Internet address:  http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm
Technical information:               USDL 98-231
   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, June 5, 1998.


                    THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION:  MAY 1998


     Nonfarm payroll employment rose in May, and the unemployment rate
remained at 4.3 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S.
Department of Labor reported today.  Nonfarm payroll employment increased
by 296,000 with all the growth occurring in the service-producing sector.
The number of manufacturing jobs fell, and construction employment edged down.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
     
     The number of unemployed persons, 5.9 million in May, was little
changed over the month, and the unemployment rate held at 4.3 percent.
Both measures had fallen sharply in the previous month.  Among the major
demographic groups, the rates for adult men (3.5 percent), adult women (3.9
percent), teenagers (14.2 percent), whites (3.7 percent), blacks (9.0
percent), and Hispanics (6.8 percent) were essentially unchanged in May.
(See tables A-1 and A-2.)
          
     The unemployment rates for persons 25 years and older with less than a
high school diploma (6.7 percent), high school graduates with no college
experience (3.7 percent), and college graduates (1.6 percent) showed
essentially no movement over the month.  The jobless rate for persons with
some college experience but no bachelor's degree rose by 0.4 percentage
point to 3.1 percent in May. (See table A-3.)
     
Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
     
     Total employment was essentially unchanged at 131.5 million.  The
employment-population ratio--the proportion of the population age 16 and
older with jobs--was 64.2 percent.  It has remained at or near this record
level since January.  (See table A-1.)

     About 8.1 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) held more than one
job in May.  These multiple jobholders comprised 6.2 percent of the total
employed.  (See table A-10.)
     
     The civilian labor force, 137.4 million, was about unchanged in May,
after seasonal adjustment.  The labor force participation rate held at 67.0
percent.  (See table A-1.)

  ------------------------------------------------------------------
 |  The establishment data in this release have been revised as a   |
 |result of the annual benchmarking process and the updating of     |
 |seasonal adjustment factors.  In addition, the seasonal adjustment|
 |process for the hours and earnings series has been refined to     |
 |correct for distortions associated with the varying length of pay |
 |periods across months.  More information on the revisions is      |
 |contained in the note beginning on page 5.                        |
  ------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  - 2 -
Table A.  Major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
___________________________________________________________________________
                      |   Quarterly     |       Monthly data       |
                      |   averages      |                          |
                      |_________________|__________________________| Apr.-
      Category        |   1997 | 1998 1/|          1998 1/         | May
                      |_________________|__________________________|change
                      |    IV  |   I    |  Mar.  |  Apr.  |  May   |
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
    HOUSEHOLD DATA    |                 Labor force status
                      |____________________________________________________
Civilian labor force..| 136,813| 137,524|137,523| 137,242| 137,364|    122
  Employment..........| 130,421| 131,080|130,994| 131,383| 131,453|     70
  Unemployment........|   6,392|   6,444|  6,529|   5,859|   5,910|     51
Not in labor force....|  67,123|  66,871| 67,024|  67,489|  67,535|     46
                      |________|________|_______|________|________|________
                      |                 Unemployment rates
                      |____________________________________________________
All workers...........|     4.7|     4.7|    4.7|     4.3|     4.3|     .0
  Adult men...........|     4.0|     3.8|    3.9|     3.4|     3.5|    0.1
  Adult women.........|     4.0|     4.3|    4.3|     4.1|     3.9|    -.2
  Teenagers...........|    15.0|    14.6|   15.0|    13.1|    14.2|    1.1
  White...............|     4.0|     4.0|    4.1|     3.6|     3.7|     .1
  Black...............|     9.7|     9.4|    9.2|     8.9|     9.0|     .1
  Hispanic origin.....|     7.4|     6.9|    6.9|     6.5|     6.8|     .3
                      |________|________|_______|________|________|________
 ESTABLISHMENT DATA 2/|                     Employment
                      |____________________________________________________
Nonfarm employment....| 123,934| 124,795|124,914|p125,216|p125,512|   p296
  Goods-producing 3/..|  25,108|  25,296| 25,276| p25,334| p25,298|   p-36
    Construction......|   5,761|   5,881|  5,860|  p5,926|  p5,917|    p-9
    Manufacturing.....|  18,756|  18,825| 18,829| p18,826| p18,800|   p-26
  Service-producing 3/|  99,826|  99,500| 99,638| p99,882|p100,214|   p332
    Retail trade......|  22,185|  22,274| 22,259| p22,328| p22,417|    p89
    Services..........|  36,639|  37,019| 37,106| p37,195| p37,346|   p151
    Government........|  19,663|  19,711| 19,728| p19,764| p19,805|    p41
                      |________|________|_______|________|________|________
                      |                  Hours of work 4/
                      |____________________________________________________
Total private.........|    34.7|    34.7|   34.6|   p34.5|   p34.7|   p0.2
  Manufacturing.......|    42.1|    42.0|   41.8|   p41.4|   p41.7|    p.3
    Overtime..........|     4.9|     4.8|    4.8|    p4.5|    p4.6|    p.1
                      |________|________|_______|________|________|________
                      |    Indexes of aggregate weekly hours (1982=100) 4/
                      |____________________________________________________
Total private.........|   143.1|   144.3|   143.8|  p143.9|  p144.9|  p1.0
                      |________|________|________|________|________|_______
                      |                      Earnings 4/
                      |____________________________________________________
Avg. hourly earnings, |        |        |        |        |        |
  total private.......|  $12.47|  $12.59|  $12.63| p$12.69| p$12.73|p$0.04
Avg. weekly earnings, |        |        |        |        |        |
  total private.......|  432.18|  436.75|  437.00| p437.81| p441.73| p3.92
______________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
    1/ Beginning in January 1998, household data reflect new composite
estimation procedures and revised population controls.
    2/ Establishment data have been revised to reflect March 1997
benchmarks, refinements to the seasonal adjustment process for the hours
and earnings series, and recomputed seasonal adjustment factors.
    3/ Includes other industries, not shown separately.
    4/ Data relate to private production or nonsupervisory workers.
    p=preliminary.

                                  - 3 -

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

     About 1.2 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally
attached to the labor force in May.  These were people who wanted and were
available for work and had looked 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--totaled 268,000 in May, down from 338,000
a year earlier.  (See table A-10.)
     
Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)
     
     Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 296,000 in May, after seasonal
adjustment, due to a large increase in the service-producing sector.
Employment in the goods-producing sector declined, with widespread losses
in manufacturing and a small decline in construction.  (See table B-1.)
     
     Manufacturing employment fell by 26,000 in May, after 3 months of
little change.  The largest decrease was in the apparel industry, which
continued its long-term decline with a loss of 9,000 jobs.  Most other
industries experienced small employment losses over the month.  Employment
in both electronic components and industrial machinery declined for the
second month in a row; these industries had added jobs steadily during
1997.  In contrast, the furniture and fixtures industry continued its
recent growth, adding 3,000 jobs in May, and employment in chemicals and
allied products also rose by 3,000.
     
     Construction employment edged down by 9,000 in May, after seasonal
adjustment.  This follows strong growth (204,000) from October to April.
     
     Within the service-producing sector, the services industry added
151,000 jobs in May.  This growth followed 3 months of gains that were well
below the 1997 average of 142,000.  Business services accounted for half of
the May increase, with help supply services and computer services adding
26,000 and 17,000 jobs, respectively.  This was the first gain for the help
supply industry since February.  Engineering and management services
continued to grow, adding 25,000 jobs, with a sharp gain (16,000) in
management and public relations.  Employment in health services increased
by 17,000 in May, after weak growth in the prior month.
     
     Employment in retail trade grew by 89,000 in May, the second large
increase in a row.  Gains were widespread throughout the industry, with
sizable growth occurring within eating and drinking places (33,000),
department stores (28,000), and miscellaneous retail establishments
(18,000).  In contrast, wholesale trade gained 9,000 jobs, compared with
the average increase of 15,000 in the prior 12 months.  The 3,000
employment gain in durable goods distribution was the smallest in nearly 5
years.
     
     Transportation added 17,000 jobs in May, following a much smaller
increase (3,000) in April.  Employment in local and interurban passenger
transit grew by 7,000, offsetting a decline of similar magnitude in the
previous month.  Communications added 6,000 jobs in May, reflecting
continuing growth in the telephone industry.
     
     Finance, insurance, and real estate added 20,000 jobs over the month,
mostly in finance.  Within finance, mortgage brokerages had the largest job
gain (5,000) and has grown by 13 percent over the past 12 months.  Security

                                  - 4 -

brokerages also continued steady growth, adding 3,000 jobs over the month.
Insurance employment rose by 6,000 in May.  Real estate employment edged
down over the month, after adding 31,000 jobs from December through April.
     
     Government payrolls rose by 41,000 in May, mainly due to an increase
in local education (28,000) that was well above the industry's average for
the past year.  State government also had stronger-than-usual growth in
May, spread about equally between the education and noneducation
components.  Declines continued in federal government employment.
     
Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)
     
     The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on
private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.2 hour in May to 34.7 hours,
seasonally adjusted.  The manufacturing workweek rose by 0.3 hour to 41.7
hours, but is a half hour below its peak level reached last December.
Factory overtime edged up by 0.1 hour in May to 4.6 hours; however,
overtime hours have trended down in recent months.  (See table B-2.)
     
     The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory
workers on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.7 percent to 144.9
(1982=100), seasonally adjusted.  The manufacturing index rose by 0.5
percent to 109.1.  (See table B-5.)
     
Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)
     
     Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on
private nonfarm payrolls increased 4 cents in May to $12.73, seasonally
adjusted.  Average weekly earnings increased by 0.9 percent to $441.73.
Over the year, average hourly and weekly earnings both rose by 4.3 percent.
(See table B-3.)
     
                 ________________________________________
   
   The Employment Situation for June 1998 is scheduled to be released on
Thursday, July 2, at 8:30 A.M. (EDT).
     
