................ 11,399 11,855 20,969 21,939

NOTE: A person with a disability has at least one of the following conditions: is deaf or has serious difficulty hearing; is blind or has serious difficulty seeing

even when wearing glasses; has serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition;

has serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs; has difficulty dressing or bathing; or has difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor’s office or

shopping because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
HOUSEHOLD DATA

Table A-7. Employment status of the civilian population by nativity and sex, not seasonally adjusted

[Numbers in thousands]

Employment status and nativity

Total Men Women

May

2011

May

2012

May

2011

May

2012

May

2011

May

2012

Foreign born, 16 years and over

Civilian noninstitutional population.................................... 36,348 37,504 18,200 18,291 18,149 19,213

Civilian labor force................................................... 24,253 24,878 14,511 14,405 9,741 10,473

Participation rate................................................... 66.7 66.3 79.7 78.8 53.7 54.5

Employed........................................................... 22,216 23,038 13,333 13,409 8,883 9,629

Employment-population ratio.................................. 61.1 61.4 73.3 73.3 48.9 50.1

Unemployed........................................................ 2,037 1,840 1,178 996 859 844

Unemployment rate............................................. 8.4 7.4 8.1 6.9 8.8 8.1

Not in labor force..................................................... 12,095 12,625 3,688 3,886 8,407 8,740

Native born, 16 years and over

Civilian noninstitutional population.................................... 202,965 205,462 97,957 98,887 105,008 106,575

Civilian labor force................................................... 129,196 130,120 67,445 68,004 61,751 62,115

Participation rate................................................... 63.7 63.3 68.9 68.8 58.8 58.3

Employed........................................................... 117,812 119,689 61,108 62,303 56,704 57,386

Employment-population ratio.................................. 58.0 58.3 62.4 63.0 54.0 53.8

Unemployed........................................................ 11,384 10,431 6,337 5,701 5,047 4,729

Unemployment rate............................................. 8.8 8.0 9.4 8.4 8.2 7.6

Not in labor force..................................................... 73,769 75,342 30,512 30,882 43,257 44,460

NOTE: The foreign born are those residing in the United States who were not U.S. citizens at birth. That is, they were born outside the United States or

one of its outlying areas such as Puerto Rico or Guam, to parents neither of whom was a U.S. citizen. The native born are persons who were born in the

United States or one of its outlying areas such as Puerto Rico or Guam or who were born abroad of at least one parent who was a U.S. citizen. Updated

population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
HOUSEHOLD DATA

Table A-8. Employed persons by class of worker and part-time status

[In thousands]

Category

Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted

May

2011

Apr.

2012

May

2012

May

2011

Jan.

2012

Feb.

2012

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012

May

2012

CLASS OF WORKER

Agriculture and related industries................... 2,315 2,107 2,371 2,244 2,208 2,185 2,218 2,150 2,274

Wage and salary workers1....................... 1,435 1,282 1,482 1,389 1,376 1,353 1,394 1,342 1,423

Self-employed workers, unincorporated......... 850 798 843 827 800 814 811 793 815

Unpaid family workers............................. 31 26 46 – – – – – –

Nonagricultural industries............................ 137,713 139,888 140,356 137,508 139,491 139,945 139,984 139,749 140,037

Wage and salary workers1

....................... 128,822 131,257 131,493 128,773 130,569 131,365 131,370 131,136 131,322

Government...................................... 20,690 20,356 20,322 20,348 20,583 20,617 20,338 19,896 20,059

Private industries................................ 108,132 110,901 111,172 108,531 109,966 110,778 111,114 111,249 111,421

Private households............................ 799 724 834 – – – – – –

Other industries............................... 107,333 110,176 110,337 107,722 109,353 110,138 110,469 110,527 110,613

Self-employed workers, unincorporated......... 8,812 8,558 8,784 8,648 8,769 8,477 8,514 8,512 8,598

Unpaid family workers............................. 79 72 78 – – – – – –

PERSONS AT WORK PART TIME2

All industries

Part time for economic reasons3................... 8,270 7,694 7,837 8,541 8,230 8,119 7,672 7,853 8,098

Slack work or business conditions............... 5,646 4,997 4,961 5,836 5,372 5,446 5,081 5,187 5,147

Could only find part-time work.................... 2,396 2,467 2,620 2,475 2,551 2,404 2,341 2,367 2,649

Part time for noneconomic reasons4.............. 18,656 19,443 19,694 18,481 18,636 18,827 18,523 18,832 19,393

Nonagricultural industries

Part time for economic reasons3

................... 8,144 7,581 7,736 8,396 8,083 7,988 7,584 7,737 7,982

Slack work or business conditions............... 5,547 4,909 4,901 5,729 5,278 5,356 5,000 5,086 5,078

Could only find part-time work.................... 2,382 2,456 2,588 2,452 2,563 2,365 2,295 2,324 2,616

Part time for noneconomic reasons4

.............. 18,313 19,097 19,319 18,113 18,298 18,399 18,100 18,418 18,930

1 Includes self-employed workers whose businesses are incorporated.

2 Refers to those who worked 1 to 34 hours during the survey reference week and excludes employed persons who were absent from their jobs for the

entire week.

3 Refers to those who worked 1 to 34 hours during the reference week for an economic reason such as slack work or unfavorable business conditions,

inability to find full-time work, or seasonal declines in demand.

4 Refers to persons who usually work part time for noneconomic reasons such as childcare problems, family or personal obligations, school or training,

retirement or Social Security limits on earnings, and other reasons. This excludes persons who usually work full time but worked only 1 to 34 hours during

the reference week for reasons such as vacations, holidays, illness, and bad weather.

- Data not available.

NOTE: Detail for the seasonally adjusted data shown in this table will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of

the various series. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
HOUSEHOLD DATA

Table A-9. Selected employment indicators

[Numbers in thousands]

Characteristic

Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted

May

2011

Apr.

2012

May

2012

May

2011

Jan.

2012

Feb.

2012

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012

May

2012

AGE AND SEX

Total, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140,028 141,995 142,727 139,808 141,637 142,065 142,034 141,865 142,287

16 to 19 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,177 4,163 4,320 4,262 4,389 4,371 4,335 4,321 4,388

16 to 17 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,203 1,304 1,347 1,266 1,333 1,337 1,395 1,421 1,418

18 to 19 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,974 2,859 2,974 2,979 3,064 3,050 2,955 2,875 2,968

20 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135,850 137,832 138,407 135,546 137,248 137,694 137,699 137,544 137,899

20 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,868 13,224 13,360 12,966 13,335 13,395 13,371 13,329 13,429

25 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122,983 124,608 125,046 122,600 123,901 124,243 124,407 124,166 124,472

25 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94,088 94,307 94,520 93,892 93,991 94,056 94,267 94,128 94,205

25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30,617 30,750 30,748 30,634 30,367 30,483 30,568 30,724 30,714

35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30,402 30,640 30,656 30,288 30,614 30,638 30,672 30,539 30,519

45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33,069 32,917 33,116 32,970 33,009 32,935 33,027 32,866 32,971

55 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,895 30,300 30,527 28,708 29,910 30,187 30,140 30,038 30,268

Men, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74,441 75,074 75,712 74,217 75,288 75,318 75,369 75,256 75,401

16 to 19 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,013 2,064 2,145 2,055 2,118 2,079 2,083 2,136 2,173

16 to 17 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579 633 628 597 620 650 656 685 655

18 to 19 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,435 1,431 1,518 1,447 1,487 1,424 1,424 1,461 1,513

20 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72,427 73,010 73,567 72,161 73,170 73,240 73,286 73,119 73,229

20 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,764 6,778 6,909 6,759 7,003 6,851 6,927 6,863 6,898

25 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65,663 66,232 66,658 65,423 66,169 66,376 66,327 66,156 66,308

25 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50,480 50,290 50,525 50,327 50,358 50,382 50,393 50,329 50,304

25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,698 16,566 16,648 16,745 16,440 16,498 16,538 16,624 16,654

35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,475 16,417 16,500 16,406 16,573 16,564 16,470 16,425 16,421

45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,308 17,308 17,377 17,176 17,346 17,319 17,385 17,280 17,229

55 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,183 15,942 16,133 15,096 15,811 15,994 15,934 15,827 16,004

Women, 16 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65,587 66,921 67,015 65,591 66,349 66,747 66,665 66,609 66,886

16 to 19 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,164 2,099 2,175 2,207 2,270 2,293 2,252 2,184 2,215

16 to 17 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 625 671 719 669 713 687 739 736 762

