Posted by: thepinetree on 10/02/2009 07:18 AM
Updated by: thepinetree on 10/02/2009 07:18 AM
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The Latest Labor Dept Report. National Unemployment Rate Climbs to 9.8%...
Washington, DC...Nonfarm payroll employment continued to decline in September (-263,000), and the unemployment rate (9.8 percent) continued to trend up, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The largest job losses were in construction, manufacturing, retail trade, and government. Household Survey Data. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons has increased by 7.6 million to 15.1 million, and the unemployment rate has doubled to 9.8 percent....
Unemployment rates for the major worker groups--adult men (10.3 percent),
adult women (7.8 percent), teenagers (25.9 percent), whites (9.0 percent),
blacks (15.4 percent), and Hispanics (12.7 percent)--showed little change
in September. The unemployment rate for Asians was 7.4 percent, not season-
ally adjusted. The rates for all major worker groups are much higher than
at the start of the recession. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)
Among the unemployed, the number of job losers and persons who completed
temporary jobs rose by 603,000 to 10.4 million in September. The number of
long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) rose by 450,000
to 5.4 million. In September, 35.6 percent of unemployed persons were job-
less for 27 weeks or more. (See tables A-8 and A-9.)
The civilian labor force participation rate declined by 0.3 percentage point
in September to 65.2 percent. The employment-population ratio, at 58.8 per-
cent, also declined over the month and has decreased by 3.9 percentage points
since the recession began in December 2007. (See table A-1.)
In September, the number of persons working part time for economic reasons
(sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was little changed
at 9.2 million. The number of such workers rose sharply throughout most of
the fall and winter but has been little changed since March. (See table A-5.)
About 2.2 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force in
September, an increase of 615,000 from a year earlier. (The data are not sea-
sonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and
were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12
months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for
work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. (See table A-13.)
Among the marginally attached, there were 706,000 discouraged workers in
September, up by 239,000 from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally
adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work
because they believe no jobs are available for them. The other 1.5 million
persons marginally attached to the labor force in September had not searched
for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school
attendance or family responsibilities.
Establishment Survey Data
Total nonfarm payroll employment declined by 263,000 in September. From May
through September, job losses averaged 307,000 per month, compared with los-
ses averaging 645,000 per month from November 2008 to April. Since the start
of the recession in December 2007, payroll employment has fallen by 7.2 mil-
lion. (See table B-1.)
In September, construction employment declined by 64,000. Monthly job los-
ses averaged 66,000 from May through September, compared with an average of
117,000 per month from November to April. September job cuts were concen-
trated in the industry's nonresidential components (-39,000) and in heavy
construction (-12,000). Since December 2007, employment in construction has
fallen by 1.5 million.
Employment in manufacturing fell by 51,000 in September. Over the past 3
months, job losses have averaged 53,000 per month, compared with an average
monthly loss of 161,000 from October to June. Employment in manufacturing
has contracted by 2.1 million since the onset of the recession.
In the service-providing sector, the number of jobs in retail trade fell by
39,000 in September. From April through September, retail employment has
fallen by an average of 29,000 per month, compared with an average monthly
loss of 68,000 for the prior 6-month period.
Government employment was down by 53,000 in September, with the largest
decline occurring in the non-education component of local government
(-24,000).
Employment in health care continued to increase in September (19,000), with
the largest gain occurring in ambulatory health care services (15,000).
Health care has added 559,000 jobs since the beginning of the recession,
although the average monthly job gain thus far in 2009 (22,000) is down from
the average monthly gain during 2008 (30,000).
Employment in transportation and warehousing continued to trend down in
September. The number of jobs in financial activities, professional and
business services, leisure and hospitality, and information showed little
or no change over the month.
In September, the average workweek for production and nonsupervisory workers
on private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 hour to 33.0 hours. Both the
manufacturing workweek and factory overtime decreased by 0.1 hour over the
month, to 39.8 and 2.8 hours, respectively. (See table B-2.)