                                  - 5 -

                  Revisions to Establishment Survey Data

     In accordance with annual practice, the establishment survey data have
been revised to reflect comprehensive universe counts of payroll jobs
(benchmarks).  These counts are derived principally from unemployment
insurance tax records for March 1997; the benchmark process resulted in
revisions to all not seasonally adjusted data series from April 1996
forward, the time period since the last benchmark was established.
Seasonally adjusted employment series for all employees and women,
beginning with January 1993, also have been revised, in accordance with the
usual 5-year revision practice.  Seasonally adjusted series for hours,
indexes of aggregate weekly hours, and earnings for production or
nonsupervisory workers have been revised from 1989 forward to incorporate
an improved design that mitigates the effects of response and processing
errors in reports from respondents with semi-monthly and monthly payrolls.
Seasonally adjusted employment levels for production or nonsupervisory
workers also have been revised from 1989 forward.
     
     Table B presents revised total nonfarm employment data on a seasonally
adjusted basis for the period January 1997 through February 1998.  The
revised data for April 1997 forward incorporate the effect of applying the
rate of change measured by the sample to the new benchmark level, as well
as updated bias adjustments and new seasonal adjustment factors.  In terms
of data revisions, the not seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment
level for March 1997 was raised by 431,000 (435,000 on a seasonally
adjusted basis).  By February 1998, the previously published level was
revised upward by 406,000 (308,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis).
     
     The June 1998 issue of Employment and Earnings will contain an article
that discusses the benchmark and post-benchmark revisions.  This issue also
will provide revised seasonal adjustment factors for March through October
1998 and revised estimates for all regularly published tables containing
national establishment survey data on employment, hours, and earnings.
     
     The BLS public database on the Internet, LABSTAT, contains all
historical data revised as a result of this benchmark, and updated seasonal
adjustment factors.  The data can be accessed through the Current
Employment Statistics (CES) home page at http://stats.bls.gov/ceshome.htm.
     
     Further information on the revisions released today may be obtained by
calling 202-606-6555.

                                  - 6 -

Table B.  Revisions in total nonfarm employment, seasonally adjusted,
January 1997-February 1998
(In thousands)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                    |                 |              |
                    |  As previously  |  As revised  |  Difference
   Year and month   |    published    |              |
                    |                 |              |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                    |                 |              |
 1997:              |                 |              |
                    |                 |              |
   January..........|     120,909     |    121,146   |      237
   February.........|     121,162     |    121,457   |      295
   March............|     121,344     |    121,779   |      435
   April............|     121,671     |    122,092   |      421
   May..............|     121,834     |    122,325   |      491
   June.............|     122,056     |    122,534   |      478
   July.............|     122,440     |    122,811   |      371
   August...........|     122,492     |    122,894   |      402
   September........|     122,792     |    123,280   |      488
   October..........|     123,083     |    123,568   |      485
   November.........|     123,512     |    123,944   |      432
   December.........|     123,866     |    124,289   |      423
                    |                 |              |
 1998:              |                 |              |
                    |                 |              |
   January..........|     124,265     |    124,640   |      375
   February.........|     124,524     |    124,832   |      308
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  - 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                                                                                  
                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
                                                       May     Apr.    May     May     Jan.    Feb.    Mar.    Apr.    May  
                                                       1997    1998    1998    1997    1998    1998    1998    1998    1998 
                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
                        TOTAL                                                                                               
                                                                                                                            
    Civilian noninstitutional population............ 202,832 204,731 204,899 202,832 204,238 204,400 204,547 204,731 204,899
      Civilian labor force.......................... 135,963 136,379 137,240 136,060 137,493 137,557 137,523 137,242 137,364
            Participation rate......................    67.0    66.6    67.0    67.1    67.3    67.3    67.2    67.0    67.0
        Employed.................................... 129,565 130,735 131,476 129,494 131,083 131,163 130,994 131,383 131,453
            Employment-population ratio.............    63.9    63.9    64.2    63.8    64.2    64.2    64.0    64.2    64.2
          Agriculture...............................   3,652   3,315   3,552   3,418   3,319   3,335   3,132   3,350   3,335
          Nonagricultural industries................ 125,912 127,421 127,924 126,076 127,764 127,829 127,862 128,033 128,118
        Unemployed..................................   6,398   5,643   5,764   6,566   6,409   6,393   6,529   5,859   5,910
            Unemployment rate.......................     4.7     4.1     4.2     4.8     4.7     4.6     4.7     4.3     4.3
      Not in labor force............................  66,870  68,352  67,659  66,772  66,745  66,844  67,024  67,489  67,535
                                                                                                                            
                Men, 16 years and over                                                                                      
                                                                                                                            
    Civilian noninstitutional population............  97,559  98,503  98,591  97,559  98,241  98,331  98,405  98,503  98,591
      Civilian labor force..........................  73,191  73,336  73,853  73,089  73,852  73,780  73,695  73,799  73,783
            Participation rate......................    75.0    74.5    74.9    74.9    75.2    75.0    74.9    74.9    74.8
        Employed....................................  69,968  70,348  70,856  69,765  70,518  70,459  70,297  70,831  70,685
            Employment-population ratio.............    71.7    71.4    71.9    71.5    71.8    71.7    71.4    71.9    71.7
        Unemployed..................................   3,223   2,988   2,997   3,324   3,333   3,320   3,399   2,969   3,098
            Unemployment rate.......................     4.4     4.1     4.1     4.5     4.5     4.5     4.6     4.0     4.2
                                                                                                                            
                Men, 20 years and over                                                                                      
                                                                                                                            
    Civilian noninstitutional population............  89,766  90,580  90,622  89,766  90,391  90,476  90,502  90,580  90,622
      Civilian labor force..........................  69,146  69,480  69,752  68,990  69,652  69,601  69,451  69,697  69,624
            Participation rate......................    77.0    76.7    77.0    76.9    77.1    76.9    76.7    76.9    76.8
        Employed....................................  66,564  67,027  67,413  66,309  67,008  66,990  66,753  67,301  67,190
            Employment-population ratio.............    74.2    74.0    74.4    73.9    74.1    74.0    73.8    74.3    74.1
          Agriculture...............................   2,566   2,406   2,482   2,402   2,282   2,264   2,168   2,420   2,324
          Nonagricultural industries................  63,997  64,621  64,930  63,907  64,726  64,726  64,585  64,881  64,866
        Unemployed..................................   2,582   2,453   2,339   2,681   2,644   2,611   2,699   2,396   2,434
            Unemployment rate.......................     3.7     3.5     3.4     3.9     3.8     3.8     3.9     3.4     3.5
                                                                                                                            
               Women, 16 years and over                                                                                     
                                                                                                                            
    Civilian noninstitutional population............ 105,274 106,228 106,308 105,274 105,997 106,070 106,141 106,228 106,308
      Civilian labor force..........................  62,772  63,043  63,387  62,971  63,641  63,777  63,827  63,443  63,581
            Participation rate......................    59.6    59.3    59.6    59.8    60.0    60.1    60.1    59.7    59.8
        Employed....................................  59,597  60,387  60,619  59,729  60,565  60,704  60,697  60,553  60,768
            Employment-population ratio.............    56.6    56.8    57.0    56.7    57.1    57.2    57.2    57.0    57.2
        Unemployed..................................   3,175   2,655   2,767   3,242   3,076   3,073   3,130   2,890   2,813
            Unemployment rate.......................     5.1     4.2     4.4     5.1     4.8     4.8     4.9     4.6     4.4
                                                                                                                            
               Women, 20 years and over                                                                                     
                                                                                                                            
    Civilian noninstitutional population............  97,767  98,583  98,668  97,767  98,420  98,471  98,534  98,583  98,668
      Civilian labor force..........................  58,984  59,345  59,434  59,129  59,652  59,721  59,771  59,486  59,573
            Participation rate......................    60.3    60.2    60.2    60.5    60.6    60.6    60.7    60.3    60.4
        Employed....................................  56,464  57,131  57,216  56,488  57,040  57,146  57,186  57,075  57,253
            Employment-population ratio.............    57.8    58.0    58.0    57.8    58.0    58.0    58.0    57.9    58.0
          Agriculture...............................     782     705     774     760     811     801     717     705     755
          Nonagricultural industries................  55,682  56,426  56,442  55,728  56,229  56,345  56,470  56,370  56,499
        Unemployed..................................   2,520   2,213   2,218   2,641   2,612   2,575   2,585   2,411   2,320
            Unemployment rate.......................     4.3     3.7     3.7     4.5     4.4     4.3     4.3     4.1     3.9
                                                                                                                            
              Both sexes, 16 to 19 years                                                                                    
                                                                                                                            
    Civilian  noninstitutional population...........  15,300  15,569  15,609  15,300  15,427  15,453  15,511  15,569  15,609
      Civilian labor force..........................   7,832   7,554   8,054   7,941   8,189   8,235   8,300   8,059   8,166
            Participation rate......................    51.2    48.5    51.6    51.9    53.1    53.3    53.5    51.8    52.3
        Employed....................................   6,537   6,577   6,847   6,697   7,035   7,028   7,055   7,007   7,010
            Employment-population ratio.............    42.7    42.2    43.9    43.8    45.6    45.5    45.5    45.0    44.9
          Agriculture...............................     304     204     296     256     227     270     247     225     256
          Nonagricultural industries................   6,233   6,373   6,552   6,441   6,809   6,758   6,808   6,782   6,754
        Unemployed..................................   1,296     977   1,207   1,244   1,154   1,207   1,245   1,052   1,156
            Unemployment rate.......................    16.5    12.9    15.0    15.7    14.1    14.7    15.0    13.1    14.2

    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                                                                                          
                                                                                                                            
                                                       May     Apr.    May     May     Jan.    Feb.    Mar.    Apr.    May  
                                                       1997    1998    1998    1997    1998    1998    1998    1998    1998 
                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
                        WHITE                                                                                               
    Civilian noninstitutional population............ 169,782 171,141 171,257 169,782 170,810 170,917 171,016 171,141 171,257
      Civilian labor force.......................... 114,486 114,380 115,261 114,562 115,253 115,392 115,297 115,057 115,309
          Participation rate........................    67.4    66.8    67.3    67.5    67.5    67.5    67.4    67.2    67.3
        Employed.................................... 110,004 110,343 111,127 109,906 110,698 110,842 110,605 110,859 111,025
          Employment-population ratio...............    64.8    64.5    64.9    64.7    64.8    64.9    64.7    64.8    64.8
        Unemployed..................................   4,481   4,037   4,134   4,656   4,555   4,550   4,692   4,198   4,284
          Unemployment rate.........................     3.9     3.5     3.6     4.1     4.0     3.9     4.1     3.6     3.7
                                                                                                                            
