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MONTHLY LABOR

REVIEW
Volume 131, Number 4
April 2008

An analysis of Southern energy expenditures and prices, 1984–2006

3

Although energy prices have increased sharply in recent years, energy expenses
actually made up a smaller share of Southern budgets in 2006 than they did in 1984
Cheryl Abbot

The experimental consumer price index for elderly Americans (CPI-E):1982–2007

19

Over the 25-year period, the CPI-E rose somewhat faster than the CPI-U and the CPI-W,
mainly because prices for medical care and shelter increased more rapidly than inﬂation
Kenneth J. Stewart

Transitional employment cost indexes for seasonal adjustment

25

With the conversion to NAICS and SOC, BLS estimated transitional historical indexes
to implement seasonal adjustment and for comparison with new processing system estimates
E. Raphael Branch, James A. Buszuwski, Albert E. Schwenk, and Mark Gough

Report
Micropolitan Statistical Areas: a few highlights

40

George Helmer

Departments
Labor month in review
Précis
Book reviews
Current labor statistics

2
43
44
47

Editor-in-Chief: Michael D. Levi z Executive Editor: William Parks II z Managing Editor: Leslie Brown Joyner zEditors: Brian
I. Baker, Casey P. Homan z Book Review Editor: James Titkemeyer z Design and Layout: Catherine D. Bowman, Edith W.
Peters zContributing Editor: Lawrence H. Leith zContributor: Arielle Couch

Labor Month In Review

The April Review

dex and states that conclusions drawn
from this time series must be treated
With energy costs the subject of much with caution.
In recent years, BLS programs have
scrutiny and concern in the United
States and around the world, our ﬁrst gradually been implementing updates
article this month is particularly time- of centralized classiﬁcation systems
ly. In her analysis of energy expendi- for industry and occupation, as mantures and prices over the last couple of dated by the Oﬃce of Management
decades for the Southern tier of States and Budget (OMB). While it may
ranging from Maryland to Texas, not always be readily apparent, a treCheryl Abbot ﬁnds that consumers mendous amount of work goes into
spend a larger share of their budgets managing these transitions, including
on energy-related goods and services making changes to estimating systems,
than in other regions of the country. publication tables, technical docuHowever, even in the face of sharp mentation, and so on. The article by
increases in energy prices in recent E. Raphael Branch, James A. Buszuyears, energy expenses now make up a wski, Albert E. Schwenk, and Mark
smaller share of Southern consumers’ Gough discusses one important aspect
budgets than they did at the beginning of these conversions for a prominent
of the period under study.
BLS program. They describe the speIn a period of inﬂationary concerns, cial computations necessary to prepare
the living standards and purchasing transitional historical indexes for the
power for various demographic groups, Employment Cost Index (ECI) in orparticularly people on ﬁxed incomes, der to develop new factors to account
are of signiﬁcant interest. Kenneth J. for seasonal variations in ECI data.
Stewart this month provides a hisFinally this month, in our Regiontory of movements in an experimental al Trends feature, George Helmer reconsumer price index for Americans views various measures thus far this
62 years of age and older. Twenty-ﬁve decade for Micropolitan Statistical
years of data are now in hand for this Areas, a new geographic designation
inﬂation measure produced by BLS introduced by OMB in 2003.
at the behest of Congress. While the
experimental index has grown at a Data on minimum wage
somewhat faster rate than the Bureau’s workers
main inﬂation gauge (the Consumer
Price Index for All Urban Consum- Last July, the ﬁrst increase in a decade
ers, which accounts for nearly 90 per- in the Federal minimum wage took
cent of the U.S. population), Stewart eﬀect. A Federal minimum wage levnotes the methodological limitations el was ﬁrst introduced for hourly paid
inherent in the construction of this in- workers in 1938 as part of the Fair

2

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

Labor Standards Act and periodically
has been raised since. BLS each year
produces annual average estimates
derived from the Current Population Survey of workers paid at hourly
rates, including those at the current
minimum wage. A compendium of
these data, available at http://www.bls.
gov/cps/minwage2007.htm, has been
updated for 2007. Data are presented
for a wide range of characteristics,
including age, sex, race, educational
attainment, and full- and part-time
status.

Another Spotlight
As noted in this space in the November 2007 issue, BLS now periodically posts a new feature on its Web
site called Spotlight on Statistics. These
colorful and succinct synopses of BLS
data are intended to bring together information from the Bureau’s various
programs tied to common themes. The
latest subject is “Around the World in
8 Charts,” which aptly utilizes various measures from our comparative
foreign labor statistics program. Teenage unemployment in countries as
diverse as Germany, Australia, and
Japan; comparisons of pay and beneﬁts for manufacturing workers in
Norway, the Philippines, Brazil and
other countries; and a comparison of
international unemployment rates for
a 15-year span beginning in 1991 all
are part of the itinerary. Look for the
Spotlight to illuminate new subjects as
the year goes on.

Southern Energy Expenditures

An analysis of Southern energy
expenditures and prices, 1984–2006
In the South, where heavy usage of electricity and gasoline causes
consumers to spend a larger share of their budget on energy-related
goods and services than does any other region of the United States,
energy prices have increased sharply in recent years; on the whole,
however, energy expenses actually made up a smaller share of
Southern budgets in 2006 than they did in 1984
Cheryl Abbot

Cheryl Abbot is the
regional economist
for the Economic
Analysis and
Information Unit in the
Southwest Regional
Office of the Bureau of
Labor Statistics. E-mail:
abbot.cheryl@bls.gov

W

hether the fuel is as basic as wood
or as advanced as nuclear power,
all businesses require energy to
produce their goods and services. Similarly,
all consumers require energy to meet their
minimal living and transportation needs.
That shared experience between businesses
and consumers, coupled with the fact that
energy prices are easily visible to both groups,
makes energy costs a frequent topic of conversation. Movements in energy prices aﬀect
our economy, and depending on the elasticity of demand, rapid or unexpected changes
in these prices might result in equally rapid
shifts in business or consumer spending.
This article addresses the consumer side of
the equation, with an emphasis on the South
region,1 through an analysis of changes in
household expenditures and retail prices
for the years 1984 through 2006. Although
energy prices climbed more than 60 percent
between 2002 and 2006, the research presented here ﬁnds that Southern households
were still devoting smaller shares of their total
expenditures to energy costs than they were
in 1984. Although, on an annual basis, energy
price movements were much more volatile
than nonenergy price movements, household
energy expenditures rose at a slower rate than
nonenergy expenditures over the long term.
This resulted in declining shares of Southern budgets devoted to energy costs through

most of the period. The most important factor in the slower rise in energy expenditures
was the relatively stable—or even declining—price of gasoline through most of the
period studied. However, gasoline was not
the only major inﬂuence on total energy
expenditures in the South: while household
electricity consumption rose sharply in the
last two-plus decades, below-average rates
of increase in electricity prices, particularly
during the ﬁrst 20 years of the study, helped
to restrain the rate of increase in household
electricity expenditures.

Methodology
Using published data from the Bureau of
Labor Statistics (BLS) Consumer Expenditure Survey2 (CE) and Consumer Price
Index3 (CPI), the sections that follow address both energy and nonenergy average
household expenditures and retail price
changes between 1984 and 2006. The year
1984 was selected as the starting point for
this research to ensure historical continuity,
because CE data prior to that year were not
strictly comparable to data from that year on
due to methodological changes.
For this analysis, published CE data for
the separate categories of electricity, natural
gas, fuel oil and other fuels, and gasoline and
motor oil were combined to estimate total
Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 3

Southern Energy Expenditures

energy expenditures for households. Then the dollar costs
for total energy expenditures, as well as for each of the
subcategories, were expressed as a percent of total household expenditures to obtain energy expenditure shares or
ratios—the percentage of total household expenditures
dedicated to energy costs. Nonenergy expenditure totals
were calculated by simply subtracting the energy aggregate from total expenditures. (See table 1.) In addition,
average annual expenditures for each category were converted to indexes based on 1984 expenditures equaling
100. Similarly, Consumer Price Indexes for All Urban
Consumers (CPI-U) for the South region were rebased to
1984 = 100 from the published base of 1982–84 = 100,
to ease comparisons between the CE and CPI data. (See
table 2.) Although the primary emphasis is on the South
Census region and how it tracks with, or diﬀers from, the
U.S. average, broad comparisons with other regions4 also
are presented.

amount, 60.2 percent. As a result of the sharp jump in
energy prices, Southern households were allocating 9.7
percent of total expenditures to energy consumption in
2006, up from a 7.2-percent share in 2002. However, these
recent movements followed 15 years (1984–99) of nearly
uninterrupted declines in the energy share. As a result,
despite the dramatic price rise from 2002 to 2006, the
percentage of Southern household expenditures devoted
to energy costs in 2006 (9.7 percent) was still below the
1984 share of 10.1 percent. (See table 1.)
Energy expenditures as a percent of total household
expenditures show similar historical movements among
the regions. As illustrated in chart 1, the most notable difference is in the levels of the energy ratios. For nearly the
entire 22-year period, energy costs as a percent of total
expenditures were below the national average in the West
and the Northeast. In contrast, energy costs were above
the U.S. norm in the South and Midwest.The South overtook the Midwest in energy expenditure share in 1987
and has remained the highest among the regions since
that time. Possessing the highest energy ratio means that
movements in energy prices will aﬀect the South more
than any other region. In contrast, the West’s energy share
is well below the national average, indicating less susceptibility to ups and downs in energy prices.
Saying that the share of expenditures dedicated to en-

Total energy expenditures, 1984–2006
Energy prices have risen sharply in recent years, and their
share of the typical household budget also has increased.
Between 2002 and 2006, the South regional CPI for energy goods and services climbed 62.8 percent while household energy expenditures increased by a slightly smaller

Table
Table1.1. Average annual household percent expenditure shares, total and selected categories, U.S. and South region,
Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1984–2006
Total expenditures

Total energy

Year

4

Fuel oil
and other fuels

U.S.

South

U.S.

South

U.S.

1984 .........
1985 .........
1986 .........
1987 .........
1988 .........
1989 .........

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

9.7
8.9
8.1
7.8
7.6
7.4

10.1
9.1
8.8
8.6
8.5
8.3

0.6
.5
.4
.4
.4
.4

0.5
.4
.3
.3
.2
.2

1990 .........
1991 .........
1992 .........
1993 .........
1994 .........
1995 .........
1996 .........
1997 .........
1998 .........
1999 .........

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

7.6
7.3
7.0
7.1
7.0
6.9
7.1
6.9
6.5
6.2

8.5
7.9
7.9
7.8
7.8
7.6
7.7
7.6
7.3
7.1

.4
.3
.3
.3
.3
.3
.3
.3
.2
.2

2000 .........
2001 .........
2002 .........
2003 .........
2004 .........
2005 .........
2006 .........

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

6.8
7.1
6.5
7.0
7.4
8.2
8.6

7.7
7.8
7.2
7.6
8.2
9.0
9.7

.3
.3
.2
.3
.3
.3
.3

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

South

Electricity
U.S.

Natural gas

South

U.S.

2.9
2.8
2.8
2.8
2.7
2.7

3.6
3.5
3.6
3.6
3.5
3.5

1.4
1.2
1.0
1.0
.9
.9

.2
.2
.2
.2
.2
.2
.2
.2
.1
.1

2.7
2.7
2.6
2.7
2.7
2.7
2.7
2.6
2.6
2.4

3.5
3.5
3.4
3.6
3.6
3.5
3.4
3.4
3.5
3.3

.2
.2
.1
.2
.2
.2
.1

2.4
2.6
2.4
2.5
2.5
2.5
2.6

3.3
3.5
3.2
3.3
3.3
3.3
3.6

South

Gasoline
and motor oil

Nonenergy

U.S.

South

U.S.

South

0.8
.6
.6
.6
.6
.6

4.8
4.4
3.8
3.6
3.6
3.5

5.3
4.7
4.3
4.0
4.2
4.1

90.3
91.1
91.9
92.2
92.4
92.6

89.9
90.9
91.2
91.4
91.5
91.7

.9
.8
.8
.9
.9
.8
.9
.9
.8
.7

.6
.5
.6
.6
.6
.5
.6
.6
.5
.5

3.7
3.4
3.3
3.2
3.1
3.1
3.2
3.2
2.9
2.9

4.3
3.7
3.7
3.5
3.4
3.4
3.5
3.5
3.1
3.2

92.4
92.7
93.0
92.9
93.0
93.1
92.9
93.1
93.5
93.8

91.5
92.1
92.1
92.2
92.2
92.4
92.3
92.4
92.7
92.9

.8
1.0
.8
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.1

.5
.7
.5
.6
.7
.7
.7

3.4
3.2
3.0
3.3
3.7
4.3
4.6

3.7
3.4
3.3
3.5
4.1
4.9
5.3

93.2
92.9
93.5
93.0
92.6
91.8
91.4

92.3
92.2
92.8
92.4
91.8
91.0
90.3

Table 2.
Table 1.

Indexes of average annual household expenditures, and Consumer Price Indexes for All Urban Consumers, South
region, 1984–2006, selected categories

[1984=100]
Total
expenditures

All
items

CE

CPI

CE

CPI

CE

CPI

CE

1984 .........
1985 .........
1986 .........
1987 .........
1988 .........
1989 .........

100.0
107.4
104.4
107.9
114.3
121.5

100.0
103.2
104.9
108.3
112.1
117.1

100.0
96.9
91.0
91.1
96.4
99.9

100.0
100.5
87.5
88.6
89.5
94.0

100.0
80.4
69.6
62.7
55.9
56.9

–
–
–
–
–
–

1990 .........
1991 .........
1992 .........
1993 .........
1994 .........
1995 .........
1996 .........
1997 .........
1998 .........
1999 .........

125.2
130.0
128.5
135.5
139.3
140.3
152.3
149.3
152.7
154.3

123.2
128.0
131.5
135.6
139.4
143.5
148.0
151.2
153.1
156.1

105.5
101.1
99.8
104.9
107.0
105.2
115.3
111.8
109.6
107.7

101.9
102.3
102.1
103.1
103.0
103.7
109.1
110.1
99.7
103.1

54.9
53.9
50.0
56.9
54.9
46.1
61.8
53.9
47.1
41.2

2000 .........
2001 .........
2002 .........
2003 .........
2004 .........
2005 .........
2006 .........

160.8
168.1
172.7
174.3
181.5
196.9
206.1

161.1
164.8
167.0
170.8
175.1
181.4
187.6

122.8
129.5
123.0
131.5
146.8
175.5
197.2

120.2
123.0
115.6
128.1
142.9
168.3
188.1

55.9
56.9
46.1
59.8
67.6
73.5
54.9

Year

1

CPI

Total energy

Fuel oil
and other fuels

Natural gas

Gasoline
and motor oil

CPI

CE

CPI

CE

CPI1

CE

CPI2

100.0
104.5
105.0
108.3
111.8
116.0

100.0
102.4
102.9
101.5
103.3
105.2

100.0
82.7
83.3
89.5
94.4
94.4

100.0
97.6
94.1
92.4
93.9
96.5

100.0
95.3
84.4
82.1
89.8
93.4

100.0
100.5
78.3
82.2
82.4
90.0

100.0
108.6
106.0
109.8
116.3
124.0

100.0
103.6
107.2
111.0
115.3
120.2

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

121.5
124.0
122.0
133.1
138.1
136.1
142.7
139.9
146.2
139.0

107.3
110.3
112.5
114.5
114.4
115.0
119.0
119.9
111.1
111.0

92.6
93.8
96.3
106.2
103.7
98.1
115.4
114.2
105.6
96.9

98.6
98.6
99.0
107.1
107.8
102.1
109.0
115.7
112.2
113.0

101.0
90.7
89.5
89.7
90.7
90.3
101.3
97.5
90.7
93.7

103.1
101.6
99.6
98.4
98.2
100.4
106.4
106.3
91.4
99.0

127.4
133.2
131.8
138.9
143.0
144.3
156.4
153.5
157.5
159.5

126.3
131.7
135.5
140.0
144.1
148.8
153.2
156.5
160.0
162.9

–
–
–
–
–
–
–

146.8
160.9
153.8
160.0
164.7
179.2
203.1

113.7
122.3
116.3
122.2
127.2
137.5
156.3

117.3
167.9
125.3
150.0
157.4
181.5
192.6

133.1
160.2
135.1
169.5
179.0
215.5
214.9

113.1
109.1
108.5
115.8
140.1
181.3
206.5

129.5
122.1
116.4
132.5
159.0
198.4
222.7

165.1
172.4
178.3
179.1
185.4
199.3
207.2

166.4
170.3
173.5
176.3
179.5
183.4
188.0

Electricity

is for South region, gasoline, all types; does not include motor

oil.

ergy costs is lower than it was 22 years ago is not the same
as saying that energy prices have fallen during the last two
decades. Indeed, energy prices, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, have fallen in some years and risen in
others, even rising at double-digit annual rates on many
occasions. Also, total household energy expenditures are
nearly 100 percent above their 1984 level. Still, energy
costs in 2006 account for a smaller share of total Southern
budgets than they did in 1984. The lower current energy
share may reﬂect the diﬀering magnitudes of opposing
annual price movements, faster rates of increase in nonenergy prices, shifts in consumer demand, or a combination
of all these factors.

Analysis of energy components
Gasoline and motor oil: regional overview. Although the
total energy share was in relatively constant decline until
recent years, looking at the various energy components
can shed additional light on the overall movement. Nationally, the largest portion of the household energy budget is represented by costs for gasoline and motor oil, and

Nonenergy

2

CPI is for South region, all items less energy.
NOTE: Dash indicates data not available.

this typically holds true for the South as well. (See chart
2.) As a result, among the energy components, gasoline
price increases or decreases typically will have the strongest impact on household budgets; their importance and
broad visibility are why most discussions about energy
costs begin—and often end—with gasoline.
About one-half of the cost of gasoline is tied directly
to the cost of crude petroleum, so the cost of crude oil
represents the biggest part of the ﬁnal consumer price.5
As shown in chart 3, retail price movements for gasoline
(CPI) follow the same trend line as wholesale prices for
crude petroleum and gasoline (as measured by the Producer Price Index). Retail price movements, though, are
notably less volatile, rising and falling by only a small portion of the price movements recorded earlier in the production line. With few exceptions, the eﬀects of economic
and political developments on wholesale crude petroleum
prices are quickly passed through to retail gasoline prices,
albeit in a somewhat muted form.
Among the energy components, the gasoline and motor
oil category exhibits the most consistent pattern between
the regional and national ratios, both in direction and
Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

5

Southern Energy Expenditures

Chart 1.

Energy expenditures as a percent of total household expenditures, U.S. and regions, 1984–2006

Percent
share
11

Percent
share
11
U.S.
South
Northeast
West
Midwest

10

9

10

9

8

8

7

7

6

6

5

5
1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

magnitude of movement. (See chart 4.) Throughout the
22-year period, the South consistently has had the highest
gasoline expenditure share among the regions, although
the West has led in dollar terms since 1997. (Because motor oil expenditures are generally very low compared with
gasoline expenditures, any reference to gasoline expenditures in this article is shorthand for gasoline and motor oil
expenditures.) Household dollars spent on gasoline were
equal for the United States and the South region in 2004,
at $1,598. However, those equal dollar amounts translated
into a larger share of total Southern expenditures than the
U.S. average (4.1 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively).
Between 2004 and 2006, gasoline expenditures rose more
rapidly in the South, and the diﬀerence in share expanded
even further, with the South standing at 5.3 percent and
the Nation at 4.6 percent in 2006.
In each of the 22 years examined, consumers in the
Northeast registered the lowest expenditure share among
the regions. This pattern is not surprising, considering the
greater use of public transportation in the Northeast. Lower motor fuel expenditures are further reinforced by the
fact that households in the Northeast maintained the lowest average number of motor vehicles in 2006, namely, 1.6
per household. The ratio in the South and nationwide was
6

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

higher, at 1.9 vehicles each. Interestingly, while the number
of motor vehicles per household was higher in the Midwest
and West (both at 2.1), their gasoline expenditure shares,
4.8 percent in the Midwest and 4.1 percent in the West,
were below the South’s 5.3-percent average. Data from the
Energy Information Agency indicate that one explanation
for this apparent anomaly is the greater number of vehiclemiles driven in the South. Speciﬁcally, in 2001, the South
registered the highest number of miles driven per household, despite having a lower average number of vehicles
than both the West and Midwest.6 With the South having
the highest share of gasoline costs among the regions, increases in gas prices represent a potentially larger burden
on the typical Southern family than on families in other
parts of the country.
Gasoline and motor oil: impact on total energy
expenditures. The sharpest rate of decline in total energy
expenditure shares occurred between 1984 and 1986, reﬂecting primarily the worldwide collapse of crude petroleum prices in 1986. Between 1984 and 1986, total household energy expenditures fell 9.0 percent in the South and
the cost per share of energy declined from 10.1 percent
to 8.8 percent. In 1990, the eﬀects of the Iraqi invasion

Chart 2.

Total energy and energy component shares, U.S. and South region 1984–2006

Percent of total
expenditures
11.0

Energy, South
Energy, U.S.

10.0

Electricity, South
Electricity, U.S.

Natural gas, South
Natural gas, U.S.

Gasoline, South
Gasoline, U.S.

Percent of total
expenditures
11.0
10.0

9.0

9.0

8.0

8.0

7.0

7.0

6.0

6.0

5.0

5.0

4.0

4.0

3.0

3.0

2.0

2.0

1.0

1.0

0.0
1984

Chart 3.

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

0.0

CPI and PPI, annual percent change, gasoline and crude petroleum, 1984–2006
Annual
percent change

Annual
percent change
75.0

75.0
CPI, gasoline
PPI, gasoline
PPI, crude

60.0

60.0

45.0

45.0

30.0

30.0

15.0

15.0

0.0

0.0

–15.0

–15.0

–30.0

–30.0

–45.0
1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

–45.0
2006

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

7

Southern Energy Expenditures

Chart 4.

Gasoline and motor oil expenditures as a percent of total expenditures, by region, 1984–2006
Annual
percent change
5.5

Annual
percent change
5.5
U.S.
South
Northeast
Midwest
West

5.0

4.5

4.5

4.0

4.0

3.5

3.5

3.0

3.0

2.5

2.5

2.0
1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

of Kuwait were quite evident in the gasoline expenditure
spike that year. With the end of the Gulf War in 1991, both
gasoline and total energy share levels once again began a
slow decline that was nearly uninterrupted through 1999.
Primarily because of the lower petroleum prices, the share
of household expenditures devoted to energy costs fell to
an all-time low in 1999: 7.1 percent in the South and 6.2
percent in the Nation. (See table 1.)
By 2000, economic growth had returned to the Asian
economies and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) had begun regaining more
control of crude petroleum output and prices.7 The jump
in wholesale costs for crude oil was evident at the household level as total gasoline expenditures rose by more than
20 percent in both the South and the Nation. Slower rates
of gain in other energy goods and services in the region
helped to restrain the total energy expenditure increase
to less than 15 percent, but cost shares still climbed. In
2000, energy costs accounted for 7.7 percent of household
expenditures in the South and 6.8 percent in the United
States. (See table 1.)
Gasoline prices exhibited volatile monthly price movements in 2001 and 2002, in all likelihood related to the
terrorist attacks of September 11, as well as to supply fears
8

5.0

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2.0
2006

resulting from the conﬂict in Afghanistan and the buildup to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. However, total gasoline
dollars expended remained fairly ﬂat, and expenditure
shares actually declined. Furthermore, as a result of the
gasoline share decline, the total household energy share
dropped back to levels approximating those of 1998.
From 2002 to 2006, crude petroleum prices surged for
a number of reasons, many of them geopolitical in nature.
Concerns about supply disruptions centering on economic,
labor, political, and war-related activities in countries such
as Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, North Korea, and Venezuela caused
frequent price spikes. But perhaps the biggest shock was
Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall in August 2005,
followed by Hurricane Rita on the Texas Gulf Coast in
September. Immediately following Hurricane Katrina,
100 percent of oil production and 94 percent of natural
gas production in the Gulf of Mexico were shut down
(or “shut-in”), awaiting inspection.8 By yearend 2005, 4
months after Hurricane Katrina, more than one-fourth of
the Gulf of Mexico’s oil production and nearly one-ﬁfth
of natural gas production remained shut-in.9 Prices for
domestic crude surged 22 percent in 2003, 30 percent in
2004, 39 percent in 2005, and 17 percent in 2006.
These crude petroleum price hikes sent gasoline ex-

penditure shares upward during the period. In the South,
gasoline expenditures accounted for 3.3 percent of total
household expenditures in 2002. By 2006, that share had
climbed to 5.3 percent. Similarly, the total energy share
rose from 7.2 percent to 9.7 percent of Southern household expenditures. The same scenario played out for the
national average, although at lower percentage levels: gasoline expenditures went from 3.0 percent to 4.6 percent,
and the total energy share climbed from 6.5 percent to 8.6
percent. (See table 1.)
Chart 5 compares long-term movements in gasoline
prices and expenditures in the South and the United States.
Considering the length of time covered in this study, the
CPI and CE indexes remained relatively close at the end of
the period examined. Over the 22 years, gasoline prices,
as measured by the South CPI for gasoline, rose 123 percent, while the South’s gasoline and motor oil expenditure
share rose 107 percent; movement in the national average
was virtually the same. Although expenditures rose by a
slightly smaller amount than prices during the period, the
diﬀerence was marginal and indicates the relative inelasticity of demand for gasoline.

Chart 5.

Natural gas. Utility costs in the South can be analyzed
separately as electricity, natural gas, and fuel oil and other
fuels. (See table 1.) Throughout the 22-year period, fuel
oil and other fuels accounted for the smallest share of utility costs in the South, representing just 0.1 percent to 0.2
percent of total household expenditures since 1988. On
average, their impact on regional budgets and total energy
expenditures was negligible.
Residential natural gas costs in the South average about
3 times the level of fuel oil expenditures, yet still account
for less than 1.0 percent of total household budgets. (See
table 1 and chart 2.) With few exceptions, their eﬀect on
total regional energy costs is relatively small compared with
the eﬀect of gasoline and electricity. However, natural gas
did contribute to the total energy share decline in 1985, as
the share of natural gas fell from 0.8 percent to 0.6 percent.
The decrease in the share of residential natural gas expenditures reﬂected the continued impact of deregulation on the
natural gas industry. The remaining price controls on most
interstate natural gas were lifted in January 1985.10 On an
annual average basis, wholesale natural gas prices declined
steadily from 1984 through 1988.

Gasoline CPI and gasoline expenditures, U.S. and South, 1984–2006

[1984 = 100]
Index

Index
240

240
U.S. CPI, gasoline
U.S. expenditures, gasoline
South CPI, gasoline
South expenditures, gasoline

220
200

220
200

180

180

160

160

140

140

120

120

100

100

80

80

60
1984

60
1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

NOTE: U.S. expenditures and South expenditures for gasoline also include expenditures for motor oil.

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

9

Southern Energy Expenditures

Another period of interest regarding residential natural
gas was from 2000 to 2002. On an annual average basis,
wholesale prices for natural gas surged 70 percent in 2000,
followed by an additional 10 percent in 2001. The causes
for these increases included lower storage levels of natural gas and weather-related demand for it. Another cause
was higher oil prices, which led some industrial consumers to switch to natural gas, thereby putting pressure on
residential natural gas prices as well. Household expenditures for natural gas in the South initially rose about 20
percent in 2000, a more modest pace than the increase in
wholesale prices. The 20-percent rise was followed by an
increase of more than 40 percent in 2001. As a result of
these gains, the South’s share of household expenditures
going to natural gas made a relatively large jump to 0.7
percent in 2001, up from 0.5 percent in 2000. Combined
with higher electricity shares, this movement oﬀset a decline in gasoline expenditures and kept the region’s total
energy expenditure ratio essentially constant from 2000
to 2001.The natural gas share dropped back to 0.5 percent
in 2002, but because of a total increase of 60 percent in

Chart 6.

retail natural gas prices since 2002, the share rose to 0.6
percent in 2003 and to 0.7 percent in 2004, at which level
it remained until 2006. (See table 1.)
A comparison of the long-term growth of prices and
expenditures for natural gas, as measured by the CPI and
the CE index, appears to indicate that demand for natural
gas is somewhat more elastic than that for gasoline. (See
table 2.) As shown in chart 6, consumer natural gas prices
in the South rose by 115 percent between 1984 and 2006,
but household expenditures for natural gas rose by only 93
percent. Movements in the ﬁnal year of the period studied
indicated highly elastic demand when natural gas prices
slipped 0.3 percent and expenditures rose 6.1 percent in
2006. However, changes in a single year may just as easily reﬂect the impact of weather-related demand or other
short-term changes. Furthermore, over the longer term,
the impact of pure price elasticity is diﬃcult to quantify
because of issues of equal consumer access to services.
According to data from the Energy Information Agency,
the proportion of homes nationwide using electricity as
the primary source of home heating increased from 17

Natural gas CPI and natural gas expenditures, U.S. and South region, 1984–2006

[1984 = 100]

Index

Index
220
210

220
210
U.S. CPI, natural gas
U.S. expenditures, natural gas
South CPI, natural gas
South expenditures, natural gas

200
190
180

190
180

170

170

160

160

150

150

140

140

130

130

120

120

110

110

100

100

90

90

80
70

80
70
1984

10

200

1986

1988

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

percent in 1981 to 29 percent in 2001.11 The report noted
further that unavailability of natural gas could be a major
factor in the decline in the product’s market penetration,
as only 59 percent of U.S. homes using electricity for
home heating reported access to natural gas in 2001. The
sharper divergence between prices and expenditures seems
more likely to represent an increased usage of electricity
for home heating purposes and a concomitant decline in
natural gas usage, which may not be related to pure price
considerations.
Electricity. While residential natural gas costs represent
a relatively small share of Southern expenditures, wholesale natural gas prices aﬀect the region in another way.
More electric utilities in the South rely on gas-ﬁred generating plants to produce electricity than elsewhere in the
country. For example, although the South region accounts
for just 20 percent of delivered U.S. residential natural gas,
it accounts for more than 50 percent of natural gas consumed by utilities to produce electricity.12 This means that
as wholesale natural gas prices rise, Southern consumers
of electricity are more likely than consumers in other regions to feel the eﬀects through higher retail electricity
prices.
Although natural gas and crude petroleum are not direct fuel substitutes, their costs tend to move in a parallel fashion. To a certain extent, natural gas and fuel oil,
a crude petroleum derivative, can be substituted for each
other by both retail and industrial users. As these two fuels compete for similar markets, their pricing structures
often follow suit in response to changing levels of supply
and demand. As a result, higher crude petroleum prices
aﬀect Southern consumers through two diﬀerent mechanisms: 1) the higher retail cost of gasoline at the pump
and 2) higher electricity charges resulting from increases
in natural gas costs to electric utilities.
Costs for electricity account for notably higher shares
of Southern household expenditures than the U.S. average.
(See chart 2.) These above-average ratios make electricity
price changes much more signiﬁcant in the South than in
the Nation as a whole. Much of the higher expenditure
share is related to the quantity used, because homes in the
South consume more electricity than do homes in other
regions. This higher usage is due primarily to the prevalence of central air-conditioning systems used to combat
higher temperatures and humidity during the summer.13
In addition, the South uses electricity more intensively
than natural gas to generate heat in the winter. In 2001,
about 40 percent of households nationwide relied on electricity for their home heating needs, compared with nearly

60 percent of households in the South.14
For nearly a decade, gasoline was the largest component
of Southern energy expenditures, but electricity overtook
gasoline in 1993. Between 1993 and 2001, the two components remained relatively close, repeatedly shifting ﬁrst
and second rankings for highest energy share. In 2002,
gasoline moved back into the top ranking, where it has
since remained. Between 2002 and 2005, electricity shares
were relatively stable at 3.2 percent to 3.3 percent of total
expenditures in the South, compared with a much lower
share of 2.4 percent to 2.5 percent nationally. Due to
the greater importance of electricity costs in the Southern budget, that stability helped to moderate the rate of
increase in total energy costs in the region during the
period. However, in 2006, electricity prices in the South
climbed 13.6 percent and expenditures rose by a nearly
equal amount, 13.3 percent. This latest run-up pushed the
South’s electricity share to 3.6 percent, compared with a
national share of 2.6 percent, and resulted in a sharper
regional rise in total energy costs.
A long-term comparison of electricity prices with
household electricity expenditures reveals a notable difference from the relationship between prices and expenditures in the gasoline and natural gas analyses. (See chart
7.) Between 1984 and 2006, retail electricity prices rose
56 percent—a relatively modest pace compared with the
retail prices of other energy components in the South and,
more importantly, well below the overall inﬂation rate of
88 percent. During the same period, average household
expenditures for electricity in the South climbed 103 percent, indicating a sharp increase in usage.
One major factor in the increased usage is simply a
result of homes growing larger over time. Between 1984
and 2006, the average square footage of new single-family homes increased 43 percent in the South—above the
national average of 39 percent and the fastest rate of gain
among all the regions.15 However, the increased electricity
needed to heat and cool the larger homes is only part of
the explanation for greater expenditures. In 2001, electrical power required to run appliances in the home accounted for 51 percent of total electricity consumption in
the residential sector.16 The 22-year period of this study
saw a surge in the usage and numbers of various appliances found in the typical home, such as microwave ovens,
personal computers, several—and often big-screen—televisions, and multiple refrigerators. Despite measurable
increases in energy eﬃciencies, the increased usage of
electrical appliances has had an impact on power requirements in the home. Whether the slower rate of increase
in electricity prices had any eﬀect on consumer choices for
Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 11

Southern Energy Expenditures

Chart 7.

Electricity CPI and electricity expenditures, U.S. and South region, 1984–2006

[1984 = 100]
Index
210

Index
210

200

200
U.S. CPI, electricity
U.S. expenditures, electricity
South CPI, electricity
South expenditures, electricity

190
180

190
180

170

170

160

160

150

150

140

140

130

130

120

120

110

110
100

100
1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

larger homes and more appliances is left to other research,
but what can be said is that electricity expenditures rose at
a rate well above the price increase.

Analysis of nonenergy expenditures
It is a common perception that sharply rising energy costs
have continually taken larger portions of the consumer
budget. Yet, viewed over the long term, energy costs as a
share of total consumer expenditures are currently below
historic levels. If energy expenditures are less than expected, what categories have taken over the “spare” energy
dollars in the South? Or are there any nonenergy categories that have risen at below-average rates? It is easiest
to analyze the relative movements among the various expenditure categories by converting the dollar amounts for
each component to an index based on 1984 = 100.
Total energy expenditures in the South rose 97 percent between 1984 and 2006, compared with a national
increase of 95 percent. The increase in the South was led
by gasoline and motor oil, a category that climbed nearly
107 percent. The second-fastest rise occurred in electricity expenditures, which rose 103 percent, followed by the
relatively small component of natural gas, which increased
12

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

93 percent. Expenditures for fuel oil and other fuels actually declined 45 percent during the 22-year period. At the
same time, Southern expenditures for all types of nonenergy goods and services rose 107 percent, 10 points above
the 97-percent regional energy gain. Nationally, the picture was even clearer, as nonenergy expenditures jumped
123 percent compared with an energy gain of 95 percent.
(See chart 8.)
Despite periods of sharp increases in energy prices during the last 22 years, households in both the South and
the Nation were consistently spending less of their total
budgets on energy-related goods and services and more on
nonenergy goods and services, particularly during the ﬁrst
15 years examined.This was due in part to the sharp decline
in energy prices that occurred between 1984 and 1986, but
just as important was the nearly constant rate of increase
in expenditures for nonenergy-related goods and services.
While the components of nonenergy expenditures have
moved in diﬀerent directions and at varying rates, the total
nonenergy share showed a relatively constant rate of gain
over time. Moreover, unlike energy expenditures, nonenergy costs never experienced a sharp decline in any year.
As a result, it has taken 4 consecutive years of double-digit
energy price surges to push total household energy expen-

Chart 8.

Nonenergy expenditures and energy expenditures, U.S. and South region, 1984–2006

[1984 = 100]
Index

Index
240

240

220

220

U.S., energy
South, energy
U.S., nonenergy
South, nonenergy

200

200

180

180

160

160

140

140

120

120

100

100

80

80
1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

ditures to the point where they have even begun to close
the gap on nonenergy expenditures.
Nonenergy expenditure categories rising at rates faster
than total expenditures over the last 22 years include education, personal insurance and pensions,17 nonenergy public services, health care, shelter, and entertainment. (See
chart 9.) The category showing the fastest rate of gain
was education, up 196 percent. As a share of total expenditures, education expenditures climbed to 1.6 percent, up
from 1.1 percent. Although the share remains relatively
low, it represents more than twice the average residential
natural gas expenditure in the South. Excluding fuels and
energy from the category of utilities, fuels, and public services leaves expenses such as water, sewer, trash, and telephone. Costs for these nonenergy public services rose at
the second-fastest rate, up 164 percent during the period,
and represented 3.6 percent of total expenditures in 2006,
a share equaling that of electricity. One of the largest expenditures for the average household is costs for personal
insurance and pensions (including Social Security); this
category represented 10.6 percent of current consumption
levels, greater than the total energy share of 9.7 percent.
Despite a ﬂattening in 2006, insurance and pensions rose
153 percent over the 22 years studied. Shelter costs, the

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

largest single component of total expenditures, rose 139
percent, and the cost share reached 17.7 percent in 2006,
up from 15.2 percent in 1984. Health care expenditures
rose by the same percentage as shelter between 1984 and
2006 and stood at 6.2 percent of total household expenditures, up from 5.4 percent in 1984. Entertainment expenditures increased 112 percent over the 22-year period and
accounted for 4.7 percent of average Southern consumption in 2006, close to the 5.3-percent share for gasoline
and motor oil expenditures. Interestingly, entertainment
costs, which may be the most discretionary expenditure
category among these groups with above-average increases, have declined in the last 2 years; in 2006, entertainment costs represented 4.7 percent of regional household
expenditures, while gasoline accounted for 5.3 percent.
Costs in a number of categories rose at rates below the
overall average of 106 percent, as shown in Chart 10. Food
purchases rose 85 percent as a slow rate of gain in costs for
food at home (71 percent) oﬀset much of the faster rate of
increase in costs for food away from home (106 percent).
The nominal dollars spent on apparel rose 35 percent from
1984, but as a share of expenditures, clothing costs fell to
3.9 percent in 2006, down from 6.0 percent in 1984. Still,
at $1,737 in 2006, apparel expenses were well above exMonthly Labor Review • April 2008 13

Southern Energy Expenditures

[Chart 9.

Selected expenditure groups rising faster than total expenditures, South region, 1984–2006

[1984 = 100]
Index

Index
300

300
Total expenditures
Shelter
Health care
Entertainment
Education
Personal insurance and pensions
Public services (nonenergy)

280
260
240
220

280
260
240
220

200

200

180

180

160

160

140

140

120

120

100

100

80
1984

80
1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

Chart 10. Selected expenditure groups rising less than the average rate, South region, 1984–2006
[1984 = 100]
Index

Index
220

220
200

200
Total
Apparel
Reading
Tobacco
Food

180
160

180
160

140

140

120

120

100

100

80

80

60

60
1984

14

1986

1988

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

energy transportation component during the early years
to rates below the average by 1989. Automobile ﬁnance
charges followed a similar pattern in the early years, rising at an average pace until 1990. This trend was followed
by several years of decline, so that average auto ﬁnance
expenditures did not reach 1990 levels again until 1996.
Public transportation expenditures also played a role in
slowing the overall rate of gain of nonenergy transportation expenditures, particularly after 1998. The public
transportation slowdown was most likely a result of lower
airline prices brought about by deregulation, as well as a
result of lower consumption of airline services following
the attacks of September 11. Countering these slower
advances were substantially higher rates of gain for automobile insurance charges and net outlays for used cars,
which together accounted for more than 40 percent of
nonenergy transportation expenditures in 2006.
A share-analysis format illustrates an interesting interaction in nonenergy transportation costs. (See chart 12.)
Used-car net outlays as a percent of expenditures began
a sharp decline in 2002 and were followed by a dramatic
drop in new-car outlays in 2004. The net result was that
the total transportation share remained relatively ﬂat,
about 19 percent, as rising gasoline expenditures were
balanced by declining automobile purchases. Despite the

penditures for electricity ($1,588) for the typical Southern
consumer. A much smaller household expense, tobacco,
averaged $336 per year in 2006, an increase of 41 percent
from 1984. Nationwide, prices for tobacco and smoking
products (as measured by the CPI-U, U.S. City Average)
rose more than 370 percent during the same period, indicating a dramatic curtailment in household consumption.
Reading costs fell both in dollar terms and as a percent of
total expenditures; reading expenses accounted for just 0.2
percent of total expenditures in 2006, compared with 0.5
percent in 1984.
A category that deserves extra attention is nonenergy
transportation, a special grouping derived by subtracting
gasoline expenses from total transportation expenditures.
(See table 3.) Throughout the period of study, this large
category accounted for roughly 14 percent to 17 percent
of total Southern expenditures and even exceeded average shelter costs in many years. Like expenditures for total transportation, nonenergy transportation expenditures
rose at a slightly below average rate of 93 percent during
the period. Chart 11 indicates that there were several reasons for this slower rate of gain. The largest factor was net
outlays for new cars, particularly in the middle part of the
period. Despite substantial volatility, net outlays for new
cars went from rates of increase above those of the nonTable 3.
Table 1.

Indexes of household expenditures for selected transportation items in the South, Consumer Expenditure
Survey, 1984–2006

[1984=100]
Auto
finance
charges

Vehicle
insurance

100.0
103.0
117.6
107.3
138.9
126.4

100.0
117.8
111.2
114.0
119.4
130.2

100.0
102.4
113.1
126.9
134.6
151.3

100.0
114.9
99.5
106.4
111.2
111.7

124.7
114.0
105.0
120.2
159.5
127.8
154.7
141.9
145.0
169.7

123.0
147.1
138.9
147.3
160.7
196.1
234.5
201.2
216.2
215.0

134.1
118.6
111.6
102.7
104.3
117.8
132.9
129.8
142.6
140.3

162.4
173.1
182.7
189.6
206.9
203.3
206.3
217.0
203.9
211.6

132.4
111.2
95.7
117.6
148.9
144.7
168.1
129.3
165.4
152.1

155.9
170.5
171.5
210.9
155.4
169.7
180.4

249.2
257.8
227.4
212.4
198.4
220.5
224.0

141.9
153.1
175.2
158.1
138.4
130.2
131.0

223.0
234.9
257.0
270.1
281.8
262.4
260.9

150.5
149.5
141.0
134.6
148.9
155.9
168.1

Vehicle purchase
(net outlay)

Total
transportation

Gasoline
and motor oil

1984 ...........
1985 ...........
1986 ...........
1987 ...........
1988 ...........
1989 ...........

100.0
111.3
110.6
106.1
118.9
114.7

100.0
95.3
84.4
82.1
89.8
93.4

100.0
117.0
120.0
114.8
129.3
122.4

100.0
126.3
128.3
114.8
135.5
118.6

100.0
139.6
137.2
120.2
134.4
113.8

1990 ...........
1991 ...........
1992 ...........
1993 ...........
1994 ...........
1995 ...........
1996 ...........
1997 ...........
1998 ...........
1999 ...........

122.7
121.1
117.6
124.5
142.0
139.8
160.4
149.6
152.8
158.6

101.0
90.7
89.5
89.7
90.7
90.3
101.3
97.5
90.7
93.7

130.5
132.0
127.7
136.9
160.3
157.5
181.5
168.3
175.1
181.9

124.0
127.1
119.5
131.2
160.1
156.1
189.1
166.5
176.7
188.9

2000 ...........
2001 ...........
2002 ...........
2003 ...........
2004 ...........
2005 ...........
2006 ...........

166.7
172.2
170.9
176.2
167.2
184.7
196.4

113.1
109.1
108.5
115.8
140.1
181.3
206.5

185.9
194.8
193.2
197.8
176.9
185.9
192.8

194.3
207.8
195.7
212.2
174.1
193.1
198.5

Year

Nonenergy
transportation

Total

New car Used car

Public
transportation

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 15

Southern Energy Expenditures

Chart 11. Indexes of selected nonenergy transportation expenditures, South region, 1984–2006
[1984 = 100]
Index

Index

300

300

280

280
260

Nonenergy transportation
New-car outlays
Used-car outlay
Auto insurance
Public transporation
Finance charges

260
240
220
200

240
220
200

180

180

160

160

140

140

120

120

100

100

80
1984

80
1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

Chart 12. Selected transportation expenditures as a percent of total household expenditures, South region,
1984–2006
Percent
share
8.0

Percent
share
Gasoline

New-car outlay

Used-car outlay

Auto insurance

Public transporation

7.0

7.0

6.0

6.0

5.0

5.0

4.0

4.0

3.0

3.0

2.0

2.0

1.0

1.0

0.0
1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

NOTE: Expenditures for gasoline also include expenditures for motor oil.

16

8.0

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

0.0
2006

continued above-average increase in gasoline prices in
2005 and 2006, both new- and used-car net outlays once
again began rising, as shown in Chart 11. One explanation for the movement of total transportation over the
last 3 years could be that households initially responded
to surges in gasoline costs by curtailing their nonenergy
transportation expenses, particularly auto purchases.
EXAMINING 22 YEARS OF HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURES AND PRICES in the South census region, the
analysis presented in this article has found that despite
sharply increasing energy prices in recent years, the average Southern budget still allocated a smaller share of total
expenditures to energy costs in 2006 than it did in 1984.
The same result was found at the national level, as well as
in the other three regions of the country.
Compared with other regions of the United States,
the South expends the largest share of its total budget
on energy-related goods and services. Above-average expenditure shares for both gasoline and electricity are responsible for the higher energy ratio. Residential natural
gas costs have had relatively little impact in the South,
due to their extremely small cost share. However, because
the South is a more intensive user of electricity than the
other regions, and because electric utilities in the South
rely more on natural-gas-ﬁred generators, the cost of
natural gas to these companies aﬀects the consumer of
retail electricity in the South. The analysis also has found

that the South region’s expenditures for electricity have
risen at nearly twice the rate of increase in electricity prices—a product of greater consumption of electricity in the
Southern home. Higher consumption has resulted from
a number of factors, including larger sizes of new homes,
a greater percentage of homes using electricity for central
air-conditioning and heating, new types of appliances in
the home, and increases in the number of certain appliances (for example, two refrigerators instead of one) kept
in the home.
The decline in energy cost shares over time reﬂects
primarily the steady rate of increase in expenditures for
nonenergy goods and services. Although energy prices
frequently surge at double-digit rates, they may also decline at the same or greater rates, allowing expenditures
to follow suit. In contrast, household expenditures for
nonenergy items have shown a remarkably smooth and
constant rate of increase over time. During the last two
decades, as households have shifted dollars away from
energy, shares also have fallen for various categories, such
as clothing, reading, and food. Expenditure categories
showing above-average rates of gain include education,
health care, shelter, and nonenergy public services. The
transportation category overall rose at a below-average
rate over the long term, and in recent years consumption
has shifted toward energy-related transportation expenditures at the expense of non-energy-related transportation consumption.

Notes
The author thanks Stan Suchman, Carmen
Lacy, and Carlo Fioretti for their assistance in the preparation of this
article.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

1

The South Census region consists of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi,
North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
2
For further information on the Consumer Expenditure Survey, see
“Consumer Expenditures and Income,”Handbook of Methods (Bureau of
Labor Statistics), chapter 16. An updated online version of the section
is located on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch16.
pdf (visited April 1, 2007).
3
For further information on the Consumer Price Index, see “Consumer Price Index,” Handbook of Methods (Bureau of Labor Statistics),
chapter 17, on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch17.
pdf (visited April 1, 2007).
4
The States (including the District of Columbia) that compose the
census divisions are as follows: South—Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware,
Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North
Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia,
West Virginia, and the District of Columbia; Northeast—Connecti-

cut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Midwest—Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North
Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; West—Alaska, Arizona,
California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico,
Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
5

As of May 2007, crude oil costs accounted for 46 percent of the retail price of gasoline. For further information, see Energy Information
Administration, “Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update,” on the Internet
at http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/gdu/gasdiesel.asp (visited June
21, 2007).
6

See Energy Information Agency, “Household Vehicles Energy Use,
Latest Data and Trends,” on the Internet at www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/
rtecs/nhts_survey/2001/tableﬁles/page_a02.html (visited June 28,
2007).
7
For further information, see William F. Snyders, Jon Weinhagen,
and Amy Popick, “Producer price highlights during 2001,” Monthly
Labor Review, July 2002, pp. 3–15.
8
For further information, see Energy Information Agency, “Impact
Assessment of Oﬀshore Facilities from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita,”
on the Internet at www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/whatsnew/newsreal/2006/060119.pdf (visited June 21, 2007).

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 17

Southern Energy Expenditures

9

As of December 29, 2005, oil production shut-in in the Gulf of
Mexico stood at 27.37 percent and the natural gas shut-in rate was
19.54 percent. For further information, see Minerals Management
Service, “Hurricane Katrina/Hurricane Rita Evacuation and Production Shut-in Statistics Report as of Thursday, December 29, 2005,” on
the Internet at www.mms.gov/ooc/press/2005/press1229.htm (visited June 1, 2007).
10

Craig Howell and Andrew Clem, “Inﬂation remained mild again
during 1985,” Monthly Labor Review, April 1986, pp. 17–21.
11
See Behjat Hojjati and Stephanie J. Battles, “The Growth of
Electricity Demand in U.S. Households, 1981–2001: Implications for
Carbon Emissions” (Energy Information Agency); on the Internet at
www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/eﬃciency/2005_USAEE.pdf (visited June 21,
2007).
12
See “Share of Total U.S. Natural Gas Delivered to Consumers”
(Energy Information Agency), on the Internet at http://tonto.eia.doe.
gov/dnav/ng/ng_cons_pns_dcu_SAL_a.htm (visited June 21, 2007).
13
“Texas Quick Facts”(Energy Information Agency), on the Internet
at http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_proﬁles.cfm?sid=TX

18

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

(visited June 21, 2007).
14

For further information, see “Residential Energy Consumption
Survey,” Table 3, Electricity Consumption and Expenditures in U.S.
Households by End Uses and Census Region, 2001 (Energy Information Agency), on the Internet at www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/recs/byfuels/2001/byfuel_el.pdf (visited October 31, 2007).
15
For further information, see “Characteristics of New Housing”
(U.S. Census Bureau), on the Internet at www.census.gov/const/
www/charindex.html (visited June 28, 2007).
16
For further information, see Stephanie J. Battles and Behjat Hojjati,
Energy Information Agency, “Two Decades of U.S. Household Trends
in Energy-Intensity Indicators: a Look at the Underlying Trends” (Energy Information Agency), on the Internet at www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/
eﬃciency/2005_IAEE.pdf (visited June 28, 2007).

17
Data for this category for 2004–06 are not strictly comparable to
data for earlier years, because of changes in the way that total income
levels and, therefore, Social Security contributions, are imputed for
missing observations. However, the category must be included in the
analysis because of its importance to the average household.

The Experimental CPI-E

The experimental consumer price index
for elderly Americans (CPI-E): 1982–2007
Over the 25 years from December 1982 to December 2007,
the experimental consumer price index for Americans 62 years of age
and older (CPI-E) rose somewhat faster than the CPI-U and the CPI-W,
mainly because prices for medical care and shelter, which are weighted
more heavily in the CPI-E, increased more rapidly than overall
inﬂation during the period
Kenneth J. Stewart

Kenneth J. Stewart is
an economist in the
Division of Consumer
Prices and Price
Indexes, Bureau of
Labor Statistics. E-mail:
stewart.ken@bls.gov

T

he Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the average change over time in
the prices paid by urban consumers
for a representative market basket of consumer goods and services. The Bureau of
Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes measures
of price change for two oﬃcial population
groups. The Consumer Price Index for All
Urban Consumers (CPI-U) represents the
spending habits of about 87 percent of the
population of the United States,1 and the
Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage
Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), a
subset of the CPI-U population, represents
about 32 percent of the U.S. population.
As the U.S. population ages, policymakers have become increasingly interested in
issues facing older Americans.2 In 1987,
Congress directed BLS to begin calculating
a consumer price index for the elderly. In
response, BLS developed an experimental
consumer price index for Americans 62
years of age and older. Commonly called
the CPI-E, the index was reconstructed to
1982; hence, CPI-E data are now available
for 25 years, from December 1982 through
December 2007.3
The experimental CPI-E has moved somewhat diﬀerently than the CPI-U and the CPI-W
over the last quarter century. From December
1982 to December 2007, the experimental

rose 126.5 percent, compared with
increases of 115.2 percent for the CPI-U and
110.0 percent for the CPI-W. That translates
into average annual increases of 3.3 percent,
3.1 percent, and 3.0 percent for the CPI-E,
CPI-U, and CPI-W, respectively.
CPI-E

Methodological limitations of the CPI-E
Although the CPI-E indicates a higher overall
inﬂation rate for older Americans compared
with the CPI-U and the CPI-W, because it is an
experimental index, any conclusions drawn
from these data should be treated with caution.4 This section summarizes the various
limitations inherent in the methodology used
to construct the CPI-E.
The ﬁrst methodological limitation is that
the expenditure weights used in the CPI-E are
subject to higher sampling error than those
used for the oﬃcial consumer price indexes.
For each CPI population group, the CPI is
currently divided into 211 item categories
and 38 geographic areas. Each item-area
combination is weighted according to its importance in the spending patterns of the respective population. The population of older
Americans used in the CPI-E is composed
of all urban noninstitutionalized consumer
units that meet one of the following three
conditions:
Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 19

The Experimental CPI-E

1. Unattached individuals who are at least 62 years of
age;
2. Members of families whose reference person (as
deﬁned in the Consumer Expenditure Survey) or
spouse is at least 62 years of age; or
3. Members of groups of unrelated individuals living
together who pool their resources to meet their living expenses and whose reference person is at least
62 years of age.
Approximately 16.1 percent of all consumer units met
this deﬁnition for older Americans in 2006.5 Because
the number of consumer units used for determining
weights in the experimental index was relatively small,
expenditure weights used in the construction of the experimental price index have a higher sampling error than
those used for the CPI-U and CPI-W.6
The second methodological limitation of the CPI-E is
that it uses the same geographic areas and the same retail outlets as those used for the CPI-U. Retail outlets are
selected for pricing in the CPI-U based on data reported
in a survey representing all urban households, and the
CPI-E uses the same retail outlet sample. The outlets selected thus might not be representative of the location
and types of stores used by the elderly population.
A third methodological limitation is that the items
priced for the CPI-E are the same as those priced in the
oﬃcial consumer price indexes. Because the items sampled within selected outlets are determined with probabilities proportionate to total urban (and not elderly)
expenditures, the speciﬁc items selected for pricing in
each outlet may not be representative of the CPI-E population.
Finally, the fourth methodological limitation is that
the prices used in the CPI-E are the same as those used in
the oﬃcial indexes. For example, senior citizen discount
rates are used in the CPI only in proportion to their use
by the urban population as a whole. These discounted
prices would presumably be more widespread in an index
speciﬁcally designed for older Americans.

