Bureau of Labor Statistics
Current Employment Statistics
Highlights
March 2010
Bureau of Labor Statistics
April 2, 2010
1 Employment in total nonfarm
2000-10
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
140,000
140,000
137,500
137,500
135,000
135,000
132,500
132,500
130,000
130,000
127,500
127,500
March 2010
125,000
125,000
Level: 129,750
Change: +162
122,500
122,500
120,000
120,000
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Shaded areas represent recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). NBER has
not yet determined an endpoint for the recession that began in Dec. 2007. Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
Employment in total nonfarm
Over-the-month change, 2008-10
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
300
150
162
70
64
14
0
-10
-150
-300
-14
-50 -33
-109
-149
-231
-193 -210
-212 -225 -224
-334
-450
-600
-750
-346
-387
-458
-528
-554
-515
-673
-726
-728
-779
-753
-900
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
•
In March, nonfarm payroll employment rose by 162,000.
•
During the first quarter of 2009, monthly job losses averaged 753,000. Job losses
moderated in subsequent months and in the past 5 months employment has shown little
net change.
2 Employment in total nonfarm
Over-the-year percent change, 2008-10
3
2
1
0.6 0.5
0.3 0.2
0
-0.1
-1
-2
-0.3 -0.4
-0.6
-1.0
-1.5
-1.8
-2.1
-3
-2.4
-2.6
-3.0
-3.2
-4
-3.5
-3.7
-4.2
-5
-3.9
-4.5 -4.6
-4.8 -4.9 -4.9 -4.7
-4.5
-6
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
•
The 12-month rate of job loss has slowed from 4.9 percent in August 2009 to 1.8 percent
in March 2010.
•
The over-the-year rate of change is now at a pace last seen in late 2008.
3 Average weekly hours, total private
2000-10
Seasonally adjusted
35.0
34.5
35.0
All employees
Level: 34.0
Change: +0.1
34.5
34.0
34.0
33.5
33.5
Production employees
Level: 33.3
33.0
33.0
Change: +0.2
32.5
32.5
32.0
32.0
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Shaded areas represent recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). NBER has
not yet determined an endpoint for the recession that began in Dec. 2007. Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
•
In March, the average workweek of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls notched
up 0.1 to 34.0 hours. Average weekly hours of production and nonsupervisory
employees rose by 0.2 to 33.3 hours.
•
The increases offset declines of equal magnitude in February.
4 Over-the-year percent change in average hourly earnings
2000-10
Seasonally adjusted
5.0
5.0
Production employees
Percent change: 2.1
4.0
4.0
3.0
3.0
All employees
2.0
Percent change: 1.8
2.0
1.0
1.0
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Shaded areas represent recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). NBER has
not yet determined an endpoint for the recession that began in Dec. 2007. Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
Over-the-year percent change in average hourly earnings
of all employees and CPI-U (1982-84), 2007-10
Seasonally adjusted
8.0
Over-the-year percent changes
6.0
March 2010 AHE: 1.8
February 2010 CPI-U: 2.2
4.0
2.0
AHE
0.0
-2.0
CPI-U
-4.0
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Indexes program and Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
•
In March, average hourly earnings of all employees fell by 2 cents to $22.47, following a
4-cent gain in February. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have risen by
1.8 percent.
•
Average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees fell by 2 cents to
$18.90 in March.
•
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose by 2.2 percent over
the year ending in February.
5 Index of total private aggregate weekly hours
of all employees
2006-10
105
Seasonally adjusted, 2007=100
100
95
March 2010
90
Level: 91.4
Percent change: +0.4
85
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
Index of total private aggregate weekly payrolls
payrolls of all employees
2006-10
105
Seasonally adjusted, 2007=100
100
95
March 2010
90
Level: 97.9
Percent change: +0.3
85
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
•
The index of total private aggregate weekly hours rose by 0.4 percent in March. Over the
last 5 months, the index has trended up by 1.0 percent.
•
The index of total private aggregate weekly payrolls rose by 0.3 percent in March. Since
reaching a low point in October 2009, the index has risen by 1.6 percent.
6 Employment in total nonfarm
Over-the-month change, March 2010
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
Mining and logging
9
Construction
15
Manufacturing
17
Wholesale trade
9
Retail trade
Total nonfarm:
+162
15
Transportation and warehousing
8
Utilities
0
Information
-12
Financial activities
-21
Professional and business services
11
Education and health services
45
Leisure and hospitality
22
Other services
6
Government
39
-30
-15
0
15
30
45
60
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Data are preliminary.
•
Temporary help services and health care continued to add jobs over the month.
Employment in the federal government also rose, reflecting the hiring of temporary
workers for Census 2010.
•
Employment fell in financial activities.
•
March is the first month in 2 years in which most private-sector industries added jobs.
The diffusion index over a 1-month span jumped 10 points to 60.0. This index measures
the dispersion of employment change, with a value above 50 indicating that more
industries are adding jobs than losing them over the month.
