Bureau of Labor Statistics
Current Employment Statistics
Highlights
February 2012
Bureau of Labor Statistics
March 9, 2012
Employment in total nonfarm
January 2000–February 2012
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
140,000
138,000
136,000
134,000
132,000
130,000
128,000
126,000
February 2012
Level: 132,697
Change: 227
124,000
122,000
120,000
Jan-00
Jan-02
Jan-04
Jan-06
Jan-08
Jan-10
Jan-12
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.
Note: Shaded areas represent recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Most recent 2
months of data are preliminary.
Employment in total nonfarm
Over-the-month change, January 2008–February 2012
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
220
246
251
54
84
96
85
121
120
110
41
200
220
189
239
400
202
112
157
223
284
227
516
600
-58
-51
-27
-167
-40
-35
-171
-339
-361
-724
-799
-692
-803
-800
-818
-661
-600
-482
-432
-489
-400
-231
-199
-202
-208
-190
-198
-210
-274
-84
-95
-42
0
-200
-1,000
Jan-08
Jul-08
Jan-09
Jul-09
Jan-10
Jul-10
Jan-11
Jul-11
Jan-12
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.
Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
•
Total nonfarm employment rose by 227,000 in February, compared to an average
increase of 245,000 over the last 3 months.
•
Over the last two years, nonfarm payrolls have added 3.5 million jobs. Of the 8.8 million
net jobs lost between January 2008 and February 2010, 40 percent have been recovered.
2 Employment in total nonfarm
Total nonfarm:
227
Over-the-month change, February 2012
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
Mining and logging
6
Construction
-13
Manufacturing
31
Wholesale trade
8
Retail trade
-7
Transportation and warehousing
11
Utilities
1
Information
-1
Financial activities
6
Professional and business services
82
Education and health services
71
Leisure and hospitality
44
-20
-6
Other services
-6
Government
0
20
40
60
80
100
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.
Note: Data are preliminary.
Employment in total nonfarm
February 2010–Februrary 2012 net change
Total nonfarm:
3,453
Total nonfarm:
Total private:227
3,938
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
Mining and logging
163
Construction
25
Manufacturing
429
Wholesale trade
148
Retail trade
356
Transportation and warehousing
205
Utilities
6
Information
-110
Financial activities
41
1209
794
Other services
43
Government
-485
-500
Education and health services
Leisure and hospitality
630
-1000
Professional and business services
0
500
1000
1500
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.
Note: Data are preliminary.
•
In February, employment gains were notably strong in professional and business services,
education and health services, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing. Combined,
these 4 industries accounted for essentially all of the jobs added to nonfarm payrolls over
the month.
•
Since an employment trough in February 2010, nearly all of the goods-producing and
service-providing industries have rebounded and added jobs on net over the last 2 years,
with the exception of government and information.
•
The private service-providing industries have accounted for 84 percent of the 3.9 million
jobs added to private payrolls since February 2010. Government employment has
declined by nearly half a million jobs in that same timeframe.
3 Average weekly hours, total private
January 2000–February 2012
Seasonally adjusted
35.0
All employees
Level: 34.5
Change: 0.0
34.5
34.0
33.5
Production employees
Level: 33.8
Change: 0.1
33.0
32.5
32.0
Jan-00
Jan-02
Jan-04
Jan-06
Jan-08
Jan-10
Jan-12
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.
Note: Shaded areas represent recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Most
recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
Index of aggregate weekly hours
Total private, all employees
March 2006–February 2012
102
Seasonally adjusted, 2007=100
100
98
96
94
92
February 2012
Level: 95.7
Change: 0.2%
90
Mar-06 Sep-06 Mar-07 Sep-07 Mar-08 Sep-08 Mar-09 Sep-09 Mar-10 Sep-10 Mar-11 Sep-11
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.
Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
•
Average weekly hours for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls remained
unchanged in February, while production and nonsupervisory employees saw average
weekly hours increase by 0.1 hour.
•
Similar to January, the index of aggregate weekly hours rose by 0.2 percent; the index
has consistently trended up since early 2010.
4 Average hourly earnings, all employees, and CPI–U*
March 2007–February 2012
Seasonally adjusted
6.0
February 2012 Earnings: 1.9
January 2012 CPI-U: 2.9
Over-the-year percent change
5.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.0
-1.0
-2.0
Total private earnings
-3.0
Mar-07
Sep-07
Mar-08
Sep-08
CPI–U
Mar-09
Sep-09
Mar-10
Sep-10
Mar-11
Sep-11
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.
Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
* 1982–84=100
•
Average hourly earnings for all employees in private industry rose by 3 cents, or 0.1
percent, in February.
•
Over the prior 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 1.9 percent. In
January, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) had an over-theyear increase of 2.9 percent; growth in prices has recently been outpacing growth in
earnings.