In September, average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory
workers on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 1 cent, or 0.1 percent, to
$18.67. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.5
percent, while average weekly earnings have risen by only 0.7 percent due
to declines in the average workweek. (See table B-3.)
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for July was revised from
-276,000 to -304,000, and the change for August was revised from -216,000
to -201,000.
_____________
The Employment Situation for October is scheduled to be released on
Friday, November 6, 2009, at 8:30 a.m. (EST).
Table A. Major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
_______________________________________________________________________________
| | |
| Quarterly | |
| averages | Monthly data | Aug.-
Category |_________________|__________________________| Sept.
| | | | | | change
| II | III | July | Aug. | Sept. |
| 2009 | 2009 | 2009 | 2009 | 2009 |
_________________________|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
HOUSEHOLD DATA | Labor force status
|_____________________________________________________
| | | | | |
Civilian labor force ....| 154,912| 154,362| 154,504| 154,577| 154,006| -571
Employment ............| 140,591| 139,518| 140,041| 139,649| 138,864| -785
Unemployment ..........| 14,321| 14,844| 14,462| 14,928| 15,142| 214
Not in labor force ......| 80,547| 81,730| 81,366| 81,509| 82,316| 807
|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
| Unemployment rates
|_____________________________________________________
| | | | | |
All workers .............| 9.2| 9.6| 9.4| 9.7| 9.8| 0.1
Adult men .............| 9.7| 10.1| 9.8| 10.1| 10.3| .2
Adult women ...........| 7.4| 7.7| 7.5| 7.6| 7.8| .2
Teenagers .............| 22.7| 25.1| 23.8| 25.5| 25.9| .4
White .................| 8.4| 8.8| 8.6| 8.9| 9.0| .1
Black or African | | | | | |
American ............| 14.9| 15.0| 14.5| 15.1| 15.4| .3
Hispanic or Latino | | | | | |
ethnicity ...........| 12.0| 12.7| 12.3| 13.0| 12.7| -.3
|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
ESTABLISHMENT DATA | Employment
|_____________________________________________________
| | | | | |
Nonfarm employment.......| 132,125|p131,189| 131,411|p131,210|p130,947| p-263
Goods-producing (1)....| 19,041| p18,586| 18,713| p18,581| p18,465| p-116
Construction ........| 6,303| p6,101| 6,162| p6,102| p6,038| p-64
Manufacturing .......| 12,008| p11,775| 11,836| p11,770| p11,719| p-51
Service-providing (1)..| 113,084|p112,603| 112,698|p112,629|p112,482| p-147
Retail trade (2)...| 14,814| p14,728| 14,747| p14,738| p14,700| p-39
Professional and | | | | | |
business services .| 16,731| p16,609| 16,624| p16,605| p16,597| p-8
Education and health | | | | | |
services ..........| 19,213| p19,294| 19,262| p19,308| p19,311| p3
Leisure and | | | | | |
hospitality .......| 13,180| p13,165| 13,177| p13,163| p13,154| p-9
Government ..........| 22,585| p22,445| 22,475| p22,456| p22,403| p-53
|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
| Hours of work (3)
|_____________________________________________________
| | | | | |
Total private ...........| 33.1| p33.1| 33.1| p33.1| p33.0| p-0.1
Manufacturing .........| 39.5| p39.9| 39.9| p39.9| p39.8| p-.1
Overtime ............| 2.8| p2.9| 2.9| p2.9| p2.8| p-.1
|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
| Indexes of aggregate weekly hours (2002=100)(3)
|_____________________________________________________
| | | | | |
Total private ...........| 99.7| p98.9| 99.2| p99.0| p98.5| p-0.5
|________|________|________|________|________|________
|
| Earnings (3)
|_____________________________________________________
Average hourly earnings, | | | | | |
total private .........| $18.52| p$18.64| $18.59| p$18.66| p$18.67| p$0.01
Average weekly earnings, | | | | | |
total private .........| 612.50| p616.36| 615.33| p617.65| p616.11| p-1.54
_________________________|________|________|________|________|________|________
1 Includes other industries, not shown separately.
2 Quarterly averages and the over-the-month change are calculated using
unrounded data.