7 Employment in mining
Over-the-month change, 2008-10
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
15
10
5
8.1
5
8.1
6
4.7
3.8
8.1
7.8
7.6
7.2
6.9
2.8
1
0
-0.3
-5
-4
-2.7
-3.1
-5.9
-10
-4.7
-5.3
-7.3
-8
-8.8
-13.3
-13.3
-13.9
-15.5
-15
-20
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
•
Mining employment rose by 8,000 in March. This industry has added 31,000 jobs since
last October, following job losses totaling 106,000 over the prior 13 months.
•
Support activities for mining has been the primary driver of these employment changes,
although mining excluding oil and gas has also added jobs over the past 5 months after
more than 1 year of employment declines.
8 Employment in construction
Over-the-month change, 2008-10
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
50
15
0
-15
-24 -28
-33
-50
-36
-59 -61
-52 -52
-70
-59
-64
-72
-100
-80
-92
-91
-95
-114
-116
-150
-149
-60 -59
-71 -67
-142
-153
-200
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
Employment in construction
Over-the-month change, March 2010
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
20
9.4
9.4
10
6.0
0
-0.8
-10
-8.1
-9.0
-9.1
-9.3
-14.9
-20
-30
March 2010
-30.5
Prior 12-mo. avg.
-40
-50
Residential building
Nonresidential
building
Heavy and civil
engineering
Residential specialty
trades
Nonresidential
specialty trades
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Data are preliminary.
•
Construction employment held steady in March. This industry had shed an average of
72,000 jobs per month in the prior 12 months.
•
Nonresidential builders added 9,000 jobs in March, while employment movements were
small and offsetting in the specialty trades.
9 Employment in manufacturing
Over-the-month change, 2008-10
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
100
50
22
6
17
0
-5
-50
-100
-150
-200
-30 -37
-27
-50
-43
-49
-72
-25 -18
-57
-48
-57
-93 -93
-141
-129
-130
-166 -165
-177
-149 -152
-250
-300
-279
-350
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
•
Manufacturing employment edged up in March. Over the last 3 months, manufacturing
has added 45,000 jobs, with most of the gains in durable goods industries.
•
Fabricated metal products and machinery accounted for more than half of the
manufacturing job growth in March.
•
Manufacturing had seen broad-based job losses among the component industries since
before the start of the recession. However, in the past 2 months more industries have
shown employment gains than employment losses. The 1-month manufacturing diffusion
index rose from 54.3 to 58.5 in March.
10 Average weekly hours, manufacturing
2000-10
Seasonally adjusted
42.5
42.5
42.0
Production employees
41.5
Change: +0.5
42.0
Level: 41.0
41.5
41.0
41.0
40.5
40.5
40.0
40.0
39.5
All employees
Level: 39.9
39.0
Change: +0.2
38.5
39.5
39.0
38.5
38.0
38.0
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Shaded areas represent recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). NBER has
not yet determined an endpoint for the recession that began in Dec. 2007. Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
Average weekly overtime hours,
manufacturing, 2000-10
Seasonally adjusted
6.0
6.0
5.5
Production employees
5.0
Change: +0.2
Level: 3.7
5.5
5.0
4.5
4.5
4.0
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
3.5
All employees
Level: 2.9
Change: +0.1
2.0
3.0
2.5
2.0
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Shaded areas represent recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). NBER has
not yet determined an endpoint for the recession that began in Dec. 2007. Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
•
Average weekly hours of all employees in manufacturing rose by 0.2 hour in March.
Some of this increase may represent a rebound following severe weather in February.
The factory workweek has risen by 1.2 hours over the last 12 months. Factory overtime
rose by 0.1 hour in March.
•
In March, the average manufacturing workweek for production employees increased by
0.5 hour. Since reaching a trough in March 2009, the average workweek for production
employees in manufacturing has increased by 1.6 hours. Average weekly overtime for
production employees rose by 0.2 hour in March.
11 Employment in retail trade
2000-10
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
16,000
16,000
15,500
15,500
15,000
15,000
March 2010
14,500
14,500
Level: 14,432.3
Change: +14.9
14,000
14,000
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Shaded areas represent recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). NBER has
not yet determined an endpoint for the recession that began in Dec. 2007. Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
Employment in retail trade
Over-the-month change, 2008-10
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
90
60
49.1
30
8.8
8.3
14.9
0
-2.4
-30
-11.8
-22.2-24.4
-34.6
-36.4
-60
-90
-42
-42.8
-53.5
-66.4-67.5
-66.6
-71 -69.8
-78.9-80.2
-14.5
-15.3
-48.3
-63
-87.4
-99.2
-120
-117
-150
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
•
Employment edged up in retail trade in March. During the first quarter of 2010, retail
trade added an average of 24,000 jobs per month, in contrast to 42,000 jobs lost per
month in 2009.
•
Despite the gains over the past 3 months, the industry has shed 1.1 million jobs since
reaching a peak in December 2007.