18 to 19 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,540 1,427 1,456 1,532 1,577 1,625 1,531 1,414 1,454

20 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63,423 64,822 64,840 63,385 64,078 64,454 64,413 64,425 64,671

20 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,104 6,446 6,451 6,207 6,332 6,544 6,444 6,467 6,531

25 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57,320 58,376 58,389 57,177 57,732 57,867 58,079 58,010 58,165

25 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43,608 44,017 43,995 43,565 43,633 43,674 43,873 43,800 43,901

25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,920 14,185 14,101 13,889 13,928 13,985 14,030 14,099 14,060

35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,927 14,223 14,156 13,882 14,041 14,074 14,202 14,114 14,098

45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,761 15,609 15,738 15,794 15,664 15,615 15,642 15,586 15,742

55 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,712 14,359 14,394 13,612 14,099 14,193 14,206 14,211 14,264

MARITAL STATUS

Married men, spouse present. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43,124 43,530 43,903 43,043 43,658 43,556 43,635 43,582 43,798

Married women, spouse present. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33,894 34,369 34,673 33,847 34,445 34,341 34,325 34,207 34,620

Women who maintain families. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,930 9,530 9,516 – – – – – –

FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS

Full-time workers1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112,618 113,999 114,634 112,294 113,845 114,408 115,290 114,478 114,212

Part-time workers2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27,410 27,996 28,092 27,460 27,739 27,576 26,912 27,420 28,038

MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS

Total multiple jobholders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,084 6,947 7,174 6,924 7,038 6,999 6,985 6,870 6,959

Percent of total employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1 4.9 5.0 5.0 5.0 4.9 4.9 4.8 4.9

SELF-EMPLOYMENT

Self-employed workers, incorporated. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,232 5,258 5,419 – – – – – –

Self-employed workers, unincorporated. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,661 9,357 9,627 9,475 9,569 9,291 9,325 9,305 9,413

1 Employed full-time workers are persons who usually work 35 hours or more per week.

2 Employed part-time workers are persons who usually work less than 35 hours per week.

- Data not available.

NOTE: Detail for the seasonally adjusted data shown in this table will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series. Updated

population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
HOUSEHOLD DATA

Table A-10. Selected unemployment indicators, seasonally adjusted

Characteristic

Number of

unemployed persons

(in thousands)

Unemployment rates

May

2011

Apr.

2012

May

2012

May

2011

Jan.

2012

Feb.

2012

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012

May

2012

AGE AND SEX

Total, 16 years and over............................. 13,892 12,500 12,720 9.0 8.3 8.3 8.2 8.1 8.2

16 to 19 years...................................... 1,356 1,432 1,431 24.1 23.2 23.8 25.0 24.9 24.6

16 to 17 years.................................... 515 509 512 28.9 28.8 29.9 28.8 26.4 26.5

18 to 19 years.................................... 841 935 914 22.0 20.5 20.8 22.9 24.5 23.5

20 years and over.................................. 12,536 11,068 11,289 8.5 7.7 7.7 7.5 7.4 7.6

20 to 24 years.................................... 2,225 2,029 1,989 14.6 13.3 13.8 13.2 13.2 12.9

25 years and over............................... 10,310 9,034 9,297 7.8 7.0 7.0 6.8 6.8 6.9

25 to 54 years................................. 8,231 7,017 7,196 8.1 7.4 7.3 7.1 6.9 7.1

25 to 34 years.............................. 3,150 2,711 2,727 9.3 9.0 8.7 8.6 8.1 8.2

35 to 44 years.............................. 2,506 2,139 2,231 7.6 6.8 6.8 6.4 6.5 6.8

45 to 54 years.............................. 2,575 2,167 2,238 7.2 6.4 6.4 6.2 6.2 6.4

55 years and over............................. 2,077 2,026 2,096 6.7 5.9 5.9 6.2 6.3 6.5

Men, 16 years and over.............................. 7,802 6,727 6,949 9.5 8.3 8.3 8.3 8.2 8.4

16 to 19 years...................................... 759 797 796 27.0 25.3 27.0 26.7 27.2 26.8

16 to 17 years.................................... 268 279 267 31.0 32.0 33.5 30.1 28.9 28.9

18 to 19 years.................................... 489 521 523 25.3 22.3 23.9 25.1 26.3 25.7

20 years and over.................................. 7,043 5,930 6,153 8.9 7.7 7.7 7.6 7.5 7.8

20 to 24 years.................................... 1,258 1,124 1,130 15.7 14.2 15.6 14.1 14.1 14.1

25 years and over............................... 5,757 4,781 5,006 8.1 6.9 6.7 6.8 6.7 7.0

25 to 54 years................................. 4,621 3,720 3,808 8.4 7.2 7.1 7.0 6.9 7.0

25 to 34 years.............................. 1,807 1,459 1,435 9.7 9.0 8.6 8.6 8.1 7.9

35 to 44 years.............................. 1,340 1,129 1,166 7.6 6.4 6.4 6.5 6.4 6.6

45 to 54 years.............................. 1,473 1,132 1,207 7.9 6.2 6.2 6.0 6.1 6.5

55 years and over............................. 1,136 1,062 1,197 7.0 5.9 5.7 6.3 6.3 7.0

Women, 16 years and over.......................... 6,090 5,773 5,771 8.5 8.3 8.2 8.1 8.0 7.9

16 to 19 years...................................... 597 635 635 21.3 21.1 20.7 23.4 22.5 22.3

16 to 17 years.................................... 247 230 246 27.0 25.8 26.1 27.6 23.8 24.4

18 to 19 years.................................... 352 414 390 18.7 18.6 17.8 20.7 22.7 21.2

20 years and over.................................. 5,493 5,137 5,136 8.0 7.7 7.7 7.4 7.4 7.4

20 to 24 years.................................... 967 905 859 13.5 12.3 11.7 12.2 12.3 11.6

25 years and over............................... 4,553 4,253 4,291 7.4 7.2 7.2 6.8 6.8 6.9

25 to 54 years................................. 3,610 3,297 3,388 7.7 7.6 7.6 7.2 7.0 7.2

25 to 34 years.............................. 1,343 1,252 1,292 8.8 9.0 8.8 8.6 8.2 8.4

35 to 44 years.............................. 1,165 1,010 1,065 7.7 7.4 7.3 6.4 6.7 7.0

45 to 54 years.............................. 1,102 1,035 1,031 6.5 6.6 6.6 6.5 6.2 6.1

55 years and over1

........................... 876 878 847 6.0 5.9 6.1 5.9 5.8 5.6

MARITAL STATUS

Married men, spouse present....................... 2,726 2,370 2,440 6.0 5.1 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3

Married women, spouse present.................... 2,067 1,919 1,799 5.8 5.6 5.5 5.3 5.3 4.9

Women who maintain families1

.................... 1,303 1,078 1,168 12.7 12.0 11.7 10.8 10.2 10.9

FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS

Full-time workers2.................................... 12,059 10,691 10,858 9.7 8.8 8.8 8.6 8.5 8.7

Part-time workers3................................... 1,830 1,846 1,826 6.2 5.9 6.0 6.2 6.3 6.1

1 Not seasonally adjusted.

2 Full-time workers are unemployed persons who have expressed a desire to work full time (35 hours or more per week) or are on layoff from full-time jobs.

3 Part-time workers are unemployed persons who have expressed a desire to work part time (less than 35 hours per week) or are on layoff from part-time

jobs.

NOTE: Detail for the seasonally adjusted data shown in this table will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of

the various series. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
HOUSEHOLD DATA

Table A-11. Unemployed persons by reason for unemployment

[Numbers in thousands]

Reason

Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted

May

2011

Apr.

2012

May

2012

May

2011

Jan.

2012

Feb.