3 Data relate to private production and nonsupervisory workers.
p = preliminary.
Preliminary Estimates of Benchmark Revisions to the Establishment Survey
In accordance with usual practice, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
is announcing its preliminary estimates of the upcoming annual benchmark
revision to the establishment survey employment series. The final bench-
mark revision will be issued on February 5, 2010, with the publication
of the January 2010 Employment Situation news release.
Each year, the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey employment
estimates are benchmarked to comprehensive counts of employment for the
month of March. These counts are derived from state unemployment insur-
ance tax records that nearly all employers are required to file. For
national CES employment series, the annual benchmark revisions over the
last 10 years have averaged plus or minus two-tenths of one percent of
total nonfarm employment. The preliminary estimate of the benchmark
revision indicates a downward adjustment to March 2009 total nonfarm
employment of 824,000 (0.6 percent).
Table B shows the March 2009 preliminary benchmark revisions by major
industry sector. As is typically the case, many of the individual indus-
try series show larger percentage revisions than the total nonfarm ser-
ies, primarily because statistical sampling error is greater at more
detailed levels than at a total level.
Table B. National Current Employment Statistics March 2009 preliminary
benchmark revisions by major industry sector
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
| |Percent benchmark
Industry |Benchmark revision| revision
----------------------------------|------------------|-----------------
| |
Total nonfarm ...................| -824,000 | -0.6
Total private ..................| -855,000 | -.8
Mining and logging............| -23,000 | -3.2
Construction .................| -152,000 | -2.5
Manufacturing ................| -67,000 | -.6
Trade, transportation, and | |
utilities...................| -282,000 | -1.1
Information ..................| -36,000 | -1.3
Financial activities .........| -9,000 | -.1
Professional and business | |
services ...................| -111,000 | -.7
Education and health services.| -57,000 | -.3
Leisure and hospitality.......| -76,000 | -.6
Other services ...............| -42,000 | -.8
Government .....................| 31,000 | .1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Frequently Asked Questions about Employment and Unemployment Estimates
Why are there two monthly measures of employment?
The household survey and establishment survey both produce sample-based
estimates of employment and both have strengths and limitations. The
establishment survey employment series has a smaller margin of error on
the measurement of month-to-month change than the household survey because
of its much larger sample size. An over-the-month employment change of
107,000 is statistically significant in the establishment survey, while
the threshold for a statistically significant change in the household sur-
vey is about 400,000. However, the household survey has a more expansive
scope than the establishment survey because it includes the self-employed,
unpaid family workers, agricultural workers, and private household workers,
who are excluded by the establishment survey. The household survey also
provides estimates of employment for demographic groups.
Are undocumented immigrants counted in the surveys?
Neither the establishment nor household survey is designed to identify the
legal status of workers. Thus, while it is likely that both surveys include
at least some undocumented immigrants, it is not possible to determine how
many are counted in either survey. The household survey does include ques-
tions about whether respondents were born outside the United States. Data
from these questions show that foreign-born workers accounted for 15.6 per-
cent of the labor force in 2008.
Why does the establishment survey have revisions?
The establishment survey revises published estimates to improve its data
series by incorporating additional information that was not available at
the time of the initial publication of the estimates. The establishment
survey revises its initial monthly estimates twice, in the immediately suc-
ceeding 2 months, to incorporate additional sample receipts from respondents
in the survey and recalculated seasonal adjustment factors. For more informa-
tion on the monthly revisions, please visit www.bls.gov/ces/cesrevinfo.htm.
On an annual basis, the establishment survey incorporates a benchmark revi-
sion that re-anchors estimates to nearly complete employment counts available
from unemployment insurance tax records. The benchmark helps to control for
sampling and modeling errors in the estimates. For more information on the
annual benchmark revision, please visit www.bls.gov/web/cesbmart.htm.
Does the establishment survey sample include small firms?
