Internet address:  http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm
Technical information:              USDL 98-407
   Household data:  (202) 606-6378
                                    Transmission of material in this
                                    release is embargoed until
   Establishment data:    606-6555  8:30 A.M. (EDT),
Media contact:            606-5902  Friday, October 2, 1998.


                 THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION:  SEPTEMBER 1998


  Payroll employment rose slightly, and unemployment was virtually
unchanged at 4.6 percent in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of
the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  Nonfarm payroll employment
was up by only 69,000.  The number of manufacturing and construction jobs
declined, and growth in the services industry was weak for the second month
in a row.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
     
  Both the number of unemployed persons, 6.3 million, and the unemployment
rate, 4.6 percent, remained essentially unchanged in September.  The
jobless rate has been at or below 5 percent since April 1997.  Among the
major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (3.8 percent),
adult women (4.0 percent), teenagers (15.4 percent), whites (3.9 percent),
blacks (9.2 percent), and Hispanics (7.4 percent) showed little movement in
September.  (See tables A-1 and A-2.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
     
  Total employment rose by 597,000 in September to 131.8 million, after
seasonal adjustment.  Over the year, employment has risen by 2.3 million,
after adjusting for changes in the composite estimation procedure
introduced with the January 1998 data.  Over the month, the employment-
population ratio--the proportion of the population age 16 and older with
jobs--increased by 0.3 percentage point to 64.1 percent.  (See table A-1.)
  
  About 7.9 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one
job in September.  These multiple jobholders comprised 6.0 percent of the
total employed, the same as a year earlier.  (See table A-10.)
  
  The civilian labor force increased by 660,000 in September to 138.1
million (seasonally adjusted).  Over the year, the labor force has grown by
1.9 million, after adjusting for the changes in the composite estimation
procedure.  In September, the labor force participation rate edged up to
67.1 percent.  (See table A-1.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
     
  About 1.4 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally
attached to the labor force in September, little changed over the year.
These were people who wanted and were available for work and had looked 

                                  - 2 -

Table A.  Major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
___________________________________________________________________________
                      |   Quarterly     |       Monthly data       |
                      |   averages      |                          |
                      |_________________|__________________________| Aug.-
      Category        |     1998 1/     |          1998 1/         | Sept.
                      |_________________|__________________________|change
                      |   II   |  III   |  July  |  Aug.  |  Sept. |
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
    HOUSEHOLD DATA    |                 Labor force status
                      |____________________________________________________
Civilian labor force..| 137,351| 137,596| 137,296| 137,415| 138,075|    660
  Employment..........| 131,349| 131,333| 131,067| 131,168| 131,765|    597
  Unemployment........|   6,002|   6,262|   6,230|   6,247|   6,310|     63
Not in labor force....|  67,554|  67,887|  67,973|  68,064|  67,624|   -440
                      |________|________|________|________|________|_______
                      |                 Unemployment rates
                      |____________________________________________________
All workers...........|     4.4|     4.6|     4.5|     4.5|     4.6|    0.1
  Adult men...........|     3.6|     3.8|     3.9|     3.7|     3.8|     .1
  Adult women.........|     4.0|     4.0|     4.0|     4.1|     4.0|    -.1
  Teenagers...........|    14.0|    14.7|    13.8|    15.0|    15.4|     .4
  White...............|     3.8|     3.9|     3.8|     4.0|     3.9|    -.1
  Black...............|     8.7|     9.3|     9.7|     9.0|     9.2|     .2
  Hispanic origin.....|     6.9|     7.4|     7.2|     7.5|     7.4|    -.1
                      |________|________|________|________|________|_______
 ESTABLISHMENT DATA 2/|                     Employment
                      |____________________________________________________
Nonfarm employment....| 125,516|p126,098| 125,869|p126,178|p126,247|    p69
  Goods-producing 2/..|  25,315| p25,203|  25,135| p25,255| p25,219|   p-36
    Construction......|   5,931|  p5,977|   5,970|  p5,991|  p5,971|   p-20
    Manufacturing.....|  18,804| p18,655|  18,594| p18,693| p18,677|   p-16
  Service-producing 2/| 100,201|p100,895| 100,734|p100,923|p101,028|   p105
    Retail trade......|  22,402| p22,553|  22,547| p22,537| p22,574|    p37
    Services..........|  37,347| p37,675|  37,614| p37,693| p37,717|    p24
    Government........|  19,802| p19,886|  19,826| p19,915| p19,916|     p1
                      |________|________|________|________|________|_______
                      |                  Hours of work 3/
                      |____________________________________________________
Total private.........|    34.6|   p34.5|    34.6|   p34.6|   p34.4|  p-0.2
  Manufacturing.......|    41.7|   p41.7|    41.7|   p41.7|   p41.7|    p.0
    Overtime..........|     4.6|    p4.6|     4.6|    p4.6|    p4.5|   p-.1
                      |________|________|________|________|________|_______
                      |    Indexes of aggregate weekly hours (1982=100) 3/
                      |____________________________________________________
Total private.........|   144.6|  p145.0|   145.2|  p145.3|  p144.6|  p-0.7
                      |________|________|________|________|________|_______
                      |                      Earnings 3/
                      |____________________________________________________
Avg. hourly earnings, |        |        |        |        |        |
  total private.......|  $12.73| p$12.83|  $12.79| p$12.85| p$12.86| p$0.01
Avg. weekly earnings, |        |        |        |        |        |
  total private.......|  440.46| p443.17|  442.53| p444.61| p442.38| p-2.23
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
    1/ Beginning in January 1998, household data reflect new composite
estimation procedures and revised population controls.
    2/ Includes other industries, not shown separately.
    3/ Data relate to private production or nonsupervisory workers.
    p=preliminary.

                                  - 3 -

for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but were not counted as 
unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks
preceding the survey.
  
  The number of discouraged workers--a subset of the marginally attached
who were not currently looking for work specifically because they believed
no jobs were available for them--was 317,000 in September, about the same as
a year earlier.  (See table A-10.)
  
Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)
     
  Nonfarm payroll employment, at 126.2 million, increased by only 69,000
in September, after seasonal adjustment.  After adjusting for the direct
impact of recent strikes and related shutdowns in automobile-related
manufacturing (which affected about 150,000 jobs), the past 3 months show
gains of about 270,000 in July, about 160,000 in August, and 69,000 in
September.  The September figure reflected an unusually small increase in
services and declines in manufacturing and construction.  (See table B-1.)
  
  Manufacturing employment decreased by 16,000 in September; since March,
it has fallen by 152,000.  All of the loss in September was in durable
goods (-29,000).  The largest declines occurred in electronic equipment
(-7,000) and industrial machinery (-8,000); these two industries have
accounted for nearly two-fifths of all factory job losses since March. In
nondurable goods, employment in food and kindred products increased by
15,000 in September; weak summer hiring resulted in fewer layoffs than
usual, yielding a large employment gain after seasonal adjustment.
Employment in textiles also grew (3,000), although employment in the
industry has been on a downward trend for many years.
  
  Construction employment decreased by 20,000 in September, with losses
occurring throughout the industry.  Despite this drop, construction has
added 258,000 jobs over the year.  Employment in mining was unchanged for
the second straight month, but the industry has lost 23,000 jobs over the
last 12 months.
  
  The services industry added only 24,000 jobs in September, well below
its monthly average through August of this year (112,000).  Health services
employment rose by 15,000, with gains in hospitals (9,000) and doctors'
offices (8,000).  In contrast, home health care services continued to
decline and has lost 49,000 jobs over the year.  Other industries that
added workers in September were amusement and recreation services (23,000)
and social services (13,000).  Employment also increased in computer and
data processing services (10,000) and in engineering and management
services (6,000).  In both industries, however, the gains in both August
and September were well below the average for the first 7 months of the
year.  The gains in various service industries were largely offset by the
loss of 44,000 jobs in help supply services, where employment returned to
its January level.
  
  Finance, insurance, and real estate resumed its strong pace of job growth
in September (23,000), following an unusually small increase in August.
Employment in real estate increased by 9,000 in September, after decreasing
by almost as much in August.  Finance and insurance continued to grow, adding
8,000 and 6,000 jobs, respectively.  Within finance, there were continued
gains in mortgage brokerages, security brokerages, and other investment
offices.
  
  Employment in retail trade was up by 37,000 in September, following a
decline in August.  The largest growth occurred in eating and drinking
places (27,000).  Wholesale trade employment increased by 14,000 in
September after only moderate growth in the prior 3 months.

                                  - 4 -

  Transportation and public utilities experienced only moderate growth in
September (6,000) due to a strike in communications.  Employment in
transportation increased by 9,000, with most of this growth occurring in
air transportation.
  
  There was little change in government employment in September.  Over the
past 12 months, public-sector employment has risen by 309,000, with over
half of the increase taking place in local education.
  
Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)
  
  The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private
nonfarm payrolls decreased by 0.2 hour in September to 34.4 hours,
seasonally adjusted.  The manufacturing workweek was unchanged at 41.7
hours.  Factory overtime edged down over the month by 0.1 hour to 4.5
hours.  (See table B-2.)
  
  The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory
workers on private nonfarm payrolls decreased by 0.5 percent to 144.6
(1982=100), seasonally adjusted.  The manufacturing index was virtually
unchanged in September at 108.0.  (See table B-5.)
  
Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)
  
  Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on
private nonfarm payrolls edged up 1 cent in September to $12.86, seasonally
adjusted.  For the 3 months ending in September, the increase in average
hourly earnings (10 cents) was less than the increase in each of the prior
four quarters (13 cents).  Average weekly earnings decreased by 0.5 percent
over the month to $442.38.  Over the year, average hourly and weekly
earnings have risen by 4.0 and 3.4 percent, respectively.  (See table B-3.)
                                     
                 ________________________________________
   
   The Employment Situation for October 1998 is scheduled to be released on
Friday, November 6, at 8:30 A.M. (EST).
                                  - 5 -

Explanatory Note


 This news release presents statistics from two major surveys, the Current
Population Survey (household survey) and the Current Employment Statistics
survey (establishment survey).  The household survey provides the
information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment that appears
in the A tables, marked HOUSEHOLD DATA.  It is a sample survey of about
50,000 households  conducted by the Bureau of the Census  for the Bureau of
Labor Statistics (BLS).
 
 The establishment survey provides the information on the employment,
hours, and earnings of workers on nonfarm payrolls that appears in the B
tables, marked ESTABLISHMENT DATA.  This information is collected from
payroll records by BLS in cooperation with State agencies.  In June 1998,
the sample included about 390,000 establishments employing about 48 million
people.
 
 For both surveys, the data for a given month  relate to a particular week
or pay period.  In the household survey,  the reference week 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.
 
 Establishment survey.  The sample establishments are drawn from private
nonfarm businesses such as factories, offices, and stores, as well as
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 for private businesses and relate
only to production workers in the goods-producing sector and nonsupervisory
workers in the service-producing sector.

                                  - 6 -
 
 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 would be counted separately for each
appearance.
 
 Other differences between the two surveys are described in   "Comparing
Employment Estimates from Household and Payroll Surveys," which may be
obtained from BLS upon request.

Seasonal adjustment
 
 Over the course of a year, the size of the nation's labor force and the
levels of employment and unemployment undergo sharp fluctuations due to
such seasonal events as changes in weather, reduced or expanded production,
harvests, major holidays, and the opening and closing of schools.  The
effect of such seasonal  variation can  be  very large; seasonal
fluctuations may account for as much as 95 percent of the month-to-month
changes in unemployment.
 
 Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each
year, their influence on statistical trends can be eliminated by adjusting
the statistics from month to month.  These adjustments make nonseasonal
developments, such as declines in economic activity or increases in the
participation of women in the labor force, easier to spot.  For example,
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.  However, because the effect of students finishing school in
previous years is known, the statistics for the current year can be
adjusted to allow for a comparable change.  Insofar as the seasonal
adjustment is made correctly, the adjusted figure provides a more useful
tool with which to analyze changes in economic activity.
 
 In both the household and establishment surveys, most seasonally adjusted
series are independently adjusted.  However, the adjusted series for many
major estimates, such as total payroll employment, employment in most major
industry divisions, 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 age-
sex 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.
 
 The numerical factors used to make the seasonal adjustments are
recalculated twice a year.  For the household survey, the factors are
calculated for the January-June period and again for the July-December

                                  - 7 -

period.  For the establishment survey, updated factors for seasonal
adjustment are calculated for the May-October period and introduced along
with new benchmarks, and again for the November-April period.  In both
surveys, 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
employment from the household survey is on the order of plus or minus
376,000.  Suppose the estimate of total employment increases by 100,000
from one month to the next.  The 90-percent confidence interval on the
monthly change would range from -276,000 to 476,000 (100,000 +/- 376,000).
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
employment had, in fact, increased.  If, however, the reported employment
rise was half a million, 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 an employment rise had, in fact,
occurred.  The 90-percent confidence interval for the monthly change in
unemployment is +/- 258,000, and for the monthly change in the unemployment
rate it is +/- .21 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 is also improved when the data are cumulated over time such as
for quarterly and annual averages.  The seasonal adjustment process can
also improve the stability of the monthly estimates.
 