                Men, 20 years and over                                                                                      
      Civilian labor force..........................  59,137  59,185  59,488  59,001  59,262  59,372  59,201  59,307  59,366
          Participation rate........................    77.6    77.0    77.4    77.4    77.3    77.4    77.1    77.2    77.2
        Employed....................................  57,284  57,390  57,746  57,033  57,336  57,456  57,209  57,562  57,516
          Employment-population ratio...............    75.2    74.7    75.1    74.8    74.8    74.9    74.5    74.9    74.8
        Unemployed..................................   1,853   1,795   1,743   1,968   1,926   1,916   1,992   1,745   1,850
          Unemployment rate.........................     3.1     3.0     2.9     3.3     3.3     3.2     3.4     2.9     3.1
                                                                                                                            
               Women, 20 years and over                                                                                     
      Civilian labor force..........................  48,705  48,801  48,920  48,845  49,077  49,057  49,077  48,955  49,019
          Participation rate........................    59.8    59.5    59.7    60.0    60.0    59.9    59.9    59.7    59.8
        Employed....................................  47,000  47,300  47,416  47,022  47,250  47,279  47,276  47,300  47,416
          Employment-population ratio...............    57.7    57.7    57.8    57.8    57.7    57.7    57.7    57.7    57.8
        Unemployed..................................   1,705   1,501   1,504   1,823   1,827   1,778   1,801   1,654   1,603
          Unemployment rate.........................     3.5     3.1     3.1     3.7     3.7     3.6     3.7     3.4     3.3
                                                                                                                            
              Both sexes, 16 to 19 years                                                                                    
      Civilian labor force..........................   6,644   6,394   6,853   6,716   6,914   6,963   7,019   6,795   6,924
          Participation rate........................    54.7    51.7    55.2    55.3    56.3    56.6    56.9    54.9    55.8
        Employed....................................   5,721   5,653   5,965   5,851   6,113   6,107   6,120   5,996   6,093
          Employment-population ratio...............    47.1    45.7    48.1    48.2    49.8    49.6    49.6    48.5    49.1
        Unemployed..................................     923     741     888     865     802     857     899     799     831
          Unemployment rate.........................    13.9    11.6    13.0    12.9    11.6    12.3    12.8    11.8    12.0
            Men.....................................    13.3    12.6    14.3    13.0    14.2    14.7    14.9    12.7    14.0
            Women...................................    14.5    10.5    11.5    12.7     8.8     9.8    10.6    10.7     9.8
                                                                                                                            
                        BLACK                                                                                               
    Civilian noninstitutional population............  23,950  24,289  24,317  23,950  24,196  24,229  24,257  24,289  24,317
      Civilian labor force..........................  15,370  15,776  15,709  15,424  15,788  15,885  15,971  15,907  15,756
          Participation rate........................    64.2    64.9    64.6    64.4    65.3    65.6    65.8    65.5    64.8
        Employed....................................  13,825  14,429  14,336  13,837  14,316  14,349  14,498  14,499  14,344
          Employment-population ratio...............    57.7    59.4    59.0    57.8    59.2    59.2    59.8    59.7    59.0
        Unemployed..................................   1,545   1,347   1,373   1,587   1,472   1,535   1,473   1,408   1,412
          Unemployment rate.........................    10.0     8.5     8.7    10.3     9.3     9.7     9.2     8.9     9.0
                                                                                                                            
                Men, 20 years and over                                                                                      
      Civilian labor force..........................   6,849   7,050   7,009   6,851   7,012   6,974   7,044   7,097   7,009
          Participation rate........................    71.7    72.7    72.2    71.7    72.6    72.1    72.8    73.2    72.2
        Employed....................................   6,287   6,527   6,549   6,273   6,456   6,428   6,511   6,573   6,536
          Employment-population ratio...............    65.8    67.4    67.5    65.7    66.9    66.5    67.3    67.8    67.4
        Unemployed..................................     563     523     460     578     556     546     533     524     473
          Unemployment rate.........................     8.2     7.4     6.6     8.4     7.9     7.8     7.6     7.4     6.7
                                                                                                                            
               Women, 20 years and over                                                                                     
      Civilian labor force..........................   7,641   7,814   7,762   7,671   7,799   7,952   7,935   7,822   7,787
          Participation rate........................    63.7    64.2    63.7    63.9    64.3    65.5    65.3    64.3    64.0
        Employed....................................   6,967   7,196   7,130   6,968   7,178   7,265   7,284   7,182   7,130
          Employment-population ratio...............    58.1    59.2    58.6    58.1    59.2    59.8    60.0    59.0    58.6
        Unemployed..................................     675     618     631     703     621     687     651     640     657
          Unemployment rate.........................     8.8     7.9     8.1     9.2     8.0     8.6     8.2     8.2     8.4
                                                                                                                            
              Both sexes, 16 to 19 years                                                                                    
      Civilian labor force..........................     879     912     938     902     977     959     992     988     960
          Participation rate........................    36.6    37.4    38.5    37.5    40.5    39.6    40.9    40.6    39.4
        Employed....................................     572     705     657     596     683     656     703     744     678
          Employment-population ratio...............    23.8    29.0    26.9    24.8    28.3    27.1    29.0    30.6    27.8
        Unemployed..................................     307     207     282     306     294     302     289     244     283
          Unemployment rate.........................    34.9    22.7    30.0    33.9    30.1    31.5    29.1    24.7    29.4
            Men.....................................    35.9    22.7    30.7    34.5    31.8    34.7    27.8    23.9    30.2
            Women...................................    34.0    22.7    29.4    33.3    28.5    28.4    30.3    25.3    28.8
                   HISPANIC ORIGIN                                                                                          
    Civilian noninstitutional population............  20,236  20,915  20,975  20,236  20,741  20,798  20,851  20,915  20,975
      Civilian labor force..........................  13,630  14,179  14,328  13,760  13,954  14,149  14,298  14,369  14,458
          Participation rate........................    67.4    67.8    68.3    68.0    67.3    68.0    68.6    68.7    68.9
        Employed....................................  12,666  13,259  13,426  12,713  12,988  13,181  13,305  13,434  13,480
          Employment-population ratio...............    62.6    63.4    64.0    62.8    62.6    63.4    63.8    64.2    64.3
        Unemployed..................................     964     919     902   1,047     966     968     993     935     978
          Unemployment rate.........................     7.1     6.5     6.3     7.6     6.9     6.8     6.9     6.5     6.8

    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                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                      
                                                May       Apr.      May       May       Jan.      Feb.      Mar.      Apr.      May   
                                                1997      1998      1998      1997      1998      1998      1998      1998      1998  
                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                      
       Less than a high school diploma                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                      
    Civilian noninstitutional population....   30,198    29,638    29,931    30,198    29,981    29,228    29,251    29,638    29,931 
      Civilian labor force..................   12,828    12,857    12,942    12,590    12,682    12,555    12,392    12,664    12,690 
          Percent of population.............     42.5      43.4      43.2      41.7      42.3      43.0      42.4      42.7      42.4 
        Employed............................   11,864    11,938    12,147    11,556    11,771    11,676    11,500    11,773    11,839 
          Employment-population ratio.......     39.3      40.3      40.6      38.3      39.3      39.9      39.3      39.7      39.6 
        Unemployed..........................      964       920       796     1,034       911       879       891       891       851 
          Unemployment rate.................      7.5       7.2       6.1       8.2       7.2       7.0       7.2       7.0       6.7 
                                                                                                                                      
    High school graduates, no college (2)                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                      
    Civilian noninstitutional population....   57,392    57,484    57,706    57,392    57,606    57,418    57,885    57,484    57,706 
      Civilian labor force..................   37,791    37,374    37,627    37,669    37,787    37,807    37,931    37,340    37,496 
          Percent of population.............     65.8      65.0      65.2      65.6      65.6      65.8      65.5      65.0      65.0 
        Employed............................   36,354    35,921    36,366    36,097    36,303    36,302    36,331    35,885    36,114 
          Employment-population ratio.......     63.3      62.5      63.0      62.9      63.0      63.2      62.8      62.4      62.6 
        Unemployed..........................    1,436     1,453     1,261     1,572     1,485     1,505     1,600     1,454     1,383 
          Unemployment rate.................      3.8       3.9       3.4       4.2       3.9       4.0       4.2       3.9       3.7 
                                                                                                                                      
       Less than a bachelor's degree(3)                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                      
    Civilian noninstitutional population....   41,648    42,303    42,024    41,648    41,718    42,527    42,313    42,303    42,024 
      Civilian labor force..................   30,975    31,177    31,114    31,279    31,440    31,505    31,515    31,517    31,408 
          Percent of population.............     74.4      73.7      74.0      75.1      75.4      74.1      74.5      74.5      74.7 
        Employed............................   30,083    30,331    30,193    30,342    30,429    30,538    30,471    30,669    30,437 
          Employment-population ratio.......     72.2      71.7      71.8      72.9      72.9      71.8      72.0      72.5      72.4 
        Unemployed..........................      891       846       921       937     1,011       967     1,043       848       971 
          Unemployment rate.................      2.9       2.7       3.0       3.0       3.2       3.1       3.3       2.7       3.1 
                                                                                                                                      
              College graduates                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                      
    Civilian noninstitutional population....   40,909    42,197    42,090    40,909    41,974    42,238    42,085    42,197    42,090 
      Civilian labor force..................   32,973    33,986    33,930    32,971    33,685    33,672    33,777    33,989    33,920 
          Percent of population.............     80.6      80.5      80.6      80.6      80.3      79.7      80.3      80.5      80.6 
        Employed............................   32,301    33,485    33,397    32,265    33,040    33,029    33,145    33,419    33,364 
          Employment-population ratio.......     79.0      79.4      79.3      78.9      78.7      78.2      78.8      79.2      79.3 
        Unemployed..........................      672       501       533       706       645       643       632       571       556 
          Unemployment rate.................      2.0       1.5       1.6       2.1       1.9       1.9       1.9       1.7       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                                                                                             
                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
                                                       May     Apr.    May     May     Jan.    Feb.    Mar.    Apr.    May  
                                                       1997    1998    1998    1997    1998    1998    1998    1998    1998 
                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
                    CHARACTERISTIC                                                                                          
                                                                                                                            