2012

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012

May

2012

NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED

Job losers and persons who completed

temporary jobs...................................... 7,885 6,555 6,607 8,250 7,321 7,209 7,020 6,852 6,989

On temporary layoff................................ 1,004 1,009 909 1,218 1,284 1,135 1,120 1,083 1,106

Not on temporary layoff............................ 6,881 5,546 5,699 7,031 6,037 6,075 5,900 5,768 5,883

Permanent job losers............................ 5,566 4,397 4,458 5,621 4,807 4,755 4,632 4,529 4,553

Persons who completed temporary jobs...... 1,315 1,149 1,240 1,410 1,230 1,320 1,268 1,239 1,330

Job leavers............................................. 869 962 849 919 939 1,031 1,117 997 891

Reentrants............................................. 3,477 3,184 3,513 3,436 3,325 3,361 3,269 3,341 3,439

New entrants.......................................... 1,190 1,210 1,302 1,229 1,253 1,392 1,433 1,384 1,367

PERCENT DISTRIBUTION

Job losers and persons who completed

temporary jobs...................................... 58.8 55.0 53.8 59.6 57.0 55.5 54.7 54.5 55.1

On temporary layoff................................ 7.5 8.5 7.4 8.8 10.0 8.7 8.7 8.6 8.7

Not on temporary layoff............................ 51.3 46.6 46.4 50.8 47.0 46.7 46.0 45.9 46.4

Job leavers............................................. 6.5 8.1 6.9 6.6 7.3 7.9 8.7 7.9 7.0

Reentrants............................................. 25.9 26.7 28.6 24.8 25.9 25.9 25.5 26.6 27.1

New entrants.......................................... 8.9 10.2 10.6 8.9 9.8 10.7 11.2 11.0 10.8

UNEMPLOYED AS A PERCENT OF THE

CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE

Job losers and persons who completed

temporary jobs...................................... 5.1 4.3 4.3 5.4 4.7 4.7 4.5 4.4 4.5

Job leavers............................................. 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6

Reentrants............................................. 2.3 2.1 2.3 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.2 2.2

New entrants.......................................... 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9

NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
HOUSEHOLD DATA

Table A-12. Unemployed persons by duration of unemployment

[Numbers in thousands]

Duration

Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted

May

2011

Apr.

2012

May

2012

May

2011

Jan.

2012

Feb.

2012

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012

May

2012

NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED

Less than 5 weeks.................................... 2,664 2,165 2,572 2,687 2,486 2,541 2,572 2,543 2,580

5 to 14 weeks......................................... 2,356 2,368 2,442 2,912 2,884 2,807 2,754 2,814 3,002

15 weeks and over.................................... 8,401 7,377 7,257 8,197 7,498 7,397 7,175 6,984 7,073

15 to 26 weeks..................................... 2,235 2,109 1,852 1,994 1,980 1,971 1,867 1,884 1,662

27 weeks and over................................. 6,166 5,268 5,405 6,204 5,518 5,426 5,308 5,101 5,411

Average (mean) duration, in weeks1

.............. 41.2 42.0 41.4 39.6 40.1 40.0 39.4 39.1 39.7

Median duration, in weeks........................... 23.8 22.3 22.0 21.9 21.1 20.3 19.9 19.4 20.1

PERCENT DISTRIBUTION

Less than 5 weeks.................................... 19.8 18.2 21.0 19.5 19.3 19.9 20.6 20.6 20.4

5 to 14 weeks......................................... 17.6 19.9 19.9 21.1 22.4 22.0 22.0 22.8 23.7

15 weeks and over.................................... 62.6 61.9 59.1 59.4 58.3 58.0 57.4 56.6 55.9

15 to 26 weeks..................................... 16.7 17.7 15.1 14.5 15.4 15.5 14.9 15.3 13.1

27 weeks and over................................. 45.9 44.2 44.0 45.0 42.9 42.6 42.5 41.3 42.8

1 Beginning in January 2011, this series reflects a change to the collection of data on unemployment duration. For more information, see

www.bls.gov/cps/duration.htm.

NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
HOUSEHOLD DATA

Table A-13. Employed and unemployed persons by occupation, not seasonally adjusted

[Numbers in thousands]

Occupation

Employed Unemployed Unemployment

rates

May

2011

May

2012

May

2011

May

2012

May

2011

May

2012

Total, 16 years and over1

............................................. 140,028 142,727 13,421 12,271 8.7 7.9

Management, professional, and related occupations............ 52,778 54,156 2,419 2,275 4.4 4.0

Management, business, and financial operations

occupations...................................................... 21,355 22,691 1,094 966 4.9 4.1

Professional and related occupations........................... 31,423 31,465 1,325 1,309 4.0 4.0

Service occupations.................................................. 24,959 25,870 2,607 2,482 9.5 8.8

Sales and office occupations....................................... 32,804 32,684 3,172 2,782 8.8 7.8

Sales and related occupations................................... 15,376 15,179 1,596 1,308 9.4 7.9

Office and administrative support occupations................. 17,428 17,504 1,576 1,474 8.3 7.8

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance

occupations......................................................... 12,942 12,908 1,900 1,609 12.8 11.1

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations..................... 1,033 1,114 117 133 10.2 10.7

Construction and extraction occupations....................... 7,071 6,971 1,375 1,153 16.3 14.2

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations............. 4,838 4,823 408 323 7.8 6.3

Production, transportation, and material moving

occupations......................................................... 16,546 17,109 2,100 1,784 11.3 9.4

Production occupations........................................... 8,113 8,433 1,094 814 11.9 8.8

Transportation and material moving occupations.............. 8,433 8,676 1,006 970 10.7 10.1

1 Persons with no previous work experience and persons whose last job was in the U.S. Armed Forces are included in the unemployed total.

NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
HOUSEHOLD DATA

Table A-14. Unemployed persons by industry and class of worker, not seasonally adjusted

Industry and class of worker

Number of

unemployed

persons

(in thousands)

Unemployment

rates

May

2011

May

2012

May

2011

May

2012

Total, 16 years and over1................................................................ 13,421 12,271 8.7 7.9

Nonagricultural private wage and salary workers................................... 10,628 9,419 8.9 7.8

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction..................................... 32 47 3.8 4.5

Construction........................................................................... 1,367 1,150 16.3 14.2

Manufacturing......................................................................... 1,453 1,099 9.6 7.1

Durable goods...................................................................... 920 683 9.6 7.2

Nondurable goods................................................................. 533 416 9.6 7.1

Wholesale and retail trade.......................................................... 1,845 1,654 9.0 8.1

Transportation and utilities.......................................................... 483 480 8.0 7.8

Information............................................................................ 227 230 7.3 7.8

Financial activities.................................................................... 612 462 6.8 5.1

Professional and business services................................................ 1,429 1,296 9.8 8.5

Education and health services...................................................... 1,242 1,172 5.7 5.3

Leisure and hospitality............................................................... 1,402 1,326 10.6 9.7

Other services........................................................................ 536 501 8.4 7.8

Agriculture and related private wage and salary workers.......................... 131 148 8.7 9.5

Government workers.................................................................... 836 899 3.9 4.2

Self-employed workers, unincorporated, and unpaid family workers............. 636 503 6.1 4.9

1 Persons with no previous work experience and persons whose last job was in the U.S. Armed Forces are included in the unemployed total.

NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
HOUSEHOLD DATA

Table A-15. Alternative measures of labor underutilization

[Percent]

Measure

Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted

May

2011

Apr.

2012

May

2012

May

2011

Jan.

2012

Feb.

2012

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012

May

2012

U-1 Persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer, as

a percent of the civilian labor force.............. 5.5 4.8 4.7 5.3 4.9 4.8 4.6 4.5 4.6

U-2 Job losers and persons who completed

temporary jobs, as a percent of the civilian

labor force........................................... 5.1 4.3 4.3 5.4 4.7 4.7 4.5 4.4 4.5

U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the

civilian labor force (official unemployment

rate).................................................. 8.7 7.7 7.9 9.0 8.3 8.3 8.2 8.1 8.2

U-4 Total unemployed plus discouraged workers,

as a percent of the civilian labor force plus

discouraged workers............................... 9.2 8.3 8.4 9.5 8.9 8.9 8.7 8.7 8.7

U-5 Total unemployed, plus discouraged workers,

plus all other persons marginally attached to

the labor force, as a percent of the civilian

labor force plus all persons marginally attached

to the labor force................................... 10.0 9.1 9.3 10.3 9.9 9.8 9.6 9.5 9.6

U-6 Total unemployed, plus all persons

marginally attached to the labor force, plus

total employed part time for economic reasons,

as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all

persons marginally attached to the labor

force.................................................. 15.4 14.1 14.3 15.8 15.1 14.9 14.5 14.5 14.8

NOTE: Persons marginally attached to the labor force are those who currently are neither working nor looking for work but indicate that they want and are

available for a job and have looked for work sometime in the past 12 months. Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached, have given a

job-market related reason for not currently looking for work. Persons employed part time for economic reasons are those who want and are available for

full-time work but have had to settle for a part-time schedule. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
HOUSEHOLD DATA

Table A-16. Persons not in the labor force and multiple jobholders by sex, not seasonally adjusted

[Numbers in thousands]

Category

Total Men Women

May

2011

May

2012

May

2011

May

2012

May

2011

May

2012

NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE

Total not in the labor force............................................. 85,864 87,968 34,200 34,768 51,664 53,200

Persons who currently want a job.................................. 6,821 6,835 3,337 3,214 3,484 3,622

Marginally attached to the labor force1........................ 2,206 2,423 1,158 1,239 1,047 1,183

Discouraged workers2

......................................... 822 830 469 469 353 360

Other persons marginally attached to the labor force3. . .. 1,384 1,593 689 770 695 823

MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS

Total multiple jobholders4............................................. 7,084 7,174 3,491 3,605 3,593 3,569

Percent of total employed........................................... 5.1 5.0 4.7 4.8 5.5 5.3

Primary job full time, secondary job part time.................... 3,731 3,655 1,987 2,111 1,744 1,544

Primary and secondary jobs both part time....................... 1,883 1,979 670 639 1,214 1,340

Primary and secondary jobs both full time........................ 295 250 185 170 111 80

Hours vary on primary or secondary job.......................... 1,130 1,245 629 656 501 589

1 Data refer to persons who want a job, have searched for work during the prior 12 months, and were available to take a job during the reference week,

but had not looked for work in the past 4 weeks.