Relative behavior of price indexes
Table 1 shows the percent changes in the CPI-E, CPI-U,
and CPI-W for selected expenditure categories for each
year from 1983 through 2007. Over this 25-year period,
the CPI-E for all items rose at an annual average rate of
3.3 percent, compared with increases of 3.1 percent and
3.0 percent for the CPI-U and CPI-W, respectively. (Table
2 shows 25-year averages for the three indexes for more
20

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

detailed expenditure categories.)
Price change for each major expenditure group varies
by population because the distribution of expenditures
within those item categories diﬀers. For example, within
the housing major group, the weight for owner-occupied shelter is higher for the CPI-E population than it
is for the CPI-U and CPI-W populations. The weight for
residential rent, on the other hand, is smaller for the
CPI-E population. Table 3 shows the relative weights of
selected item categories in the three populations, as of
December 2007.7
There are several reasons why older Americans faced
slightly higher inﬂation rates over the past 25 years. First,
older Americans devote a substantially larger share of
their total budgets to medical care. For example, as table
3 shows, the share of expenditures on medical care costs
by the CPI-E population is more than double that of the
CPI-W population. Medical care inﬂation increased more
rapidly than most other goods and services over the
1983–2007 period. (See table 2.) In fact, medical care
inﬂation outpaced overall inﬂation in each of those 25
years, with the exception of 1996. A second reason that
older Americans experienced higher rates of inﬂation
is that they spend more on shelter relative to the other
population groups. (See table 3.) During the 25-year
period, costs for shelter have modestly outpaced overall
inﬂation. For these reasons, the medical care and shelter components account for a signiﬁcant portion of the
diﬀerence between the higher rate of increase measured
for the CPI-E relative to the CPI-U and CPI-W over the
period from December 1982 to December 2007.8
Other item categories have contributed to the historically higher rate of inﬂation for the elderly population as
well, although to a lesser degree than medical care and
shelter. For example, fuel oil prices have outpaced overall
inﬂation during the last quarter century, and the typical
older American spends a higher proportion of his or her
expenditures on fuel oil than does the average consumer.
Although items such as medical care and shelter caused
the overall CPI-E to increase more rapidly than the CPI-U
and the CPI-W, some items have had a partially oﬀsetting eﬀect. For example, the CPI-U population spends
a larger proportion than the elderly on college tuition,
tobacco, and motor fuel. These item categories rose faster
than overall inﬂation over the 25-year period and acted
to partially oﬀset the eﬀects of items such as medical care,
shelter, and fuel oil.
The diﬀerences between the CPI-E and the other two
indexes have been declining in recent years. From 1983
to 1993, the CPI-E for all items rose at an average an-

Table 1.

Percent changes for the experimental consumer price index for Americans 62 years of age and older (CPI-E),
compared with the official CPI-U and CPI-W, for selected items, December 1982 to December 2007
All items

Food and beverages

Housing

Apparel

Transportation

Year
CPI-E

CPI-U

CPI-W

CPI-E

CPI-U

CPI-W

CPI-E

CPI-U

CPI-W

CPI-E

CPI-U

CPI-W

CPI-E

CPI-U

CPI-W

Average.......
1983..............
1984..............
1985..............
1986..............
1987..............
1988..............
1989..............

3.3
3.7
4.1
4.1
1.8
4.5
4.5
5.2

3.1
3.8
3.9
3.8
1.1
4.4
4.4
4.6

3.0
3.3
3.6
3.6
.6
4.5
4.4
4.5

3.1
2.7
4.0
2.7
4.0
3.6
5.1
6.0

3.1
2.7
3.8
2.8
3.7
3.5
5.1
5.5

3.0
2.6
3.6
2.8
3.7
3.4
5.1
5.5

3.3
3.4
4.3
4.4
1.4
4.0
4.2
4.8

3.1
3.5
4.3
4.3
1.7
3.7
4.0
3.9

3.0
2.3
3.3
4.2
1.7
3.5
3.9
3.9

0.6
3.2
2.0
2.9
.6
4.8
5.0
–2.8

0.7
2.9
2.0
2.8
.9
4.8
4.7
1.0

0.7
2.7
2.0
3.0
.8
4.8
4.4
.8

2.8
3.4
3.0
3.3
–5.0
5.7
2.9
4.9

2.7
3.9
3.1
2.6
–5.9
6.1
3.0
4.0

2.7
4.0
3.2
2.3
–6.5
6.7
2.9
4.0

1990..............
1991..............
1992..............
1993..............
1994..............
1995..............
1996..............
1997..............
1998..............
1999..............

6.6
3.4
3.0
3.1
2.7
2.8
3.4
1.8
1.9
2.8

6.1
3.1
2.9
2.7
2.7
2.5
3.3
1.7
1.6
2.7

6.1
2.8
2.9
2.5
2.7
2.5
3.3
1.5
1.6
2.7

5.4
2.4
1.0
3.0
3.2
2.0
4.4
1.5
2.3
1.9

5.3
2.5
1.6
2.7
2.7
2.1
4.2
1.6
2.3
2.0

5.3
2.5
1.6
2.7
2.6
2.2
4.2
1.5
2.1
2.0

5.0
3.5
2.6
2.8
2.2
3.2
3.1
2.5
2.2
2.4

4.5
3.4
2.6
2.7
2.2
3.0
2.9
2.4
2.3
2.2

4.2
3.4
2.6
2.6
2.1
2.8
2.9
2.3
2.2
2.1

5.0
3.3
3.7
1.5
–2.2
.2
–.7
1.5
–.7
–.8

5.1
3.4
1.4
.9
–1.6
.1
–.2
1.0
–.7
–.6

5.1
3.1
1.6
.7
–1.5
.2
–.2
.8
–.4
–.6

11.1
–1.4
2.9
2.6
2.8
1.4
5.1
–1.1
–1.7
5.7

1.4
–1.5
3.0
2.4
3.8
1.5
4.4
–1.4
–1.7
5.4

1.4
–1.7
3.0
2.0
4.5
1.6
4.2
–1.7
–2.0
5.7

2000..............
2001..............
2002..............
2003..............
2004..............
2005..............
2006..............
2007..............

3.6
1.9
2.6
2.1
3.4
3.6
2.7
4.0

3.4
1.6
2.4
1.9
3.3
3.4
2.5
4.1

3.4
1.3
2.4
1.6
3.4
3.5
2.4
4.3

2.7
2.6
1.4
3.5
2.7
2.2
2.2
5.0

2.8
2.8
1.5
3.5
2.6
2.3
2.2
4.8

2.8
2.8
1.4
3.7
2.6
2.2
2.1
4.9

4.3
2.7
2.6
2.3
3.3
4.2
3.3
3.2

4.3
2.9
2.4
2.2
3.0
4.0
3.3
3.0

4.3
2.9
2.3
2.3
3.0
4.2
3.2
3.1

–1.6
–3.1
–1.6
–2.1
–.5
–.8
.6
–.6

–1.8
–3.2
–1.8
–2.1
–.2
–1.1
.9
–.3

–1.9
–2.8
–1.7
–1.8
–.1
–1.2
1.2
–.4

4.1
–3.8
3.8
.9
6.3
4.8
1.5
7.8

4.1
–3.8
3.8
.3
6.5
4.8
1.6
8.3

4.3
–4.2
3.8
–.3
7.1
5.0
1.6
8.9

Medical care

Education and
communication

Recreation

Year

Other goods and
services

Entertainment

CPI-E

CPI-U

CPI-W

CPI-E

CPI-U

CPI-W

CPI-E

CPI-U

CPI-W

CPI-E

CPI-U

CPI-W

CPI-E

CPI-U

CPI-W

Average.......
1983..............
1984..............
1985..............
1986..............
1987..............
1988..............
1989..............

5.5
6.2
6.1
6.9
8.1
5.3
7.5
9.0

5.4
6.4
6.1
6.8
7.7
5.8
6.9
8.5

5.4
6.5
6.2
6.7
7.6
6.1
7.0
8.3

1.7
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

1.1
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

.8
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

.5
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

2.0
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

1.7
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

3.7
4.6
4.7
3.8
3.9
3.7
4.8
5.2

3.5
4.0
4.2
3.1
3.4
4.0
4.6
5.1

3.4
4.0
4.0
2.8
3.5
3.9
4.5
5.1

4.7
7.2
5.2
5.5
4.9
5.3
6.6
7.4

5.1
7.9
6.0
6.3
5.5
6.1
7.0
8.2

5.3
8.0
5.6
6.1
5.3
6.2
7.1
8.6

1990..............
1991..............
1992..............
1993..............
1994..............
1995..............
1996..............
1997..............
1998..............
1999..............

11.3
8.5
6.6
5.7
5.4
3.8
2.7
2.7
3.6
3.8

9.6
7.9
6.6
5.4
4.9
3.9
3.0
2.8
3.4
3.7

9.1
7.8
6.8
5.2
4.9
4.0
3.1
2.8
3.3
3.6

—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
2.5
1.3

—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
1.2
.8

—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
.8
.4

—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
–.2
.7

—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
.7
1.6

—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
.9
1.6

4.6
4.4
3.2
3.2
2.6
3.7
2.2
1.0
—
—

4.3
3.9
2.8
2.8
2.3
3.3
2.9
1.4
—
—

3.8
3.8
2.7
2.7
2.1
3.1
3.0
1.3
—
—

7.2
7.1
5.6
2.2
4.0
4.2
3.4
5.1
6.6
4.5

7.6
8.0
6.5
2.7
4.2
4.3
3.6
5.2
8.8
5.1

7.7
8.1
6.4
1.6
4.2
4.1
3.4
5.4
11.3
5.8

2000..............
2001..............
2002..............
2003..............

4.3
5.0
5.0
3.8

4.2
4.7
5.0
3.7

4.2
4.7
5.2
3.7

2.2
2.1
1.7
1.5

1.7
1.5
1.1
1.1

1.4
1.2
.9
.8

–.6
2.3
.6
–1.6

1.3
3.2
2.2
1.6

1.2
3.1
1.8
.8

—
—
—
—

—
—
—
—

—
—
—
—

3.9
4.3
2.7
2.2

4.2
4.5
3.3
1.5

4.5
5.1
4.0
1.0

See footnotes at end of table.

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 21

The Experimental CPI-E

Table 1. Continued—Percent changes for the experimental consumer price index for Americans 62 years of age and older
(CPI-E), compared with the official CPI-U and CPI-W, for selected items, December 1982 to December 2007
Medical care

Year

2004..............
2005..............
2006..............
2007..............

Education and
communication

Recreation

CPI-E

CPI-U

CPI-W

CPI-E

4.2
4.1
3.3
4.9

4.2
4.3
3.6
5.2

4.3
4.4
3.6
5.2

1.5
1.6
1.3
1.1

CPI-U

.7
1.1
1.0
.8

CPI-W

CPI-E

CPI-U

–.5
1.1
1.2
2.5

1.5
2.4
2.3
3.0

.6
.9
.9
.6

NOTE: Entertainment was a CPI major group through 1997; the annualized averages for entertainment cover the period from December 1982 to December 1997. Similarly, recreation, as well as education and communication,

Table 2.

CPI-W

CPI-E

CPI-U

.7
1.9
2.0
2.6

—
—
—
—

—
—
—
—

Other goods and
services

CPI-W

CPI-E

CPI-U

CPI-W

—
—
—
—

2.7
3.2
3.0
3.3

2.5
3.1
3.0
3.3

2.5
3.4
2.8
3.9

became major groups in 1998; the annualized averages for recreation and
for education and communication cover the period from December 1997 to
December 2007. Dashes are shown for years when data were not available.

Average annual percent changes in the CPI-E, CPI-U, and CPI-W for selected item categories, December 1982
to December 2007
Expenditure group

All items...........................................................
Food and beverages ..................................
Food at home ..........................................
Food away from home ...........................
Alcoholic beverages................................
Housing .........................................................
Shelter..........................................................
Rent of primary residence...................
Owners’ equivalent rent ......................
Apparel ...........................................................
Transportation..............................................
Motor fuel ...................................................
Medical care..................................................
Medical care commodities ...................
Medical care services..............................
Recreation......................................................
Education and communication .............
College tuition and fees.........................
Other goods and services ........................
Tobacco and smoking products ........

CPI-E

CPI-U

CPI-W

3.3
3.1
3.1
3.1
3.0
3.3
3.8
3.7
3.7
.6
2.8
3.7
5.5
4.8
5.8
1.7
.5
7.0
4.7
7.3

3.1
3.1
3.0
3.1
3.1
3.1
3.7
3.7
3.7
.7
2.7
3.8
5.4
4.6
5.6
1.1
2.0
7.3
5.2
7.3

3.0
3.0
3.0
3.1
3.1
3.0
3.6
3.6
3.6
.7
2.7
3.8
5.4
4.5
5.6
.8
1.7
7.3
5.3
7.3

NOTE: The indexes for recreation and for education and communication were first published in 1998. The annual average numbers cited in
this table for these index series cover the period from December 1997
to December 2007. In addition, although owners’ equivalent rent was in-

nual rate of 4.0 percent, while the CPI-U and CPI-W rose
3.7 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively; from 1993 to
2007, the CPI-E increased at an average annual rate of
2.8 percent, while the CPI-U and CPI-W both rose at a
2.6-percent annual rate. (See chart 1 and table 1.) The
reduction in the diﬀerence between the experimental index and the two oﬃcial indexes was caused primarily by
changes in the relative inﬂation rates of medical care and
shelter compared with overall inﬂation. Speciﬁcally, the
gap between medical care and overall inﬂation has fallen
since 1993. Similarly, the diﬀerence between the inﬂation
rate for shelter and the overall inﬂation rate has declined
slightly as well.
22

Entertainment

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

troduced into the CPI-U and CPI-E in 1983, it was not introduced into the
CPI-W until 1985. Therefore, the CPI-W annual average percent change
cited in this table for owners’ equivalent rent covers the period from December 1984 to December 2007.

The CPI-E and Social Security benefits
Adjustments to Social Security beneﬁts currently are
based on changes in the CPI-W.9 Some policymakers have
advocated using the CPI-E to adjust Social Security beneﬁts instead, arguing that the CPI-W, which represents the
spending patterns of wage-earner and clerical families,
speciﬁcally excludes the experience of families whose primary source of income is retirement pensions and Social
Security.
Some researchers have discussed the potential costs and
beneﬁts of such a change.10 Others have noted that the index population deﬁned for the CPI-E and the population

Table 3.

CPI relative importances for the CPI-E, CPI-U, and CPI-W , selected expenditure groups, December 2007
Expenditure group

CPI-E

CPI-U

CPI-W

All items..............................................................
Food and beverages .....................................
Food at home .............................................
Food away from home ..............................
Alcoholic beverages...................................
Housing ............................................................
Shelter.............................................................
Rent of primary residence......................
Owners’ equivalent rent .........................
Fuel oil.............................................................
Apparel ..............................................................
Transportation.................................................
Motor fuel .....................................................
Medical care.....................................................
Medical care commodities ......................
Medical care services.................................
Recreation.........................................................
Education and communication ................
College tuition and fees............................
Other goods and services ...........................
Tobacco and smoking products ...........

100.00
12.87
7.67
4.49
.72
47.51
36.90
3.99
29.03
.48
2.42
14.99
4.10
10.81
2.90
7.91
4.62
3.19
.39
3.59
.55

100.00
15.10
8.01
5.98
1.10
42.24
32.47
5.92
23.54
.29
3.57
17.95
5.41
6.35
1.43
4.92
5.38
5.97
1.55
3.45
.74

100.00
16.56
9.36
6.19
1.01
39.96
30.22
7.99
20.46
.29
3.86
20.37
6.76
5.27
1.11
4.16
4.84
5.51
.98
3.64
1.17

NOTE: The CPI relative importances are based on 2003–04 Consumer Expenditure Survey weights.

Chart 1.

The experimental consumer price index for Americans 62 years of age and older (CPI-E),
compared with the CPI-U and the CPI-W, December 1982 to December 2007

Percent
change

Percent
change

7

7
CPI-E
CPI-U
CPI-W

6

6

5

5

4

4

3

3

2

2

1

1

0

0
1983

1985

1987

1989

1991

1993

1995

receiving Social Security beneﬁts are not equal. Speciﬁcally,
the population covered by the CPI-E includes persons 62
years of age and older. Many Social Security beneﬁciaries are younger than 62 years of age and receive beneﬁts

1997

1999

2001

2003

2005

because they are surviving spouses or minor children of
covered workers or because they are disabled. The spending patterns of this younger group are excluded in the expenditure weights for the CPI-E. In addition, a substantial
Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 23

The Experimental CPI-E

number of persons 62 years of age and older do not receive
Social Security beneﬁts, especially those in the 62- to 64year range. Although these older consumers are included in
the CPI-E population, they presumably would be excluded
from an index speciﬁcally deﬁned to reﬂect the experience
of Social Security pensioners. In short, an index designed
speciﬁcally to measure price change for Social Security
beneﬁciaries—that is, one that excludes older people not
receiving beneﬁts, but includes younger people receiving
survivor and disability beneﬁts—might show price movements that diﬀer somewhat from those of the CPI-E.
THE EXPERIMENTAL CONSUMER PRICE INDEX for
Americans 62 years of age and older (CPI-E) rose some-

what faster over the last 25 years than the CPI-U and the
CPI-W. The medical care and shelter components of the
CPI have substantially larger relative weights in the experimental CPI-E compared with the CPI-U and CPI-W,
and as a result these items tend to have a larger eﬀect
on the CPI-E than on the two oﬃcial indexes. Because
the CPI-W speciﬁcally excludes the experience of families whose primary source of income is from retirement
pensions, some policymakers have argued that the CPI-E
is a more appropriate measure of changes in the cost of
living for pensioners. That said, the experimental CPI-E
has limitations as an estimate of the inﬂation rate experienced by older Americans, and any conclusions drawn
from these data should be treated with caution.

Notes
1
The Chained CPI for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U), which BLS began
publishing in August 2002 with data back to January 2000, also represents the
urban population. The prices used in the C-CPI-U are the same as those used to
produce the CPI-U and CPI-W, but the C-CPI-U uses a diﬀerent formula and different weights to combine basic indexes.
2
In 1987, about 12 percent of Americans were 65 years of age and older. By
2050, that number is expected to climb to more than 20 percent. See 2007 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivor Insurance
and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds (Government Printing Oﬃce, May
1, 2007), table V.A2, pp. 78–80.

6
Standard errors for consumer expenditure estimates, including by age group,
are published in table 1300, “Age of reference person: annual means, standard
errors and coeﬃcient of variation, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2006,” on the
Internet at http://www.bls.gov/cex/2006/stnderror/age.pdf (visited March
18, 2008). The deﬁnition of “All consumer units”’ shown in the ﬁrst column of
table 1300 is somewhat similar to the CPI-U population, although it includes
rural Americans as well. Similarly, the deﬁnition for consumer units “65 years
and older” is fairly similar in deﬁnition to the CPI-E population. For each item
category listed, the standard errors are invariably larger for the 65-and-older age
group than they are for all consumer units.
7

3

For an early summary of the experimental consumer price index for the
elderly, see Nathan Amble and Ken Stewart, “Experimental price index for elderly consumers,” Monthly Labor Review, May 1994, pp. 11–16. Updates were
published in the CPI Detailed Reports of July 1998, February 2002, July 2004, and
December 2005. In April 2006, the Consumer Price Index program posted an
article on the BLS Web site entitled, “Experimental Consumer Price Index for
Americans 62 Years of Age and Older, 1998–2005”; available on the Internet
at http://146.142.4.22/cpi/cpiexpcpie2005.pdf (visited March 18, 2008). The
experimental consumer price index for elderly Americans (CPI-E) is updated
monthly and is available by calling the Oﬃce of Prices and Living Conditions
at 202–691–7000.
4
Optimally, when constructing a CPI for older Americans, a sample of geographic areas would be drawn for that speciﬁc population. In addition, surveys
would be designed to collect expenditure weights for that speciﬁc population,
a point-of-purchase survey designed for that population would be used to construct the outlet frame, and the distribution of items sampled would be representative of older Americans. Such an index would be costly to construct,
however, and Congress has not appropriated the necessary funds to do so.
5
Derived from 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey Interview data. For comparison, data from the Current Population Survey show that 14.7 percent of
Americans were 62 years of age and older in 2006.

24

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

For each population, the “relative importance” of each item stratum in the
is deﬁned to be its expenditure weight, updated over time for changes in
relative prices.
CPI

8
In addition, the CPI-W used a diﬀerent method than the CPI-E (and CPI-U)
in 1983–84 to measure shelter costs. Speciﬁcally, the CPI-W used an asset approach to measure the cost of owner-occupied shelter through 1984, while the
CPI-U and CPI-E used the rental equivalence approach from 1983 to the present.
In 1983 and 1984, shelter costs as measured in the CPI-W (and using the asset
approach) were signiﬁcantly lower than those measured for either the CPI-U or
the CPI-E (both of which used rental equivalence). From December 1982 to December 1984, both the CPI-E and CPI-U rose at a 3.9-percent average annual rate,
while the CPI-W rose only 3.4 percent. Essentially the entire diﬀerence between
the CPI-W and the other two indexes during this 2-year period can be attributed
to the diﬀering treatment of shelter.
9
As measured from the average of the third quarter of one year to the third
quarter of the succeeding year, and payable the following January.
10
See, for example, Bart Hobijn and David Lagakos, “Social Security and
the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly,” Current Issues in Economics and Finance (Federal Reserve Bank of New York) May 2003; available on the Internet
at http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/current_issues/ci9-5.pdf (visited
March 18, 2008).

Transitional Employment Cost Indexes

Transitional Employment Cost Indexes
for seasonal adjustment
As part of its conversion to the 2002 North American Industry
Classiﬁcation System and the 2000 Standard Occupational
Classiﬁcation System, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated
transitional historical indexes to implement seasonal adjustment

E. Raphael Branch,
James A. Buszuwski,
Albert E. Schwenk,
and
Mark Gough

E. Raphael Branch,
James A. Buszuwski,
and Albert E. Schwenk
are economists in the
2I¿FHRI&RPSHQVDWLRQ
DQG:RUNLQJ&RQGLWLRQV
Bureau of Labor Statistics;
Mark Gough is a student
formerly in the summer intern program in the same
RI¿FH(PDLOEUDQFK
raphael@bls.gov

A

s part of the National Compensation
Survey (NCS) of the Bureau of Labor
Statistics ( BLS), the Employment
Cost Index (ECI) provides quarterly measures
that represent the change in employers’ labor
costs per employee hour worked, exclusive of
shifts in employment among industries and
occupations.1 The ECI program publishes indexes and 3- and 12-month percent change
estimates for total compensation, wages and
salaries, and total beneﬁts. Since 1975, the ECI
has been computed from survey information on
a sample of establishments and jobs weighted
to represent the universe of establishments and
occupations in the U.S. economy. The ECI is a
principal Federal economic indicator that has
many uses, both public and private, including
formulating monetary policy, indexing hospital charges for Medicare reimbursement, adjusting Federal Government pay, and adjusting
wages in long-term contracts.
After more than a quarter of a century, the
ECI program has switched to new industry
and occupational classiﬁcations, as required by
Oﬃce of Management and Budget mandates
stating that all Federal statistical agencies
which produce industry or occupation statis-

tics shall adopt the North American Industry Classiﬁcation System (NAICS)2 and the
Standard Occupational Classiﬁcation System
(SOC).3 Before the conversion to NAICS and
SOC, the ECI program had been using the
Standard Industrial Classiﬁcation (SIC)4 system and the BLS Occupational Classiﬁcation
System (OCS).5 Among the changes to the
ECI made in response to the mandates were
changes for seasonal adjustment purposes.6
The focus of this article is the construction of the transitional time series that were
used to derive seasonal factors for seasonal
adjustment of the NAICS and SOC-based
ECI, published beginning in April 2006 with
the release of the March 2006 ECI estimates.7
These historical transitional series are independently calculated estimates that include
data classiﬁed by NAICS and SOC with the
use of both ﬁeld coding and national oﬃce
recoding. As part of the conversion of the
ECI to NAICS and SOC, special computations
outside the ECI quarterly production system
were needed to create 10-year data spans for
seasonal adjustment.Ten years is the speciﬁc
period of historical indexes used in ECI seasonal factor estimation.8 The sections that
Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 25

Transitional Employment Cost Indexes

follow summarize the seasonal adjustment methodology,
examine diﬀerences between the classiﬁcation systems,
and discuss the methodology, data, and computations
related to the construction of the transitional ECI series.
The article also presents selected transitional estimates
(not seasonally adjusted) classiﬁed by NAICS and SOC and
compares those estimates with their counterparts from
SIC and OCS, respectively. The comparisons use absolute
diﬀerence meas-ures to quantify diﬀerences.
The article complements an earlier one by E. Raphael
Branch and Lowell Mason9 on seasonal adjustment of the
ECI and the conversion to NAICS and SOC. It also follows
an earlier article by Harriet G. Weinstein and Mark A.
Loewenstein10 that compared both NAICS with SIC and
SOC with OCS sample employment and cost levels of the
Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC)
data series, which BLS converted to NAICS and SOC in
2004. That article compared ECEC data at a single point
in time, whereas the approach presented here compares
transitional ECI estimates over a 10-year period.

Seasonal adjustment methodology
Over a given period, rates of change in the cost of compensation in certain industries, as measured by the ECI,
reﬂect events that follow a regular pattern. These events
include natural ﬂuctuations of economic activity that occur at speciﬁc times of the year, such as heightened activity in the construction or leisure and hospitality industry
during warm weather. Such recurring patterns in economic time series are referred to as seasonal eﬀects. Removing these eﬀects from economic time series, a procedure
referred to as seasonal adjustment, makes it possible for
analysts to observe the combined trend and other random
movements in those series. Many public and private analysts, economists, and statistical agencies use seasonally
adjusted data for economic research and analysis to gain a
better understanding of changes in the economy.
Two methods are employed for seasonal adjustment of
the ECI: direct and indirect seasonal adjustment. In direct
seasonal adjustment, an original (not seasonally adjusted)
index is divided by the seasonal factor for the series. In
indirect seasonal adjustment, seasonally adjusted index
components of an aggregate series are averaged by taking
a weighted sum.11
Seasonal factors for directly adjusted ECI series are
estimated by applying seasonal adjustment techniques
to 10 years12 of historical indexes for a series, using the
X-12-ARIMA13 (Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average) seasonal adjustment program.14 The estimated sea26

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

sonal factors are used as projected seasonal factors for the
coming year, under the assumption that there will be no
substantial change in seasonality between estimates based
on data spans that include the most current year of data
and estimates that would be obtained if actual data for the
coming year were known. This assumption allows the seasonal factor estimates used in the production of the ECI to
be based on actual data rather than projections.
ECI seasonal factors, seasonally adjusted indexes, and
seasonally adjusted 3-month percent changes are subject
to revision for 5 years. Revisions are conducted annually
after the December ECI production quarter is completed.
This timing allows for a complete year of the most current
indexes to be available for the revision.

Differences between NAICS and SIC
and SIC diﬀer in both the concept and reference
period of the industrial structure of the U.S. economy.
NAICS classiﬁes establishments into industries according to similarities in the production processes they use
to produce goods and services.15 The 2002 NAICS reﬂects
the industrial structure of the U.S. economy as it existed
during the development of the classiﬁcation system. NAICS development began in 1992, and the 1997 NAICS
manual was published in 1998. A subsequent revision for
2002 was designed to address the continually changing
economy. In this revision, 14 of 20 sector classiﬁcations
are the same as in the 1997 NAICS.16 By contrast, the SIC
system groups establishments by the type of economic
activity in which the establishment is primarily engaged,
based on supply and demand characteristics of industries.
Originally developed in the 1930s, the SIC system was revised periodically to reﬂect the U.S. economy’s changing
industrial composition and organization. The last revision
was in 1987.
In spite of the diﬀerent concepts upon which the two
systems are based, two-thirds of the four-digit SIC classiﬁcations can be derived from NAICS. Many of the remaining third are breaks in time series.17 Weinstein and
Loewenstein observed both similarities and “breaks in series” when they compared NAICS with SIC using employment, wage cost, and total compensation cost estimates
from 2004 ECEC data.18 Weinstein and Loewenstein
reported many ECEC series with more than 90 percent
of employees common to both NAICS and SIC, including many with 98 percent or more of their employees in
both classiﬁcations. At the same time, a variety of other
NAICS and SIC series had substantially fewer employees in
common, and new classiﬁcations were included in NAICS
NAICS

that did not exist in SIC. Weinstein and Loewenstein also
indicated that higher level industrial and occupational
categories had virtually the same employee populations
in both classiﬁcation systems and that diﬀerences were
more prevalent among detailed categories. Also, wage
comparison ratios showed many series ratios close to 1.0,
meaning that there was essentially no diﬀerence in the
estimates. The results based on ECEC had implications
for the conversion of the ECI to NAICS and SOC, because
the ECEC and ECI samples are essentially the same and
rates of change, as measured in the ECI, were expected
to be closer to the NAICS and SOC rates than cost levels
were.19

Difference between SOC and OCS
The SOC and BLS OCS occupational classiﬁcation systems
also diﬀer in concept, structure, and reference periods
pertaining to the U.S. economic structure. The ECI now
uses the 2000 SOC system, which is designed to represent the occupational structure of the United States as it
existed at that time.20 The SOC system covers all occupations in which work is performed for pay or proﬁt. At the
most detailed level, each occupational category includes
workers who perform similar job tasks at similar skill levels. The SOC system represents a major change relative to
the BLS occupational classiﬁcation structure previously
used for the ECI. The SOC system includes a concept of
“job families,” in which people who work together are
classiﬁed together, regardless of their skill levels. As a result, many workers who were classiﬁed separately in the
OCS system are now included in the same SOC group,21
and certain workers who were in the same group in the
OCS system are now classiﬁed into diﬀerent or new SOC
groups. Therefore, the aggregations created in SOC diﬀer
from those in OCS.
By contrast, the BLS OCS classiﬁcations, which are
based on Census Bureau occupational classiﬁcations,
are designed to represent the economy as of 1990.22 As
with the SOC, the basic concept of OCS classiﬁcation is
primarily by work performed; but the classiﬁcations of
occupations are separated by skill levels. Because of the
diﬀerences between the two classiﬁcation approaches,
researchers anticipated that analyzing occupational data
across time would be much more challenging with SOC
than analyzing industry data would be with NAICS.23 In
an earlier article, Albert E. Schwenk and William J. Wiatrowski discussed overlapping employment coverage between SOC and OCS groups in 2002 ECI data. The overlap
ranged from 66.3 percent to 99.3 percent of workers in

a group.24 In another article, Schwenk and Loewenstein,
ﬁnding inconsistencies between SOC and OCS, did not
compare natural resources and production occupations
between the two systems. Nor did they compare the two
systems’ transportation and material-moving occupations.25 Weinstein and Loewenstein’s breaks in series
mentioned earlier represent similar results for aggregate
groups in ECEC data.26

Transition methodology
From a time-series perspective, diﬀerences between classiﬁcation systems could have substantial implications for
seasonal adjustment, for which a consistent time series is
essential for accurate analyses and forecasts.27 In response
to the signiﬁcant changes found in NAICS compared with
SIC, the BLS, recognizing the needs of users of time-series
data, generally approached the problem by restructuring
historical series. For instance, the BLS Quarterly Census
of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program restructured
its employment and wage estimates back to 1990, the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program restructured its
employment estimates back to 1939, and the Productivity
program restructured its output-per-hour indexes and related series back to 1987.
Using the new NAICS and SOC classiﬁcations, BLS
economists in the Oﬃce of Compensation and Working
Conditions computed transitional Employment Cost Indexes (not seasonally adjusted) for December 1994 through
December 2005.28 The choice to compute transitional indexes was a highly desirable one, because it was consistent
with the approach taken by other BLS programs and other
Federal agencies to address the data comparability concerns of seasonal adjustment analysts. The main concern
of these researchers was that, due to the conceptual and
deﬁnitional changes brought about by the new classiﬁcation systems, comparability issues could aﬀect the accuracy
of seasonal factor estimation, even when no comparability
adjustments appeared necessary.29 It was not appropriate
to mix indexes based on SIC and OCS with those based on
NAICS and SOC, because a change in classiﬁcation systems
within the 10-year data span might lead to a change in the
underlying seasonal behavior of a series. Although X-12ARIMA is robust and can readily adapt to minor changes in
the computation of a series, the X-11 routine that is part of
X-12-ARIMA takes time to adapt to major changes. (X-11 is
a seasonal adjustment method that uses moving averages,
referred to as ﬁlters, to smooth an economic series.30)
Computing the NAICS and SOC estimates for the entire
data span has two major advantages. First, changes in the
Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 27

Transitional Employment Cost Indexes

seasonal pattern brought about by the new industry and
occupation deﬁnitions are fully embodied in the series.
The seasonal adjustment routine within X-12-ARIMA is
more likely to give smoother estimates of trend, seasonal,
and irregular components. Because the X-11 ﬁlters are using data by NAICS and SOC over the entire data span, the
seasonal factor estimates generally are not biased by effects associated with the change in classiﬁcation systems.
Second, computing NAICS and SOC estimates for the entire data span provided historical data for NAICS and SOC
series that did not exist under the SIC and OCS classiﬁcation systems. These new series could then be seasonally
adjusted as appropriate with the ﬁrst publication of NAICS
and SOC data—the March 2006 estimates. This approach
was preferable to simply waiting until enough historical
data for the new NAICS and SOC series had accumulated
to perform seasonal factor estimation on those series.

Data considerations
In anticipation of seasonal adjustment, the BLS began dual
coding NCS data in March 2000; that is, BLS ﬁeld economists were asked to code new establishment and occupation samples, using both the NAICS and SOC classiﬁcations
and the SIC and OCS classiﬁcations. The NAICS structure
is a six-digit hierarchical coding system that identiﬁes particular industries and their placement in the classiﬁcation
structure. The ﬁrst two digits represent sectors—general
categories of various economic activities. The entire 2002
NAICS structure contains 20 sectors. Although the BLS
originally planned to publish estimates at the two-digit
NAICS level, economists in the national oﬃce coded establishments at the six-digit level wherever feasible, in order
to aﬀord the best possible classiﬁcation of industries.31
Dual coding was implemented with successive sample
replacement groups; therefore, not all the data for 2000
and 2001 were dual coded during data collection. Beginning with 2002 data, every establishment and occupation
in the ECI sample at any point during 2001–05 was dual
coded by staﬀ collecting the data. However, not every
establishment or occupation in the ECI sample during
1994–2001 was dual coded in that way. Of roughly 17,200
establishment-occupation combinations in the ECI sample from December 1994 to December 2001, only about
37 percent were dual coded at the time of data collection.
This left approximately 63 percent of the establishments
and occupations in the sample during 1994–2001 to be
recoded in the national oﬃce.
For the ﬁrst half of the data span for 2006 seasonal
factor estimation (March 1996 through December 2000),
28

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

two sources facilitated the national-oﬃce recoding of ECI
data from SIC to NAICS: (1) the reconstruction ﬁle developed in the BLS Oﬃce of Employment and Unemployment Statistics to recode establishments in the CES survey
and (2) the BLS Longitudinal Data Base (LDB) ﬁles for
1995 and March 2001.32 When ECI data could not be recoded with the use of these sources (about 600 cases), BLS
staﬀ recoded the establishments by assigning NAICS codes
in accordance with deﬁnitions in the NAICS manual. In
most of these cases, there was a one-to-one correspondence between the NAICS and SIC codes at the three-digit
level at least, so no judgment was involved when BLS
economists assigned the NAICS codes. However, in about
200 cases, the SIC mapped into two or more two-digit
NAICS codes. In these cases, the appropriate NAICS code
was determined by the name of the establishment and the
titles of the NAICS categories.
Occupational quotes that were not coded during data
collection were recoded to appropriate intermediate (twodigit) aggregation SOC groups33 by means of a crosswalk
that matched the SOC with the OCS. The recoding from
OCS to the two-digit aggregation level of SOC was feasible, given that the ECI occupational estimates are published at that same level, and was even easier than NAICS
recoding, because the SOC groups are at a more aggregate
level.

Computing the index
The basic computations for the transitional indexes are the
same as those for the regularly published ECI. The ECI is
a Laspeyres index, and the standard formula for an index
number with ﬁxed weights applies.34 The discussion that
follows pertains to ECI wages and salaries indexes; the calculation for beneﬁt cost indexes is essentially the same.35
An Employment Cost Index is a weighted average of
the cumulative average wage changes from a speciﬁed
base-period wage. Currently, Employment Cost Indexes
are based at 100 for December 2005. A formula for an
Employment Cost Index It at quarter t is presented next.
The formula assumes that the index series is based at 100
for t = 0. With this base, to obtain an index for an estimation cell at any quarter t, the wage bill or cost weight sum
for the cell is divided by the wage bill for that cell for
quarter t – 1, the previous quarter; that is,

It

I (t 1)

¦W

ti

i

,

¦W
i

( t 1) i

where I(t-1) is the previous quarter’s index; Wti is the wage
bill, or cost weight, for quarter t and estimation cell i;
and W(t-1)i is the previous quarter’s wage bill for the same
cell i. A wage bill is a weighted average hourly wage of
workers in the cell, times the number of workers represented by the cell. In general, a cell is deﬁned by private or
government sector, industry, and occupational group.
For a current quarter t index,

Wti

W(t 1)i Rti ,

where Rti is the ratio of the current quarter’s weighted
average wage in a cell to the previous quarter’s weighted
average wage in a cell.36
Operationally, several steps took place in the process of
computing NAICS-SOC-based Employment Cost Indexes
for the 1996–2005 periods:
1) Deﬁne industry and occupation cells. In all, 58 industry categories were deﬁned for private industry
and 13 industry for State and local governments. For
each industry category, nine occupational categories
were deﬁned.
2) Determine 2002 employment in each industry and
occupation cell.37 Employment counts were obtained mainly from the BLS QCEW ﬁle of quarterly
reports to State employment security agencies from
every employer that is subject to State Unemployment Insurance laws and is in the BLS Occupational
Employment Statistics program.
3) Compute base-period (December 1994) wage and
total beneﬁt cost weights for each industry and occupation cell. The base-period wage cost weight for
each cell was equal to 2002 employment, times the
average December 1994 wage, and similarly for the
base-period total beneﬁt cost weight. Extending the
series back to 1994 provided an opportunity to test
seasonal adjustment of NAICS-SOC data before 2005
data became available and also permitted additional
testing of NAICS-SOC data to increase the level of
conﬁdence in the accuracy of the data.
4) Compute the current quarter’s wage and total beneﬁt cost weights for each industry and occupation
cell, for each quarter, through December 2005.
5) For each series of interest for each quarter, sum both
the current and previous quarters’ cost weights across
the component cells.
6) Calculate indexes with December 1994 as the base
(= 100), and then, for each subsequent quarter, move

the index forward by setting it equal to the previous
quarter’s index times the ratio of the current quarter’s
cost weight to the previous quarter’s cost weight.
7) Rebase all indexes to December 2005 = 100 by dividing each index by the December 2005 index value
and multiplying by 100.38

Transitional Estimates
Table 1 shows selected transitional Employment Cost
Indexes, not seasonally adjusted, that were developed
speciﬁcally for seasonal adjustment of the ECI classiﬁed
by NAICS and SOC. Ten-year historical index data spans
from 1996 to 2005 and from 1997 to 2006 were used to
estimate seasonal factors by quarter,39 as part of the direct seasonal adjustment method employed for the 2006
and 2007 published seasonally adjusted Employment
Cost Indexes, respectively. The transitional indexes and
3-month percent changes in the table are provided for informational purposes only, to show the entire data spans
that were used in estimating seasonal factors, as well as to
provide additional context for the published NAICS and
SOC ECI estimates.
The data in the table are transitional because they are a
combination of independently calculated estimates (from
December 1994 to December 2005) and production-system-calculated estimates (from March 2006 to December
2006), which have a couple of limitations arising from the
method by which they were derived. First, the 10-year data
spans are a mixture of ﬁeld-collection-coded and specially
recoded data, where the latter data are obtained by means of
a recoding procedure that diﬀers from the ﬁeld collection
procedure used for regularly published ECI data.40 Second,
the imputation of missing data based on the SIC and OCS
sample has been retained; no imputations were made on
the basis of data reclassiﬁed by NAICS and SOC. Notwithstanding these limitations, BLS economists considered the
transitional estimates to be suﬃcient for seasonal adjustment.
The early years of the transitional series provide a longer historical perspective for the seasonally adjusted ECI
classiﬁed by NAICS and SOC than do the transitional data
that are published with the oﬃcial ECI estimates, which
begin with March 2001. These earlier-reference-period
data have not been published in the oﬃcial historical listing due to the substantial amount of national-oﬃce coding that was required and due to their restricted use for
seasonal adjustment.
Oﬃcial ECI estimates are available in the Employment
Cost Index news releases and in historical listings. The ofMonthly Labor Review • April 2008 29

Transitional Employment Cost Indexes

Table 1. Transitional Employment Cost Indexes and 3-month percent changes, by occupation and industry,1
private-industry workers,2 December 1994–December 2006, not seasonally adjusted
Occupational group,
industry, and year

Indexes (December 2005 = 100)
March

June

September

Percent changes for 3 months ended—
December

March

June

September December

Wages and salaries3
Occupation
Management, business,
 DQG¿QDQFLDO

1994 ................................
1995 ................................
1996 ................................
1997 ................................
1998 ................................
1999 ................................
2000 ................................
2001 ................................
2002 ................................
2003 ................................
2004 ................................
2005 ................................
2006 ................................

—
68.7
70.8
74.0
77.8
80.3
84.3
87.3
90.8
94.8
96.8
99.2
101.3

3URIHVVLRQDODQGUHODWHG 
1994 ................................
1995 ................................
1996 ................................
1997 ................................
1998 ................................
1999 ................................
2000 ................................
2001 ................................
2002 ................................
2003 ................................
2004 ................................
2005 ................................
2006 ................................

—
70.5
72.7
74.7
77.3
80.0
82.8
86.9
90.1
92.1
95.3
98.2
100.9

6DOHVDQGUHODWHG

1994.................................
1995.................................
1996.................................
1997.................................
1998.................................
1999.................................
2000.................................
2001.................................
2002.................................
2003.................................
2004.................................
2005.................................
2006.................................

—
67.2
70.6
73.8
77.4
80.3
86.4
86.8
89.2
91.5
94.4
97.3
99.8







2I¿FHDQGDGPLQLVWUDWLYH
 VXSSRUW


1994 ................................
—
1995 ................................
69.9
1996 ................................
71.9
1997 ................................
74.3
1998 ................................
77.1
1999 ................................
80.2
2000 ................................
83.3
2001 ................................
87.0
2002 ................................
90.7
2003 ................................
93.1
2004 ................................
95.6
2005 ................................
98.2
2006 ................................
100.9
See footnotes at end of table.
30


—
69.0
71.4
74.5
78.4
81.8
85.1
88.3
92.2
95.5
97.5
99.7
102.2

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008


—
69.5
72.5
75.3
79.6
83.2
85.7
89.1
92.4
96.4
98.1
99.5
102.8





—
71.0
73.4
75.5
77.9
80.7
83.9
87.8
90.5
92.7
95.7
98.8
101.8

—
71.5
73.9
76.1
78.8
81.4
85.1
88.7
91.0
93.6
96.7
99.6
103.1


—
68.5
71.8
74.3
78.5
82.3
86.8
88.0
91.0
92.5
95.7
97.8
101.3

—
69.5
71.5
75.5
81.1
83.4
87.6
87.9
91.0
94.3
97.4
99.2
102.0











—
.9
.3
1.9
–.3
.8
.7
.8
–.3
.3
.4
.5
.3

—
.7
.7
.8
1.2
.9
1.4
1.0
.6
1.0
1.0
.8
1.3

—
.6
.3
.8
.6
.9
.8
.7
.4
.6
.5
.4
.9

—
1.5
–.4
1.6
3.3
1.3
.9
.0
.0
1.9
1.8
1.4
.7

—
–.1
1.7
1.5
3.5
.6
–1.3
.8
–.2
–.5
–.8
.8
.6

—
.6
1.0
1.1
.8
.9
1.2
1.3
.5
.5
.7
.4
.7

—
.7
.4
.7
.8
.7
.6
.7
.7
.3
.5
.6
.7


—
1.9
1.7
.7
1.4
2.5
.5
1.3
2.1
1.1
1.4
.5
1.5


—
1.0
1.1
1.2
1.0
1.3
1.5
1.4
1.5
.8
1.0
.6
.9

—
.7
1.5
1.1
1.5
1.7
.7
.9
.2
.9
.6
–.2
.6


—
.7
1.0
1.1
.8
.9
1.3
1.0
.4
.7
.4
.6
.9

—
.1
1.7
1.5
1.0
–4.3
3.0
.5
.6
.7
.6
.7
–.2


69.2
71.1
73.4
76.3
79.2
82.1
85.8
89.4
92.4
94.7
97.6
100.0
103.3


—
.4
.8
.7
.8
1.9
.9
1.1
1.5
.7
.7
.5
.9

—
.6
1.1
.8
.8
.9
.9
1.3
.9
.8
1.2
1.0
.9

67.1
69.4
72.7
76.6
83.9
83.9
86.5
88.6
90.9
93.8
96.6
100.0
102.6


—
70.6
73.1
75.8
78.6
81.5
85.3
88.8
91.8
94.4
97.1
99.4
102.6


—
1.2
1.0
1.8
1.4
1.1
.5
1.2
1.1
2.9
.1
.7
1.3

70.1
71.9
74.1
76.7
79.3
82.1
85.8
89.3
91.4
94.2
97.2
100.0
104.0


—
70.2
72.4
75.0
78.0
80.8
84.3
87.7
91.3
93.9
96.4
99.0
101.9


67.9
70.1
72.7
76.7
79.4
83.9
86.3
89.8
92.1
96.7
98.5
100.0
103.1


—
.4
.7
.9
1.2
.7
1.2
.8
.7
.9
.8
.8
1.0

Table 1. Continued—Transitional Employment Cost Indexes and 3-month percent changes, by occupation and
industry,1 private-industry workers,2 December 1994–December 2006, not seasonally adjusted
Occupational group,
industry, and year

Indexes (December 2005 = 100)
March

June

September

&RQVWUXFWLRQDQGH[WUDF
 WLRQIDUPLQJ¿VKLQJ
 DQGIRUHVWU\

1994 ................................
1995 ................................
1996 ................................
1997 ................................
1998 ................................
1999 ................................
2000 ................................
2001 ................................
2002 ................................
2003 ................................
2004 ................................
2005 ................................
2006 ................................

—
72.3
74.6
76.5
78.6
81.1
84.0
87.8
90.6
92.7
95.8
97.8
100.7

Installation, maintenance,
 DQGUHSDLU

1994 ................................
1995 ................................
1996 ................................
1997 ................................
1998 ................................
1999 ................................
2000 ................................
2001 ................................
2002 ................................
2003 ................................
2004 ................................
2005 ................................
2006 ................................

—
71.3
74.0
75.8
78.4
81.6
84.7
87.4
90.4
93.8
95.9
97.8
100.7

—
72.0
74.8
77.0
79.1
82.2
85.6
87.9
92.2
94.6
96.8
99.1
101.6

—
72.5
74.6
77.3
79.9
83.1
86.3
90.1
92.9
95.1
97.3
99.5
102.6

Transportation and
 PDWHULDOPRYLQJ

1994 ................................
1995 ................................
1996 ................................
1997 ................................
1998 ................................
1999 ................................
2000 ................................
2001 ................................
2002 ................................
2003 ................................
2004 ................................
2005 ................................
2006 ................................


—
74.2
76.8
78.9
81.4
83.1
85.6
89.0
92.7
94.7
96.4
98.5
100.4


—
74.8
77.4
79.3
81.9
84.0
86.4
90.0
93.1
95.3
97.1
99.0
101.2

—
75.3
77.7
80.2
82.7
84.5
87.3
90.8
93.7
95.6
97.9
99.7
102.0




—
73.2
75.6
76.9
79.4
81.9
85.2
88.9
91.3
93.7
96.6
98.5
102.0

Industry
&RQVWUXFWLRQ


1994 ................................
—
1995 ................................
70.6
1996 ................................
72.7
1997 ................................
74.8
1998 ................................
77.2
1999 ................................
80.2
2000 ................................
83.5
2001 ................................
87.3
2002 ................................
89.9
2003 ................................
92.3
2004 ................................
95.4
2005 ................................
97.3
2006 ................................
100.6
See footnotes at end of table.








—
71.7
73.9
76.2
79.0
81.5
85.8
88.9
91.3
94.2
97.0
99.4
102.9








70.4
72.1
74.1
76.5
79.3
81.9
86.4
89.6
92.1
94.5
96.9
100.0
103.7

—
.4
.9
.5
.4
.4
.6
.2
.5
.3
.6
.7
.7

—
.7
–.3
.4
1.0
1.1
.8
2.5
.8
.5
.5
.4
1.0

—
.8
.9
.5
.8
.6
.1
.0
.0
.4
.1
.5
.4

—
.7
.4
1.1
1.0
.6
1.0
.9
.6
.3
.8
.7
.8

—
.1
.4
.6
.4
.7
.9
1.0
.3
.3
.4
.3
.6

—
.8
.7
.7
.6
.6
1.2
.8
.7
.9
1.1
1.1
.9

—
.6
.3
.4
.4
.5
.7
.8
.9
.3
–.1
.6
.8


—
.8
.8
.5
.6
1.1
.9
1.1
.4
.6
.7
.5
.8


—
.3
.8
.9
.9
1.1
2.0
1.0
.3
.2
1.0
.4
.6

—
.8
.1
.9
.9
.7
1.4
1.0
.7
1.0
.3
.8
1.0


—
1.0
1.1
1.6
.9
.7
1.1
.6
2.0
.9
.9
1.3
.9

—
1.2
1.9
1.2
.9
.1
.6
1.0
1.1
.7
.5
.2
.4

September December


—
1.2
1.3
.5
1.0
1.0
1.4
1.3
.8
1.1
.8
.7
1.3

—
1.1
1.2
.7
.9
1.4
1.3
1.2
.3
1.0
.4
.4
.7

73.3
75.4
78.0
80.7
83.0
85.1
88.1
91.7
94.0
95.9
98.3
100.0
102.6

June


—
.1
.7
.1
.8
.9
1.4
1.0
.7
.3
.9
.3
.7

70.5
73.1
75.3
77.7
80.5
83.6
86.4
90.1
92.9
95.5
97.4
100.0
103.0



March


72.2
74.1
76.4
78.0
80.4
82.8
86.9
90.0
92.4
94.9
97.5
100.0
103.7



—
71.1
73.4
75.7
78.5
81.0
84.8
88.2
90.7
93.4
95.9
98.3
102.0

December


—
73.8
75.7
77.6
80.1
82.5
86.4
89.8
91.9
94.6
96.9
99.3
103.0



Percent changes for 3 months ended—


—
.7
1.0
1.2
1.7
1.0
1.6
1.0
.9
1.2
.5
1.0
1.4

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 31

Transitional Employment Cost Indexes

Table 1. Continued—Transitional Employment Cost Indexes and 3-month percent changes, by occupation and
industry,1 private-industry workers,2 December 1994–December 2006, not seasonally adjusted
Occupational group,
industry, and year
5HWDLOWUDGH

1994 ................................
1995 ................................
1996 ................................
1997 ................................
1998 ................................
1999 ................................
2000 ................................
2001 ................................
2002 ................................
2003 ................................
2004 ................................
2005 ................................
2006 ................................

Indexes (December 2005 = 100)
March

—
71.8
74.4
76.8
79.4
81.6
85.7
88.7
91.5
93.2
95.8
98.0
100.5

June

—
72.5
74.8
77.8
80.1
83.1
86.3
89.3
93.2
93.8
96.7
98.8
100.9

September

Percent changes for 3 months ended—
December


—
73.3
75.6
78.5
81.2
83.5
87.2
90.0
93.2
95.3
96.9
99.6
101.9

March


71.3
72.8
76.1
78.5
80.5
83.9
87.5
91.6
93.0
95.3
97.4
100.0
102.8

June


—
.7
2.2
.9
1.1
1.4
2.1
1.4
–.1
.2
.5
.6
.5

September December


—
1.0
.5
1.3
.9
1.8
.7
.7
1.9
.6
.9
.8
.4

—
1.1
1.1
.9
1.4
.5
1.0
.8
.0
1.6
.2
.8
1.0

—
–.7
.7
.0
–.9
.5
.3
1.8
–.2
.0
.5
.4
.9

—
.1
.1
1.6
–.6
.3
1.1
1.0
1.8
1.5
.8
.6
.8

—
.0
1.0
.7
.1
.9
1.8
1.5
.7
1.1
.3
.5
.6

%HQH¿WV4
Occupation
6HUYLFHRFFXSDWLRQV

1994 ................................
1995 ................................
1996 ................................
1997 ................................
1998 ................................
1999 ................................
2000 ................................
2001 ................................
2002 ................................
2003 ................................
2004 ................................
2005 ................................
2006 ................................


—
68.0
68.3
69.4
72.1
73.3
75.2
79.7
83.7
88.8
94.6
98.3
101.5





—
68.5
68.6
70.0
72.1
74.1
76.1
80.5
84.4
89.4
95.9
98.9
102.2

—
68.6
68.7
71.1
72.5
74.3
76.9
81.3
85.9
90.7
96.7
99.5
103.0

1
2FFXSDWLRQDOJURXSVDUHGH¿QHGLQStandard Occupational ClasVL¿FDWLRQ0DQXDO8QLWHG6WDWHV ([HFXWLYH2I¿FHRIWKH3UHVLGHQW 2I¿FH RI 0DQDJHPHQW DQG %XGJHW   ZLWK WKH H[FHSWLRQ
WKDWFRQVWUXFWLRQDQGH[WUDFWLRQLVFRPELQHGZLWKIDUPLQJ¿VKLQJDQG
IRUHVWU\,QGXVWU\JURXSVDUHGH¿QHGLQ1RUWK$PHULFDQ,QGXVWU\&ODVVL¿FDWLRQ6\VWHP8QLWHG6WDWHV ([HFXWLYH2I¿FHRIWKH3UHVLGHQW2I¿FHRI0DQDJHPHQWDQG%XGJHW 

2
,QFOXGHVZRUNHUVLQWKHSULYDWHQRQIDUPHFRQRP\H[FHSWWKRVHLQ
private households.
3
 )RU WKH (PSOR\PHQW &RVW ,QGH[ (&,  ZDJHV DQG VDODULHV DUH
GH¿QHGDVWKHKRXUO\VWUDLJKWWLPHZDJHUDWHRUIRUZRUNHUVQRWSDLG
on an hourly basis, straight-time earnings, divided by corresponding
hours. Straight-time earnings are total earnings before payroll deducWLRQVH[FOXGLQJSUHPLXPSD\IRURYHUWLPHDQGIRUZRUNRQZHHNHQGV
and holidays, shift differentials, and nonproduction bonuses such
as lump-sum payments provided in lieu of wage increases. The (&,
includes production bonuses, incentive earnings, commission payments, and cost-of-living adjustments.