    Total employed, 16 years and over............... 129,565 130,735 131,476 129,494 131,083 131,163 130,994 131,383 131,453
      Married men, spouse present...................  42,484  42,780  42,556  42,375  42,977  42,915  42,779  42,865  42,471
      Married women, spouse present.................  32,575  33,006  32,838  32,520  32,793  32,821  32,872  32,973  32,805
      Women who maintain families...................   7,913   7,938   7,943   7,820   7,784   7,884   7,776   7,813   7,848
                                                                                                                            
                      OCCUPATION                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
      Managerial and professional specialty.........  37,391  38,631  38,672  37,356  38,099  38,164  38,454  38,643  38,641
      Technical, sales, and administrative support..  38,132  38,431  38,247  38,304  38,382  38,491  38,693  38,585  38,401
      Service occupations...........................  17,407  17,460  17,749  17,418  18,162  17,950  17,752  17,478  17,749
      Precision production, craft, and repair.......  14,265  14,556  14,839  14,279  14,285  14,456  14,656  14,673  14,853
      Operators, fabricators, and laborers..........  18,514  18,253  18,250  18,593  18,622  18,632  18,179  18,447  18,322
      Farming, forestry, and fishing................   3,856   3,404   3,719   3,612   3,355   3,436   3,269   3,495   3,479
                                                                                                                            
                   CLASS OF WORKER                                                                                          
                                                                                                                            
      Agriculture:                                                                                                          
        Wage and salary workers.....................   2,117   2,003   2,070   1,917   1,949   1,928   1,866   1,987   1,871
        Self-employed workers.......................   1,483   1,281   1,430   1,442   1,348   1,324   1,242   1,324   1,395
        Unpaid family workers.......................      53      31      52      52      44      41      32      28      51
      Nonagricultural industries:                                                                                           
        Wage and salary workers..................... 116,611 118,217 118,753 116,874 118,529 118,961 119,131 118,774 119,013
          Government................................  18,128  18,475  18,287  17,863  18,421  18,378  18,072  18,202  18,034
          Private industries........................  98,483  99,742 100,467  99,011 100,108 100,583 101,058 100,571 100,979
            Private households......................     910     952     975     948     985   1,035   1,022   1,014   1,015
            Other industries........................  97,573  98,790  99,491  98,063  99,123  99,547 100,037  99,557  99,964
        Self-employed workers.......................   9,151   9,087   9,068   9,098   8,964   8,761   8,784   9,069   9,023
        Unpaid family workers.......................     150     117     103     142     131     117     102     124      97
                                                                                                                            
              PERSONS AT WORK PART TIME                                                                                     
                                                                                                                            
      All industries:                                                                                                       
        Part time for economic reasons..............   3,891   3,649   3,602   4,060   4,082   3,882   3,902   3,735   3,772
          Slack work or business conditions.........   2,192   2,099   2,005   2,295   2,282   2,123   2,188   2,074   2,104
          Could only find part-time work............   1,395   1,256   1,299   1,440   1,400   1,455   1,445   1,300   1,344
        Part time for noneconomic reasons...........  18,592  18,808  19,035  18,218  18,515  18,407  18,448  18,084  18,662
                                                                                                                            
      Nonagricultural industries:                                                                                           
        Part time for economic reasons..............   3,707   3,496   3,478   3,853   3,865   3,743   3,726   3,608   3,630
          Slack work or business conditions.........   2,079   2,010   1,937   2,166   2,162   2,025   2,057   1,998   2,024
          Could only find part-time work............   1,354   1,232   1,265   1,402   1,373   1,433   1,416   1,276   1,315
        Part time for noneconomic reasons...........  17,993  18,204  18,411  17,654  17,898  17,786  17,929  17,470  18,067

      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                                                                                             
                                                                                                                            
                                                       May     Apr.    May     May     Jan.    Feb.    Mar.    Apr.    May  
                                                       1997    1998    1998    1997    1998    1998    1998    1998    1998 
                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
                    CHARACTERISTIC                                                                                          
                                                                                                                            
     Total, 16 years and over.......................   6,566   5,859   5,910    4.8     4.7     4.6     4.7     4.3     4.3 
       Men, 20 years and over.......................   2,681   2,396   2,434    3.9     3.8     3.8     3.9     3.4     3.5 
       Women, 20 years and over.....................   2,641   2,411   2,320    4.5     4.4     4.3     4.3     4.1     3.9 
       Both sexes, 16 to 19 years...................   1,244   1,052   1,156   15.7    14.1    14.7    15.0    13.1    14.2 
                                                                                                                            
       Married men, spouse present..................   1,160     974   1,023    2.7     2.6     2.5     2.5     2.2     2.4 
       Married women, spouse present................   1,075     958     933    3.2     3.1     3.1     3.3     2.8     2.8 
       Women who maintain families..................     671     640     651    7.9     7.6     7.6     7.6     7.6     7.7 
                                                                                                                            
       Full-time workers............................   5,300   4,690   4,784    4.8     4.5     4.5     4.5     4.2     4.2 
       Part-time workers............................   1,303   1,170   1,157    5.3     5.4     5.2     5.7     4.8     4.7 
                                                                                                                            
                    OCCUPATION(2)                                                                                           
                                                                                                                            
       Managerial and professional specialty........     794     734     653    2.1     2.0     2.0     1.8     1.9     1.7 
       Technical, sales, and administrative support.   1,566   1,473   1,570    3.9     4.2     4.0     4.1     3.7     3.9 
       Precision production, craft, and repair......     703     562     677    4.7     4.6     4.1     4.5     3.7     4.4 
       Operators, fabricators, and laborers.........   1,453   1,188   1,279    7.2     5.9     6.5     6.9     6.1     6.5 
       Farming, forestry, and fishing...............     255     216     237    6.6     6.8     6.3     7.1     5.8     6.4 
                                                                                                                            
                       INDUSTRY                                                                                             
                                                                                                                            
       Nonagricultural private wage and salary                                                                              
       workers......................................   5,238   4,534   4,763    5.0     4.7     4.7     4.7     4.3     4.5 
         Goods-producing industries.................   1,542   1,263   1,339    5.3     4.8     4.7     5.0     4.4     4.6 
           Mining...................................      21      14       8    3.3     4.0     2.6     3.7     2.3     1.3 
           Construction.............................     611     447     574    8.6     7.9     7.8     8.6     6.3     8.0 
           Manufacturing............................     910     802     756    4.3     3.9     3.7     3.8     3.9     3.6 
             Durable goods..........................     453     436     375    3.6     3.4     2.9     3.6     3.5     3.0 
             Nondurable goods.......................     457     366     381    5.3     4.5     5.0     4.2     4.4     4.6 
         Service-producing industries...............   3,696   3,271   3,424    4.9     4.7     4.7     4.6     4.3     4.5 
           Transportation and public utilities......     270     236     224    3.6     3.8     3.2     3.3     3.1     3.0 
           Wholesale and retail trade...............   1,635   1,396   1,382    6.1     5.9     5.8     5.4     5.2     5.1 
           Finance, insurance, and real estate......     238     178     159    3.1     2.6     2.6     2.6     2.2     2.0 
           Services.................................   1,553   1,461   1,659    4.7     4.3     4.7     4.7     4.3     4.8 
       Government workers...........................     457     362     451    2.5     2.4     2.3     2.9     2.0     2.4 
       Agricultural wage and salary workers.........     157     172     160    7.6    10.6     8.6     9.7     8.0     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                                                                                             
                                                                                                                            
                                                       May     Apr.    May     May     Jan.    Feb.    Mar.    Apr.    May  
                                                       1997    1998    1998    1997    1998    1998    1998    1998    1998 
                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
                 NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED                                                                                       
                                                                                                                            
     Less than 5 weeks..............................   2,535   2,250   2,634   2,542   2,488   2,622   2,858   2,632   2,634
     5 to 14 weeks..................................   1,691   1,734   1,597   2,067   1,971   1,909   1,979   1,901   1,954
     15 weeks and over..............................   2,172   1,660   1,534   2,076   1,811   1,830   1,731   1,417   1,462
        15 to 26 weeks..............................   1,144     754     724   1,054     773     855     841     584     656
        27 weeks and over...........................   1,028     906     809   1,022   1,038     974     891     833     806
                                                                                                                            
     Average (mean) duration, in weeks..............    15.7    15.6    15.0    15.3    15.6    15.6    14.3    14.3    14.6
     Median duration, in weeks......................     7.8     8.1     5.9     7.8     7.4     7.2     6.8     6.4     5.9
                                                                                                                            
                 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............................    39.6    39.9    45.7    38.0    39.7    41.2    43.5    44.2    43.5
       5 to 14 weeks................................    26.4    30.7    27.7    30.9    31.4    30.0    30.1    31.9    32.3
       15 weeks and over............................    33.9    29.4    26.6    31.1    28.9    28.8    26.4    23.8    24.2
         15 to 26 weeks.............................    17.9    13.4    12.6    15.8    12.3    13.4    12.8     9.8    10.8
         27 weeks and over..........................    16.1    16.1    14.0    15.3    16.6    15.3    13.6    14.0    13.3

     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                                                                                              
                                                                                                                            
                                                       May     Apr.    May     May     Jan.    Feb.    Mar.    Apr.    May  
                                                       1997    1998    1998    1997    1998    1998    1998    1998    1998 
                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
                 NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED                                                                                       
                                                                                                                            
    Job losers and persons who completed temporary                                                                          
       jobs.........................................   2,696   2,647   2,517   2,961   2,807   2,795   2,980   2,631   2,772
      On temporary layoff...........................     704     723     608     909     860     821     980     696     786
      Not on temporary layoff.......................   1,992   1,923   1,908   2,052   1,947   1,975   2,000   1,935   1,986
        Permanent job losers........................   1,391   1,381   1,357   (1)     (1)     (1)     (1)     (1)     (1)  
        Persons who completed temporary jobs........     602     542     551   (1)     (1)     (1)     (1)     (1)     (1)  
    Job leavers.....................................     721     579     664     808     808     786     744     625     748
    Reentrants......................................   2,412   1,939   2,098   2,338   2,229   2,266   2,215   2,096   2,033
    New entrants....................................     569     479     486     573     518     543     549     511     493
                                                                                                                            