•
In March, employment levels among the component industries were little changed with
the exception of building material and garden supply stores, which added 12,000 jobs
over the month.
12 Employment in information
Over-the-month change, 2008-10
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
10
1
0
-2
-10
-1
-2
-7
-13
-20
-30
-3
-3
-3
-7
-11
-12
-7
-9
-11
-12
-12
-15
-15
-20
-12
-14
-12
-20
-26
-24
-25
-40
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
•
Employment in information edged down in March, continuing a trend of job losses.
•
Since last reaching an employment peak in May 2007, the information industry has shed
315,000 jobs, or 10 percent of its workforce.
13 Employment in financial activities
Over-the-month change, 2008-10
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
15
-15
2
0
0
-9 -10
-6
-9
-17
-15
-9
-12
-18
-15
-19
-23 -24
-30
-29
-22
-21
-32 -31
-33
-37
-45
-42
-44
-47
-51
-60
-55
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
•
Employment in financial activities continued to decrease in March, and job losses total
253,000 over the year.
•
In March, insurance carriers and related activities reduced payrolls by 9,000 positions.
Over the year, this industry has accounted for almost 30 percent of the job losses in
financial activities.
14 Employment in selected professional and
business services
Over-the-month change, March 2010
Professional
and
technical*
Professional
and
technical*
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
-12.5
Accounting and bookkeeping
Professional and business
-6.4
services: +11
Architectural and engineering
-0.2
Computer systems design
-5.8
Management and technical consulting
1.1
Management
of companies
Management
of companies
-0.9
Administrative
Administrativeand
andwaste
wasteservices*
services*
24.3
Employment services
42.6
Services to buildings
-14.9
-30
0
30
60
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Data are preliminary.
* Includes additional component industries not shown separately.
Employment in temporary help services
2000-10
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
3,000
3,000
2,800
2,800
2,600
2,600
2,400
2,400
2,200
2,200
2,000
March 2010
1,800
Change: +40.2
2,000
Level: 2,037.1
1,600
1,800
1,600
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Shaded areas represent recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). NBER has
not yet determined an endpoint for the recession that began in Dec. 2007. Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
•
Employment in professional and business services changed little in March.
•
Services to buildings and dwellings cut 15,000 jobs in March.
•
Employment in temporary help services rose by 40,000 in March. Since September
2009, employment in this industry has grown by 313,000, or 18 percent.
15 Employment in health care
Over-the-month change, 2008-10
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
50
40
37.3
33.5
30
27.9
33.1
29.7
29.6
23.2 23.8
23.2
21
20
26.8
25.5
23.6
20.4
19.7
21
19.9
17.8
17.8
17.1
12.2
10
17.3 17.7
13.4 14.1
13.1
8.3
0
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
Employment in selected health care industries
Over-the-month change, March 2010
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
15.5
Ambulatory health care services*
11.3
4
Offices
Officesofofphysicians
physicians
3.8
0.7
Outpatient care centers
March 2010: +26.8
0.4
Prior 12-mo. avg.: +17.7
4.3
Home health care services
4.3
1.9
Hospitals
2.8
9.4
Nursing and residential care facilities
3.6
-10
0
10
20
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Data are preliminary.
* Includes additional component industries not shown separately.
•
Health care added 27,000 jobs in March, compared with an average gain of 18,000 over
the prior 12 months. The largest gains occurred in ambulatory health care services and in
nursing and residential care facilities.
16 Employment in leisure and hospitality
2000-10
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
14,000
14,000
13,500
13,500
13,000
13,000
12,500
12,500
12,000
12,000
11,500
11,500
March 2010
11,000
11,000
Level: 13,041
Change: +22
10,500
10,500
10,000
10,000
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Shaded areas represent recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). NBER has
not yet determined an endpoint for the recession that began in Dec. 2007. Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
Employment in food services and drinking places
Over-the-month change, 2008-10
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
30
20.2
18.6
14.7
15
7.6
5.6
2.2
0
-2
-15 -13.2
-11.3
-23.4
-30
-8.8
-1
-5.8
-7.1
-9.7
-13.7
-16.7
-19.4
-14.1
-13
-13.1
-14.9
-23.9
-21.8
-26.6
-30.7-29.6
-45
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
•
Employment in leisure and hospitality edged up in March.
•
So far in 2010, food services and drinking places has added 43,000 jobs. Employment
fell by 293,000 from December 2007 to December 2009.
17 Employment in Federal excluding U.S. Postal Service, including
and excluding Census temporary and intermittent workers, 2008-10
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
2,300
2,300
Federal excluding U.S. Postal Service
2,200
Federal excluding U.S. Postal Service
and Census temporary and
intermittent workers
2,200
2,100
2,100
2,000
2,000
1,900
1,900
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, April 2, 2010.
Note: Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
•
The Federal government boosted payroll employment by 48,000 in March, due to hiring
of temporary workers for Census 2010 activities.
•
State and local government employment changed little over the month.
18