ﬁcial estimates for all reference periods from the beginning
of the ECI through 2005 are the originally published estimates based on SIC and OCS, with an index base of June
1989 = 100.41

Comparisons
It is desirable to know how the transitional ECI estimates
32

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008


67.9
68.6
69.4
71.6
72.4
75.0
78.3
82.5
86.5
91.7
97.0
100.0
103.6


—
.1
–.4
.0
.7
1.2
.3
1.8
1.5
2.7
3.2
1.3
1.5


—
.7
.4
.9
.0
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Includes paid leave—vacations, holidays, sick leave, and other
leave; supplemental pay—premium pay for work in addition to the
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shift differentials, and nonproduction bonuses (such as referral boQXVHV DQG DWWHQGDQFH ERQXVHV  LQVXUDQFH EHQH¿WV²OLIH KHDOWK
short-term disability, and long-term disability; retirement and savings
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NOTE7UDQVLWLRQDO(PSOR\PHQW&RVW,QGH[HVZHUHGHYHORSHGIRU
seasonal adjustment of the (&,DVFODVVL¿HGE\1$,&6 and 62&. Ten\HDUKLVWRULFDOLQGH[WLPHVSDQVIURPWRDQGIURPWR
2006 were used to estimate seasonal factors by quarter for the 2006
DQG(PSOR\PHQW&RVW,QGH[UHVSHFWLYHO\7UDQVLWLRQDOGDWDIRU
1994 through 2000 and 3-month percent changes in this table are
LQIRUPDWLRQDORQO\2I¿FLDO(&, estimates are available in the EmployPHQW&RVW,QGH[QHZVUHOHDVHVDQGKLVWRULFDOOLVWLQJV'DVKLQGLFDWHV
data not available.

diﬀer when classiﬁed by NAICS compared with SIC and
when classiﬁed by SOC compared with OCS, particularly
because of the movement of establishments and occupations among classiﬁcations. The intent of such a comparison is twofold: to bring to light the outcome of the data
reconstruction methods relative to the existing estimates
and to demonstrate that the estimates are reasonably
consistent with expectations based on similarity or dif-

ference in classiﬁcations. In this section, the diﬀerence
between Employment Cost Indexes and 3-month percent changes of the two classiﬁcation systems is measured with two absolute diﬀerence measures: the mean
absolute diﬀerence and the maximum absolute diﬀerence.42 Together, the two statistics summarize the extent
of the diﬀerences between estimates grouped by the two
classiﬁcations. Put another way, they describe how the
reclassiﬁcation of establishments quantitatively changed
the occupational and industrial estimates. The absolute
diﬀerence measures were chosen for this analysis because
they describe the size of the diﬀerences without regard
to their direction. The analysis is performed over the 10year period from 1996 to 2005, a period that was selected
because it is the data span used for the 2006 seasonal adjustment estimation, the ﬁrst year of ECI estimates classiﬁed by NAICS and SOC. In addition to these statistics,
selected series classiﬁed by the two systems are presented
graphically. For the most salient private-industry series,
3-month percent changes for the 10-year data span are
plotted in order to display how the ECI quarterly rates
of change diﬀer over time between the two classiﬁcation
systems.

Analysis
Table 2 shows mean and maximum absolute diﬀerence
statistics for selected transitional ECI estimates over the
1996–2005 period. Results are reported for index and 3month percent change estimates, both seasonally adjusted
and not seasonally adjusted. NAICS and SOC classiﬁcations
that are completely new are not in the table, because there
are no SIC and OCS indexes with which to compare them.
Series not listed in the table include subcategories of the
information industry; subcategories of natural resources
occupations; production occupations; and transportation
and material moving occupations. Also not in the table
are series with standard errors and numbers of observations that do not meet publication criteria.
In table 2, the absolute mean and maximum diﬀerences
in indexes and 3-month percent changes appear to be relatively small, but quarter-to-quarter charts show the extent
of variation in classiﬁcation system estimates over time.
The diﬀerences, however small nominally, capture not only
structural economic and time diﬀerences embodied in the
classiﬁcations, but diﬀerences in ECI methodology as well.
(There also may be diﬀerences due to rounding.) Seasonally adjusted estimates show relatively few diﬀerences in
absolute mean diﬀerences in indexes and 3-month percent
changes, compared with mean diﬀerences in the estimates

that are not seasonally adjusted. These few diﬀerences reﬂect relatively small diﬀerences in unadjusted estimates
and seasonal factors between the two classiﬁcations. The
maximum-diﬀerence data show that when the data are
seasonally adjusted, the diﬀerences between the two classiﬁcation systems tend to be either the same or less than
when the data are not seasonally adjusted.
In the analysis that follows, the original (not seasonally adjusted) transitional series will be the main focus
because they represent the data spans used for seasonal
factor estimation. For both private industry and State and
local governments, in no case does the diﬀerence between
seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted mean and
maximum absolute diﬀerences exceed 0.1 percentage
point.
Occupation. Among private occupational series, professional and related occupations show the largest mean
and maximum absolute diﬀerence between OCS and SOC
indexes, and oﬃce and administrative occupations show
the smallest. Sales and related occupations have the largest mean and maximum absolute diﬀerences for 3-month
percent changes. To illustrate the underlying data for the
latter occupation group, the top panel of chart 1 shows
3-month percent changes in the OCS and SOC ECI’s for
wages and salaries of sales and related workers, not seasonally adjusted. The chart demonstrates that rates of
change for the two series follow a similar pattern over
time, but include a variety of diﬀerences. In particular, the
March 1999 decline in the SOC estimate was more than
a percentage point more than the decline in the OCS estimate. The bottom panel of chart 1 shows similar results
on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Industry. The transportation and warehousing industry
shows the largest mean absolute diﬀerence, while the
hospital industry shows the smallest, between NAICS and
SIC indexes. (The hospital industry sample is virtually the
same on the basis of both SIC and NAICS.) Retail trade
shows the largest maximum absolute diﬀerences in indexes. Transportation and warehousing shows the largest mean and maximum absolute diﬀerences for 3-month
changes. The top panel of chart 2 compares 3-month percent changes for the NAICS transportation and warehousing industry with those for the SIC transportation series,
not seasonally adjusted. The two series occasionally mirror
each other, but diﬀer substantially in several instances; for
example, the March 1997 diﬀerence is approximately a
percentage point, and the March 2005 diﬀerence is more
than half a percentage point. The bottom panel of chart
Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 33

Transitional Employment Cost Indexes

Table 2. Mean and maximum absolute difference between transitional NAICS-SOC1 and SIC-OCS2 Employment Cost
Indexes and 3-month percent changes for wages and salaries, 1996–2005
Absolute difference in 3-month
percent change

Absolute difference in Indexes
Series

Not seasonally
adjusted
Mean

Seasonally
adjusted

Maximum

Mean

Maximum

Not seasonally
adjusted
Mean Maximum

Seasonally
adjusted
Mean

Maximum

Private
2FFXSDWLRQJURXS

 
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Professional and related ..............................
Sales and related .........................................
2I¿FHDQGDGPLQLVWUDWLYHVXSSRUW.................
Service occupations .....................................
,QGXVWU\JURXS
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'XUDEOHJRRGV..............................................
Nondurable goods........................................
Wholesale trade ...........................................
Retail trade...................................................
Transportation and warehousing..................
8WLOLWLHV..........................................................
Insurance .....................................................
Junior colleges, colleges, universities,
and professional schools ...........................
Hospitals ......................................................
State and local governments
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Professional and related ..............................
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Service occupations .....................................
,QGXVWU\JURXS
Elementary and secondary schools ................
Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and
professional schools ..................................
Hospitals. .....................................................
Public administration ....................................

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The acronym “1$,&6´UHIHUVWRWKH1RUWK$PHULFDQ,QGXVWU\&ODVVL¿FDWLRQ6\VWHPVHH1RUWK$PHULFDQ,QGXVWU\&ODVVL¿FDWLRQ6\VWHP
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2 shows a similar pattern in the seasonally adjusted transportation and warehousing series.
The top panel of chart 3 shows 3-month percent
changes for NAICS and SIC retail trade industry wages
and salaries, not seasonally adjusted. Here again, the two
series follow a similar pattern, but with clear diﬀerences
in many quarters. For example, the December 2001 and
June 2002 NAICS 3-month percent changes are at least
half a percentage point greater than the SIC estimate.
The bottom panel of chart 3 shows that, on a seasonally
adjusted basis, these diﬀerences are lessened, except for
34

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008



2
The acronym “6,&´GHVLJQDWHVWKH6WDQGDUG,QGXVWULDO&ODVVL¿FDWLRQ
System; see 6WDQGDUG ,QGXVWULDO &ODVVL¿FDWLRQ 6\VWHP ([HFXWLYH 2I¿FH
RIWKH3UHVLGHQW2I¿FHRI0DQDJHPHQWDQG%XGJHW 7KHDFURQ\P
“2&6´UHIHUVWRWKH2FFXSDWLRQDO&ODVVL¿FDWLRQ6\VWHPVHH O&60
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NOTE 'DVKHVLQGLFDWHWKDWQRVHDVRQDOLW\ZDVIRXQGIRUWKLVVHries in 2006.

1997, during which the SIC series appears to have been
smoothed more than the NAICS series.
THIS ARTICLE HAS PRESENTED TRANSITIONAL INDEXES

and 3-month percent changes for selected series used for
seasonal factor estimation as part of the seasonal adjustment
methodology of the ECI when it was converted to NAICS
and SOC with the March 2006 estimates and their revision
in 2007. The transitional estimates were compared with SIC
and OCS estimates, and the diﬀerences were quantiﬁed and
observed to be, for the most part, small. Quantiﬁcation of the

Chart 1.

Three-month percent change in transitional Employment Cost Index for SOC sales and related
workers’ wages and salaries compared with OCS, 1996–2005

Percent
change
5.0

Percent
change
5.0

Not seasonally adjusted

4.0

4.0

3.0

3.0

2.0

2.0

1.0

1.0

0.0

0.0

–1.0

–1.0

–2.0

–2.0

BLS Occupational Classification System, 1990
OMB Standard Occupational Classification, 2000

–3.0

–3.0
–4.0

–4.0
–5.0
March
1996

–5.0
March
1997

March
1998

March
1999

Percent
change

March
2000

March
2001

March
2002

March
2003

March
2004

March
2005
Percent
change

Seasonally adjusted

5.0

5.0

4.0

4.0

3.0

3.0
2.0

2.0

1.0

1.0

0.0
0.0
–1.0
–1.0
–2.0
–2.0

–3.0

–3.0

BLS Occupational Classification System, 1990
OMB Standard Occupational Classification, 2000

–4.0

–4.0
–5.0

–5.0
March
19961

March
1997

March
1998

March
1999

March
2000

March
2001

March
2002

March
2003

March
2004

March
2005

1

Due to the design of the ECI seasonal adjustment computation system, seasonally adusted percent changes are not available for March 1996.

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 35

Transitional Employment Cost Indexes

Chart 2.

Three-month percent change in transitional Employment Cost Index for NAICS transportation and
warehousing workers’ wages and salaries compared with SIC, 1996–2005

Percent
change
2.5

Percent
change
2.5

Not seasonally adjusted

2.0

2.0

1.5

1.5

1.0

1.0

0.5

0.5

0.0

0.0

–0.5

–0.5
6WDQGDUG,QGXVWULDO&ODVVL¿FDWLRQ
1RUWK$PHULFDQ,QGXVWU\&ODVVL¿FDWLRQ6\VWHP

–1.0
–1.5
March
1996

–1.0
–1.5

March
1997

March
1998

March
1999

Percent
change
2.5

March
2000

March
2001

March
2002

March
2003

March
2004

March
2005

Percent
change
2.5

Seasonally adjusted

2.0

2.0

1.5

1.5

1.0

1.0

0.5

0.5

0.0

0.0

–0.5

–0.5

6WDQGDUG,QGXVWULDO&ODVVL¿FDWLRQ
1RUWK$PHULFDQ,QGXVWU\&ODVVL¿FDWLRQ6\VWHP

–1.0
–1.5
March
19961

–1.0

March
1997

March
1998

1

March
1999

March
2000

March
2001

March
2002

March
2003

March
2004

March
2005

Due to the design of the ECI seasonal adjustment computation system, seasonally adusted percent changes are not available for March 1996.

36

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

–1.5

Chart 3.

Three-month percent change in transitional Employment Cost Index for NAICS retail trade indexes
for wages and salaries compared with SIC, 1996–2005

Percent
change

Percent
change

Not seasonally adjusted

2.5

2.5

2.0

2.0

1.5

1.5

1.0

1.0

0.5

0.5

0.0

0.0

–0.5

–0.5

–1.0

–1.0

6WDQGDUG,QGXVWULDO&ODVVL¿FDWLRQ
1RUWK$PHULFDQ,QGXVWU\&ODVVL¿FDWLRQ6\VWHP

–1.5

–1.5
March
1996

March
1997

March
1998

March
1999

March
2000

Percent
change

March
2001

March
2002

March
2003

March
2004

March
2005

Percent
change

Seasonally adjusted

2.5

2.5

2.0

2.0

1.5

1.5

1.0

1.0

0.5

0.5

0.0

0.0

–0.5

6WDQGDUG,QGXVWULDO&ODVVL¿FDWLRQ
1RUWK$PHULFDQ,QGXVWU\&ODVVL¿FDWLRQ6\VWHP

–1.0

–0.5
–1.0
–1.5

–1.5
March
19961

March
1997

March
1998

March
1999

March
2002

March
2001

March
2002

March
2003

March
2004

March
2005

1

Due to the design of the ECI seasonal adjustment computation system, seasonally adusted percent changes are not available for March 1996.

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 37

Transitional Employment Cost Indexes

diﬀerences between NAICS and SIC and between SOC and
OCS clariﬁes the need for a consistently classiﬁed series
over time for seasonal factor estimation. Users may ﬁnd
the transitional indexes useful for time-series analysis if they
desire consistent historical estimates.
As the ECI continues to be produced on a quarterly
basis, the transitional portion of the 10-year data spans
used for seasonal adjustment of the ECI will diminish, and

by the end of 2011 (the last year of the data span for the
2012 seasonal adjustment revision), the entire 10-year data
span will comprise estimates based completely on NAICS
and SOC data coded by BLS ﬁeld economists. Also, NAICS
and SOC are changed periodically; for instance, NAICS
2007 is now available and SOC 2010 is underway.43 The
BLS already has begun incorporating NAICS updates into
the NCS.

Notes
1
The ECI is a Laspeyres index calculated with the use of ﬁxed employment
weights from the 2002 BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program. The ECI ﬁxed weights control for employment shifts among occupations
and industries. (See BLS Handbook of Methods (Bureau of Labor Statistics, last
modiﬁed Apr. 25, 2007), chapter 8, pp. 1, 4–6, on the Internet at www.bls.gov/
opub/hom/pdf/homch8.pdf; see also Stephanie L. Costo, “Introducing 2002
weights for the Employment Cost Index,” Monthly Labor Review, April 2006,
pp. 28–32, on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2006/04/art5full.pdf.)
2
See North American Industry Classiﬁcation System: United States, 2002 (Executive Oﬃce of the President, Oﬃce of Management and Budget, 2002); on the
Internet at www.census.gov/epcd/naics02.
3
See Standard Occupational Classiﬁcation Manual: 2000 (Executive Oﬃce of
the President, Oﬃce of Management and Budget, 2000); on the Internet at
www.bls.gov/soc. See also Federal Register Notice 62 FR 36337-36409, July 7,
1997.
4
See Standard Industrial Classiﬁcation System, 1987 (Executive Oﬃce of the
President, Oﬃce of Management and Budget, 1987).
5
1990 OCSM, Occupational Classif ication System Manual for the Employment
Cost Index Survey Program (Bureau of Labor Statistics, December 1993); on
the Internet at www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/eci_04282006.pdf.

ﬁxed data span adopted in 2002 on the basis of an analysis of Standard Industrial Classiﬁcation-based ECI data. Sliding-spans comparisons showed that
10-year data spans gave better estimates than an 8-year alternative; that is, the
10-year spans produced a more consistent selection of models, better quality
control statistics, generally smaller maximum percent diﬀerences in seasonal
factors, and more. Results of the analysis are reported in E. Raphael Branch,
James Buszuwski, and Mark Loewenstein,” “Seasonal Adjustment Time Span
Analysis,” unpublished manuscript, Oct. 28, 2002, available on request from the
BLS Oﬃce of Compensation and Working Conditions, Branch of Estimation
and Validation. At the time of annual revision, the earliest year is dropped and
the most recent year is added to form the new time span. (For more details, see
Branch and Mason, “Seasonal adjustment in the ECI,” pp. 12–13, 15, 20–21.)
13
For more information on X-12-ARIMA, see David F. Findley, Brian C. Monsell, William R. Bell, Mark C. Otto, and Bor-Chung Chen, “New Capabilities and Methods of the X-12-ARIMA Seasonal Adjustment Program,” Journal
of Business and Economic Statistics, April 1998, pp. 127–77; on the Internet at
www.census.gov/ts/papers/jbes98.pdf. The X-12-ARIMA seasonal adjustment
program was developed by the Time Series Staﬀ of the Statistical Research
Division of the U.S. Census Bureau.
14
This program was developed by the Time Series Staﬀ of the Statistical
Research Division of the U.S. Census Bureau.
15

North American Industry Classiﬁcation System, p. 18.

6

For more information on changes to the ECI, see Richard E. Caroll,
“Changes aﬀecting the Employment Cost Index: an overview,” Monthly
Labor Review, April 2006, pp. 3–5; on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/
mlr/2006/04/art1full.pdf.
7
See “Employment Cost Index—March 2006, BLS news release (Bureau of
Labor Statistics, Apr. 28, 2006), on the Internet at www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.
htm#news.
8

In addition to their role in seasonal adjustment, transitional ECI estimates provided data for evaluating the impact of the switch to NAICS and SOC on ECI estimates, for assessing whether the new estimates under NAICS and SOC would meet
publication criteria, and for checking ﬁrst estimates from the new production
system that was being designed to compute ECI estimates by NAICS and SOC.
9
E. Raphael Branch and Lowell Mason, “Seasonal adjustment in the ECI
and the conversion to NAICS and SOC,” Monthly Labor Review, April 2006, pp.
12–21; on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2006/04/art3full.pdf.
10
Harriet G. Weinstein and Mark A. Loewenstein, “Comparing Current
and Former Industry and Occupation ECEC Series,” Compensation and Working
Conditions Online, Aug. 25, 2004, on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/
cm20040823ar01p1.htm.
11
For more details, see Branch and Mason, “Seasonal adjustment in the ECI,”
pp. 13–15.
12

38

The 10-year data span used to estimate seasonal factors for the
Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

ECI

is the

16
The construction and wholesale trade classiﬁcations changed substantially,
a number of retail classiﬁcations changed, and the organization of the information sector changed. Minor boundary adjustments aﬀect administrative and
support services and mining. For details, see North American Industry Classiﬁcation System—Revisions for 2002, on the Internet at www.census.gov/epcd/naics02.
17
See North American Industry Classiﬁcation System: United States, 1997 (Executive Oﬃce of the President, Oﬃce of Management and Budget, 1998), p.
23. Detailed comparisons between the 2002 NAICS and the 1987 SIC are on the
Internet at www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm.
18

Weinstein and Loewenstein, “Comparing ECEC Series,” pp. 5–12.

19

Albert E. Schwenk and Mark A. Loewenstein, “Wage and Compensation Comparisons across SOC/OCSM Occupational Categories and to NAICS/SIC
Industry Categories,” unpublished manuscript, January 2002, p. 1. In a study
similar to the more recent one by Weinstein and Loewenstein that used the
ECEC sample (see note 10), Schwenk and Loewenstein used the ECI sample
to conduct preliminary research on average wage and average compensation
costs. (Schwenk and Loewenstein’s report is available on request from the BLS
Oﬃce of Compensation and Working Conditions, Branch of Estimation and
Validation.)
20

21

Standard Occupational Classiﬁcation Manual: 2000, p. ix.

Scopp, Thomas S., “The Relationship between the 1990 Census and Census
2000 Industry and Occupation Classiﬁcation Systems,” Technical Paper No. 65

(U.S. Census Bureau, Oct. 30, 2003), p. 8.
22
1990 OCSM, p. A-2. In 1992, the occupational weights in the ECI were updated to reﬂect the 1990 census. There was no change in the categories at the
time of the updating.
23
For more details on the major changes to the occupational classiﬁcations,
see Scopp, “1990 Census and Census 2000.”

June 1985, pp. 22–27; on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1985/06/
art3full.pdf. For more details on the current ECI computations, see BLS Handbook of Methods, chapter 8, “National Compensation Measures,” pp. 4–5.
35
The same computation applies to compensation indexes; however, these
indexes were not candidates for direct seasonal adjustment under the NAICS and
SOC transition methodology.
36

BLS

37

Costo, “Introducing 2002 weights.”

Handbook of Methods, chapter 8.

24

Albert E. Schwenk and William J. Wiatrowski, “Using the Employment Cost
Index to adjust Medicare payments,” Monthly Labor Review, October 2002, pp.
20–27; on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2002/10/art3full.pdf.
25

38
For further details on rebasing the
Employment Cost Index,” pp. 3–4.

26

39
In actual computations, the indexes used in estimating seasonal factors are
retained to ﬁve decimal places. Seasonal factors for published direct-adjusted
series are available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/ectsfact.htm.

Schwenk and Loewenstein, “Wage and Compensation Comparisons,” pp.
4–6. In this study, natural resources and transportation and material-moving categories are covered as “blue-collar occupations,” a BLS occupational aggregation.
Weinstein and Loewenstein, “Comparing ECEC series,” p. 12. In this study,
the authors identify as breaks in series the category of natural resources, construction, and maintenance, as well as selected lower level categories such as the
category of transportation and material moving occupations.
27
For a detailed discussion of the issues surrounding continuity and consistency in time series, see “The Impact of Classiﬁcation Revisions on Time
Series,” Issues paper No. 5 (Bureau of Economic Analysis, Economic Classiﬁcation Policy Committee, July 1993), on the Internet at www.census.gov/
epcd/naics/issues5.
28
Although the indexes were computed back to December 1994, only the
period from March 1996 to December 2005 was used for the March 2006
estimates. Each successive year, the ECI seasonal adjustment 10-year data span
is created by dropping the earliest year of the data span for the previous revision
and adding a year of the most recent indexes. Having a full year of data for 1995
made it possible to perform tests on the data prior to the March 2006 quarterly
production run.
29

ECI,

see Caroll, “Changes aﬀecting the

40
This limitation precluded all transitional estimates for years before 2001
from being published as part of the ECI historical listings.
41
Oﬃcial historical ECI estimates for periods from December 1993 through
December 2005 are classiﬁed by SIC and OCS for an index base period of June
1989. These estimates are available in ECI news releases archived on the Internet
at stats.bls.gov/schedule/archives/eci_nr.htm. The oﬃcial ECI historical listing of SIC and OCS data (with base period June 1989) is not on the Internet, but
is available from the BLS on request. These SIC- and OCS-classiﬁed historical
data have been rebased to December 2005, the same base period as estimates
classiﬁed by NAICS and SOC; the rebased data are available on the Internet at
www.bls.gov/web/echistry.pdf. The oﬃcial data classiﬁed by NAICS and SOC
begin with the March 2006 estimates. The historical listing containing those estimates also contains the transitional 2001–05 data classiﬁed by NAICS and SOC,
to provide context for the 2006 and later estimates. The transitional 2001–05
data are available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/web/echistrynaics.pdf.

Bureau of Economic Analysis, “The Impact of Classiﬁcation Revisions.”

30

For more information on X-11, see Julius Shiskin, Allan H. Young, and John
C. Musgrave, “The X-11 Variant of the Census Method II Seasonal Adjustment
Program,” Technical Paper No. 15 (U.S. Census Bureau, 1967).
31
For more details on the NAICS classiﬁcation structure, see North American
Industry Classiﬁcation System: United States, 2002.
32
Details of the CES reconstruction methodology are discussed in Teresa L.
Morisi, “Recent changes in the National Current Employment Statistics survey,”
Monthly Labor Review, June 2003, pp. 3–13 (see especially p. 11); on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2003/06/art1full.pdf. Details of the recoding
of the ECI to NAICS and SOC are discussed in Albert E. Schwenk, “Determining
NAICS and SOC codes for ECI sample since 1994,” internal BLS manuscript.
33
Standard Occupational Classiﬁcation Manual, p. xvi. For the ECI, the construction and extraction industry was combined with farming, ﬁshing, and forestry.
34
The Laspeyres formula is modiﬁed to accommodate the following changing
employer characteristics: region, metropolitan or nonmetropolitan area, establishment size, and collective bargaining status. The weights are updated approximately every 10 years, a compromise between having a pure Laspeyres index and
changing weights each quarter. For a detailed discussion of this compromise
and the Laspeyres index as it relates to the ECI, see Albert E. Schwenk, “Introducing new weights for the Employment Cost Index,” Monthly Labor Review,

42
Absolute diﬀerence statistics measure distance from zero, which, in this instance, tells how diﬀerent the indexes and 3-month percent changes from the
two classiﬁcations are from each other. A zero absolute diﬀerence indicates no
diﬀerence between the indexes or 3-month percent changes, and a value greater
than zero gives a numeric diﬀerence without regard to direction. The absolute
diﬀerence is calculated by subtracting SIC or OCS indexes or 3-month percent
changes from their NAICS or SOC counterparts, respectively, and then dropping
the numeric sign. The mean absolute diﬀerence is an unweighted average of the
absolute diﬀerence between estimates of the two classiﬁcations over the 10-year
data span. The mean absolute diﬀerence is the sum of the absolute diﬀerences,
divided by the number of observations—in this case, 10 years of estimates. The
mean of the diﬀerences is used because it takes into account all the observations in
the data span. The maximum value is the largest value among all the observations
in a sample; in this case, the sample is a selected period of historical estimates.
The maximum absolute diﬀerence is used because it is the largest absolute diﬀerence between estimates from the two classiﬁcation systems over the 10-year
data span. The minimum diﬀerence is zero for all the series observed; therefore,
maximum absolute diﬀerences in this analysis also represent the range of individual absolute diﬀerences over the 10-year period. The mean and the maximum
diﬀerences were calculated with the PROC MEANS procedure of the Statistical
Analysis System (SAS), version 8.2.
43
For more details on the 2007 NAICS and 2010 SOC, see Federal Register,
vol. 71, no. 94, parts V and VI, respectively, May 16, 2006, at www.census.gov/
epcd/naics07/naics07fr3.pdf and www.bls.gov/soc/soc_may06.pdf.

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 39

Regional Trends

Regional Trends

Micropolitan Statistical
Areas: a few highlights

George Helmer

M

mates. Note that OMB deﬁned an alternative set of CBSAs using cities and
towns for the six New England States.
These CBSAs are known as New England City and Town Areas. New
England data generated by the LAUS
program and aggregated in this report are based on these New England
City and Town Areas. For the portion
of the Nation not included in CBSAs,
the LAUS program creates estimates
for what it designates as small labor
market areas, which are city and town
based in the New England States
and county based in the remaining
States.1
About 10 percent of the U.S. population resides in micropolitan areas.
In contrast, metropolitan areas are
home to roughly 83 percent of the
Nation’s residents. People residing
in the residual territory, which LAUS
subdivides into small labor market areas, account for about 7 percent of the
overall population. The following tabulation shows the share, in percent, of
the U.S. population, by type of area,
from 2000 to 2006.2

icropolitan Statistical Areas
were ﬁrst introduced by the
Oﬃce of Management and Budget
(OMB) in June 2003 as part of the
OMB redeﬁnition of Federal Statistical Areas that occurs after each decennial census. The new micropolitan
areas diﬀer from their Metropolitan
Statistical Area counterparts only in
urban core size. A metropolitan area
is deﬁned around an urbanized area
of 50,000 or more population, whereas a micropolitan area contains one or
more urban clusters with a population of at least 10,000 but less than
50,000. Each area of either type then
takes in adjacent territories that have
a high degree of social and economic
integration with the urban core, as
measured by commuting ties. Because
both of these types of area are based
Small
on urban cores, they are collectively
labor
referred to as Core-Based Statistical
MetroMicromarket
Areas (CBSAs).
Year
politan
politan
area
The Local Area Unemployment
2000 ...... 82.7
10.3
7.0
Statistics (LAUS) program within the
2001 ...... 82.8
10.3
6.9
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics ﬁrst
2002 ...... 82.9
10.2
6.9
published estimates for the new Cen2003 ...... 83.0
10.2
6.8
sus 2000-based CBSAs and related
2004 ...... 83.1
10.1
6.8
areas in March 2005. LAUS data se2005 ...... 83.2
10.1
6.7
ries for these areas were carried back
2006 ...... 83.3
10.1
6.7
to 1990 to maintain intertemporal
geographic comparability. This report
On the basis of annual population
presents a review of micropolitan ar- estimates produced by the U.S. Ceneas, as represented in LAUS data and sus Bureau, metropolitan areas consisU.S. Census Bureau population esti- tently have not only higher population levels, but also higher population
George Helmer is an economist in the Divi- growth rates than their micropolitan
sion of Local Area Unemployment Statistics,
counterparts; however, growth rates
Bureau of Labor Statistics. E-mail: helmer.
for metropolitan areas have decreased
george@bls.gov
slightly in recent years, while rates for

40

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

micropolitan areas have increased.
The following tabulation presents the
annual population growth rates, by
type of area and place of residence,
from July 1 of the previous year to
July 1 of the current year (column 1),
in percent:
Small
labor
Metro- Micro- market
Year Nation politan politan area
2001... 1.1
1.2
0.3
0.0
2002... 1.0
1.2
.5
.2
2003... .9
1.0
.5
.2
2004... 1.0
1.1
.6
.3
2005... 1.0
1.1
.6
.2
2006... 1.0
1.0
.8
.4

In each year since 2000, unemployment rates have been higher in
the Nation’s micropolitan areas than
in metropolitan areas. Similarly, unemployment rates for small labor
market areas have been consistently
higher than those for micropolitan
areas. This may be due in part to relative access to jobs: areas with smaller
population bases may have fewer
jobs—particularly wage and salary
jobs—relative to their populations.
The following tabulation compares
national and area-type unemployment rates from 2000 to 2006 (note:
national unemployment rates originate from the Current Population
Survey, and LAUS estimates are controlled to national totals):

Year
2000..
2001..
2002..
2003..
2004..
2005..
2006..

Small
labor
Nation Metro- Micro- market
politan politan area
4.0
4.7
5.8
6.0
5.5
5.1
4.6

3.9
4.6
5.7
5.9
5.5
5.0
4.5

4.4
5.2
5.9
6.2
5.9
5.5
5.0

4.7
5.4
6.1
6.4
6.0
5.7
5.3

When area types are further decomposed, more nuanced relationships emerge. Ranked by Census 2000
population, metropolitan and micropolitan areas have substantial overlap. Of the 585 micropolitan areas,
220 have populations larger than the
least populous metropolitan area—
Palm Coast, Florida (population
49,832). Conversely, 132 of the 369
metropolitan areas have populations
smaller than the largest micropolitan
area—Seaford, Delaware (population
156,638). Splitting micropolitan areas into two groups—those smaller
than the smallest metropolitan area
and those larger—indicates that small
micropolitan areas have unemployment rates slightly lower than larger
ones, although no major diﬀerences
in trends are apparent. The analogous
decomposition is more telling for the

Chart 1

two sets of metropolitan areas: those
larger than the largest micropolitan area
had a greater increase in relative joblessness after the most recent recession,3
albeit from a lower base than any other
area-size grouping. (See chart 1.)
In 2006, Williston, North Dakota, and Gillette, Wyoming, had the
lowest unemployment rates among
micropolitan areas, 2.1 percent each.
Eagle Pass, Texas, had the highest
unemployment rate, 13.0 percent,
followed by Rio Grande City-Roma,
Texas, 11.7 percent.4 Both of these
high-rate areas are located on the
Mexican border, as are a number of
high-rate metropolitan areas, including El Centro, California, and Yuma,
Arizona.
Four Louisiana micropolitan areas
aﬀected by Hurricane Katrina recorded the largest decreases in unemployment rates from 2005, reﬂecting re-

covery following the storm: Hammond
(–4.7 percentage points), Pierre Part
(–4.4 points), Bogalusa (–4.3 points), and
Morgan City (–4.1 points). The micropolitan areas posting the largest rate
increases were Camden, Arkansas, and
Lawrenceburg, Tennessee (1.2 percentage points each), and Chester, South
Carolina, and McMinnville, Tennessee
(1.1 points each).
From 2000 to 2006, Rio Grande
City-Roma, Texas, and Deming, New
Mexico, recorded the largest unemployment rate decreases (–5.1 and –4.8
percentage points, respectively), even
though their rates remained in the
double-digit range. The areas having
the largest rate increases during the 5year period were all in South Carolina:
Union (5.9 percentage points), Seneca
(5.6 points), Lancaster (5.5 points),
and Chester (5.3 points).

Unemployment rate by area type and relative size, 2000–06

Percent

Percent

6.5

6.5

6.0

6.0

5.5

5.5

5.0

5.0
Large micro areas
Small micro areas
Large metro areas
Small metro areas

4.5

4.5

4.0

4.0

3.5

3.5
2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

41

Regional Trends

Notes
1
For information regarding designation
procedures for small labor market areas, see
Labor Market Areas, 2007 (Bureau of Labor
Statistics, March 2007), “Appendix II: Criteria for Designating Small Labor Market
Areas,” p. 168, on the Internet at www.bls.
gov/lau/lmadir.pdf (visited Mar. 11, 2008).
Since the drafting of this report, one new
micropolitan area has been designated by the

42

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

Oﬃce of Management and Budget—Show
Low, Arizona, Micropolitan Statistical Area.
The analysis in this report does not reﬂect this
change.
2

Population estimates are those published
during 2007 and pertain to July 1 of each year,
2000 through 2006, inclusive.
3

As of this publication, the most recent

recession, designated as such by the National
Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), occurred from March 2001 through November
2001.
4
Unemployment rate data are as published
by LAUS in early 2007. Data are subject to minor revisions on an annual basis and may differ slightly from the latest data published by
LAUS on April 18, 2008.

Précis
Précis
Obesity and labor market
outcomes

analysis ﬁnds little evidence for the
dominance of either supply-side factors or demand-side factors.
Butcher and Park’s main ﬁnding is
that the characteristics of men aged 25
to 54—their age, race, and ethnicity,
as well as their obesity levels—have
changed over time. These changes
explain “around 40 percent” of the
decline in labor force participation
rates during the period, with about
10 percentage points attributable to
increased obesity. The authors thus
conclude that “the obesity epidemic
may be playing an important role in
changing labor market outcomes.”

that period. If inﬂation and expectations have become more anchored
over time, they will be less sensitive
to news about the economy—for exSince the mid-1970s, unemployment
ample, the public expects the Federal
rates among U.S. workers have been
Reserve to act to control inﬂation in
slowly trending downward, and the
the face of indications that it is rising.
overall health of the population has
Clark and Nakata ﬁnd “modest evibeen improving, as measured by dedence” that the inﬂuence of expectaclining mortality rates. Over the same
tions on actual inﬂation has increased
period, the labor force participation
since the late 1970s and that inﬂation
rate for men aged 25 to 54—the
and expectations have become someproportion of that population either
what better anchored. In other words,
working or actively seeking work—
expectations about inﬂation have
declined slightly.
somewhat more inﬂuence on inﬂaThere also has been a well-docution than they did 20 or 30 years ago,
mented rise in obesity and related
and when the inﬂation rate increases
health problems over the last 30 years,
sharply, it tends to return to baseline
as well as an expansion of the Social
more quickly than in the past.
Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Inflation and inflation
The authors also assess the role
program. In a recent article in the expectations
of economic shocks—sudden, unexFederal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s
Economic Perspectives (ﬁrst quarter, In the late 1970s, prices for consumer pected changes to inﬂation, to inﬂa2008), economists Kristin F. Butcher goods excluding food and energy—of- tion expectations, and to other macand Kyung H. Park examine the re- ten called “core inﬂation”—increased roeconomic variables. Such changes
lationship between obesity, disability, substantially, while prices for crude are usually caused by external factors,
and labor market outcomes. In partic- oil increased more than 300 percent. such as the oil price shocks of the late
ular, they ask, What role has increased During the same period, long-term 1970s. If shocks to inﬂation have beobesity played in the decline in labor inﬂation expectations rose sharply as come smaller over time, the diﬀerential
force participation among men aged well. But since 2001, even as crude between core inﬂation and long-term
oil prices have increased some 400 expectations—which the authors call
25 to 54 over the last 30 years?
Butcher and Park analyze the issue percent, core inﬂation and inﬂation “detrended inﬂation”—would tend to
from both a “supply-side” and a “de- expectations have been relatively decrease. Clark and Nakata use the
mand-side” perspective. On the sup- stable. This change has led some re- regression errors in their model as a
ply side, obesity might aﬀect a person’s searchers to investigate the relation- measure of sudden changes (shocks) in
ability to work—due to poor health, ship between long-term expectations inﬂation. They ﬁnd that the “increased
perhaps, or low self-esteem. On the about inﬂation and the actual behav- stability of inﬂation and expectations
demand side, employers might be ior of inﬂation. In a recent issue of in recent years is largely due to smaller
reluctant to hire obese people, fear- the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas shocks to the economy.”
ing that they will be less productive City’s Economic Review (ﬁrst quarter,
than other workers or that health care 2008), economists Todd E. Clark and
costs for obese workers will be greater Taisuke Nakata examine the issue usWe are interested in your feeding a number of statistical models.
than for other workers.
back on this column. Please let us
In particular, the authors analyze
The authors attempt to distinguish
know what you have found most
“the changes that occurred in health the inﬂuence of long-term inﬂation
interesting and what essential readand employment because of the in- expectations on inﬂation, as well as
ings we may have missed. Write to
Executive Editor, Monthly Labor
crease in the fraction of the popula- the anchoring of inﬂation and expecReview, Bureau of Labor Statistics,
tion that is obese from the changes tations. If inﬂuence has risen over the
Washington, DC 20212, or e-mail,
that are due to changes in the dif- last several decades, there should be a
mlr@bls.gov.
ferences in outcomes between obese correlation between expectations and
and nonobese individuals.” But their the actual behavior of inﬂation during
Monthly Labor Review • March 2008

43

Book Reviews

Trade and labor
Imports, Exports, and Jobs: What Does
Trade Mean for Employment and Job
Loss? By Lori G. Kletzer. Kalamazoo,
MI, W.E. Upjohn Institute for
Employment Research, 2002, 221 pp.,
$18/paperback.
Americans have long debated the
matter of international trade and
its eﬀects on the labor market. Opponents of free trade believe that it
results in jobs being sent overseas,
as industries close up shop to pursue cheaper labor. Advocates believe
that free trade ushers in competitive
markets, leading to lower prices and a
wider selection of goods.
In her book, Imports, Exports, and
Jobs, author Lori Kletzer examines
the claim that “trade costs jobs.”
She seeks to get to the bottom of
this heated debate by focusing on
merchandise trade and its effect on
jobs in the manufacturing industries.
The author acknowledges the validity
of arguments on both sides, yet
attempts to obtain the bigger picture
of overall costs and beneﬁts to the
labor market. From her own research,
Kletzer provides data to back up her
arguments and thoroughly reviews
her ﬁndings.
The book begins with a comprehensive discussion of comparative advantage, with the primary focus being
on the theoretical and not the empirical. The author delves into an analysis
of diﬀerent trade theorems, stating
the assumptions that must be in place
for the various conventional models
to work. Kletzer also examines the
role of new trade theory in attempting to reconcile empirical ﬁndings

44

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

that cannot be clearly explained by
conventional trade theory. For readers
who are more experienced in the area
of economics, the ﬁrst two chapters
serve as a refresher on the basics of
international trade. For a more novice
reader, these early chapters lay a foundation for the concepts and ﬁndings
presented throughout the remainder
of the book.
Moving from the theoretical to the
empirical, the author presents ﬁndings from past literature. She begins
by making the interesting observation that the majority of earlier studies focus on the impact of trade on
wages. The distinction between prior
analyses and Kletzer’s own studies on
the eﬀect of trade on jobs makes the
contribution of her book even more
important. In addition, she explains
that previous studies have shown that
trade aﬀects not the overall level of
employment, but rather the allocation of jobs across industries. This
gets to the heart of why international
trade is such a hot topic: it is a public
misconception that trade determines
the total number of jobs in the U.S.
economy. Instead, as Kletzer explains,
international trade’s eﬀect on jobs
is more a distributional issue than
a numbers issue. It is generally this
distributional aspect that the author
addresses.
The rest of the book goes into
Kletzer’s own ﬁndings, the data she
gathered, and the links she discovered
between trade and employment or job
loss. The author notes ﬁve main ﬁndings, the most important being that
rising imports are associated with
employment decline and rising exports are associated with employment
growth. She expertly progresses from

presenting her ﬁndings to providing
insight on how to move forward from
knowledge to action. In terms of policy implications, the author suggests
strengthening assistance for displaced
workers from industries that are the
hardest hit from rising imports. This
could include improving current job
placement and training programs and
creating new programs that better
address the reduction in wages many
workers face upon reemployment. On
the export side, she suggests expanding access to foreign markets because
job loss is reduced when export sales
and foreign demand increase.
Overall, the book, Imports, Exports,
and Jobs presents a thorough discussion of international trade and the
labor market. Although it would be
interesting to explore the eﬀect of
trade on jobs in the services industry, the author makes it clear that the
scope of her research is limited to
manufacturing industries. Although
not particularly long, the book is
packed with tables, charts, facts, and
equations, which can take some time
to work through and fully absorb. So,
even though the book is not a quick
read, it is an interesting one for anyone with an intermediate knowledge
of economics and statistics and a curiosity about international trade or
labor issues. Readers of this book will
ﬁnish with a solid understanding of
the underlying data that explain the
trade and labor debate, and will feel
equipped to contribute to any discussion on the topic.
—Arielle Couch
Division of International Prices,
Bureau of Labor Statistics

Are you really keeping up with economics literature?
One way to do so is to become a book reviewer for the Monthly Labor Review Book
Review Department.
If you have:
o
o
o

an interest in economics, labor, and related topics
writing and analytical skills
some knowledge of the subject matter of the book being reviewed

You could review a book from the wide variety we receive from publishers each year.
Book reviews should be completed in a timely manner—within 2 to 3 months after
receipt of a book. After completing the editorial process, we will schedule your review
to appear in Monthly Labor Review.
Contact the Review at mlr@bls.gov or call us at 202-691-7907. (To avoid conﬂict of
interest, please seek your organization’s or supervisor’s approval before contacting us.)

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

45

Do you know TED?
“What’s TED?”
We’re glad you asked. TED is The Editor’s Desk, part of the BLS
Website. TED is a daily source of fascinating facts and interesting
information from BLS.
Each business day, The Editor’s Desk:
• brings you fresh information from all over BLS
• highlights intriguing BLS data that you might otherwise miss
• focuses on one or two speciﬁc points, rather than presenting a
general summary
• provides links to further analysis
• gives you a way to send us your feedback
We think that if you give The Editor’s Desk a few minutes a day,
within a week you’ll sound pretty clever about economics, within a
month you will be extremely well-informed about the economy, and
within a year you will be broadly educated in economic statistics and
labor economics.

If you’d like to know TED, visit The Editor’s Desk webpage:

http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/
or click on The Editor’s Desk link, under “Publications & Research Papers,”
on the BLS homepage: http://www.bls.gov/

Current Labor Statistics
Monthly Labor Review
April 2008

NOTE: Many of the statistics in the
following pages were subsequently
revised. These pages have not been
updated to reflect the revisions.
To obtain BLS data that reflect all revisions, see
http://www.bls.gov/data/home.htm
For the latest set of "Current Labor Statistics,"
see http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/curlabst.htm

Current Labor Statistics

Notes on labor statistics ...................................

48

Labor compensation and collective
bargaining data

Comparative indicators
1. Labor market indicators.................................................... 60
2. Annual and quarterly percent changes in
compensation, prices, and productivity.......................... 61
3. Alternative measures of wages and
compensation changes................................................... 61

30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.

Labor force data
4. Employment status of the population,
seasonally adjusted ........................................................
5. Selected employment indicators, seasonally adjusted ........
6. Selected unemployment indicators, seasonally adjusted ....
7. Duration of unemployment, seasonally adjusted...............
8. Unemployed persons by reason for unemployment,
seasonally adjusted ........................................................
9. Unemployment rates by sex and age,
seasonally adjusted ........................................................
10. Unemployment rates by State, seasonally adjusted............
11. Employment of workers by State,
seasonally adjusted .........................................................
12. Employment of workers by industry,
seasonally adjusted .........................................................
13. Average weekly hours by industry, seasonally adjusted......
14. Average hourly earnings by industry,
seasonally adjusted .........................................................
15. Average hourly earnings by industry.................................
16. Average weekly earnings by industry ................................
17. Diﬀusion indexes of employment change,
seasonally adjusted .....................................................
18. Job openings levels and rates, by industry and regions,
seasonally adjusted........................................................
19. Hires levels and rates by industry and region,
seasonally adjusted........................................................
20. Separations levels and rates by industry and region,
seasonally adjusted.........................................................
21. Quits levels and rates by industry and region,
seasonally adjusted........................................................

36.
37.
62
63
64
64

Employment Cost Index, compensation .......................... 89
Employment Cost Index, wages and salaries .................... 91
Employment Cost Index, beneﬁts, private industry ......... 93
Employment Cost Index, private industry workers,
by bargaining status, and region .................................... 94
National Compensation Survey, retirement beneﬁts,
private industry ............................................................ 95
National Compensation Survey, health insurance,
private industry.............................................................. 98
National Compensation Survey, selected beneﬁts,
private industry ............................................................. 100
Work stoppages involving 1,000 workers or more ............ 100

Price data

71
72
73

38. Consumer Price Index: U.S. city average, by expenditure
category and commodity and service groups................. 101
39. Consumer Price Index: U.S. city average and
local data, all items ....................................................... 104
40. Annual data: Consumer Price Index, all items
and major groups........................................................... 105
41. Producer Price Indexes by stage of processing .................. 106
42. Producer Price Indexes for the net output of major
industry groups ............................................................. 107
43. Annual data: Producer Price Indexes
by stage of processing.................................................... 108
44. U.S. export price indexes by end-use category................... 108
45. U.S. import price indexes by end-use category...... ............ 109
46. U.S. international price indexes for selected
categories of services ..................................................... 109

74

Productivity data

75

47. Indexes of productivity, hourly compensation,
and unit costs, data seasonally adjusted ......................... 110
48. Annual indexes of multifactor productivity....................... 111
49. Annual indexes of productivity, hourly compensation,
unit costs, and prices ..................................................... 113
50. Annual indexes of output per hour for select industries.... 114

65
65
66
66
67
70

75
76
76

22. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages,
10 largest counties ........................................................ 77
23. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, by State .. 79
24. Annual data: Quarterly Census of Employment
and Wages, by ownership .............................................. 80
25. Annual data: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages,
establishment size and employment, by supersector...... 81
26. Annual data: Quarterly Census of Employment and
Wages, by metropolitan area ........................................ 82
27. Annual data: Employment status of the population.......... 87
28. Annual data: Employment levels by industry ................. 87
29. Annual data: Average hours and earnings level,
by industry .................................................................... 88

International comparisons data
51. Unemployment rates in 10 countries,
seasonally adjusted ........................................................ 117
52. Annual data: Employment status of the civilian
working-age population, 10 countries........................... 118
53. Annual indexes of productivity and related measures,
16 economies................................................................ 119

Injury and Illness data
54. Annual data: Occupational injury and illness.................... 120
55. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure ............... 122

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 47

Current Labor Statistics

Notes on Current Labor Statistics
This section of the Review presents the
principal statistical series collected and
calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
series on labor force; employment; unemployment; labor compensation; consumer,
producer, and international prices; productivity; international comparisons; and injury
and illness statistics. In the notes that follow,
the data in each group of tables are brieﬂy
described; key deﬁnitions are given; notes
on the data are set forth; and sources of additional information are cited.

General notes
The following notes apply to several tables
in this section:
Seasonal adjustment. Certain monthly
and quarterly data are adjusted to eliminate
the eﬀect on the data of such factors as climatic conditions, industry production schedules, opening and closing of schools, holiday
buying periods, and vacation practices, which
might prevent short-term evaluation of the
statistical series. Tables containing data that
have been adjusted are identiﬁed as “seasonally adjusted.” (All other data are not seasonally adjusted.) Seasonal eﬀects are estimated
on the basis of current and past experiences.
When new seasonal factors are computed
each year, revisions may aﬀect seasonally
adjusted data for several preceding years.
Seasonally adjusted data appear in tables
1–14, 17–21, 48, and 52. Seasonally adjusted
labor force data in tables 1 and 4–9 and seasonally adjusted establishment survey data
shown in tables 1, 12–14, and 17 are revised
in the March 2007 Review. A brief explanation of the seasonal adjustment methodology
appears in “Notes on the data.”
Revisions in the productivity data in table
54 are usually introduced in the September
issue. Seasonally adjusted indexes and percent changes from month-to-month and
quarter-to-quarter are published for numerous Consumer and Producer Price Index
series. However, seasonally adjusted indexes
are not published for the U.S. average AllItems CPI. Only seasonally adjusted percent
changes are available for this series.
Adjustments for price changes. Some
data—such as the “real” earnings shown in
table 14—are adjusted to eliminate the eﬀect
of changes in price. These adjustments are
made by dividing current-dollar values by
the Consumer Price Index or the appropriate
component of the index, then multiplying
by 100. For example, given a current hourly
wage rate of $3 and a current price index
number of 150, where 1982 = 100, the hourly
rate expressed in 1982 dollars is $2 ($3/150
x 100 = $2). The $2 (or any other resulting
48

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

values) are described as “real,” “constant,” or
“1982” dollars.

Sources of information
Data that supplement the tables in this section are published by the Bureau in a variety
of sources. Deﬁnitions of each series and
notes on the data are contained in later sections of these Notes describing each set of
data. For detailed descriptions of each data
series, see BLS Handbook of Methods, Bulletin
2490. Users also may wish to consult Major
Programs of the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Report 919. News releases provide the latest statistical information published by the
Bureau; the major recurring releases are
published according to the schedule appearing on the back cover of this issue.
More information about labor force,
employment, and unemployment data and
the household and establishment surveys
underlying the data are available in the
Bureau’s monthly publication, Employment
and Earnings. Historical unadjusted and
seasonally adjusted data from the household
survey are available on the Internet:
www.bls.gov/cps/
Historically comparable unadjusted and seasonally adjusted data from the establishment
survey also are available on the Internet:
www.bls.gov/ces/
Additional information on labor force data
for areas below the national level are provided in the BLS annual report, Geographic
Proﬁle of Employment and Unemployment.
For a comprehensive discussion of the
Employment Cost Index, see Employment
Cost Indexes and Levels, 1975–95, BLS Bulletin 2466. The most recent data from the
Employee Beneﬁts Survey appear in the following Bureau of Labor Statistics bulletins:
Employee Beneﬁts in Medium and Large Firms;
Employee Beneﬁts in Small Private Establishments; and Employee Beneﬁts in State and Local
Governments.
More detailed data on consumer and
producer prices are published in the monthly
periodicals, The CPI Detailed Report and Producer Price Indexes. For an overview of the
1998 revision of the CPI, see the December
1996 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. Additional data on international prices appear
in monthly news releases.
Listings of industries for which productivity indexes are available may be found on
the Internet:
www.bls.gov/lpc/
For additional information on international comparisons data, see Interna-

tional Comparisons of Unemployment, Bulletin
1979.
Detailed data on the occupational injury
and illness series are published in Occupational Injuries and Illnesses in the United States,
by Industry, a BLS annual bulletin.
Finally, the Monthly Labor Review carries
analytical articles on annual and longer term
developments in labor force, employment,
and unemployment; employee compensation
and collective bargaining; prices; productivity; international comparisons; and injury
and illness data.

Symbols
n.e.c. = not elsewhere classiﬁed.
n.e.s. = not elsewhere speciﬁed.
p = preliminary. To increase
the timeliness of some series,
preliminary ﬁgures are issued
based on representative but
incomplete returns.
r = revised. Generally, this revision
reflects the availability of later
data, but also may reflect other
adjustments.

Comparative Indicators
(Tables 1–3)
Comparative indicators tables provide an
overview and comparison of major bls statistical series. Consequently, although many
of the included series are available monthly,
all measures in these comparative tables are
presented quarterly and annually.
Labor market indicators include employment measures from two major surveys
and information on rates of change in
compensation provided by the Employment
Cost Index (ECI) program. The labor force
participation rate, the employment-population ratio, and unemployment rates for major
demographic groups based on the Current
Population (“household”) Survey are presented, while measures of employment and
average weekly hours by major industry sector are given using nonfarm payroll data. The
Employment Cost Index (compensation),
by major sector and by bargaining status, is
chosen from a variety of BLS compensation
and wage measures because it provides a
comprehensive measure of employer costs for
hiring labor, not just outlays for wages, and it
is not aﬀected by employment shifts among
occupations and industries.
Data on changes in compensation, prices, and productivity are presented in table 2.
Measures of rates of change of compensation

and wages from the Employment Cost Index
program are provided for all civilian nonfarm
workers (excluding Federal and household
workers) and for all private nonfarm workers.
Measures of changes in consumer prices for
all urban consumers; producer prices by stage
of processing; overall prices by stage of processing; and overall export and import price
indexes are given. Measures of productivity
(output per hour of all persons) are provided
for major sectors.
Alternative measures of wage and compensation rates of change, which reﬂect the
overall trend in labor costs, are summarized
in table 3. Diﬀerences in concepts and scope,
related to the speciﬁc purposes of the series,
contribute to the variation in changes among
the individual measures.
Notes on the data
Deﬁnitions of each series and notes on the
data are contained in later sections of these
notes describing each set of data.