 The household and establishment surveys are also affected by nonsampling
error.  Nonsampling errors 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 substantially 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
(and other sources of error), a process known as bias adjustment is
included in the survey's estimating procedures, whereby a specified number
of jobs is added to the monthly sample-based change.  The size of the

                                  - 8 -

monthly bias adjustment is based largely on past relationships between the
sample-based estimates of employment and the total counts of employment
described below.
 
 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, the
benchmark revision for total nonfarm employment has averaged 0.2 percent,
ranging from zero to 0.6 percent.

Additional statistics and other information
 
 More comprehensive statistics are contained in Employment and Earnings,
published each month by BLS.  It is available for $17.00 per issue or
$35.00 per year from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC
20402.  All orders must be prepaid by sending a check or money order
payable to the Superintendent of Documents, or by charging to Mastercard or
Visa.
 
 Employment and Earnings also provides measures of sampling error for the
household survey data published in this release.  For unemployment and
other labor force categories, these measures appear in tables 1-B through
1-H of its "Explanatory Notes."  Measures of the reliability of the data
drawn from the establishment survey and the actual amounts of revision due
to benchmark adjustments are provided in tables 2-B through 2-G of that
publication.
 
 Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request.  Voice phone:  202-606-STAT; TDD phone:
202-606-5897; TDD message referral phone:  1-800-326-2577.
  HOUSEHOLD DATA                                                                                              HOUSEHOLD DATA
  
  Table A-1.  Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age

  (Numbers in thousands)
  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                    |                       |                                               
                                                    |                       |                                               
                                                    |Not seasonally adjusted|             Seasonally adjusted(1)            
                                                    |                       |                                               
           Employment status, sex, and age          |                       |                                               
                                                     _______________________________________________________________________
                                                    |                       |                                               
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    | Sept. |  Aug. | Sept. | Sept. |  May  |  June |  July |  Aug. | Sept. 
                                                    |  1997 |  1998 |  1998 |  1997 |  1998 |  1998 |  1998 |  1998 |  1998 
  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                        TOTAL                       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
  Civilian noninstitutional population..............|203,570|205,479|205,699|203,570|204,899|205,085|205,270|205,479|205,699
    Civilian labor force............................|136,375|138,379|137,903|136,439|137,364|137,447|137,296|137,415|138,075
          Participation rate........................|   67.0|   67.3|   67.0|   67.0|   67.0|   67.0|   66.9|   66.9|   67.1
      Employed......................................|129,972|132,206|131,864|129,761|131,453|131,209|131,067|131,168|131,765
          Employment-population ratio...............|   63.8|   64.3|   64.1|   63.7|   64.2|   64.0|   63.9|   63.8|   64.1
        Agriculture.................................|  3,569|  3,818|  3,671|  3,422|  3,335|  3,343|  3,441|  3,529|  3,518
        Nonagricultural industries..................|126,403|128,388|128,193|126,339|128,118|127,867|127,626|127,640|128,247
      Unemployed....................................|  6,403|  6,173|  6,039|  6,678|  5,910|  6,237|  6,230|  6,247|  6,310
          Unemployment rate.........................|    4.7|    4.5|    4.4|    4.9|    4.3|    4.5|    4.5|    4.5|    4.6
    Not in labor force..............................| 67,195| 67,100| 67,796| 67,131| 67,535| 67,639| 67,973| 68,064| 67,624
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                Men, 16 years and over              |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
  Civilian noninstitutional population..............| 97,946| 98,892| 99,006| 97,946| 98,591| 98,691| 98,785| 98,892| 99,006
    Civilian labor force............................| 73,068| 74,540| 73,954| 73,192| 73,783| 73,818| 74,027| 73,695| 74,165
          Participation rate........................|   74.6|   75.4|   74.7|   74.7|   74.8|   74.8|   74.9|   74.5|   74.9
      Employed......................................| 69,890| 71,537| 70,866| 69,656| 70,685| 70,570| 70,605| 70,441| 70,751
          Employment-population ratio...............|   71.4|   72.3|   71.6|   71.1|   71.7|   71.5|   71.5|   71.2|   71.5
      Unemployed....................................|  3,178|  3,003|  3,088|  3,536|  3,098|  3,249|  3,422|  3,253|  3,414
          Unemployment rate.........................|    4.3|    4.0|    4.2|    4.8|    4.2|    4.4|    4.6|    4.4|    4.6
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                Men, 20 years and over              |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
  Civilian noninstitutional population..............| 90,068| 90,889| 91,003| 90,068| 90,622| 90,700| 90,802| 90,889| 91,003
    Civilian labor force............................| 69,204| 69,823| 69,817| 69,136| 69,624| 69,545| 69,790| 69,490| 69,829
          Participation rate........................|   76.8|   76.8|   76.7|   76.8|   76.8|   76.7|   76.9|   76.5|   76.7
      Employed......................................| 66,648| 67,464| 67,416| 66,298| 67,190| 66,950| 67,040| 66,901| 67,185
          Employment-population ratio...............|   74.0|   74.2|   74.1|   73.6|   74.1|   73.8|   73.8|   73.6|   73.8
        Agriculture.................................|  2,474|  2,556|  2,526|  2,383|  2,324|  2,333|  2,394|  2,443|  2,424
        Nonagricultural industries..................| 64,174| 64,908| 64,890| 63,915| 64,866| 64,617| 64,646| 64,457| 64,761
      Unemployed....................................|  2,556|  2,359|  2,401|  2,838|  2,434|  2,595|  2,750|  2,589|  2,645
          Unemployment rate.........................|    3.7|    3.4|    3.4|    4.1|    3.5|    3.7|    3.9|    3.7|    3.8
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
               Women, 16 years and over             |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
  Civilian noninstitutional population..............|105,623|106,587|106,693|105,623|106,308|106,394|106,484|106,587|106,693
    Civilian labor force............................| 63,307| 63,839| 63,949| 63,247| 63,581| 63,628| 63,270| 63,721| 63,910
          Participation rate........................|   59.9|   59.9|   59.9|   59.9|   59.8|   59.8|   59.4|   59.8|   59.9
      Employed......................................| 60,082| 60,669| 60,998| 60,105| 60,768| 60,640| 60,462| 60,727| 61,014
          Employment-population ratio...............|   56.9|   56.9|   57.2|   56.9|   57.2|   57.0|   56.8|   57.0|   57.2
      Unemployed....................................|  3,225|  3,170|  2,951|  3,142|  2,813|  2,989|  2,808|  2,994|  2,896
          Unemployment rate.........................|    5.1|    5.0|    4.6|    5.0|    4.4|    4.7|    4.4|    4.7|    4.5
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
               Women, 20 years and over             |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
  Civilian noninstitutional population..............| 98,082| 98,901| 98,994| 98,082| 98,668| 98,735| 98,778| 98,901| 98,994
    Civilian labor force............................| 59,705| 59,426| 60,059| 59,432| 59,573| 59,599| 59,359| 59,712| 59,804
          Participation rate........................|   60.9|   60.1|   60.7|   60.6|   60.4|   60.4|   60.1|   60.4|   60.4
      Employed......................................| 57,038| 56,786| 57,610| 56,883| 57,253| 57,172| 57,000| 57,286| 57,435
          Employment-population ratio...............|   58.2|   57.4|   58.2|   58.0|   58.0|   57.9|   57.7|   57.9|   58.0
        Agriculture.................................|    886|    883|    834|    826|    755|    747|    793|    819|    773
        Nonagricultural industries..................| 56,153| 55,903| 56,776| 56,057| 56,499| 56,424| 56,207| 56,468| 56,663
      Unemployed....................................|  2,666|  2,639|  2,449|  2,549|  2,320|  2,427|  2,359|  2,426|  2,368
          Unemployment rate.........................|    4.5|    4.4|    4.1|    4.3|    3.9|    4.1|    4.0|    4.1|    4.0
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
              Both sexes, 16 to 19 years            |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
  Civilian  noninstitutional population.............| 15,420| 15,689| 15,702| 15,420| 15,609| 15,651| 15,690| 15,689| 15,702
    Civilian labor force............................|  7,466|  9,130|  8,027|  7,871|  8,166|  8,302|  8,147|  8,213|  8,442
          Participation rate........................|   48.4|   58.2|   51.1|   51.0|   52.3|   53.0|   51.9|   52.4|   53.8
      Employed......................................|  6,285|  7,955|  6,838|  6,580|  7,010|  7,088|  7,027|  6,981|  7,145
          Employment-population ratio...............|   40.8|   50.7|   43.5|   42.7|   44.9|   45.3|   44.8|   44.5|   45.5
        Agriculture.................................|    209|    379|    311|    213|    256|    262|    254|    267|    322
        Nonagricultural industries..................|  6,076|  7,577|  6,527|  6,367|  6,754|  6,826|  6,773|  6,715|  6,823
      Unemployed....................................|  1,181|  1,175|  1,189|  1,291|  1,156|  1,215|  1,120|  1,232|  1,297
          Unemployment rate.........................|   15.8|   12.9|   14.8|   16.4|   14.2|   14.6|   13.8|   15.0|   15.4
  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted
  and seasonally adjusted columns.
     NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used
  in the household survey.





  HOUSEHOLD DATA                                                                                              HOUSEHOLD DATA
  
  Table A-2.  Employment status of the civilian population by race, sex, age, and Hispanic origin