Yes; about 40 percent of the establishment survey sample is comprised of busi-
ness establishments with fewer than 20 employees. The establishment survey sam-
ple is designed to maximize the reliability of the total nonfarm employment
estimate; firms from all size classes and industries are appropriately sampled
to achieve that goal.
Does the establishment survey account for employment from new businesses?
Yes; monthly establishment survey estimates include an adjustment to account
for the net employment change generated by business births and deaths. The
adjustment comes from an econometric model that forecasts the monthly net
jobs impact of business births and deaths based on the actual past values of
the net impact that can be observed with a lag from the Quarterly Census of
Employment and Wages. The establishment survey uses modeling rather than sam-
pling for this purpose because the survey is not immediately able to bring new
businesses into the sample. There is an unavoidable lag between the birth of a
new firm and its appearance on the sampling frame and availability for selection.
BLS adds new businesses to the survey twice a year.
Is the count of unemployed persons limited to just those people receiving
unemployment insurance benefits?
No; the estimate of unemployment is based on a monthly sample survey of house-
holds. All persons who are without jobs and are actively seeking and available
to work are included among the unemployed. (People on temporary layoff are in-
cluded even if they do not actively seek work.) There is no requirement or ques-
tion relating to unemployment insurance benefits in the monthly survey.
Does the official unemployment rate exclude people who have stopped looking for
work?
Yes; however, there are separate estimates of persons outside the labor force who
want a job, including those who have stopped looking because they believe no jobs
are available (discouraged workers). In addition, alternative measures of labor
underutilization (discouraged workers and other groups not officially counted as
unemployed) are published each month in the Employment Situation news release.
Technical 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 informa-
tion on the labor force, employment, and unemployment that appears in the
A tables, marked HOUSEHOLD DATA. It is a sample survey of about 60,000 house-
holds conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau 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. The sample
includes about 160,000 businesses and government agencies covering ap-
proximately 400,000 individual worksites. The active sample includes
about one-third of all nonfarm payroll workers. The sample is drawn
from a sampling frame of unemployment insurance tax accounts.
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 establish-
ment 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, pro-
fession, 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 pri-
vate 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-providing sector. Industries are classified on the
basis of their principal activity in accordance with the 2007 version of
the North American Industry Classification System.
Differences in employment estimates. The numerous conceptual and method-
ological differences between the household and establishment surveys result
in important distinctions in the employment estimates derived from the sur-
veys. 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 in-
dividuals 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.
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 ef-
fect of such seasonal variation can be very large; seasonal fluctua-
tions 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 ad-
justing the statistics from month to month. These adjustments make non-
seasonal 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 ana-
lyze changes in economic act
Most seasonally adjusted series are independently adjusted in both the
household and establishment surveys. However, the adjusted series for many
major estimates, such as total payroll employment, employment in most super-
sectors, total employment, and unemployment are computed by aggregating in-
dependently 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 di-
rectly adjusting the total or by combining the duration, reasons, or more
detailed age categories.
For both the household and establishment surveys, a concurrent seasonal
adjustment methodology is used in which new seasonal factors are calculated
each month, using all relevant data, up to and including the data for the
current month. In the household survey, new seasonal factors are used to
adjust only the current month's data. In the establishment survey, however,
new seasonal factors are used each month to adjust the three most recent
monthly estimates. 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 en-
tire 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 stand-
ard 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
430,000. 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 -330,000 to 530,000 (100,000 +/- 430,000).
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, oc-
curred. At an unemployment rate of around 5.5 percent, the 90-percent con-
fidence interval for the monthly change in unemployment is about +/- 280,000,
and for the monthly change in the unemployment rate it is about +/- .19
percentage point.
In general, estimates involving many individuals or establishments have
lower standard errors (relative to the size of the estimate) than estimates
which are based on a small number of observations. The precision of esti-
mates is also improved when the data are cumulated over time such as for
quarterly and annual averages. The seasonal adjustment process can also im-
prove 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,
an estimation procedure with two components is used to account for business
births. The first component uses business deaths to impute employment for
business births. This is incorporated into the sample-based link relative
estimate procedure by simply not reflecting sample units going out of busi-
ness, but imputing to them the same trend as the other firms in the sample.