                 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.........................................    42.1    46.9    43.7    44.3    44.1    43.7    45.9    44.9    45.8
       On temporary layoff..........................    11.0    12.8    10.5    13.6    13.5    12.8    15.1    11.9    13.0
       Not on temporary layoff......................    31.1    34.1    33.1    30.7    30.6    30.9    30.8    33.0    32.8
     Job leavers....................................    11.3    10.3    11.5    12.1    12.7    12.3    11.5    10.7    12.4
     Reentrants.....................................    37.7    34.4    36.4    35.0    35.0    35.5    34.1    35.7    33.6
     New entrants...................................     8.9     8.5     8.4     8.6     8.1     8.5     8.5     8.7     8.2
                                                                                                                            
            UNEMPLOYED AS A PERCENT OF THE                                                                                  
                   CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE                                                                                     
                                                                                                                            
     Job losers and persons who completed temporary                                                                         
       jobs.........................................     2.0     1.9     1.8     2.2     2.0     2.0     2.2     1.9     2.0
     Job leavers....................................      .5      .4      .5      .6      .6      .6      .5      .5      .5
     Reentrants.....................................     1.8     1.4     1.5     1.7     1.6     1.6     1.6     1.5     1.5
     New entrants...................................      .4      .4      .4      .4      .4      .4      .4      .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                                                                                          
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                             
                                                                 May   Apr.    May    May   Jan.   Feb.   Mar.   Apr.    May 
                                                                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..............................................    1.6    1.2    1.1    1.5    1.3    1.3    1.3    1.0    1.1
                                                                                                                             
  U-2 Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs, as                                                                
     a percent of the                                                                                                        
     civilian labor force.....................................    2.0    1.9    1.8    2.2    2.0    2.0    2.2    1.9    2.0
                                                                                                                             
  U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor                                                                   
     force                                                                                                                   
     (official unemployment rate).............................    4.7    4.1    4.2    4.8    4.7    4.6    4.7    4.3    4.3
                                                                                                                             
  U-4 Total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a percent                                                                
     of the civilian                                                                                                         
      labor force plus discouraged workers....................    4.9    4.4    4.4   (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........................................    5.7    5.0    5.0   (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.........................    8.5    7.7    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                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
                                                       May     Apr.    May     May     Jan.    Feb.    Mar.    Apr.    May  
                                                       1997    1998    1998    1997    1998    1998    1998    1998    1998 
                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
  Total, 16 years and over..........................   6,566   5,859   5,910    4.8     4.7     4.6     4.7     4.3     4.3 
    16 to 24 years..................................   2,361   2,063   2,184   11.0    10.8    10.8    10.7     9.5    10.0 
      16 to 19 years................................   1,244   1,052   1,156   15.7    14.1    14.7    15.0    13.1    14.2 
        16 to 17 years..............................     586     506     514   18.3    17.3    18.5    16.9    15.2    15.8 
        18 to 19 years..............................     664     546     650   13.9    11.6    11.3    13.7    11.6    13.2 
      20 to 24 years................................   1,117   1,011   1,028    8.2     8.9     8.5     8.0     7.4     7.6 
    25 years and over...............................   4,249   3,751   3,758    3.7     3.5     3.5     3.6     3.2     3.3 
      25 to 54 years................................   3,787   3,293   3,372    3.9     3.6     3.6     3.8     3.3     3.4 
      55 years and over.............................     480     426     407    2.9     2.7     2.7     2.9     2.5     2.4 
                                                                                                                            
    Men, 16 years and over..........................   3,324   2,969   3,098    4.5     4.5     4.5     4.6     4.0     4.2 
      16 to 24 years................................   1,209   1,105   1,250   10.7    11.2    11.7    11.2     9.7    11.0 
        16 to 19 years..............................     643     573     664   15.7    16.4    17.0    16.5    14.0    16.0 
          16 to 17 years............................     304     253     300   18.5    18.3    21.0    18.5    14.9    17.9 
          18 to 19 years............................     345     320     370   14.0    14.9    13.1    15.2    13.3    14.8 
        20 to 24 years..............................     566     532     586    7.8     8.1     8.7     8.1     7.3     8.1 
      25 years and over.............................   2,156   1,854   1,875    3.5     3.3     3.2     3.4     3.0     3.0 
        25 to 54 years..............................   1,878   1,602   1,639    3.6     3.4     3.2     3.5     3.0     3.1 
        55 years and over...........................     264     244     225    2.9     3.1     2.9     3.1     2.6     2.4 
                                                                                                                            
    Women, 16 years and over........................   3,242   2,890   2,813    5.1     4.8     4.8     4.9     4.6     4.4 
      16 to 24 years................................   1,152     958     935   11.3    10.4     9.8    10.1     9.2     9.0 
        16 to 19 years..............................     601     479     493   15.6    11.6    12.3    13.4    12.1    12.3 
          16 to 17 years............................     282     253     214   18.1    16.3    16.0    15.2    15.5    13.5 
          18 to 19 years............................     319     226     280   13.9     8.2     9.5    12.2     9.8    11.4 
        20 to 24 years..............................     551     479     442    8.7     9.7     8.3     7.9     7.5     6.9 
      25 years and over.............................   2,093   1,897   1,883    4.0     3.7     3.8     3.9     3.6     3.5 
        25 to 54 years..............................   1,909   1,692   1,733    4.2     3.9     4.1     4.1     3.7     3.8 
        55 years and over...........................     216     182     182    3.0     2.3     2.4     2.6     2.4     2.4 

    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                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                      
                                                                         May        May        May        May        May        May   
                                                                        1997       1998       1997       1998       1997       1998   
                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                      
                        NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                      
    Total not in the labor force....................................   66,870     67,659     24,368     24,738     42,502     42,921  
      Persons who currently want a job..............................    5,901      5,313      2,488      2,237      3,412      3,076  
         Searched for work and vailable to work now(1)..............    1,431      1,213        639        570        792        644  
            Reason not currently looking:                                                                                             
              Discouragement over job prospects(2)..................      338        268        198        161        140        106  
                 Reasons other than discouragement(3)...............    1,093        946        441        408        652        537  
                                                                                                                                      
                         MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                      
    Total multiple jobholders(4)....................................    8,197      8,126      4,398      4,438      3,800      3,688  
        Percent of total employed...................................      6.3        6.2        6.3        6.3        6.4        6.1  
                                                                                                                                      
        Primary job full time, secondary job part time..............    4,594      4,660      2,773      2,811      1,820      1,849  
        Primary and secondary jobs both part time...................    1,713      1,571        546        496      1,167      1,075  
        Primary and secondary jobs both full time...................      262        265        190        206         73         59  
        Hours vary on primary or secondary job......................    1,608      1,606        875        912        733        694  

    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                                                                                                
                                                May     Mar.    Apr.    May     May     Jan.    Feb.    Mar.    Apr.    May  
                                                1997    1998   1998p   1998p    1997    1998    1998    1998   1998p   1998p 
                                                                                                                             
               Total......................... 122,973 124,006 125,068 126,114 122,325 124,640 124,832 124,914 125,216 125,512
                                                                                                                             
            Total private.................... 103,055 103,880 104,938 105,926 102,811 104,954 105,112 105,186 105,452 105,707
                                                                                                                             
     Goods-producing.........................  24,919  24,780  25,078  25,318  24,883  25,297  25,314  25,276  25,334  25,298
                                                                                                                             
       Mining................................     592     577     577     581     593     592     590     587     582     581
         Metal mining........................    54.0    50.4    50.3    50.8      54      52      52      51      51      51
         Coal mining.........................    96.8    93.0    92.1    91.6      97      94      93      93      92      92
         Oil and gas extraction..............   331.3   330.8   327.6   329.0     334     338     338     336     332     331
         Nonmetallic minerals, except fuels..   110.2   102.8   107.0   109.5     108     108     107     107     107     107
                                                                                                                             
       Construction..........................   5,728   5,459   5,755   5,971   5,670   5,881   5,902   5,860   5,926   5,917
         General building contractors........ 1,306.8 1,300.6 1,345.7 1,378.7   1,310   1,365   1,371   1,373   1,384   1,382
         Heavy construction, except building.   831.4   713.6   790.6   846.8     797     817     813     805     818     816
         Special trade contractors........... 3,589.3 3,445.1 3,618.6 3,745.7   3,563   3,699   3,718   3,682   3,724   3,719
                                                                                                                             
       Manufacturing.........................  18,599  18,744  18,746  18,766  18,620  18,824  18,822  18,829  18,826  18,800
           Production workers................  12,861  12,954  12,942  12,958  12,874  13,023  13,024  13,013  13,001  12,982
                                                                                                                             
        Durable goods........................  10,950  11,140  11,153  11,162  10,941  11,154  11,159  11,166  11,169  11,158
           Production workers................   7,521   7,657   7,660   7,660   7,504   7,669   7,676   7,669   7,664   7,648
         Lumber and wood products............   792.0   785.7   790.2   798.7     794     800     800     801     801     802
         Furniture and fixtures..............   509.6   521.1   523.7   525.1     509     517     519     520     524     527
         Stone, clay, and glass products.....   557.1   546.4   559.4   564.3     551     562     561     558     561     559
         Primary metal industries............   707.2   719.3   716.7   715.9     708     719     718     719     717     716
           Blast furnaces and basic steel                                                                                    
              products.......................   234.1   235.2   234.2   234.7   (1)     (1)     (1)     (1)     (1)     (1)  
         Fabricated metal products........... 1,470.9 1,494.6 1,494.2 1,495.0   1,473   1,496   1,497   1,497   1,498   1,496
         Industrial machinery and equipment.. 2,159.1 2,211.0 2,207.9 2,205.2   2,154   2,200   2,202   2,205   2,202   2,200
           Computer and office equipment.....   373.8   379.0   377.7   375.8     374     381     381     381     378     375
         Electronic and other electrical                                                                                     
            equipment........................ 1,671.7 1,718.4 1,714.2 1,710.0   1,676   1,719   1,720   1,722   1,720   1,716
           Electronic components and                                                                                         
              accessories....................   643.3   679.7   676.4   673.6     646     680     680     681     678     675
         Transportation equipment............ 1,831.4 1,888.6 1,891.0 1,894.1   1,824   1,882   1,886   1,887   1,889   1,887
           Motor vehicles and equipment......   980.3 1,003.5 1,004.7 1,006.5     973   1,002   1,004   1,002   1,004   1,000
           Aircraft and parts................   493.2   522.9   523.6   522.7     495     521     523     525     525     524
         Instruments and related products....   860.6   867.3   866.5   865.7     861     870     866     868     868     867
         Miscellaneous manufacturing.........   390.1   388.0   389.0   387.5     391     389     390     389     389     388
                                                                                                                             