  (Numbers in thousands)
  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                    |                       |                                               
                                                    |                       |                                               
                                                    |Not seasonally adjusted|             Seasonally adjusted(1)            
                                                    |                       |                                               
        Employment status, race, sex, age, and      |                       |                                               
                                                     _______________________________________________________________________
                   Hispanic origin                  |                       |                                               
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    | Sept. |  Aug. | Sept. | Sept. |  May  |  June |  July |  Aug. | Sept. 
                                                    |  1997 |  1998 |  1998 |  1997 |  1998 |  1998 |  1998 |  1998 |  1998 
  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                        WHITE                       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
  Civilian noninstitutional population..............|170,290|171,655|171,804|170,290|171,257|171,387|171,513|171,655|171,804
    Civilian labor force............................|114,614|115,959|115,599|114,758|115,309|115,137|114,975|115,275|115,776
        Participation rate..........................|   67.3|   67.6|   67.3|   67.4|   67.3|   67.2|   67.0|   67.2|   67.4
      Employed......................................|110,018|111,511|111,316|109,904|111,025|110,535|110,630|110,708|111,233
        Employment-population ratio.................|   64.6|   65.0|   64.8|   64.5|   64.8|   64.5|   64.5|   64.5|   64.7
      Unemployed....................................|  4,596|  4,448|  4,284|  4,854|  4,284|  4,602|  4,346|  4,567|  4,543
        Unemployment rate...........................|    4.0|    3.8|    3.7|    4.2|    3.7|    4.0|    3.8|    4.0|    3.9
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                Men, 20 years and over              |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
    Civilian labor force............................| 59,052| 59,515| 59,542| 59,110| 59,366| 59,257| 59,403| 59,314| 59,592
        Participation rate..........................|   77.2|   77.3|   77.2|   77.3|   77.2|   77.0|   77.2|   77.0|   77.3
      Employed......................................| 57,186| 57,787| 57,756| 56,989| 57,516| 57,302| 57,436| 57,385| 57,584
        Employment-population ratio.................|   74.8|   75.0|   74.9|   74.5|   74.8|   74.5|   74.6|   74.5|   74.7
      Unemployed....................................|  1,867|  1,728|  1,785|  2,121|  1,850|  1,955|  1,967|  1,929|  2,008
        Unemployment rate...........................|    3.2|    2.9|    3.0|    3.6|    3.1|    3.3|    3.3|    3.3|    3.4
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
               Women, 20 years and over             |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
    Civilian labor force............................| 49,214| 48,763| 49,348| 48,955| 49,019| 48,886| 48,705| 49,013| 49,110
        Participation rate..........................|   60.3|   59.4|   60.0|   60.0|   59.8|   59.6|   59.3|   59.7|   59.8
      Employed......................................| 47,354| 46,861| 47,682| 47,165| 47,416| 47,197| 47,087| 47,287| 47,492
        Employment-population ratio.................|   58.0|   57.1|   58.0|   57.8|   57.8|   57.5|   57.4|   57.6|   57.8
      Unemployed....................................|  1,861|  1,902|  1,667|  1,790|  1,603|  1,688|  1,618|  1,726|  1,618
        Unemployment rate...........................|    3.8|    3.9|    3.4|    3.7|    3.3|    3.5|    3.3|    3.5|    3.3
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
              Both sexes, 16 to 19 years            |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
    Civilian labor force............................|  6,347|  7,681|  6,709|  6,693|  6,924|  6,994|  6,867|  6,949|  7,074
        Participation rate..........................|   51.9|   61.5|   53.6|   54.8|   55.8|   56.2|   55.1|   55.6|   56.5
      Employed......................................|  5,479|  6,863|  5,878|  5,750|  6,093|  6,036|  6,107|  6,036|  6,158
        Employment-population ratio.................|   44.8|   54.9|   46.9|   47.0|   49.1|   48.5|   49.0|   48.3|   49.2
      Unemployed....................................|    868|    818|    832|    943|    831|    958|    760|    913|    917
        Unemployment rate...........................|   13.7|   10.7|   12.4|   14.1|   12.0|   13.7|   11.1|   13.1|   13.0
          Men.......................................|   13.7|   11.4|   14.1|   14.4|   14.0|   14.7|   13.1|   14.3|   15.0
          Women.....................................|   13.7|    9.9|   10.5|   13.7|    9.8|   12.6|    8.9|   11.9|   10.7
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                        BLACK                       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
  Civilian noninstitutional population..............| 24,081| 24,418| 24,458| 24,081| 24,317| 24,349| 24,381| 24,418| 24,458
    Civilian labor force............................| 15,706| 16,129| 15,996| 15,691| 15,756| 16,013| 16,059| 15,907| 15,982
        Participation rate..........................|   65.2|   66.1|   65.4|   65.2|   64.8|   65.8|   65.9|   65.1|   65.3
      Employed......................................| 14,220| 14,663| 14,552| 14,180| 14,344| 14,700| 14,508| 14,476| 14,510
        Employment-population ratio.................|   59.1|   60.1|   59.5|   58.9|   59.0|   60.4|   59.5|   59.3|   59.3
      Unemployed....................................|  1,487|  1,466|  1,444|  1,511|  1,412|  1,313|  1,551|  1,431|  1,472
        Unemployment rate...........................|    9.5|    9.1|    9.0|    9.6|    9.0|    8.2|    9.7|    9.0|    9.2
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                Men, 20 years and over              |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
    Civilian labor force............................|  7,026|  7,055|  7,024|  6,978|  7,009|  7,088|  7,120|  7,017|  6,975
        Participation rate..........................|   73.1|   72.4|   72.0|   72.6|   72.2|   73.0|   73.2|   72.0|   71.5
      Employed......................................|  6,484|  6,548|  6,534|  6,424|  6,536|  6,599|  6,485|  6,470|  6,475
        Employment-population ratio.................|   67.4|   67.2|   66.9|   66.8|   67.4|   67.9|   66.7|   66.4|   66.3
      Unemployed....................................|    542|    507|    490|    554|    473|    489|    635|    547|    499
        Unemployment rate...........................|    7.7|    7.2|    7.0|    7.9|    6.7|    6.9|    8.9|    7.8|    7.2
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
               Women, 20 years and over             |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
    Civilian labor force............................|  7,810|  7,912|  7,932|  7,790|  7,787|  7,866|  7,921|  7,894|  7,918
        Participation rate..........................|   64.8|   64.7|   64.8|   64.6|   64.0|   64.5|   64.9|   64.6|   64.7
      Employed......................................|  7,132|  7,267|  7,277|  7,135|  7,130|  7,256|  7,296|  7,296|  7,277
        Employment-population ratio.................|   59.2|   59.5|   59.4|   59.2|   58.6|   59.5|   59.8|   59.7|   59.4
      Unemployed....................................|    678|    645|    655|    655|    657|    609|    625|    597|    641
        Unemployment rate...........................|    8.7|    8.2|    8.3|    8.4|    8.4|    7.7|    7.9|    7.6|    8.1
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
              Both sexes, 16 to 19 years            |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
    Civilian labor force............................|    870|  1,161|  1,040|    923|    960|  1,060|  1,018|    996|  1,089
        Participation rate..........................|   36.1|   47.3|   42.3|   38.3|   39.4|   43.4|   41.6|   40.6|   44.3
      Employed......................................|    603|    848|    742|    621|    678|    846|    727|    709|    758
        Employment-population ratio.................|   25.0|   34.6|   30.2|   25.8|   27.8|   34.6|   29.7|   28.9|   30.8
      Unemployed....................................|    267|    313|    299|    302|    283|    214|    291|    287|    332
        Unemployment rate...........................|   30.7|   27.0|   28.7|   32.7|   29.4|   20.2|   28.6|   28.8|   30.4
          Men.......................................|   33.0|   28.8|   30.5|   37.6|   30.2|   20.4|   30.6|   29.7|   34.1
          Women.....................................|   28.7|   25.3|   26.9|   28.6|   28.8|   20.1|   26.4|   28.1|   26.8
                   HISPANIC ORIGIN                  |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
  Civilian noninstitutional population..............| 20,464| 21,159| 21,224| 20,464| 20,975| 21,036| 21,097| 21,159| 21,224
    Civilian labor force............................| 13,864| 14,420| 14,487| 13,861| 14,458| 14,420| 14,240| 14,277| 14,484
        Participation rate..........................|   67.8|   68.2|   68.3|   67.7|   68.9|   68.5|   67.5|   67.5|   68.2
      Employed......................................| 12,882| 13,349| 13,481| 12,807| 13,480| 13,328| 13,219| 13,203| 13,413
        Employment-population ratio.................|   62.9|   63.1|   63.5|   62.6|   64.3|   63.4|   62.7|   62.4|   63.2
      Unemployed....................................|    982|  1,071|  1,007|  1,054|    978|  1,092|  1,022|  1,074|  1,071
        Unemployment rate...........................|    7.1|    7.4|    6.9|    7.6|    6.8|    7.6|    7.2|    7.5|    7.4
  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted
  and seasonally adjusted columns.
      NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races"
  group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups.  Beginning in January
  1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used in the household survey.





  HOUSEHOLD DATA                                                                                                        HOUSEHOLD DATA
  
  Table A-3. Employment status of the civilian population 25 years and over by educational attainment, seasonally adjusted

  (Numbers in thousands)
  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                            |                             |                                                           
                                            |                             |                                                           
                                            |   Not seasonally adjusted   |                   Seasonally adjusted(1)                  
                                            |                             |                                                           
                                             _________________________________________________________________________________________
            Educational attainment          |                             |                                                           
                                            |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         
                                            |  Sept.  |   Aug.  |  Sept.  |  Sept.  |   May   |   June  |   July  |   Aug.  |  Sept.  
                                            |   1997  |   1998  |   1998  |   1997  |   1998  |   1998  |   1998  |   1998  |   1998  
  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                            |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         
                                            |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         
                                            |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         
       Less than a high school diploma      |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         
                                            |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         
  Civilian noninstitutional population......|  29,350 |  29,204 |  29,290 |  29,350 |  29,931 |  30,064 |  29,027 |  29,204 |  29,290 
    Civilian labor force....................|  12,583 |  12,402 |  12,642 |  12,555 |  12,690 |  12,888 |  12,548 |  12,450 |  12,597 
        Percent of population...............|    42.9 |    42.5 |    43.2 |    42.8 |    42.4 |    42.9 |    43.2 |    42.6 |    43.0 
      Employed..............................|  11,663 |  11,602 |  11,845 |  11,548 |  11,839 |  11,963 |  11,648 |  11,567 |  11,728 
        Employment-population ratio.........|    39.7 |    39.7 |    40.4 |    39.3 |    39.6 |    39.8 |    40.1 |    39.6 |    40.0 
      Unemployed............................|     921 |     800 |     797 |   1,007 |     851 |     925 |     901 |     883 |     869 
        Unemployment rate...................|     7.3 |     6.5 |     6.3 |     8.0 |     6.7 |     7.2 |     7.2 |     7.1 |     6.9 
                                            |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         
    High school graduates, no college (2)   |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         
                                            |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         
  Civilian noninstitutional population......|  57,483 |  57,729 |  57,589 |  57,483 |  57,706 |  57,446 |  57,374 |  57,729 |  57,589 
    Civilian labor force....................|  37,873 |  37,305 |  37,468 |  37,585 |  37,496 |  37,096 |  37,219 |  37,381 |  37,218 
        Percent of population...............|    65.9 |    64.6 |    65.1 |    65.4 |    65.0 |    64.6 |    64.9 |    64.8 |    64.6 
      Employed..............................|  36,405 |  35,898 |  36,050 |  36,003 |  36,114 |  35,602 |  35,694 |  35,898 |  35,693 
        Employment-population ratio.........|    63.3 |    62.2 |    62.6 |    62.6 |    62.6 |    62.0 |    62.2 |    62.2 |    62.0 
      Unemployed............................|   1,468 |   1,407 |   1,418 |   1,582 |   1,383 |   1,494 |   1,525 |   1,483 |   1,525 
        Unemployment rate...................|     3.9 |     3.8 |     3.8 |     4.2 |     3.7 |     4.0 |     4.1 |     4.0 |     4.1 
                                            |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         
       Less than a bachelor's degree(3)     |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         
                                            |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         
  Civilian noninstitutional population......|  42,075 |  41,842 |  41,769 |  42,075 |  42,024 |  41,880 |  42,293 |  41,842 |  41,769 
    Civilian labor force....................|  31,431 |  31,106 |  31,184 |  31,401 |  31,408 |  31,227 |  31,174 |  30,863 |  31,152 
        Percent of population...............|    74.7 |    74.3 |    74.7 |    74.6 |    74.7 |    74.6 |    73.7 |    73.8 |    74.6 
      Employed..............................|  30,439 |  30,227 |  30,276 |  30,382 |  30,437 |  30,333 |  30,224 |  29,987 |  30,216 
        Employment-population ratio.........|    72.3 |    72.2 |    72.5 |    72.2 |    72.4 |    72.4 |    71.5 |    71.7 |    72.3 
      Unemployed............................|     991 |     879 |     907 |   1,019 |     971 |     894 |     950 |     876 |     937 
        Unemployment rate...................|     3.2 |     2.8 |     2.9 |     3.2 |     3.1 |     2.9 |     3.0 |     2.8 |     3.0 
                                            |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         
              College graduates             |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         
                                            |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         |         
  Civilian noninstitutional population......|  41,769 |  43,431 |  43,669 |  41,769 |  42,090 |  42,464 |  43,309 |  43,431 |  43,669 
    Civilian labor force....................|  33,627 |  34,504 |  35,059 |  33,577 |  33,920 |  34,274 |  34,721 |  34,847 |  35,015 
        Percent of population...............|    80.5 |    79.4 |    80.3 |    80.4 |    80.6 |    80.7 |    80.2 |    80.2 |    80.2 
      Employed..............................|  32,887 |  33,757 |  34,453 |  32,891 |  33,364 |  33,674 |  34,146 |  34,236 |  34,453 
        Employment-population ratio.........|    78.7 |    77.7 |    78.9 |    78.7 |    79.3 |    79.3 |    78.8 |    78.8 |    78.9 
      Unemployed............................|     740 |     747 |     606 |     686 |     556 |     600 |     575 |     611 |     562 
        Unemployment rate...................|     2.2 |     2.2 |     1.7 |     2.0 |     1.6 |     1.7 |     1.7 |     1.8 |     1.6 
  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation, therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted and
  seasonally adjusted columns.
    2 Includes high school diploma or equivalent.
    3 Includes the categories, some college, no degree; and associate degree.
     NOTE:  Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used in the
  household survey.





  HOUSEHOLD DATA                                                                                              HOUSEHOLD DATA
  