The second component is an ARIMA time series model designed to estimate the
residual net birth/death employment not accounted for by the imputation.
The historical time series used to create and test the ARIMA model was de-
rived from the unemployment insurance universe micro-level database, and
reflects the actual residual net of births and deaths over the past five
years.
The sample-based estimates from the establishment survey are adjusted
once a year (on a lagged basis) to universe counts of payroll employment
obtained from administrative records of the unemployment insurance program.
The difference between the March sample-based employment estimates and the
March universe counts is known as a benchmark revision, and serves as a
rough proxy for total survey error. The new benchmarks also incorporate
changes in the classification of industries. Over the past decade, absolute
benchmark revisions for total nonfarm employment have averaged 0.2 percent,
with a range from 0.1 percent to 0.6 percent.
Other information
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Ser-
vice: (800) 877-8339.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-1. Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted (1)
Employment status, sex, and age
Sept. Aug. Sept. Sept. May June July Aug. Sept.
2008 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional population......... 234,360 236,087 236,322 234,360 235,452 235,655 235,870 236,087 236,322
Civilian labor force....................... 154,509 154,897 153,617 154,621 155,081 154,926 154,504 154,577 154,006
Participation rate................... 65.9 65.6 65.0 66.0 65.9 65.7 65.5 65.5 65.2
Employed................................. 145,310 140,074 139,079 145,029 140,570 140,196 140,041 139,649 138,864
Employment-population ratio.......... 62.0 59.3 58.9 61.9 59.7 59.5 59.4 59.2 58.8
Unemployed............................... 9,199 14,823 14,538 9,592 14,511 14,729 14,462 14,928 15,142
Unemployment rate.................... 6.0 9.6 9.5 6.2 9.4 9.5 9.4 9.7 9.8
Not in labor force......................... 79,851 81,190 82,706 79,739 80,371 80,729 81,366 81,509 82,316
Persons who currently want a job......... 4,895 5,728 5,650 5,140 5,861 5,884 5,990 5,609 5,922
Men, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population......... 113,414 114,288 114,411 113,414 113,953 114,060 114,173 114,288 114,411
Civilian labor force....................... 82,654 82,704 81,769 82,885 82,724 82,529 82,310 82,526 82,268
Participation rate................... 72.9 72.4 71.5 73.1 72.6 72.4 72.1 72.2 71.9
Employed................................. 77,501 74,341 73,435 77,249 74,033 73,777 73,703 73,519 73,180
Employment-population ratio.......... 68.3 65.0 64.2 68.1 65.0 64.7 64.6 64.3 64.0
Unemployed............................... 5,153 8,363 8,335 5,636 8,691 8,751 8,607 9,007 9,088
Unemployment rate.................... 6.2 10.1 10.2 6.8 10.5 10.6 10.5 10.9 11.0
Not in labor force......................... 30,760 31,583 32,642 30,529 31,229 31,532 31,863 31,761 32,143
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population......... 104,741 105,651 105,780 104,741 105,299 105,412 105,530 105,651 105,780
Civilian labor force....................... 79,307 79,132 78,661 79,392 79,395 79,291 79,045 79,231 79,018