2 Includes those who did not actively look for work in the prior 4 weeks for reasons such as thinks no work available, could not find work, lacks schooling

or training, employer thinks too young or old, and other types of discrimination.

3 Includes those who did not actively look for work in the prior 4 weeks for such reasons as school or family responsibilities, ill health, and transportation

problems, as well as a number for whom reason for nonparticipation was not determined.

4 Includes a small number of persons who work part time on their primary job and full time on their secondary job(s), not shown separately.

NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA

Table B-1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector and selected industry detail

[In thousands]

Industry

Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted

May

2011

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012p

May

2012p

May

2011

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012p

May

2012p

Change

from:

Apr.2012 -

May2012p

Total nonfarm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131,889 132,081 132,938 133,727 131,227 132,863 132,940 133,009 69

Total private. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109,354 109,676 110,537 111,337 109,097 110,871 110,958 111,040 82

Goods-producing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,007 17,890 18,090 18,327 18,001 18,318 18,322 18,307 -15

Mining and logging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 774 823 827 835 777 837 837 838 1

Logging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46.4 46.2 44.4 46.6 48.2 48.3 47.8 48.3 0.5

Mining. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 727.4 776.3 782.6 788.7 728.3 788.8 789.1 789.8 0.7

Oil and gas extraction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171.3 191.1 191.7 193.1 171.4 192.3 193.1 193.0 -0.1

Mining, except oil and gas1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220.3 211.9 216.4 223.5 217.8 220.5 220.2 221.1 0.9

Coal mining. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87.1 85.6 84.9 85.4 87.2 85.9 85.3 85.6 0.3

Support activities for mining. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335.8 373.3 374.5 372.1 339.1 376.0 375.8 375.7 -0.1

Construction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,540 5,220 5,391 5,560 5,498 5,549 5,544 5,516 -28

Construction of buildings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,206.7 1,172.0 1,188.3 1,223.6 1,211.4 1,228.4 1,226.3 1,226.8 0.5

Residential building. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 558.1 538.5 545.8 563.4 559.8 568.0 566.3 565.3 -1.0

Nonresidential building. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 648.6 633.5 642.5 660.2 651.6 660.4 660.0 661.5 1.5

Heavy and civil engineering construction. . . . . . . 854.9 760.8 817.3 854.2 831.6 839.2 841.8 830.6 -11.2

Specialty trade contractors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,478.8 3,286.9 3,385.8 3,482.3 3,455.4 3,481.8 3,475.9 3,458.2 -17.7

Residential specialty trade contractors. . . . . . . 1,472.5 1,372.2 1,424.2 1,470.6 1,454.3 1,460.1 1,462.5 1,452.5 -10.0

Nonresidential specialty trade contractors. . . . 2,006.3 1,914.7 1,961.6 2,011.7 2,001.1 2,021.7 2,013.4 2,005.7 -7.7

Manufacturing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,693 11,847 11,872 11,932 11,726 11,932 11,941 11,953 12

Durable goods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,253 7,420 7,439 7,475 7,264 7,455 7,466 7,479 13

Wood products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338.8 326.3 329.2 332.0 337.3 333.4 331.8 330.4 -1.4

Nonmetallic mineral products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371.3 358.3 364.3 369.4 367.8 370.1 368.7 365.7 -3.0

Primary metals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388.4 404.0 405.8 409.5 389.1 405.6 406.4 410.2 3.8

Fabricated metal products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,339.4 1,383.7 1,389.4 1,398.8 1,345.2 1,390.5 1,396.1 1,401.8 5.7

Machinery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,048.1 1,096.7 1,098.9 1,102.3 1,051.8 1,098.1 1,101.8 1,104.3 2.5

Computer and electronic products1

. . . . . . . . . . 1,102.9 1,108.3 1,105.4 1,108.1 1,106.3 1,110.3 1,109.0 1,110.7 1.7

Computer and peripheral equipment. . . . . . . 157.1 163.3 164.0 164.1 157.6 163.4 164.3 164.3 0.0

Communications equipment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115.8 110.2 109.1 109.2 116.1 110.7 109.7 109.5 -0.2

Semiconductors and electronic

components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381.4 387.3 386.2 387.4 383.2 387.6 387.0 389.0 2.0

Electronic instruments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403.7 402.4 401.4 402.5 404.3 403.2 402.9 402.9 0.0

Electrical equipment and appliances. . . . . . . . . 365.2 372.6 370.6 373.4 366.5 374.7 373.0 374.2 1.2

Transportation equipment1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,371.2 1,447.7 1,448.5 1,450.9 1,372.6 1,443.6 1,448.0 1,452.1 4.1

Motor vehicles and parts2

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 711.8 767.1 766.2 771.0 710.7 762.3 764.2 770.0 5.8

Furniture and related products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355.8 347.9 351.2 352.6 354.4 351.4 352.7 350.6 -2.1

Miscellaneous manufacturing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571.4 574.6 575.7 577.7 573.4 577.4 578.3 579.1 0.8

Nondurable goods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,440 4,427 4,433 4,457 4,462 4,477 4,475 4,474 -1

Food manufacturing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,441.1 1,425.8 1,428.0 1,441.2 1,460.7 1,454.8 1,457.3 1,458.5 1.2

Beverages and tobacco products. . . . . . . . . . . . 185.7 189.8 191.9 199.0 186.9 196.8 197.0 199.7 2.7

Textile mills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121.9 120.0 119.9 119.7 121.1 120.1 119.7 119.0 -0.7

Textile product mills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118.2 113.1 114.2 114.8 118.0 114.0 114.1 114.0 -0.1

Apparel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152.7 149.7 150.6 150.3 152.7 150.4 150.3 149.8 -0.5

Leather and allied products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.8 30.1 30.2 29.7 28.9 30.1 30.2 29.8 -0.4

Paper and paper products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388.2 392.0 390.2 390.7 389.5 394.3 392.6 391.8 -0.8

Printing and related support activities. . . . . . . . 471.0 454.4 455.6 456.9 471.5 456.3 457.5 457.1 -0.4

Petroleum and coal products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113.5 111.0 113.9 115.2 112.3 114.5 114.6 114.1 -0.5

Chemicals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 783.4 798.4 795.4 794.7 785.0 799.9 797.3 796.1 -1.2

Plastics and rubber products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635.3 642.7 642.8 645.0 635.2 645.5 644.7 643.9 -0.8

Private service-providing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91,347 91,786 92,447 93,010 91,096 92,553 92,636 92,733 97

Trade, transportation, and utilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,941 24,937 25,054 25,270 24,993 25,243 25,264 25,318 54

Wholesale trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,533.3 5,562.7 5,588.7 5,632.6 5,525.2 5,595.6 5,606.7 5,622.6 15.9

Durable goods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,753.8 2,767.2 2,770.4 2,789.0 2,754.0 2,780.8 2,781.4 2,788.8 7.4

Nondurable goods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,945.1 1,947.0 1,965.4 1,984.2 1,937.3 1,962.7 1,969.7 1,975.5 5.8

Electronic markets and agents and brokers.. . 834.4 848.5 852.9 859.4 833.9 852.1 855.6 858.3 2.7

Retail trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,569.4 14,495.5 14,590.4 14,696.5 14,626.1 14,726.3 14,753.3 14,755.6 2.3