Employment and
Unemployment Data

4 weeks. Persons who did not look for work
because they were on layoﬀ are also counted
among the unemployed. The unemployment
rate represents the number unemployed as a
percent of the civilian labor force.
The civilian labor force consists of all
employed or unemployed persons in the civilian noninstitutional population. Persons not
in the labor force are those not classiﬁed as
employed or unemployed. This group includes
discouraged workers, deﬁned as persons who
want and are available for a job and who
have looked for work sometime in the past
12 months (or since the end of their last job
if they held one within the past 12 months),
but are not currently looking, because they
believe there are no jobs available or there are
none for which they would qualify. The civilian noninstitutional population comprises
all persons 16 years of age and older who are
not inmates of penal or mental institutions,
sanitariums, or homes for the aged, inﬁrm,
or needy. The civilian labor force participation rate is the proportion of the civilian
noninstitutional population that is in the
labor force. The employment-population
ratio is employment as a percent of the civilian noninstitutional population.

(Tables 1; 4–29)

Notes on the data

Household survey data

From time to time, and especially after a decennial census, adjustments are made in the
Current Population Survey ﬁgures to correct
for estimating errors during the intercensal
years. These adjustments aﬀect the comparability of historical data. A description of
these adjustments and their eﬀect on the
various data series appears in the Explanatory Notes of Employment and Earnings. For
a discussion of changes introduced in January
2003, see “Revisions to the Current Population Survey Eﬀective in January 2003” in
the February 2003 issue of Employment and
Earnings (available on the BLS Web site at
www.bls.gov/cps/rvcps03.pdf).
Effective in January 2003, BLS began
using the X-12 ARIMA seasonal adjustment
program to seasonally adjust national labor
force data. This program replaced the X-11
ARIMA program which had been used since
January 1980. See “Revision of Seasonally
Adjusted Labor Force Series in 2003,” in
the February 2003 issue of Employment and
Earnings (available on the BLS Web site at
www.bls.gov/cps/cpsrs.pdf) for a discussion
of the introduction of the use of X-12 ARIMA
for seasonal adjustment of the labor force
data and the eﬀects that it had on the data.
At the beginning of each calendar year,
historical seasonally adjusted data usually
are revised, and projected seasonal adjustment factors are calculated for use during the

Description of the series
Employment data in this section are obtained from the Current Population Survey,
a program of personal interviews conducted
monthly by the Bureau of the Census for
the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The sample
consists of about 60,000 households selected
to represent the U.S. population 16 years of
age and older. Households are interviewed
on a rotating basis, so that three-fourths of
the sample is the same for any 2 consecutive
months.

Definitions
Employed persons include (1) all those who
worked for pay any time during the week
which includes the 12th day of the month or
who worked unpaid for 15 hours or more in a
family-operated enterprise and (2) those who
were temporarily absent from their regular
jobs because of illness, vacation, industrial
dispute, or similar reasons. A person working
at more than one job is counted only in the
job at which he or she worked the greatest
number of hours.
Unemployed persons are those who did
not work during the survey week, but were
available for work except for temporary illness
and had looked for jobs within the preceding

January–June period. The historical seasonally adjusted data usually are revised for only
the most recent 5 years. In July, new seasonal
adjustment factors, which incorporate the
experience through June, are produced for
the July–December period, but no revisions
are made in the historical data.
F OR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION on
national household survey data, contact the
Division of Labor Force Statistics: (202)
691–6378.

Establishment survey data
Description of the series
Employment, hours, and earnings data in this
section are compiled from payroll records
reported monthly on a voluntary basis to
the Bureau of Labor Statistics and its cooperating State agencies by about 160,000
businesses and government agencies, which
represent approximately 400,000 individual
worksites and represent all industries except
agriculture. The active CES sample covers
approximately one-third of all nonfarm
payroll workers. Industries are classiﬁed in
accordance with the 2002 North American
Industry Classification System. In most
industries, the sampling probabilities are
based on the size of the establishment; most
large establishments are therefore in the
sample. (An establishment is not necessarily
a ﬁrm; it may be a branch plant, for example,
or warehouse.) Self-employed persons and
others not on a regular civilian payroll are
outside the scope of the survey because they
are excluded from establishment records.
This largely accounts for the diﬀerence in
employment ﬁgures between the household
and establishment surveys.

Definitions
An establishment is an economic unit which
produces goods or services (such as a factory
or store) at a single location and is engaged
in one type of economic activity.
Employed persons are all persons who
received pay (including holiday and sick pay)
for any part of the payroll period including
the 12th day of the month. Persons holding
more than one job (about 5 percent of all
persons in the labor force) are counted in
each establishment which reports them.
Production workers in the goodsproducing industries cover employees, up
through the level of working supervisors,
who engage directly in the manufacture or
construction of the establishment’s product.
In private service-providing industries, data
are collected for nonsupervisory workers,
which include most employees except those
Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

49

Current Labor Statistics

in executive, managerial, and supervisory
positions. Those workers mentioned in tables
11–16 include production workers in manufacturing and natural resources and mining;
construction workers in construction; and
nonsupervisory workers in all private service-providing industries. Production and
nonsupervisory workers account for about
four-ﬁfths of the total employment on private nonagricultural payrolls.
Earnings are the payments production
or nonsupervisory workers receive during
the survey period, including premium pay
for overtime or late-shift work but excluding irregular bonuses and other special
payments. Real earnings are earnings
adjusted to reﬂect the eﬀects of changes
in consumer prices. The deﬂator for this
series is derived from the Consumer Price
Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical
Workers (CPI-W).
Hours represent the average weekly
hours of production or nonsupervisory
workers for which pay was received, and are
diﬀerent from standard or scheduled hours.
Overtime hours represent the portion of
average weekly hours which was in excess
of regular hours and for which overtime
premiums were paid.
The Diffusion Index represents the
percent of industries in which employment
was rising over the indicated period, plus
one-half of the industries with unchanged
employment; 50 percent indicates an equal
balance between industries with increasing
and decreasing employment. In line with
Bureau practice, data for the 1-, 3-, and 6month spans are seasonally adjusted, while
those for the 12-month span are unadjusted.
Table 17 provides an index on private nonfarm employment based on 278 industries,
and a manufacturing index based on 84
industries. These indexes are useful for measuring the dispersion of economic gains or
losses and are also economic indicators.

Notes on the data
Establishment survey data are annually
adjusted to comprehensive counts of employment (called “benchmarks”). The March
2003 benchmark was introduced in February
2004 with the release of data for January
2004, published in the March 2004 issue of
the Review. With the release in June 2003,
CES completed a conversion from the Standard Industrial Classiﬁcation (SIC) system to
the North American Industry Classiﬁcation
System (naics) and completed the transition
from its original quota sample design to a
probability-based sample design. The industry-coding update included reconstruction
of historical estimates in order to preserve
50

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

time series for data users. Normally 5 years
of seasonally adjusted data are revised with
each benchmark revision. However, with this
release, the entire new time series history for
all CES data series were re-seasonally adjusted
due to the NAICS conversion, which resulted
in the revision of all CES time series.
Also in June 2003, the CES program introduced concurrent seasonal adjustment for
the national establishment data. Under this
methodology, the ﬁrst preliminary estimates
for the current reference month and the
revised estimates for the 2 prior months will
be updated with concurrent factors with each
new release of data. Concurrent seasonal
adjustment incorporates all available data,
including first preliminary estimates for
the most current month, in the adjustment
process. For additional information on all of
the changes introduced in June 2003, see the
June 2003 issue of Employment and Earnings
and “Recent changes in the national Current
Employment Statistics survey,” Monthly Labor Review, June 2003, pp. 3–13.
Revisions in State data (table 11) occurred with the publication of January 2003
data. For information on the revisions for
the State data, see the March and May 2003
issues of Employment and Earnings, and “Recent changes in the State and Metropolitan
Area CES survey,” Monthly Labor Review,
June 2003, pp. 14–19.
Beginning in June 1996, the BLS uses
the X-12-ARIMA methodology to seasonally adjust establishment survey data. This
procedure, developed by the Bureau of the
Census, controls for the eﬀect of varying
survey intervals (also known as the 4- versus
5-week eﬀect), thereby providing improved
measurement of over-the-month changes
and underlying economic trends. Revisions
of data, usually for the most recent 5-year
period, are made once a year coincident with
the benchmark revisions.
In the establishment survey, estimates
for the most recent 2 months are based on
incomplete returns and are published as preliminary in the tables (12–17 in the Review).
When all returns have been received, the
estimates are revised and published as “ﬁnal”
(prior to any benchmark revisions) in the
third month of their appearance. Thus, December data are published as preliminary in
January and February and as ﬁnal in March.
For the same reasons, quarterly establishment data (table 1) are preliminary for the
ﬁrst 2 months of publication and ﬁnal in the
third month. Fourth-quarter data are published as preliminary in January and February
and as ﬁnal in March.
F OR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION on

establishment survey data, contact the Division of Current Employment Statistics:
(202) 691–6555.

Unemployment data by State
Description of the series
Data presented in this section are obtained
from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program, which is conducted in
cooperation with State employment security
agencies.
Monthly estimates of the labor force,
employment, and unemployment for States
and sub-State areas are a key indicator of local economic conditions, and form the basis
for determining the eligibility of an area for
beneﬁts under Federal economic assistance
programs such as the Job Training Partnership Act. Seasonally adjusted unemployment
rates are presented in table 10. Insofar as possible, the concepts and deﬁnitions underlying
these data are those used in the national
estimates obtained from the CPS.

Notes on the data
Data refer to State of residence. Monthly
data for all States and the District of Columbia are derived using standardized procedures
established by BLS. Once a year, estimates are
revised to new population controls, usually
with publication of January estimates, and
benchmarked to annual average CPS levels.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION on data
in this series, call (202) 691–6392 (table 10)
or (202) 691–6559 (table 11).

Quarterly Census of
Employment and Wages
Description of the series
Employment, wage, and establishment data
in this section are derived from the quarterly
tax reports submitted to State employment
security agencies by private and State and
local government employers subject to State
unemployment insurance (ui) laws and from
Federal, agencies subject to the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees
(ucfe) program. Each quarter, State agencies edit and process the data and send the
information to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Quarterly Census of Employment
and Wages (QCEW) data, also referred as ES202 data, are the most complete enumeration
of employment and wage information by
industry at the national, State, metropolitan
area, and county levels. They have broad
economic signiﬁcance in evaluating labor

market trends and major industry developments.

Definitions
In general, the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages monthly employment data
represent the number of covered workers
who worked during, or received pay for, the
pay period that included the 12th day of
the month. Covered private industry employment includes most corporate oﬃcials,
executives, supervisory personnel, professionals, clerical workers, wage earners, piece
workers, and part-time workers. It excludes
proprietors, the unincorporated self-employed, unpaid family members, and certain
farm and domestic workers. Certain types
of nonprofit employers, such as religious
organizations, are given a choice of coverage
or exclusion in a number of States. Workers
in these organizations are, therefore, reported
to a limited degree.
Persons on paid sick leave, paid holiday,
paid vacation, and the like, are included.
Persons on the payroll of more than one
ﬁrm during the period are counted by each
ui-subject employer if they meet the employment deﬁnition noted earlier. The employment count excludes workers who earned no
wages during the entire applicable pay period
because of work stoppages, temporary layoﬀs,
illness, or unpaid vacations.
Federal employment data are based on
reports of monthly employment and quarterly wages submitted each quarter to State
agencies for all Federal installations with
employees covered by the Unemployment
Compensation for Federal Employees (ucfe)
program, except for certain national security
agencies, which are omitted for security reasons. Employment for all Federal agencies
for any given month is based on the number
of persons who worked during or received
pay for the pay period that included the 12th
of the month.
An establishment is an economic unit,
such as a farm, mine, factory, or store, that
produces goods or provides services. It is
typically at a single physical location and
engaged in one, or predominantly one, type
of economic activity for which a single industrial classiﬁcation may be applied. Occasionally, a single physical location encompasses
two or more distinct and signiﬁcant activities.
Each activity should be reported as a separate
establishment if separate records are kept
and the various activities are classiﬁed under
diﬀerent NAICS industries.
Most employers have only one establishment; thus, the establishment is the
predominant reporting unit or statistical

entity for reporting employment and wages
data. Most employers, including State and
local governments who operate more than
one establishment in a State, ﬁle a Multiple
Worksite Report each quarter, in addition
to their quarterly ui report. The Multiple
Worksite Report is used to collect separate
employment and wage data for each of the
employer’s establishments, which are not
detailed on the ui report. Some very small
multi-establishment employers do not ﬁle a
Multiple Worksite Report. When the total
employment in an employer’s secondary
establishments (all establishments other
than the largest) is 10 or fewer, the employer
generally will ﬁle a consolidated report for all
establishments. Also, some employers either
cannot or will not report at the establishment
level and thus aggregate establishments into
one consolidated unit, or possibly several
units, though not at the establishment level.
For the Federal Government, the reporting unit is the installation: a single location
at which a department, agency, or other government body has civilian employees. Federal
agencies follow slightly diﬀerent criteria than
do private employers when breaking down
their reports by installation. They are permitted to combine as a single statewide unit: 1)
all installations with 10 or fewer workers,
and 2) all installations that have a combined
total in the State of fewer than 50 workers.
Also, when there are fewer than 25 workers
in all secondary installations in a State, the
secondary installations may be combined and
reported with the major installation. Last, if a
Federal agency has fewer than ﬁve employees
in a State, the agency headquarters oﬃce
(regional oﬃce, district oﬃce) serving each
State may consolidate the employment and
wages data for that State with the data reported to the State in which the headquarters
is located. As a result of these reporting rules,
the number of reporting units is always larger
than the number of employers (or government agencies) but smaller than the number
of actual establishments (or installations).
Data reported for the ﬁrst quarter are
tabulated into size categories ranging from
worksites of very small size to those with
1,000 employees or more. The size category
is determined by the establishment’s March
employment level. It is important to note that
each establishment of a multi-establishment
ﬁrm is tabulated separately into the appropriate size category. The total employment level
of the reporting multi-establishment ﬁrm is
not used in the size tabulation.
Covered employers in most States report
total wages paid during the calendar quarter,
regardless of when the services were performed. A few State laws, however, specify
that wages be reported for, or based on the

period during which services are performed
rather than the period during which compensation is paid. Under most State laws or
regulations, wages include bonuses, stock
options, the cash value of meals and lodging,
tips and other gratuities, and, in some States,
employer contributions to certain deferred
compensation plans such as 401(k) plans.
Covered employer contributions for
old-age, survivors, and disability insurance
(oasdi), health insurance, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, and private
pension and welfare funds are not reported as
wages. Employee contributions for the same
purposes, however, as well as money withheld
for income taxes, union dues, and so forth, are
reported even though they are deducted from
the worker’s gross pay.
Wages of covered Federal workers represent the gross amount of all payrolls for all
pay periods ending within the quarter. This
includes cash allowances, the cash equivalent
of any type of remuneration, severance pay,
withholding taxes, and retirement deductions. Federal employee remuneration generally covers the same types of services as for
workers in private industry.
Average annual wage per employee for
any given industry are computed by dividing total annual wages by annual average
employment. A further division by 52 yields
average weekly wages per employee. Annual
pay data only approximate annual earnings
because an individual may not be employed
by the same employer all year or may work for
more than one employer at a time.
Average weekly or annual wage is affected by the ratio of full-time to part-time
workers as well as the number of individuals
in high-paying and low-paying occupations.
When average pay levels between States and
industries are compared, these factors should
be taken into consideration. For example,
industries characterized by high proportions
of part-time workers will show average wage
levels appreciably less than the weekly pay
levels of regular full-time employees in these
industries. The opposite eﬀect characterizes
industries with low proportions of part-time
workers, or industries that typically schedule
heavy weekend and overtime work. Average
wage data also may be inﬂuenced by work
stoppages, labor turnover rates, retroactive
payments, seasonal factors, bonus payments,
and so on.

Notes on the data
Beginning with the release of data for 2001,
publications presenting data from the Covered Employment and Wages program have
switched to the 2002 version of the North
Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

51

Current Labor Statistics

American Industry Classiﬁcation System
(NAICS) as the basis for the assignment and
tabulation of economic data by industry.
NAICS is the product of a cooperative effort on the part of the statistical agencies
of the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Due to diﬀerence in NAICS and Standard
Industrial Classification ( SIC) structures,
industry data for 2001 is not comparable to the SIC-based data for earlier years.
Effective January 2001, the program
began assigning Indian Tribal Councils and
related establishments to local government
ownership. This BLS action was in response
to a change in Federal law dealing with the
way Indian Tribes are treated under the
Federal Unemployment Tax Act. This law
requires federally recognized Indian Tribes
to be treated similarly to State and local
governments. In the past, the Covered Employment and Wage (CEW) program coded
Indian Tribal Councils and related establishments in the private sector. As a result of the
new law, CEW data reﬂects signiﬁcant shifts
in employment and wages between the private sector and local government from 2000
to 2001. Data also reﬂect industry changes.
Those accounts previously assigned to civic
and social organizations were assigned to
tribal governments. There were no required
industry changes for related establishments
owned by these Tribal Councils. These
tribal business establishments continued to
be coded according to the economic activity
of that entity.
To insure the highest possible quality
of data, State employment security agencies
verify with employers and update, if necessary, the industry, location, and ownership
classiﬁcation of all establishments on a 3-year
cycle. Changes in establishment classiﬁcation codes resulting from the veriﬁcation
process are introduced with the data reported
for the ﬁrst quarter of the year. Changes
resulting from improved employer reporting
also are introduced in the ﬁrst quarter. For
these reasons, some data, especially at more
detailed geographic levels, may not be strictly
comparable with earlier years.
County deﬁnitions are assigned according
to Federal Information Processing Standards
Publications as issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Areas
shown as counties include those designated
as independent cities in some jurisdictions
and, in Alaska, those areas designated by the
Census Bureau where counties have not been
created. County data also are presented for
the New England States for comparative
purposes, even though townships are the
more common designation used in New
England (and New Jersey).

52

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

The Oﬃce of Management and Budget
(OMB) deﬁnes metropolitan areas for use
in Federal statistical activities and updates
these deﬁnitions as needed. Data in this table
use metropolitan area criteria established
by OMB in deﬁnitions issued June 30, 1999
(OMB Bulletin No. 99-04). These deﬁnitions
reﬂect information obtained from the 1990
Decennial Census and the 1998 U.S. Census
Bureau population estimate. A complete list
of metropolitan area deﬁnitions is available
from the National Technical Information
Service (NTIS), Document Sales, 5205 Port
Royal Road, Springﬁeld, Va. 22161, telephone 1-800-553-6847.
OMB deﬁnes metropolitan areas in terms
of entire counties, except in the six New England States where they are deﬁned in terms of
cities and towns. New England data in this
table, however, are based on a county concept
deﬁned by OMB as New England County
Metropolitan Areas (NECMA) because county-level data are the most detailed available
from the Quarterly Census of Employment
and Wages. The NECMA is a county-based
alternative to the city- and town-based
metropolitan areas in New England. The
NECMA for a Metropolitan Statistical Area
(MSA) include: (1) the county containing
the ﬁrst-named city in that MSA title (this
county may include the ﬁrst-named cities of
other MSA, and (2) each additional county
having at least half its population in the
MSA in which ﬁrst-named cities are in the
county identiﬁed in step 1. The NECMA is
oﬃcially deﬁned areas that are meant to be
used by statistical programs that cannot use
the regular metropolitan area deﬁnitions in
New England.
For additional information on the
covered employment and wage data, contact
the Division of Administrative Statistics and
Labor Turnover at (202) 691–6567.

Job Openings and Labor
Turnover Survey
Description of the series
Data for the Job Openings and Labor
Turnover Survey (JOLTS) are collected and
compiled from a sample of 16,000 business
establishments. Each month, data are collected for total employment, job openings,
hires, quits, layoﬀs and discharges, and other
separations. The JOLTS program covers all
private nonfarm establishments such as factories, oﬃces, and stores, as well as Federal,
State, and local government entities in the
50 States and the District of Columbia. The
JOLTS sample design is a random sample

drawn from a universe of more than eight
million establishments compiled as part of
the operations of the Quarterly Census of
Employment and Wages, or QCEW, program.
This program includes all employers subject to
State unemployment insurance (UI) laws and
Federal agencies subject to Unemployment
Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE).
The sampling frame is stratiﬁed by ownership, region, industry sector, and size class.
Large ﬁrms fall into the sample with virtual
certainty. JOLTS total employment estimates
are controlled to the employment estimates
of the Current Employment Statistics (CES)
survey. A ratio of CES to JOLTS employment
is used to adjust the levels for all other JOLTS
data elements. Rates then are computed from
the adjusted levels.
The monthly JOLTS data series begin with
December 2000. Not seasonally adjusted
data on job openings, hires, total separations, quits, layoﬀs and discharges, and other
separations levels and rates are available for
the total nonfarm sector, 16 private industry
divisions and 2 government divisions based
on the North American Industry Classiﬁcation System (NAICS), and four geographic
regions. Seasonally adjusted data on job
openings, hires, total separations, and quits
levels and rates are available for the total
nonfarm sector, selected industry sectors, and
four geographic regions.

Definitions
Establishments submit job openings infor-mation for the last business day of the
reference month. A job opening requires
that (1) a speciﬁc position exists and there
is work available for that position; and (2)
work could start within 30 days regardless
of whether a suitable candidate is found;
and (3) the employer is actively recruiting
from outside the establishment to ﬁll the
position. Included are full-time, part-time,
permanent, short-term, and seasonal openings. Active recruiting means that the establishment is taking steps to ﬁll a position by
advertising in newspapers or on the Internet,
posting help-wanted signs, accepting applications, or using other similar methods.
Jobs to be ﬁlled only by internal transfers,
promotions, demotions, or recall from layoﬀs
are excluded. Also excluded are jobs with
start dates more than 30 days in the future,
jobs for which employees have been hired but
have not yet reported for work, and jobs to be
ﬁlled by employees of temporary help agencies, employee leasing companies, outside
contractors, or consultants. The job openings
rate is computed by dividing the number of
job openings by the sum of employment and

job openings, and multiplying that quotient
by 100.
Hires are the total number of additions
to the payroll occurring at any time during
the reference month, including both new and
rehired employees and full-time and parttime, permanent, short-term and seasonal
employees, employees recalled to the location
after a layoﬀ lasting more than 7 days, on-call
or intermittent employees who returned to
work after having been formally separated,
and transfers from other locations. The hires
count does not include transfers or promotions within the reporting site, employees returning from strike, employees of temporary
help agencies or employee leasing companies,
outside contractors, or consultants. The hires
rate is computed by dividing the number of
hires by employment, and multiplying that
quotient by 100.
Separations are the total number of
terminations of employment occurring at
any time during the reference month, and
are reported by type of separation—quits,
layoﬀs and discharges, and other separations.
Quits are voluntary separations by employees
(except for retirements, which are reported
as other separations). Layoﬀs and discharges
are involuntary separations initiated by the
employer and include layoﬀs with no intent
to rehire, formal layoﬀs lasting or expected
to last more than 7 days, discharges resulting
from mergers, downsizing, or closings, ﬁrings
or other discharges for cause, terminations
of permanent or short-term employees, and
terminations of seasonal employees. Other
separations include retirements, transfers
to other locations, deaths, and separations
due to disability. Separations do not include
transfers within the same location or employees on strike.
The separations rate is computed by dividing the number of separations by employment, and multiplying that quotient by 100.
The quits, layoﬀs and discharges, and other
separations rates are computed similarly,
dividing the number by employment and
multiplying by 100.

Notes on the data
The JOLTS data series on job openings, hires,
and separations are relatively new. The full
sample is divided into panels, with one panel
enrolled each month. A full complement of
panels for the original data series based on
the 1987 Standard Industrial Classiﬁcation
(SIC) system was not completely enrolled in
the survey until January 2002. The supplemental panels of establishments needed to

create NAICS estimates were not completely
enrolled until May 2003. The data collected
up until those points are from less than a
full sample. Therefore, estimates from earlier months should be used with caution, as
fewer sampled units were reporting data at
that time.
In March 2002, BLS procedures for
collecting hires and separations data were
revised to address possible underreporting.
As a result, JOLTS hires and separations estimates for months prior to March 2002 may
not be comparable with estimates for March
2002 and later.
The Federal Government reorganization
that involved transferring approximately
180,000 employees to the new Department
of Homeland Security is not reﬂected in
the JOLTS hires and separations estimates
for the Federal Government. The Oﬃce of
Personnel Management’s record shows these
transfers were completed in March 2003. The
inclusion of transfers in the JOLTS deﬁnitions
of hires and separations is intended to cover
ongoing movements of workers between
establishments. The Department of Homeland Security reorganization was a massive
one-time event, and the inclusion of these
intergovernmental transfers would distort
the Federal Government time series.
Data users should note that seasonal
adjustment of the JOLTS series is conducted
with fewer data observations than is customary. The historical data, therefore, may
be subject to larger than normal revisions.
Because the seasonal patterns in economic
data series typically emerge over time, the
standard use of moving averages as seasonal
ﬁlters to capture these eﬀects requires longer
series than are currently available. As a result,
the stable seasonal ﬁlter option is used in the
seasonal adjustment of the JOLTS data. When
calculating seasonal factors, this ﬁlter takes
an average for each calendar month after
detrending the series. The stable seasonal
ﬁlter assumes that the seasonal factors are
ﬁxed; a necessary assumption until suﬃcient
data are available. When the stable seasonal
ﬁlter is no longer needed, other program features also may be introduced, such as outlier
adjustment and extended diagnostic testing.
Additionally, it is expected that more series,
such as layoﬀs and discharges and additional
industries, may be seasonally adjusted when
more data are available.
JOLTS hires and separations estimates
cannot be used to exactly explain net changes
in payroll employment. Some reasons why it
is problematic to compare changes in payroll
employment with JOLTS hires and separations, especially on a monthly basis, are: (1)
the reference period for payroll employment

is the pay period including the 12th of the
month, while the reference period for hires
and separations is the calendar month; and
(2) payroll employment can vary from month
to month simply because part-time and oncall workers may not always work during
the pay period that includes the 12th of the
month. Additionally, research has found that
some reporters systematically underreport
separations relative to hires due to a number of factors, including the nature of their
payroll systems and practices. The shortfall
appears to be about 2 percent or less over a
12-month period.
F OR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION on
the Job Openings and Labor Turnover
Survey, contact the Division of Administrative Statistics and Labor Turnover at (202)
961–5870.

Compensation and
Wage Data
(Tables 1–3; 30–37)
The National Compensation Survey (NCS)
produces a variety of compensation data.
These include: The Employment Cost Index
(ECI) and NCS beneﬁt measures of the incidence and provisions of selected employee
benefit plans. Selected samples of these
measures appear in the following tables. NCS
also compiles data on occupational wages and
the Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC).

Employment Cost Index
Description of the series
The Employment Cost Index (ECI) is a
quarterly measure of the rate of change in
compensation per hour worked and includes
wages, salaries, and employer costs of employee beneﬁts. It is a Laspeyres Index that
uses ﬁxed employment weights to measure
change in labor costs free from the inﬂuence
of employment shifts among occupations
and industries.
The ECI provides data for the civilian
economy, which includes the total private
nonfarm economy excluding private households, and the public sector excluding the
Federal government. Data are collected each
quarter for the pay period including the
12th day of March, June, September, and
December.
Sample establishments are classiﬁed by
industry categories based on the 2002 North
American Classification System (NAICS).
Within a sample establishment, speciﬁc job

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

53

Current Labor Statistics

categories are selected and classiﬁed into
about 800 occupations according to the 2000
Standard Occupational Classiﬁcation (SOC)
System. Individual occupations are combined to represent one of ten intermediate
aggregations, such as professional and related
occupations, or one of ﬁve higher level aggregations, such as management, professional,
and related occupations.
Fixed employment weights are used
each quarter to calculate the most aggregate
series—civilian, private, and State and local
government. These ﬁxed weights are also
used to derive all of the industry and occupational series indexes. Beginning with the
March 2006 estimates, 2002 ﬁxed employment weights from the Bureau’s Occupational Employment Statistics survey were
introduced. From March 1995 to December
2005, 1990 employment counts were used.
These ﬁxed weights ensure that changes in
these indexes reﬂect only changes in compensation, not employment shifts among
industries or occupations with diﬀerent levels
of wages and compensation. For the series
based on bargaining status, census region
and division, and metropolitan area status,
ﬁxed employment data are not available. The
employment weights are reallocated within
these series each quarter based on the current eci sample. The indexes for these series,
consequently, are not strictly comparable
with those for aggregate, occupational, and
industry series.

Definitions
Total compensation costs include wages,
salaries, and the employer’s costs for employee beneﬁts.
Wages and salaries consist of earnings
before payroll deductions, including production bonuses, incentive earnings, commissions, and cost-of-living adjustments.
Beneﬁts include the cost to employers
for paid leave, supplemental pay (including nonproduction bonuses), insurance,
retirement and savings plans, and legally
required beneﬁts (such as Social Security,
workers’ compensation, and unemployment
insurance).
Excluded from wages and salaries and
employee beneﬁts are such items as paymentin-kind, free room and board, and tips.

Notes on the data
The ECI data in these tables reflect the
con-version to the 2002 North American
Industry Classiﬁcation System (NAICS) and
the 2000 Standard Occupational Classiﬁcation (SOC) system. The NAICS and SOC data
54

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

shown prior to 2006 are for informational
purposes only. ECI series based on NAICS
and SOC became the oﬃcial BLS estimates
starting in March 2006.
The ECI for changes in wages and salaries
in the private nonfarm economy was published beginning in 1975. Changes in total
compensation cost—wages and salaries and
beneﬁts combined—were published beginning in 1980. The series of changes in wages
and salaries and for total compensation in
the State and local government sector and
in the civilian nonfarm economy (excluding
Federal employees) were published beginning in 1981. Historical indexes (December
2005=100) are available on the Internet:
www.bls.gov/ect/
A DDITIONAL INFORMATION on the
Employment Cost Index is available at
http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm or
by telephone at (202) 691–6199.

National Compensation Survey
Benefit Measures
Description of the series
NCS benefit measures of employee beneﬁts are published in two separate reports.
The annual summary provides data on the
incidence of (access to and participation
in) selected beneﬁts and provisions of paid
holidays and vacations, life insurance plans,
and other selected beneﬁt programs. Data on
percentages of establishments oﬀering major
employee beneﬁts, and on the employer and
employee shares of contributions to medical
care premiums also are presented. Selected
beneﬁt data appear in the following tables. A
second publication, published later, contains
more detailed information about health and
retirement plans.

Definitions
Employer-provided benefits are benefits
that are ﬁnanced either wholly or partly by
the employer. They may be sponsored by a
union or other third party, as long as there
is some employer ﬁnancing. However, some
beneﬁts that are fully paid for by the employee also are included. For example, long-term
care insurance paid entirely by the employee
are included because the guarantee of insurability and availability at group premium
rates are considered a beneﬁt.
Employees are considered as having access to a beneﬁt plan if it is available for their
use. For example, if an employee is permitted
to participate in a medical care plan oﬀered
by the employer, but the employee declines to

do so, he or she is placed in the category with
those having access to medical care.
Employees in contributory plans are
considered as participating in an insurance
or retirement plan if they have paid required
contributions and fulﬁlled any applicable
service requirement. Employees in noncontributory plans are counted as participating
regardless of whether they have fulﬁlled the
service requirements.
Deﬁned beneﬁt pension plans use predetermined formulas to calculate a retirement
beneﬁt (if any), and obligate the employer to
provide those beneﬁts. Beneﬁts are generally
based on salary, years of service, or both.
Defined contribution plans generally
specify the level of employer and employee
contributions to a plan, but not the formula
for determining eventual beneﬁts. Instead,
individual accounts are set up for participants, and beneﬁts are based on amounts
credited to these accounts.
Tax-deferred savings plans are a type of
deﬁned contribution plan that allow participants to contribute a portion of their salary
to an employer-sponsored plan and defer
income taxes until withdrawal.
Flexible beneﬁt plans allow employees
to choose among several beneﬁts, such as life
insurance, medical care, and vacation days,
and among several levels of coverage within
a given beneﬁt.

Notes on the data
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE NCS
beneﬁt measures is available at http://www.
bls.gov/ncs/ebs/home.htm or by telephone
at (202) 691–6199.

Work stoppages
Description of the series
Data on work stoppages measure the number
and duration of major strikes or lockouts
(involving 1,000 workers or more) occurring
during the month (or year), the number of
workers involved, and the amount of work
time lost because of stoppage. These data are
presented in table 37.
Data are largely from a variety of published sources and cover only establishments
directly involved in a stoppage. They do not
measure the indirect or secondary eﬀect of
stoppages on other establishments whose
employees are idle owing to material shortages or lack of service.

Definitions
Number of stoppages: The number of

strikes and lockouts involving 1,000 workers or more and lasting a full shift or longer.
Workers involved: The number of workers directly involved in the stoppage.
Number of days idle: The aggregate
number of workdays lost by workers
involved in the stoppages.
Days of idleness as a percent of estimated working time: Aggregate workdays
lost as a percent of the aggregate number of
standard workdays in the period multiplied
by total employment in the period.

Notes on the data
This series is not comparable with the one
terminated in 1981 that covered strikes involving six workers or more.
A DDITIONAL INFORMATION on work
stop-pages data is available at http://www.
bls.gov/cba/home.htm or by telephone at
(202) 691–6199.

Price Data
(Tables 2; 38–46)
Price data are gathered by the Bureau
of Labor Statistics from retail and primary markets in the United States. Price
indexes are given in relation to a base period—December 2003 = 100 for many Producer Price Indexes (unless otherwise noted),
1982–84 = 100 for many Consumer Price
Indexes (unless otherwise noted), and 1990
= 100 for International Price Indexes.

Consumer Price Indexes
Description of the series
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure
of the average change in the prices paid by
urban consumers for a ﬁxed market basket
of goods and services. The CPI is calculated
monthly for two population groups, one
consisting only of urban households whose
primary source of income is derived from
the employment of wage earners and clerical
workers, and the other consisting of all urban
households. The wage earner index (CPI-W) is
a continuation of the historic index that was
introduced well over a half-century ago for
use in wage negotiations. As new uses were
developed for the CPI in recent years, the need
for a broader and more representative index
became apparent. The all-urban consumer
index (CPI-U), introduced in 1978, is representative of the 1993–95 buying habits of about
87 percent of the noninstitutional population
of the United States at that time, compared

with 32 percent represented in the CPI-W. In
addition to wage earners and clerical workers,
the CPI-U covers professional, managerial, and
technical workers, the self-employed, shortterm workers, the unemployed, retirees, and
others not in the labor force.
The CPI is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, fuel, drugs, transportation fares,
doctors’ and dentists’ fees, and other goods
and services that people buy for day-to-day
living. The quantity and quality of these items
are kept essentially unchanged between major revisions so that only price changes will be
measured. All taxes directly associated with
the purchase and use of items are included
in the index.
Data collected from more than 23,000
retail establishments and 5,800 housing units
in 87 urban areas across the country are used
to develop the “U.S. city average.” Separate
estimates for 14 major urban centers are
presented in table 39. The areas listed are as
indicated in footnote 1 to the table. The area
indexes measure only the average change in
prices for each area since the base period,
and do not indicate diﬀerences in the level of
prices among cities.

Notes on the data
In January 1983, the Bureau changed the
way in which homeownership costs are
meaured for the CPI-U. A rental equivalence
method replaced the asset-price approach
to homeownership costs for that series. In
January 1985, the same change was made
in the CPI-W. The central purpose of the
change was to separate shelter costs from the
investment component of homeownership so
that the index would reﬂect only the cost of
shelter services provided by owner-occupied
homes. An updated CPI-U and CPI-W were
introduced with release of the January 1987
and January 1998 data.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, contact the Division of Prices and Price Indexes:
(202) 691–7000.

Producer Price Indexes
Description of the series
Producer Price Indexes (PPI) measure average changes in prices received by domestic
producers of commodities in all stages of
processing. The sample used for calculating
these indexes currently contains about 3,200
commodities and about 80,000 quotations
per month, selected to represent the movement of prices of all commodities produced
in the manufacturing; agriculture, forestry,
and ﬁshing; mining; and gas and electricity

and public utilities sectors. The stage-of-processing structure of PPI organizes products by
class of buyer and degree of fabrication (that
is, ﬁnished goods, intermediate goods, and
crude materials). The traditional commodity structure of PPI organizes products by
similarity of end use or material composition.
The industry and product structure of PPI
organizes data in accordance with the 2002
North American Industry Classification
System and product codes developed by the
U.S. Census Bureau.
To the extent possible, prices used in
calculating Producer Price Indexes apply to
the ﬁrst signiﬁcant commercial transaction
in the United States from the production
or central marketing point. Price data are
generally collected monthly, primarily by
mail questionnaire. Most prices are obtained directly from producing companies
on a voluntary and conﬁdential basis. Prices
generally are reported for the Tuesday of
the week containing the 13th day of the
month.
Since January 1992, price changes for
the various commodities have been averaged
together with implicit quantity weights representing their importance in the total net
selling value of all commodities as of 1987.
The detailed data are aggregated to obtain
indexes for stage-of-processing groupings,
commodity groupings, durability-of-product
groupings, and a number of special composite groups. All Producer Price Index data are
subject to revision 4 months after original
publication.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, contact the Division of Industrial Prices and
Price Indexes: (202) 691–7705.

International Price Indexes
Description of the series
The International Price Program produces
monthly and quarterly export and import
price indexes for nonmilitary goods and
services traded between the United States
and the rest of the world. The export price
index provides a measure of price change
for all products sold by U.S. residents to
foreign buyers. (“Residents” is deﬁned as in
the national income accounts; it includes
corporations, businesses, and individuals, but
does not require the organizations to be U.S.
owned nor the individuals to have U.S. citizenship.) The import price index provides a
measure of price change for goods purchased
from other countries by U.S. residents.
The product universe for both the import
and export indexes includes raw materials,
agricultural products, semiﬁnished manuMonthly Labor Review • April 2008

55

Current Labor Statistics

factures, and ﬁnished manufactures, including both capital and consumer goods. Price
data for these items are collected primarily
by mail questionnaire. In nearly all cases,
the data are collected directly from the exporter or importer, although in a few cases,
prices are obtained from other sources.
To the extent possible, the data gathered
refer to prices at the U.S. border for exports
and at either the foreign border or the U.S.
border for imports. For nearly all products,
the prices refer to transactions completed
during the ﬁrst week of the month. Survey
respondents are asked to indicate all discounts, allowances, and rebates applicable to
the reported prices, so that the price used in
the calculation of the indexes is the actual
price for which the product was bought or
sold.
In addition to general indexes of prices
for U.S. exports and imports, indexes are also
published for detailed product categories of
exports and imports. These categories are
deﬁned according to the ﬁve-digit level of
detail for the Bureau of Economic Analysis
End-use Classiﬁcation, the three-digit level
for the Standard International Trade Classiﬁcation (SITC), and the four-digit level of
detail for the Harmonized System. Aggregate
import indexes by country or region of origin
are also available.
BLS publishes indexes for selected categories of internationally traded services,
calculated on an international basis and on a
balance-of-payments basis.

Notes on the data
The export and import price indexes are
weighted indexes of the Laspeyres type. The
trade weights currently used to compute both
indexes relate to 2000.
Because a price index depends on the
same items being priced from period to
period, it is necessary to recognize when a
product’s speciﬁcations or terms of transaction have been modiﬁed. For this reason,
the Bureau’s questionnaire requests detailed
descriptions of the physical and functional
characteristics of the products being priced,
as well as information on the number of
units bought or sold, discounts, credit terms,
packaging, class of buyer or seller, and so
forth. When there are changes in either
the speciﬁcations or terms of transaction of
a product, the dollar value of each change
is deleted from the total price change to
obtain the “pure” change. Once this value is
determined, a linking procedure is employed
which allows for the continued repricing of
the item.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, con56

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

tact the Division of International Prices:
(202) 691–7155.

Productivity Data
(Tables 2; 47–50)

Business and major sectors
Description of the series
The productivity measures relate real output
to real input. As such, they encompass a family of measures which include single-factor
input measures, such as output per hour,
output per unit of labor input, or output per
unit of capital input, as well as measures of
multifactor productivity (output per unit
of combined labor and capital inputs). The
Bureau indexes show the change in output
relative to changes in the various inputs.
The measures cover the business, nonfarm
business, manufacturing, and nonﬁnancial
corporate sectors.
Corresponding indexes of hourly compensation, unit labor costs, unit nonlabor
payments, and prices are also provided.

Definitions
Output per hour of all persons (labor
productivity) is the quantity of goods and
services produced per hour of labor input.
Output per unit of capital services (capital
productivity) is the quantity of goods and
services produced per unit of capital services input. Multifactor productivity is the
quantity of goods and services produced per
combined inputs. For private business and
private nonfarm business, inputs include labor
and capital units. For manufacturing, inputs
include labor, capital, energy, nonenergy
materials, and purchased business services.
Compensation per hour is total compensation divided by hours at work. Total
compensation equals the wages and salaries
of employees plus employers’ contributions
for social insurance and private benefit
plans, plus an estimate of these payments for
the self-employed (except for nonﬁnancial
corporations in which there are no selfemployed). Real compensation per hour
is compensation per hour deﬂated by the
change in the Consumer Price Index for All
Urban Consumers.
Unit labor costs are the labor compensation costs expended in the production of a
unit of output and are derived by dividing
compensation by output. Unit nonlabor
payments include profits, depreciation,
interest, and indirect taxes per unit of output.
They are computed by subtracting compensa-

tion of all persons from current-dollar value
of output and dividing by output.
Unit nonlabor costs contain all the components of unit nonlabor payments except
unit proﬁts.
Unit profits include corporate profits
with inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustments per unit of output.
Hours of all persons are the total hours
at work of payroll workers, self-employed
persons, and unpaid family workers.
Labor inputs are hours of all persons
adjusted for the eﬀects of changes in the
education and experience of the labor force.
Capital services are the ﬂow of services
from the capital stock used in production. It
is developed from measures of the net stock
of physical assets—equipment, structures,
land, and inventories—weighted by rental
prices for each type of asset.
Combined units of labor and capital
inputs are derived by combining changes in
labor and capital input with weights which
represent each component’s share of total
cost. Combined units of labor, capital, energy,
materials, and purchased business services are
similarly derived by combining changes in
each input with weights that represent each
input’s share of total costs. The indexes for
each input and for combined units are based
on changing weights which are averages of
the shares in the current and preceding year
(the Tornquist index-number formula).

Notes on the data
Business sector output is an annually-weighted index constructed by excluding from real
gross domestic product (GDP) the following
outputs: general government, nonprofit
institutions, paid employees of private households, and the rental value of owner-occupied
dwellings. Nonfarm business also excludes
farming. Private business and private nonfarm business further exclude government
enterprises. The measures are supplied by
the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau
of Economic Analysis. Annual estimates of
manufacturing sectoral output are produced
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly manufacturing output indexes from the
Federal Reserve Board are adjusted to these
annual output measures by the BLS. Compensation data are developed from data of the
Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Bureau
of Labor Statistics. Hours data are developed
from data of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The productivity and associated cost
measures in tables 47–50 describe the relationship between output in real terms and
the labor and capital inputs involved in its

production. They show the changes from
period to period in the amount of goods and
services produced per unit of input.
Although these measures relate output
to hours and capital services, they do not
measure the contributions of labor, capital,
or any other speciﬁc factor of production.
Rather, they reﬂect the joint eﬀect of many
inﬂuences, including changes in technology;
shifts in the composition of the labor force;
capital investment; level of output; changes
in the utilization of capacity, energy, material,
and research and development; the organization of production; managerial skill; and
characteristics and eﬀorts of the work force.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION on this
productivity series, contact the Division of
Productivity Research: (202) 691–5606.

compensation includes payroll as well as
supplemental payments, including both
legally required expenditures and payments
for voluntary programs.
Multifactor productivity is derived by
dividing an index of industry output by an index of combined inputs consumed in producing that output. Combined inputs include
capital, labor, and intermediate purchases.
The measure of capital input represents the
ﬂow of services from the capital stock used
in production. It is developed from measures
of the net stock of physical assets—equipment, structures, land, and inventories. The
measure of intermediate purchases is a
combination of purchased materials, services,
fuels, and electricity.

Notes on the data

Industry productivity measures
Description of the series
The BLS industry productivity indexes measure the relationship between output and
inputs for selected industries and industry
groups, and thus reﬂect trends in industry efﬁciency over time. Industry measures include
labor productivity, multifactor productivity,
compensation, and unit labor costs.
The industry measures diﬀer in methodology and data sources from the productivity
measures for the major sectors because the
industry measures are developed independently of the National Income and Product
Accounts framework used for the major
sector measures.

The industry measures are compiled from
data produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau, with additional
data supplied by other government agencies,
trade associations, and other sources.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION on this
series, contact the Division of Industry Productivity Studies: (202) 691–5618, or visit
the Web site at: www.bls.gov/lpc/home.
htm

International Comparisons
(Tables 51–53)

Labor force and unemployment

Definitions

Description of the series

Output per hour is derived by dividing an
index of industry output by an index of labor
input. For most industries, output indexes
are derived from data on the value of industry output adjusted for price change. For
the remaining industries, output indexes are
derived from data on the physical quantity
of production.
The labor input series is based on the
hours of all workers or, in the case of some
transportation industries, on the number of
employees. For most industries, the series
consists of the hours of all employees. For
some trade and services industries, the series
also includes the hours of partners, proprietors, and unpaid family workers.
Unit labor costs represent the labor compensation costs per unit of output produced,
and are derived by dividing an index of labor
compensation by an index of output. Labor

Tables 51 and 52 present comparative measures of the labor force, employment, and unemployment approximating U.S. concepts for
the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan,
and six European countries. The Bureau adjusts the ﬁgures for these selected countries,
for all known major deﬁnitional diﬀerences,
to the extent that data to prepare adjustments
are available. Although precise comparability
may not be achieved, these adjusted ﬁgures
provide a better basis for international comparisons than the ﬁgures regularly published
by each country. For additional information
on adjustments and comparability issues, see
Constance Sorrentino, “International unemployment rates: how comparable are they?”
Monthly Labor Review, June 2000, pp. 3–20
(available on the BLS Web site at:
www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2000/06/art1full.
pdf).

Definitions
For the principal U.S. deﬁnitions of the labor
force, employment, and unemployment, see
the Notes section on Employment and Unemployment Data: Household survey data.

Notes on the data
The foreign country data are adjusted
as closely as possible to U.S. concepts, with
the exception of lower age limits and the
treatment of layoﬀs. These adjustments include, but are not limited to: including older
persons in the labor force by imposing no
upper age limit, adding unemployed students
to the unemployed, excluding the military
and family workers working fewer than 15
hours from the employed, and excluding
persons engaged in passive job search from
the unemployed.
Data for the United States relate to the
population 16 years of age and older. The
U.S. concept of the working age population
has no upper age limit. The adjusted to U.S.
concepts statistics have been adapted, insofar
as possible, to the age at which compulsory schooling ends in each country, and the
Swedish statistics have been adjusted to include persons older than the Swedish upper
age limit of 64 years. The adjusted statistics
presented here relate to the population 16
years of age and older in France, Sweden,
and the United Kingdom; 15 years of age and
older in Australia, Japan, Germany, Italy, and
the Netherlands. An exception to this rule
is that the Canadian statistics are adjusted
to cover the population 16 years of age and
older, whereas the age at which compulsory
schooling ends remains at 15 years. In the
labor force participation rates and employment-population ratios, the denominator is
the civilian noninstitutionalized working age
population, except for Japan and Germany,
which include the institutionalized working
age population.
In the United States, the unemployed
include persons who are not employed and
who were actively seeking work during
the reference period, as well as persons on
layoﬀ. In the United States, as in Australia
and Japan, passive job seekers are not in the
labor force; job search must be active, such
as placing or answering advertisements,
contacting employers directly, or registering
with an employment agency (simply reading ads is not enough to qualify as active
search). Canada and the European countries
classify passive jobseekers as unemployed.
An adjustment is made to exclude them in
Canada, but not in the European countries
where the phenomenon is less prevalent.
In some countries, persons on layoff are
Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

57

Current Labor Statistics

classiﬁed as employed due to their strong
job attachment. No adjustment is made for
the countries that classify those on layoﬀ as
employed. Persons without work and waiting
to start a new job are counted as unemployed
under U.S. concepts if they were actively
seeking work during the reference period;
if they were not actively seeking work, they
are not counted in the labor force. Persons
without work and waiting to start a new job
are counted among the unemployed for all
other countries, whether or not they were
actively seeking work.
For more qualifications and historical
annual data, see Comparative Civilian Labor
Force Statistics, Ten Countries, on the Internet
at http:/www.bls.gov/ﬂs/ﬂscomparelf.htm
F OR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION on
this series, contact the Division of Foreign
Labor Statistics: (202) 691–5654 or ﬂshelp@
bls.gov

Manufacturing Productivity
and Labor Costs
Description of the series
Table 53 presents comparative indexes of
manufacturing output per hour (labor productivity), output, total hours, compensation
per hour, and unit labor costs for the United
States, Australia, Canada, Japan, The Republic
of Korea, Taiwan, and 10 European countries.
These measures are trend comparisons—that
is, series that measure changes over time—
rather than level comparisons. BLS does
not recommend using these series for level
comparisons because of technical problems.
BLS constructs the comparative indexes
from three basic aggregate measures—output, total labor hours, and total compensation. The hours and compensation measures
refer to employees (wage and salary earners)
in Belgium and Taiwan. For all other economies, the measures refer to all employed
persons, including employees, self-employed
persons, and unpaid family workers.

Definitions
Output. For most economies, the output
measures are real value added in manufacturing from national accounts. However,
output for Japan prior to 1970 and for the
Netherlands prior to 1960 are indexes of
industrial production. The manufacturing
value-added measures for the United Kingdom are essentially identical to their indexes
of industrial production.
For the United States, the output measure for the manufacturing sector is a

58

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

chain-weighted index of real gross product
originating (deﬂated value added) produced
by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the
U.S. Department of Commerce. Most of
the other economies now also use chainweighted as opposed to ﬁxed-year weights
that are periodically updated.
The data for recent years are based on
the United Nations System of National Accounts 1993 (SNA 93). Manufacturing is generally deﬁned according to the International
Standard Industrial Classiﬁcation (ISIC). For
the United States and Canada, it is deﬁned
according to the North American Industry
Classiﬁcation System (NAICS 97).
To preserve the comparability of the U.S.
measures with those of other economies,
BLS uses gross product originating in manufacturing for the United States. The gross
product originating series diﬀers from the
manufacturing output series that BLS publishes in its quarterly news releases on U.S.
productivity and costs (and that underlies the
measures that appear in tables 48 and 50 in
this section). The quarterly measures are on
a “sectoral output” basis, rather than a valueadded basis. Sectoral output is gross output
less intrasector transactions.
Total hours refer to hours worked in all
economies. The measures are developed from
statistics of manufacturing employment and
average hours. For most other economies, recent years’ aggregate hours series are obtained
from national statistical oﬃces, usually from
national accounts. However, for some economies and for earlier years, BLS calculates the
aggregate hours series using employment
ﬁgures published with the national accounts,
or other comprehensive employment series,
and data on average hours worked.
Hourly compensation is total compensation divided by total hours. Total compensation includes all payments in cash or in-kind
made directly to employees plus employer
expenditures for legally required insurance
programs and contractual and private beneﬁt plans. For Australia, Canada, France,
and Sweden, compensation is increased
to account for important taxes on payroll
or employment. For the United Kingdom,
compensation is reduced between 1967 and
1991 to account for subsidies.
Unit labor costs are deﬁned as the costs
of labor input required to produce one unit of
output. They are computed as compensation
in nominal terms divided by real output. Unit
labor costs can also be computed by dividing
hourly compensation by output per hour, that
is, by labor productivity.

Notes on the data
In general, the measures relate to to-

tal manufacturing as defined by the International Standard Industrial Classification. However, the measures for
France include parts of mining as well.
The measures for recent years may be
based on current indicators of manufacturing output (such as industrial production
indexes), employment, average hours, and
hourly compensation until national accounts
and other statistics used for the long-term
measures become available.
For additional information on these
series, go to http://www.bls.gov/news.
release/prod4.toc.htm or contact the Division of Foreign Labor Statistics: (202)
691–5654.

Occupational Injury
and Illness Data
(Tables 54–55)

Survey of Occupational Injuries
and Illnesses
Description of the series
The Survey of Occupational Injuries and
Illnesses collects data from employers about
their workers’ job-related nonfatal injuries
and illnesses. The information that employers provide is based on records that they
maintain under the Occupational Safety and
Health Act of 1970. Self-employed individuals, farms with fewer than 11 employees,
employers regulated by other Federal safety
and health laws, and Federal, State, and local government agencies are excluded from
the survey.
The survey is a Federal-State cooperative
program with an independent sample selected for each participating State. A stratiﬁed
random sample with a Neyman allocation
is selected to represent all private industries
in the State. The survey is stratiﬁed by Standard Industrial Classiﬁcation and size of
employment.

Definitions
Under the Occupational Safety and Health
Act, employers maintain records of nonfatal
work-related injuries and illnesses that involve one or more of the following: loss of
consciousness, restriction of work or motion,
transfer to another job, or medical treatment
other than ﬁrst aid.
Occupational injury is any injury such
as a cut, fracture, sprain, or amputation that

results from a work-related event or a single,
instantaneous exposure in the work environment.
Occupational illness is an abnormal
condition or disorder, other than one resulting from an occupational injury, caused by
exposure to factors associated with employment. It includes acute and chronic illnesses
or disease which may be caused by inhalation,
absorption, ingestion, or direct contact.
Lost workday injuries and illnesses are
cases that involve days away from work, or
days of restricted work activity, or both.
Lost workdays include the number of
workdays (consecutive or not) on which the
employee was either away from work or at
work in some restricted capacity, or both,
because of an occupational injury or illness.
BLS measures of the number and incidence
rate of lost workdays were discontinued
beginning with the 1993 survey. The number
of days away from work or days of restricted
work activity does not include the day of injury
or onset of illness or any days on which the
employee would not have worked, such as a
Federal holiday, even though able to work.
Incidence rates are computed as the
number of injuries and/or illnesses or lost
work days per 100 full-time workers.