  Table A-4. Selected employment indicators

  (In thousands)
  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                    |                       |                                               
                                                    |                       |                                               
                                                    |Not seasonally adjusted|              Seasonally adjusted              
                                                    |                       |                                               
                       Category                     |                       |                                               
                                                     _______________________________________________________________________
                                                    |                       |                                               
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    | Sept. |  Aug. | Sept. | Sept. |  May  |  June |  July |  Aug. | Sept. 
                                                    |  1997 |  1998 |  1998 |  1997 |  1998 |  1998 |  1998 |  1998 |  1998 
  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                    CHARACTERISTIC                  |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
  Total employed, 16 years and over.................|129,972|132,206|131,864|129,761|131,453|131,209|131,067|131,168|131,765
    Married men, spouse present.....................| 42,825| 42,875| 43,385| 42,648| 42,471| 42,539| 42,837| 42,833| 43,255
    Married women, spouse present...................| 33,007| 32,238| 33,067| 32,846| 32,805| 32,805| 32,658| 32,597| 32,870
    Women who maintain families.....................|  7,899|  7,900|  8,042|  7,876|  7,848|  7,922|  7,846|  7,932|  8,002
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                      OCCUPATION                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
    Managerial and professional specialty...........| 37,833| 38,558| 39,572| 37,860| 38,641| 38,732| 39,011| 38,916| 39,607
    Technical, sales, and administrative support....| 38,523| 39,045| 38,485| 38,535| 38,401| 38,567| 38,500| 38,889| 38,485
    Service occupations.............................| 17,595| 18,081| 17,835| 17,746| 17,749| 17,873| 17,584| 17,727| 17,961
    Precision production, craft, and repair.........| 13,988| 14,360| 14,060| 13,859| 14,853| 14,509| 14,312| 14,079| 13,963
    Operators, fabricators, and laborers............| 18,345| 18,138| 18,073| 18,302| 18,322| 18,120| 18,145| 17,866| 18,047
    Farming, forestry, and fishing..................|  3,688|  4,023|  3,838|  3,483|  3,479|  3,503|  3,503|  3,618|  3,621
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                   CLASS OF WORKER                  |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
    Agriculture:                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
      Wage and salary workers.......................|  1,940|  2,315|  2,260|  1,889|  1,871|  1,841|  2,018|  2,165|  2,213
      Self-employed workers.........................|  1,586|  1,466|  1,368|  1,495|  1,395|  1,470|  1,383|  1,345|  1,280
      Unpaid family workers.........................|     43|     37|     43|     44|     51|     48|     30|     28|     43
    Nonagricultural industries:                     |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
      Wage and salary workers.......................|117,380|119,366|118,974|117,303|119,013|118,654|118,543|118,676|118,978
        Government..................................| 17,979| 17,782| 18,268| 18,109| 18,034| 18,497| 18,364| 18,257| 18,415
        Private industries..........................| 99,401|101,584|100,706| 99,194|100,979|100,157|100,179|100,419|100,563
          Private households........................|    869|    914|    887|    877|  1,015|    961|    974|    853|    900
          Other industries..........................| 98,532|100,670| 99,818| 98,317| 99,964| 99,195| 99,205| 99,566| 99,663
      Self-employed workers.........................|  8,935|  8,938|  9,131|  8,949|  9,023|  8,969|  9,094|  8,947|  9,159
      Unpaid family workers.........................|     87|     84|     88|     83|     97|    100|     91|     83|     85
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
              PERSONS AT WORK PART TIME             |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
    All industries:                                 |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
      Part time for economic reasons................|  3,638|  3,508|  3,112|  3,928|  3,772|  3,837|  3,783|  3,463|  3,365
        Slack work or business conditions...........|  1,986|  1,908|  1,721|  2,187|  2,104|  2,230|  2,372|  1,989|  1,897
        Could only find part-time work..............|  1,405|  1,201|  1,113|  1,455|  1,344|  1,246|  1,192|  1,175|  1,152
      Part time for noneconomic reasons.............| 18,097| 15,851| 18,989| 17,901| 18,662| 18,665| 18,584| 18,648| 18,857
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
    Nonagricultural industries:                     |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
      Part time for economic reasons................|  3,475|  3,350|  2,928|  3,739|  3,630|  3,676|  3,632|  3,307|  3,152
        Slack work or business conditions...........|  1,881|  1,813|  1,619|  2,067|  2,024|  2,151|  2,261|  1,900|  1,779
        Could only find part-time work..............|  1,365|  1,164|  1,072|  1,417|  1,315|  1,199|  1,162|  1,143|  1,113
      Part time for noneconomic reasons.............| 17,506| 15,229| 18,378| 17,381| 18,067| 18,019| 17,972| 18,001| 18,305
  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

      NOTE: Persons at work excludes employed persons who were absent from their jobs during the entire reference week for
  reasons such as vacation, illness, or industrial dispute.  Part time for noneconomic reasons excludes persons who usually
  work full time but worked only 1 to 34 hours during the reference week for reasons such as holidays, illness, and bad
  weather.  Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used
  in the household survey.





  HOUSEHOLD DATA                                                                                              HOUSEHOLD DATA
  
  Table A-5. Selected unemployment indicators, seasonally adjusted
  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                    |                       |                                               
                                                    |       Number of       |                                               
                                                    |   unemployed persons  |             Unemployment rates(1)             
                                                    |     (in thousands)    |                                               
                                                     _______________________________________________________________________
                       Category                     |                       |                                               
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    | Sept. |  Aug. | Sept. | Sept. |  May  |  June |  July |  Aug. | Sept. 
                                                    |  1997 |  1998 |  1998 |  1997 |  1998 |  1998 |  1998 |  1998 |  1998 
  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                    CHARACTERISTIC                  |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
   Total, 16 years and over.........................|  6,678|  6,247|  6,310|   4.9 |   4.3 |   4.5 |   4.5 |   4.5 |   4.6 
     Men, 20 years and over.........................|  2,838|  2,589|  2,645|   4.1 |   3.5 |   3.7 |   3.9 |   3.7 |   3.8 
     Women, 20 years and over.......................|  2,549|  2,426|  2,368|   4.3 |   3.9 |   4.1 |   4.0 |   4.1 |   4.0 
     Both sexes, 16 to 19 years.....................|  1,291|  1,232|  1,297|  16.4 |  14.2 |  14.6 |  13.8 |  15.0 |  15.4 
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
     Married men, spouse present....................|  1,139|  1,038|  1,004|   2.6 |   2.4 |   2.2 |   2.3 |   2.4 |   2.3 
     Married women, spouse present..................|  1,034|  1,070|    884|   3.1 |   2.8 |   2.9 |   2.8 |   3.2 |   2.6 
     Women who maintain families....................|    666|    575|    660|   7.8 |   7.7 |   6.9 |   6.8 |   6.8 |   7.6 
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
     Full-time workers..............................|  5,309|  4,941|  4,963|   4.7 |   4.2 |   4.4 |   4.4 |   4.4 |   4.4 
     Part-time workers..............................|  1,328|  1,301|  1,305|   5.5 |   4.7 |   5.2 |   5.3 |   5.4 |   5.3 
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                    OCCUPATION(2)                   |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
     Managerial and professional specialty..........|    765|    745|    710|   2.0 |   1.7 |   1.7 |   1.7 |   1.9 |   1.8 
     Technical, sales, and administrative support...|  1,591|  1,497|  1,557|   4.0 |   3.9 |   3.9 |   3.8 |   3.7 |   3.9 
     Precision production, craft, and repair........|    696|    680|    626|   4.8 |   4.4 |   4.3 |   4.4 |   4.6 |   4.3 
     Operators, fabricators, and laborers...........|  1,558|  1,286|  1,401|   7.8 |   6.5 |   6.9 |   6.9 |   6.7 |   7.2 
     Farming, forestry, and fishing.................|    249|    212|    295|   6.7 |   6.4 |   6.5 |   7.0 |   5.5 |   7.5 
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                       INDUSTRY                     |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
     Nonagricultural private wage and salary workers|  5,232|  4,991|  5,052|   5.0 |   4.5 |   4.7 |   4.6 |   4.7 |   4.8 
       Goods-producing industries...................|  1,485|  1,380|  1,516|   5.2 |   4.6 |   4.7 |   4.9 |   4.8 |   5.3 
         Mining.....................................|     23|     24|     18|   3.4 |   1.3 |   3.9 |   3.7 |   3.9 |   3.0 
         Construction...............................|    591|    520|    625|   8.7 |   8.0 |   8.0 |   6.7 |   7.4 |   9.0 
         Manufacturing..............................|    871|    835|    873|   4.1 |   3.6 |   3.6 |   4.4 |   3.9 |   4.1 
           Durable goods............................|    407|    470|    492|   3.3 |   3.0 |   2.9 |   4.3 |   3.7 |   3.8 
           Nondurable goods.........................|    464|    365|    381|   5.3 |   4.6 |   4.6 |   4.5 |   4.4 |   4.6 
       Service-producing industries.................|  3,747|  3,611|  3,537|   4.9 |   4.5 |   4.7 |   4.5 |   4.7 |   4.6 
         Transportation and public utilities........|    284|    269|    266|   3.8 |   3.0 |   3.6 |   3.4 |   3.7 |   3.6 
         Wholesale and retail trade.................|  1,655|  1,503|  1,572|   6.2 |   5.1 |   5.7 |   5.6 |   5.6 |   5.8 
         Finance, insurance, and real estate........|    231|    213|    186|   3.0 |   2.0 |   2.1 |   2.0 |   2.7 |   2.3 
         Services...................................|  1,577|  1,627|  1,513|   4.6 |   4.8 |   4.7 |   4.5 |   4.7 |   4.4 
     Government workers.............................|    478|    408|    431|   2.6 |   2.4 |   2.0 |   2.5 |   2.2 |   2.3 
     Agricultural wage and salary workers...........|    186|    164|    189|   9.0 |   7.9 |   8.1 |   8.2 |   7.0 |   7.9 
  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    1 Unemployment as a percent of the civilian labor force.
    2 Seasonally adjusted unemployment data for service occupations are not available because the seasonal component, which
  is small relative to the trend-cycle and irregular components, cannot be separated with sufficient precision.
     NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used
  in the household survey.





  HOUSEHOLD DATA                                                                                              HOUSEHOLD DATA
  
  Table A-6. Duration of unemployment

  (Numbers in thousands)
  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                    |                       |                                               
                                                    |                       |                                               
                                                    |Not seasonally adjusted|              Seasonally adjusted              
                                                    |                       |                                               
                                                     _______________________________________________________________________
                       Duration                     |                       |                                               
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    | Sept. |  Aug. | Sept. | Sept. |  May  |  June |  July |  Aug. | Sept. 
                                                    |  1997 |  1998 |  1998 |  1997 |  1998 |  1998 |  1998 |  1998 |  1998 
  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                 NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED               |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
   Less than 5 weeks................................|  2,525|  2,509|  2,665|  2,484|  2,634|  2,519|  2,625|  2,675|  2,639
   5 to 14 weeks....................................|  1,896|  2,150|  1,793|  2,115|  1,954|  2,084|  1,983|  1,960|  1,999
   15 weeks and over................................|  1,982|  1,514|  1,581|  2,109|  1,462|  1,621|  1,600|  1,647|  1,651
      15 to 26 weeks................................|    933|    679|    686|  1,031|    656|    852|    793|    820|    733
      27 weeks and over.............................|  1,049|    835|    896|  1,078|    806|    769|    807|    827|    918
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
   Average (mean) duration, in weeks................|   16.0|   13.7|   14.5|   15.9|   14.6|   13.8|   14.3|   13.5|   14.3
   Median duration, in weeks........................|    8.3|    7.0|    6.8|    8.1|    5.9|    6.6|    6.6|    6.9|    6.6
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                 PERCENT DISTRIBUTION               |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
   Total unemployed.................................|  100.0|  100.0|  100.0|  100.0|  100.0|  100.0|  100.0|  100.0|  100.0
     Less than 5 weeks..............................|   39.4|   40.6|   44.1|   37.0|   43.5|   40.5|   42.3|   42.6|   42.0
     5 to 14 weeks..................................|   29.6|   34.8|   29.7|   31.5|   32.3|   33.5|   31.9|   31.2|   31.8
     15 weeks and over..............................|   31.0|   24.5|   26.2|   31.4|   24.2|   26.0|   25.8|   26.2|   26.2
       15 to 26 weeks...............................|   14.6|   11.0|   11.4|   15.4|   10.8|   13.7|   12.8|   13.0|   11.7
       27 weeks and over............................|   16.4|   13.5|   14.8|   16.1|   13.3|   12.4|   13.0|   13.2|   14.6
  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

     NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used
  in the household survey.





  HOUSEHOLD DATA                                                                                              HOUSEHOLD DATA
  
  Table A-7. Reason for unemployment

  (Numbers in thousands)
  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                    |                       |                                               
                                                    |                       |                                               
                                                    |Not seasonally adjusted|              Seasonally adjusted              
                                                    |                       |                                               
                                                     _______________________________________________________________________
                        Reason                      |                       |                                               
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    | Sept. |  Aug. | Sept. | Sept. |  May  |  June |  July |  Aug. | Sept. 
                                                    |  1997 |  1998 |  1998 |  1997 |  1998 |  1998 |  1998 |  1998 |  1998 
  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                 NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED               |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
  Job losers and persons who completed temporary    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
     jobs...........................................|  2,616|  2,715|  2,534|  3,007|  2,772|  2,819|  2,908|  2,852|  2,902
    On temporary layoff.............................|    595|    782|    628|    893|    786|    841|    966|    978|    939
    Not on temporary layoff.........................|  2,021|  1,932|  1,905|  2,114|  1,986|  1,978|  1,941|  1,874|  1,963
      Permanent job losers..........................|  1,384|  1,342|  1,237|  (1)  |  (1)  |  (1)  |  (1)  |  (1)  |  (1)  
      Persons who completed temporary jobs..........|    637|    590|    668|  (1)  |  (1)  |  (1)  |  (1)  |  (1)  |  (1)  
  Job leavers.......................................|    980|    795|    854|    853|    748|    766|    799|    740|    724
  Reentrants........................................|  2,307|  2,157|  2,223|  2,263|  2,033|  2,096|  2,042|  2,132|  2,195
  New entrants......................................|    501|    506|    428|    560|    493|    532|    463|    503|    487
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                 PERCENT DISTRIBUTION               |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
  Total unemployed..................................|  100.0|  100.0|  100.0|  100.0|  100.0|  100.0|  100.0|  100.0|  100.0
   Job losers and persons who completed temporary   |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
     jobs...........................................|   40.9|   44.0|   42.0|   45.0|   45.8|   45.4|   46.8|   45.8|   46.0
     On temporary layoff............................|    9.3|   12.7|   10.4|   13.4|   13.0|   13.5|   15.6|   15.7|   14.9
     Not on temporary layoff........................|   31.6|   31.3|   31.5|   31.6|   32.8|   31.8|   31.3|   30.1|   31.1
   Job leavers......................................|   15.3|   12.9|   14.1|   12.8|   12.4|   12.3|   12.9|   11.9|   11.5
   Reentrants.......................................|   36.0|   34.9|   36.8|   33.9|   33.6|   33.7|   32.9|   34.2|   34.8
   New entrants.....................................|    7.8|    8.2|    7.1|    8.4|    8.2|    8.6|    7.5|    8.1|    7.7
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
            UNEMPLOYED AS A PERCENT OF THE          |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                   CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE             |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
   Job losers and persons who completed temporary   |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
     jobs...........................................|    1.9|    2.0|    1.8|    2.2|    2.0|    2.1|    2.1|    2.1|    2.1
   Job leavers......................................|     .7|     .6|     .6|     .6|     .5|     .6|     .6|     .5|     .5
   Reentrants.......................................|    1.7|    1.6|    1.6|    1.7|    1.5|    1.5|    1.5|    1.6|    1.6
   New entrants.....................................|     .4|     .4|     .3|     .4|     .4|     .4|     .3|     .4|     .4
  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    1 Not available.
     NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used
  in the household survey.