Motor vehicle and parts dealers1

. . . . . . . . . . . . 1,691.7 1,704.6 1,718.2 1,722.4 1,684.0 1,719.1 1,717.2 1,715.8 -1.4

Automobile dealers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,053.7 1,074.9 1,080.1 1,083.7 1,053.0 1,080.1 1,081.1 1,083.5 2.4

Furniture and home furnishings stores. . . . . . . 433.7 442.7 441.3 444.1 441.0 449.7 449.1 451.8 2.7

See footnotes at end of table.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA

Table B-1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector and selected industry detail

— Continued

[In thousands]

Industry

Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted

May

2011

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012p

May

2012p

May

2011

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012p

May

2012p

Change

from:

Apr.2012 -

May2012p

Retail trade - Continued

Electronics and appliance stores. . . . . . . . . . . . . 523.1 504.1 503.1 495.8 531.7 509.1 509.3 504.6 -4.7

Building material and garden supply stores.. . 1,210.7 1,150.7 1,205.1 1,220.6 1,145.3 1,154.7 1,158.1 1,149.8 -8.3

Food and beverage stores. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,823.8 2,834.0 2,835.8 2,867.6 2,824.6 2,863.0 2,861.7 2,867.8 6.1

Health and personal care stores. . . . . . . . . . . . . 976.6 987.8 988.3 992.0 978.1 994.7 996.3 993.5 -2.8

Gasoline stations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 831.9 817.6 824.8 833.7 829.2 829.9 830.6 830.4 -0.2

Clothing and clothing accessories stores. . . . . 1,308.3 1,314.8 1,321.3 1,328.9 1,348.3 1,365.7 1,365.1 1,371.8 6.7

Sporting goods, hobby, book, and music

stores. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559.3 548.6 551.0 558.6 577.5 566.9 570.3 573.9 3.6

General merchandise stores1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,020.8 3,015.4 3,021.4 3,028.2 3,067.3 3,067.8 3,087.5 3,083.4 -4.1

Department stores. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,497.0 1,503.3 1,498.0 1,494.2 1,538.7 1,541.5 1,546.7 1,542.5 -4.2

Miscellaneous store retailers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 769.2 749.0 757.9 779.5 767.2 768.9 771.5 775.8 4.3

Nonstore retailers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420.3 426.2 422.2 425.1 431.9 436.8 436.6 437.0 0.4

Transportation and warehousing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,283.4 4,318.3 4,314.3 4,378.7 4,287.0 4,359.3 4,342.8 4,378.4 35.6

Air transportation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456.4 456.5 456.9 458.1 456.2 457.5 458.6 457.7 -0.9

Rail transportation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228.1 232.5 233.7 234.1 228.9 233.5 233.9 234.4 0.5

Water transportation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.5 65.7 65.2 66.3 62.5 67.5 66.3 66.1 -0.2

Truck transportation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,293.4 1,307.9 1,317.7 1,339.3 1,298.7 1,333.3 1,336.0 1,343.3 7.3

Transit and ground passenger

transportation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454.8 444.3 430.4 455.4 436.8 431.6 417.3 437.4 20.1

Pipeline transportation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42.8 43.7 43.6 43.8 42.9 43.8 43.9 43.9 0.0

Scenic and sightseeing transportation. . . . . . . . 31.5 26.2 29.2 33.8 29.3 32.8 32.5 31.6 -0.9

Support activities for transportation. . . . . . . . . . . 560.2 578.3 580.9 583.6 561.7 582.1 581.7 584.9 3.2

Couriers and messengers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515.3 519.2 510.7 516.7 525.5 528.3 520.9 526.0 5.1

Warehousing and storage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 638.4 644.0 646.0 647.6 644.5 648.9 651.7 653.1 1.4

Utilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555.1 560.8 560.9 561.9 554.7 561.8 561.2 561.2 0.0

Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,676 2,625 2,627 2,634 2,671 2,631 2,630 2,628 -2

Publishing industries, except Internet. . . . . . . . . . . 745.8 739.0 738.0 736.0 749.1 740.9 740.3 739.7 -0.6

Motion picture and sound recording

industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371.8 356.3 365.4 375.7 361.7 360.2 364.9 364.9 0.0

Broadcasting, except Internet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279.7 281.8 281.7 280.8 281.9 282.2 282.0 282.2 0.2

Telecommunications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 876.2 838.9 833.5 832.2 878.2 838.6 835.5 833.5 -2.0

Data processing, hosting and related

services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246.3 242.5 242.6 242.3 244.2 241.7 240.9 240.6 -0.3

Other information services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156.3 166.6 165.6 166.5 156.2 167.6 166.4 166.6 0.2

Financial activities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,684 7,681 7,695 7,721 7,693 7,717 7,721 7,724 3

Finance and insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,749.2 5,762.4 5,757.1 5,755.6 5,758.4 5,763.6 5,765.4 5,761.6 -3.8

Monetary authorities - central bank. . . . . . . . . . . 18.7 18.8 18.9 17.8 18.7 18.7 18.7 17.9 -0.8

Credit intermediation and related

activities1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,558.7 2,585.3 2,578.0 2,575.4 2,564.2 2,582.9 2,579.7 2,577.6 -2.1

Depository credit intermediation1

. . . . . . . . . . 1,738.4 1,752.0 1,747.5 1,743.5 1,741.7 1,752.6 1,748.7 1,745.2 -3.5

Commercial banking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,316.3 1,325.4 1,320.2 1,316.2 1,319.8 1,325.5 1,321.8 1,319.5 -2.3

Securities, commodity contracts,

investments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 804.5 800.2 797.5 796.7 806.8 800.6 799.5 799.0 -0.5

Insurance carriers and related activities. . . . . . 2,282.0 2,273.5 2,278.4 2,281.1 2,283.0 2,276.7 2,282.6 2,282.3 -0.3

Funds, trusts, and other financial vehicles. . . 85.3 84.6 84.3 84.6 85.7 84.7 84.9 84.8 -0.1

Real estate and rental and leasing. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,934.7 1,918.4 1,938.3 1,964.9 1,934.8 1,953.5 1,955.9 1,962.5 6.6

Real estate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,408.9 1,394.9 1,410.0 1,422.1 1,409.7 1,417.1 1,418.5 1,421.2 2.7

Rental and leasing services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501.8 500.0 504.9 519.4 501.0 512.7 513.9 517.8 3.9

Lessors of nonfinancial intangible assets. . . . . 24.0 23.5 23.4 23.4 24.1 23.7 23.5 23.5 0.0

Professional and business services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,291 17,599 17,793 17,808 17,298 17,779 17,816 17,815 -1

Professional and technical services1

. . . . . . . . . . . 7,612.4 7,964.0 7,987.9 7,834.6 7,684.6 7,892.9 7,911.7 7,907.7 -4.0

Legal services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,111.5 1,110.6 1,114.4 1,116.5 1,115.1 1,115.8 1,119.3 1,119.9 0.6

Accounting and bookkeeping services. . . . . . . 876.5 1,091.6 1,071.6 894.0 931.5 969.5 965.1 951.1 -14.0

Architectural and engineering services. . . . . . . 1,288.4 1,299.4 1,312.5 1,321.1 1,291.6 1,317.1 1,323.4 1,323.7 0.3

Computer systems design and related

services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,519.4 1,569.1 1,579.5 1,582.1 1,523.9 1,576.5 1,581.1 1,586.4 5.3

Management and technical consulting

services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,061.3 1,109.9 1,118.9 1,122.0 1,066.0 1,119.3 1,124.4 1,126.6 2.2

Management of companies and enterprises. . . . 1,911.9 1,933.6 1,932.6 1,940.8 1,914.9 1,939.6 1,941.7 1,943.7 2.0

Administrative and waste services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,766.2 7,701.3 7,872.5 8,032.3 7,698.4 7,946.8 7,962.9 7,963.7 0.8

See footnotes at end of table.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA

Table B-1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector and selected industry detail

— Continued

[In thousands]

Industry

Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted

May

2011

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012p

May

2012p

May

2011

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012p

May

2012p

Change

from:

Apr.2012 -

May2012p

Administrative and waste services - Continued

Administrative and support services1

. . . . . . . . 7,402.2 7,338.1 7,504.6 7,661.7 7,334.2 7,575.5 7,591.3 7,592.8 1.5

Employment services1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,932.8 3,031.2 3,070.5 3,151.6 2,930.5 3,129.3 3,142.7 3,148.8 6.1

Temporary help services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,300.2 2,383.8 2,420.5 2,493.5 2,295.9 2,469.1 2,481.7 2,490.9 9.2