        Nondurable goods.....................   7,649   7,604   7,593   7,604   7,679   7,670   7,663   7,663   7,657   7,642
           Production workers................   5,340   5,297   5,282   5,298   5,370   5,354   5,348   5,344   5,337   5,334
         Food and kindred products........... 1,659.1 1,663.8 1,662.4 1,672.6   1,690   1,702   1,703   1,704   1,707   1,706
         Tobacco products....................    38.0    40.5    39.5    37.4      41      40      41      41      42      41
         Textile mill products...............   618.4   602.5   603.6   604.2     617     608     606     604     605     604
         Apparel and other textile products..   835.6   792.0   784.0   780.8     831     805     796     796     787     778
         Paper and allied products...........   683.7   684.6   681.6   681.4     685     688     688     688     686     684
         Printing and publishing............. 1,550.9 1,560.6 1,564.6 1,565.0   1,553   1,564   1,564   1,564   1,566   1,566
         Chemicals and allied products....... 1,034.1 1,034.1 1,031.6 1,036.7   1,036   1,035   1,036   1,036   1,035   1,038
         Petroleum and coal products.........   141.4   133.2   135.5   137.3     141     136     136     136     137     136
         Rubber and misc. plastics products..   995.9 1,007.8 1,006.0 1,004.5     993   1,006   1,007   1,009   1,008   1,005
         Leather and leather products........    92.3    85.1    84.4    83.9      92      86      86      85      84      84
                                                                                                                             
     Service-producing.......................  98,054  99,226  99,990 100,796  97,442  99,343  99,518  99,638  99,882 100,214
                                                                                                                             
       Transportation and public utilities...   6,407   6,456   6,483   6,544   6,399   6,473   6,494   6,504   6,512   6,534
         Transportation......................   4,123   4,132   4,153   4,201   4,112   4,148   4,164   4,170   4,173   4,190
           Railroad transportation...........   227.4   228.0   229.6   230.8     226     231     231     231     230     230
           Local and interurban passenger                                                                                    
              transit........................   468.4   472.8   468.3   479.3     450     456     459     460     454     461
           Trucking and warehousing.......... 1,659.7 1,658.1 1,675.6 1,697.4   1,666   1,684   1,688   1,690   1,702   1,703
           Water transportation..............   184.7   176.9   180.5   186.7     179     177     181     183     182     185
           Transportation by air............. 1,131.3 1,136.6 1,139.0 1,143.7   1,139   1,142   1,145   1,146   1,146   1,149
           Pipelines, except natural gas.....    14.2    14.1    14.1    14.3      14      14      14      14      14      14
           Transportation services...........   437.2   445.9   446.2   448.4     438     444     446     446     445     448
         Communications and public utilities.   2,284   2,324   2,330   2,343   2,287   2,325   2,330   2,334   2,339   2,344
           Communications.................... 1,415.6 1,469.2 1,477.4 1,488.7   1,419   1,466   1,471   1,475   1,484   1,490
           Electric, gas, and sanitary                                                                                       
              services.......................   868.1   855.2   852.4   854.3     868     859     859     859     855     854
                                                                                                                             
       Wholesale trade.......................   6,636   6,744   6,780   6,809   6,626   6,759   6,769   6,783   6,797   6,806
         Durable goods.......................   3,921   4,027   4,047   4,059   3,916   4,017   4,030   4,039   4,050   4,053
         Nondurable goods....................   2,715   2,717   2,733   2,750   2,710   2,742   2,739   2,744   2,747   2,753
       Retail trade..........................  21,978  21,823  22,078  22,425  21,952  22,280  22,283  22,259  22,328  22,417
         Building materials and garden                                                                                       
            supplies.........................   978.9   930.5   975.8 1,006.8     941     954     959     966     967     966
         General merchandise stores.......... 2,617.4 2,660.0 2,674.4 2,714.4   2,702   2,771   2,756   2,759   2,784   2,801
           Department stores................. 2,298.9 2,343.2 2,356.0 2,395.9   2,376   2,439   2,427   2,428   2,448   2,476
         Food stores......................... 3,474.0 3,486.8 3,489.6 3,518.4   3,486   3,528   3,533   3,536   3,533   3,539
         Automotive dealers and service                                                                                      
            stations......................... 2,313.9 2,311.2 2,327.2 2,350.0   2,309   2,331   2,331   2,333   2,337   2,345
           New and used car dealers.......... 1,048.7 1,054.7 1,056.7 1,061.0   1,049   1,056   1,056   1,056   1,058   1,062
         Apparel and accessory stores........ 1,070.4 1,064.0 1,075.0 1,078.9   1,095   1,108   1,100   1,098   1,104   1,105
         Furniture and home furnishings                                                                                      
            stores...........................   988.4 1,037.2 1,035.3 1,038.8   1,000   1,039   1,043   1,048   1,045   1,052
         Eating and drinking places.......... 7,786.1 7,519.8 7,676.1 7,860.3   7,637   7,685   7,694   7,645   7,680   7,713
         Miscellaneous retail establishments. 2,748.5 2,813.7 2,824.1 2,856.9   2,782   2,864   2,867   2,874   2,878   2,896
                                                                                                                             
       Finance, insurance, and real estate...   7,065   7,213   7,258   7,305   7,064   7,213   7,232   7,258   7,286   7,306
         Finance.............................   3,393   3,504   3,512   3,529   3,397   3,485   3,496   3,512   3,519   3,535
           Depository institutions........... 2,020.8 2,034.8 2,033.4 2,038.9   2,024   2,037   2,039   2,041   2,040   2,044
             Commercial banks................ 1,455.7 1,459.0 1,455.9 1,459.2   1,459   1,463   1,464   1,465   1,461   1,463
             Savings institutions............   261.6   261.8   262.6   263.3     262     262     262     262     262     264
           Nondepository institutions........   563.5   602.3   605.7   612.7     563     589     593     602     605     612
             Mortgage bankers and brokers....   251.5   275.6   279.1   284.3     250     264     270     276     278     283
           Security and commodity brokers....   589.2   630.5   634.2   637.6     591     625     629     633     636     639
           Holding and other investment                                                                                      
              offices........................   219.8   236.3   239.0   239.9     219     234     235     236     238     240
         Insurance...........................   2,249   2,298   2,308   2,317   2,249   2,293   2,297   2,302   2,311   2,317
           Insurance carriers................ 1,526.5 1,562.7 1,571.6 1,578.2   1,527   1,558   1,560   1,566   1,574   1,579
           Insurance agents, brokers, and                                                                                    
              service........................   722.6   735.7   736.2   738.3     722     735     737     736     737     738
         Real estate.........................   1,423   1,411   1,438   1,459   1,418   1,435   1,439   1,444   1,456   1,454
                                                                                                                             
       Services2.............................  36,050  36,864  37,261  37,525  35,887  36,932  37,020  37,106  37,195  37,346
         Agricultural services...............   733.6   617.3   711.8   757.6     677     696     696     695     708     700
         Hotels and other lodging places..... 1,762.5 1,688.8 1,721.6 1,787.2   1,741   1,762   1,756   1,755   1,768   1,768
         Personal services................... 1,171.0 1,239.8 1,238.7 1,176.3   1,184   1,176   1,177   1,178   1,182   1,190
         Business services................... 7,903.5 8,285.6 8,352.3 8,468.1   7,931   8,351   8,384   8,412   8,417   8,491
           Services to buildings.............   941.7   959.5   965.1   976.8     936     960     961     966     963     972
           Personnel supply services......... 2,924.1 3,041.2 3,078.0 3,143.5   2,951   3,139   3,152   3,149   3,138   3,165
             Help supply services............ 2,602.3 2,710.8 2,743.5 2,811.6   2,631   2,804   2,820   2,819   2,802   2,828
           Computer and data processing                                                                                      
              services....................... 1,389.0 1,544.5 1,559.0 1,574.1   1,391   1,507   1,522   1,538   1,560   1,577
         Auto repair, services, and parking.. 1,124.3 1,144.2 1,145.5 1,153.5   1,123   1,147   1,144   1,145   1,148   1,152
         Miscellaneous repair services.......   375.8   378.8   382.9   384.2     375     381     382     382     383     384
         Motion pictures.....................   541.0   567.2   561.5   557.8     541     563     569     565     563     559
         Amusement and recreation services... 1,652.1 1,502.7 1,634.8 1,758.4   1,564   1,633   1,641   1,647   1,658   1,665
         Health services..................... 9,690.6 9,848.3 9,859.2 9,882.7   9,701   9,837   9,852   9,867   9,872   9,889
           Offices and clinics of medical                                                                                    
              doctors........................ 1,735.5 1,790.3 1,798.6 1,807.2   1,738   1,784   1,788   1,796   1,802   1,809
           Nursing and personal care                                                                                         
              facilities..................... 1,751.5 1,756.8 1,755.8 1,755.5   1,757   1,759   1,761   1,761   1,760   1,760
           Hospitals......................... 3,852.6 3,924.9 3,932.5 3,939.9   3,857   3,916   3,920   3,925   3,938   3,946
           Home health care services.........   714.2   694.8   686.6   685.5     713     706     702     698     686     683
         Legal services......................   938.4   966.2   967.7   969.9     944     964     967     970     972     975
         Educational services................ 2,129.7 2,324.2 2,333.7 2,245.6   2,097   2,169   2,179   2,189   2,196   2,212
         Social services..................... 2,526.1 2,595.9 2,612.7 2,631.5   2,501   2,570   2,577   2,587   2,595   2,606
           Child day care services...........   590.0   589.3   593.6   596.5     569     575     574     575     576     574
           Residential care..................   712.3   742.0   745.0   747.8     712     736     741     744     746     748
         Museums and botanical and zoological                                                                                
           gardens...........................    92.9    86.2    90.5    94.6      90      91      92      92      92      91
         Membership organizations............ 2,249.3 2,248.6 2,253.0 2,264.8   2,250   2,260   2,261   2,263   2,266   2,265
         Engineering and management services. 2,965.8 3,175.7 3,200.4 3,197.7   2,974   3,137   3,148   3,164   3,179   3,204
           Engineering and architectural                                                                                     
              services.......................   860.3   895.1   902.1   913.1     862     897     899     904     911     915
           Management and public relations...   930.8 1,007.5 1,015.8 1,031.0     931   1,004   1,007   1,012   1,012   1,028
         Services, nec.......................    49.4    50.8    51.2    51.4   (1)     (1)     (1)     (1)     (1)     (1)  
                                                                                                                             