  HOUSEHOLD DATA                                                                                               HOUSEHOLD DATA
  
  Table A-8. Range of alternative measures of labor underutilization

  (Percent)
  ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                              |                    |                                         
                                                              |                    |                                         
                                                              |   Not seasonally   |           Seasonally adjusted           
                                                              |      adjusted      |                                         
                            Measure                           |                    |                                         
                                                               ______________________________________________________________
                                                              |                    |                                         
                                                              |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
                                                              | Sept.| Aug. | Sept.| Sept.|  May | June | July | Aug. | Sept.
                                                              | 1997 | 1998 | 1998 | 1997 | 1998 | 1998 | 1998 | 1998 | 1998 
  ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                              |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
                                                              |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
  U-1 Persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer, as a percent of  |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     the civilian                                             |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     labor force..............................................|   1.5|   1.1|   1.1|   1.5|   1.1|   1.2|   1.2|   1.2|   1.2
                                                              |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
  U-2 Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs, as |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     a percent of the                                         |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     civilian labor force.....................................|   1.9|   2.0|   1.8|   2.2|   2.0|   2.1|   2.1|   2.1|   2.1
                                                              |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
  U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     force                                                    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     (official unemployment rate).............................|   4.7|   4.5|   4.4|   4.9|   4.3|   4.5|   4.5|   4.5|   4.6
                                                              |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
  U-4 Total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a percent |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     of the civilian                                          |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
      labor force plus discouraged workers....................|   4.9|   4.7|   4.6|  (1) |  (1) |  (1) |  (1) |  (1) |  (1) 
                                                              |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
  U-5 Total unemployed, plus discouraged workers, plus all    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     other marginally                                         |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
      attached workers, as a percent of the civilian labor    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     force plus all marginally                                |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
      attached workers........................................|   5.6|   5.3|   5.3|  (1) |  (1) |  (1) |  (1) |  (1) |  (1) 
                                                              |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
  U-6 Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers, |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     plus total employed                                      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
      part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the     |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
     civilian labor force plus                                |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      
      all marginally attached workers.........................|   8.3|   7.8|   7.6|  (1) |  (1) |  (1) |  (1) |  (1) |  (1) 
  ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    1 Not available.
      NOTE: This range of alternative measures of labor underutilization replaces the U1-U7 range published in table A-7 of
  this release prior to 1994.  Marginally attached workers are persons 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 recent past.  Discouraged
  workers, a subset of the marginally attached, have given a job-market related reason for not currently looking for a job. 
  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.  For further information, see "BLS introduces new range of alternative unemployment
  measures,"  in the October 1995 issue of the Monthly Labor Review.  Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite
  estimation procedures and revised population controls used in the household survey.





  HOUSEHOLD DATA                                                                                              HOUSEHOLD DATA
  
  Table A-9. Unemployed persons by sex and age, seasonally adjusted
  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                    |                       |                                               
                                                    |                       |                                               
                                                    |       Number of       |                                               
                                                    |   unemployed persons  |             Unemployment rates(1)             
                                                    |     (in thousands)    |                                               
                     Age and sex                    |                       |                                               
                                                     _______________________________________________________________________
                                                    |                       |                                               
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    | Sept. |  Aug. | Sept. | Sept. |  May  |  June |  July |  Aug. | Sept. 
                                                    |  1997 |  1998 |  1998 |  1997 |  1998 |  1998 |  1998 |  1998 |  1998 
  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
  Total, 16 years and over..........................|  6,678|  6,247|  6,310|   4.9 |   4.3 |   4.5 |   4.5 |   4.5 |   4.6 
    16 to 24 years..................................|  2,408|  2,417|  2,438|  11.2 |  10.0 |  10.6 |  10.3 |  11.1 |  11.0 
      16 to 19 years................................|  1,291|  1,232|  1,297|  16.4 |  14.2 |  14.6 |  13.8 |  15.0 |  15.4 
        16 to 17 years..............................|    631|    557|    611|  19.3 |  15.8 |  18.2 |  15.2 |  17.1 |  17.9 
        18 to 19 years..............................|    669|    678|    696|  14.5 |  13.2 |  12.3 |  12.9 |  13.8 |  13.8 
      20 to 24 years................................|  1,117|  1,185|  1,141|   8.2 |   7.6 |   8.1 |   8.2 |   8.7 |   8.3 
    25 years and over...............................|  4,304|  3,853|  3,888|   3.7 |   3.3 |   3.4 |   3.4 |   3.3 |   3.4 
      25 to 54 years................................|  3,791|  3,391|  3,421|   3.8 |   3.4 |   3.5 |   3.5 |   3.4 |   3.5 
      55 years and over.............................|    512|    450|    471|   3.1 |   2.4 |   2.5 |   2.8 |   2.6 |   2.7 
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
    Men, 16 years and over..........................|  3,536|  3,253|  3,414|   4.8 |   4.2 |   4.4 |   4.6 |   4.4 |   4.6 
      16 to 24 years................................|  1,347|  1,301|  1,403|  12.0 |  11.0 |  10.8 |  11.4 |  11.4 |  12.1 
        16 to 19 years..............................|    698|    664|    769|  17.2 |  16.0 |  15.3 |  15.9 |  15.8 |  17.7 
          16 to 17 years............................|    314|    311|    365|  18.8 |  17.9 |  21.0 |  17.3 |  18.6 |  20.7 
          18 to 19 years............................|    381|    357|    401|  16.1 |  14.8 |  11.8 |  14.6 |  14.2 |  15.7 
        20 to 24 years..............................|    649|    637|    634|   9.1 |   8.1 |   8.2 |   8.7 |   8.9 |   8.7 
      25 years and over.............................|  2,182|  1,979|  2,002|   3.5 |   3.0 |   3.2 |   3.4 |   3.2 |   3.2 
        25 to 54 years..............................|  1,901|  1,729|  1,715|   3.6 |   3.1 |   3.3 |   3.4 |   3.3 |   3.2 
        55 years and over...........................|    276|    241|    296|   3.0 |   2.4 |   2.5 |   2.9 |   2.5 |   3.1 
                                                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       
    Women, 16 years and over........................|  3,142|  2,994|  2,896|   5.0 |   4.4 |   4.7 |   4.4 |   4.7 |   4.5 
      16 to 24 years................................|  1,061|  1,116|  1,036|  10.4 |   9.0 |  10.3 |   9.1 |  10.7 |   9.8 
        16 to 19 years..............................|    593|    568|    528|  15.5 |  12.3 |  13.9 |  11.5 |  14.2 |  12.9 
          16 to 17 years............................|    317|    246|    246|  19.8 |  13.5 |  15.1 |  12.9 |  15.5 |  14.8 
          18 to 19 years............................|    288|    322|    295|  12.8 |  11.4 |  12.7 |  11.2 |  13.3 |  11.9 
        20 to 24 years..............................|    468|    548|    508|   7.3 |   6.9 |   8.0 |   7.7 |   8.6 |   7.9 
      25 years and over.............................|  2,122|  1,874|  1,886|   4.0 |   3.5 |   3.6 |   3.5 |   3.5 |   3.5 
        25 to 54 years..............................|  1,890|  1,663|  1,706|   4.1 |   3.8 |   3.8 |   3.6 |   3.6 |   3.7 
        55 years and over...........................|    236|    209|    175|   3.2 |   2.4 |   2.6 |   2.6 |   2.8 |   2.3 
  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    1 Unemployment as a percent of the civilian labor force.
     NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used
  in the household survey.





  HOUSEHOLD DATA                                                                                                        HOUSEHOLD DATA
  
  Table A-10. Persons not in the labor force and multiple jobholders by sex, not seasonally adjusted

  (Numbers in thousands)
  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                                    |                     |                     |                     
                                                                    |                     |                     |                     
                                                                    |        Total        |         Men         |        Women        
                                                                    |                     |                     |                     
                                                                     _________________________________________________________________
                               Category                             |                     |                     |                     
                                                                    |          |          |          |          |          |          
                                                                    |   Sept.  |   Sept.  |   Sept.  |   Sept.  |   Sept.  |   Sept.  
                                                                    |   1997   |   1998   |   1997   |   1998   |   1997   |   1998   
  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                                    |          |          |          |          |          |          
                                                                    |          |          |          |          |          |          
                        NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE                      |          |          |          |          |          |          
                                                                    |          |          |          |          |          |          
                                                                    |          |          |          |          |          |          
  Total not in the labor force......................................|  67,195  |  67,796  |  24,878  |  25,051  |  42,317  |  42,744  
    Persons who currently want a job................................|   4,705  |   4,753  |   1,888  |   1,951  |   2,816  |   2,801  
       Searched for work and vailable to work now(1)................|   1,363  |   1,377  |     667  |     634  |     696  |     743  
          Reason not currently looking:                             |          |          |          |          |          |          
            Discouragement over job prospects(2)....................|     328  |     317  |     213  |     188  |     115  |     129  
               Reasons other than discouragement(3).................|   1,035  |   1,060  |     454  |     446  |     581  |     614  
                                                                    |          |          |          |          |          |          
                         MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS                        |          |          |          |          |          |          
                                                                    |          |          |          |          |          |          
  Total multiple jobholders(4)......................................|   7,838  |   7,906  |   4,220  |   4,156  |   3,618  |   3,750  
      Percent of total employed.....................................|     6.0  |     6.0  |     6.0  |     5.9  |     6.0  |     6.1  
                                                                    |          |          |          |          |          |          
      Primary job full time, secondary job part time................|   4,438  |   4,442  |   2,611  |   2,550  |   1,827  |   1,892  
      Primary and secondary jobs both part time.....................|   1,601  |   1,635  |     514  |     534  |   1,087  |   1,101  
      Primary and secondary jobs both full time.....................|     238  |     310  |     183  |     228  |      55  |      82  
      Hours vary on primary or secondary job........................|   1,528  |   1,461  |     894  |     827  |     634  |     634  
  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    1 Data refer to persons who have searched for work during the prior 12 months and were available to take a job during the
  reference week.
    2 Includes 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 child-care and transportation
  problems, as well as a small number for which reason for nonparticipation was not determined.
    4 Includes persons who work part time on their primary job and full time on their secondary job(s), not shown separately.
     NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used in the
  household survey.
     ESTABLISHMENT DATA                                                                                    ESTABLISHMENT DATA
     
     
     Table B-1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry

     (In thousands)
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                             
                                                  Not seasonally adjusted                   Seasonally adjusted              
                                                                                                                             
                     Industry                                                                                                
                                               Sept.    July    Aug.   Sept.   Sept.    May     June    July    Aug.   Sept. 
                                                1997    1998   1998p   1998p    1997    1998    1998    1998   1998p   1998p 
                                                                                                                             
               Total......................... 123,688 125,841 125,991 126,676 123,280 125,562 125,751 125,869 126,178 126,247
                                                                                                                             
            Total private.................... 104,294 107,040 107,273 106,970 103,673 105,734 105,938 106,043 106,263 106,331
                                                                                                                             
     Goods-producing.........................  25,379  25,451  25,720  25,611  24,993  25,301  25,304  25,135  25,255  25,219
                                                                                                                             
       Mining................................     600     583     582     576     594     579     578     571     571     571
         Metal mining........................    53.9    51.4    51.2    50.3      53      51      51      50      50      50
         Coal mining.........................    95.2    89.6    90.4    90.1      95      92      90      89      90      90
         Oil and gas extraction..............   339.4   330.5   328.3   324.4     338     329     330     325     323     323
         Nonmetallic minerals, except fuels..   111.4   111.5   112.0   111.6     108     107     107     107     108     108
                                                                                                                             
       Construction..........................   5,995   6,305   6,343   6,262   5,713   5,917   5,946   5,970   5,991   5,971
         General building contractors........ 1,359.7 1,475.0 1,479.4 1,449.5   1,320   1,388   1,401   1,410   1,414   1,408
         Heavy construction, except building.   873.4   895.6   905.7   901.2     792     819     821     828     830     818
         Special trade contractors........... 3,761.4 3,934.4 3,958.3 3,911.0   3,601   3,710   3,724   3,732   3,747   3,745
                                                                                                                             