Notes on the data
The deﬁnitions of occupational injuries and
illnesses are from Recordkeeping Guidelines
for Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (U.S.
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 1986).
Estimates are made for industries and employment size classes for total recordable cases,
lost workday cases, days away from work cases,
and nonfatal cases without lost workdays. These
data also are shown separately for injuries.
Illness data are available for seven categories:
occupational skin diseases or disorders, dust
diseases of the lungs, respiratory conditions
due to toxic agents, poisoning (systemic
effects of toxic agents), disorders due to
physical agents (other than toxic materials),
disorders associated with repeated trauma,
and all other occupational illnesses.
The survey continues to measure the
number of new work-related illness cases
which are recognized, diagnosed, and reported during the year. Some conditions, for
example, long-term latent illnesses caused
by exposure to carcinogens, often are difﬁcult to relate to the workplace and are not

adequately recognized and reported. These
long-term latent illnesses are believed to be
understated in the survey’s illness measure. In
contrast, the overwhelming majority of the
reported new illnesses are those which are
easier to directly relate to workplace activity
(for example, contact dermatitis and carpal
tunnel syndrome).
Most of the estimates are in the form
of incidence rates, deﬁned as the number
of injuries and illnesses per 100 equivalent
full-time workers. For this purpose, 200,000
employee hours represent 100 employee years
(2,000 hours per employee). Full detail on the
available measures is presented in the annual
bulletin, Occupational Injuries and Illnesses:
Counts, Rates, and Characteristics.
Comparable data for more than 40 States
and territories are available from the bls
Oﬃce of Safety, Health and Working Conditions. Many of these States publish data
on State and local government employees in
addition to private industry data.
Mining and railroad data are furnished to
BLS by the Mine Safety and Health Administration and the Federal Railroad Administration. Data from these organizations are
included in both the national and State data
published annually.
With the 1992 survey, BLS began publishing details on serious, nonfatal incidents
resulting in days away from work. Included
are some major characteristics of the injured
and ill workers, such as occupation, age, gender, race, and length of service, as well as the
circumstances of their injuries and illnesses
(nature of the disabling condition, part of
body aﬀected, event and exposure, and the
source directly producing the condition). In
general, these data are available nationwide
for detailed industries and for individual
States at more aggregated industry levels.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION on occupational injuries and illnesses, contact the
Oﬃce of Occupational Safety, Health and
Working Conditions at (202) 691–6180,
or access the Internet at: http://www.bls.
gov/iif/

Census of Fatal
Occupational Injuries
The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries
compiles a complete roster of fatal job-related injuries, including detailed data about the

fatally injured workers and the fatal events.
The program collects and cross checks fatality
information from multiple sources, including
death certiﬁcates, State and Federal workers’
compensation reports, Occupational Safety
and Health Administration and Mine Safety
and Health Administration records, medical
examiner and autopsy reports, media accounts, State motor vehicle fatality records,
and follow-up questionnaires to employers.
In addition to private wage and salary
workers, the self-employed, family members, and Federal, State, and local government workers are covered by the program.
To be included in the fatality census, the
decedent must have been employed (that is
working for pay, compensation, or proﬁt)
at the time of the event, engaged in a legal
work activity, or present at the site of the
incident as a requirement of his or her job.

Definition
A fatal work injury is any intentional or
unintentional wound or damage to the body
resulting in death from acute exposure to
energy, such as heat or electricity, or kinetic
energy from a crash, or from the absence of
such essentials as heat or oxygen caused by a
speciﬁc event or incident or series of events
within a single workday or shift. Fatalities
that occur during a person’s commute to or
from work are excluded from the census,
as well as work-related illnesses,which can
be diﬃcult to identify due to long latency
periods.

Notes on the data
Twenty-eight data elements are collected,
coded, and tabulated in the fatality program,
including information about the fatally
injured worker, the fatal incident, and the
machinery or equipment involved. Summary worker demographic data and event
characteristics are included in a national news
release that is available about 8 months after
the end of the reference year. The Census
of Fatal Occupational Injuries was initiated in 1992 as a joint Federal-State eﬀort.
Most States issue summary information
at the time of the national news release.
F OR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION on
the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries
contact the BLS Office of Safety, Health,
and Working Conditions at (202) 691–
6175, or the Internet at: www.bls.gov/iif/

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

59

Current Labor Statistics: Comparative Indicators

/DERUPDUNHWLQGLFDWRUV
Selected indicators

2006

2007

2005
IV

2006
I

II

2007
III

IV

I

II

III

IV

Employment data
Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional
population (household survey):

1

Labor force participation rate........................................................
Employment-population ratio........................................................
Unemployment rate………………………………………………….…
Men………………………………………………..…….….…………
16 to 24 years...........................................................................
25 years and older....................................................................
Women……………………………………………….….……………
16 to 24 years...........................................................................
25 years and older....................................................................
Employment, nonfarm (payroll data), in thousands:

66.2
63.1
4.6
4.6
11.2
3.5
4.6
9.7
3.7

66.0
63.0
4.6
4.7
11.6
3.6
4.5
9.4
3.6

66.1
62.8
4.9
4.9
11.6
3.7
5.0
9.9
4.2

66.0
62.9
4.7
4.7
11.3
3.5
4.8
9.7
3.9

66.2
63.1
4.7
4.7
11.2
3.6
4.6
9.3
3.8

66.2
63.1
4.7
4.6
11.4
3.5
4.7
10.1
3.8

66.3
63.4
4.4
4.5
11.0
3.3
4.4
9.7
3.5

66.2
63.2
4.5
4.6
10.8
3.6
4.4
9.0
3.5

66.0
63.0
4.5
4.6
11.5
3.5
4.4
9.0
3.6

66.0
62.9
4.7
4.8
11.8
3.6
4.6
9.8
3.7

66.0
62.8
4.8
4.9
12.2
3.7
4.7
9.9
3.8

1

Total nonfarm…………………….................................................... 136,086
Total private....................................................................... 114,113

137,626
115,423

134,883
112,996

135,647
113,748

135,910
113,996

136,528
114,472

136,982
114,899

137,310
115,167

137,625
115,423

137,837
115,610

138,119
115,813

22,531
Manufacturing………….………………..………………………… 14,155

22,221
13,883

22,402
14,205

22,563
14,208

22,570
14,200

22,564
14,138

22,436
14,033

22,362
13,953

22,267
13,890

22,138
13,822

21,988
13,774

Service-providing ……………………………………………….………….. 113,556

115,405

112,481

113,084

113,340

113,964

114,546

114,948

115,358

115,699

116,131

Goods-producing ……………………………………………….…………..

Average hours:
Total private........................................…………..........................
Manufacturing………...……………………………………………
Overtime……..………….………………...………………………

33.9
41.1
4.4

33.8
41.2
4.2

33.8
40.9
4.6

33.8
41.0
4.5

33.9
41.2
4.5

33.8
41.3
4.4

33.9
41.1
4.2

33.9
41.2
4.1

33.9
41.4
4.1

33.8
41.3
4.1

33.8
41.3
4.1

Civilian nonfarm ……………………………….…………………………….……

3.3

3.3

.6

.7

.9

1.1

.6

.9

.8

1.0

.6

Private nonfarm……………...............………...............................

3.2

3.0

.5

.8

.9

.8

.7

.8

.9

.8

.6

2.5

2.4

.2

.3

1.0

.7

.5

.4

1.0

.5

.6

3.4

3.2

.5

1.0

.8

.9

.7

.9

.9

.9

.6

4.1

4.1

.9

.5

.4

2.3

.9

1.0

.6

1.8

.7

3.0
3.2

2.0
3.2

.4
.5

.5
.9

1.3
.8

.6
.9

.6
.6

-.3
1.0

1.2
.9

.5
.8

.7
.6

1, 2, 3

Employment Cost Index
Total compensation:
4

5

Goods-producing ……………………………………………….…………
5

Service-providing ……………………………………………….…………
State and local government ……………….………………………
Workers by bargaining status (private nonfarm):
Union……………………………………………………………………
Nonunion…………………………………………………………………
1

4

Quarterly data seasonally adjusted.

2

Annual changes are December-to-December changes. Quarterly changes
are calculated using the last month of each quarter.
3
The Employment Cost Index data reflect the conversion to the 2002 North
American Classification System (NAICS) and the 2000 Standard Occupational
Classification (SOC) system. The NAICS and SOC data shown prior to 2006 are
for informational purposes only. Series based on NAICS and SOC became the
official BLS estimates starting in March 2006.

60

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

Excludes Federal and private household workers.

5

Goods-producing industries include mining, construction, and manufacturing. Serviceproviding industries include all other private sector industries.
NOTE: Beginning in January 2003, household survey data reflect revised population
controls. Nonfarm data reflect the conversion to the 2002 version of the North
American Industry Classification System (NAICS), replacing the Standard Industrial
Classification (SIC) system. NAICS-based data by industry are not comparable with SIC
based data.

2. Annual and quarterly percent changes in compensation, prices, and productivity
Selected measures

2006

2005

2007

2006

IV

I

II

2007
III

IV

I

II

III

IV

1, 2, 3

Compensation data

Employment Cost Index—compensation:
Civilian nonfarm...................................................................
Private nonfarm...............................................................
Employment Cost Index—wages and salaries:
Civilian nonfarm……………………………………………….
Private nonfarm...............................................................
Price data

3.3
3.2

3.3
3.0

0.6
.5

0.7
.8

0.9
.9

1.1
.8

0.6
.7

0.9
.8

0.8
.9

1.0
.8

0.6
.6

3.2
3.2

3.4
3.3

.6
.5

.7
.7

.8
1.0

1.1
.8

.6
.7

1.1
1.1

.7
.8

1.0
.9

.7
.6

3.2

2.8

–1.0

1.5

1.6

.0

-.5

1.8

1.5

.1

.7

3.0
3.5
1.6
6.5
1.4

3.9
4.5
1.8
4.0
12.2

-.1
–.4
.6
1.0
.2

.3
.2
.8
.9
-11.1

1.7
2.1
.2
3.0
1.8

-.9
-1.3
.0
-.4
1.2

.1
-.2
1.3
-.8
4.0

2.2
2.8
.3
3.6
5.7

1.9
2.5
-.1
3.2
3.8

.1
.2
-.1
.1
-2.4

1.9
2.1
1.1
1.8
12.7

1.0
1.0

1.6
1.6

-1.1
-1.4

2.5
2.5

.8
.8

-1.5
-1.6

1.2
1.8

.2
.7

3.6
2.2

6.5
6.0

.6
1.8

1.3

-

2.4

3.1

-1.8

3.1

1.3

.7

2.1

3.7

-

1

Consumer Price Index (All Urban Consumers): All Items......
Producer Price Index:
Finished goods.....................................................................
Finished consumer goods.................................................
Capital equipment……………………………………………
Intermediate materials, supplies, and components…………
Crude materials.....................................................................
4

Productivity data
Output per hour of all persons:

Business sector.....................................................................
Nonfarm business sector.......................................................
5

Nonfinancial corporations ……………….…………...………………

1
Annual changes are December-to-December changes. Quarterly changes are
calculated using the last month of each quarter. Compensation and price data are not
seasonally adjusted, and the price data are not compounded.
2

only. Series based on NAICS and SOC became the official BLS estimates starting in
March 2006.
4
Annual rates of change are computed by comparing annual averages. Quarterly
percent changes reflect annual rates of change in quarterly indexes. The data are
seasonally adjusted.

Excludes Federal and private household workers.

3
The Employment Cost Index data reflect the conversion to the 2002 North American
Classification System (NAICS) and the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC)
system. The NAICS and SOC data shown prior to 2006 are for informational purposes

5

Output per hour of all employees.

3. Alternative measures of wage and compensation changes
Quarterly change
Components

2006
IV

Four quarters ending—

2007
I

II

2006
III

IV

IV

2007
I

II

III

IV

1

Average hourly compensation:
All persons, business sector..........................................................
All persons, nonfarm business sector...........................................
Employment Cost Index—compensation:

5.5
5.9

2.4
1.0

4.4
4.0

2.8
3.9

4.8
5.0

4.4
4.7

5.2
5.0

5.9
5.7

3.8
3.7

.6
.7
.6
.6
.9

.9
.8
-.3
1.0
1.0

.8
.9
1.2
.9
.6

1.0
.8
.5
.8
1.8

.6
.6
.7
.6
.7

3.3
3.2
3.0
3.2
4.1

3.5
3.2
2.2
3.3
4.6

3.3
3.1
2.1
3.3
4.8

3.3
3.1
2.0
3.2
4.3

3.3
3.0
2.0
3.2
4.1

.6
.7
.6
.6
.7

1.1
1.1
.5
1.2
.6

.7
.8
.9
.8
.5

1.0
.9
.7
.9
1.7

.7
.6
.3
.7
.7

3.2
3.2
2.3
3.3
3.5

3.6
3.6
2.5
3.7
3.8

3.4
3.3
2.5
3.4
3.8

3.3
3.4
2.7
3.4
3.5

3.4
3.3
2.3
3.5
3.5

2

3

Civilian nonfarm ……….………………………………………….…………..…
Private nonfarm….......................................................................
Union…………..........................................................................
Nonunion…………....................................................................
State and local government….....................................................
Employment Cost Index—wages and salaries:
3

11.4
12.2

2

Civilian nonfarm ……….………………………………………….…………..…
Private nonfarm….......................................................................
Union…………..........................................................................
Nonunion…………....................................................................
State and local government….....................................................
1

Seasonally adjusted. "Quarterly average" is percent change from a
quarter ago, at an annual rate.
2

The Employment Cost Index data reflect the conversion to the 2002
North American Classification System (NAICS) and the 2000 Standard

Occupational Classification (SOC) system. The NAICS and SOC data shown
prior to 2006 are for informational purposes only. Series based on NAICS
and SOC became the official BLS estimates starting in March 2006.
3

Excludes Federal and private household workers.

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 61

Current Labor Statistics: Labor Force Data

4. Employment status of the population, by sex, age, race, and Hispanic origin, monthly data seasonally adjusted
>1XPEHUVLQWKRXVDQGV@
Employment status

2007

Annual average
2006

2007

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

July

2008
Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

TOTAL
&LYLOLDQQRQLQVWLWXWLRQDO


SRSXODWLRQ «««««««« 
&LYLOLDQODERUIRUFH 

3DUWLFLSDWLRQUDWH
(PSOR\HG 
(PSOR\PHQWSRS

XODWLRQUDWLR «««««

8QHPSOR\HG

8QHPSOR\PHQWUDWH
1RWLQWKHODERUIRUFH 

             
             














             






































































Men, 20 years and over
&LYLOLDQQRQLQVWLWXWLRQDO


SRSXODWLRQ «««««««« 
&LYLOLDQODERUIRUFH 

3DUWLFLSDWLRQUDWH
(PSOR\HG 
(PSOR\PHQWSRS

XODWLRQUDWLR «««««

8QHPSOR\HG

8QHPSOR\PHQWUDWH
1RWLQWKHODERUIRUFH««« 

             
















































































































Women, 20 years and over
&LYLOLDQQRQLQVWLWXWLRQDO


SRSXODWLRQ «««««««« 
&LYLOLDQODERUIRUFH 

3DUWLFLSDWLRQUDWH
(PSOR\HG 
(PSOR\PHQWSRS

XODWLRQUDWLR «««««

8QHPSOR\HG

8QHPSOR\PHQWUDWH
1RWLQWKHODERUIRUFH««« 

             




























































































































































































































































Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
&LYLOLDQQRQLQVWLWXWLRQDO

SRSXODWLRQ «««««««« 

&LYLOLDQODERUIRUFH

3DUWLFLSDWLRQUDWH

(PSOR\HG
(PSOR\PHQWSRS

XODWLRQUDWLR «««««

8QHPSOR\HG

8QHPSOR\PHQWUDWH
1RWLQWKHODERUIRUFH««« 

White3
&LYLOLDQQRQLQVWLWXWLRQDO


SRSXODWLRQ «««««««« 
&LYLOLDQODERUIRUFH 

3DUWLFLSDWLRQUDWH
(PSOR\HG 
(PSOR\PHQWSRS

XODWLRQUDWLR «««««

8QHPSOR\HG

8QHPSOR\PHQWUDWH
1RWLQWKHODERUIRUFH««« 

             
             














             


















































































































































































































Black or African American3
&LYLOLDQQRQLQVWLWXWLRQDO

SRSXODWLRQ «««««««« 
&LYLOLDQODERUIRUFH 

3DUWLFLSDWLRQUDWH
(PSOR\HG 
(PSOR\PHQWSRS

XODWLRQUDWLR «««««

8QHPSOR\HG

8QHPSOR\PHQWUDWH
1RWLQWKHODERUIRUFH««« 

6HHIRRWQRWHVDWHQGRIWDEOH

62

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

&RQWLQXHG²(PSOR\PHQWVWDWXVRIWKHSRSXODWLRQE\VH[DJHUDFHDQG+LVSDQLFRULJLQPRQWKO\GDWDVHDVRQDOO\DGMXVWHG
[Numbers in thousands]
2007

$QQXDODYHUDJH

(PSOR\PHQWVWDWXV



2008



)HE

0DU

$SU

0D\

-XQH

-XO\

$XJ

6HSW

31,383
21,602

20,382

30,965
21,301

20,183

31,055
21,368

20,257

31,147
21,436

20,263

31,238
21,434

20,197

31,329
21,460

20,245

31,423
21,613

20,345

31,520
21,781

20,578


1,220

9,781


1,118

9,664


1,111

9,687


1,173

9,711


1,237

9,804


1,216

9,869


1,269

9,809


1,204

9,738

2FW

1RY

'HF

-DQ

)HE

31,617
21,872

20,619

31,714
21,778

20,554

31,809
21,872

20,623

31,903
21,888

20,517

31,643
21,698

20,320

31,732
21,755

20,401


1,253

9,745


1,224

9,936


1,249

9,938


1,371

10,016


1,378

9,946


1,354

9,977

+LVSDQLFRU/DWLQR
HWKQLFLW\
Civilian noninstitutional
1
population «««««««« 30,103
&LYLOLDQODERUIRUFH 20,694

3DUWLFLSDWLRQUDWH
EmployHG 19,613
Employment-pop
ulation ratio 2«««««
1,081
UnemployHG

UnemployPHQWUDWH
Not in the labor force «««« 9,409
1

7KHSRSXODWLRQILJXUHVDUHQRWVHDVRQDOO\DGMXVWHG
&LYLOLDQHPSOR\PHQWDVDSHUFHQWRIWKHFLYLOLDQQRQLQVWLWXWLRQDOSRSXODWLRQ
3
Beginning in 2003, persons who selected this race group only; persons who
VHOHFWHG PRUH WKDQ RQH UDFH JURXS DUH QRW LQFOXGHG 3ULRU WR  SHUVRQV ZKR
reported more than one race were included in the group they identified as the main
UDFH
2

NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups (white and black or African American) do not
VXP WR WRWDOV EHFDXVH GDWD DUH QRW SUHVHQWHG IRU DOO UDFHV ,Q DGGLWLRQ SHUVRQV ZKRVH
ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified
E\ HWKQLFLW\ DV ZHOO DV E\ UDFH %HJLQQLQJ LQ -DQXDU\  GDWD UHIOHFW UHYLVHG SRSXODWLRQ
FRQWUROVXVHGLQWKHKRXVHKROGVXUYH\

5. Selected employment indicators, monthly data seasonally adjusted
[In thousands]
Annual average

2007

Selected categories
2006

2007

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

July

2008
Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

Characteristic
Employed, 16 years and older.. 144,427 146,047 145,888 146,145 145,713 145,913 146,087 146,045 145,753 146,260 146,016 146,647 146,211 146,248 145,993
Men....................................... 77,502
78,254
78,184
78,297
78,293
78,277
78,243
78,237
78,066
78,229
78,177
78,604
78,260
78,157
78,113
67,792
67,704
67,849
67,420
67,637
67,845
67,808
67,687
68,030
67,838
68,043
67,951
68,091
67,880
:RPHQ«« 66,925
Married men, spouse
present................................

45,700

46,314

46,273

46,505

46,466

46,472

46,448

46,307

46,193

46,235

46,189

46,339

46,213

46,063

46,136

35,272

35,832

35,788

36,174

36,009

36,126

36,111

35,938

35,794

35,712

35,449

35,689

35,565

35,536

35,648

4,162

4,401

4,247

4,285

4,371

4,469

4,311

4,332

4,517

4,499

4,401

4,513

4,665

4,769

4,884

2,658

2,877

2,737

2,786

2,854

2,952

2,803

2,751

2,955

2,991

2,788

3,008

3,174

3,247

3,291

1,189

1,210

1,209

1,217

1,238

1,248

1,197

1,210

1,175

1,166

1,215

1,223

1,236

1,163

1,222

UHDVRQV««««««««« 19,591

19,756

19,927

20,033

19,919

19,610

20,076

19,957

19,779

19,812

19,337

19,539

19,526

19,613

19,348

4,071

4,317

4,130

4,206

4,301

4,391

4,210

4,259

4,466

4,397

4,302

4,453

4,577

4,677

4,790

2,596

2,827

2,666

2,741

2,830

2,893

2,736

2,711

2,916

2,922

2,745

2,981

3,120

3,174

3,231

1,178

1,199

1,194

1,203

1,232

1,246

1,198

1,205

1,152

1,153

1,207

1,205

1,219

1,149

1,216

UHDVRQV«««« 19,237

19,419

19,552

19,624

19,550

19,192

19,734

19,569

19,469

19,451

19,157

19,224

19,225

19,296

19,019

Married women, spouse
present................................
Persons at work part time1
All industries:
Part time for economic
UHDVRQV«««««««««
Slack work or business
FRQGLWLRQV««««
Could only find part-time
ZRUN«««««««««
Part time for noneconomic
Nonagricultural industries:
Part time for economic
UHDVRQV«««««««««
Slack work or business
conditions.......................
Could only find part-time
ZRUN«««««««««
Part time for noneconomic

1

Excludes persons "with a job but not at work" during the survey period for such reasons as vacation, illness, or industrial disputes.

NOTE: Beginning in January 2003, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 63

Current Labor Statistics: Labor Force Data

6. Selected unemployment indicators, monthly data seasonally adjusted
[Unemployment rates]
Annual average

2007

Selected categories
2006

2007

2008

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

Characteristic
Total, 16 years and older............................
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years.....................
Men, 20 years and older.........................
Women, 20 years and older...................

4.6
15.4
4.0
4.1

4.6
15.7
4.1
4.0

4.5
15.0
4.1
3.8

4.4
14.6
4.0
3.8

4.5
15.4
4.0
3.9

4.5
15.8
4.0
3.9

4.6
16.0
4.1
3.9

4.7
15.3
4.2
4.1

4.7
16.2
4.1
4.1

4.7
16.0
4.3
4.1

4.8
15.7
4.3
4.1

4.7
16.4
4.1
4.1

5.0
17.1
4.4
4.4

4.9
18.0
4.4
4.2

4.8
16.6
4.3
4.2

White, total 1««««««««««««

4.0
13.2
14.6
11.7
3.5
3.6

4.1
13.9
15.7
12.1
3.7
3.6

4.0
13.1
14.4
11.8
3.7
3.4

3.8
13.3
14.6
11.8
3.4
3.4

4.0
13.3
14.4
12.1
3.5
3.5

4.0
13.9
15.2
12.5
3.5
3.4

4.1
14.2
16.3
12.0
3.6
3.5

4.2
13.8
15.5
12.0
3.8
3.6

4.2
14.4
16.5
12.2
3.8
3.7

4.2
14.3
16.4
12.2
3.9
3.5

4.2
14.0
15.9
12.0
3.8
3.6

4.2
14.7
17.8
11.8
3.7
3.7

4.4
14.4
16.8
12.1
3.9
4.0

4.4
15.6
19.0
12.3
3.9
3.8

4.3
14.4
17.1
11.8
3.9
3.8

8.9
29.1
32.7
25.9
8.3
7.5

8.3
29.4
33.8
25.3
7.9
6.7

8.0
28.7
35.5
22.3
7.5
6.4

8.3
24.7
25.7
23.8
8.9
6.2

8.2
30.6
34.3
27.1
8.3
6.0

8.4
30.1
35.4
24.8
8.2
6.7

8.4
31.0
33.5
28.7
8.3
6.4

8.1
27.0
31.1
23.5
7.6
6.9

7.7
31.2
33.2
29.4
6.8
6.5

8.2
28.9
33.9
24.2
7.5
7.1

8.5
27.9
36.0
20.1
8.2
7.1

8.4
29.7
34.6
24.9
7.9
7.0

9.0
34.7
39.5
30.1
8.4
7.0

9.2
35.7
41.3
28.5
8.3
7.3

8.3
31.7
32.6
30.9
7.9
6.5

5.2
2.4
2.9
4.5
5.1

5.6
2.5
2.8
4.6
4.9

5.2
2.6
2.7
4.4
4.9

5.2
2.5
2.6
4.4
4.5

5.5
2.5
2.7
4.4
5.0

5.8
2.6
2.8
4.4
4.9

5.7
2.4
2.7
4.5
4.7

5.9
2.7
2.9
4.6
5.1

5.5
2.5
3.1
4.6
4.9

5.7
2.5
2.9
4.7
4.7

5.6
2.6
2.9
4.7
5.0

5.7
2.6
3.0
4.6
5.0

6.3
2.7
3.1
4.9
5.6

6.3
2.7
3.1
4.8
5.4

6.2
2.7
3.1
4.8
5.0

Both sexes, 16 to 19 years................
Men, 16 to 19 years........................
Women, 16 to 19 years..................
Men, 20 years and older....................
Women, 20 years and older..............
Black or African American, total 1«««
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years................
Men, 16 to 19 years........................
Women, 16 to 19 years..................
Men, 20 years and older....................
Women, 20 years and older..............
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity««««««
Married men, spouse present................
Married women, spouse present...........
Full-time workers...................................
Part-time workers..................................
Educational attainment2
Less than a high school diploma................

6.8

7.1

7.2

6.9

7.1

6.7

6.8

7.2

6.7

7.5

7.4

7.6

7.6

7.7

7.3

Some college or associate degUHH«««

4.3


4.4
3.6

4.3
3.6

4.1
3.5

4.1
3.6

4.5
3.4

4.1
3.5

4.5
3.6

4.4
3.7

4.6
3.4

4.6
3.5

4.5
3.3

4.7
3.7

4.6
3.6

4.7
3.7

Bachelor's degree and higher 4«««««

2.0

2.0

1.9

1.8

1.8

2.0

2.0

2.1

2.1

2.0

2.1

2.2

2.2

2.1

2.1

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

High school graduates, no college 3«««

1

Beginning in 2003, persons who selected this race group only; persons who

selected more than one race group are not included. Prior to 2003, persons who
reported more than one race were included in the group they identified as the main
race.
2

Data refer to persons 25 years and older.

7. Duration of unemployment, monthly data seasonally adjusted
>1XPEHUVLQWKRXVDQGV@
Weeks of
unemployment
/HVVWKDQZHHNV
WRZHHNV
ZHHNVDQGRYHU
WRZHHNV
ZHHNVDQGRYHU
0HDQGXUDWLRQLQZHHNV
0HGLDQGXUDWLRQLQZHHNV

Annual average
2006








2007








2007
Feb.








Mar.








Apr.








May








June








127(%HJLQQLQJLQ-DQXDU\GDWDUHIOHFWUHYLVHGSRSXODWLRQFRQWUROVXVHGLQWKHKRXVHKROGVXUYH\

64

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

July








2008
Aug.
































Dec.








Jan.








Feb.








8. Unemployed persons by reason for unemployment, monthly data seasonally adjusted
>1XPEHUVLQWKRXVDQGV@
Reason for
unemployment
-REORVHUV «««««««««
2QWHPSRUDU\OD\RII
1RWRQWHPSRUDU\OD\RII
-REOHDYHUV
5HHQWUDQWV
1HZHQWUDQWV

Annual average
2006

2007

2007
Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

July

2008
Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.




















































































































































































































































































Percent of unemployed
-REORVHUV «««««««««
2QWHPSRUDU\OD\RII
1RWRQWHPSRUDU\OD\RII
-REOHDYHUV
5HHQWUDQWV
1HZHQWUDQWV
Percent of civilian
labor force


-REORVHUV «««««««««


-REOHDYHUV


5HHQWUDQWV


1HZHQWUDQWV

,QFOXGHVSHUVRQVZKRFRPSOHWHGWHPSRUDU\MREV

127(%HJLQQLQJLQ-DQXDU\GDWDUHIOHFWUHYLVHGSRSXODWLRQFRQWUROVXVHGLQWKHKRXVHKROGVXUYH\

9. Unemployment rates by sex and age, monthly data seasonally adjusted
>&LYLOLDQZRUNHUV@
Sex and age

Annual average

2007

2008

2006

2007

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

7RWDO\HDUVDQGROGHU
WR\HDUV
WR\HDUV
WR\HDUV
WR\HDUV
WR\HDUV
\HDUVDQGROGHU
WR\HDUV
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0HQ\HDUVDQGROGHU
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WR\HDUV
WR\HDUV
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:RPHQ\HDUVDQGROGHU 
WR\HDUV 
WR\HDUV 
WR\HDUV«««««««
W\HDUV«««««««
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'DWDDUHQRWVHDVRQDOO\DGMXVWHG

127( %HJLQQLQJLQ-DQXDU\GDWDUHIOHFWUHYLVHGSRSXODWLRQFRQWUROVXVHGLQWKHKRXVHKROGVXUYH\

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 65

Current Labor Statistics: Labor Force Data

8QHPSOR\PHQWUDWHVE\6WDWHVHDVRQDOO\DGMXVWHG
-DQ


6WDWH

'HF

-DQ

S

S

-DQ


6WDWH

'HF

-DQ

S

S

$ODEDPD«««««««
Alaska........................................................
$UL]RQD««««««««
Arkansas....................................................
&DOLIRUQLD«««««««


6.1

5.3



6.3

5.5



6.4

5.6


0LVVRXUL«««««««««««««««
Montana.....................................................
1HEUDVND«««««««
Nevada......................................................
1HZ+DPSVKLUH««««

4.7
3.1
2.9
4.5
3.7

5.3
3.2
2.8
5.2
3.4

5.5
3.2
2.9
5.5
3.5

Colorado....................................................
&RQQHFWLFXW««««««
Delaware...................................................
'LVWULFWRI&ROXPELD««
Florida........................................................

3.9

3.3

3.6

4.0

3.5

4.5

4.2

3.8

4.6

New Jersey................................................
1HZ0H[LFR««««««
New York...................................................
1RUWK&DUROLQD«««««
North Dakota.............................................

4.3
3.8
4.4
4.5
3.1

4.2
3.2
4.6
4.7
3.2

4.5
3.1
5.0
4.9
3.2

GeorgLD«««««««
Hawaii........................................................
,GDKR«««««««««
Illinois.........................................................
,QGLDQD««««««««




4.6





5.3





5.6


2KLR«««««««««
2NODKRPD
2UHgRQ««««««««
Pennsylvania.............................................
5KRGH,VODQG«««««

5.4

5.1
4.3
4.9

5.8

5.4
4.4
5.2

5.5

5.5
4.8
5.7

,RZD«««««««««
Kansas.......................................................
Kentucky«««««««
Louisiana...................................................
0DLQH««««««««


4.0

3.8



4.2

4.0



3.8

4.0


6RXWK&DUROLQD««««
South Dakota.............................................
7HQQHVVHH««««««
Texas.........................................................
8WDK«««««««««


3.0
4.6
4.5
2.5


2.9
5.0
4.2
2.9


2.6
4.9
4.3
3.0

MaryODQG«««««««
Massachusetts...........................................
MichigDQ«««««««
Minnesota..................................................
0LVVLVVLSSL««««««


4.7
7.0
4.5



4.3
7.4
4.7



4.5
7.1
4.5


9HUPRQW«««««««
Virginia.......................................................
WashingWRQ««««««
West Virginia.............................................
:LVFRQVLQ««««««
Wyoming....................................................

4.0
2.8
4.6
4.3

2.9

3.9
3.2
4.6
4.6

3.1

4.2
3.4
4.5
4.4

2.7

p

= preliminary

(PSOR\PHQWRIZRUNHUVRQQRQIDUPSD\UROOVE\6WDWHVHDVRQDOO\DGMXVWHG
6WDWH

-DQ


'HF

-DQ

S

S

6WDWH

-DQ


'HF

-DQ

S

S

$ODEDPD««««   
351,265
353,585
353,272
Alaska.............................................
$UL]RQD«««««   
Arkansas........................................ 1,363,509 1,372,291 1,375,982
&DOLIRUQLD«««« 18,056,360 18,319,567 18,302,584

0LVVRXUL«««««««««««« 3,019,923
Montana.........................................
498,558
1HEUDVND««««
977,023
Nevada........................................... 1,313,032
New Hampshire............................«
736,684

3,036,854
502,987
985,264
1,359,675
740,557

3,036,487
504,888
992,923
1,373,827
742,753

Colorado......................................... 2,674,471
&RQQHFWLFXW««« 
Delaware........................................
440,894
'LVWULFWRI&ROXPELD

Florida............................................ 9,068,212

2,738,672

445,267

9,240,675

2,760,343

445,016

9,265,344

New Jersey.....................................
1HZ0H[LFR««
New York........................................
1RUWK&DUROLQD«
North Dakota..................................

4,477,070

9,502,381

363,441

4,463,776

9,542,186

367,779

4,491,173

9,600,082
4,547,236
369,749

GeorgLD«««« 
Hawaii.............................................

,GDKR«««««

Illinois............................................. 6,647,977
,QGLDQD««««« 




6,742,526





6,787,869


2KLR««««««
2NODKRPD
2UHgRQ«««««
Pennsylvania..................................
5KRGH,VODQG««

5,961,852

1,917,184
6,297,546
578,200

5,988,380

1,937,537
6,290,088
576,690

5,975,755

1,948,098
6,360,948
574,627

,RZD««««««
Kansas...........................................
Kentucky««««
Louisiana........................................
0DLQH«««««


1,473,079

1,984,843



1,484,240

2,016,988



1,483,811

2,012,256


6RXWK&DUROLQD«   
South Dakota..................................
439,660
443,087
443,042
7HQQHVVHH««« 3,019,295 3,055,005 3,060,117
Texas.............................................. 11,436,409 11,557,583 11,613,234
8WDK«««««« 1,340,129 1,384,238 1,392,838

MaryODQG««««
Massachusetts...............................
MichigDQ««««
Minnesota.......................................
0LVVLVVLSSL«««


3,412,787
5,048,247
2,927,539



3,402,793
4,988,805
2,933,786



3,422,236
5,004,864
2,935,691


9HUPRQW««««
355,760
Virginia........................................... 4,022,320
WashingWRQ««« 3,356,888
West Virginia..................................
805,258
:LVFRQVLQ««« 
Wyoming........................................
285,186

N27(: Some data in this table may differ from data published elsewhere because of the continual updating of the database.
p

66

= preliminary

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

352,868
4,087,557
3,443,640
810,338

290,056

354,487
4,093,068
3,460,973
812,102

291,142

12. Employment of workers on nonfarm payrolls by industry, monthly data seasonally adjusted
[In thousands]
Industry

Annual average
2006

TOTAL NONFARM................. 136,086
TOTAL PRIVATE........................ 114,113

2007

2007
Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

July

2008
Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.p

Feb.p

137,623 137,133 137,310 137,356 137,518 137,625 137,682 137,756 137,837 137,977 138,037 138,078 138,002 137,926
115,420 115,006 115,167 115,195 115,332 115,423 115,512 115,544 115,610 115,715 115,759 115,745 115,666 115,557

22,531

22,221

22,322

22,362

22,300

22,272

22,267

22,242

22,176

22,138

22,101

22,049

21,976

21,907

21,825

684
64.4
619.7
134.5
1
220.3
Mining, except oil and gas ««
78.0
Coal mining««««««««
Support activities for mining««
264.9
7,691
Construction................................
Construction of buildings........... 1,804.9
985.1
Heavy and civil engineering««
Speciality trade contractors....... 4,901.1
Manufacturing.............................. 14,155
Production workers................ 10,137
8,981
Durable goods...........................
6,355
Production workers................
558.8
Wood products..........................
509.6
Nonmetallic mineral products
464.0
Primary metals..........................
1,553.1
Fabricated metal products.........
1,183.2
0DFKLQHU\«««
Computer and electronic

723
60.8
662.1
146.0
224.5
77.6
291.6
7,614
1,761.0
1,001.2
4,851.9
13,884
9,979
8,816
6,257
519.7
503.4
456.0
1,563.3
1,188.2

711
62.2
649.0
141.9
220.3
77.1
286.8
7,623
1,790.3
990.8
4,841.5
13,988
10,025
8,883
6,286
528.4
506.8
459.6
1,563.4
1,187.4

715
62.2
653.2
142.8
221.7
77.2
288.7
7,694
1,796.1
1,007.5
4,889.9
13,953
9,997
8,863
6,266
525.7
506.1
459.5
1,561.1
1,186.6

718
61.9
656.3
143.0
223.3
77.4
290.0
7,660
1,777.2
1,005.9
4,876.5
13,922
9,987
8,847
6,266
523.1
503.6
459.3
1,561.7
1,184.3

719
60.7
658.4
143.8
224.0
76.8
290.6
7,643
1,773.6
1,003.9
4,865.7
13,910
9,992
8,832
6,267
522.5
505.5
458.3
1,559.6
1,186.1

721
61.2
659.6
144.8
225.0
76.9
289.8
7,656
1,778.1
1,008.1
4,870.1
13,890
9,980
8,816
6,257
520.4
505.5
454.3
1,563.3
1,189.6

726
59.9
666.3
146.3
225.4
77.4
294.6
7,632
1,765.3
1,002.3
4,863.9
13,884
9,985
8,817
6,258
523.4
504.4
456.4
1,564.2
1,192.5

727
59.5
667.2
147.0
226.4
77.6
293.8
7,605
1,751.2
999.0
4,854.7
13,844
9,956
8,792
6,239
518.5
501.2
452.7
1,562.8
1,187.5

727
59.7
667.4
147.3
226.7
78.0
293.4
7,589
1,749.4
998.8
4,840.3
13,822
9,958
8,778
6,245
513.1
501.0
451.6
1,565.0
1,186.2

727
59.1
667.8
148.9
226.9
78.1
292.0
7,577
1,736.6
999.5
4,841.3
13,797
9,934
8,761
6,232
511.8
500.9
451.5
1,568.0
1,189.0

735
59.9
675.0
152.3
226.0
78.7
296.7
7,520
1,716.4
999.0
4,804.8
13,794
9,944
8,763
6,242
509.0
499.5
452.6
1,565.6
1,189.9

739
60.6
677.9
153.1
225.2
78.3
299.6
7,465
1,702.4
993.8
4,768.4
13,772
9,933
8,739
6,220
507.2
496.4
452.2
1,562.7
1,191.0

744
60.7
683.2
154.5
227.0
78.6
301.7
7,426
1,690.2
984.6
4,750.8
13,737
9,922
8,718
6,214
503.5
494.4
452.3
1,560.9
1,193.8

745
60.0
685.3
154.3
225.9
78.8
305.1
7,389
1,674.0
977.6
4,737.4
13,691
9,878
8,688
6,181
498.0
492.8
450.4
1,558.5
1,192.2

products 1««««««««« 1,307.5
Computer and peripheral

1,271.9

1,291.5

1,284.5

1,277.6

1,275.0

1,270.8

1,268.3

1,265.6

1,260.5

1,256.5

1,260.5

1,257.6

1,256.3

1,252.3

equipment..............................
&RPPXQLFDWLRQVHTXLSPHQW«

196.2


186.9


189.3


188.7


188.8


187.8


185.5


186.2


186.1


185.9


185.1


185.5


185.4


184.9


186.7


Semiconductors and
electronic components..........
(OHFWURQLFLQVWUXPHQWV«««

457.9


444.5


454.4


451.9


448.2


447.3


446.0


443.7


439.9


437.4


435.8


437.0


434.9


433.5


429.7


Electrical equipment and
appliances...............................
Transportation equipment.........

432.7
1,768.9

427.2
1,710.9

427.3
1,732.4

427.8
1,728.2

428.2
1,725.3

427.7
1,716.1

427.1
1,711.6

427.7
1,704.7

426.1
1,705.7

426.0
1,706.1

427.2
1,689.3

426.6
1,693.5

423.8
1,684.7

421.6
1,678.1

420.6
1,673.1

Furniture and related
SURGXFWV««««««««« 560.1
Miscellaneous manufacturing
643.7
Nondurable goods.....................
5,174
3,782
Production workers................
Food manufacturing.................. 1,479.4

534.5
641.0
5,068
3,723
1,481.3

541.6
644.6
5,105
3,739
1,479.0

539.4
644.2
5,090
3,731
1,479.7

539.8
644.0
5,075
3,721
1,475.0

538.7
642.4
5,078
3,725
1,480.5

534.4
638.9
5,074
3,723
1,484.9

536.1
639.5
5,067
3,727
1,488.8

533.0
638.8
5,052
3,717
1,480.6

530.6
637.6
5,044
3,713
1,476.0

528.3
638.2
5,036
3,702
1,478.6

527.0
638.8
5,031
3,702
1,477.9

523.8
639.9
5,033
3,713
1,486.3

520.4
636.4
5,019
3,708
1,483.2

516.5
633.5
5,003
3,697
1,483.2

*22'6352'8&,1*««««««
Natural resources and
PLQLQJ«««««««««
Logging....................................
Mining..........................................
Oil and gDVH[WUDFWLRQ«««««

Beverages and tobacco
SURGXFWV««««««««««
7H[WLOHPLOOV«««««««««
Textile product mills...................
$SSDUHO««««««««««
Leather and allied products.......
Paper and paper products.........

194.2
195.0
166.7

36.8
470.5

195.7
169.9
158.4

33.9
460.6

196.1
177.9
160.9

34.6
463.5

195.6
175.3
160.2

34.6
461.2

195.9
172.6
159.8

33.9
461.4

196.2
171.2
158.3

33.9
461.0

197.9
170.5
158.1

33.8
460.3

197.0
168.1
157.1

33.1
459.8

196.1
166.4
156.9

33.3
459.1

195.7
164.8
156.3

34.0
459.0

195.2
164.9
155.9

33.7
459.2

194.3
164.9
157.2

34.1
458.6

192.0
163.0
155.7

33.7
460.3

191.1
162.0
154.0

34.5
459.0

189.1
160.8
153.0

33.5
458.0

Printing and related support
DFWLYLWLHV««««««««««
Petroleum and coal products.....
Chemicals..................................
Plastics and rubber products..

634.4
113.2
865.9
785.5

624.2
113.4
862.9
754.0

629.7
114.2
864.5
764.0

628.1
114.3
862.6
759.2

625.4
114.0
860.5
759.2

624.7
116.0
862.4
758.5

624.3
114.2
863.3
754.3

623.3
112.5
862.5
752.4

621.0
112.5
864.2
750.2

623.0
112.9
864.3
748.4

622.2
112.6
860.7
745.9

622.0
112.1
860.5
743.0

619.5
111.7
862.0
744.2

620.1
112.2
861.2
739.7

614.5
112.6
860.0
738.4

SERVICE-PROVIDING...................

113,556

115,402 114,811 114,948 115,056 115,246 115,358 115,440 115,580 115,699 115,876 115,988 116,102 116,095 116,101

PRIVATE SERVICE3529,',1*««««««««« 91,582
Trade, transportation,
and utilities................................
Wholesale trade.........................
Durable gRRGV«««««««.
Nondurable gRRGV«««««

26,276
5,904.5
3,074.8


93,199

92,684

92,805

92,895

93,060

93,156

93,270

93,368

93,472

93,614

93,710

93,769

93,759

93,732

26,608
6,028.3
3,130.7


26,516
5,980.6
3,107.4


26,584
5,984.0
3,107.6


26,571
5,999.8
3,117.6


26,593
6,011.7
3,127.2


26,600
6,030.0
3,135.2


26,617
6,040.7
3,140.2


26,640
6,047.1
3,141.9


26,649
6,055.6
3,143.4


26,644
6,069.8
3,147.4


26,693
6,075.0
3,152.4


26,658
6,072.9
3,145.0


26,631
6,067.3
3,138.0


26,576
6,058.5
3,129.5


Electronic markets and
agHQWVDQGEURNHUV«««««

788.5
828.4
820.3
821.7
826.4
826.4
828.5
831.3
832.5
833.7
835.9
836.0
838.6
838.4
842.3
Retail trade................................. 15,353.3 15,490.7 15,460.0 15,519.9 15,487.0 15,500.3 15,483.9 15,489.1 15,502.3 15,487.3 15,469.1 15,513.1 15,487.8 15,472.2 15,425.5
Motor vehicles and parts
dealers 1«««««««««
Automobile dealers..................

1,909.7
1,246.7

1,913.1
1,245.3

1,913.4
1,243.3

1,912.1
1,242.8

1,916.9
1,246.8

1,916.4
1,247.1

1,913.9
1,245.7

1,911.9
1,244.7

1,914.7
1,245.6

1,916.0
1,246.6

1,911.9
1,247.4

1,911.0
1,244.9

1,909.3
1,244.6

1,910.2
1,244.0

1,903.7
1,235.9

Furniture and home
furnishings stores....................

586.9

581.0

582.7

580.5

581.5

580.5

578.1

577.7

579.2

576.2

577.3

584.9

584.5

579.9

575.2

Electronics and appliance
stores.......................................

541.1

543.7

546.4

547.6

550.3

546.5

543.9

545.0

542.7

540.1

537.1

542.6

540.4

534.3

534.3

See notes at end of table.

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 67

Current Labor Statistics: Labor Force Data

&RQWLQXHG²(PSOR\PHQWRIZRUNHUVRQQRQIDUPSD\UROOVE\LQGXVWU\PRQWKO\GDWDVHDVRQDOO\DGMXVWHG
[In thousands]
$QQXDODYHUDJH

,QGXVWU\

2007

2008



)HE

0DU

$SU

0D\

-XQH

-XO\

$XJ

6HSW

2FW

1RY

'HF

-DQ S

)HE S

1,305.3
2,848.5

1,325.7
2,831.6

1,317.9
2,836.0

1,318.0
2,835.1

1,317.8
2,839.4

1,313.7
2,845.3

1,307.3
2,847.1

1,315.6
2,852.2

1,291.9
2,856.0

1,285.4
2,859.6

1,279.9
2,871.9

1,271.6
2,871.9

1,266.0
2,880.1

1,259.1
2,881.0


864.1


861.2


861.5


864.6


862.3


863.2


862.2


861.5


860.8


864.2


862.0


859.1


850.5


853.8


855.4

Clothing and clothing
DFFHVVRULHVVWRUHV«««««««1,450.9

1,500.4

1,479.5

1,486.5

1,492.4

1,493.6

1,489.7

1,496.7

1,501.5

1,502.4

1,500.9

1,524.5

1,508.6

1,498.2

1,496.7

Sporting goods, hobby,
ERRNDQGPXVLFVWRUHV««««« 645.5
*HQHUDOPHUFKDQGLVHVWRUHV«««2,935.0
'HSDUWPHQWVWRUHV««««««« 1,557.2
0LVFHOODQHRXVVWRUHUHWDLOHUV««« 881.0
1RQVWRUHUHWDLOHUV«««««««« 432.8

658.2
2,984.6
1,576.7
868.7
437.6

651.0
2,982.2
1,583.2
869.2
435.1

651.2
3,033.5
1,592.2
869.2
435.6

654.0
2,984.9
1,581.7
867.4
436.1

656.4
2,994.3
1,585.8
868.0
436.7

656.2
2,987.6
1,581.0
869.8
435.8

660.5
2,987.0
1,580.1
871.3
437.5

661.8
2,978.9
1,573.0
869.7
435.8

665.1
2,976.5
1,570.5
873.3
435.5

664.0
2,975.8
1,568.5
869.0
435.1

664.0
2,968.2
1,560.6
868.3
440.1

661.6
2,976.7
1,568.4
866.3
446.5

667.2
2,971.1
1,564.3
869.4
441.4

663.7
2,952.2
1,547.7
864.9
442.7

7UDQVSRUWDWLRQDQG
ZDUHKRXVLQJ. 4,469.6
$LUWUDQVSRUWDWLRQ«««««««« 487.0
5DLOWUDQVSRUWDWLRQ««««««« 227.5
62.7
:DWHUWUDQVSRUWDWLRQ««««««
7UXFNWUDQVSRUWDWLRQ«««««« 1,435.8

4,536.0
492.6
234.4
64.3
1,441.2

4,526.3
485.2
235.3
64.2
1,450.5

4,530.4
487.2
236.1
63.5
1,451.5

4,532.8
493.1
235.1
62.8
1,447.0

4,527.6
484.2
235.1
63.4
1,450.2

4,531.8
493.0
233.8
64.5
1,445.2

4,533.0
493.4
234.4
65.0
1,437.4

4,535.4
494.6
234.4
65.1
1,438.2

4,551.2
494.5
234.6
65.0
1,440.6

4,548.7
495.2
234.0
64.9
1,433.6

4,549.0
503.0
233.8
65.0
1,428.7

4,539.9
502.1
232.5
64.4
1,423.1

4,534.5
504.7
233.8
63.8
1,422.5

4,535.7
509.8
233.7
63.0
1,418.4



Building material and garden
supply stores................................ 1,324.1
Food and beverage stores............. 2,821.1
Health and personal care
VWRUHV««««««««««««
*DVROLQHVWDWLRQV««««««««

Transit and ground passenger
WUDQVSRUWDWLRQ««««««««
3LSHOLQHWUDQVSRUWDWLRQ«««««

399.3
38.7

410.0
40.1

407.5
39.9

406.1
40.1

407.3
39.6

407.3
39.9

405.3
39.9

411.0
40.0

413.3
40.1

417.8
40.1

417.4
40.3

411.5
40.6

411.8
40.8

411.9
40.6

411.7
41.0

Scenic and sightseeing
WUDQVSRUWDWLRQ«««««««««

27.5

29.4

29.3

29.1

29.0

28.8

28.6

28.9

29.3

29.8

30.3

30.9

31.3

31.0

31.6

Support activities for
WUDQVSRUWDWLRQ««««««««
&RXULHUVDQGPHVVHQJHUV««««
:DUHKRXVLQJDQGVWRUDJH««««
8WLOLWLHV «««««««««««««
,QIRUPDWLRQ««««««««.


582.4

548.5
3,038


582.5

553.4
3,029


582.0

548.7
3,036


582.1

550.0
3,030


580.2

551.3
3,034


578.3

553.5
3,037


579.8

554.5
3,033


580.1

554.3
3,027


579.2

555.1
3,024


580.3

554.8
3,031


577.9

556.1
3,027


584.4

555.5
3,022


588.1

557.1
3,018


585.5

557.1
3,014


585.8

556.5
3,016

Publishing industries, except
,QWHUQHW«««««««««««

902.4

898.2

904.1

902.2

900.5

901.4

899.4

898.7

897.0

893.7

894.6

892.2

889.7

889.2

886.5

Motion picture and sound
UHFRUGLQJLQGXVWULHV«««««« 375.7
Broadcasting, except Internet.
328.3

380.0
326.4

379.4
328.5

380.7
327.4

385.4
327.9

385.2
326.6

384.4
326.4

377.9
325.1

376.3
325.2

384.3
327.0

380.5
324.8

376.3
325.0

376.3
321.9

372.9
323.0

379.7
322.5

Internet publishing and
EURDGFDVWLQJ«««««««««
7HOHFRPPXQLFDWLRQV«««««« 1,047.6

1,028.3

1,037.5

1,031.3

1,028.6

1,027.8

1,027.1

1,026.6

1,025.1

1,024.4

1,023.6

1,026.4

1,026.8

1,025.3

1,021.0


125.7
8,308
6,146.6


121.0
8,347
6,174.5


121.8
8,333
6,163.2


123.1
8,315
6,145.7


124.6
8,322
6,155.4


125.7
8,317
6,153.0


126.3
8,331
6,165.8


127.6
8,312
6,148.4


128.8
8,294
6,136.0


130.0
8,283
6,124.5


129.5
8,260
6,115.5


129.3
8,252
6,111.2


130.5
8,244
6,106.2


131.7
8,233
6,102.5

21.1

21.4

21.4

21.4

21.7

21.4

20.8

21.1

20.9

20.8

20.7

20.7

20.7

20.9

related activities1««««««« 2,924.9
Depository credit

2,881.6

2,928.1

2,917.4

2,898.1

2,896.9

2,886.4

2,892.3

2,870.4

2,856.7

2,844.8

2,834.3

2,829.2

2,825.0

2,821.6

intermediation1«««««««« 1,802.0
&RPPHUFLDOEDQNLQJ««««« 1,322.9

1,822.5
1,345.8

1,820.4
1,347.0

1,820.5
1,347.1

1,814.7
1,338.6

1,818.8
1,343.9

1,818.2
1,343.0

1,823.8
1,346.7

1,825.8
1,347.3

1,831.0
1,350.1

1,829.3
1,350.1

1,823.4
1,344.7

1,824.6
1,345.9

1,821.5
1,342.2

1,823.9
1,346.0

818.3

847.9

838.7

840.8

840.8

846.2

849.5

851.2

852.6

853.2

855.0

856.9

856.7

859.2

862.6

Insurance carriers and
UHODWHGDFWLYLWLHV««««««« 2,303.7

2,308.1

2,298.5

2,295.9

2,298.2

2,303.2

2,308.4

2,314.2

2,315.4

2,317.0

2,315.3

2,315.6

2,316.8

2,313.9

2,310.2

87.9

87.8

87.8

87.7

87.2

87.4

87.3

87.3

88.9

88.2

88.6

88.0

87.8

87.4

87.2

Real estate and rental
DQGOHDVLQJ«««««««««« 2,172.5
5HDOHVWDWH«««««««««« 
5HQWDODQGOHDVLQJVHUYLFHV«««


2,161.7



2,172.1



2,169.9



2,168.9



2,166.2



2,163.8



2,165.4



2,163.3



2,157.7



2,158.6



2,144.7



2,140.6



2,138.0



2,130.1
,467.3


28.1

29.5

28.9

28.6

28.4

29.0

29.9

30.2

30.5

30.1

29.8

30.2

30.6

31.4

31.6

17,566

17,962

17,873

17,875

17,903

17,938

17,935

17,958

17,979

18,000

18,070

18,079

18,131

18,101

18,071

services1««««««««««« 7,356.7
/HJDOVHUYLFHV«««««««« 1,173.2

7,662.0
1,176.4

7,554.5
1,177.5

7,569.6
1,177.3

7,598.1
1,179.5

7,627.8
1,180.7

7,645.4
1,178.5

7,664.2
1,173.7

7,688.0
1,174.2

7,729.7
1,178.6

7,759.3
1,179.7

7,784.8
1,175.2

7,820.5
1,173.9

7,819.2
1,173.0

7,824.1
1,174.4

889.0

947.2

928.1

923.2

926.8

932.5

938.6

947.8

954.0

964.5

971.3

979.4

993.3

992.3

989.8

Architectural and engineering
VHUYLFHV««««««««««« 1,385.7

1,436.0

1,420.5

1,422.0

1,424.6

1,429.8

1,433.6

1,436.5

1,439.0

1,443.2

1,451.1

1,453.9

1,460.4

1,460.5

1,464.0

ISPs, search portals, and
GDWDSURFHVVLQJ«««««««
2WKHULQIRUPDWLRQVHUYLFHV««««


120.8
)LQDQFLDODFWLYLWLHV ««««««« 8,328
)LQDQFHDQGLQVXUDQFH««««««6,156.0

0RQHWDU\DXWKRULWLHV²
FHQWUDOEDQN«««««««««
Credit intermediation and

Securities, commodity
FRQWUDFWVLQYHVWPHQWV«««««

Funds, trusts, and other
ILQDQFLDOYHKLFOHV«««««««

Lessors of nonfinancial
LQWDQJLEOHDVVHWV«««««««
3URIHVVLRQDODQGEXVLQHVV
VHUYLFHV«««««««««««
Professional and technical

Accounting and bookkeeping
VHUYLFHV«««««««««««


21.2

.