       Government............................  19,918  20,126  20,130  20,188  19,514  19,686  19,720  19,728  19,764  19,805
         Federal.............................   2,707   2,662   2,668   2,677   2,704   2,670   2,676   2,671   2,675   2,672
           Federal, except Postal Service.... 1,858.1 1,808.9 1,815.2 1,823.1   1,850   1,822   1,819   1,815   1,815   1,811
         State...............................   4,641   4,741   4,747   4,692   4,583   4,613   4,613   4,619   4,620   4,632
           Education......................... 1,961.8 2,064.8 2,060.4 1,992.6   1,904   1,924   1,924   1,928   1,926   1,931
           Other State government............ 2,679.2 2,676.1 2,686.8 2,699.7   2,679   2,689   2,689   2,691   2,694   2,701
         Local...............................  12,570  12,723  12,715  12,819  12,227  12,403  12,431  12,438  12,469  12,501
           Education......................... 7,250.6 7,390.7 7,365.4 7,402.2   6,874   6,980   6,999   7,003   7,023   7,051
           Other local government............ 5,319.5 5,331.8 5,349.4 5,416.3   5,353   5,423   5,432   5,435   5,446   5,450

       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.
        NOTE:  Data have been revised to reflect March 1997 benchmarks and recomputed seasonal adjustment factors.




     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                                                                                                
                                                May     Mar.    Apr.    May     May     Jan.    Feb.    Mar.    Apr.    May  
                                                1997    1998   1998p   1998p    1997    1998    1998    1998   1998p   1998p 
                                                                                                                             
            Total private....................   34.5    34.5    34.2    34.5    34.7    34.8    34.7    34.6    34.5    34.7 
                                                                                                                             
     Goods-producing.........................   41.4    40.9    40.1    41.1    41.4    41.6    41.4    41.0    40.8    41.0 
                                                                                                                             
       Mining................................   45.8    43.4    43.5    44.4    45.8    45.4    44.4    43.8    44.2    44.6 
                                                                                                                             
       Construction..........................   39.7    37.9    38.0    39.3    39.2    39.8    39.2    38.5    38.7    38.7 
                                                                                                                             
       Manufacturing.........................   41.9    41.7    40.7    41.6    42.0    42.1    42.0    41.8    41.4    41.7 
           Overtime hours....................    4.7     4.6     4.0     4.5     4.9     4.9     4.8     4.8     4.5     4.6 
                                                                                                                             
        Durable goods........................   42.8    42.4    41.3    42.3    42.9    42.8    42.8    42.5    41.9    42.2 
           Overtime hours....................    5.0     4.9     4.1     4.8     5.2     5.2     5.1     5.0     4.6     4.8 
                                                                                                                             
         Lumber and wood products............   41.3    40.8    40.8    41.3    41.1    41.2    41.1    41.2    41.2    41.1 
         Furniture and fixtures..............   39.8    40.4    39.7    40.3    40.3    41.0    41.0    40.7    40.7    40.9 
         Stone, clay, and glass products.....   43.7    42.5    42.9    44.1    43.3    43.7    43.6    43.2    43.3    43.7 
         Primary metal industries............   44.7    44.5    43.4    44.2    44.9    45.2    44.8    44.6    43.9    44.2 
           Blast furnaces and basic steel                                                                                    
              products.......................   44.7    45.2    44.7    45.3    44.9    46.0    45.4    45.3    44.8    45.5 
         Fabricated metal products...........   42.5    42.2    40.9    41.1    42.6    42.7    42.7    42.4    41.8    41.2 
         Industrial machinery and equipment..   43.5    43.5    41.9    43.2    43.6    43.6    43.4    43.3    42.6    43.1 
         Electronic and other electrical                                                                                     
            equipment........................   41.8    41.4    40.3    41.2    42.1    41.8    41.9    41.4    41.0    41.4 
         Transportation equipment............   44.7    43.7    41.4    43.8    44.5    43.9    43.8    43.4    42.1    43.4 
           Motor vehicles and equipment......   45.5    43.9    41.2    44.1    45.1    43.9    43.8    43.5    42.0    43.3 
         Instruments and related products....   41.7    41.7    40.6    41.2    42.0    41.9    42.0    41.5    41.3    41.4 
         Miscellaneous manufacturing.........   40.0    40.5    39.4    39.8    40.2    40.4    40.4    40.5    40.1    39.9 
                                                                                                                             
        Nondurable goods.....................   40.6    40.7    40.0    40.6    40.8    41.1    40.9    40.8    40.7    40.8 
           Overtime hours....................    4.1     4.2     3.8     4.2     4.4     4.4     4.4     4.4     4.2     4.4 
                                                                                                                             
         Food and kindred products...........   41.0    40.9    40.3    41.3    41.4    41.8    41.5    41.5    41.2    41.6 
         Tobacco products....................   38.7    37.0    36.9    38.7    38.8    38.3    38.5    37.7    38.1    39.0 
         Textile mill products...............   41.2    41.2    40.1    41.1    41.4    41.8    41.5    41.2    41.0    41.3 
         Apparel and other textile products..   37.1    37.2    36.5    37.5    37.2    37.4    37.4    37.2    37.7    37.5 
         Paper and allied products...........   43.4    43.1    42.5    43.4    43.8    43.6    43.4    43.4    43.0    43.6 
         Printing and publishing.............   38.1    38.4    37.8    38.0    38.4    38.5    38.5    38.4    38.2    38.3 
         Chemicals and allied products.......   43.1    43.4    42.8    42.0    43.3    43.5    43.4    43.4    43.0    42.1 
         Petroleum and coal products.........   42.4    43.2    42.9    42.4    (2)     (2)     (2)     (2)     (2)     (2)  
         Rubber and misc. plastics products..   41.7    41.5    40.9    41.8    41.7    42.0    41.8    41.5    41.6    42.0 
         Leather and leather products........   38.2    37.7    36.7    37.9    38.3    38.3    38.8    37.9    37.5    37.8 
                                                                                                                             
     Service-producing.......................   32.7    32.9    32.6    32.8    32.9    33.0    33.0    32.8    32.9    33.0 
                                                                                                                             
       Transportation and public utilities...   39.3    39.4    39.1    39.7    39.6    40.0    39.9    39.8    39.6    40.0 
                                                                                                                             
       Wholesale trade.......................   38.5    38.4    38.1    38.4    38.6    38.5    38.5    38.3    38.3    38.5 
                                                                                                                             
       Retail trade..........................   28.8    28.7    28.7    29.0    28.9    29.0    29.0    28.9    29.0    29.1 
                                                                                                                             
       Finance, insurance, and real estate...   35.9    36.8    36.1    36.1    (2)     (2)     (2)     (2)     (2)     (2)  
                                                                                                                             
       Services..............................   32.4    32.7    32.4    32.5    32.6    32.8    32.7    32.6    32.6    32.7 

       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.
        NOTE:  Data have been revised to reflect March 1997 benchmarks, refinements to the seasonal adjustment process for
     the hours series, and recomputed seasonal adjustment factors.




     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                                                                                                
                                                 May       Mar.      Apr.      May       May       Mar.      Apr.      May   
                                                 1997      1998     1998p     1998p      1997      1998     1998p     1998p  
                                                                                                                             
            Total private....................  $12.18    $12.68    $12.69    $12.70    $420.21   $437.46   $434.00   $438.15 
             Seasonally adjusted.............   12.21     12.63     12.69     12.73     423.69    437.00    437.81    441.73 
                                                                                                                             
     Goods-producing.........................   13.83     14.18     14.23     14.29     572.56    579.96    570.62    587.32 
                                                                                                                             
       Mining................................   16.01     16.89     16.82     16.76     733.26    733.03    731.67    744.14 
                                                                                                                             
       Construction..........................   15.86     16.29     16.35     16.45     629.64    617.39    621.30    646.49 
                                                                                                                             
       Manufacturing.........................   13.08     13.47     13.46     13.47     548.05    561.70    547.82    560.35 
                                                                                                                             
        Durable goods........................   13.63     14.02     13.96     13.98     583.36    594.45    576.55    591.35 
         Lumber and wood products............   10.72     10.95     10.99     11.06     442.74    446.76    448.39    456.78 
         Furniture and fixtures..............   10.47     10.80     10.86     10.78     416.71    436.32    431.14    434.43 
         Stone, clay, and glass products.....   13.12     13.46     13.63     13.55     573.34    572.05    584.73    597.56 
         Primary metal industries............   15.09     15.52     15.65     15.60     674.52    690.64    679.21    689.52 
           Blast furnaces and basic steel                                                                                    
              products.......................   17.87     18.32     18.66     18.55     798.79    828.06    834.10    840.32 
         Fabricated metal products...........   12.74     13.01     12.90     12.68     541.45    549.02    527.61    521.15 
         Industrial machinery and equipment..   13.94     14.36     14.32     14.35     606.39    624.66    600.01    619.92 
         Electronic and other electrical                                                                                     
            equipment........................   12.55     13.06     13.09     13.11     524.59    540.68    527.53    540.13 
         Transportation equipment............   17.43     17.92     17.72     17.81     779.12    783.10    733.61    780.08 
           Motor vehicles and equipment......   17.94     18.52     18.38     18.39     816.27    813.03    757.26    811.00 
         Instruments and related products....   13.48     13.73     13.76     13.79     562.12    572.54    558.66    568.15 
         Miscellaneous manufacturing.........   10.51     10.79     10.76     10.79     420.40    437.00    423.94    429.44 
                                                                                                                             