Participation rate................... 75.7 74.9 74.4 75.8 75.4 75.2 74.9 75.0 74.7
Employed................................. 74,844 71,728 71,225 74,503 71,593 71,387 71,319 71,204 70,887
Employment-population ratio.......... 71.5 67.9 67.3 71.1 68.0 67.7 67.6 67.4 67.0
Unemployed............................... 4,463 7,403 7,437 4,889 7,802 7,904 7,726 8,027 8,131
Unemployment rate.................... 5.6 9.4 9.5 6.2 9.8 10.0 9.8 10.1 10.3
Not in labor force......................... 25,434 26,519 27,119 25,349 25,904 26,121 26,485 26,420 26,762
Women, 16 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population......... 120,946 121,799 121,911 120,946 121,499 121,594 121,696 121,799 121,911
Civilian labor force....................... 71,855 72,192 71,848 71,735 72,357 72,397 72,194 72,051 71,738
Participation rate................... 59.4 59.3 58.9 59.3 59.6 59.5 59.3 59.2 58.8
Employed................................. 67,809 65,733 65,644 67,780 66,537 66,419 66,339 66,131 65,684
Employment-population ratio.......... 56.1 54.0 53.8 56.0 54.8 54.6 54.5 54.3 53.9
Unemployed............................... 4,046 6,460 6,203 3,956 5,820 5,978 5,855 5,920 6,054
Unemployment rate.................... 5.6 8.9 8.6 5.5 8.0 8.3 8.1 8.2 8.4
Not in labor force......................... 49,091 49,607 50,064 49,210 49,142 49,197 49,503 49,748 50,174
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional population......... 112,518 113,405 113,522 112,518 113,089 113,189 113,296 113,405 113,522
Civilian labor force....................... 68,635 68,830 68,947 68,385 69,112 69,060 68,985 68,923 68,703
Participation rate................... 61.0 60.7 60.7 60.8 61.1 61.0 60.9 60.8 60.5
Employed................................. 65,149 63,091 63,398 65,008 63,895 63,810 63,789 63,662 63,318
Employment-population ratio.......... 57.9 55.6 55.8 57.8 56.5 56.4 56.3 56.1 55.8
Unemployed............................... 3,486 5,739 5,549 3,377 5,217 5,249 5,196 5,261 5,385
Unemployment rate.................... 5.1 8.3 8.0 4.9 7.5 7.6 7.5 7.6 7.8
Not in labor force......................... 43,883 44,575 44,575 44,133 43,976 44,130 44,311 44,481 44,819
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian noninstitutional population......... 17,101 17,031 17,020 17,101 17,064 17,053 17,044 17,031 17,020
Civilian labor force....................... 6,567 6,935 6,008 6,844 6,573 6,575 6,474 6,423 6,285
Participation rate................... 38.4 40.7 35.3 40.0 38.5 38.6 38.0 37.7 36.9
Employed................................. 5,317 5,255 4,456 5,518 5,082 4,999 4,933 4,783 4,659
Employment-population ratio.......... 31.1 30.9 26.2 32.3 29.8 29.3 28.9 28.1 27.4
Unemployed............................... 1,250 1,680 1,552 1,326 1,491 1,576 1,541 1,640 1,626
Unemployment rate.................... 19.0 24.2 25.8 19.4 22.7 24.0 23.8 25.5 25.9
Not in labor force......................... 10,534 10,096 11,012 10,257 10,491 10,478 10,570 10,608 10,735
1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted and
seasonally adjusted columns.
NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-2. Employment status of the civilian population by race, sex, and age
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted (1)
Employment status, race, sex, and age
Sept. Aug. Sept. Sept. May June July Aug. Sept.