See notes at end of table

68

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

&RQWLQXHG²(PSOR\PHQWRIZRUNHUVRQQRQIDUPSD\UROOVE\LQGXVWU\PRQWKO\GDWDVHDVRQDOO\DGMXVWHG
[In thousands]
,QGXVWU\

$QQXDODYHUDJH

2007

2008





)HE

0DU

$SU

0D\

-XQH

-XO\

$XJ

6HSW

2FW

1RY

'HF

-DQ

)HES

1,284.6

1,359.8

1,329.5

1,338.9

1,345.4

1,353.5

1,358.3

1,366.8

1,371.2

1,375.5

1,380.0

1,387.5

1,391.4

1,391.6

1,391.3

886.4

952.8

922.9

928.3

942.0

943.8

945.4

946.6

956.3

967.2

974.8

985.1

994.3

989.2

991.0



























45.5

1,842.8

Administrative and waste
VHUYLFHV««««««««««« 8,398.3
Administrative and support

8,453.6

8,483.0

8,467.2

8,465.4

8,468.1

8,446.8

8,448.6

8,441.3

8,415.3

8,449.6

8,444.1

8,462.8

8,436.2

8,404.4

8,096.7
3,600.9
2,605.1
805.5

8,129.4
3,664.3
2,643.6
810.5

8,113.7
3,649.5
2,637.0
810.2

8,111.6
3,637.4
2,626.9
806.6

8,113.0
3,629.7
2,614.6
806.2

8,090.8
3,602.5
2,603.3
804.1

8,092.2
3,584.6
2,596.5
805.5

8,083.4
3,570.2
2,589.4
803.8

8,057.4
3,533.0
2,565.1
802.7

8,092.2
3,567.7
2,592.0
798.5

8,081.4
3,563.9
2,583.7
798.9

8,099.3
3,566.9
2,578.5
803.7

8,070.8
3,562.1
2,574.6
797.4

8,040.5
3,533.6
2,541.0
796.8

Computer systems design
DQGUHODWHGVHUYLFHV««««
Management and technical
consultingVHUYLFHV«««««
Management of companies
DQGHQWHUSULVHV«««««

services 1««««««««« 8,050.2
Employment services 1««« 3,680.9
TemporaryKHOSVHUYLFHV«« 2,637.4
792.9
%XVLQHVVVXSSRUWVHUYLFHV««
Services to buildings

S

and dwellingV«««««««

1,801.4

1,851.2

1,837.2

1,833.3

1,842.9

1,846.8

1,851.4

1,854.9

1,858.0

1,863.2

1,866.3

1,861.1

1,872.0

1,861.3

1,862.2

Waste management and
UHPHGLDWLRQVHUYLFHV««««































17,826


18,327


18,111


18,153


18,211


18,247


18,314


18,360


18,422


18,451


18,490


18,522


18,568


18,617
4

18,657
3,005.9

(GXFDWLRQDODQGKHDOWK
VHUYiFHV«««««««««
(GXFDWLRQDOVHUYLFHV«««««

Health care and social
DVVLVWDQFH«««««««««             3.2 15,613.6 15,651.3
Ambulatory health care
services 1««««««««« 5,285.8
Offices of phyVLFLDQV««««« 2,147.8
2XWSDWLHQWFDUHFHQWHUV«««

+RPHKHDOWKFDUHVHUYLFHV««
865.6
+RVSLWDOV«««««««««« 4,423.4

5,477.1
2,204.0

913.3
4,517.3

5,403.4
2,179.0

896.1
4,474.4

5,416.0
2,185.6

899.4
4,481.0

5,438.5
2,192.2

902.4
4,488.4

5,451.8
2,196.0

904.9
4,499.6

5,462.1
2,194.8

911.7
4,513.4

5,484.7
2,204.7

917.7
4,524.2

5,504.4
2,211.7

923.0
4,533.4

5,523.1
2,219.1

925.2
4,541.6

5,547.3
2,226.1

930.3
4,549.7

5,554.8
2,232.2

929.1
4,558.8

5,566.0
2,235.6

930.9
4,572.4

5,581.7
2,240.8

934.7
4,579.3

5,596.1
2,247.3

936.9
4,594.9

care facilities 1««««««« 2,892.5
NursingFDUHIDFLOLWLHV«««« 1,581.4
Social assistance 1«««««« 2,323.5
Child dayFDUHVHUYLFHV«««

/HLVXUHDQGKRVSLWDOLW\«««.
13,110

2,952.0
1,600.8
2,431.2

13,474

2,934.3
1,599.2
2,388.9

13,331

2,935.0
1,595.7
2,400.8

13,351

2,945.8
1,601.4
2,412.2

13,375

2,945.9
1,597.7
2,421.9

13,428

2,955.3
1,597.6
2,430.6

13,461

2,954.9
1,602.2
2,433.0

13,476

2,960.0
1,604.8
2,443.0

13,494

2,962.8
1,604.3
2,455.5

13,552

2,963.1
1,603.1
2,455.0

13,604

2,967.5
1,605.9
2,465.6

13,628

2,971.2
1,608.2
2,473.6

13,635

2,974.6
1,608.8
2,478.0

13,644

2,980.8
1,612.8
2,479.5

13,664

Arts, entertainment,
DQGUHFUHDWLRQ«««««««

Nursing and residential





























2,021.2

Performing arts and
VSHFWDWRUVSRUWV«««««««

398.5

412.4

405.0

405.6

403.3

409.2

412.1

405.8

409.2

414.3

419.0

426.4

429.9

429.5

430.8

Museums, historical sites,
]RRVDQGSDUNV«««««««

123.8

130.2

127.8

127.8

128.2

129.6

130.6

131.9

131.1

131.6

131.9

131.6

131.5

132.6

132.2





























458.2

Amusements, gambling, and
UHFUHDWLRQ«««««««««

Accommodations and
IRRGVHUYLFHV««««««««             24.7 11,628.0 11,642.8
$FFRPPRGDWLRQV«««««« 
             851.6
Food services and drinking
SODFHV««««««««««« 9,349.0
2WKHUVHUYLFHV««««««««
5,438
5HSDLUDQGPDLQWHQDQFH««« 
Personal and laundry services
1,288.4

9,639.9
5,491

1,305.2

9,509.1
5,470

1,301.9

9,526.4
5,479

1,303.0

9,560.0
5,486

1,305.6

9,601.3
5,495

1,307.8

9,632.9
5,496

1,304.3

9,653.4
5,501

1,307.9

9,679.5
5,497

1,305.7

9,710.6
5,495

1,304.4

9,743.9
5,496

1,303.4

9,756.5
5,506

1,309.7

9,766.6
5,507

1,306.9

9,773.1
5,508
.9
1,306.6

9,791.2
5,515
1,254.1
1,307.4

Membership associations and
orgDQL]DWLRQV«««««««« 2,901.2

2,928.8

2,918.6

2,921.1

2,924.2

2,925.9

2,930.8

2,935.4

2,931.2

2,927.6

2,932.8

2,938.0

2,944.4

2,948.9

2,953.8

*RYHUQPHQW
Federal........................................

21,974
2,732

22,203
2,727

22,127
2,729

22,143
2,729

22,161
2,729

22,186
2,727

22,202
2,720

22,170
2,726

22,212
2,724

22,227
2,721

22,262
2,722

22,278
2,728

22,333
2,735

22,336
2,717

22,369
2,724

Federal, except U.S. Postal
Service....................................
863RVWDO6HUYLFH««««««
State...........................................
Education................................
Other State government..........
Local...........................................
Education................................
Other local government...........

1,962.6
769.7
5,075
2,292.5
2,782.0
14,167
7,913.0
6,253.8

1,964.6
762.3
5,125
2,318.4
2,806.6
14,351
7,976.6
6,374.5

1,963.5
765.6
5,114
2,312.6
2,801.3
14,284
7,953.7
6,330.2

1,963.8
765.0
5,114
2,313.9
2,799.9
14,300
7,959.2
6,340.4

1,964.5
764.7
5,117
2,316.0
2,801.2
14,315
7,961.8
6,353.6

1,962.3
764.6
5,119
2,314.7
2,804.2
14,340
7,976.6
6,363.7

1,957.0
762.5
5,126
2,319.7
2,806.2
14,356
7,973.7
6,382.4

1,964.3
761.6
5,123
2,313.8
2,808.8
14,321
7,938.2
6,382.5

1,963.4
760.6
5,123
2,313.6
2,809.5
14,365
7,972.0
6,393.4

1,961.4
759.3
5,138
2,327.7
2,810.3
14,368
7,970.6
6,397.5

1,963.5
758.3
5,138
2,325.9
2,812.4
14,402
7,994.6
6,406.9

1,966.7
761.7
5,131
2,314.3
2,816.5
14,419
7,999.6
6,419.2

1,972.3
763.1
5,153
2,332.5
2,820.9
14,445
8,016.5
6,428.2

1,977.3
739.7
5,159
2,335.1
2,824.0
14,460
8,018.0
6,441.5

1,982.3
742.0
5,166
2,339.1
2,826.4
14,479
8,027.7
6,450.8

1

Includes other industries not shown separately.
NOTE: See "Notes on the data" for a description of the most recent benchmark revision.
p = preliminary.

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 69

Current Labor Statistics: Labor Force Data

13. Average weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers1 on private nonfarm payrolls, by industry, monthly
data seasonally adjusted
Annual average
Industry

2006

2007

2007
Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

2008

June

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.p

Feb.p
33.7

727$/35,9$7(««««««««««

33.9

33.8

33.7

33.9

33.8

33.8

33.9

33.8

33.8

33.8

33.8

33.8

33.8

33.7

*22'6352'8&,1*«««««««««

40.5

40.6

40.2

40.6

40.5

40.5

40.7

40.6

40.6

40.6

40.6

40.7

40.5

40.4

40.4

1DWXUDOUHVRXUFHVDQGPLQLQJ«««««

45.6

45.9

45.9

46.0

45.8

45.8

46.0

45.9

45.7

46.2

46.0

46.2

45.8

45.7

45.8

&RQVWUXFWLRQ«««««««««««««

39.0

39.0

38.4

39.1

38.9

38.9

39.1

38.9

38.8

38.9

39.0

39.1

39.0

38.8

38.6

0DQXIDFWXULQJ««««««««
Overtime hours..................................

41.1
4.4

41.2
4.2

40.9
4.1

41.2
4.3

41.1
4.2

41.1
4.1

41.4
4.3

41.4
4.2

41.3
4.2

41.4
4.2

41.2
4.1

41.3
4.1

41.1
4.0

41.1
4.0

41.2
4.0

Durable gRRGV«««««««
Overtime hours..................................
Wood products.....................................
Nonmetallic mineral products...............
Primary metals.....................................
Fabricated metal products...................
Machinery«««««««««««««
&RPSXWHUDQGHOHFWURQLFSURGXFWV««
(OHFWULFDOHTXLSPHQWDQGDSSOLDQFHV«
Transportation equipment....................
)XUQLWXUHDQGUHODWHGSURGXFWV«««
Miscellaneous manufacturing..............


4.4
39.8
43.0
43.6
41.4
42.4


42.7

38.7

41.5
4.2
39.4
42.3
42.9
41.6
42.6
40.6
41.2
42.8
39.2
38.9

41.1
4.1
39.2
41.7
43.0
41.1
42.2
40.5
41.0
42.5
38.9
37.9

41.4
4.3
39.5
42.5
43.2
41.6
42.3
40.4
41.0
42.9
39.0
38.6

41.3
4.2
39.6
42.3
43.0
41.5
42.5
40.6
41.0
42.3
38.9
38.7

41.3
4.1
39.5
42.2
42.8
41.4
42.3
40.4
41.0
42.9
39.0
38.6

41.6
4.4
39.7
42.4
43.3
41.6
42.6
40.5
41.6
43.4
39.1
39.1

41.6
4.2
39.9
42.6
43.2
41.7
42.5
40.3
41.4
43.3
39.2
39.2

41.7
4.2
39.6
42.8
43.0
41.7
42.6
40.6
41.2
43.1
39.7
39.4

41.6
4.2
39.7
42.7
42.6
41.9
42.7
40.6
41.2
42.8
39.4
39.7

41.5
4.1
39.5
42.6
42.6
41.7
42.9
40.6
40.7
42.7
39.1
39.0

41.5
4.1
39.0
42.9
42.7
41.7
42.9
40.9
41.2
42.6
38.9
38.8

41.3
4.0
39.2
41.5
42.2
41.6
42.9
40.5
41.6
42.1
39.1
38.8

41.4
4.1
39.0
42.2
42.5
41.6
43.1
40.4
41.4
42.6
38.3
39.0

41.5
4.1
39.0
42.3
42.7
41.7
43.0
40.6
41.3
42.9
38.2
38.8

Nondurable goods..................................
Overtime hours..................................
Food manufacturing............................«
Beverage and tobacco products..........
7H[WLOHPLOOV««««««««««««
7H[WLOHSURGXFWPLOOV««««««««
Apparel.................................................
Leather and allied products..................
3DSHUDQGSDSHUSURGXFWV««««««

40.6
4.4
40.1
40.8
40.6

36.5
38.9
42.9

40.8
4.1
40.7
40.8
40.3
39.7
37.2
38.1
43.2

40.6
4.2
40.5
40.6
40.7
39.2
37.1
38.1
42.4

40.8
4.3
41.0
40.7
40.4
39.4
36.7
37.9
43.1

40.9
4.2
40.6
41.3
40.2
39.9
37.2
37.7
43.0

40.8
4.1
40.6
40.6
40.3
39.7
37.3
38.9
42.8

40.9
4.2
40.6
40.9
40.5
40.4
37.8
38.0
43.0

40.9
4.1
40.8
40.7
40.2
40.8
37.5
37.5
43.0

40.8
4.1
40.6
41.0
39.9
39.9
37.2
37.7
43.1

40.9
4.1
40.7
40.8
40.4
39.9
37.2
37.9
43.2

40.8
4.1
40.8
40.6
40.2
39.2
36.6
37.7
43.3

40.9
4.1
40.6
40.5
39.9
39.1
36.9
38.1
43.7

40.8
4.0
40.4
40.8
40.2
39.9
37.5
39.1
44.0

40.6
3.9
40.5
40.5
38.7
38.6
36.7
38.2
44.0

40.6
3.9
40.7
40.3
39.0
39.4
36.7
38.3
44.0

Printing and related support
activities.............................................
3HWUROHXPDQGFRDOSURGXFWV«««««
&KHPLFDOV«««««««««««««
3ODVWLFVDQGUXEEHUSURGXFWV«««««

39.2
45.0
42.5
40.6

39.1
44.2
41.9
41.3

39.4
45.0
41.8
40.4

39.2
44.6
41.9
40.9

39.3
44.6
42.1
41.2

39.1
44.4
42.0
41.1

39.1
44.4
42.0
41.5

38.8
44.0
42.2
41.5

39.1
43.7
42.1
41.3

38.9
43.4
42.0
41.6

38.8
42.9
41.7
41.7

39.0
43.8
42.1
42.1

38.8
44.0
41.5
41.4

38.4
43.8
41.6
41.1

38.2
43.7
41.4
41.2

PRIVATE SERVICE3529,',1*««««««««««««

32.5

32.4

32.4

32.5

32.4

32.5

32.5

32.4

32.4

32.4

32.4

32.4

32.4

32.4

32.3

Trade, transportation, and
XWLOLWLHV««««««.
:KROHVDOHWUDGH««««««
5HWDLOWUDGH«««««««««««««
Transportation and warehousing«««
8WLOLWLHV«««««««««««««««
,QIRUPDWLRQ«««««««««««««
)LQDQFLDODFWLYLWLHV««««««««««

33.4

30.5

41.4
36.6
35.7

33.3
38.2
30.2
36.9
42.4
36.5
35.9

33.3
38.1
30.2
37.1
42.4
36.5
36.0

33.4
38.2
30.2
37.1
42.5
36.7
36.0

33.3
38.1
30.2
36.8
42.4
36.6
35.9

33.3
38.4
30.1
36.9
42.4
36.4
35.9

33.4
38.3
30.2
36.9
42.5
36.3
36.0

33.2
38.1
30.1
36.8
42.6
36.6
35.9

33.3
38.2
30.1
36.9
42.4
36.4
35.8

33.3
38.2
30.2
36.9
42.5
36.5
35.7

33.2
38.1
30.1
36.7
42.2
36.2
35.7

33.3
38.1
30.2
36.8
42.5
36.2
35.8

33.3
38.3
30.1
36.8
42.8
36.3
35.8

33.4
38.4
30.2
36.6
43.1
36.3
35.8

33.4
38.3
30.2
36.7
42.8
36.2
35.8

Professional and business
VHUYLFHV««««««««««««««
(GXFDWLRQDQGKHDOWKVHUYLFHV«««««
/HLVXUHDQGKRVSLWDOLW\««««««««
2WKHUVHUYLFHV«««««

34.6
32.5
25.7
30.9

34.8
32.6
25.5
30.9

34.6
32.4
25.5
30.8

34.8
32.6
25.6
31.1

34.7
32.6
25.6
31.0

34.8
32.6
25.6
31.1

34.8
32.6
25.6
30.9

34.8
32.6
25.3
30.9

34.7
32.6
25.4
30.8

34.8
32.6
25.4
30.9

34.8
32.6
25.4
30.8

34.7
32.6
25.3
30.9

34.8
32.6
25.3
30.8

34.7
32.6
25.3
30.8

34.6
32.5
25.3
30.8

1

Data relate to production workers in natural resources and mining and
manufacturing, construction workers in construction, and nonsupervisory workers
in the service-providing industries.

70

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

NOTE: See "Notes on the data" for a description of the most recent benchmark
revision.
p = preliminary.

14. Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers1 on private nonfarm payrolls, by industry,
monthly data seasonally adjusted
Annual average

2007

Industry
TOTAL PRIVATE
&XUUHQWGROODUV«««««««««
&RQVWDQW  GROODUV«««««

2008

2006

2007

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.p

Feb.p














































GOODS-PRODUCING...............................































Natural resources and mining...............
Construction...........................................
Manufacturing.........................................
([FOXGLQJRYHUWLPH
'XUDEOHJRRGV«««««««««««
1RQGXUDEOHJRRGV«««««««««










































































































PRIVATE SERVICE-PRIVATE SERVICE3529,',1*««««««.































Trade,transportation, and
XWLOLWLHV«««««««««««««
:KROHVDOHWUDGH
5HWDLOWUDGH
7UDQVSRUWDWLRQDQGZDUHKRXVLQJ«««
8WLOLWLHV««««««««««««««
Information..............................................
Financial activities..................................

























































































































Professional and business
services.................................................































Education and health
services.................................................
Leisure and hospitality..........................
Other services.........................................































































'DWD UHODWH WR SURGXFWLRQ ZRUNHUV LQ QDWXUDO UHVRXUFHV DQG PLQLQJ DQG
PDQXIDFWXULQJ FRQVWUXFWLRQ ZRUNHUV LQ FRQVWUXFWLRQ DQG QRQVXSHUYLVRU\
ZRUNHUVLQWKHVHUYLFHSURYLGLQJLQGXVWULHV

127(6HH1RWHVRQWKHGDWDIRUDGHVFULSWLRQRIWKHPRVWUHFHQWEHQFKPDUNUHYLVLRQ
S SUHOLPLQDU\

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 71

Current Labor Statistics: Labor Force Data

15. Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers1 on private nonfarm payrolls, by industry
Annual average

2007

Industry
2006
727$/35,9$7(«««««««««««« $16.76
±
Seasonally adjXVWHG««««««««

June

July

2008
Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.p Feb.p

2007

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

$17.42
±

$17.20
17.17

$17.24
17.24

$17.36
17.29

$17.30 $17.32 $17.44 $17.42 $17.64 $17.60 $17.63 $17.75 $17.80 $17.85
17.34 17.41 17.47 17.51 17.57 17.59 17.64 17.70 17.75 17.81

GOODS-PRODUCING......................................

18.02

18.67

18.29

18.38

18.51

18.62

18.70

18.72

18.81

18.91

18.86

18.88

18.96

18.90

18.93

1DWXUDOUHVRXUFHVDQGPLQLQJ«««««

19.90

20.96

20.82

20.86

20.94

20.86

20.80

20.87

20.97

20.93

21.02

20.99

21.68

21.96

21.86

&RQVWUXFWLRQ««««

20.02

20.95

20.47

20.55

20.64

20.85

20.92

21.02

21.13

21.32

21.25

21.26

21.38

21.24

21.35

0DQXIDFWXULQJ«««««««««««««« 16.81

17.26

17.05

17.09

17.21

17.21

17.28

17.22

17.31

17.39

17.34

17.42

17.51

17.53

17.55

Durable gRRGV«««««««.
Wood products .........................................
1RQPHWDOOLFPLQHUDOSURGXFWV««««««
Primary metals .........................................
)DEULFDWHGPHWDOSURGXFWV«
Machinery«««««««««««««
Computer and electronic products ...........
Electrical equipment and appliances ........
Transportation equipment ........................
Furniture and related products .................
Miscellaneous manufacturing ...................

17.68
13.39
16.59
19.36


18.94
15.54
22.41
13.80
14.36

18.19
13.67
16.93
19.66


19.95
15.94
23.02
14.32
14.66

17.96
13.54
16.79
19.37


19.52
15.91
22.56
14.06
14.49

18.02
13.58
16.91
19.38


19.57
15.96
22.65
14.30
14.57

18.11
13.59
16.82
19.72


19.77
15.99
22.90
14.38
14.39

18.14
13.60
16.98
19.63


19.88
16.09
22.89
14.35
14.42

18.23
13.71
17.15
19.70


19.96
16.10
23.17
14.40
14.74

18.10
13.62
17.04
19.85


20.08
16.09
22.67
14.36
14.82

18.27
13.61
16.88
19.72


20.06
16.03
23.33
14.31
14.77

18.35
13.65
16.94
19.83


20.20
16.10
23.42
14.36
14.78

18.30
13.81
16.94
19.81


20.28
15.80
23.20
14.36
14.70

18.36
13.82
17.05
19.69


20.22
15.68
23.41
14.35
14.72

18.46
13.88
16.94
19.73


20.33
15.73
23.46
14.50
15.00

18.43
13.90
16.99
20.04


20.51
15.70
23.34
14.38
14.91

18.49
13.84
16.82
20.00
6.78

20.58
15.74
23.50
14.39
14.88


13.13
18.18


13.54
18.49


13.34
17.88


13.36
18.46


13.49
18.43


13.52
18.58


13.52
18.20


13.57
18.61


13.61
17.78


13.65
18.40


13.61
18.69


13.63
19.54


13.70
19.69


13.87
19.55


13.75
19.53

Textile mills ..............................................
Textile product mills .................................
Apparel .....................................................
/HDWKHUDQGDOOLHGSURGXFWV««««««
3DSHUDQGSDSHUSURGXFWV«««««««
PrintingDQGUHODWHGVXSSRUWDFWLYLWLHV«
3HWUROHXPDQGFRDOSURGXFWV««««««
&KHPLFDOV««««««««««««««
Plastics and rubber products ....................

12.55
11.86
10.65

18.01

24.11
19.60
14.97

13.00
11.78
11.05

18.43

25.26
19.56
15.38

12.87
11.86
10.93

18.11

24.82
19.56
15.25

12.81
11.83
10.79

18.17

24.77
19.46
15.23

13.00
11.72
10.92

18.48

25.11
19.72
15.35

12.89
11.70
11.01

18.46

24.87
19.53
15.31

12.98
11.83
10.96

18.47

24.54
19.62
15.40

13.13
11.89
11.15

18.68

25.12
19.70
15.31

13.21
11.74
11.12

18.30

25.43
19.47
15.45

13.16
11.73
11.17

18.54

25.95
19.52
15.45

12.93
11.75
11.16

18.50

24.92
19.35
15.41

13.06
11.67
11.20

18.47

26.95
19.52
15.49

13.13
11.75
11.28

18.71

25.52
19.57
15.65

13.29
11.68
11.43

18.78

26.55
19.46
15.56

13.35
11.66
11.47

18.53

26.51
19.36
15.59

PRIVATE SERVICE3529,',1*««««««««««««««.

16.42

17.10

16.93

16.95

17.07

16.95

16.96

17.10

17.05

17.31

17.27

17.31

17.45

17.52

17.58

Trade, transportation, and
XWLOLWLHV««««
:KROHVDOHWUDGH««««««««««««
5HWDLOWUDGH««««««««««««««
Transportation and warehousing«««««
8WLOLWLHV««««««««««««««

15.39
18.91
12.57
17.28
27.40

15.79
19.59
12.76
17.73
27.87

15.62
19.26
12.70
17.41
27.46

15.63
19.26
12.71
17.48
27.68

15.79
19.54
12.82
17.53
27.82

15.67
19.29
12.73
17.51
27.70

15.74
19.44
12.75
17.74
27.47

15.89
19.70
12.84
17.90
27.70

15.81
19.58
12.78
17.84
27.73

16.00
19.85
12.91
17.96
28.27

15.94
19.75
12.85
17.89
28.44

15.84
19.89
12.70
17.94
28.17

15.89
20.10
12.64
18.04
28.61

16.02
20.01
12.78
18.08
28.62

16.09
20.04
12.83
18.14
28.57

,QIRUPDWLRQ«««««««««««««.

23.23

23.94

23.80

23.73

23.95

23.81

23.71

23.77

23.85

24.22

24.15

24.11

24.34

24.44

24.43

)LQDQFLDODFWLYLWLHV«««««

18.80

19.64

19.42

19.48

19.65

19.53

19.53

19.66

19.65

19.88

19.79

19.83

19.97

19.96

20.07

19.13

20.13

19.95

19.88

20.12

19.95

19.96

20.26

20.01

20.34

20.19

20.33

20.67

20.65

20.76

Nondurable gRRGV«««««««««
Food manufacturing««
Beverages and tobacco products .............

Professional and business
VHUYLFHV««««««««««««««««
Education and health
VHUYLFHV«««««««««««««««« 17.38

18.11

17.76

17.91

17.92

17.95

18.02

18.18

18.20

18.33

18.33

18.42

18.51

18.61

18.57

/HLVXUHDQGKRVSLWDOLW\«««««««««

9.75

10.41

10.25

10.23

10.31

10.33

10.30

10.33

10.39

10.53

10.61

10.67

10.77

10.73

10.81

2WKHUVHUYLFHV«««««««

14.77

15.42

15.10

15.35

15.43

15.38

15.36

15.39

15.43

15.58

15.55

15.61

15.75

15.74

15.79

1 Data relate to production workers in natural resources and mining and
manufacturing, construction workers in construction, and nonsupervisory
workers in the service-providing industries.

72

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

16. Average weekly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers1 on private nonfarm payrolls, by industry
Industry

Annual average
2006

727$/35,9$7(««««««« $567.87
Seasonally adjusted..........
_

2007

2007

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

$589.72
_

$574.48
578.63

$580.99
584.44

$588.50
584.40

May

2008

June

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

$583.01
586.09

$588.88
590.20

$596.45
590.49

$592.28
591.84

$603.29
593.87

$594.88
594.54

Dec

Jan.p

Feb.p

$594.13
596.23

$605.28
598.26

$592.74
598.18

$596.19
600.20

Nov.

*22'6352'8&,1*«««««

730.16

757.06

724.28

742.55

744.10

755.97

766.70

758.16

769.33

777.20

771.37

770.30

771.67

756.00

753.41

Natural resources
and mining«««««««««

907.95

961.78

945.23

947.04

954.86

955.39

963.04

957.93

962.52

979.52

981.63

969.74

992.94

988.20

988.07

CONSTRUCTION

781.21

816.06

765.58

795.29

792.58

819.41

830.52

828.19

836.75

842.14

841.50

829.14

825.27

805.00

800.63

0DQXIDFWXULQJ««««««««

691.02

711.36

690.53

702.40

705.61

707.33

717.12

704.30

718.37

725.16

717.88

722.93

728.42

716.98

714.29


532.99
Wood products .........................
712.71
Nonmetallic mineral products....
PrimaryPHWDOV«««««««« 843.59
668.98
Fabricated metal products.........
Machinery«««««««««« 728.84


539.10
716.79
843.28
687.13
753.99


515.87
680.00
830.97
664.22
740.88


532.34
706.84
837.22
678.94
750.48


536.81
709.80
847.96
679.37
752.68


541.28
719.95
838.20
682.69
745.75


553.88
737.45
853.01
686.38
749.76


546.16
729.31
849.58
682.28
753.79


543.04
732.59
844.02
693.04
750.06


548.73
735.20
848.72
699.28
761.41


548.26
730.11
841.93
700.98
762.01


534.83
731.45
842.73
701.40
762.82


546.87
696.23
844.44
708.12
780.83


530.98
696.59
851.70
695.96
763.73


524.54
686.26
848.00
693.01
759.70

766.96

809.19

782.75

790.63

796.73

801.16

812.37

801.19

812.43

828.20

827.42

833.06

841.66

822.45

827.32

636.95
957.65

656.58
985.57

644.36
954.29

651.17
973.95

655.59
970.96

656.47
668.15
986.56 1,010.21

659.69
658.83
666.54
943.07 1,012.52 1,011.74

649.38
992.96

652.29
671.67
999.61 1,006.43

649.98
642.19
994.28 1,003.45

535.90

561.03

541.31

554.84

555.07

553.91

568.80

562.91

576.69

572.96

561.48

559.65

578.55

545.00

542.50

manufacturing..........................

555.90

569.98

547.72

563.86

554.02

556.61

580.76

573.53

581.94

588.24

574.77

571.14

589.50

580.00

572.88

Nondurable goods.......................

621.97
525.99

639.99
550.65

620.35
529.60

629.63
541.08

638.93
540.95

634.17
546.21

639.68
547.56

639.04
552.30

641.72
556.65

651.30
566.48

644.11
560.73

653.78
562.92

656.67
561.70

646.00
556.19

638.39
547.25

741.34
509.39
472.24
389.20
445.47
772.39

753.80
524.47
467.96
411.52
459.43
795.20

709.84
521.24
463.73
404.41
446.80
755.19

745.78
520.09
468.47
398.15
451.91
775.86

774.06
525.20
467.63
407.32
450.25
792.79

761.78
519.47
460.98
411.77
465.30
790.09

758.94
526.99
481.48
416.48
457.64
796.06

761.15
519.95
477.98
413.67
450.66
799.50

739.65
524.44
468.43
412.55
453.75
788.73

747.04
536.93
468.03
414.41
462.67
813.91

751.34
515.91
457.08
410.69
458.59
806.60

787.46
521.09
457.46
415.52
478.75
816.37

793.51
539.64
478.23
423.00
484.80
834.47

778.09
514.32
449.68
416.05
484.36
826.32

767.53
513.98
455.91
418.66
483.36
804.20

618.92

632.08

626.87

625.67

629.19

617.70

620.80

621.70

638.18

644.98

644.37

640.14

654.35

630.68

632.21

Durable gRRGV««««««««

Computer and electronic
products..................................
Electrical equipment and
appliances...............................
7UDQVSRUWDWLRQHTXLSPHQW«««
Furniture and related
SURGXFWV«««««««««
Miscellaneous

Food manufacturing...................
Beverages and tobacco
products..................................
7H[WLOHPLOOV«««««««««
7H[WLOHSURGXFWPLOOV«««««
$SSDUHO«««««««««««
Leather and allied products.......
3DSHUDQGSDSHUSURGXFWV««
Printing and related
VXSSRUWDFWLYLWLHV««««««
Petroleum and coal

SURGXFWV«««««««««« 1,085.50 1,115.24 1,094.56 1,089.88 1,119.91 1,106.72 1,099.39 1,117.84 1,106.21 1,144.40 1,074.05 1,204.67 1,099.91 1,157.58 1,134.63
819.99
817.61
815.37
834.16
818.31
822.08
823.46
819.69
821.79
801.09
823.74
818.03
809.54
799.57
&KHPLFDOV«««««««««« 833.67
Plastics and rubber
SURGXFWV««««««««««

608.41

635.15

611.53

622.91

633.96

627.71

642.18

624.65

635.00

647.36

642.60

652.13

657.30

639.52

637.63

PRIVATE SERVICE3529,',1*««««

532.78

554.78

543.45

547.49

556.48

547.49

551.20

560.88

554.13

567.77

557.82

559.11

570.62

558.89

564.32

Trade, transportation,
DQGXWLOLWLHV«««««««««
:KROHVDOHWUDGH««««
5HWDLOWUDGH««««««««««

514.34

383.02

526.38

385.20

513.90

377.19

517.35

380.03

525.81

385.88

520.24

381.90

527.29

387.60

535.49

392.90

529.64

388.51

542.40

396.34

529.21

386.79

525.89

382.27

535.49

385.52

525.46

379.57

529.36

381.05

Transportation and
warehousing««««««««« 636.97
654.83
637.21
643.26
645.10
642.62
656.38
664.09
663.65
668.11
656.56
661.99
678.30
650.88
654.85
8WLOLWLHV«««««««««««« 1,135.34 1,182.17 1,156.07 1,168.10 1,182.35 1,177.25 1,170.22 1,180.02 1,175.75 1,215.61 1,208.70 1,194.41 1,221.65 1,222.07 1,214.23
,QIRUPDWLRQ««««««««««

850.42

873.63

866.32

863.77

883.76

857.16

858.30

884.24

870.53

896.14

874.23

872.78

893.28

877.40

879.48

)LQDQFLDODFWLYLWLHV««««««« 672.21

705.29

695.24

695.44

719.19

693.32

699.17

717.59

699.54

721.64

702.55

705.95

726.91

708.58

714.49

Professional and
EXVLQHVVVHUYLFHV««««««

662.27

700.15

686.28

687.85

706.21

692.27

696.60

709.10

696.35

715.97

702.61

705.45

727.58

704.17

714.14

Education and Education and
KHDOWKVHUYLFHV«««««««« 564.94

590.18

573.65

580.28

585.98

581.58

585.65

598.12

593.32

603.06

595.73

600.49

607.13

604.83

601.67

/HLVXUHDQGKRVSLWDOLW\««««

250.34

265.45

257.28

258.82

264.97

263.42

266.77

271.68

270.14

269.57

268.43

266.75

272.48

262.89

269.17

2WKHUVHUYLFHV««««««««« 456.50

476.80

463.57

474.32

478.33

476.78

476.16

480.17

478.33

484.54

478.94

480.79

488.25

480.07

483.17

1 Data relate to production workers in natural resources and mining and manufacturing,

NOTE: See "Notes on the data" for a description of the most recent benchmark revision.

construction workers in construction, and nonsupervisory workers in the service-

Dash indicates data not available.

providing industries.

p = preliminary.

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 73

Current Labor Statistics: Labor Force Data

17. Diffusion indexes of employment change, seasonally adjusted
>,QSHUFHQW@
Timespan and year

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

July

Aug. Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

3ULYDWHQRQIDUPSD\UROOVLQGXVWULHV
2YHUPRQWKVSDQ



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«««««««««««««








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«««««««««««««








2YHUPRQWKVSDQ



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«««««««««««««








2YHUPRQWKVSDQ



«««««««««««««
«««««««««««««








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0DQXIDFWXULQJSD\UROOVLQGXVWULHV

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127( )LJXUHV DUH WKH SHUFHQW RI LQGXVWULHV ZLWK HPSOR\PHQW
LQFUHDVLQJ SOXV RQHKDOI RI WKH LQGXVWULHV ZLWK XQFKDQJHG
HPSOR\PHQW ZKHUH  SHUFHQW LQGLFDWHV DQ HTXDO EDODQFH
EHWZHHQ LQGXVWULHV ZLWK LQFUHDVLQJ DQG GHFUHDVLQJ
HPSOR\PHQW

74

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

6HHWKH'HILQLWLRQVLQWKLVVHFWLRQ6HH1RWHVRQWKHGDWD
IRUDGHVFULSWLRQRIWKHPRVWUHFHQWEHQFKPDUNUHYLVLRQ
'DWDIRUWKHWZRPRVWUHFHQWPRQWKVDUHSUHOLPLQDU\

18. Job openings levels and rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted
1

Levels (in thousands)
Industry and region
Aug.
2

Total ««««««««««««««««««

Percent

2007
Sept.

2008

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

2007
p

Jan.

Aug.

Feb.

Sept.

2.9

2008

Oct.

2.9

Nov.

2.8

Dec.

2.8

Feb.p

Jan.

4,162

4,080

4,044

3,972

3,974

3,889

3,820

2.8

2.7

2.7

Total private 2«««««««««««««

3,717

3,637

3,597

3,520

3,526

3,449

3,378

3.1

3.1

3.0

3.0

3.0

2.9

2.8

&RQVWUXFWLRQ««««««««««««

144

128

150

138

140

133

140

1.9

1.7

1.9

1.8

1.8

1.8

1.9

0DQXIDFWXULQJ«««««««««««

324

314

303

303

305

286

246

2.3

2.2

2.2

2.2

2.2

2.0

1.8

7UDGHWUDQVSRUWDWLRQDQGXWLOLWLHV«««

735

679

644

648

667

643

611

2.7

2.5

2.4

2.4

2.4

2.4

2.2

3URIHVVLRQDODQGEXVLQHVVVHUYLFHV««

689

673

758

685

706

752

695

3.7

3.6

4.0

3.7

3.7

4.0

3.7

(GXFDWLRQDQGKHDOWKVHUYLFHV««««

700

712

704

713

698

680

748

3.7

3.7

3.7

3.7

3.6

3.5

3.9

/HLVXUHDQGKRVSLWDOLW\««««««««

578

663

614

591

574

515

519

4.1

4.7

4.3

4.2

4.0

3.6

3.7





























2.3

Industry

*RYHUQPHQW«««««««««««««
Region3
1RUWKHDVW«««««««««««««

695

594

657

629

644

662

610

2.6

2.3

2.5

2.4

2.4

2.5

6RXWK«««««««««««««««

1,675

1,641

1,629

1,620

1,574

1,536

1,506

3.3

3.2

3.2

3.2

3.1

3.0

2.9

0LGZHVW««««««««««««««

773

787

747

755

779

749

734

2.4

2.4

2.3

2.3

2.4

2.3

2.3





























:HVW«««««««««««««««
1

Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal
adjustment of the various series.

2
Includes natural resources and mining, information, financial activities, and other
services, not shown separately.
3
Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey,
New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas,
Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland,
Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas,
Virginia,

West Virginia; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri,
Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California,
Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming.
NOTE: The job openings level is the number of job openings on the last business day of the
month; the job openings rate is the number of job openings on the last business day of the month
as a percent of total employment plus job openings.
P

= preliminary.

19. Hires levels and rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted
Levels1 (in thousands)
Industry and region

2007
Aug.

Total 2«««««««««««««««««« 4,796

Sept.

Oct.

Percent
2008

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

2007
p

Feb.

4,700

4,914

4,672

4,717

4,639

4,638

Aug.
3.5

Sept.
3.4

Oct.
3.6

2008
Nov.
3.4

Dec.
3.4

Jan.
3.4

Feb.p
3.4

Industry
Total private 2«««««««««««««

4,371

4,325

4,552

4,305

4,314

4,227

4,261

3.8

3.7

3.9

3.7

3.7

3.7

3.7

&RQVWUXFWLRQ««««««««««««

367

336

331

351

335

319

358

4.8

4.4

4.4

4.7

4.5

4.3

4.8

0DQXIDFWXULQJ«««««««««««

350

352

396

353

350

326

285

2.5

2.5

2.9

2.6

2.5

2.4

2.1

7UDGHWUDQVSRUWDWLRQDQGXWLOLWLHV«««

924

977

1,018

946

970

916

901

3.5

3.7

3.8

3.5

3.6

3.4

3.4

3URIHVVLRQDODQGEXVLQHVVVHUYLFHV««

776

799

855

902

851

897

821

4.3

4.4

4.7

5.0

4.7

5.0

4.5

(GXFDWLRQDQGKHDOWKVHUYLFHV««««

504

453

517

527

460

516

522

2.7

2.5

2.8

2.8

2.5

2.8

2.8

/HLVXUHDQGKRVSLWDOLW\««««««««

898

888

924

846

880

824

850

6.7

6.6

6.8

6.2

6.4

6.0

6.2





























3.0

*RYHUQPHQW«««««««««««««
Region3
1RUWKHDVW«««««««««««««

753

689

653

761

770

767

768

2.9

2.7

2.5

3.0

3.0

3.0

6RXWK«««««««««««««««

1,835

1,844

1,924

1,828

1,802

1,814

1,789

3.7

3.7

3.9

3.7

3.6

3.6

3.6

0LGZHVW««««««««««««««

1,053

1,093

1,097

1,027

1,045

998

966

3.3

3.5

3.5

3.3

3.3

3.2

3.1

:HVW«««««««««««««««





























1

Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal
adjustment of the various series.

2

Includes natural resources and mining, information, financial activities, and other
services, not shown separately.

Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri,
Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona,
California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah,
Washington, Wyoming.

3

Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New
York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware,
District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi,
North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia;

NOTE: The hires level is the number of hires during the entire month; the hires rate
is the number of hires during the entire month as a percent of total employment.
p

= preliminary.

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 75

Current Labor Statistics: Labor Force Data

7RWDOVHSDUDWLRQVOHYHOVDQGUDWHVE\LQGXVWU\DQGUHJLRQVHDVRQDOO\DGMXVWHG
1

Levels (in thousands)
Industry and region

Percent

2007
Aug.

Total2………………………………………………

Sept.

Oct.

2008
Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

2007
p

Feb.

Aug.
3.3

Sept.

Oct.

3.2

2008
Nov.

3.3

Dec.

3.4

Feb.p

Jan.

4,502

4,456

4,594

4,640

4,408

4,477

4,485

3.2

3.2

3.3

Total private 2…………………………………

4,166

4,168

4,314

4,367

4,107

4,188

4,205

3.6

3.6

3.7

3.8

3.5

3.6

3.6

Construction………………………………

365

355

355

322

331

311

330

4.8

4.7

4.7

4.3

4.4

4.2

4.5

Manufacturing……………………………

377

374

393

400

325

348

353

2.7

2.7

2.9

2.9

2.4

2.5

2.6

Trade, transportation, and utilities………

957

950

1,010

1,065

981

1,005

958

3.6

3.6

3.8

4.0

3.7

3.8

3.6

Professional and business services……

756

824

935

878

814

790

854

4.2

4.6

5.2

4.9

4.5

4.4

4.7

Education and health services…………

432

414

434

423

417

447

462

2.3

2.2

2.3

2.3

2.2

2.4

2.5

Leisure and hospitality……………………

797

730

761

799

803

800

848

5.9

5.4

5.6

5.9

5.9

5.9

6.2

326

290

286

286

295

290

283

1.5

1.3

1.3

1.3

1.3

1.3

1.3

3.0

Industry

Government…………………………………
Region 3
Northeast…………………………………

683

635

652

860

635

697

761

2.7

2.5

2.5

3.3

2.5

2.7

South………………………………………

1,720

1,786

1,764

1,709

1,712

1,699

1,671

3.5

3.6

3.5

3.4

3.4

3.4

3.4

Midwest……………………………………

1,006

983

994

974

980

975

900

3.2

3.1

3.2

3.1

3.1

3.1

2.9

West………………………………………

1,076

1,038

1,186

1,117

1,117

1,107

1,168

3.5

3.4

3.8

3.6

3.6

3.6

3.8

1

Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal
adjustment of the various series.

Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska,
North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona, California,
Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington,
Wyoming.

2
Includes natural resources and mining, information, financial activities, and other
services, not shown separately.
3

Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New
York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware,
District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi,
North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia;

NOTE: The total separations level is the number of total separations during the entire
month; the total separations rate is the number of total separations during the entire
month as a percent of total employment.
p

= preliminary

4XLWVOHYHOVDQGUDWHVE\LQGXVWU\DQGUHJLRQVHDVRQDOO\DGMXVWHG
Levels1 (in thousands)
Industry and region
Aug.
2

Total ………………………………………………

Percent

2007
Sept.

Oct.

2008
Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

2007
p

Feb.

Aug.
1.9

Sept.
1.7

Oct.
1.9

2008
Nov.
1.8

Dec.
1.8

Jan.
1.8

Feb.p

2,553

2,396

2,648

2,501

2,494

2,493

2,526

1.8

Total private 2…………………………………

2,407

2,253

2,508

2,361

2,358

2,355

2,387

2.1

1.9

2.2

2.0

2.0

2.0

2.1

Construction………………………………

141

132

137

116

119

113

141

1.9

1.7

1.8

1.5

1.6

1.5

1.9

Manufacturing……………………………

199

183

199

187

182

183

184

1.4

1.3

1.4

1.4

1.3

1.3

1.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities………

556

549

588

572

590

598

534

2.1

2.1

2.2

2.1

2.2

2.2

2.0

Professional and business services……

394

405

479

398

367

351

490

2.2

2.2

2.7

2.2

2.0

1.9

2.7

Education and health services…………

273

253

264

269

258

276

268

1.5

1.4

1.4

1.5

1.4

1.5

1.4

Leisure and hospitality……………………

542

440

545

557

561

525

550

4.0

3.2

4.0

4.1

4.1

3.8

4.0

145

146

144

140

137

138

139

.7

.7

.6

.6

.6

.6

.6

1.6

Industry

Government…………………………………
Region

3

Northeast…………………………………

331

306

338

367

312

358

411

1.3

1.2

1.3

1.4

1.2

1.4

South………………………………………

1,069

1,003

1,088

996

1,008

1,045

1,020

2.2

2.0

2.2

2.0

2.0

2.1

2.1

Midwest……………………………………

535

524

524

529

521

502

491

1.7

1.7

1.7

1.7

1.6

1.6

1.6

West………………………………………

618

575

691

607

632

583

624

2.0

1.9

2.2

2.0

2.0

1.9

2.0

1

Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal
adjustment of the various series.

2

Includes natural resources and mining, information, financial activities, and other
services, not shown separately.

Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri,
Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin; West: Alaska, Arizona,
California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon,
Utah, Washington, Wyoming.

3

Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New
York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont; South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware,
District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi,
North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West
Virginia;

76

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

NOTE: The quits level is the number of quits during the entire month; the quits
rate is the number of quits during the entire month as a percent of total
employment.
p

= preliminary.

22. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages: 10 largest counties, third quarter 2007.

County by NAICS supersector

Establishments,
third quarter
2007
(thousands)

Average weekly wage1

Employment
September
2007
(thousands)

Percent change,
September
2006-072

Third
quarter
2007

Percent change,
third quarter
2006-072

United States3 ..............................................................................
Private industry ........................................................................
Natural resources and mining ..............................................
Construction .........................................................................
Manufacturing ......................................................................
Trade, transportation, and utilities ........................................
Information ...........................................................................
Financial activities ................................................................
Professional and business services .....................................
Education and health services .............................................
Leisure and hospitality .........................................................
Other services ......................................................................
Government .............................................................................

9,012.8
8,721.6
124.7
895.5
361.4
1,916.9
144.3
871.8
1,484.6
825.8
726.7
1,162.9
291.2

136,246.9
114,790.8
1,931.5
7,774.4
13,845.4
26,299.2
3,033.1
8,123.2
18,017.6
17,506.6
13,562.6
4,433.8
21,456.1

0.9
.9
1.7
-1.0
-2.2
1.2
.0
-.7
1.7
2.9
1.9
1.2
1.0

$818
810
820
876
987
707
1,274
1,200
998
775
348
531
859

4.3
4.5
7.8
5.7
4.3
3.2
4.6
5.9
6.4
3.6
4.2
4.1
3.2

Los Angeles, CA ..........................................................................
Private industry ........................................................................
Natural resources and mining ..............................................
Construction .........................................................................
Manufacturing ......................................................................
Trade, transportation, and utilities ........................................
Information ...........................................................................
Financial activities ................................................................
Professional and business services .....................................
Education and health services .............................................
Leisure and hospitality .........................................................
Other services ......................................................................
Government .............................................................................

401.9
397.9
.5
14.3
15.2
55.3
8.8
25.2
43.4
28.2
27.1
179.8
4.0

4,191.6
3,626.2
12.7
160.4
444.7
811.9
216.3
243.7
608.9
480.4
401.1
246.0
565.4

.4
.1
5.0
-.9
(4)
-.1
8.5
-2.6
-.3
1.8
1.8
.0
2.3

925
901
1,095
945
961
765
1,520
1,483
1,051
851
518
439
1,080

3.4
3.1
-8.3
5.4
(4)
2.0
-.3
(4)
6.3
(4)
2.8
5.8
(4)

Cook, IL ........................................................................................
Private industry ........................................................................
Natural resources and mining ..............................................
Construction .........................................................................
Manufacturing ......................................................................
Trade, transportation, and utilities ........................................
Information ...........................................................................
Financial activities ................................................................
Professional and business services .....................................
Education and health services .............................................
Leisure and hospitality .........................................................
Other services ......................................................................
Government .............................................................................

138.0
136.6
.1
12.1
7.1
27.6
2.5
15.8
28.2
13.6
11.6
13.8
1.4

2,541.5
2,232.8
1.3
98.2
237.2
472.2
58.4
215.4
441.6
369.2
240.0
95.0
308.7

.0
.2
-7.7
-1.6
-1.9
-.9
.6
-1.5
.9
1.6
2.2
.7
-.9

961
958
1,063
1,207
981
776
1,402
1,547
1,179
843
430
691
985

3.3
3.6
3.5
5.5
3.0
-.5
9.1
7.8
3.1
3.7
4.6
3.0
2.3

New York, NY ...............................................................................
Private industry ........................................................................
Natural resources and mining ..............................................
Construction .........................................................................
Manufacturing ......................................................................
Trade, transportation, and utilities ........................................
Information ...........................................................................
Financial activities ................................................................
Professional and business services .....................................
Education and health services .............................................
Leisure and hospitality .........................................................
Other services ......................................................................
Government .............................................................................

118.0
117.7
.0
2.3
3.1
22.1
4.4
18.7
24.6
8.6
11.2
17.4
.3

2,350.3
1,906.7
.1
35.8
37.5
248.2
135.6
380.0
482.2
283.3
208.5
87.2
443.5

2.0
2.3
-1.9
6.9
-4.7
1.7
1.0
2.0
2.3
2.0
3.3
1.5
.7

1,544
1,667
1,749
1,461
1,158
1,124
1,916
3,047
1,769
1,011
728
889
1,014

8.7
9.6
11.8
5.3
3.0
4.3
4.5
16.3
8.6
4.8
6.1
3.7
1.5

Harris, TX .....................................................................................
Private industry ........................................................................
Natural resources and mining ..............................................
Construction .........................................................................
Manufacturing ......................................................................
Trade, transportation, and utilities ........................................
Information ...........................................................................
Financial activities ................................................................
Professional and business services .....................................
Education and health services .............................................
Leisure and hospitality .........................................................
Other services ......................................................................
Government .............................................................................

95.1
94.5
1.5
6.6
4.6
21.7
1.3
10.5
18.9
10.0
7.3
11.0
.5

2,028.0
1,783.4
78.4
151.5
182.2
424.7
32.8
120.7
341.2
214.7
176.2
58.4
244.6

3.8
4.3
(4)
5.5
3.5
3.9
2.6
2.0
4.9
5.4
3.2
3.9
.6

1,015
1,027
2,580
968
1,290
901
1,258
1,256
1,156
824
366
595
922

6.7
7.1
(4)
6.1
7.7
6.0
9.1
7.3
7.5
1.7
2.2
7.6
3.1

Maricopa, AZ ................................................................................
Private industry ........................................................................
Natural resources and mining ..............................................
Construction .........................................................................
Manufacturing ......................................................................
Trade, transportation, and utilities ........................................
Information ...........................................................................
Financial activities ................................................................
Professional and business services .....................................
Education and health services .............................................
Leisure and hospitality .........................................................
Other services ......................................................................
Government .............................................................................

99.3
98.6
.5
10.6
3.6
21.6
1.6
12.7
21.8
9.7
7.2
7.2
.7

1,825.1
1,605.3
8.5
165.8
132.2
374.9
30.4
148.6
316.8
198.9
177.6
50.1
219.9

.2
-.1
2.9
-7.6
-3.7
2.0
-.7
-2.4
.3
4.4
1.4
2.2
2.8

822
811
723
834
1,116
777
1,030
1,024
825
879
387
570
908

3.8
4.1
6.0
3.9
3.2
3.5
.4
.0
9.1
5.5
5.7
5.2
1.2

See footnotes at end of table.

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 77

Current Labor Statistics: Labor Force Data

22. Continued—Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages: 10 largest counties, second quarter 2007.

County by NAICS supersector

Establishments,
second quarter
2007
(thousands)

Average weekly wage1

Employment
June
2007
(thousands)

Percent change,
June
2006-072

Second
quarter
2007

Percent change,
second quarter
2006-072

Orange, CA ..................................................................................
Private industry ........................................................................
Natural resources and mining ..............................................
Construction .........................................................................
Manufacturing ......................................................................
Trade, transportation, and utilities ........................................
Information ...........................................................................
Financial activities ................................................................
Professional and business services .....................................
Education and health services .............................................
Leisure and hospitality .........................................................
Other services ......................................................................
Government .............................................................................