Business support services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 802.9 816.0 809.1 807.3 811.0 813.5 813.3 815.8 2.5

Services to buildings and dwellings. . . . . . . . 1,849.7 1,673.6 1,797.0 1,858.2 1,775.8 1,799.8 1,799.1 1,784.8 -14.3

Waste management and remediation

services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364.0 363.2 367.9 370.6 364.2 371.3 371.6 370.9 -0.7

Education and health services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,880 20,379 20,418 20,372 19,823 20,232 20,261 20,307 46

Educational services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,267.1 3,475.6 3,483.5 3,384.2 3,226.1 3,318.7 3,327.1 3,339.0 11.9

Health care and social assistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,612.8 16,903.4 16,934.7 16,987.9 16,596.7 16,913.4 16,934.3 16,968.3 34.0

Health care3

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,984.3 14,259.8 14,287.4 14,328.4 14,003.6 14,289.0 14,310.9 14,343.7 32.8

Ambulatory health care services1. . . . . . . . . 6,109.3 6,274.5 6,303.6 6,332.1 6,115.2 6,290.2 6,311.9 6,334.7 22.8

Offices of physicians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,336.1 2,405.8 2,407.9 2,421.0 2,342.6 2,410.7 2,416.7 2,426.6 9.9

Outpatient care centers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620.7 649.9 652.2 656.3 620.9 649.7 651.2 655.8 4.6

Home health care services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,130.4 1,169.5 1,185.2 1,194.1 1,130.2 1,172.8 1,184.0 1,190.9 6.9

Hospitals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,711.5 4,802.7 4,798.5 4,804.5 4,721.3 4,808.1 4,809.7 4,814.2 4.5

Nursing and residential care facilities1

. . . . 3,163.5 3,182.6 3,185.3 3,191.8 3,167.1 3,190.7 3,189.3 3,194.8 5.5

Nursing care facilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,667.5 1,660.2 1,658.0 1,658.6 1,668.9 1,664.8 1,660.9 1,660.5 -0.4

Social assistance1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,628.5 2,643.6 2,647.3 2,659.5 2,593.1 2,624.4 2,623.4 2,624.6 1.2

Child day care services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 872.4 856.4 859.4 866.0 847.5 838.3 837.8 839.9 2.1

Leisure and hospitality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,517 13,230 13,507 13,819 13,280 13,591 13,585 13,576 -9

Arts, entertainment, and recreation. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,972.5 1,797.9 1,879.6 1,975.5 1,899.3 1,942.6 1,924.0 1,905.3 -18.7

Performing arts and spectator sports. . . . . . . . . 406.6 388.3 413.4 428.7 386.6 409.6 407.8 407.7 -0.1

Museums, historical sites, and similar

institutions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136.1 127.6 131.5 136.3 130.7 135.4 133.6 131.6 -2.0

Amusements, gambling, and recreation. . . . . . 1,429.8 1,282.0 1,334.7 1,410.5 1,382.0 1,397.6 1,382.6 1,366.0 -16.6

Accommodation and food services. . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,544.5 11,431.6 11,627.1 11,843.4 11,380.2 11,648.0 11,661.3 11,670.2 8.9

Accommodation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,786.5 1,740.7 1,761.5 1,814.4 1,790.6 1,809.0 1,813.7 1,815.5 1.8

Food services and drinking places. . . . . . . . . . . 9,758.0 9,690.9 9,865.6 10,029.0 9,589.6 9,839.0 9,847.6 9,854.7 7.1

Other services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,358 5,335 5,353 5,386 5,338 5,360 5,359 5,365 6

Repair and maintenance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,168.3 1,156.1 1,160.3 1,166.7 1,158.9 1,158.8 1,157.3 1,157.8 0.5

Personal and laundry services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,297.3 1,287.2 1,296.2 1,308.1 1,282.8 1,293.4 1,292.6 1,293.3 0.7

Membership associations and organizations. . . . 2,892.4 2,891.4 2,896.7 2,911.4 2,896.1 2,908.1 2,908.7 2,913.4 4.7

Government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,535 22,405 22,401 22,390 22,130 21,992 21,982 21,969 -13

Federal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,871.0 2,811.0 2,823.0 2,823.0 2,869.0 2,826.0 2,824.0 2,819.0 -5.0

Federal, except U.S. Postal Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,237.5 2,197.5 2,201.2 2,210.7 2,232.5 2,208.6 2,206.1 2,204.1 -2.0

U.S. Postal Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 633.2 613.8 622.1 612.2 636.8 617.7 618.2 615.3 -2.9

State government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,120.0 5,212.0 5,222.0 5,111.0 5,087.0 5,073.0 5,078.0 5,073.0 -5.0

State government education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,404.7 2,563.4 2,568.4 2,447.6 2,376.6 2,414.3 2,420.5 2,416.8 -3.7

State government, excluding education. . . . . . . . . . . 2,715.3 2,648.9 2,654.0 2,662.9 2,710.2 2,658.3 2,657.3 2,656.2 -1.1

Local government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,544.0 14,382.0 14,356.0 14,456.0 14,174.0 14,093.0 14,080.0 14,077.0 -3.0

Local government education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,278.9 8,230.7 8,185.6 8,217.1 7,899.2 7,845.8 7,833.9 7,830.6 -3.3

Local government, excluding education. . . . . . . . . . . 6,265.0 6,151.0 6,170.4 6,238.8 6,274.3 6,246.7 6,245.6 6,246.0 0.4

1 Includes other industries, not shown separately.

2 Includes motor vehicles, motor vehicle bodies and trailers, and motor vehicle parts.

3 Includes ambulatory health care services, hospitals, and nursing and residential care facilities.

p Preliminary
ESTABLISHMENT DATA

Table B-2. Average weekly hours and overtime of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry

sector, seasonally adjusted

Industry May

2011

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012p

May

2012p

AVERAGE WEEKLY HOURS

Total private.............................................................................. 34.4 34.5 34.5 34.4

Goods-producing..................................................................... 40.0 40.2 40.3 40.1

Mining and logging................................................................ 44.7 44.1 44.0 43.7

Construction........................................................................ 38.4 38.5 38.7 38.5

Manufacturing...................................................................... 40.5 40.7 40.8 40.5

Durable goods................................................................... 40.8 41.1 41.1 40.9

Nondurable goods............................................................... 39.9 40.0 40.1 39.9

Private service-providing............................................................ 33.3 33.4 33.3 33.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities............................................... 34.5 34.7 34.6 34.5

Wholesale trade................................................................. 38.6 38.7 38.6 38.6

Retail trade....................................................................... 31.5 31.9 31.8 31.5

Transportation and warehousing.............................................. 38.7 38.2 38.3 38.2

Utilities............................................................................ 42.0 41.4 41.7 41.5

Information.......................................................................... 36.6 36.6 36.5 36.3

Financial activities................................................................. 37.2 37.2 37.2 37.1

Professional and business services............................................. 35.7 35.9 35.9 35.8

Education and health services................................................... 33.0 32.9 32.9 32.9

Leisure and hospitality............................................................ 25.8 26.1 26.1 26.0

Other services...................................................................... 31.8 31.7 31.6 31.6

AVERAGE OVERTIME HOURS

Manufacturing............................................................................ 3.1 3.3 3.3 3.2

Durable goods........................................................................ 3.1 3.3 3.3 3.2

Nondurable goods.................................................................... 3.2 3.3 3.3 3.2

p Preliminary
ESTABLISHMENT DATA

Table B-3. Average hourly and weekly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry

sector, seasonally adjusted

Industry

Average hourly earnings Average weekly earnings

May

2011

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012p

May

2012p

May

2011

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012p

May

2012p

Total private................................................. $23.02 $23.37 $23.39 $23.41 $ 791.89 $ 806.27 $ 806.96 $ 805.30

Goods-producing........................................ 24.39 24.67 24.70 24.69 975.60 991.73 995.41 990.07

Mining and logging................................... 28.23 28.82 28.77 28.74 1,261.88 1,270.96 1,265.88 1,255.94

Construction........................................... 25.38 25.65 25.68 25.75 974.59 987.53 993.82 991.38

Manufacturing......................................... 23.67 23.92 23.96 23.92 958.64 973.54 977.57 968.76

Durable goods...................................... 25.19 25.31 25.35 25.29 1,027.75 1,040.24 1,041.89 1,034.36

Nondurable goods................................. 21.15 21.54 21.58 21.57 843.89 861.60 865.36 860.64

Private service-providing............................... 22.70 23.07 23.07 23.11 755.91 770.54 768.23 767.25