2008 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009
WHITE
Civilian noninstitutional population......... 189,916 191,086 191,244 189,916 190,667 190,801 190,944 191,086 191,244
Civilian labor force....................... 125,853 126,290 125,311 125,844 126,423 126,199 125,997 126,118 125,599
Participation rate..................... 66.3 66.1 65.5 66.3 66.3 66.1 66.0 66.0 65.7
Employed................................. 119,294 115,173 114,496 118,964 115,561 115,202 115,123 114,922 114,251
Employment-population ratio............ 62.8 60.3 59.9 62.6 60.6 60.4 60.3 60.1 59.7
Unemployed............................... 6,559 11,118 10,815 6,880 10,862 10,997 10,874 11,197 11,349
Unemployment rate...................... 5.2 8.8 8.6 5.5 8.6 8.7 8.6 8.9 9.0
Not in labor force......................... 64,063 64,796 65,933 64,072 64,244 64,601 64,947 64,968 65,645
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force....................... 65,645 65,506 65,286 65,718 65,766 65,732 65,643 65,674 65,609
Participation rate..................... 76.1 75.4 75.1 76.2 75.9 75.8 75.6 75.6 75.4
Employed................................. 62,400 59,896 59,578 62,125 59,820 59,656 59,701 59,576 59,329
Employment-population ratio............ 72.3 68.9 68.5 72.0 69.0 68.8 68.8 68.6 68.2
Unemployed............................... 3,245 5,610 5,708 3,593 5,946 6,076 5,941 6,098 6,281
Unemployment rate...................... 4.9 8.6 8.7 5.5 9.0 9.2 9.1 9.3 9.6
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force....................... 54,809 54,971 55,006 54,543 55,192 55,068 54,987 55,045 54,770
Participation rate..................... 60.5 60.3 60.3 60.2 60.7 60.5 60.4 60.4 60.0
Employed................................. 52,421 50,763 51,055 52,233 51,385 51,304 51,245 51,250 50,914
Employment-population ratio............ 57.9 55.7 56.0 57.7 56.5 56.4 56.3 56.2 55.8
Unemployed............................... 2,388 4,207 3,951 2,310 3,807 3,765 3,742 3,796 3,856
Unemployment rate...................... 4.4 7.7 7.2 4.2 6.9 6.8 6.8 6.9 7.0
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force....................... 5,399 5,813 5,019 5,583 5,465 5,400 5,367 5,399 5,220
Participation rate..................... 41.2 44.6 38.6 42.6 41.9 41.4 41.2 41.5 40.1
Employed................................. 4,473 4,513 3,863 4,605 4,356 4,243 4,176 4,096 4,008
Employment-population ratio............ 34.2 34.7 29.7 35.2 33.4 32.5 32.0 31.5 30.8
Unemployed............................... 926 1,300 1,156 978 1,108 1,156 1,191 1,303 1,212
Unemployment rate...................... 17.2 22.4 23.0 17.5 20.3 21.4 22.2 24.1 23.2
BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN
Civilian noninstitutional population......... 27,939 28,290 28,330 27,939 28,184 28,217 28,252 28,290 28,330
Civilian labor force....................... 17,756 17,658 17,436 17,733 17,737 17,700 17,684 17,584 17,442
Participation rate..................... 63.6 62.4 61.5 63.5 62.9 62.7 62.6 62.2 61.6
Employed................................. 15,767 15,005 14,771 15,709 15,095 15,103 15,111 14,929 14,755
Employment-population ratio............ 56.4 53.0 52.1 56.2 53.6 53.5 53.5 52.8 52.1
Unemployed............................... 1,989 2,653 2,665 2,024 2,642 2,597 2,573 2,655 2,687
Unemployment rate...................... 11.2 15.0 15.3 11.4 14.9 14.7 14.5 15.1 15.4
Not in labor force......................... 10,183 10,632 10,894 10,206 10,446 10,517 10,568 10,706 10,888
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force....................... 8,021 7,951 7,785 8,000 8,000 7,929 7,896 7,921 7,809
Participation rate..................... 71.4 69.7 68.1 71.2 70.5 69.8 69.4 69.5 68.3
Employed................................. 7,126 6,682 6,583 7,049 6,656 6,633 6,645 6,578 6,518
Employment-population ratio............ 63.4 58.6 57.6 62.7 58.7 58.4 58.4 57.7 57.0
Unemployed............................... 895 1,269 1,203 952 1,345 1,297 1,251 1,343 1,291
Unemployment rate...................... 11.2 16.0 15.5 11.9 16.8 16.4 15.8 17.0 16.5
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force....................... 9,003 8,957 9,029 8,931 9,000 9,042 9,045 8,955 8,942
Participation rate..................... 64.2 63.1 63.5 63.7 63.6 63.8 63.8 63.1 62.9
Employed................................. 8,122 7,833 7,820 8,097 7,993 8,018 7,988 7,889 7,828
Employment-population ratio............ 57.9 55.1 55.0 57.8 56.5 56.6 56.3 55.5 55.0
Unemployed............................... 881 1,124 1,209 834 1,007 1,024 1,057 1,066 1,114
Unemployment rate...................... 9.8 12.5 13.4 9.3 11.2 11.3 11.7 11.9 12.5
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force....................... 732 749 622 802 736 729 744 708 691
Participation rate..................... 27.3 27.9 23.2 29.9 27.4 27.1 27.7 26.4 25.8
Employed................................. 519 489 369 563 446 453 479 462 409
Employment-population ratio............ 19.3 18.2 13.8 21.0 16.6 16.9 17.8 17.2 15.3
Unemployed............................... 213 260 253 239 290 276 265 246 282
Unemployment rate...................... 29.1 34.7 40.7 29.8 39.4 37.9 35.7 34.7 40.8
ASIAN
Civilian noninstitutional population......... 10,820 10,931 10,826 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Civilian labor force....................... 7,179 7,252 7,097 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Participation rate..................... 66.4 66.3 65.6 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Employed................................. 6,904 6,709 6,570 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Employment-population ratio............ 63.8 61.4 60.7 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Unemployed............................... 276 542 527 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Unemployment rate...................... 3.8 7.5 7.4 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Not in labor force......................... 3,640 3,679 3,729 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted and
seasonally adjusted columns.