       Manufacturing.........................  18,784  18,563  18,795  18,773  18,686  18,805  18,780  18,594  18,693  18,677
           Production workers................  13,012  12,690  12,926  12,950  12,915  12,971  12,943  12,746  12,841  12,856
                                                                                                                             
        Durable goods........................  11,048  10,942  11,117  11,100  11,030  11,156  11,144  10,989  11,109  11,080
           Production workers................   7,591   7,409   7,582   7,599   7,573   7,642   7,626   7,468   7,584   7,580
         Lumber and wood products............   805.4   814.5   819.1   816.3     794     803     801     802     804     805
         Furniture and fixtures..............   509.4   519.3   522.7   523.2     510     526     524     528     525     523
         Stone, clay, and glass products.....   562.7   569.1   574.7   572.4     553     559     562     561     564     562
         Primary metal industries............   712.3   697.5   711.8   711.2     714     716     717     706     715     713
           Blast furnaces and basic steel                                                                                    
              products.......................   235.5   233.8   232.8   231.3   (1)     (1)     (1)     (1)     (1)     (1)  
         Fabricated metal products........... 1,482.1 1,462.6 1,488.9 1,491.8   1,480   1,495   1,490   1,477   1,491   1,490
         Industrial machinery and equipment.. 2,166.7 2,187.1 2,178.7 2,172.0   2,175   2,201   2,202   2,193   2,189   2,181
           Computer and office equipment.....   377.7   376.6   372.2   368.4     379     376     375     375     371     369
         Electronic and other electrical                                                                                     
            equipment........................ 1,698.5 1,697.1 1,693.9 1,688.8   1,698   1,716   1,714   1,701   1,695   1,688
           Electronic components and                                                                                         
              accessories....................   662.8   668.0   662.4   658.9     664     677     672     667     661     660
         Transportation equipment............ 1,855.0 1,748.0 1,881.9 1,882.1   1,852   1,886   1,882   1,772   1,884   1,879
           Motor vehicles and equipment......   990.4   858.2   996.3   996.3     986     998     993     878     997     992
           Aircraft and parts................   509.6   524.2   522.7   524.0     510     524     524     526     526     524
         Instruments and related products....   864.9   861.5   858.8   854.0     865     866     864     861     857     854
         Miscellaneous manufacturing.........   391.4   384.8   386.2   387.8     389     388     388     388     385     385
                                                                                                                             
        Nondurable goods.....................   7,736   7,621   7,678   7,673   7,656   7,649   7,636   7,605   7,584   7,597
           Production workers................   5,421   5,281   5,344   5,351   5,342   5,329   5,317   5,278   5,257   5,276
         Food and kindred products........... 1,754.7 1,727.4 1,764.0 1,770.9   1,688   1,710   1,706   1,696   1,690   1,705
         Tobacco products....................    42.5    36.5    40.0    40.8      40      41      40      40      40      39
         Textile mill products...............   614.8   591.7   593.2   596.5     613     603     599     594     592     595
         Apparel and other textile products..   823.6   759.3   765.1   764.8     817     780     776     772     759     758
         Paper and allied products...........   686.9   682.5   682.6   681.9     685     685     682     680     680     680
         Printing and publishing............. 1,550.9 1,570.2 1,566.2 1,558.2   1,556   1,566   1,570   1,571   1,567   1,564
         Chemicals and allied products....... 1,033.1 1,042.7 1,041.8 1,035.2   1,033   1,039   1,037   1,038   1,036   1,035
         Petroleum and coal products.........   141.5   138.3   137.7   136.8     139     136     137     135     134     135
         Rubber and misc. plastics products..   998.5   993.1 1,007.0 1,008.5     997   1,006   1,006     998   1,006   1,007
         Leather and leather products........    89.0    79.0    80.5    79.6      88      83      83      81      80      79
                                                                                                                             
     Service-producing.......................  98,309 100,390 100,271 101,065  98,287 100,261 100,447 100,734 100,923 101,028
                                                                                                                             
       Transportation and public utilities...   6,476   6,541   6,559   6,622   6,435   6,534   6,538   6,550   6,572   6,578
         Transportation......................   4,177   4,183   4,206   4,284   4,141   4,191   4,196   4,208   4,236   4,245
           Railroad transportation...........   228.0   234.2   235.4   234.8     227     232     232     231     233     234
           Local and interurban passenger                                                                                    
              transit........................   463.1   403.0   405.0   483.7     451     459     458     466     470     471
           Trucking and warehousing.......... 1,707.1 1,731.7 1,745.1 1,747.8   1,680   1,703   1,709   1,709   1,719   1,719
           Water transportation..............   183.4   197.7   198.9   194.9     180     185     183     188     192     191
           Transportation by air............. 1,139.2 1,153.7 1,156.4 1,158.8   1,147   1,151   1,154   1,154   1,160   1,167
           Pipelines, except natural gas.....    14.3    14.6    14.5    14.4      14      14      14      14      14      14
           Transportation services...........   442.3   447.9   450.3   450.0     442     447     446     446     448     449
         Communications and public utilities.   2,299   2,358   2,353   2,338   2,294   2,343   2,342   2,342   2,336   2,333
           Communications.................... 1,436.4 1,495.6 1,493.3 1,487.5   1,432   1,486   1,488   1,488   1,484   1,483
           Electric, gas, and sanitary                                                                                       
              services.......................   862.6   862.7   859.4   850.1     862     857     854     854     852     850
                                                                                                                             
       Wholesale trade.......................   6,687   6,877   6,866   6,856   6,679   6,815   6,821   6,827   6,834   6,848
         Durable goods.......................   3,958   4,102   4,094   4,080   3,964   4,059   4,067   4,072   4,080   4,087
         Nondurable goods....................   2,729   2,775   2,772   2,776   2,715   2,756   2,754   2,755   2,754   2,761
       Retail trade..........................  22,126  22,662  22,690  22,621  22,078  22,423  22,448  22,547  22,537  22,574
         Building materials and garden                                                                                       
            supplies.........................   943.8 1,014.1 1,001.1   983.2     939     972     975     977     979     979
         General merchandise stores.......... 2,692.2 2,734.0 2,745.1 2,756.6   2,726   2,788   2,784   2,790   2,781   2,793
           Department stores................. 2,367.6 2,411.2 2,420.7 2,427.0   2,397   2,462   2,457   2,454   2,456   2,459
         Food stores......................... 3,501.8 3,574.3 3,569.0 3,556.0   3,506   3,542   3,538   3,552   3,553   3,560
         Automotive dealers and service                                                                                      
            stations......................... 2,336.6 2,385.3 2,382.5 2,371.4   2,321   2,345   2,351   2,355   2,353   2,355
           New and used car dealers.......... 1,056.6 1,069.3 1,067.3 1,068.8   1,053   1,060   1,064   1,066   1,063   1,066
         Apparel and accessory stores........ 1,080.3 1,102.2 1,112.6 1,098.7   1,100   1,106   1,108   1,111   1,113   1,118
         Furniture and home furnishings                                                                                      
            stores........................... 1,009.2 1,054.6 1,059.4 1,060.0   1,019   1,055   1,058   1,063   1,071   1,070
         Eating and drinking places.......... 7,761.9 7,940.2 7,949.8 7,915.7   7,641   7,714   7,726   7,781   7,766   7,793
         Miscellaneous retail establishments. 2,800.3 2,857.7 2,870.7 2,879.8   2,826   2,901   2,908   2,918   2,921   2,906
                                                                                                                             
       Finance, insurance, and real estate...   7,131   7,457   7,454   7,402   7,125   7,311   7,333   7,370   7,372   7,395
         Finance.............................   3,429   3,591   3,592   3,575   3,434   3,536   3,547   3,565   3,572   3,580
           Depository institutions........... 2,024.2 2,058.7 2,054.0 2,038.2   2,027   2,044   2,042   2,042   2,042   2,041
             Commercial banks................ 1,457.1 1,471.1 1,467.2 1,455.7   1,459   1,463   1,459   1,459   1,458   1,457
             Savings institutions............   260.0   266.6   265.1   262.4     261     264     264     265     264     264
           Nondepository institutions........   576.2   626.2   630.3   628.6     576     611     616     624     628     629
             Mortgage bankers and brokers....   256.2   292.0   296.6   296.4     256     281     284     289     295     297
           Security and commodity brokers....   605.6   660.8   662.2   661.3     606     641     648     655     657     662
           Holding and other investment                                                                                      
              offices........................   223.4   245.5   245.5   246.5     225     240     241     244     245     248
         Insurance...........................   2,263   2,346   2,347   2,341   2,267   2,320   2,328   2,337   2,339   2,345
           Insurance carriers................ 1,538.5 1,601.0 1,601.7 1,597.1   1,540   1,579   1,586   1,594   1,595   1,599
           Insurance agents, brokers, and                                                                                    
              service........................   724.8   745.4   745.4   743.5     727     741     742     743     744     746
         Real estate.........................   1,439   1,520   1,515   1,486   1,424   1,455   1,458   1,468   1,461   1,470
                                                                                                                             
       Services2.............................  36,495  38,052  37,984  37,858  36,363  37,350  37,494  37,614  37,693  37,717
         Agricultural services...............   729.1   792.1   786.4   760.3     690     700     706     713     718     719
         Hotels and other lodging places..... 1,792.8 1,921.5 1,914.9 1,826.0   1,745   1,769   1,773   1,781   1,785   1,779
         Personal services................... 1,147.4 1,142.0 1,141.0 1,143.5   1,180   1,190   1,186   1,184   1,184   1,176
         Business services................... 8,221.2 8,607.8 8,707.3 8,700.1   8,112   8,491   8,556   8,565   8,619   8,588
           Services to buildings.............   949.0   987.2   988.4   984.4     947     975     975     980     978     982
           Personnel supply services......... 3,120.8 3,168.0 3,256.0 3,251.0   3,013   3,156   3,189   3,151   3,176   3,139
             Help supply services............ 2,790.5 2,833.2 2,915.1 2,912.1   2,686   2,818   2,853   2,815   2,848   2,804
           Computer and data processing                                                                                      
              services....................... 1,445.3 1,620.8 1,633.3 1,640.0   1,448   1,578   1,601   1,622   1,634   1,644
         Auto repair, services, and parking.. 1,132.6 1,170.2 1,172.7 1,168.6   1,131   1,153   1,159   1,162   1,166   1,167
         Miscellaneous repair services.......   380.1   391.0   390.3   390.1     378     385     387     385     386     388
         Motion pictures.....................   547.5   573.8   575.7   559.4     556     567     554     564     565     567
         Amusement and recreation services... 1,669.4 2,014.3 1,982.8 1,813.1   1,593   1,662   1,670   1,694   1,707   1,730
         Health services..................... 9,755.0 9,940.4 9,934.9 9,921.3   9,766   9,887   9,905   9,902   9,917   9,932
           Offices and clinics of medical                                                                                    
              doctors........................ 1,752.5 1,826.0 1,832.6 1,832.3   1,754   1,806   1,813   1,817   1,826   1,834
           Nursing and personal care                                                                                         
              facilities..................... 1,757.6 1,763.0 1,761.3 1,757.7   1,757   1,762   1,761   1,756   1,755   1,758
           Hospitals......................... 3,878.1 3,974.7 3,972.0 3,968.0   3,885   3,945   3,953   3,960   3,966   3,975
           Home health care services.........   717.6   673.3   667.0   668.4     716     684     683     673     669     667
         Legal services......................   946.0 1,000.6   993.2   982.2     953     977     980     984     986     989
         Educational services................ 2,093.5 1,926.3 1,896.4 2,165.4   2,136   2,195   2,200   2,205   2,203   2,210
         Social services..................... 2,528.2 2,654.0 2,605.8 2,632.6   2,541   2,609   2,627   2,657   2,632   2,645
           Child day care services...........   576.1   532.7   535.3   580.1     572     575     581     583     585     576
           Residential care..................   722.9   757.4   758.3   756.5     726     749     747     749     752     760
         Museums and botanical and zoological                                                                                
           gardens...........................    91.5   100.0    98.9    94.1      90      91      91      91      92      93
         Membership organizations............ 2,229.9 2,342.3 2,312.1 2,247.5   2,250   2,266   2,270   2,272   2,273   2,268
         Engineering and management services. 3,037.2 3,279.2 3,275.1 3,257.8   3,048   3,212   3,234   3,259   3,264   3,270
           Engineering and architectural                                                                                     
              services.......................   880.0   937.7   940.3   928.3     876     913     921     925     928     924
           Management and public relations...   963.0 1,060.4 1,060.0 1,061.4     962   1,029   1,037   1,052   1,054   1,060
         Services, nec.......................    50.1    53.0    52.6    52.6   (1)     (1)     (1)     (1)     (1)     (1)  
                                                                                                                             
       Government............................  19,394  18,801  18,718  19,706  19,607  19,828  19,813  19,826  19,915  19,916
         Federal.............................   2,679   2,689   2,695   2,678   2,684   2,671   2,674   2,672   2,683   2,682
           Federal, except Postal Service.... 1,830.1 1,833.9 1,834.0 1,814.1   1,827   1,810   1,813   1,810   1,816   1,811
         State...............................   4,556   4,424   4,409   4,615   4,604   4,637   4,632   4,645   4,659   4,661
           Education......................... 1,866.8 1,657.1 1,659.1 1,890.9   1,921   1,932   1,933   1,938   1,947   1,944
           Other State government............ 2,689.0 2,766.5 2,750.3 2,723.7   2,683   2,705   2,699   2,707   2,712   2,717
         Local...............................  12,159  11,688  11,614  12,413  12,319  12,520  12,507  12,509  12,573  12,573
           Education......................... 6,790.0 5,936.8 5,934.3 6,960.7   6,941   7,053   7,045   7,078   7,123   7,111
           Other local government............ 5,369.2 5,750.9 5,679.4 5,452.4   5,378   5,467   5,462   5,431   5,450   5,462

       1 These series are not published seasonally adjusted because the seasonal component, which is small relative to the
     trend-cycle and irregular components, cannot be separated with sufficient precision.
       2 Includes other industries, not shown separately.
       p = preliminary.