Trade, transportation, and utilities.................. 20.00 20.29 20.32 20.36 690.00 704.06 703.07 702.42

Wholesale trade.................................... 26.30 26.66 26.65 26.70 1,015.18 1,031.74 1,028.69 1,030.62

Retail trade.......................................... 15.84 16.10 16.13 16.14 498.96 513.59 512.93 508.41

Transportation and warehousing................. 21.52 21.94 22.02 22.02 832.82 838.11 843.37 841.16

Utilities............................................... 33.66 33.68 33.72 33.54 1,413.72 1,394.35 1,406.12 1,391.91

Information............................................. 31.59 31.65 31.74 31.76 1,156.19 1,158.39 1,158.51 1,152.89

Financial activities.................................... 27.73 28.83 28.85 29.01 1,031.56 1,072.48 1,073.22 1,076.27

Professional and business services................ 27.65 28.03 27.98 28.04 987.11 1,006.28 1,004.48 1,003.83

Education and health services...................... 23.61 24.07 24.05 24.06 779.13 791.90 791.25 791.57

Leisure and hospitality............................... 13.24 13.32 13.35 13.29 341.59 347.65 348.44 345.54

Other services......................................... 20.41 20.55 20.54 20.59 649.04 651.44 649.06 650.64

p Preliminary
ESTABLISHMENT DATA

Table B-4. Indexes of aggregate weekly hours and payrolls for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls by

industry sector, seasonally adjusted

[2007=100]

Industry

Index of aggregate weekly hours1

Index of aggregate weekly payrolls2

May

2011

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012p

May

2012p

Percent

change

from:

Apr.

2012 -

May

2012p

May

2011

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012p

May

2012p

Percent

change

from:

Apr.

2012 -

May

2012p

Total private....................................... 94.0 95.9 95.9 95.7 -0.2 103.2 106.8 107.0 106.9 -0.1

Goods-producing............................... 82.0 83.9 84.1 83.6 -0.6 90.4 93.5 93.9 93.3 -0.6

Mining and logging.......................... 109.1 116.0 115.7 115.1 -0.5 123.7 134.2 133.7 132.8 -0.7

Construction.................................. 72.8 73.6 74.0 73.2 -1.1 80.3 82.1 82.5 81.9 -0.7

Manufacturing................................ 85.4 87.4 87.6 87.1 -0.6 94.0 97.2 97.7 96.9 -0.8

Durable goods............................ 83.4 86.3 86.4 86.1 -0.3 93.4 97.0 97.3 96.7 -0.6

Nondurable goods........................ 88.9 89.4 89.6 89.1 -0.6 95.4 97.7 98.1 97.5 -0.6

Private service-providing...................... 97.4 99.3 99.1 98.9 -0.2 107.1 111.0 110.7 110.7 0.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities......... 93.8 95.3 95.1 95.0 -0.1 100.9 104.0 104.0 104.1 0.1

Wholesale trade........................... 93.1 94.5 94.4 94.7 0.3 102.1 105.1 105.0 105.5 0.5

Retail trade................................ 93.6 95.4 95.3 94.4 -0.9 98.0 101.6 101.6 100.7 -0.9

Transportation and warehousing. . . . . .. 95.0 95.3 95.2 95.7 0.5 103.7 106.1 106.4 107.0 0.6

Utilities..................................... 100.8 100.6 101.3 100.8 -0.5 112.1 112.0 112.8 111.7 -1.0

Information................................... 89.3 87.9 87.7 87.1 -0.7 100.4 99.1 99.1 98.5 -0.6

Financial activities........................... 94.3 94.6 94.6 94.4 -0.2 102.1 106.5 106.6 106.9 0.3

Professional and business services....... 97.1 100.4 100.6 100.3 -0.3 108.8 114.0 114.0 114.0 0.0

Education and health services............. 106.5 108.4 108.5 108.8 0.3 117.8 122.2 122.3 122.6 0.2

Leisure and hospitality...................... 97.8 101.2 101.2 100.7 -0.5 104.4 108.8 109.0 108.0 -0.9

Other services............................... 94.1 94.1 93.8 93.9 0.1 108.9 109.8 109.4 109.8 0.4

1 The indexes of aggregate weekly hours are calculated by dividing the current month’s estimates of aggregate hours by the corresponding 2007 annual

average aggregate hours. Aggregate hours estimates are the product of estimates of average weekly hours and employment.

2 The indexes of aggregate weekly payrolls are calculated by dividing the current month’s estimates of aggregate weekly payrolls by the corresponding

2007 annual average aggregate weekly payrolls. Aggregate payrolls estimates are the product of estimates of average hourly earnings, average weekly

hours, and employment.

p Preliminary
ESTABLISHMENT DATA

Table B-5. Employment of women on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted

Industry

Women employees (in thousands) Percent of all employees

May

2011

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012p

May

2012p

May

2011

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012p

May

2012p

Total nonfarm............................................... 64,968 65,540 65,624 65,719 49.5 49.3 49.4 49.4

Total private.............................................. 52,324 52,974 53,060 53,158 48.0 47.8 47.8 47.9

Goods-producing...................................... 4,057 4,076 4,087 4,086 22.5 22.3 22.3 22.3

Mining and logging................................. 104 112 112 112 13.4 13.4 13.4 13.4

Construction........................................ 704 707 709 705 12.8 12.7 12.8 12.8

Manufacturing....................................... 3,249 3,257 3,266 3,269 27.7 27.3 27.4 27.3

Durable goods................................... 1,717 1,729 1,734 1,735 23.6 23.2 23.2 23.2

Nondurable goods............................... 1,532 1,528 1,532 1,534 34.3 34.1 34.2 34.3

Private service-providing............................. 48,267 48,898 48,973 49,072 53.0 52.8 52.9 52.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities............... 10,037 10,037 10,055 10,091 40.2 39.8 39.8 39.9

Wholesale trade................................. 1,659.3 1,682.5 1,686.1 1,689.2 30.0 30.1 30.1 30.0

Retail trade....................................... 7,232.4 7,204.2 7,223.0 7,248.2 49.4 48.9 49.0 49.1

Transportation and warehousing.............. 1,009.7 1,010.8 1,006.1 1,013.0 23.6 23.2 23.2 23.1

Utilities............................................ 135.4 139.3 140.0 140.1 24.4 24.8 24.9 25.0

Information.......................................... 1,084 1,063 1,064 1,062 40.6 40.4 40.5 40.4

Financial activities.................................. 4,496 4,485 4,477 4,474 58.4 58.1 58.0 57.9

Professional and business services............. 7,682 7,880 7,901 7,906 44.4 44.3 44.3 44.4

Education and health services................... 15,229 15,520 15,545 15,594 76.8 76.7 76.7 76.8

Leisure and hospitality............................. 6,927 7,094 7,103 7,107 52.2 52.2 52.3 52.3

Other services...................................... 2,812 2,819 2,828 2,838 52.7 52.6 52.8 52.9

Government.............................................. 12,644 12,566 12,564 12,561 57.1 57.1 57.2 57.2

p Preliminary

NOTE: Data in this table have been corrected. For more information see http://www.bls.gov/bls/ceswomen_usps_correction.htm.
ESTABLISHMENT DATA

Table B-6. Employment of production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry

sector, seasonally adjusted1

[In thousands]

Industry May

2011

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012p

May

2012p

Total private................................................................................ 89,929 91,595 91,688 91,741

Goods-producing........................................................................ 12,967 13,241 13,239 13,213

Mining and logging................................................................... 584 633 635 633

Construction........................................................................... 4,155 4,199 4,184 4,146

Manufacturing......................................................................... 8,228 8,409 8,420 8,434

Durable goods...................................................................... 4,977 5,143 5,157 5,171

Nondurable goods................................................................. 3,251 3,266 3,263 3,263

Private service-providing............................................................... 76,962 78,354 78,449 78,528

Trade, transportation, and utilities.................................................. 21,164 21,422 21,454 21,500

Wholesale trade.................................................................... 4,428.0 4,503.6 4,515.3 4,532.9

Retail trade......................................................................... 12,601.5 12,708.9 12,733.8 12,732.0

Transportation and warehousing................................................. 3,690.9 3,761.8 3,757.7 3,791.3

Utilities............................................................................... 443.6 447.5 446.7 443.4

Information............................................................................ 2,146 2,119 2,120 2,118

Financial activities.................................................................... 5,895 5,924 5,932 5,942

Professional and business services................................................ 14,213 14,658 14,695 14,702

Education and health services...................................................... 17,362 17,741 17,768 17,803