94.7
93.3
.2
7.1
5.4
17.8
1.4
11.4
19.2
9.8
7.0
14.0
1.4

1,519.5
1,363.2
6.2
105.6
177.1
278.2
30.1
128.1
274.6
139.6
175.1
48.4
156.3

-1.0
-1.3
-6.8
-3.5
(4)
.4
-2.2
-7.7
(4)
2.9
1.7
-.4
1.1

$952
939
588
1,016
1,150
892
1,340
1,445
1,000
833
410
561
1,062

3.4
2.8
10.7
7.2
(4)
(4)
7.5
(4)
(4)
3.3
5.1
4.1
6.7

Dallas, TX .....................................................................................
Private industry ........................................................................
Natural resources and mining ..............................................
Construction .........................................................................
Manufacturing ......................................................................
Trade, transportation, and utilities ........................................
Information ...........................................................................
Financial activities ................................................................
Professional and business services .....................................
Education and health services .............................................
Leisure and hospitality .........................................................
Other services ......................................................................
Government .............................................................................

67.6
67.1
.6
4.4
3.2
15.0
1.7
8.7
14.4
6.6
5.2
6.4
.5

1,492.6
1,330.0
7.1
84.1
144.2
307.2
48.6
145.7
274.3
144.7
131.2
40.6
162.5

3.2
3.2
-4.7
4.4
-.4
2.3
-4.6
2.8
5.9
6.6
3.6
1.2
2.9

1,011
1,022
2,879
935
1,202
974
1,371
1,331
1,108
968
430
602
920

5.4
5.4
-1.1
1.4
8.1
6.1
7.3
5.2
5.8
6.8
2.6
2.9
5.0

San Diego, CA .............................................................................
Private industry ........................................................................
Natural resources and mining ..............................................
Construction .........................................................................
Manufacturing ......................................................................
Trade, transportation, and utilities ........................................
Information ...........................................................................
Financial activities ................................................................
Professional and business services .....................................
Education and health services .............................................
Leisure and hospitality .........................................................
Other services ......................................................................
Government .............................................................................

91.7
90.4
.8
7.2
3.2
14.6
1.3
9.9
16.4
8.0
6.9
22.1
1.3

1,334.7
1,108.8
11.6
90.9
102.4
219.8
37.5
81.5
217.9
127.1
163.6
56.6
225.9

.2
-.1
-4.1
-6.5
(4)
.3
.5
-3.3
.6
(4)
2.8
1.1
1.7

890
868
540
916
1,190
730
1,873
1,108
1,076
812
389
482
996

4.8
4.7
4.0
6.3
6.6
5.8
1.7
3.5
6.0
4.1
3.5
2.8
4.8

King, WA ......................................................................................
Private industry ........................................................................
Natural resources and mining ..............................................
Construction .........................................................................
Manufacturing ......................................................................
Trade, transportation, and utilities ........................................
Information ...........................................................................
Financial activities ................................................................
Professional and business services .....................................
Education and health services .............................................
Leisure and hospitality .........................................................
Other services ......................................................................
Government .............................................................................

75.9
75.4
.4
6.8
2.5
14.8
1.8
7.0
12.9
6.3
6.0
16.7
.5

1,182.2
1,027.6
3.3
72.9
112.0
219.5
75.8
76.4
188.1
120.6
113.7
45.4
154.6

2.9
3.3
3.4
11.0
1.9
2.0
5.0
-1.0
4.4
2.7
3.9
.9
.6

1,028
1,033
1,224
1,002
1,386
903
1,829
1,272
1,180
812
427
571
995

3.8
3.5
1.4
6.5
.8
6.1
4.1
3.3
1.1
4.5
2.4
7.9
6.0

Miami-Dade, FL ............................................................................
Private industry ........................................................................
Natural resources and mining ..............................................
Construction .........................................................................
Manufacturing ......................................................................
Trade, transportation, and utilities ........................................
Information ...........................................................................
Financial activities ................................................................
Professional and business services .....................................
Education and health services .............................................
Leisure and hospitality .........................................................
Other services ......................................................................
Government .............................................................................

85.9
85.6
.5
6.2
2.6
23.1
1.5
10.4
17.3
8.9
5.7
7.6
.3

1,002.1
868.2
9.2
53.5
48.0
252.6
20.7
71.6
136.4
135.4
101.8
35.7
133.9

1.0
.8
.3
1.5
-1.7
.9
-.7
-.9
-1.5
3.1
1.3
1.9
2.4

814
788
496
841
735
747
1,163
1,161
949
796
458
525
969

3.8
3.7
6.0
-1.1
1.9
2.3
4.6
5.6
7.5
4.6
2.5
5.8
4.8

1

Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.

2

Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data
adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications. See Notes on Current Labor
Statistics.
3

78

Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

Virgin Islands.
4

Data do not meet BLS or State agency disclosure standards.

NOTE: Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and
Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are
preliminary.

23. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages: by State, second quarter 2007.

State

Establishments,
second quarter
2007
(thousands)

Average weekly wage1

Employment
June
2007
(thousands)

Percent change,
June
2006-07

Second
quarter
2007

Percent change,
second quarter
2006-07

United States2 ...................................

8,945.9

137,018.2

1.2

$820

4.6

Alabama ............................................
Alaska ...............................................
Arizona ..............................................
Arkansas ...........................................
California ...........................................
Colorado ...........................................
Connecticut .......................................
Delaware ...........................................
District of Columbia ...........................
Florida ...............................................

120.1
21.1
158.9
82.7
1,291.3
179.4
112.5
29.1
31.9
604.8

1,965.4
325.8
2,612.4
1,186.5
15,832.5
2,326.9
1,714.2
430.2
683.2
7,894.2

1.1
-.5
1.2
.3
.8
2.2
.9
.0
.8
.2

697
832
786
639
935
832
1,033
870
1,357
743

3.6
5.6
4.4
4.2
5.4
4.8
6.4
2.2
4.3
3.2

Georgia .............................................
Hawaii ...............................................
Idaho .................................................
Illinois ................................................
Indiana ..............................................
Iowa ..................................................
Kansas ..............................................
Kentucky ...........................................
Louisiana ...........................................
Maine ................................................

270.4
38.6
57.1
358.6
158.2
93.4
85.7
109.8
119.9
50.0

4,091.5
631.2
679.1
5,956.3
2,933.4
1,518.6
1,370.7
1,828.2
1,880.2
619.6

1.4
1.4
3.0
.8
.5
.9
2.0
1.7
3.2
.6

792
736
626
874
702
664
702
700
711
658

6.5
4.2
2.3
4.4
2.6
3.9
4.8
4.2
4.1
4.1

Maryland ...........................................
Massachusetts ..................................
Michigan ............................................
Minnesota .........................................
Mississippi .........................................
Missouri .............................................
Montana ............................................
Nebraska ...........................................
Nevada ..............................................
New Hampshire ................................

164.0
210.1
257.1
170.7
69.7
174.7
42.3
58.7
74.7
49.0

2,584.9
3,300.7
4,252.9
2,730.9
1,137.4
2,764.6
449.8
930.9
1,297.9
643.7

.7
1.2
-1.4
.0
.9
.8
1.7
1.6
1.0
.7

899
1,008
807
834
609
727
611
654
776
823

5.3
4.8
2.9
5.6
3.6
3.4
6.3
3.5
3.7
6.3

New Jersey .......................................
New Mexico ......................................
New York ..........................................
North Carolina ...................................
North Dakota .....................................
Ohio ..................................................
Oklahoma ..........................................
Oregon ..............................................
Pennsylvania .....................................
Rhode Island .....................................

278.1
53.7
576.8
251.0
25.1
290.5
99.1
130.8
338.7
36.1

4,066.7
833.3
8,688.8
4,090.5
347.7
5,384.6
1,538.5
1,761.6
5,740.3
492.9

.4
1.1
1.3
3.0
1.5
-.1
1.6
1.7
1.1
.3

989
686
1,020
718
619
740
665
742
802
774

4.3
5.2
5.9
4.1
4.7
3.4
4.1
4.5
4.6
2.5

South Carolina ..................................
South Dakota ....................................
Tennessee ........................................
Texas ................................................
Utah ..................................................
Vermont ............................................
Virginia ..............................................
Washington .......................................
West Virginia .....................................
Wisconsin ..........................................

115.8
30.1
140.7
548.7
86.3
24.7
227.4
216.7
48.7
158.2

1,917.4
404.3
2,768.7
10,296.1
1,233.7
306.6
3,731.5
2,989.8
717.1
2,845.8

3.0
2.1
.7
3.4
4.4
-.5
1.0
2.7
.3
.4

665
590
729
827
698
698
859
835
659
709

2.9
4.8
3.6
5.9
6.6
5.0
4.4
4.6
3.6
3.7

Wyoming ...........................................

24.4

288.3

3.3

739

8.0

Puerto Rico .......................................
Virgin Islands ....................................

56.9
3.4

1,020.7
46.9

-1.6
3.4

460
707

6.0
4.1

1
2

Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.

Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico
or the Virgin Islands.

NOTE: Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI)
and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE)
programs. Data are preliminary.

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 79

Current Labor Statistics: Labor Force Data

24. Annual data: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, by ownership
Year

Average
establishments

Average
annual
employment

Total annual wages
(in thousands)

Average annual wage
per employee

Average
weekly
wage

Total covered (UI and UCFE)
1997 ..................................................
1998 ..................................................
1999 ..................................................
2000 ..................................................
2001 ..................................................
2002 ..................................................
2003 ..................................................
2004 ..................................................
2005 ..................................................
2006 ..................................................

7,369,473
7,634,018
7,820,860
7,879,116
7,984,529
8,101,872
8,228,840
8,364,795
8,571,144
8,784,027

121,044,432
124,183,549
127,042,282
129,877,063
129,635,800
128,233,919
127,795,827
129,278,176
131,571,623
133,833,834

$3,674,031,718
3,967,072,423
4,235,579,204
4,587,708,584
4,695,225,123
4,714,374,741
4,826,251,547
5,087,561,796
5,351,949,496
5,692,569,465

$30,353
31,945
33,340
35,323
36,219
36,764
37,765
39,354
40,677
42,535

$584
614
641
679
697
707
726
757
782
818

$30,058
31,676
33,094
35,077
35,943
36,428
37,401
38,955
40,270
42,124

$578
609
636
675
691
701
719
749
774
810

$30,064
31,762
33,244
35,337
36,157
36,539
37,508
39,134
40,505
42,414

$578
611
639
680
695
703
721
753
779
816

$32,521
33,605
34,681
36,296
37,814
39,212
40,057
41,118
42,249
43,875

$625
646
667
698
727
754
770
791
812
844

$29,134
30,251
31,234
32,387
33,521
34,605
35,669
36,805
37,718
39,179

$560
582
601
623
645
665
686
708
725
753

$42,732
43,688
44,287
46,228
48,940
52,050
54,239
57,782
59,864
62,274

$822
840
852
889
941
1,001
1,043
1,111
1,151
1,198

UI covered
1997 ..................................................
1998 ..................................................
1999 ..................................................
2000 ..................................................
2001 ..................................................
2002 ..................................................
2003 ..................................................
2004 ..................................................
2005 ..................................................
2006 ..................................................

7,317,363
7,586,767
7,771,198
7,828,861
7,933,536
8,051,117
8,177,087
8,312,729
8,518,249
8,731,111

118,233,942
121,400,660
124,255,714
127,005,574
126,883,182
125,475,293
125,031,551
126,538,579
128,837,948
131,104,860

$3,553,933,885
3,845,494,089
4,112,169,533
4,454,966,824
4,560,511,280
4,570,787,218
4,676,319,378
4,929,262,369
5,188,301,929
5,522,624,197

Private industry covered
1997 ..................................................
1998 ..................................................
1999 ..................................................
2000 ..................................................
2001 ..................................................
2002 ..................................................
2003 ..................................................
2004 ..................................................
2005 ..................................................
2006 ..................................................

7,121,182
7,381,518
7,560,567
7,622,274
7,724,965
7,839,903
7,963,340
8,093,142
8,294,662
8,505,496

102,175,161
105,082,368
107,619,457
110,015,333
109,304,802
107,577,281
107,065,553
108,490,066
110,611,016
112,718,858

$3,071,807,287
3,337,621,699
3,577,738,557
3,887,626,769
3,952,152,155
3,930,767,025
4,015,823,311
4,245,640,890
4,480,311,193
4,780,833,389

State government covered
1997 ..................................................
1998 ..................................................
1999 ..................................................
2000 ..................................................
2001 ..................................................
2002 ..................................................
2003 ..................................................
2004 ..................................................
2005 ..................................................
2006 ..................................................

65,352
67,347
70,538
65,096
64,583
64,447
64,467
64,544
66,278
66,921

4,214,451
4,240,779
4,296,673
4,370,160
4,452,237
4,485,071
4,481,845
4,484,997
4,527,514
4,565,908

$137,057,432
142,512,445
149,011,194
158,618,365
168,358,331
175,866,492
179,528,728
184,414,992
191,281,126
200,329,294

Local government covered
1997 ..................................................
1998 ..................................................
1999 ..................................................
2000 ..................................................
2001 ..................................................
2002 ..................................................
2003 ..................................................
2004 ..................................................
2005 ..................................................
2006 ..................................................

130,829
137,902
140,093
141,491
143,989
146,767
149,281
155,043
157,309
158,695

11,844,330
12,077,513
12,339,584
12,620,081
13,126,143
13,412,941
13,484,153
13,563,517
13,699,418
13,820,093

$345,069,166
365,359,945
385,419,781
408,721,690
440,000,795
464,153,701
480,967,339
499,206,488
516,709,610
541,461,514

Federal government covered (UCFE)
1997 ..................................................
1998 ..................................................
1999 ..................................................
2000 ..................................................
2001 ..................................................
2002 ..................................................
2003 ..................................................
2004 ..................................................
2005 ..................................................
2006 ..................................................

52,110
47,252
49,661
50,256
50,993
50,755
51,753
52,066
52,895
52,916

NOTE: Data are final. Detail may not add to total due to rounding.

80

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

2,810,489
2,782,888
2,786,567
2,871,489
2,752,619
2,758,627
2,764,275
2,739,596
2,733,675
2,728,974

$120,097,833
121,578,334
123,409,672
132,741,760
134,713,843
143,587,523
149,932,170
158,299,427
163,647,568
169,945,269

25. Annual data: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, establishment size and employment, private ownership, by
supersector, first quarter 2006
Size of establishments
Industry, establishments, and
employment

Total

Fewer than
5 workers1

5 to 9
workers

10 to 19
workers

20 to 49
workers

50 to 99
workers

100 to 249
workers

250 to 499
workers

500 to 999
workers

1,000 or
more
workers

Total all industries2
Establishments, first quarter ..................
Employment, March ...............................

8,413,125
111,001,540

5,078,506
7,540,432

Natural resources and mining
Establishments, first quarter ..................
Employment, March ...............................

123,076
1,631,257

69,188
111,354

23,230
153,676

15,106
203,446

9,842
296,339

3,177
216,952

1,783
267,612

516
177,858

175
115,367

59
88,653

Construction
Establishments, first quarter ..................
Employment, March ...............................

861,030
7,299,087

558,318
823,891

141,743
929,155

84,922
1,140,245

52,373
1,565,409

15,118
1,027,718

6,762
994,696

1,358
454,918

337
220,788

99
142,267

Manufacturing
Establishments, first quarter ..................
Employment, March ...............................

362,959
14,098,486

137,311
240,304

61,852
415,575

55,135
757,991

53,364
1,662,309

25,712
1,798,423

19,573
3,006,794

6,423
2,207,979

2,469
1,668,696

1,120
2,340,415

Trade, transportation, and utilities
Establishments, first quarter ..................
Employment, March ...............................

1,880,255
25,612,515

999,688
1,663,203

380,100
2,529,630

245,926
3,293,292

158,053
4,772,401

53,502
3,695,250

33,590
5,001,143

7,071
2,419,416

1,796
1,166,322

529
1,071,858

Information
Establishments, first quarter ..................
Employment, March ...............................

142,974
3,037,124

81,209
113,399

21,094
140,632

16,356
223,171

13,313
411,358

5,553
384,148

3,568
544,418

1,141
392,681

512
355,421

228
471,896

Financial activities
Establishments, first quarter ..................
Employment, March ...............................

836,365
8,102,371

541,333
874,114

151,952
1,002,449

80,853
1,068,474

40,558
1,206,411

12,146
832,505

6,245
936,343

1,890
655,392

928
641,926

460
884,757

Professional and business services
Establishments, first quarter ..................
Employment, March ...............................

1,403,142
17,162,560

948,773
1,333,479

192,581
1,265,155

121,585
1,639,285

80,222
2,431,806

30,997
2,148,736

20,046
3,038,221

5,849
1,995,309

2,169
1,469,170

920
1,841,399

Education and health services
Establishments, first quarter ..................
Employment, March ...............................

787,747
16,838,748

375,326
684,886

175,191
1,163,519

112,455
1,512,272

72,335
2,177,055

26,364
1,835,664

18,400
2,754,731

4,106
1,400,469

1,832
1,282,903

1,738
4,027,249

Leisure and hospitality
Establishments, first quarter ..................
Employment, March ...............................

699,767
12,633,387

270,143
430,588

118,147
796,935

128,663
1,802,270

131,168
3,945,588

38,635
2,583,745

10,459
1,475,115

1,602
540,014

648
437,645

302
621,487

Other services
Establishments, first quarter ..................
Employment, March ...............................

1,121,269
4,326,368

912,768
1,087,667

118,306
771,276

56,724
747,842

24,734
718,557

5,570
377,961

2,629
388,231

418
139,473

99
63,337

21
32,024

1

Includes establishments that reported no workers in March 2006.

2

Includes data for unclassified establishments, not shown separately.

1,392,481
919,182
636,264
216,815
123,061
30,375
9,219,319 12,406,793 19,195,647 14,903,811 18,408,166 10,383,792

10,965
5,476
7,421,575 11,522,005

NOTE: Data are final. Detail may not add to total due to rounding.

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 81

Current Labor Statistics: Labor Force Data

26. Average annual wages for 2005 and 2006 for all covered
workers1 by metropolitan area
Average annual wages3
Metropolitan area2
2006

Metropolitan areas4 ..............................................................

$42,253

$44,165

4.5

Abilene, TX ............................................................................
Aguadilla-Isabela-San Sebastian, PR ...................................
Akron, OH ..............................................................................
Albany, GA ............................................................................
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY ..............................................
Albuquerque, NM ...................................................................
Alexandria, LA .......................................................................
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ ....................................
Altoona, PA ............................................................................
Amarillo, TX ...........................................................................

27,876
18,717
37,471
31,741
39,201
35,665
30,114
38,506
29,642
31,954

29,842
19,277
38,088
32,335
41,027
36,934
31,329
39,787
30,394
33,574

7.1
3.0
1.6
1.9
4.7
3.6
4.0
3.3
2.5
5.1

Ames, IA ................................................................................
Anchorage, AK ......................................................................
Anderson, IN ..........................................................................
Anderson, SC ........................................................................
Ann Arbor, MI ........................................................................
Anniston-Oxford, AL ..............................................................
Appleton, WI ..........................................................................
Asheville, NC .........................................................................
Athens-Clarke County, GA ....................................................
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA .....................................

33,889
41,712
31,418
29,463
45,820
31,231
34,431
30,926
32,512
44,595

35,331
42,955
32,184
30,373
47,186
32,724
35,308
32,268
33,485
45,889

4.3
3.0
2.4
3.1
3.0
4.8
2.5
4.3
3.0
2.9

Atlantic City, NJ .....................................................................
Auburn-Opelika, AL ...............................................................
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC ......................................
Austin-Round Rock, TX .........................................................
Bakersfield, CA ......................................................................
Baltimore-Towson, MD ..........................................................
Bangor, ME ............................................................................
Barnstable Town, MA ............................................................
Baton Rouge, LA ...................................................................
Battle Creek, MI .....................................................................

36,735
29,196
34,588
43,500
34,165
43,486
30,707
35,123
34,523
37,994

38,018
30,468
35,638
45,737
36,020
45,177
31,746
36,437
37,245
39,362

3.5
4.4
3.0
5.1
5.4
3.9
3.4
3.7
7.9
3.6

Bay City, MI ...........................................................................
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX .....................................................
Bellingham, WA .....................................................................
Bend, OR ...............................................................................
Billings, MT ............................................................................
Binghamton, NY ....................................................................
Birmingham-Hoover, AL ........................................................
Bismarck, ND .........................................................................
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA ................................
Bloomington, IN .....................................................................

33,572
36,530
31,128
31,492
31,748
33,290
39,353
31,504
32,196
30,080

35,094
39,026
32,618
33,319
33,270
35,048
40,798
32,550
34,024
30,913

4.5
6.8
4.8
5.8
4.8
5.3
3.7
3.3
5.7
2.8

Bloomington-Normal, IL .........................................................
Boise City-Nampa, ID ............................................................
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH ......................................
Boulder, CO ...........................................................................
Bowling Green, KY ................................................................
Bremerton-Silverdale, WA .....................................................
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT .........................................
Brownsville-Harlingen, TX .....................................................
Brunswick, GA .......................................................................
Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY ......................................................

39,404
34,623
54,199
49,115
31,306
36,467
71,095
24,893
30,902
35,302

41,359
36,734
56,809
50,944
32,529
37,694
74,890
25,795
32,717
36,950

5.0
6.1
4.8
3.7
3.9
3.4
5.3
3.6
5.9
4.7

Burlington, NC .......................................................................
Burlington-South Burlington, VT ............................................
Canton-Massillon, OH ...........................................................
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL ....................................................
Carson City, NV .....................................................................
Casper, WY ...........................................................................
Cedar Rapids, IA ...................................................................
Champaign-Urbana, IL ..........................................................
Charleston, WV .....................................................................
Charleston-North Charleston, SC ..........................................

31,084
38,582
32,080
35,649
38,428
34,810
37,902
33,278
35,363
33,896

32,835
40,548
33,132
37,065
40,115
38,307
38,976
34,422
36,887
35,267

5.6
5.1
3.3
4.0
4.4
10.0
2.8
3.4
4.3
4.0

Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC ....................................
Charlottesville, VA .................................................................
Chattanooga, TN-GA .............................................................
Cheyenne, WY ......................................................................
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI .......................................
Chico, CA ..............................................................................
Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN .........................................
Clarksville, TN-KY .................................................................
Cleveland, TN ........................................................................
Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH .................................................

43,728
37,392
33,743
32,208
46,609
30,007
40,343
29,870
32,030
39,973

45,732
39,051
35,358
35,306
48,631
31,557
41,447
30,949
33,075
41,325

4.6
4.4
4.8
9.6
4.3
5.2
2.7
3.6
3.3
3.4

Coeur d’Alene, ID ..................................................................
College Station-Bryan, TX .....................................................
Colorado Springs, CO ...........................................................
Columbia, MO ........................................................................
Columbia, SC ........................................................................
Columbus, GA-AL ..................................................................
Columbus, IN .........................................................................
Columbus, OH .......................................................................
Corpus Christi, TX .................................................................
Corvallis, OR .........................................................................

28,208
29,032
37,268
31,263
33,386
31,370
38,446
39,806
32,975
39,357

29,797
30,239
38,325
32,207
35,209
32,334
40,107
41,168
35,399
40,586

5.6
4.2
2.8
3.0
5.5
3.1
4.3
3.4
7.4
3.1

See footnotes at end of table.

82

Percent
change,
2005-06

2005

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

26. Average annual wages for 2005 and 2006 for all covered
workers1 by metropolitan area — Continued
Average annual wages3
Metropolitan area2

Percent
change,
2005-06

2005

2006

Cumberland, MD-WV ............................................................
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX ............................................
Dalton, GA .............................................................................
Danville, IL .............................................................................
Danville, VA ...........................................................................
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL .....................................
Dayton, OH ............................................................................
Decatur, AL ............................................................................
Decatur, IL .............................................................................
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL .........................

$28,645
45,337
32,848
31,861
28,449
35,546
37,922
33,513
38,444
29,927

$29,859
47,525
33,266
33,141
28,870
37,559
39,387
34,883
39,375
31,197

4.2
4.8
1.3
4.0
1.5
5.7
3.9
4.1
2.4
4.2

Denver-Aurora, CO ................................................................
Des Moines, IA ......................................................................
Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI ....................................................
Dothan, AL .............................................................................
Dover, DE ..............................................................................
Dubuque, IA ...........................................................................
Duluth, MN-WI .......................................................................
Durham, NC ...........................................................................
Eau Claire, WI .......................................................................
El Centro, CA .........................................................................

45,940
39,760
46,790
30,253
33,132
32,414
32,638
46,743
30,763
29,879

48,232
41,358
47,455
31,473
34,571
33,044
33,677
49,314
31,718
30,035

5.0
4.0
1.4
4.0
4.3
1.9
3.2
5.5
3.1
0.5

Elizabethtown, KY .................................................................
Elkhart-Goshen, IN ................................................................
Elmira, NY .............................................................................
El Paso, TX ............................................................................
Erie, PA .................................................................................
Eugene-Springfield, OR .........................................................
Evansville, IN-KY ...................................................................
Fairbanks, AK ........................................................................
Fajardo, PR ...........................................................................
Fargo, ND-MN .......................................................................

30,912
35,573
32,989
28,666
32,010
32,295
35,302
39,399
20,011
32,291

32,072
35,878
33,968
29,903
33,213
33,257
36,858
41,296
21,002
33,542

3.8
0.9
3.0
4.3
3.8
3.0
4.4
4.8
5.0
3.9

Farmington, NM .....................................................................
Fayetteville, NC .....................................................................
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO ...............................
Flagstaff, AZ ..........................................................................
Flint, MI ..................................................................................
Florence, SC ..........................................................................
Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL ..................................................
Fond du Lac, WI ....................................................................
Fort Collins-Loveland, CO .....................................................
Fort Smith, AR-OK .................................................................

33,695
30,325
34,598
30,733
37,982
32,326
28,885
32,634
36,612
29,599

36,220
31,281
35,734
32,231
39,409
33,610
29,518
33,376
37,940
30,932

7.5
3.2
3.3
4.9
3.8
4.0
2.2
2.3
3.6
4.5

Fort Walton Beach-Crestview-Destin, FL ..............................
Fort Wayne, IN ......................................................................
Fresno, CA ............................................................................
Gadsden, AL ..........................................................................
Gainesville, FL .......................................................................
Gainesville, GA ......................................................................
Glens Falls, NY ......................................................................
Goldsboro, NC .......................................................................
Grand Forks, ND-MN .............................................................
Grand Junction, CO ...............................................................

32,976
34,717
32,266
28,438
32,992
33,828
31,710
28,316
28,138
31,611

34,409
35,641
33,504
29,499
34,573
34,765
32,780
29,331
29,234
33,729

4.3
2.7
3.8
3.7
4.8
2.8
3.4
3.6
3.9
6.7

Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI ..................................................
Great Falls, MT ......................................................................
Greeley, CO ...........................................................................
Green Bay, WI .......................................................................
Greensboro-High Point, NC ...................................................
Greenville, NC .......................................................................
Greenville, SC .......................................................................
Guayama, PR ........................................................................
Gulfport-Biloxi, MS .................................................................
Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV .........................................

36,941
28,021
33,636
35,467
34,876
31,433
34,469
23,263
31,688
33,202

38,056
29,542
35,144
36,677
35,898
32,432
35,471
24,551
34,688
34,621

3.0
5.4
4.5
3.4
2.9
3.2
2.9
5.5
9.5
4.3

Hanford-Corcoran, CA ...........................................................
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA ..........................................................
Harrisonburg, VA ...................................................................
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT .............................
Hattiesburg, MS .....................................................................
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC ..............................................
Hinesville-Fort Stewart, GA ...................................................
Holland-Grand Haven, MI ......................................................
Honolulu, HI ...........................................................................
Hot Springs, AR .....................................................................

29,989
39,144
30,366
50,154
28,568
30,090
30,062
36,362
37,654
27,024

31,148
39,807
31,522
51,282
30,059
31,323
31,416
36,895
39,009
27,684

3.9
1.7
3.8
2.2
5.2
4.1
4.5
1.5
3.6
2.4

Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA ......................................
Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land, TX ........................................
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH ...........................................
Huntsville, AL .........................................................................
Idaho Falls, ID .......................................................................
Indianapolis, IN ......................................................................
Iowa City, IA ..........................................................................
Ithaca, NY ..............................................................................
Jackson, MI ...........................................................................
Jackson, MS ..........................................................................

33,696
47,157
31,415
42,401
29,795
39,830
34,785
36,457
35,879
33,099

38,417
50,177
32,648
44,659
31,632
41,307
35,913
38,337
36,836
34,605

14.0
6.4
3.9
5.3
6.2
3.7
3.2
5.2
2.7
4.5

See footnotes at end of table.

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 83

Current Labor Statistics: Labor Force Data

26. Average annual wages for 2005 and 2006 for all covered
workers1 by metropolitan area — Continued
Average annual wages3
Metropolitan area2
2006

Jackson, TN ...........................................................................
Jacksonville, FL .....................................................................
Jacksonville, NC ....................................................................
Janesville, WI ........................................................................
Jefferson City, MO .................................................................
Johnson City, TN ...................................................................
Johnstown, PA .......................................................................
Jonesboro, AR .......................................................................
Joplin, MO .............................................................................
Kalamazoo-Portage, MI .........................................................

$33,286
38,224
24,803
34,107
30,991
29,840
29,335
28,550
29,152
36,042

$34,477
40,192
25,854
36,732
31,771
31,058
29,972
28,972
30,111
37,099

3.6
5.1
4.2
7.7
2.5
4.1
2.2
1.5
3.3
2.9

Kankakee-Bradley, IL ............................................................
Kansas City, MO-KS ..............................................................
Kennewick-Richland-Pasco, WA ...........................................
Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, TX ...............................................
Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA ............................................
Kingston, NY ..........................................................................
Knoxville, TN .........................................................................
Kokomo, IN ............................................................................
La Crosse, WI-MN .................................................................
Lafayette, IN ..........................................................................

31,802
39,749
38,453
30,028
33,568
30,752
35,724
44,462
31,029
35,176

32,389
41,320
38,750
31,511
35,100
33,697
37,216
45,808
31,819
35,380

1.8
4.0
0.8
4.9
4.6
9.6
4.2
3.0
2.5
0.6

Lafayette, LA .........................................................................
Lake Charles, LA ...................................................................
Lakeland, FL ..........................................................................
Lancaster, PA ........................................................................
Lansing-East Lansing, MI ......................................................
Laredo, TX .............................................................................
Las Cruces, NM .....................................................................
Las Vegas-Paradise, NV .......................................................
Lawrence, KS ........................................................................
Lawton, OK ............................................................................

34,729
33,728
32,235
35,264
38,135
27,401
28,569
38,940
28,492
28,459

38,170
35,883
33,530
36,171
39,890
28,051
29,969
40,139
29,896
29,830

9.9
6.4
4.0
2.6
4.6
2.4
4.9
3.1
4.9
4.8

Lebanon, PA ..........................................................................
Lewiston, ID-WA ....................................................................
Lewiston-Auburn, ME ............................................................
Lexington-Fayette, KY ...........................................................
Lima, OH ...............................................................................
Lincoln, NE ............................................................................
Little Rock-North Little Rock, AR ...........................................
Logan, UT-ID .........................................................................
Longview, TX .........................................................................
Longview, WA ........................................................................

30,704
29,414
31,008
36,683
32,630
32,711
34,920
25,869
32,603
33,993

31,790
30,776
32,231
37,926
33,790
33,703
36,169
26,766
35,055
35,140

3.5
4.6
3.9
3.4
3.6
3.0
3.6
3.5
7.5
3.4

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA .............................
Louisville, KY-IN ....................................................................
Lubbock, TX ..........................................................................
Lynchburg, VA .......................................................................
Macon, GA .............................................................................
Madera, CA ...........................................................................
Madison, WI ...........................................................................
Manchester-Nashua, NH .......................................................
Mansfield, OH ........................................................................
Mayaguez, PR .......................................................................

46,592
37,144
30,174
32,025
33,110
29,356
38,210
45,066
32,688
19,597

48,680
38,673
31,977
33,242
34,126
31,213
40,007
46,659
33,171
20,619

4.5
4.1
6.0
3.8
3.1
6.3
4.7
3.5
1.5
5.2

McAllen-Edinburg-Pharr, TX ..................................................
Medford, OR ..........................................................................
Memphis, TN-MS-AR ............................................................
Merced, CA ............................................................................
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, FL ..............................
Michigan City-La Porte, IN .....................................................
Midland, TX ...........................................................................
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI ....................................
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI ...........................
Missoula, MT .........................................................................

25,315
30,502
39,094
30,209
40,174
30,724
38,267
40,181
45,507
29,627

26,712
31,697
40,580
31,147
42,175
31,383
42,625
42,049
46,931
30,652

5.5
3.9
3.8
3.1
5.0
2.1
11.4
4.6
3.1
3.5

Mobile, AL ..............................................................................
Modesto, CA ..........................................................................
Monroe, LA ............................................................................
Monroe, MI ............................................................................
Montgomery, AL ....................................................................
Morgantown, WV ...................................................................
Morristown, TN ......................................................................
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA ...............................................
Muncie, IN .............................................................................
Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI ................................................

33,496
34,325
29,264
39,449
33,441
31,529
31,215
31,387
32,172
33,035

36,126
35,468
30,618
40,938
35,383
32,608
31,914
32,851
30,691
33,949

7.9
3.3
4.6
3.8
5.8
3.4
2.2
4.7
-4.6
2.8

Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC ....................
Napa, CA ...............................................................................
Naples-Marco Island, FL .......................................................
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro, TN .................................
New Haven-Milford, CT .........................................................
New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA .........................................
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA ......
Niles-Benton Harbor, MI ........................................................
Norwich-New London, CT .....................................................
Ocala, FL ...............................................................................

26,642
40,180
38,211
38,753
43,931
37,239
57,660
35,029
42,151
30,008

27,905
41,788
39,320
41,003
44,892
42,434
61,388
36,967
43,184
31,330

4.7
4.0
2.9
5.8
2.2
14.0
6.5
5.5
2.5
4.4

See footnotes at end of table.

84

Percent
change,
2005-06

2005

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

26. Average annual wages for 2005 and 2006 for all covered
workers1 by metropolitan area — Continued
Average annual wages3
Metropolitan area2

Percent
change,
2005-06

2005

2006

Ocean City, NJ ......................................................................
Odessa, TX ............................................................................
Ogden-Clearfield, UT .............................................................
Oklahoma City, OK ................................................................
Olympia, WA ..........................................................................
Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA ................................................
Orlando, FL ............................................................................
Oshkosh-Neenah, WI ............................................................
Owensboro, KY .....................................................................
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA ...................................

$31,033
33,475
31,195
33,142
36,230
36,329
36,466
38,820
31,379
44,597

$31,801
37,144
32,890
35,846
37,787
38,139
37,776
39,538
32,491
45,467

2.5
11.0
5.4
8.2
4.3
5.0
3.6
1.8
3.5
2.0

Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL ........................................
Panama City-Lynn Haven, FL ...............................................
Parkersburg-Marietta, WV-OH ..............................................
Pascagoula, MS ....................................................................
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL ...........................................
Peoria, IL ...............................................................................
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD ................
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ ...............................................
Pine Bluff, AR ........................................................................
Pittsburgh, PA ........................................................................

38,287
31,894
30,747
34,735
32,064
39,871
46,454
40,245
30,794
38,809

39,778
33,341
32,213
36,287
33,530
42,283
48,647
42,220
32,115
40,759

3.9
4.5
4.8
4.5
4.6
6.0
4.7
4.9
4.3
5.0

Pittsfield, MA ..........................................................................
Pocatello, ID ..........................................................................
Ponce, PR .............................................................................
Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, ME ................................
Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA ...............................
Port St. Lucie-Fort Pierce, FL ................................................
Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY ............................
Prescott, AZ ...........................................................................
Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA ..........................
Provo-Orem, UT ....................................................................

35,807
27,686
19,660
35,857
41,048
33,235
38,187
29,295
37,796
30,395

36,707
28,418
20,266
36,979
42,607
34,408
39,528
30,625
39,428
32,308

2.5
2.6
3.1
3.1
3.8
3.5
3.5
4.5
4.3
6.3

Pueblo, CO ............................................................................
Punta Gorda, FL ....................................................................
Racine, WI .............................................................................
Raleigh-Cary, NC ..................................................................
Rapid City, SD .......................................................................
Reading, PA ..........................................................................
Redding, CA ..........................................................................
Reno-Sparks, NV ...................................................................
Richmond, VA ........................................................................
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA .................................

30,165
31,937
37,659
39,465
28,758
36,210
32,139
38,453
41,274
35,201

30,941
32,370
39,002
41,205
29,920
38,048
33,307
39,537
42,495
36,668

2.6
1.4
3.6
4.4
4.0
5.1
3.6
2.8
3.0
4.2

Roanoke, VA .........................................................................
Rochester, MN .......................................................................
Rochester, NY .......................................................................
Rockford, IL ...........................................................................
Rocky Mount, NC ..................................................................
Rome, GA ..............................................................................
Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Roseville, CA ...........................
Saginaw-Saginaw Township North, MI ..................................
St. Cloud, MN ........................................................................
St. George, UT ......................................................................

32,987
41,296
37,991
35,652
30,983
33,896
42,800
36,325
31,705
26,046

33,912
42,941
39,481
37,424
31,556
34,850
44,552
37,747
33,018
28,034

2.8
4.0
3.9
5.0
1.8
2.8
4.1
3.9
4.1
7.6

St. Joseph, MO-KS ................................................................
St. Louis, MO-IL .....................................................................
Salem, OR .............................................................................
Salinas, CA ............................................................................
Salisbury, MD ........................................................................
Salt Lake City, UT ..................................................................
San Angelo, TX .....................................................................
San Antonio, TX ....................................................................
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA ...................................
Sandusky, OH .......................................................................

30,009
39,985
31,289
36,067
32,240
36,857
29,530
35,097
43,824
32,631

31,253
41,354
32,764
37,974
33,223
38,630
30,168
36,763
45,784
33,526

4.1
3.4
4.7
5.3
3.0
4.8
2.2
4.7
4.5
2.7

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA ...................................
San German-Cabo Rojo, PR .................................................
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ..................................
San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo, PR .........................................
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA ........................................
Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, CA ................................
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA ..................................................
Santa Fe, NM ........................................................................
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA ....................................................
Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, FL ............................................

58,634
18,745
71,970
23,952
33,759
39,080
38,016
33,253
40,017
33,905

61,343
19,498
76,608
24,812
35,146
40,326
40,776
35,320
41,533
35,751

4.6
4.0
6.4
3.6
4.1
3.2
7.3
6.2
3.8
5.4

Savannah, GA .......................................................................
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA ..................................................
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ..............................................
Sheboygan, WI ......................................................................
Sherman-Denison, TX ...........................................................
Shreveport-Bossier City, LA ..................................................
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD .............................................................
Sioux Falls, SD ......................................................................
South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI ..............................................
Spartanburg, SC ....................................................................

34,104
32,057
46,644
35,067
32,800
31,962
31,122
33,257
34,086
35,526

35,684
32,813
49,455
35,908
34,166
33,678
31,826
34,542
35,089
37,077

4.6
2.4
6.0
2.4
4.2
5.4
2.3
3.9
2.9
4.4

See footnotes at end of table.

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 85

Current Labor Statistics: Labor Force Data

26. Average annual wages for 2005 and 2006 for all covered
workers1 by metropolitan area — Continued
Average annual wages3
Metropolitan area2
2006

Spokane, WA .........................................................................
Springfield, IL .........................................................................
Springfield, MA ......................................................................
Springfield, MO ......................................................................
Springfield, OH ......................................................................
State College, PA ..................................................................
Stockton, CA ..........................................................................
Sumter, SC ............................................................................
Syracuse, NY .........................................................................
Tallahassee, FL .....................................................................

$32,621
39,299
36,791
30,124
30,814
34,109
35,030
27,469
36,494
33,548

$34,016
40,679
37,962
30,786
31,844
35,392
36,426
29,294
38,081
35,018

4.3
3.5
3.2
2.2
3.3
3.8
4.0
6.6
4.3
4.4

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL ..................................
Terre Haute, IN ......................................................................
Texarkana, TX-Texarkana, AR ..............................................
Toledo, OH ............................................................................
Topeka, KS ............................................................................
Trenton-Ewing, NJ .................................................................
Tucson, AZ ............................................................................
Tulsa, OK ...............................................................................
Tuscaloosa, AL ......................................................................
Tyler, TX ................................................................................

36,374
30,597
31,302
35,848
33,303
52,034
35,650
35,211
34,124
34,731

38,016
31,341
32,545
37,039
34,806
54,274
37,119
37,637
35,613
36,173

4.5
2.4
4.0
3.3
4.5
4.3
4.1
6.9
4.4
4.2

Utica-Rome, NY .....................................................................
Valdosta, GA .........................................................................
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA ...............................................................
Vero Beach, FL ......................................................................
Victoria, TX ............................................................................
Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, NJ .............................................
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC .....................
Visalia-Porterville, CA ............................................................
Waco, TX ...............................................................................
Warner Robins, GA ...............................................................

30,902
25,712
38,431
32,591
34,327
36,387
34,580
28,582
32,325
36,762

32,457
26,794
40,225
33,823
36,642
37,749
36,071
29,772
33,450
38,087

5.0
4.2
4.7
3.8
6.7
3.7
4.3
4.2
3.5
3.6

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ...............
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA .......................................................
Wausau, WI ...........................................................................
Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH ...............................................
Wenatchee, WA .....................................................................
Wheeling, WV-OH .................................................................
Wichita, KS ............................................................................
Wichita Falls, TX ....................................................................
Williamsport, PA ....................................................................
Wilmington, NC ......................................................................

55,525
33,123
33,259
30,596
27,163
29,808
35,976
29,343
30,699
31,792

58,057
34,329
34,438
31,416
28,340
30,620
38,763
30,785
31,431
32,948

4.6
3.6
3.5
2.7
4.3
2.7
7.7
4.9
2.4
3.6

Winchester, VA-WV ...............................................................
Winston-Salem, NC ...............................................................
Worcester, MA .......................................................................
Yakima, WA ...........................................................................
Yauco, PR .............................................................................
York-Hanover, PA ..................................................................
Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA ...............................
Yuba City, CA ........................................................................
Yuma, AZ ...............................................................................

33,787
36,654
41,094
27,334
17,818
36,834
32,176
32,133
27,168

34,895
37,712
42,726
28,401
19,001
37,226
33,852
33,642
28,369

3.3
2.9
4.0
3.9
6.6
1.1
5.2
4.7
4.4

1 Includes workers covered by Unemployment
Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation
for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.
2 Includes data for Metropolitan Statistical
Areas (MSA) as defined by OMB Bulletin No.
04-03 as of February 18, 2004.

86

Percent
change,
2005-06

2005

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

3 Each year’s total is based on the MSA
definition for the specific year. Annual changes
include differences resulting from changes in
MSA definitions.
4 Totals do not include the six MSAs within
Puerto Rico.

27. Annual data: Employment status of the population
>1XPEHUVLQWKRXVDQGV@
Employment status
Civilian noninstitutional population...........
Civilian labor force............................……
Labor force participation rate...............
Employed............................…………
Employment-population ratio..........
Unemployed............................………
Unemployment rate........................
Not in the labor force............................…
1

1997
203,133
136,297
67.1
129,558
63.8
6,739
4.9
66,837

19981
205,220
137,673
67.1
131,463
64.1
6,210
4.5
67,547

19991

20001

207,753
139,368
67.1
133,488
64.3
5,880
4.2
68,385

212,577
142,583
67.1
136,891
64.4
5,692
4
69,994

20011
215,092
143,734
66.8
136,933
63.7
6,801
4.7
71,359

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

217,570
144,863
66.6
136,485
62.7
8,378
5.8
72,707

221,168
146,510
66.2
137,736
62.3
8,774
6
74,658

223,357
147,401
66
139,252
62.3
8,149
5.5
75,956

226,082
149,320
66
141,730
62.7
7,591
5.1
76,762

228,815
151,428
66.2
144,427
63.1
7,001
4.6
77,387

231,867
153,124
66
146,047
63
7,078
4.6
78,743

Not strictly comparable with prior years.

28. Annual data: Employment levels by industry
>,QWKRXVDQGV@
Industry

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Total private employment............................…

103,113

106,021

108,686

110,996

110,707

108,828

108,416

109,814

111,899

114,184

115,717

Total nonfarm employment……………………
Goods-producing............................………
Natural resources and mining.................
Construction............................……………
Manufacturing............................…………

122,776
23,886
654
5,813
17,419

125,930
24,354
645
6,149
17,560

128,993
24,465
598
6,545
17,322

131,785
24,649
599
6,787
17,263

131,826
23,873
606
6,826
16,441

130,341
22,557
583
6,716
15,259

129,999
21,816
572
6,735
14,510

131,435
21,882
591
6,976
14,315

133,703
22,190
628
7,336
14,226

136,174
22,570
684
7,689
14,197

137,969
22,378
722
7,624
14,032

Private service-providing..........................
79,227
Trade, transportation, and utilities..........
24,700
Wholesale trade............................……… 5,663.90
Retail trade............................………… 14,388.90
Transportation and warehousing.........
4,026.50
Utilities............................………………
620.9
Information............................……………
3,084
7,178
Financial activities............................……
14,335
Professional and business services……
Education and health services…………
14,087
Leisure and hospitality……………………
11,018
Other services……………………………
4,825

81,667
25,186
5,795.20
14,609.30
4,168.00
613.4
3,218
7,462
15,147
14,446
11,232
4,976

84,221
25,771
5,892.50
14,970.10
4,300.30
608.5
3,419
7,648
15,957
14,798
11,543
5,087

86,346
26,225
5,933.20
15,279.80
4,410.30
601.3
3,631
7,687
16,666
15,109
11,862
5,168

86,834
25,983
5,772.70
15,238.60
4,372.00
599.4
3,629
7,807
16,476
15,645
12,036
5,258

86,271
25,497
5,652.30
15,025.10
4,223.60
596.2
3,395
7,847
15,976
16,199
11,986
5,372

86,599
25,287
5,607.50
14,917.30
4,185.40
577
3,188
7,977
15,987
16,588
12,173
5,401

87,932
25,533
5,662.90
15,058.20
4,248.60
563.8
3,118
8,031
16,395
16,953
12,493
5,409

89,709
25,959
5,764.40
15,279.60
4,360.90
554
3,061
8,153
16,954
17,372
12,816
5,395

91,615
26,231
5,897.60
15,319.30
4,465.80
548.5
3,055
8,363
17,552
17,838
13,143
5,432

93,339
26,472
6,005.30
15,382.00
4,531.20
553.5
3,087
8,446
17,920
18,377
13,565
5,472

19,909

20,307

20,790

21,118

21,513

21,583

21,621

21,804

21,990

22,252

Government……………………………………

19,664

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 87

Current Labor Statistics: Labor Force Data

29. Annual data: Average hours and earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on nonfarm
payrolls, by industry
Industry

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Private sector:
Average weekly hours.......…….................................
Average hourly earnings (in dollars).........................
Average weekly earnings (in dollars)........................

34.5
12.51
431.86

34.5
13.01
448.56

34.3
13.49
463.15

34.3
14.02
481.01

34
14.54
493.79

33.9
14.97
506.72

33.7
15.37
518.06

33.7
15.69
529.09

33.8
16.13
544.33

33.9
16.76
567.87

33.8
17.41
589.36

Goods-producing:
Average weekly hours.............................................
Average hourly earnings (in dollars).......................
Average weekly earnings (in dollars)......................

41.1
13.82
568.43

40.8
14.23
580.99

40.8
14.71
599.99

40.7
15.27
621.86

39.9
15.78
630.04

39.9
16.33
651.61

39.8
16.8
669.13

40
17.19
688.17

40.1
17.6
705.31

40.5
18.02
729.87

40.5
18.64
755.73

Natural resources and mining
Average weekly hours............................................
Average hourly earnings (in dollars)......................
Average weekly earnings (in dollars).....................
Construction:

46.2
15.57
720.11

44.9
16.2
727.28

44.2
16.33
721.74

44.4
16.55
734.92

44.6
17
757.92

43.2
17.19
741.97

43.6
17.56
765.94

44.5
18.07
803.82

45.6
18.72
853.71

45.6
19.9
908.01

45.9
20.99
962.54

Average weekly hours............................................
Average hourly earnings (in dollars)......................
Average weekly earnings (in dollars).....................
Manufacturing:

38.9
15.67
609.48

38.8
16.23
629.75

39
16.8
655.11

39.2
17.48
685.78

38.7
18
695.89

38.4
18.52
711.82

38.4
18.95
726.83

38.3
19.23
735.55

38.6
19.46
750.22

39
20.02
781.04

38.9
20.94
814.83

Average weekly hours............................................
Average hourly earnings (in dollars)......................
Average weekly earnings (in dollars).....................
Private service-providing:

41.7
13.14
548.22

41.4
13.45
557.12

41.4
13.85
573.17

41.3
14.32
590.65

40.3
14.76
595.19

40.5
15.29
618.75

40.4
15.74
635.99

40.8
16.15
658.59

40.7
16.56
673.37

41.1
16.8
690.83

41.2
17.23
710.51

Average weekly hours..………................................
Average hourly earnings (in dollars).......................
Average weekly earnings (in dollars)......................

32.8
12.07
395.51

32.8
12.61
413.5

32.7
13.09
427.98

32.7
13.62
445.74

32.5
14.18
461.08

32.5
14.59
473.8

32.4
14.99
484.81

32.3
15.29
494.22

32.4
15.74
509.58

32.5
16.42
532.84

32.4
17.09
554.47

Trade, transportation, and utilities:
Average weekly hours.............................................
Average hourly earnings (in dollars).......................
Average weekly earnings (in dollars)......................
Wholesale trade:

34.3
11.9
407.57

34.2
12.39
423.3

33.9
12.82
434.31

33.8
13.31
449.88

33.5
13.7
459.53

33.6
14.02
471.27

33.6
14.34
481.14

33.5
14.58
488.42

33.4
14.92
498.43

33.4
15.4
514.61

33.4
15.82
528.22

Average weekly hours.........................................
Average hourly earnings (in dollars)...................
Average weekly earnings (in dollars)..................
Retail trade:

38.8
14.41
559.39

38.6
15.07
582.21

38.6
15.62
602.77

38.8
16.28
631.4

38.4
16.77
643.45

38
16.98
644.38

37.9
17.36
657.29

37.8
17.65
667.09

37.7
18.16
685

38
18.91
718.3

38.2
19.56
747.7

Average weekly hours.........................................
Average hourly earnings (in dollars)...................
Average weekly earnings (in dollars)..................
Transportation and warehousing:
Average weekly hours.........................................
Average hourly earnings (in dollars)...................
Average weekly earnings (in dollars)..................
Utilities:
Average weekly hours.........................................
Average hourly earnings (in dollars)...................
Average weekly earnings (in dollars)..................
Information:
Average weekly hours.........................................
Average hourly earnings (in dollars)...................
Average weekly earnings (in dollars)..................
Financial activities:

38.8
14.41
559.39

38.6
15.07
582.21

38.6
15.62
602.77

38.8
16.28
631.4

38.4
16.77
643.45

38
16.98
644.38

37.9
17.36
657.29

37.8
17.65
667.09

37.7
18.16
685

38
18.91
718.3

30.2
12.8
747.7

39.4
13.78
542.55

38.7
14.12
546.86

37.6
14.55
547.97

37.4
15.05
562.31

36.7
15.33
562.7

36.8
15.76
579.75

36.8
16.25
598.41

37.2
16.52
614.82

37
16.7
618.58

36.9
17.28
637.14

37
17.76
656.95

42
20.59
865.26

42
21.48
902.94

42
22.03
924.59

42
22.75
955.66

41.4
23.58
977.18

40.9
41.1
40.9
41.1
41.4
42.4
23.96
24.77
25.61
26.68
27.42
27.93
979.09 1,017.27 1,048.44 1,095.90 1,136.08 1,185.08

36.3
17.14
622.4

36.6
17.67
646.52

36.7
18.4
675.32

36.8
19.07
700.89

36.9
19.8
731.11

36.5
20.2
738.17

36.2
21.01
760.81

36.3
21.4
777.05

36.5
22.06
805

36.6
23.23
850.81

36.4
23.92
871.03

35.7
13.22
472.37

36
13.93
500.95

35.8
14.47
517.57

35.9
14.98
537.37

35.8
15.59
558.02

35.6
16.17
575.51

35.5
17.14
609.08

35.5
17.52
622.87

35.9
17.94
645.1

35.8
18.8
672.4

35.9
19.66
706.01

34.3
13.57
465.51

34.3
14.27
490

34.4
14.85
510.99

34.5
15.52
535.07

34.2
16.33
557.84

34.2
16.81
574.66

34.1
17.21
587.02

34.2
17.48
597.56

34.2
18.08
618.87

34.6
19.12
662.23

34.8
20.15
700.96

32.2
12.56
404.65

32.2
13
418.82

32.1
13.44
431.35

32.2
13.95
449.29

32.3
14.64
473.39

32.4
15.21
492.74

32.3
15.64
505.69

32.4
16.15
523.78

32.6
16.71
544.59

32.5
17.38
564.95

32.6
18.03
587.2

26
7.32
190.52

26.2
7.67
200.82

26.1
7.96
208.05

26.1
8.32
217.2

25.8
8.57
220.73

25.8
8.81
227.17

25.6
9
230.42

25.7
9.15
234.86

25.7
9.38
241.36

25.7
9.75
250.11

25.5
10.41
265.03

32.7
11.29
368.63

32.6
11.79
384.25

32.5
12.26
398.77

32.5
12.73
413.41

32.3
13.27
428.64

32
13.72
439.76

31.4
13.84
434.41

31
13.98
433.04

30.9
14.34
443.37

30.9
14.77
456.6

30.9
15.22
470.05

Average weekly hours.........................................
Average hourly earnings (in dollars)...................
Average weekly earnings (in dollars)..................
Professional and business services:
Average weekly hours.........................................
Average hourly earnings (in dollars)...................
Average weekly earnings (in dollars)..................
Education and health services:
Average weekly hours.........................................
Average hourly earnings (in dollars)...................
Average weekly earnings (in dollars)..................
Leisure and hospitality:
Average weekly hours.........................................
Average hourly earnings (in dollars)...................
Average weekly earnings (in dollars)..................
Other services:
Average weekly hours.........................................
Average hourly earnings (in dollars)...................
Average weekly earnings (in dollars)..................

NOTE: Data reflect the conversion to the 2002 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), replacing the Standard Industrial Classification
(SIC) system. N AICS-based data by industry are not comparable with SIC-based data.