        Nondurable goods.....................   12.26     12.63     12.71     12.70     497.76    514.04    508.40    515.62 
         Food and kindred products...........   11.47     11.70     11.75     11.81     470.27    478.53    473.53    487.75 
         Tobacco products....................   20.79     18.54     18.79     20.01     804.57    685.98    693.35    774.39 
         Textile mill products...............    9.95     10.29     10.39     10.36     409.94    423.95    416.64    425.80 
         Apparel and other textile products..    8.22      8.43      8.48      8.49     304.96    313.60    309.52    318.38 
         Paper and allied products...........   14.97     15.27     15.47     15.51     649.70    658.14    657.48    673.13 
         Printing and publishing.............   12.93     13.36     13.32     13.36     492.63    513.02    503.50    507.68 
         Chemicals and allied products.......   16.48     16.97     17.13     17.03     710.29    736.50    733.16    715.26 
         Petroleum and coal products.........   19.95     21.16     20.99     20.52     845.88    914.11    900.47    870.05 
         Rubber and misc. plastics products..   11.50     11.78     11.84     11.85     479.55    488.87    484.26    495.33 
         Leather and leather products........    8.92      9.32      9.32      9.42     340.74    351.36    342.04    357.02 
                                                                                                                             
     Service-producing.......................   11.62     12.19     12.19     12.18     379.97    401.05    397.39    399.50 
                                                                                                                             
       Transportation and public utilities...  $14.76    $15.24    $15.26    $15.20    $580.07   $600.46   $596.67   $603.44 
                                                                                                                             
       Wholesale trade.......................   13.33     13.86     13.92     13.97     513.21    532.22    530.35    536.45 
                                                                                                                             
       Retail trade..........................    8.27      8.67      8.71      8.73     238.18    248.83    249.98    253.17 
                                                                                                                             
       Finance, insurance, and real estate...   13.21     13.97     13.98     13.97     474.24    514.10    504.68    504.32 
                                                                                                                             
       Services..............................   12.16     12.77     12.75     12.73     393.98    417.58    413.10    413.73 

       1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
       p = preliminary.
        NOTE:  Data have been revised to reflect March 1997 benchmarks, refinements to the seasonal adjustment process for
     the hours and earnings series, and recomputed seasonal adjustment factors.




                ESTABLISHMENT DATA                                                              ESTABLISHMENT DATA
                
                
                Table B-4. Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers1 on private nonfarm
                payrolls by industry, seasonally adjusted
                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                         Percent  
                                                    May     Jan.     Feb.     Mar.     Apr.      May      change  
                            Industry               1997     1998     1998     1998     1998p    1998p     from:   
                                                                                                        Apr. 1998-
                                                                                                         May 1998 
                                                                                                                  
                Total private:                                                                                    
                   Current dollars..............   $12.21   $12.54   $12.59   $12.63   $12.69   $12.73      0.3   
                   Constant (1982) dollars2.....     7.53     7.66     7.69     7.72     7.73     N.A.     (3)    
                                                                                                                  
                  Goods-producing...............    13.85    14.16    14.21    14.25    14.26    14.28       .1   
                    Mining......................    16.09    16.47    16.76    16.82    16.70    16.80       .6   
                    Construction................    15.93    16.27    16.34    16.40    16.46    16.49       .2   
                    Manufacturing...............    13.10    13.38    13.42    13.46    13.44    13.47       .2   
                      Excluding overtime4.......    12.38    12.66    12.69    12.73    12.76    12.77       .1   
                                                                                                                  
                  Service-producing.............    11.66    12.00    12.06    12.10    12.18    12.22       .3   
                    Transportation and public                                                                     
                       utilities................    14.83    15.21    15.25    15.27    15.31    15.30      -.1   
                    Wholesale trade.............    13.37    13.75    13.81    13.84    13.90    14.01       .8   
                    Retail trade................     8.28     8.56     8.59     8.64     8.71     8.74       .3   
                    Finance, insurance, and real                                                                  
                       estate...................    13.25    13.72    13.83    13.85    14.00    14.01       .1   
                    Services....................    12.22    12.54    12.60    12.65    12.74    12.79       .4   

                  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 .1 percent from March 1998 to April 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:  Data have been revised to reflect March 1997 benchmarks, refinements to the seasonal
                adjustment process for the hours and earnings series, and recomputed seasonal adjustment factors.




     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                                                                                                
                                                May   Mar.    Apr.      May     May    Jan.    Feb.   Mar.    Apr.      May  
                                               1997   1998    1998p    1998p   1997    1998    1998   1998    1998p    1998p 
                                                                                                                             
            Total private....................  141.1  141.6   141.7    144.7   141.2  144.6   144.4   143.8   143.9    144.9 
                                                                                                                             
     Goods-producing.........................  114.8  111.8   111.5    115.5   114.5  117.1   116.4   115.1   114.7    115.1 
                                                                                                                             
       Mining................................   58.5   54.1    54.2     55.8    58.7   58.3    57.0    55.6    55.5     56.1 
                                                                                                                             
       Construction..........................  160.6  143.0   153.2    165.2   156.6  165.0   162.4   158.7   161.4    160.7 
                                                                                                                             
       Manufacturing.........................  108.6  109.0   106.3    108.7   109.1  110.6   110.3   109.7   108.6    109.1 
                                                                                                                             
        Durable goods........................  112.3  113.4   110.2    113.0   112.2  114.6   114.5   113.7   112.1    112.7 
         Lumber and wood products............  142.4  139.1   140.2    143.4   142.1  143.8   143.4   143.6   143.6    143.2 
         Furniture and fixtures..............  126.4  132.1   130.6    132.4   128.0  132.8   133.1   132.7   133.7    134.7 
         Stone, clay, and glass products.....  114.7  109.5   113.4    117.7   112.3  116.5   116.2   113.9   114.1    115.4 
         Primary metal industries............   93.6   95.3    92.6     94.1    94.1   96.6    95.8    95.5    93.7     94.2 
           Blast furnaces and basic steel                                                                                    
              products.......................   72.3   73.9    72.9     73.8    72.5   75.6    74.6    74.4    73.2     74.3 
         Fabricated metal products...........  117.0  118.4   114.7    115.0   117.3  119.8   120.1   119.1   117.5    115.4 
         Industrial machinery and equipment..  109.3  112.4   108.0    111.1   108.9  111.7   111.3   111.1   109.1    110.3 
         Electronic and other electrical                                                                                     
            equipment........................  109.4  111.1   107.8    110.0   110.6  112.8   112.8   111.3   110.0    110.9 
         Transportation equipment............  129.2  129.8   122.7    129.7   127.7  130.0   130.1   128.7   124.4    127.5 
           Motor vehicles and equipment......  170.4  166.4   155.8    166.7   167.4  166.8   166.6   164.6   158.7    162.2 
         Instruments and related products....   75.8   77.3    75.2     76.3    76.3   77.4    77.6    76.8    76.5     76.8 
         Miscellaneous manufacturing.........  103.3  103.6   101.4    101.6   104.0  103.8   103.8   104.1   103.4    101.8 
                                                                                                                             
        Nondurable goods.....................  103.6  102.9   101.0    102.9   104.8  105.2   104.6   104.3   103.8    104.1 
         Food and kindred products...........  113.3  113.6   111.7    115.4   117.1  119.2   118.5   118.5   118.0    119.4 
         Tobacco products....................   54.1   57.8    55.7     54.9    61.5   60.7    61.0    59.7    62.3     61.8 
         Textile mill products...............   89.7   87.7    85.5     87.6    90.0   89.6    88.6    87.8    87.4     87.9 
         Apparel and other textile products..   74.7   69.8    67.6     69.1    74.2   71.6    70.8    70.2    69.9     68.8 
         Paper and allied products...........  110.4  109.7   107.5    109.9   111.7  111.6   111.1   111.1   109.6    110.8 
         Printing and publishing.............  125.2  125.4   123.5    123.8   126.3  126.3   126.0   125.3   124.7    124.9 
         Chemicals and allied products.......  100.1  103.3   101.7    102.0   100.8  103.1   103.2   103.4   102.6    102.2 
         Petroleum and coal products.........   75.9   71.1    72.4     72.4    76.2   75.0    71.9    73.6    72.4     72.3 
         Rubber and misc. plastics products..  145.9  147.1   144.9    147.9   145.6  148.4   147.9   147.2   147.5    148.6 
         Leather and leather products........   41.5   37.3    35.6     36.5    41.8   38.3    38.7    37.3    36.3     36.0 
                                                                                                                             
     Service-producing.......................  152.9  154.9   155.3    157.8   153.2  156.9   157.0   156.7   157.0    158.3 
                                                                                                                             
       Transportation and public utilities...  129.8  128.5   127.9    131.3   130.3  131.5   131.1   130.9   130.2    132.3 
                                                                                                                             
       Wholesale trade.......................  126.2  126.9   126.7    128.4   126.4  128.0   128.2   127.6   127.8    128.6 
                                                                                                                             
       Retail trade..........................  137.3  135.4   136.8    140.4   137.5  139.8   139.9   139.3   139.8    141.0 
                                                                                                                             
       Finance, insurance, and real estate...  128.0  134.5   132.9    133.7   129.0  132.5   133.4   133.6   134.1    134.8 
                                                                                                                             
       Services..............................  185.8  190.9   191.5    193.6   185.8  192.1   192.0   191.9   192.3    193.7 

       1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
       p = preliminary.
        NOTE:  Data have been revised to reflect March 1997 benchmarks, refinements to the seasonal adjustment process for
     the hours series, and recomputed seasonal adjustment factors.




      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   p56.3   p54.5                                                         
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                             
      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   p64.3   p60.1                                                                 
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                             
      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..............  p72.2   p69.5                                                                                 
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                             
      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   p72.3   p71.6         
           1998..............                                                                                                
                                                                                                                             
                              
                                                          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   p47.8   p43.5                                                         
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                             
      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   p51.1   p45.3                                                                 
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                             
      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..............  p62.2   p55.8                                                                                 
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                             
      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   p59.7   p57.6         
           1998..............                                                                                                

        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.  Data have been revised to reflect March 1997 benchmarks and recomputed seasonal adjustment factors.