2 Data not available.
NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups will not sum to totals shown in table A-1 because data are not presented for all races.
Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-3. Employment status of the Hispanic or Latino population by sex and age
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted (1)
Employment status, sex, and age
Sept. Aug. Sept. Sept. May June July Aug. Sept.
2008 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009
HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY
Civilian noninstitutional population......... 32,369 33,017 33,110 32,369 32,753 32,839 32,926 33,017 33,110
Civilian labor force....................... 22,160 22,417 22,413 22,259 22,438 22,347 22,526 22,341 22,469
Participation rate..................... 68.5 67.9 67.7 68.8 68.5 68.1 68.4 67.7 67.9
Employed................................. 20,470 19,511 19,680 20,506 19,595 19,623 19,745 19,433 19,625
Employment-population ratio............ 63.2 59.1 59.4 63.4 59.8 59.8 60.0 58.9 59.3
Unemployed............................... 1,691 2,906 2,733 1,752 2,843 2,724 2,781 2,908 2,844
Unemployment rate...................... 7.6 13.0 12.2 7.9 12.7 12.2 12.3 13.0 12.7
Not in labor force......................... 10,209 10,599 10,697 10,111 10,315 10,491 10,400 10,675 10,641
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force....................... 12,773 12,788 12,809 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Participation rate..................... 84.7 83.2 83.1 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Employed................................. 11,892 11,209 11,297 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Employment-population ratio............ 78.9 73.0 73.3 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Unemployed............................... 881 1,578 1,512 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Unemployment rate...................... 6.9 12.3 11.8 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian labor force....................... 8,298 8,470 8,571 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Participation rate..................... 58.3 58.3 58.9 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Employed................................. 7,760 7,536 7,655 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Employment-population ratio............ 54.6 51.9 52.6 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Unemployed............................... 538 934 916 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Unemployment rate...................... 6.5 11.0 10.7 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian labor force....................... 1,089 1,160 1,033 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Participation rate..................... 35.5 37.0 32.9 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Employed................................. 818 766 729 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Employment-population ratio............ 26.7 24.4 23.2 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Unemployed............................... 271 394 305 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Unemployment rate...................... 24.9 34.0 29.5 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted and
seasonally adjusted columns.
2 Data not available.
NOTE: Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Updated population controls are introduced
annually with the release of January data.
HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-4. Employment status of the civilian population 25 years and over by educational attainment
(Numbers in thousands)
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Educational attainment
Sept. Aug. Sept. Sept. May June July Aug. Sept.
2008 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009
Less than a high school diploma
Civilian labor force......................... 12,177 12,240 12,262 12,165 12,210 12,363 12,461 12,360 12,303
Participation rate....................... 47.1 47.0 47.1 47.0 45.9 46.3 48.5 47.5 47.3
Employed................................... 11,081 10,433 10,580 10,977 10,321 10,447 10,537 10,432 10,46
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