     ESTABLISHMENT DATA                                                                                    ESTABLISHMENT DATA
     
     
     Table B-2. Average weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers1 on private nonfarm payrolls by industry
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                             
                                                  Not seasonally adjusted                   Seasonally adjusted              
                                                                                                                             
                     Industry                                                                                                
                                               Sept.    July    Aug.   Sept.   Sept.    May     June    July    Aug.   Sept. 
                                                1997    1998   1998p   1998p    1997    1998    1998    1998   1998p   1998p 
                                                                                                                             
            Total private....................   34.8    34.8    35.2    34.3    34.6    34.7    34.6    34.6    34.6    34.4 
                                                                                                                             
     Goods-producing.........................   41.9    40.9    41.3    40.5    41.3    41.1    41.0    41.1    41.1    40.7 
                                                                                                                             
       Mining................................   45.5    44.0    44.0    42.3    45.1    44.6    43.8    44.8    43.8    42.2 
                                                                                                                             
       Construction..........................   40.1    40.1    40.1    37.4    39.1    38.6    38.4    39.2    39.1    38.0 
                                                                                                                             
       Manufacturing.........................   42.4    41.1    41.7    41.5    41.9    41.8    41.8    41.7    41.7    41.7 
           Overtime hours....................    5.2     4.4     4.7     4.7     4.7     4.6     4.6     4.6     4.6     4.5 
                                                                                                                             
        Durable goods........................   43.1    41.5    42.2    41.8    42.7    42.4    42.3    42.2    42.3    42.3 
           Overtime hours....................    5.5     4.4     4.8     4.6     5.0     4.8     4.8     4.8     4.8     4.7 
                                                                                                                             
         Lumber and wood products............   41.5    41.2    41.8    40.5    40.9    41.2    41.3    41.2    41.4    40.8 
         Furniture and fixtures..............   41.1    40.3    41.0    39.9    40.4    40.7    41.0    40.7    40.7    40.1 
         Stone, clay, and glass products.....   44.2    43.7    44.1    43.9    43.2    43.5    43.2    43.5    43.6    43.0 
         Primary metal industries............   45.3    43.1    43.7    43.8    45.0    44.5    44.4    43.6    44.0    43.8 
           Blast furnaces and basic steel                                                                                    
              products.......................   45.2    43.9    44.2    44.2    45.0    45.6    45.1    43.8    44.5    44.1 
         Fabricated metal products...........   43.0    41.6    42.2    41.7    42.5    42.6    42.5    42.4    42.3    42.3 
         Industrial machinery and equipment..   43.7    42.3    42.6    42.4    43.5    43.0    43.2    43.0    43.1    43.2 
         Electronic and other electrical                                                                                     
            equipment........................   42.1    40.6    41.4    40.9    41.8    41.4    41.4    41.3    41.6    41.2 
         Transportation equipment............   44.3    41.0    42.7    42.9    44.0    43.3    42.7    42.6    42.6    43.7 
           Motor vehicles and equipment......   44.6    39.6    42.3    43.3    44.3    43.3    42.4    41.7    42.1    44.3 
         Instruments and related products....   42.1    40.6    41.1    40.5    42.0    41.4    41.3    41.3    41.4    40.8 
         Miscellaneous manufacturing.........   40.8    39.2    39.9    39.4    40.3    40.0    40.0    40.0    40.1    40.0 
                                                                                                                             
        Nondurable goods.....................   41.4    40.6    41.0    41.1    40.8    41.0    40.9    41.0    40.9    40.8 
           Overtime hours....................    4.9     4.3     4.5     4.7     4.3     4.4     4.4     4.4     4.3     4.3 
                                                                                                                             
         Food and kindred products...........   42.3    41.6    42.0    42.7    41.2    41.8    41.7    42.0    41.6    41.8 
         Tobacco products....................   39.4    39.3    39.3    37.9    38.2    39.3    39.0    40.6    39.6    37.5 
         Textile mill products...............   42.0    40.4    41.2    41.1    41.5    41.3    41.1    41.0    41.0    40.6 
         Apparel and other textile products..   37.5    37.0    37.6    37.1    37.3    37.4    37.4    37.4    37.5    37.5 
         Paper and allied products...........   44.1    43.0    43.1    43.6    43.6    43.5    43.6    43.5    43.3    43.2 
         Printing and publishing.............   39.2    38.1    38.5    38.6    38.6    38.4    38.2    38.4    38.5    38.1 
         Chemicals and allied products.......   43.5    42.7    43.0    43.1    43.3    43.1    43.2    43.0    43.3    43.0 
         Petroleum and coal products.........   43.3    44.8    43.9    44.0    (2)     (2)     (2)     (2)     (2)     (2)  
         Rubber and misc. plastics products..   42.0    41.1    41.4    41.3    41.7    42.1    42.0    42.1    41.6    41.3 
         Leather and leather products........   39.0    36.9    38.5    38.3    38.4    37.3    37.6    37.0    38.3    38.4 
                                                                                                                             
     Service-producing.......................   32.8    33.2    33.5    32.7    32.8    33.0    32.9    32.9    32.9    32.8 
                                                                                                                             
       Transportation and public utilities...   40.3    39.7    40.0    39.2    39.9    39.8    39.5    39.6    39.4    39.0 
                                                                                                                             
       Wholesale trade.......................   38.4    38.3    38.7    38.1    38.4    38.5    38.2    38.3    38.4    38.2 
                                                                                                                             
       Retail trade..........................   29.0    29.8    29.9    29.2    28.9    29.1    29.0    29.1    29.0    29.1 
                                                                                                                             
       Finance, insurance, and real estate...   35.8    36.1    36.9    35.9    (2)     (2)     (2)     (2)     (2)     (2)  
                                                                                                                             
       Services..............................   32.5    32.9    33.2    32.3    32.6    32.7    32.7    32.7    32.7    32.5 

       1 Data relate to production workers in mining and manufacturing; construction workers in construction; and
     nonsupervisory workers in transportation and public utilities; wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance, and real
     estate; and services. These groups account for approximately four-fifths of the total employees on private nonfarm
     payrolls.
       2 These series are not published seasonally adjusted because the seasonal component, which is small relative to the
     trend-cycle and irregular components, cannot be separated with sufficient precision.
       p = preliminary.




     ESTABLISHMENT DATA                                                                                    ESTABLISHMENT DATA
     
     
     Table B-3. Average hourly and weekly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers1 on private nonfarm payrolls by
     industry
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                             
                                                      Average hourly earnings                 Average weekly earnings        
                                                                                                                             
                     Industry                                                                                                
                                                Sept.      July      Aug.     Sept.     Sept.      July      Aug.     Sept.  
                                                 1997      1998     1998p     1998p      1997      1998     1998p     1998p  
                                                                                                                             
            Total private....................  $12.40    $12.66    $12.74    $12.87    $431.52   $440.57   $448.45   $441.44 
             Seasonally adjusted.............   12.37     12.79     12.85     12.86     428.00    442.53    444.61    442.38 
                                                                                                                             
     Goods-producing.........................   14.07     14.33     14.40     14.43     589.53    586.10    594.72    584.42 
                                                                                                                             
       Mining................................   16.26     16.81     16.90     16.91     739.83    739.64    743.60    715.29 
                                                                                                                             
       Construction..........................   16.30     16.63     16.74     16.75     653.63    666.86    671.27    626.45 
                                                                                                                             
       Manufacturing.........................   13.23     13.37     13.45     13.56     560.95    549.51    560.87    562.74 
                                                                                                                             
        Durable goods........................   13.80     13.77     13.94     14.04     594.78    571.46    588.27    586.87 
         Lumber and wood products............   10.87     11.18     11.20     11.22     451.11    460.62    468.16    454.41 
         Furniture and fixtures..............   10.70     10.90     10.95     11.03     439.77    439.27    448.95    440.10 
         Stone, clay, and glass products.....   13.27     13.60     13.61     13.72     586.53    594.32    600.20    602.31 
         Primary metal industries............   15.27     15.56     15.44     15.57     691.73    670.64    674.73    681.97 
           Blast furnaces and basic steel                                                                                    
              products.......................   18.30     18.49     18.41     18.44     827.16    811.71    813.72    815.05 
         Fabricated metal products...........   12.81     12.89     13.08     13.14     550.83    536.22    551.98    547.94 
         Industrial machinery and equipment..   14.19     14.42     14.44     14.47     620.10    609.97    615.14    613.53 
         Electronic and other electrical                                                                                     
            equipment........................   12.85     13.15     13.16     13.23     540.99    533.89    544.82    541.11 
         Transportation equipment............   17.57     16.88     17.32     17.46     778.35    692.08    739.56    749.03 
           Motor vehicles and equipment......   18.02     16.87     17.61     17.75     803.69    668.05    744.90    768.58 
         Instruments and related products....   13.62     13.74     13.76     13.88     573.40    557.84    565.54    562.14 
         Miscellaneous manufacturing.........   10.64     10.84     10.83     10.94     434.11    424.93    432.12    431.04 
                                                                                                                             
        Nondurable goods.....................   12.40     12.79     12.73     12.88     513.36    519.27    521.93    529.37 
         Food and kindred products...........   11.51     11.80     11.76     11.95     486.87    490.88    493.92    510.27 
         Tobacco products....................   18.32     20.66     19.10     18.15     721.81    811.94    750.63    687.89 
         Textile mill products...............   10.10     10.36     10.38     10.42     424.20    418.54    427.66    428.26 
         Apparel and other textile products..    8.32      8.48      8.52      8.53     312.00    313.76    320.35    316.46 
         Paper and allied products...........   15.17     15.63     15.53     15.89     669.00    672.09    669.34    692.80 
         Printing and publishing.............   13.21     13.43     13.46     13.64     517.83    511.68    518.21    526.50 
         Chemicals and allied products.......   16.63     17.19     17.14     17.32     723.41    734.01    737.02    746.49 
         Petroleum and coal products.........   20.24     20.81     20.77     20.83     876.39    932.29    911.80    916.52 
         Rubber and misc. plastics products..   11.64     11.91     11.83     11.92     488.88    489.50    489.76    492.30 
         Leather and leather products........    9.11      9.16      9.29      9.29     355.29    338.00    357.67    355.81 
                                                                                                                             
     Service-producing.......................   11.83     12.13     12.21     12.36     388.02    402.72    409.04    404.17 
                                                                                                                             
       Transportation and public utilities...  $15.06    $15.31    $15.36    $15.42    $606.92   $607.81   $614.40   $604.46 
                                                                                                                             
       Wholesale trade.......................   13.53     13.99     14.12     14.11     519.55    535.82    546.44    537.59 
                                                                                                                             
       Retail trade..........................    8.45      8.71      8.73      8.90     245.05    259.56    261.03    259.88 
                                                                                                                             
       Finance, insurance, and real estate...   13.48     13.94     14.10     14.05     482.58    503.23    520.29    504.40 
                                                                                                                             
       Services..............................   12.36     12.67     12.75     12.98     401.70    416.84    423.30    419.25 

       1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
       p = preliminary.
        NOTE:  Average hourly and weekly earnings, respectively, have been corrected as follows:  in June 1998,
     manufacturing, $13.44 and $561.79; fabricated metal products, $13.02 and $554.65 in June, and $13.04 and $554.20 in May.