5 Employment
Employment in
in mining
mining and
and logging
logging
January
January 2000–February
2000–February 2012
2012
850
850
Seasonally
Seasonallyadjusted,
adjusted, ininthousands
thousands
800
800
750
750
700
700
650
650
Feb
Febru
ruary
ary201
20122
Level
Level:: 83
8388
Change:
Change: 66
600
600
550
550
JanJan-00
00
Jan-02
Jan-02
Jan-04
Jan-04
Ja
Jan-06
n-06
Ja
Jan-08
n-08
Jan-10
Jan-10
JanJan-12
12
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•
Employment in mining rose by 7,000 in February, with most of the gains concentrated in
support activities for mining (+5,000).
•
Since a low in October 2009, mining employment has expanded by 180,000. Although
support activities accounts for less than half of all mining jobs, it contributed more than
two-thirds of jobs gained since the trough.
6 Employment in construction
January 2000–February 2012
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
7,400
6,900
6,400
February 2012
Level: 5,554
Change: -13
5,900
5,400
Jan-00
Jan-02
Jan-04
Jan-06
Jan-08
Jan-10
Jan-12
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.
Note: Shaded areas represent recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Most recent 2
months of data are preliminary.
•
After 2 consecutive months of solid job gains, construction employment changed little in
February,
•
Nonresidential specialty trade contractors lost 14,000 jobs in February.
•
Despite the loss in February, employment in construction has increased by 98,000 since a
trough in January 2011.
7 Employment in manufacturing
Over-the-month change, January 2008–February 2012
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
-41
-44
-49
-34
-30
-200
52
31
9
3
28
30
3
-3
8
12
37
26
28
-61
-179
-150
-166
-172
-179
-167
-143
-100
-130
-114
-50
-20
-28
-39
-56
-31
-59
-75
-79
-84
-8
0
-17
4
8
32
34
10
20
50
2
0
9
15
52
100
-250
-297
-300
-350
Jan-08
Jul-08
Jan-09
Jul-09
Jan-10
Jul-10
Jan-11
Jul-11
Jan-12
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.
Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
•
For the third month in a row, manufacturing has experienced solid job growth with
31,000 jobs added in February.
•
The 1-month diffusion index of manufacturing employment fell from 73.5 in January to
56.8 in February. This indicates a narrower dispersion of the job growth within
manufacturing from January to February. The diffusion index measures the dispersion of
employment change in manufacturing, with a value above 50 indicating that more
manufacturing industries are adding jobs than losing them over the month.
8 Employment in durable goods
Over-the-month change, February 2012
Durable goods:
31
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
Wood products
1.1
Nonmetallic mineral products
1.9
Primary metals
1.2
Fabricated metal products
11.4
Machinery
4.5
Computer and electronic products
-0.6
Electrical equipment and appliances
2.0
Transportation equipment
8.3
Furniture and related products
3.1
Miscellaneous manufacturing
-1.6
-5
0
5
10
15
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.
Note: Data are preliminary.
•
Since a trough in January 2010, employment in the industry has risen by 433,000; durable
goods manufacturers have added 444,000 jobs in the same period.
•
Growth in durable goods manufacturing accounted for all of the jobs added in February.
Fabricated metal products, transportation equipment, machinery, and furniture and related
products all experienced robust job growth.
9 Average weekly hours, manufacturing
January 2000–February 2012
Seasonally adjusted
42.5
Production employees
Level: 41.9
Change: 0.1
42.0
41.5
41.0
40.5
40.0
39.5
All employees
Level: 41
Change: 0.1
39.0
38.5
38.0
Jan-00
Jan-02
Jan-04
Jan-06
Jan-08
Jan-10
Jan-12
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.
Note: Shaded areas represent recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Most
recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
Employment in transportation equipment
Over-the-month change, January 2008–February 2012
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
12
4
9
5
-3
6
6
4
1
5
-1
-1
-1
-1
-11
-6
-10
9
9
8
18
16
6
11
-1
0
-43
-36
-36
-26
-17
-15
-28
-35
-40
-21
-20
-23
-19
-8
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
0
3
6
9
20
12
16
19
40
-60
-80
-100
-100
-120
Jan-08
Jul-08
Jan-09
Jul-09
Jan-10
Jul-10
Jan-11
Jul-11
Jan-12
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.
Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
•
The factory workweek for both all employees and for production employees continued to
increase in February, expanding by 0.1 hour each. Average weekly overtime for all
employees remained unchanged.
•
Combining the job gain in manufacturing with the longer workweek, the index of
aggregate weekly hours of all employees rose by 0.5 percent in February.
•
Transportation equipment employment continued trending upward in February. Since
reaching a trough in December 2009, the industry has added 122,000 jobs.
10 Employment in retail trade
January 2000–February 2012
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
16,000
15,800
15,600
15,400
15,200
15,000
14,800
14,600
February 2012
Level: 14,750
Change: -7
14,400
14,200
14,000
Jan-00
Jan-02
Jan-04
Jan-06
Jan-08
Jan-10
Jan-12
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.
Note: Shaded areas represent recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Most recent 2
months of data are preliminary.
•
Employment in retail trade changed little in February.
•
A large job loss in department stores (-25,000) offset a gain of similar magnitude in that
industry in January.