Leisure and hospitality............................................................... 11,713 12,003 11,998 11,984

Other services........................................................................ 4,469 4,487 4,482 4,479

1 Data relate to production employees in mining and logging and manufacturing, construction employees in construction, and nonsupervisory employees

in the service-providing industries. These groups account for approximately four-fifths of the total employment on private nonfarm payrolls.

p Preliminary
ESTABLISHMENT DATA

Table B-7. Average weekly hours and overtime of production and nonsupervisory employees on private

nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted1

Industry May

2011

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012p

May

2012p

AVERAGE WEEKLY HOURS

Total private.............................................................................. 33.6 33.7 33.7 33.7

Goods-producing..................................................................... 40.9 41.2 41.2 41.0

Mining and logging................................................................ 46.5 47.2 47.6 46.9

Construction........................................................................ 39.1 39.3 39.3 39.0

Manufacturing...................................................................... 41.5 41.6 41.7 41.5

Durable goods................................................................... 41.8 42.1 42.1 41.9

Nondurable goods............................................................... 40.9 40.9 41.0 40.8

Private service-providing............................................................ 32.4 32.5 32.4 32.5

Trade, transportation, and utilities............................................... 33.7 33.8 33.8 33.8

Wholesale trade................................................................. 38.6 38.6 38.6 38.5

Retail trade....................................................................... 30.4 30.7 30.6 30.6

Transportation and warehousing.............................................. 37.9 37.7 37.8 38.1

Utilities............................................................................ 42.4 40.4 41.1 41.2

Information.......................................................................... 36.4 36.0 35.9 35.7

Financial activities................................................................. 36.4 36.7 36.6 36.5

Professional and business services............................................. 35.2 35.2 35.2 35.3

Education and health services................................................... 32.3 32.4 32.3 32.3

Leisure and hospitality............................................................ 24.8 25.0 24.9 24.9

Other services...................................................................... 30.8 30.7 30.6 30.5

AVERAGE OVERTIME HOURS

Manufacturing............................................................................ 4.1 4.2 4.2 4.1

Durable goods........................................................................ 4.2 4.4 4.4 4.3

Nondurable goods.................................................................... 4.0 4.0 3.9 3.9

1 Data relate to production employees in mining and logging and manufacturing, construction employees in construction, and nonsupervisory employees

in the service-providing industries. These groups account for approximately four-fifths of the total employment on private nonfarm payrolls.

p Preliminary
ESTABLISHMENT DATA

Table B-8. Average hourly and weekly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees on private

nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted1

Industry

Average hourly earnings Average weekly earnings

May

2011

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012p

May

2012p

May

2011

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012p

May

2012p

Total private................................................. $19.43 $19.67 $19.71 $19.70 $ 652.85 $ 662.88 $ 664.23 $ 663.89

Goods-producing........................................ 20.63 20.89 20.93 20.91 843.77 860.67 862.32 857.31

Mining and logging................................... 24.46 25.62 25.77 25.66 1,137.39 1,209.26 1,226.65 1,203.45

Construction........................................... 23.57 23.93 23.91 23.98 921.59 940.45 939.66 935.22

Manufacturing......................................... 18.92 19.06 19.12 19.09 785.18 792.90 797.30 792.24

Durable goods...................................... 20.11 20.16 20.21 20.19 840.60 848.74 850.84 845.96

Nondurable goods................................. 17.05 17.28 17.36 17.29 697.35 706.75 711.76 705.43

Private service-providing............................... 19.18 19.41 19.45 19.44 621.43 630.83 630.18 631.80

Trade, transportation, and utilities.................. 17.12 17.36 17.39 17.39 576.94 586.77 587.78 587.78

Wholesale trade.................................... 21.98 22.14 22.17 22.20 848.43 854.60 855.76 854.70

Retail trade.......................................... 13.43 13.78 13.77 13.83 408.27 423.05 421.36 423.20

Transportation and warehousing................. 19.45 19.58 19.63 19.44 737.16 738.17 742.01 740.66

Utilities............................................... 30.84 31.11 31.58 31.29 1,307.62 1,256.84 1,297.94 1,289.15

Information............................................. 26.61 26.79 26.93 26.63 968.60 964.44 966.79 950.69

Financial activities.................................... 21.80 22.45 22.53 22.58 793.52 823.92 824.60 824.17

Professional and business services................ 23.10 23.24 23.25 23.27 813.12 818.05 818.40 821.43

Education and health services...................... 20.71 21.01 21.04 21.00 668.93 680.72 679.59 678.30

Leisure and hospitality............................... 11.49 11.58 11.64 11.58 284.95 289.50 289.84 288.34

Other services......................................... 17.28 17.37 17.38 17.41 532.22 533.26 531.83 531.01

1 Data relate to production employees in mining and logging and manufacturing, construction employees in construction, and nonsupervisory employees

in the service-providing industries. These groups account for approximately four-fifths of the total employment on private nonfarm payrolls.

p Preliminary
ESTABLISHMENT DATA

Table B-9. Indexes of aggregate weekly hours and payrolls for production and nonsupervisory employees on

private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted1

[2002=100]

Industry

Index of aggregate weekly hours2

Index of aggregate weekly payrolls3

May

2011

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012p

May

2012p

Percent

change

from:

Apr.

2012 -

May

2012p

May

2011

Mar.

2012

Apr.

2012p

May

2012p

Percent

change

from:

Apr.

2012 -

May

2012p

Total private....................................... 101.0 103.1 103.2 103.3 0.1 131.1 135.5 136.0 136.0 0.0

Goods-producing............................... 81.0 83.4 83.4 82.8 -0.7 102.4 106.7 106.8 106.0 -0.7

Mining and logging.......................... 144.3 158.8 160.6 157.8 -1.7 205.3 236.6 240.7 235.4 -2.2

Construction.................................. 81.3 82.6 82.3 81.0 -1.6 103.5 106.8 106.3 104.8 -1.4

Manufacturing................................ 78.4 80.3 80.6 80.3 -0.4 97.0 100.1 100.8 100.3 -0.5

Durable goods............................ 78.2 81.4 81.6 81.4 -0.2 98.2 102.4 103.0 102.6 -0.4

Nondurable goods........................ 78.3 78.7 78.8 78.4 -0.5 94.4 96.1 96.7 95.8 -0.9

Private service-providing...................... 106.6 108.9 108.7 109.1 0.4 140.2 144.9 144.9 145.5 0.4

Trade, transportation, and utilities......... 99.4 100.9 101.1 101.3 0.2 121.4 125.0 125.4 125.7 0.2

Wholesale trade........................... 100.7 102.4 102.6 102.8 0.2 130.3 133.5 134.0 134.4 0.3

Retail trade................................ 97.0 98.8 98.6 98.6 0.0 111.6 116.6 116.4 116.9 0.4

Transportation and warehousing. . . . . .. 105.3 106.8 106.9 108.7 1.7 129.9 132.6 133.1 134.1 0.8

Utilities..................................... 96.2 92.5 93.9 93.4 -0.5 123.8 120.1 123.8 122.0 -1.5

Information................................... 89.2 87.1 86.9 86.3 -0.7 117.4 115.5 115.8 113.8 -1.7

Financial activities........................... 102.7 104.0 103.9 103.8 -0.1 138.4 144.4 144.7 144.9 0.1

Professional and business services....... 112.1 115.6 115.9 116.3 0.3 154.1 159.9 160.4 161.1 0.4

Education and health services............. 121.0 124.0 123.8 124.0 0.2 164.7 171.3 171.2 171.2 0.0

Leisure and hospitality...................... 106.4 109.9 109.4 109.3 -0.1 138.8 144.5 144.7 143.7 -0.7

Other services............................... 96.5 96.6 96.2 95.8 -0.4 121.5 122.3 121.8 121.5 -0.2

1 Data relate to production employees in mining and logging and manufacturing, construction employees in construction, and nonsupervisory employees

in the service-providing industries. These groups account for approximately four-fifths of the total employment on private nonfarm payrolls.

2 The indexes of aggregate weekly hours are calculated by dividing the current month’s estimates of aggregate hours by the corresponding 2002 annual

average aggregate hours. Aggregate hours estimates are the product of estimates of average weekly hours and employment.

3 The indexes of aggregate weekly payrolls are calculated by dividing the current month’s estimates of aggregate weekly payrolls by the corresponding

2002 annual average aggregate weekly payrolls. Aggregate payrolls estimates are the product of estimates of average hourly earnings, average weekly

hours, and employment.

p Preliminary