                ESTABLISHMENT DATA                                                              ESTABLISHMENT DATA
                
                
                Table B-4. Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers1 on private nonfarm
                payrolls by industry, seasonally adjusted
                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                         Percent  
                                                   Sept.     May     June     July     Aug.     Sept.     change  
                            Industry               1997     1998     1998     1998     1998p    1998p     from:   
                                                                                                        Aug. 1998-
                                                                                                        Sept. 1998
                                                                                                                  
                Total private:                                                                                    
                   Current dollars..............   $12.37   $12.73   $12.76   $12.79   $12.85   $12.86      0.1   
                   Constant (1982) dollars2.....     7.58     7.73     7.75     7.75     7.78     N.A.     (3)    
                                                                                                                  
                  Goods-producing...............    13.98    14.27    14.28    14.31    14.39    14.35      -.3   
                    Mining......................    16.24    16.77    16.73    16.88    17.06    16.89     -1.0   
                    Construction................    16.10    16.46    16.51    16.64    16.67    16.55      -.7   
                    Manufacturing...............    13.22    13.47    13.47    13.42    13.53    13.55       .1   
                      Excluding overtime4.......    12.50    12.78    12.76    12.71    12.82    12.84       .2   
                                                                                                                  
                  Service-producing.............    11.83    12.23    12.26    12.30    12.35    12.38       .2   
                    Transportation and public                                                                     
                       utilities................    15.01    15.31    15.29    15.33    15.38    15.37      -.1   
                    Wholesale trade.............    13.54    14.00    13.98    14.07    14.15    14.12      -.2   
                    Retail trade................     8.42     8.72     8.73     8.78     8.82     8.87       .6   
                    Finance, insurance, and real                                                                  
                       estate...................    13.53    14.03    14.07    14.10    14.15    14.11      -.3   
                    Services....................    12.38    12.81    12.87    12.90    12.95    13.01       .5   

                  1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
                  2 The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) is used to
                deflate this series.
                  3 Change was .4 percent from July 1998 to August 1998, the latest month available.
                  4 Derived by assuming that overtime hours are paid at the rate of time and one-half.
                    N.A. = not available.
                  p = preliminary.
                   NOTE:  Average hourly earnings for manufacturing in June have been corrected. 




     ESTABLISHMENT DATA                                                                                    ESTABLISHMENT DATA
     
     
     Table B-5. Indexes of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers1 on private nonfarm payrolls by
     industry
     
     (1982=100)
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                             
                                                  Not seasonally adjusted                   Seasonally adjusted              
                                                                                                                             
                     Industry                                                                                                
                                               Sept.  July    Aug.     Sept.   Sept.   May     June   July    Aug.     Sept. 
                                               1997   1998    1998p    1998p   1997    1998    1998   1998    1998p    1998p 
                                                                                                                             
            Total private....................  143.7  147.5   149.3    145.1   142.1  144.9   144.8   145.2   145.3    144.6 
                                                                                                                             
     Goods-producing.........................  118.6  115.2   118.2    115.3   114.6  115.3   114.9   114.2   114.8    113.6 
                                                                                                                             
       Mining................................   59.1   55.7    55.6     52.9    57.6   56.0    54.7    55.5    54.0     52.0 
                                                                                                                             
       Construction..........................  170.9  179.5   180.9    165.8   157.1  160.5   160.5   164.6   164.5    158.7 
                                                                                                                             
       Manufacturing.........................  111.2  105.2   108.7    108.5   109.2  109.4   109.0   107.2   108.1    108.0 
                                                                                                                             
        Durable goods........................  114.2  107.2   111.7    110.9   112.8  113.1   112.7   109.9   111.9    111.8 
         Lumber and wood products............  146.0  146.2   149.1    143.9   141.2  143.8   143.7   144.0   144.7    142.4 
         Furniture and fixtures..............  131.0  130.6   134.1    130.6   128.6  134.0   134.4   134.3   133.7    131.1 
         Stone, clay, and glass products.....  117.8  117.4   120.0    119.0   112.6  114.7   114.4   115.2   115.7    114.1 
         Primary metal industries............   95.8   88.9    92.2     92.5    95.4   94.6    94.4    91.1    93.2     92.6 
           Blast furnaces and basic steel                                                                                    
              products.......................   73.6   71.4    71.3     70.8    73.5   74.5    73.7    71.2    71.9     70.9 
         Fabricated metal products...........  119.5  113.1   117.3    116.3   117.9  119.2   118.4   117.0   117.6    117.8 
         Industrial machinery and equipment..  109.8  107.0   107.6    107.1   109.9  110.1   110.9   109.8   110.0    109.9 
         Electronic and other electrical                                                                                     
            equipment........................  112.1  106.1   108.5    107.3   111.3  110.7   110.3   108.7   109.3    108.2 
         Transportation equipment............  130.0  105.9   122.7    124.3   128.7  127.0   124.7   112.2   122.9    126.2 
           Motor vehicles and equipment......  169.0  118.9   153.6    158.0   167.6  161.8   157.2   129.0   153.2    161.6 
         Instruments and related products....   76.8   74.7    75.4     74.5    76.7   76.6    76.1    76.1    75.9     75.0 
         Miscellaneous manufacturing.........  105.4   98.8   100.9    100.8   103.2  102.0   101.6   102.0   101.5    101.3 
                                                                                                                             
        Nondurable goods.....................  107.2  102.4   104.7    105.2   104.3  104.4   104.0   103.5   102.8    102.8 
         Food and kindred products...........  125.5  120.2   125.0    127.8   116.4  119.9   119.3   118.9   117.1    119.2 
         Tobacco products....................   65.8   52.6    59.8     60.6    58.6   62.3    59.9    60.3    58.8     55.7 
         Textile mill products...............   90.9   83.8    85.7     86.2    89.5   87.7    86.9    85.7    85.2     85.0 
         Apparel and other textile products..   74.0   66.0    67.6     67.0    72.8   68.8    68.5    68.3    67.0     67.0 
         Paper and allied products...........  112.5  108.9   109.2    110.8   110.8  110.7   110.5   109.4   109.1    109.3 
         Printing and publishing.............  127.6  124.2   125.4    124.8   126.2  125.6   125.0   125.4   125.4    123.7 
         Chemicals and allied products.......  101.9  101.9   102.6    102.0   101.4  102.8   103.1   102.6   102.8    101.7 
         Petroleum and coal products.........   77.2   78.0    76.4     75.9    75.0   73.9    73.1    75.5    73.8     73.9 
         Rubber and misc. plastics products..  147.4  142.6   146.4    146.2   146.0  148.9   148.4   147.0   146.8    145.9 
         Leather and leather products........   40.3   33.4    35.9     35.3    39.5   36.1    35.8    34.7    35.3     35.4 
                                                                                                                             
     Service-producing.......................  154.9  162.0   163.2    158.5   154.5  158.2   158.2   159.1   159.0    158.5 
                                                                                                                             
       Transportation and public utilities...  133.3  131.5   133.2    132.0   131.2  131.5   130.5   131.4   131.6    130.3 
                                                                                                                             
       Wholesale trade.......................  126.7  129.7   130.4    128.0   126.4  128.8   127.9   128.6   128.7    128.1 
                                                                                                                             
       Retail trade..........................  138.9  146.3   146.8    142.4   138.1  141.1   140.7   141.9   141.2    141.7 
                                                                                                                             
       Finance, insurance, and real estate...  128.6  137.2   140.1    134.6   129.3  134.9   134.8   136.1   136.1    135.5 
                                                                                                                             
       Services..............................  188.5  198.7   200.0    193.5   188.4  193.7   194.5   195.2   195.2    194.2 

       1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
       p = preliminary.




      ESTABLISHMENT DATA                                                                                   ESTABLISHMENT DATA
      
      
      Table B-6.  Diffusion indexes of employment change, seasonally adjusted
      
      (Percent)
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                             
             Time span          Jan.    Feb.    Mar.    Apr.    May     June    July    Aug.   Sept.    Oct.    Nov.    Dec. 
                                                                                                                             
                              
                                                         Private nonfarm payrolls, 356 industries1
                              
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                             
      Over 1-month span:                                                                                                     
           1994..............   59.3    60.5    67.0    64.5    58.6    63.3    63.8    61.7    61.5    60.4    64.0    61.7 
           1995..............   62.5    60.0    54.9    55.6    47.8    55.6    54.8    59.0    58.0    55.8    54.5    58.8 
           1996..............   50.8    64.6    59.6    56.6    62.8    61.0    57.3    61.5    56.0    62.5    62.2    60.7 
           1997..............   58.0    61.4    59.8    63.6    60.1    54.6    61.1    59.1    60.0    64.3    62.4    64.9 
           1998..............   63.8    58.7    59.6    56.9    56.6    59.0    55.1   p53.2   p49.0                         
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                             
      Over 3-month span:                                                                                                     
           1994..............   64.5    69.2    69.9    68.4    66.6    67.1    69.0    69.5    66.2    65.6    66.6    66.3 
           1995..............   63.6    61.4    59.4    53.1    55.2    53.2    59.7    60.1    59.1    58.0    56.6    54.6 
           1996..............   61.9    62.8    64.0    63.8    63.5    64.9    64.2    61.5    63.9    64.2    67.0    66.6 
           1997..............   64.9    63.3    65.6    66.2    63.9    61.2    60.1    65.9    67.4    68.1    70.8    71.9 
           1998..............   68.4    67.3    64.2    61.7    60.4    58.4   p57.6   p53.4                                 
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                             
      Over 6-month span:                                                                                                     
           1994..............   70.9    69.9    69.7    71.2    70.2    69.8    69.8    70.2    68.7    67.4    66.7    65.4 
           1995..............   66.4    60.1    59.1    57.3    59.0    60.1    57.6    60.4    59.7    59.3    61.1    63.2 
           1996..............   62.8    65.4    64.7    65.7    66.2    65.0    66.4    66.0    66.2    67.6    66.9    66.3 
           1997..............   67.6    67.0    65.3    64.9    65.6    67.3    68.0    67.3    70.6    72.3    73.3    72.6 
           1998..............   72.1    70.9    69.4    63.5   p63.8   p59.1                                                 
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                             
      Over 12-month span:                                                                                                    
           1994..............   70.2    71.6    71.8    71.8    72.1    71.8    71.5    72.1    70.1    69.5    66.6    65.0 
           1995..............   63.6    62.4    62.6    63.3    61.7    61.9    58.7    62.2    62.2    61.5    63.5    65.4 
           1996..............   64.5    66.7    64.5    65.6    68.5    67.3    67.7    66.4    68.0    69.9    69.1    68.3 
           1997..............   69.8    67.6    69.2    70.1    69.8    69.8    71.2    71.2    71.1    73.0    72.9    72.3 
           1998..............   71.2   p69.8   p69.5                                                                         
                                                                                                                             
                              
                                                          Manufacturing payrolls, 139 industries1
                              
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                             
      Over 1-month span:                                                                                                     
           1994..............   56.8    56.5    60.1    59.0    53.6    58.3    59.0    55.8    53.6    56.5    58.3    56.8 
           1995..............   54.7    54.3    46.4    53.2    42.4    44.2    46.4    49.6    48.6    52.2    45.3    48.2 
           1996..............   42.8    54.7    48.2    42.1    55.4    50.7    47.1    55.4    47.8    52.9    54.3    55.4 
           1997..............   49.3    54.3    50.0    56.8    51.4    52.2    50.4    48.9    56.5    57.2    56.1    60.8 
           1998..............   55.8    51.8    52.5    48.6    45.0    47.8    39.6   p47.5   p38.8                         
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                             
      Over 3-month span:                                                                                                     
           1994..............   60.4    63.7    63.7    60.4    57.6    59.7    61.9    56.8    54.3    55.4    60.8    59.0 
           1995..............   56.8    50.0    47.8    42.1    43.2    38.8    40.6    43.5    48.2    47.1    45.3    39.9 
           1996..............   43.9    46.8    46.0    47.5    46.4    49.3    51.4    50.0    53.6    51.1    57.6    54.7 
           1997..............   54.3    49.3    54.3    54.0    55.4    50.4    47.5    52.2    57.9    62.6    64.7    65.5 
           1998..............   60.1    59.0    50.7    46.4    43.2    38.8   p37.8   p33.1                                 
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                             
      Over 6-month span:                                                                                                     
           1994..............   60.4    62.9    61.2    62.6    59.4    57.2    57.6    58.6    58.6    54.7    57.2    55.0 
           1995..............   55.4    46.4    42.8    40.3    41.4    42.4    41.0    41.0    43.9    43.2    43.2    45.3 
           1996..............   42.1    45.3    46.4    47.1    48.2    48.6    51.1    50.4    52.9    52.9    53.2    52.2 
           1997..............   54.3    54.3    51.4    52.9    51.4    55.0    56.8    57.6    60.4    64.4    67.6    65.8 
           1998..............   61.5    56.8    52.2    39.2   p40.6   p34.5                                                 
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                             
      Over 12-month span:                                                                                                    
           1994..............   57.9    58.6    60.8    60.8    60.8    63.3    59.4    60.1    57.2    56.5    50.4    49.6 
           1995..............   46.0    44.2    46.0    47.8    41.0    41.7    38.5    38.8    36.3    38.5    39.9    44.6 
           1996..............   43.5    47.5    45.3    45.3    50.4    49.6    50.4    48.6    51.1    55.0    54.0    51.8 
           1997..............   57.2    52.5    54.7    56.5    57.9    57.6    58.6    58.6    60.4    60.4    59.4    58.3 
           1998..............   50.7   p51.8   p51.1                                                                         

        1 Based on seasonally adjusted data for 1-, 3-, and 6-month spans and unadjusted data for the 12-month span. Data are
      centered within the span. 
        p = preliminary.
        NOTE:  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.