11 Employment in transportation and warehousing
January 2000–February 2012
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
4,800
February 2012
Level: 4,349
Change: 11
4,700
4,600
4,500
4,400
4,300
4,200
4,100
4,000
3,900
Jan-00
Jan-02
Jan-04
Jan-06
Jan-08
Jan-10
Jan-12
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.
Note: Shaded areas represent recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Most recent 2
months of data are preliminary.
Employment in transportation
Over-the-month change, January 2008–February 2012
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
11
10
7
10
8
8
11
15
5
2
3
1
3
4
1
3
5
9
8
9
9
10
12
13
15
15
20
16
25
30
-33
-4
-42
-40
-26
-30
-34
-30
-9
-12
-11
-24
-24
-21
-18
-18
-13
-20
-15
-14
-10
-8
-7
-8
-3
0
-10
-52
-50
-60
Jan-08
Jul-08
Jan-09
Jul-09
Jan-10
Jul-10
Jan-11
Jul-11
Jan-12
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.
Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
•
Transportation and warehousing employment continued to trend upward in February.
•
Since a recent trough in February 2010, employment in the industry has expanded by
205,000.
12 Employment in professional and business services
January 2000–February 2012
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
19,000
February 2012
Level: 17,751
Change: 82
18,500
18,000
17,500
17,000
16,500
16,000
15,500
15,000
Jan-00
Jan-02
Jan-04
Jan-06
Jan-08
Jan-10
Jan-12
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.
Note: Shaded areas represent recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Most recent 2
months of data are preliminary.
Employment in selected professional and business services
Over-the-month change, February 2012
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
Professional and technical˚
34.2
- Accounting and bookkeeping
7.3
- Architectural and engineering
4.3
- Computer systems design
10.2
- Management and technical consulting
7.4
Management of companies
-1.4
Administrative and waste services˚
49.9
- Employment services
61.1
- Services to buildings
-2.8
-20
Professional and
business services:
82
0
20
40
60
80
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.
Note: Data are preliminary.
˚Includes additional component industries not shown separately.
•
Professional and business services employment rose sharply in February, growing by
82,000.
•
Employment in professional and business services has grown by 1.4 million since the
most recent low point in September 2009.
•
February’s job gains were widely dispersed, with notable gains in temporary help
services.
13 Employment in temporary help services
January 2000–February 2012
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
2,700
2,600
2,500
2,400
2,300
2,200
2,100
2,000
February 2012
Level: 2,474
Change: 45
1,900
1,800
1,700
Jan-00
Jan-02
Jan-04
Jan-06
Jan-08
Jan-10
Jan-12
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.
Note: Shaded areas represent recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Most recent 2
months of data are preliminary.
•
Just over half of the jobs added to professional and business services in February are
attributed to employment growth in temporary help services (+45,000).
•
Since the most recent low in August 2009, temporary help services has added 723,000
jobs and accounted for more than half of the employment gain within professional and
business services.
14 Employment in health care
Over-the-month change, January 2008–February 2012
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
49
60
36
26
20
18
23
24
26
28
23
19
19
16
4
10
16
15
12
15
11
10
11
10
22
22
22
23
20
24
19
18
23
22
15
19
18
14
20
32
32
36
30
31
28
21
30
29
30
33
35
40
37
43
46
50
0
Jan-08
Jul-08
Jan-09
Jul-09
Jan-10
Jul-10
Jan-11
Jul-11
Jan-12
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.
Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.
Employment in selected health care industries
Over-the-month change, February 2012
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
Health care
industries:
49
28.2 Ambulatory health care services˚
- Offices of physicians
9.5
- Outpatient care centers
4.3
- Home health care services
5.0
Hospitals
15.4
Nursing and residential care
5.4
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.
Note: Data are preliminary.
˚Includes additional component industries not shown separately.
•
Employment in health care rose sharply by 49,000 in February, with widespread gains
throughout the industry.
•
Ambulatory health care services added 28,000 jobs, with notable gains in offices of
physicians and outpatient care centers.
•
Hospital employment continued to trend up, with a 15,000 gain in February.
15 Employment in food services and drinking places
January 2000–February 2012
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
9,900
9,700
9,500
9,300
9,100
8,900
8,700
February 2012
Level: 9,822
Change: 41
8,500
8,300
8,100
Jan-00
Jan-02
Jan-04
Jan-06
Jan-08
Jan-10
Jan-12
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.
Note: Shaded areas represent recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Most recent 2
months of data are preliminary.
•
Food services and drinking places added 41,000 jobs in February.
•
Since a recent low in February 2010, food services has added 531,000 jobs, averaging
22,000 jobs per month.
16 Employment in government
January 2000–February 2012
Seasonally adjusted, in thousands
23,000
22,500
22,000
21,500
21,000
February 2012
Level: 21,986
Change: -6
20,500
20,000
Jan-00
Jan-02
Jan-04
Jan-06
Jan-08
Jan-10
Jan-12
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, March 09, 2012.
Note: Shaded areas represent recessions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Most recent 2
months of data are preliminary.
•
For the second consecutive month, government employment changed little in February.
•
Since August 2008, employment at the state and local level has declined by 149,000 and
498,000, respectively.
17