88

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

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Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 89

Current Labor Statistics: Compensation & Industrial Relations

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100.0
100.0

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

100.3
100.6

107.8

101.2


101.1
101.0
100.7

101.3
100.6
100.5
101.4

100.8
101.2

109.3

101.8


102.2
101.8
101.5

102.0
101.3
101.4
102.7

102.4
101.9

110.1

102.1


102.9
103.2
103.2

103.2
102.4
102.5
103.6

102.9
102.7

110.4

102.5


103.5
104.1
104.2

103.9
103.7
104.0
104.0

103.7
102.9

102.8

104.2


104.7
105.1
104.5

105.0
105.3
105.8
105.7

104.6
103.9

104.7

104.6


105.9
105.7
104.9

105.6
106.0
106.4
106.1

104.2
105.1

105.0

105.4


106.9
106.9
106.7

106.5
107.5
108.1
107.1

105.3
106.1

105.6

105.6


107.5
107.7
107.5

107.3
108.1
108.6
107.6

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.6
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4.2
4.4
3.5

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100.5

100.9

103.2

104.1

105.1

105.7

107.6

108.4

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4.1

Workers by occupational group
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100.3
100.2
100.9
101.0
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100.8
100.8
101.5
101.6
101.2

103.3
103.4
103.3
103.5
103.1

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104.0
104.1
104.2
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104.9
104.8
105.6
105.7
105.4

105.4
105.3
106.2
106.4
106.3

107.5
107.5
107.9
108.2
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108.3
108.2
108.6
108.9
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Workers by industry
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6FKRROV«««««««««««««««««««
Elementary and secondaryVFKRROV««««««
+HDOWKFDUHDQGVRFLDODVVLVWDQFH«««««««««
+RVSLWDOV«««««««««««««««««««

100.0

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

100.3

100.2
100.2
101.3
100.9

100.8

100.5
100.5
102.9
101.3

103.7

103.5
103.6
105.1
103.3

104.3

104.1
104.2
105.7
104.3

104.8

104.6
104.7
107.1
105.6

105.3

104.9
105.0
107.6
106.3

107.5

107.4
107.4
108.6
107.5

108.2

108.0
108.0
109.3
108.2

.7

.6
.6
.6
.7

3.7

3.7
3.6
3.4
3.7

100.0

100.6

101.2

102.4

103.8

105.6

106.6

108.0

109.1

1.0

5.1

3

Public administration «««««««««««««««
1

Cost (cents per hour worked) measured in the Employment Cost Index consists of
wages, salaries, and employer cost of employee benefits.
2
Consists of private industry workers (excluding farm and household workers) and
State and local government (excluding Federal Government) workers.
3
Consists of legislative, judicial, administrative, and regulatory activities.

90

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

NOTE: The Employment Cost Index data reflect the conversion to the 2002 North
American Classification System (NAICS) and the 2000 Standard Occupational
Classification (SOC) system. The NAICS and SOC data shown prior to 2006 are for
informational purposes only. Series based on NAICS and SOC became the official BLS
estimates starting in March 2006.

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Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 91

Current Labor Statistics: Compensation & Industrial Relations

&RQWLQXHG²(PSOR\PHQW&RVW,QGH[ZDJHVDQGVDODULHVE\RFFXSDWLRQDQGLQGXVWU\JURXS
[December 2005 = 100]

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:KROHVDOHWUDGH«««««««««««««««««
5HWDLOWUDGH«««««««««««««««««««
Transportation and warehousing«««««««««
8WLOLWLHV«««««««««««««««««««««
,QIRUPDWLRQ«««««««««««««««««««
)LQDQFLDODFWLYLWLHV««««««««««««««««
)LQDQFHDQGLQVXUDQFH«««««««««««««
Real estate and rental and leasing««««««««
3URIHVVLRQDODQGEXVLQHVVVHUYLFHV«««««««««
(GXFDWLRQDQGKHDOWKVHUYLFHV«««««««««««
(GXFDWLRQVHUYLFHV«««««««««««««««
+HDOWKFDUHDQGVRFLDODVVLVWDQFH««««««««
+RVSLWDOV««««««««««««««««««
Leisure and hospitality««««««««««««««
$FFRPPRGDWLRQDQGIRRGVHUYLFHV««««««««
2WKHUVHUYLFHVH[FHSWSXEOLFDGPLQLVWUDWLRQ«««««

100.0
100.0

100.0

100.0


100.0
100.0
100.0

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

100.2
100.5

100.8

101.3


101.0
100.7
100.7

100.9
100.6
100.5
101.3

100.7
100.9

102.1

102.3


102.3
101.6
101.4

101.8
101.3
101.3
102.6

102.7
101.9

103.0

102.5


103.0
103.0
103.1

102.9
102.3
102.2
103.4

103.0
102.8

103.5

102.8


103.5
104.0
104.1

103.7
103.7
103.8
103.8

103.8
103.1

104.3

104.7


104.8
104.8
104.2

104.6
105.7
106.0
105.7

104.8
104.2

105.5

104.9


105.9
105.6
104.6

105.4
106.4
106.5
106.1

104.0
105.1

106.1

106.0


106.7
106.9
106.4

106.5
108.1
108.4
107.3

105.2
106.1

106.8

105.9


107.5
107.7
107.4

107.2
108.8
109.0
107.9

1.2
1.0

.7

-.1


.7
.7
.9

.7
.6
.6
.6

2.1
3.2

3.2

3.0


3.9
3.6
3.2

3.4
4.9
5.0
3.9

6WDWHDQGORFDOJRYHUQPHQWZRUNHUV««««««««««

100.0

100.3

100.8

102.8

103.5

104.1

104.6

106.4

107.1

.7

3.5

Workers by occupational group
ManagHPHQWSURIHVVLRQDODQGUHODWHG«««««««««
3URIHVVLRQDODQGUHODWHG««««««««««««««
6DOHVDQGRIILFH«««««««««««««««««««
2IILFHDQGDGPLQLVWUDWLYHVXSSRUW««««««««««
6HUYLFHRFFXSDWLRQV«««««««««««««««««

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

100.2
100.2
100.6
100.7
100.3

100.7
100.7
101.2
101.4
100.8

102.9
103.0
102.6
102.7
102.4

103.5
103.6
103.2
103.4
103.9

104.0
103.9
104.5
104.7
104.5

104.3
104.2
104.8
105.0
105.2

106.3
106.3
106.3
106.5
106.5

107.0
107.0
107.0
107.3
107.7

.7
.7
.7
.8
1.1

3.4
3.3
3.7
3.8
3.7

Workers by industry
(GXFDWLRQDQGKHDOWKVHUYLFHV««««««««««««
(GXFDWLRQVHUYLFHV«««««««««««««««
6FKRROV«««««««««««««««««««
Elementary and secondaryVFKRROV««««««
+HDOWKFDUHDQGVRFLDODVVLVWDQFH«««««««««
+RVSLWDOV«««««««««««««««««««

100.0

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

100.2

100.1
100.0
101.0
100.9

100.7

100.4
100.3
103.0
101.4

103.1

103.0
103.0
104.8
103.1

103.6

103.4
103.4
105.5
104.4

104.0

103.6
103.6
106.6
105.7

104.2

103.9
103.8
107.2
106.5

106.3

106.1
106.0
108.2
107.6

107.1

106.8
106.6
109.2
108.6

.8

.7
.6
.9
.9

3.4

3.3
3.1
3.5
4.0

100.0

100.5

101.1

102.0

103.5

104.5

105.2

106.4

107.4

.9

3.8

2

Public administration «««««««««««««««
1

Consists of private industry workers (excluding farm and household workers) and
State and local government (excluding Federal Government) workers.
2
Consists of legislative, judicial, administrative, and regulatory activities.
NOTE: The Employment Cost Index data reflect the conversion to the 2002 North

92

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

American Classification System (NAICS) and the 2000 Standard Occupational
Classification (SOC) system. The NAICS and SOC data shown prior to 2006 are for
informational purposes only. Series based on NAICS and SOC became the official
BLS estimates starting in March 2006.

(PSOR\PHQW&RVW,QGH[EHQHILWVE\RFFXSDWLRQDQGLQGXVWU\JURXS
[December 2005 = 100]

6HULHV

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&LYLOLDQZRUNHUV«««««««««««««««««««

100.0

100.9

101.6

102.8

103.6

104.0

105.1

106.1

106.8

0.7

3.1

3ULYDWHLQGXVWU\ZRUNHUV«««««««««««««««« 100.0

101.0

101.7

102.5

103.1

103.2

104.3

105.0

105.6

.6

2.4

Workers by occupational group
ManagHPHQWSURIHVVLRQDODQGUHODWHG«««««««««
6DOHVDQGRIILFH«««««««««««««««««««
1DWXUDOUHVRXUFHVFRQVWUXFWLRQDQGPDLQWHQDQFH««««
Production, transportation, and material moving«««««

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

101.3
100.8
101.1
100.1

101.8
101.6
102.7
101.0

102.8
102.0
103.5
101.6

103.4
102.9
104.0
102.0

103.8
103.4
103.4
101.2

104.9
104.3
104.8
102.4

105.6
105.2
105.3
102.7

106.0
106.0
105.9
103.7

.4
.8
.6
1.0

2.5
3.0
1.8
1.7

6HUYLFHRFFXSDWLRQV«««««««««««««««««

100.0

101.5

102.2

103.0

103.6

104.2

105.1

106.0

106.7

.7

3.0

Goods-producing««««««««««««««««««

Manufacturing««««««««««««««««««« 100.0
Service-providing«««««««««««««««««« 100.0


99.0
101.5


99.7
102.3


100.5
103.0


100.8
103.7


99.6
104.1


101.0
105.2


100.7
106.0


101.7
106.6


1.0
.6


.9
2.8

100.7

101.3

104.1

105.2

107.0

108.0

110.3

111.0

.6

5.5

Workers by industry

6WDWHDQGORFDOJRYHUQPHQWZRUNHUV««««««««««

100.0

NOTE: The Employment Cost Index data reflect the conversion to
the 2002 North American Classification System (NAICS) and the 2000
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. The NAICS and
SOC data shown prior

to 2006 are for informational purposes only. Series based on NAICS and SOC became the official
BLS estimates starting in March 2006.

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 93

Current Labor Statistics: Compensation & Industrial Relations

33. Employment Cost Index, private industry workers by bargaining status and region
[December 2005 = 100]
2005
Series

2006

Dec.

Mar.

June

2007

Sept.

Dec.

Mar.

June

Percent change

Sept.

Dec.

3 months
ended

12 months
ended

Dec. 2007
COMPENSATION
Workers by bargaining status1
8QLRQ«««««««««««««««««««««««««
Goods-producing«««««««««««««««««««
Manufacturing«««««««««««««««««««
Service-providing«««««««««««««««««««

100.0
100.0

100.0

100.5
99.9

101.0

101.8
101.2

102.2

102.4
101.8

102.9

103.0
102.2

103.6

102.7
101.5

103.7

103.9
102.8

104.7

104.4
103.1

105.4

105.1
104.0

106.0

0.7
.9

.6

2.0
1.8

2.3

1RQXQLRQ«««««««««««««««««««««««
Goods-producing«««««««««««««««««««
Manufacturing«««««««««««««««««««
Service-providing«««««««««««««««««««

100.0
100.0

100.0

100.9
100.5

101.0

101.7
101.4

101.8

102.6
102.0

102.7

103.2
102.5

103.4

104.2
103.3

104.4

105.1
104.2

105.3

105.9
104.8

106.2

106.5
105.4

106.8

.6
.6

.6

3.2
2.8

3.3

Workers by region1
1RUWKHDVW«««««««««««««««««««««««
6RXWK«««««««««««««««««««««««««
0LGZHVW««««««««««««««««««««««««
:HVW«««««««««««««««««««««««««

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

100.9
101.0
100.7
100.6

101.8
101.6
101.7
101.8

102.5
102.8
102.3
102.5

103.3
103.5
102.8
103.0

104.0
104.3
103.3
104.2

105.1
105.3
104.2
104.9

106.2
106.1
104.6
105.7

106.8
106.7
105.3
106.5

.6
.6
.7
.8

3.4
3.1
2.4
3.4

Workers by bargaining status1
8QLRQ«««««««««««««««««««««««««
Goods-producing«««««««««««««««««««
Manufacturing«««««««««««««««««««
Service-providing«««««««««««««««««««

100.0
100.0

100.0

100.3
100.5

100.1

101.2
101.6

100.9

101.7
101.9

101.6

102.3
102.3

102.2

102.8
102.7

102.9

103.7
103.6

103.8

104.4
104.3

104.6

104.7
104.3

104.9

.3
.0

.3

2.3
2.0

2.6

1RQXQLRQ«««««««««««««««««««««««
Goods-producing«««««««««««««««««««
Manufacturing«««««««««««««««««««
Service-providing«««««««««««««««««««

100.0
100.0

100.0

100.8
100.7

100.8

101.8
101.9

101.7

102.7
102.4

102.7

103.3
103.0

103.4

104.5
104.2

104.6

105.3
105.0

105.4

106.2
105.8

106.3

106.9
106.4

107.0

.7
.6

.7

3.5
3.3

3.5

Workers by region1
1RUWKHDVW«««««««««««««««««««««««
6RXWK«««««««««««««««««««««««««
0LGZHVW««««««««««««««««««««««««
:HVW«««««««««««««««««««««««««

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

100.8
101.0
100.4
100.7

101.7
101.6
101.4
102.1

102.5
102.9
102.0
102.7

103.1
103.6
102.6
103.2

104.0
104.6
103.6
104.8

105.0
105.6
104.4
105.4

106.1
106.5
105.0
106.2

106.6
107.0
105.6
107.0

.5
.5
.6
.8

3.4
3.3
2.9
3.7

WAGES AND SALARIES

1
The indexes are calculated differently from those for the
occupation and industry groups. For a detailed description of
the index calculation, see the Monthly Labor Review Technical
Note, "Estimation procedures for the Employment Cost Index,"
May 1982.

94

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

NOTE: The Employment Cost Index data reflect the conversion to the 2002 North American
Classification System (NAICS) and the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. The
NAICS and SOC data shown prior to 2006 are for informational purposes only. Series based on NAICS
and SOC became the official BLS estimates starting in March 2006.

1DWLRQDO&RPSHQVDWLRQ6XUYH\5HWLUHPHQWEHQHILWVLQSULYDWHLQGXVWU\E\
DFFHVVSDUWLFLSDWLRQDQGVHOHFWHGVHULHV±
Year

Series
2003

2004

2005

2007

2006

1

All retirement
Percentage of workers with access
All workers………………………………………………………

57

59

60

60

White-collar occupations 2 ……………………………………

67

69

70

69

-

-

-

-

-

76
64

Management, professional, and related ……………….
Sales and office ……………………………………………
2
Blue-collar occupations ………………………………………

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance...…
Production, transportation, and material moving…...…

61

-

-

-

-

59

59

60

62

-

-

-

-

-

61

-

-

-

-

65

Service occupations……………………………………………

28

31

32

34

36

Full-time…………………………………………………………

67

68

69

69

70

Part-time………………………………………………………

24

27

27

29

31

Union……………………………………………………………

86

84

88

84

84

Non-union………………………………………………………

54

56

56

57

58

Average wage less than $15 per hour……...………………

45

46

46

47

47

Average wage $15 per hour or higher……...………………

76

77

78

77

76

Goods-producing industries…………………………………

70

70

71

73

70

Service-providing industries…………………………………

53

55

56

56

58

Establishments with 1-99 workers……………………………

42

44

44

44

45

Establishments with 100 or more workers…………………

75

77

78

78

78

All workers………………………………………………………

49

50

50

51

51

White-collar occupations 2 ……………………………………

59

61

61

60

-

-

-

-

-

69
54

Percentage of workers participating

Management, professional, and related ……………….
Sales and office ……………………………………………
2
Blue-collar occupations ………………………………………

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance…...
Production, transportation, and material moving…...…

-

-

-

-

50

50

51

52

-

-

-

-

-

51

-

-

-

-

54

Service occupations……………………………………………

21

22

22

24

25

Full-time…………………………………………………………

58

60

60

60

60

Part-time………………………………………………………

18

20

19

21

23

Union……………………………………………………………

83

81

85

80

81

Non-union………………………………………………………

45

47

46

47

47

Average wage less than $15 per hour……...………………

35

36

35

36

36

Average wage $15 per hour or higher……...………………

70

71

71

70

69

Goods-producing industries…………………………………

63

63

64

64

61

Service-providing industries…………………………………

45

47

47

47

48

Establishments with 1-99 workers……………………………

35

37

37

37

37

Establishments with 100 or more workers…………………

65

67

67

67

66

-

-

85

85

84

All workers………………………………………………………

20

21

22

21

21

White-collar occupations 2 ……………………………………

23

24

25

23

-

-

-

-

-

29
19

3

Take-up rate (all workers) ……………………………………
Defined Benefit
Percentage of workers with access

Management, professional, and related ……………….
Sales and office ……………………………………………

-

-

-

-

Blue-collar occupations 2………………………………………

24

26

26

25

-

-

-

-

-

26
26

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance...…
Production, transportation, and material moving…...…

-

-

-

-

Service occupations……………………………………………

8

6

7

8

8

Full-time…………………………………………………………

24

25

25

24

24

Part-time………………………………………………………

8

9

10

9

10

Union……………………………………………………………

74

70

73

70

69

Non-union………………………………………………………

15

16

16

15

15

Average wage less than $15 per hour……...………………

12

11

12

11

11

Average wage $15 per hour or higher……...………………

34

35

35

34

33

Goods-producing industries…………………………………

31

32

33

32

29

Service-providing industries…………………………………

17

18

19

18

19

9

9

10

9

9

34

35

37

35

34

Establishments with 1-99 workers……………………………
Establishments with 100 or more workers…………………
See footnotes at end of table.

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 95

Current Labor Statistics: Compensation & Industrial Relations

&RQWLQXHG²1DWLRQDO&RPSHQVDWLRQ6XUYH\5HWLUHPHQWEHQHILWVLQSULYDWHLQGXVWU\
E\DFFHVVSDUWLFLSDWLRQDQGVHOHFWHGVHULHV±
Year

Series
2003

2004

2005

2007 1

2006

Percentage of workers participating
All workers………………………………………………………
White-collar occupations 2 ……………………………………
Management, professional, and related ……………….
Sales and office ……………………………………………
Blue-collar occupations 2……………………………………
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance...…
Production, transportation, and material moving…...…
Service occupations…………………………………………
Full-time………………………………………………………
Part-time………………………………………………………
Union……………………………………………………………
Non-union………………………………………………………
Average wage less than $15 per hour……...………………

20
22
24
7
24
8
72
15
11

21
24
25
6
24
9
69
15
11

21
24
26
7
25
9
72
15
11

20
22
25
7
23
8
68
14
10

20
28
17
25
25
7
23
9
67
15
10

Average wage $15 per hour or higher……...………………

33

35

34

33

32

Goods-producing industries…………………………………

31

31

32

31

28

Service-providing industries…………………………………

16

18

18

17

18

Establishments with 1-99 workers…………………………

8

9

9

9

9

Establishments with 100 or more workers…………………

33

34

36

33

32

Take-up rate (all workers) 3……………………………………

-

-

97

96

95

All workers………………………………………………………

51

53

53

54

55

White-collar occupations 2 ……………………………………

62

64

64

65

-

-

-

-

-

71
60

Defined Contribution
Percentage of workers with access

Management, professional, and related ……………….
Sales and office ……………………………………………
2
Blue-collar occupations ……………………………………

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance...…

-

-

-

-

49

49

50

53

-

-

-

-

-

51
56

Production, transportation, and material moving…...…

-

-

-

-

Service occupations…………………………………………

23

27

28

30

32

Full-time………………………………………………………

60

62

62

63

64

Part-time………………………………………………………

21

23

23

25

27

Union……………………………………………………………

45

48

49

50

49

Non-union………………………………………………………

51

53

54

55

56

Average wage less than $15 per hour……...………………

40

41

41

43

44

Average wage $15 per hour or higher……...………………

67

68

69

69

69

Goods-producing industries…………………………………

60

60

61

63

62

Service-providing industries…………………………………

48

50

51

52

53

Establishments with 1-99 workers…………………………

38

40

40

41

42

Establishments with 100 or more workers…………………

65

68

69

70

70

All workers………………………………………………………

40

42

42

43

43

White-collar occupations 2 ……………………………………

51

53

53

53

-

-

-

-

-

60
47

Percentage of workers participating

Management, professional, and related ……………….

-

-

-

-

Blue-collar occupations 2……………………………………

38

38

38

40

-

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance...…

-

-

-

-

40
41

Sales and office ……………………………………………

Production, transportation, and material moving…...…

-

-

-

-

Service occupations…………………………………………

16

18

18

20

20

Full-time………………………………………………………

48

50

50

51

50

Part-time………………………………………………………

14

14

14

16

18

Union……………………………………………………………

39

42

43

44

41

Non-union………………………………………………………

40

42

41

43

43

Average wage less than $15 per hour……...………………

29

30

29

31

30

Average wage $15 per hour or higher……...………………

57

59

59

58

57

Goods-producing industries…………………………………

49

49

50

51

49

Service-providing industries…………………………………

37

40

39

40

41

Establishments with 1-99 workers…………………………

31

32

32

33

33

Establishments with 100 or more workers…………………

51

53

53

54

53

-

-

78

79

77

3

Take-up rate (all workers) ……………………………………
See footnotes at end of table.

96

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

&RQWLQXHG²1DWLRQDO&RPSHQVDWLRQ6XUYH\5HWLUHPHQWEHQHILWVLQSULYDWHLQGXVWU\
E\DFFHVVSDUWLFLSDWLRQDQGVHOHFWHGVHULHV±
Year

Series
2003

2004

2005

2007 1

2006

Employee Contribution Requirement
Employee contribution required…………………………
Employee contribution not required………………………
Not determinable……………………………………………

-

-

61
31
8

61
33
6

65
35
0

Percent of establishments
Offering retirement plans……………………………………
Offering defined benefit plans………………………………
Offering defined contribution plans……………………….

47
10
45

48
10
46

51
11
48

48
10
47

46
10
44

1

The 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) replaced the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)
System. Estimates for goods-producing and service-providing (formerly service-producing) industries are considered comparable.
Also introduced was the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) to replace the 1990 Census of Population system.
Only service occupations are considered comparable.

2

The white-collar and blue-collar occupation series were discontinued effective 2007.

3

The take-up rate is an estimate of the percentage of workers with access to a plan who participate in the plan.

Note: Where applicable, dashes indicate no employees in this category or data do not meet publication criteria.

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 97

Current Labor Statistics: Compensation & Industrial Relations

1DWLRQDO&RPSHQVDWLRQ6XUYH\+HDOWKLQVXUDQFHEHQHILWVLQSULYDWHLQGXVWU\
E\DFFHVVSDUWLFSDWLRQDQGVHOHFWHGVHULHV
Year

Series
2003

2004

2005

2007

2006

1

Medical insurance
Percentage of workers with access
All workers…………………………………………………………………………

60

69

70

71

White-collar occupations 2 ………………………………………………………

65

76

77

77

-

-

-

-

-

85
71

Management, professional, and related …………………………………
Sales and office………………………………………………………………
2
Blue-collar occupations ………………………………………………………

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance………………………

71

-

-

-

-

64

76

77

77

-

-

-

-

-

76

Production, transportation, and material moving…………………………

-

-

-

-

78

Service occupations……………………………………………………………

38

42

44

45

46

Full-time…………………………………………………………………………

73

84

85

85

85

Part-time…………………………………………………………………………

17

20

22

22

24

Union………………………………………………………………………………

67

89

92

89

88

Non-union…………………………………………………………………………

59

67

68

68

69

Average wage less than $15 per hour…………………………………………

51

57

58

57

57

Average wage $15 per hour or higher…………………………………………

74

86

87

88

87

Goods-producing industries……………………………………………………

68

83

85

86

85

Service-providing industries……………………………………………………

57

65

66

66

67

Establishments with 1-99 workers………………………………………………

49

58

59

59

59

Establishments with 100 or more workers……………………………………

72

82

84

84

84

All workers…………………………………………………………………………

45

53

53

52

52

White-collar occupations 2 ………………………………………………………

50

59

58

57

-

-

-

-

-

67
48

Percentage of workers participating

Management, professional, and related …………………………………
Sales and office………………………………………………………………
Blue-collar occupations 2………………………………………………………
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance………………………

-

-

-

-

51

60

61

60

-

-

-

-

-

61

Production, transportation, and material moving…………………………

-

-

-

-

60

Service occupations……………………………………………………………

22

24

27

27

28

Full-time…………………………………………………………………………

56

66

66

64

64

Part-time…………………………………………………………………………

9

11

12

13

12

Union………………………………………………………………………………

60

81

83

80

78

Non-union…………………………………………………………………………

44

50

49

49

49

Average wage less than $15 per hour…………………………………………

35

40

39

38

37

Average wage $15 per hour or higher…………………………………………

61

71

72

71

70

Goods-producing industries……………………………………………………

57

69

70

70

68

Service-providing industries……………………………………………………

42

48

48

47

47

Establishments with 1-99 workers………………………………………………

36

43

43

43

42

Establishments with 100 or more workers……………………………………

55

64

65

63

62

-

-

75

74

73

All workers…………………………………………………………………………

40

46

46

46

46

White-collar occupations 2 ………………………………………………………

47

53

54

53

-

-

-

-

-

62
47

3

Take-up rate (all workers) ………………………………………………………
Dental
Percentage of workers with access

Management, professional, and related …………………………………
Sales and office………………………………………………………………
2
Blue-collar occupations ………………………………………………………

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance………………………

-

-

-

47

47

46

-

-

-

-

-

43

Production, transportation, and material moving…………………………

-

-

-

-

49

Service occupations……………………………………………………………

22

25

25

27

28

Full-time…………………………………………………………………………

49

56

56

55

56

Part-time…………………………………………………………………………

9

13

14

15

16

Union………………………………………………………………………………

57

73

73

69

68

Non-union…………………………………………………………………………

38

43

43

43

44

Average wage less than $15 per hour…………………………………………

30

34

34

34

34

Average wage $15 per hour or higher…………………………………………

55

63

62

62

61

Goods-producing industries……………………………………………………

48

56

56

56

54

Service-providing industries……………………………………………………

37

43

43

43

44

Establishments with 1-99 workers………………………………………………

27

31

31

31

30

Establishments with 100 or more workers……………………………………

55

64

65

64

64

See footnotes at end of table.

98

40

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

35. Continued—National Compensation Survey: Health insurance benefits in
private industry by access, particpation, and selected series, 2003-2007
Year

Series
2003

2004

2005

2007 1

2006

Percentage of workers participating
All workers……………………………………………………………………………

32

37

36

36

2
White-collar occupations ………………………………………………………

37

43

42

41

-

-

-

-

-

51
33

Management, professional, and related ……………………………………
Sales and office…………………………………………………………………
Blue-collar occupations 2…………………………………………………………
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance…………………………

36

-

-

-

-

33

40

39

38

-

-

-

-

-

36

Production, transportation, and material moving……………………………

-

-

-

-

38

Service occupations………………………………………………………………

15

16

17

18

20

Full-time……………………………………………………………………………

40

46

45

44

44

Part-time……………………………………………………………………………

6

8

9

10

9

Union………………………………………………………………………………

51

68

67

63

62

Non-union…………………………………………………………………………

30

33

33

33

33

Average wage less than $15 per hour…………………………………………

22

26

24

23

23

Average wage $15 per hour or higher…………………………………………

47

53

52

52

51

Goods-producing industries………………………………………………………

42

49

49

49

45

Service-providing industries………………………………………………………

29

33

33

32

33

Establishments with 1-99 workers………………………………………………

21

24

24

24

24

Establishments with 100 or more workers………………………………………

44

52

51

50

49

-

-

78

78

77

Percentage of workers with access………………………………………………

25

29

29

29

29

Percentage of workers participating………………………………………………

19

22

22

22

22

Percentage of workers with access………………………………………………

-

-

64

67

68

Percentage of workers participating………………………………………………

-

-

48

49

49

Percent of estalishments offering healthcare benefits …………………......…

58

61

63

62

60

3

Take-up rate (all workers) …………………………………………………………
Vision care

Outpatient Prescription drug coverage

Percentage of medical premium paid by
Employer and Employee
Single coverage
Employer share……………………………………………………………………

82

82

82

82

81

Employee share…………………………………………………………………

18

18

18

18

19

Family coverage
Employer share……………………………………………………………………

70

69

71

70

71

Employee share…………………………………………………………………

30

31

29

30

29

1

The 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) replaced the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)
System. Estimates for goods-producing and service-providing (formerly service-producing) industries are considered comparable.
Also introduced was the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) to replace the 1990 Census of Population system.
Only service occupations are considered comparable.

2

The white-collar and blue-collar occupation series were discontinued effective 2007.

3

The take-up rate is an estimate of the percentage of workers with access to a plan who participate in the plan.

Note: Where applicable, dashes indicate no employees in this category or data do not meet publication criteria.

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 99

Current Labor Statistics: Compensation & Industrial Relations

1DWLRQDO&RPSHQVDWLRQ6XUYH\3HUFHQWRIZRUNHUVLQSULYDWHLQGXVWU\
ZLWKDFFHVVWRVHOHFWHGEHQHILWV
Year

Benefit
2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Life insurance……………………………………………………

50

51

52

52

58

Short-term disabilty insurance…………………………………

39

39

40

39

39

Long-term disability insurance…………………………………

30

30

30

30

31

Long-term care insurance………………………………………

11

11

11

12

12

Flexible work place………………………………………………

4

4

4

4

5

Flexible benefits………………………………………………

-

-

17

17

17

Dependent care reimbursement account…………..………

-

-

29

30

31

Healthcare reimbursement account……………………...…

-

-

31

32

33

Health Savings Account………………………………...………

-

-

5

6

8

Employee assistance program……………………….…………

-

-

40

40

42

Section 125 cafeteria benefits

Paid leave
Holidays…………………………………………...……………

79

77

77

76

77

Vacations……………………………………………..………

79

77

77

77

77

Sick leave………………………………………..……………

-

59

58

57

57

Personal leave…………………………………………..……

-

-

36

37

38

Family leave
Paid family leave…………………………………………….…

-

-

7

8

8

Unpaid family leave………………………………………..…

-

-

81

82

83

Employer assistance for child care…………………….………

18

14

14

15

15

Nonproduction bonuses………………………...………………

49

47

47

46

47

Note: Where applicable, dashes indicate no employees in this category or data do not
meet publication criteria.

:RUNVWRSSDJHVLQYROYLQJZRUNHUVRUPRUH
Annual average

2007

Measure
2006
Number of stoppages:
Beginning in period.............................
In effect during period…......................

2007

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

June

July

2008
Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Feb.p

Jan.







1
2

2
3

3
4

0
0

2
2

1
1

1
1

5
6

3
3

1
2

2
4

0
1

2
3

Workers involved:
Beginning in period (in thousands)…..

In effect during period (in thousands)… 




2.8
4.6

7.8
9.6

5.5
12.0

.0
.0

4.0
4.0

1.1
1.1

1.0
1.0

108.3
108.3

41.7
41.7

10.5
14.2

6.5
20.7

.0
10.5

6.2
16.7

Days idle:
Number (in thousands)….................... 



73.4

142.8

101.1

.0

19.6

6.6

9.0

261.5

73.9

284.0

254.8

220.5

148.8

.01

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

.01

0

.01

.01

.01

.01

1

Percent of estimated working time ……

.01

1
Agricultural and government employees are included in the total employed
and total working time; private household, forestry, and fishery employees are
excluded. An explanation of the measurement of idleness as a percentage of
the total time

100

May

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

worked is found in "Total economy measures of strike idleness," Monthly Labor Review ,
October 1968, pp. 54–56.
NOTE:

p = preliminary.

38. Consumer Price Indexes for All Urban Consumers and for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers:
U.S. city average, by expenditure category and commodity or service group
[1982–84 = 100, unless otherwise indicated]
Annual average

Series

2006
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX
FOR ALL URBAN CONSUMERS
All items..........................................................................
All items (1967 = 100).....................................................
Food and beverages......................................................
Food..................…........................................................
Food at home…..........................................................
Cereals and bakery products…................................
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs…...............................

201.6
603.9
195.7
195.2
193.1
212.8
186.6

1
Dairy and related products ……….………………………… 181.4
Fruits and vegetables…............................................ 252.9
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage

materials….............................................................
Other foods at home…..............................................
Sugar and sweets…................................................
Fats and oils…........................................................
Other foods…..........................................................
Other miscellaneous foods

1,2

……….…………………

2008

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

207.342
621.106
203.300
202.916
201.245
222.107
195.616

203.499
609.594
200.402
200.000
198.193
219.041
190.491

205.352
615.145
200.869
200.403
198.766
218.458
192.508

206.686
619.140
201.292
200.820
199.020
220.494
193.665

207.949
622.921
202.225
201.791
200.334
220.939
195.886

208.352
624.129
202.885
202.441
200.950
222.605
197.175

208.299
623.970
203.533
203.121
201.401
223.297
196.690

207.917
622.827
204.289
203.885
202.126
223.981
197.204

208.490
624.543
205.279
204.941
203.193
223.372
198.323

208.936
625.879
206.124
205.796
204.333
224.691
198.474

210.177
629.598
206.563
206.277
204.745
225.668
198.616

210.036
629.174
206.936
206.704
205.208
226.461
198.755

211.080
632.301
208.837
208.618
207.983
228.661
200.035

211.693
634.139
209.462
209.166
208.329
233.389
199.688

194.770 183.779 185.724 185.821 187.266 191.435 197.899 201.739 203.541 205.319 205.959 205.299 206.905 208.166
262.628 268.565 263.910 261.967 264.710 258.337 254.616 252.845 259.100 263.648 268.407 272.482 279.072 272.129

147.4
169.6
171.5
168.0
185.0

153.432
173.275
176.772
172.921
188.244

113.9

115.105 114.939 114.331 115.310 114.692 116.101 115.017 116.072 114.628 114.850 115.396 115.267 115.162 118.182

1

Food away from home ……….………………………………… 199.4
1,2
Other food away from home ……….…………………… 136.6
Alcoholic beverages…................................................. 200.7
Housing.......................................................................... 203.2
Shelter...............…...................................................... 232.1
Rent of primary residence…..................................... 225.1
Lodging away from home……………………………… 136.0
3

2007

2007

206.659
144.068
207.026
209.586
240.611
234.679

151.716
171.483
174.300
171.667
186.358
203.909
141.626
204.385
207.177
237.972
231.739

153.894
171.819
174.633
170.851
186.962
204.082
141.366
205.663
208.080
238.980
232.495

151.799
172.633
175.932
169.817
188.103
204.725
143.155
206.166
208.541
239.735
232.980

152.869
172.657
175.453
171.495
187.921
205.233
143.160
206.599
208.902
239.877
233.549

153.104
173.790
176.665
171.581
189.353
205.934
143.157
207.383
210.649
240.980
234.071

153.384
174.440
178.235
173.691
189.518
206.931
144.785
207.624
211.286
242.067
234.732

154.791
174.686
178.256
174.251
189.781
207.756
145.376
208.264
211.098
242.238
235.311

155.007
174.201
178.172
174.105
189.076
208.805
146.752
208.408
210.865
241.990
236.058

155.545
174.695
177.236
176.050
189.695
209.275
146.074
209.126
210.701
242.405
237.135

154.299
173.963
178.600
175.327
188.340
209.854
146.628
209.018
210.745
242.207
238.169

153.648
174.057
178.631
176.068
188.325
210.233
145.814
208.704
210.933
242.372
239.102

157.863
176.085
180.193
181.813
190.037
211.070
146.649
210.425
212.244
243.871
239.850

157.805
177.863
180.588
184.878
192.064
211.878
148.385
212.044
213.026
244.786
240.325

142.813 139.160 142.247 144.832 144.112 148.622 153.016 150.236 144.480 143.172 136.703 133.545 140.176 144.092

238.2

246.235 244.020 244.602 244.993 245.236 245.690 246.149 246.815 247.487 248.075 248.876 249.532 250.106 250.481

116.5
194.7
177.1
234.9
182.1
127.0
119.5
114.1
110.7

117.004
200.632
181.744
251.453
186.262
126.875
118.998
112.368
110.296

117.320
194.890
176.092
231.800
181.232
127.495
119.017
111.233
110.871

117.333
196.414
177.635
236.863
182.624
127.655
122.582
113.685
116.911

117.559
196.393
177.515
240.090
182.283
127.423
122.934
115.190
117.118

116.386
198.574
179.798
241.473
184.737
127.309
121.452
114.342
114.444

117.106
206.199
188.040
241.589
193.911
127.361
117.225
110.869
107.826

116.577
206.140
187.624
245.680
193.184
126.894
113.500
109.568
101.291

116.926
204.334
185.453
246.542
190.710
126.520
114.439
109.032
103.237

116.783
204.264
185.306
252.580
190.158
126.193
119.535
112.380
110.973

116.640
200.836
181.509
261.745
185.337
126.233
121.846
114.953
113.402

116.997
202.161
182.725
291.845
184.753
126.252
121.204
114.807
112.166

117.003
203.006
183.516
299.296
185.155
126.066
118.257
112.026
109.418

117.435
204.796
185.107
306.937
186.475
126.515
115.795
110.691
104.367

117.622
205.795
185.994
308.269
187.376
126.753
117.839
112.917
106.340

116.5
123.5
180.9
177.0

113.948
122.374
184.682
180.778

115.416
121.930
174.799
170.775

117.996
123.505
180.346
176.468

115.489
123.672
185.231
181.478

113.632
123.041
189.961
186.376

111.546
120.602
189.064
185.175

108.759
119.375
187.690
183.619

110.221
120.329
184.480
180.408

113.611
123.183
184.532
180.586

117.149
124.675
184.952
180.919

117.339
125.005
190.677
186.839

113.779
122.258
189.984
186.134

113.861
121.148
190.839
186.978

115.750
122.377
190.520
186.571

2
New and used motor vehicles ……….…………………… 95.6
New vehicles…....................................................... 137.6
1
Used cars and trucks ……….……………………………… 140.0
Motor fuel….............................................................. 221.0
Gasoline (all types)….............................................. 219.9
Motor vehicle parts and equipment…....................... 117.3
Motor vehicle maintenance and repair….................. 215.6
Public transportation...............…................................. 226.6
Medical care................................................................... 336.2
Medical care commodities...............…........................ 285.9
Medical care services...............…............................... 350.6
Professional services…............................................ 289.3
Hospital and related services…................................ 468.1
2
Recreation ……….………………………………………….……… 110.9
1,2
Video and audio ……….……………………………………… 104.6
2
Education and communication ……….……………………… 116.8

94.303
136.254
135.747
239.070
237.959
121.583
222.963
230.002
351.054
289.999
369.302
300.792
498.922
111.443
102.949
119.577

94.591
137.340
134.597
195.377
194.282
120.196
220.530
224.061
346.457
287.703
363.908
298.393
487.881
111.174
103.144
117.971

94.493
137.228
134.382
220.515
219.473
120.485
221.160
225.893
347.172
286.940
365.164
298.990
490.104
111.244
102.886
118.231

94.307
136.963
134.363
242.944
241.897
120.714
221.508
227.567
348.225
288.349
366.070
299.248
492.110
111.481
103.181
118.301

93.981
136.295
134.481
265.781
264.830
120.990
221.999
228.251
349.087
288.661
367.127
299.700
494.122
111.659
103.560
118.787

93.842
135.820
135.067
260.655
259.686
120.885
222.553
233.389
349.510
288.508
367.758
300.052
494.916
111.563
103.416
118.734

93.961
135.415
136.024
252.909
251.883
121.514
223.487
235.767
351.643
290.257
370.008
301.131
499.400
111.347
102.779
119.025

94.121
135.204
137.138
238.194
237.108
121.730
224.019
233.112
352.961
291.164
371.461
302.259
501.026
111.139
102.311
120.311

93.985
134.927
137.142
239.104
237.993
122.292
224.302
230.694
353.723
291.340
372.432
302.410
504.206
111.400
102.759
121.273

94.201
135.344
136.950
239.048
237.819
123.017
224.939
232.725
355.653
292.161
374.750
303.532
510.006
111.753
103.157
121.557

94.562
136.250
136.616
262.282
260.943
123.487
225.672
233.758
357.041
293.201
376.250
303.780
515.359
111.842
102.719
121.409

94.754
136.664
136.943
258.132
256.790
123.928
226.120
233.408
357.661
293.610
376.940
304.784
515.677
111.705
102.691
121.506

94.834
136.827
137.203
260.523
259.338
124.282
227.732
234.334
360.459
295.355
380.135
306.529
523.313
112.083
102.986
121.762

94.581
136.279
137.248
259.242
257.845
125.225
228.731
235.724
362.155
296.130
382.196
307.928
527.971
112.365
103.171
121.766

Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence ………
1,2

Tenants' and household insurance ……….…………
Fuels and utilities…..................................................
Fuels...............….....................................................
Fuel oil and other fuels…......................................
Gas (piped) and electricity….................................
Household furnishings and operations…..................
Apparel ..........................................................................
Men's and boys' apparel…........................................
Women's and girls' apparel…...................................
1

Infants' and toddlers' apparel ……….……………………
Footwear…...............................................................
Transportation................................................................
Private transportation...............…...............................

2
Education ……….………………………………………….……… 162.1
Educational books and supplies….......................... 388.9

Tuition, other school fees, and child care…............
1,2

Communication ……….………………………………………
1,2
……….…
Information and information processing
1,2
Telephone services ……….……………………………
Information and information processing
other than telephone services

1,4

……….……………

468.1
84.1

171.388 167.927 168.114 168.152 168.403 168.601 169.490 172.873 175.486 176.339 176.717 176.927 177.440 177.460
420.418 407.809 413.665 414.217 414.694 415.635 418.394 427.425 430.114 431.432 431.606 434.352 437.822 439.052
494.079 484.459 484.532 484.601 485.337 485.868 488.382 498.071 505.924 508.449 509.605 510.016 511.301 511.253
83.367 82.845 83.122 83.203 83.772 83.594 83.553 83.655 83.690 83.659 83.250 83.282 83.396 83.391

81.7
95.8

80.720
98.247

80.311
97.096

80.601
97.514

80.683
97.617

81.151
98.491

80.880
98.485

80.840
98.570

80.944
98.813

80.976
98.882

80.946
99.031

80.519
98.775

80.546
98.792

80.642
98.906

80.638
98.837

12.5

10.597

10.853

10.860

10.869

10.787

10.597

10.528

10.487

10.477

10.385

10.204

10.215

10.229

10.253

Personal computers and peripheral
1,2

10.8
321.7
519.9

9.688 10.174 10.191 10.172
9.971
9.700
9.601
9.524
9.455
9.324
8.946
8.936
9.026
8.985
333.328 330.459 331.144 331.743 332.785 333.378 333.415 333.325 334.801 335.680 336.379 337.633 339.052 340.191
554.184 548.896 550.021 547.663 549.703 552.314 553.987 555.217 559.636 560.626 561.967 566.696 572.684 575.227

1
Personal care ……….………………………………………….… 190.2
1
Personal care products ……….…………………………… 155.8
1
Personal care services ……….…………………………… 209.7

195.622 193.987 194.390 195.058 195.641 195.835 195.704 195.521 196.202 196.763 197.156 197.643 198.112 198.716
158.285 158.038 158.592 158.657 158.594 158.771 158.457 157.788 157.643 158.381 158.561 158.236 158.201 157.677
216.559 214.616 215.091 215.380 216.228 215.860 216.720 217.028 217.589 217.887 218.604 219.656 219.932 220.848

equipment ……….…………………………………
Other goods and services..............................................
Tobacco and smoking products...............…...............

6HHIRRWQRWHVDWHQGRIWDEOH

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 101

Current Labor Statistics: Price Data

&RQWLQXHG²&RQVXPHU3ULFH,QGH[HVIRU$OO8UEDQ&RQVXPHUVDQGIRU8UEDQ:DJH(DUQHUVDQG&OHULFDO:RUNHUV
86FLW\DYHUDJHE\H[SHQGLWXUHFDWHJRU\DQGFRPPRGLW\RUVHUYLFHJURXS
[1982–84 = 100, unless otherwise indicated]
Annual average
2006
2007
Feb.

Series
Miscellaneous personal services...............…....

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

2007
July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

2008
Jan.
Feb

313.6 324.984 320.725 321.299 323.321 324.661 325.259 324.579 325.566 327.783 328.056 328.610 329.908 332.183 333.826

Commodity and service group:
Commodities...........…............................................
Food and beverages….........................................
Commodities less food and beverages….............
Nondurables less food and beverages…............
Apparel ….........................................................
and apparel….................................................
Durables…..........................................................
Services…..............................................................
3

Rent of shelter ……….……………………………………
Transportation services…....................................
Other services…..................................................
Special indexes:
All items less food…............................................
All items less shelter…........................................
All items less medical care…...............................
Commodities less food….....................................
Nondurables less food….....................................
Nondurables less food and apparel….................
Nondurables….....................................................
3

Services less rent of shelter ……….…………………
Services less medical care services…................
Energy…..............................................................
All items less energy…........................................
All items less food and energy….......................
Commodities less food and energy…..............
Energy commodities......................................
Services less energy…....................................

164.0 167.509 162.890 165.710 167.777 169.767 168.921 167.938 166.955 167.952 168.664 171.043 170.511 171.179 171.530
195.7
145.9
176.7
119.5

203.300
147.515
182.526
118.998

200.402
142.290
170.479
119.017

200.869
146.037
178.548
122.582

201.292
148.749
184.555
122.934

202.225
151.136
190.075
121.452

202.885
149.669
187.249
117.225

203.533
148.016
183.947
113.500

204.289
146.317
180.480
114.439

205.279
147.289
182.902
119.535

206.124
147.924
184.091
121.846

206.563
151.067
190.560
121.204

206.936
150.162
188.635
118.257

208.837
150.303
188.692
115.795

209.462
150.530
189.420
117.839

216.3 226.224 206.395 217.451 227.113 237.116 235.097 231.983 225.694 226.509 227.026 238.067 236.735 238.389 238.297
114.5
238.9
241.9
230.8
277.5

112.473
246.848
250.813
233.731
285.559

113.210
243.793
248.024
232.077
281.864

113.163
244.671
249.087
232.200
282.431

112.989
245.265
249.877
232.217
283.271

112.637
245.793
250.055
231.777
284.541

112.375
247.450
251.200
233.202
284.656

112.177
248.331
252.358
234.632
284.859

112.036
248.555
252.530
234.563
286.492

111.746
248.700
252.272
234.322
288.469

111.889
248.878
252.713
235.458
289.307

112.103
248.974
252.495
236.449
289.592

112.093
249.225
252.669
236.504
289.945

112.300
250.648
254.239
237.347
290.905

112.094
251.527
255.199
237.929
291.406

202.7 208.098 204.101 206.195 207.680 208.991 209.353 209.179 208.607 209.100 209.478 210.846 210.610 211.512 212.136
191.9
194.7
148.0
178.2
213.9
186.7
253.3
229.6
196.9
203.7
205.9
140.6
223.0
244.7

196.639
200.080
149.720
184.012
223.411
193.468
260.764
236.847
207.723
208.925
210.729
140.053
241.018
253.058

192.272
196.298
144.558
172.552
205.347
185.751
257.147
233.963
184.451
207.106
209.112
140.305
198.617
250.199

194.482
198.179
148.240
180.197
215.400
190.212
257.864
234.809
196.929
207.850
209.923
141.056
222.620
251.026

196.062
199.512
150.894
185.861
224.126
193.570
258.261
235.378
207.265
208.243
210.311
140.995
243.957
251.714

197.783
200.779
153.228
191.064
233.150
196.916
259.262
235.870
219.071
208.400
210.316
140.518
265.562
252.050

197.913
201.178
151.825
188.463
231.414
195.749
261.677
237.565
221.088
208.636
210.474
139.589
260.739
252.955

197.408
201.042
150.225
185.382
228.641
194.326
262.284
238.357
217.274
208.980
210.756
138.757
253.696
253.998

196.803
200.598
148.591
182.170
223.057
192.869
262.588
238.507
209.294
209.399
211.111
138.895
239.885
254.491

197.708
201.159
149.541
184.450
223.802
194.616
263.243
238.604
209.637
210.000
211.628
139.828
241.120
254.706

198.171
201.544
150.180
185.610
224.338
195.646
263.109
238.657
207.588
210.714
212.318
140.501
241.642
255.385

199.998
202.770
153.234
191.668
234.241
199.253
263.599
238.671
219.009
210.888
212.435
140.547
265.420
255.549

199.734
202.600
152.344
189.844
233.014
198.422
263.966
238.894
217.506
210.890
212.356
140.014
261.976
255.785

200.609
203.569
152.531
190.000
234.667
199.346
265.311
240.201
219.465
211.846
213.138
139.845
264.660
257.220

201.110
204.136
152.799
190.781
234.736
200.030
266.154
241.004
219.311
212.545
213.866
140.324
263.508
258.098

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR URBAN
WAGE EARNERS AND CLERICAL WORKERS
All items....................................................................

197.1 202.767 198.544 200.612 202.130 203.661 203.906 203.700 203.199 203.889 204.338 205.891 205.777 206.744 207.254

All items (1967 = 100)...............................................
Food and beverages................................................

587.2
194.9
194.4
192.2
213.1
186.1
180.9
251.0

Food..................…..................................................
Food at home…....................................................
Cereals and bakery products…..........................
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs….........................
1
Dairy and related products ……….…………………
Fruits and vegetables…......................................
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage
materials….......................................................
Other foods at home….......................................
Sugar and sweets….........................................
Fats and oils…..................................................
Other foods…...................................................
1,2
Other miscellaneous foods ……….……………
1
Food away from home ……….……………………………
1,2
Other food away from home ……….………………
Alcoholic beverages…...........................................
Housing....................................................................
Shelter...............…................................................
Rent of primary residence…...............................
2
Lodging away from home ……….……………………
3
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence …
1,2
Tenants' and household insurance ……….……
Fuels and utilities…...........................................
Fuels...............…..............................................
Fuel oil and other fuels…................................
Gas (piped) and electricity…..........................
Household furnishings and operations…............
Apparel ...................................................................
Men's and boys' apparel….................................
Women's and girls' apparel….............................
1

Infants' and toddlers' apparel ……….………………
Footwear….........................................................
Transportation..........................................................
Private transportation...............….........................
2

New and used motor vehicles ……….………………
See footnotes at end of table.

102

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

603.982
202.531
202.134
200.273
222.409
195.193
194.474
260.484

591.403
199.540
199.111
197.044
219.191
189.996
183.185
266.159

597.561
200.056
199.589
197.735
218.799
192.013
185.095
261.627

602.083
200.488
200.009
197.989
220.926
193.089
185.326
260.068

606.643
201.478
201.043
199.355
221.259
195.331
186.948
262.669

607.374
202.185
201.722
200.059
223.009
196.660
191.235
256.565

606.759
202.823
202.409
200.569
223.663
196.323
198.027
252.703

605.267
203.610
203.207
201.321
224.220
196.844
201.598
251.575

607.324
204.584
204.241
202.351
223.895
197.980
203.464
257.223

608.662
205.428
205.082
203.442
224.897
198.146
205.100
261.774

613.287
205.763
205.451
203.741
225.941
198.325
205.850
265.736

612.948
206.141
205.855
204.141
226.696
198.489
205.149
269.533

615.828
208.055
207.794
206.870
229.105
199.686
206.652
275.843

617.345
208.674
208.317
207.242
233.915
199.141
207.750
268.954

146.7 152.786 150.968 153.329 150.995 152.173 152.501 152.829 154.152 154.501 154.873 153.610 152.883 157.130 157.456
169.1
170.5
168.7
185.2
114.2
199.1
136.2
200.6

172.630
175.323
173.640
188.405
115.356
206.412
143.462
207.097

170.861
173.081
172.380
186.473
115.151
203.689
141.274
204.616

171.183
173.248
172.005
187.026
114.402
203.838
141.119
205.729

171.898
174.459
170.574
188.165
115.432
204.519
142.991
206.342

172.024
174.084
172.401
188.049
115.035
205.046
143.031
206.636

173.049
175.073
172.222
189.456
116.366
205.691
143.018
207.767

173.727
176.736
174.109
189.667
115.355
206.657
144.439
207.647

173.997
176.664
174.872
189.941
116.348
207.533
144.938
208.253

173.463
176.458
175.039
189.110
114.584
208.578
145.783
208.286

174.215
176.248
176.683
189.987
115.378
209.037
144.764
209.176

173.393
176.845
176.101
188.657
115.803
209.518
145.233
208.958

173.511
177.051
176.736
188.646
115.658
209.931
144.454
208.934

175.572
178.902
182.307
190.364
115.658
210.776
145.625
210.473

177.442
179.740
185.292
192.430
118.828
211.517
146.924
212.507

198.5
224.8
224.2
135.3
216.0
116.8

204.795
232.998
233.806
142.339
223.175
117.366

202.370
230.472
230.860
138.083
221.185
117.622

203.203
231.315
231.634
141.335
221.704
117.653

203.588
231.957
232.126
144.370
222.062
117.945

204.033
232.181
232.690
143.880
222.264
116.828

205.711
233.040
233.188
148.948
222.671
117.503

206.183
233.848
233.855
153.107
223.093
116.912

206.054
234.169
234.457
149.919
223.693
117.287

206.050
234.275
235.175
143.727
224.321
117.142

205.916
234.812
236.259
142.666
224.811
116.982

206.288
235.069
237.288
136.244
225.548
117.370

206.638
235.480
238.216
133.179
226.151
117.396

207.692
236.550
238.955
139.825
226.703
117.740

208.268
237.158
239.419
143.046
227.057
117.921

193.1
174.4
234.0
180.2
122.6
119.1
114.0
110.3
118.6
123.1

198.863
179.031
251.121
184.357
122.477
118.518
112.224
110.202
116.278
122.062

193.330
173.654
231.136
179.550
122.962
118.211
111.079
110.214
118.037
121.679

194.963
175.303
236.103
181.092
123.134
122.021
113.921
116.275
120.167
122.870

194.974
175.223
239.516
180.803
122.881
122.475
115.103
116.826
117.530
123.339

197.052
177.372
241.052
183.103
122.786
120.931
113.986
114.316
115.555
122.983

204.396
185.178
241.249
191.771
122.826
116.389
110.739
107.422
113.427
120.367

204.272
184.725
245.633
191.010
122.550
113.157
109.580
101.709
110.906
119.278

202.397
182.518
246.382
188.511
122.190
114.146
108.556
103.960
112.879
119.831

202.304
182.357
252.684
187.963
121.820
118.986
111.981
110.847
115.896
122.846

198.796
178.539
261.972
183.172
122.039
121.536
114.710
113.623
119.670
124.372

200.151
179.777
292.098
182.781
122.031
120.920
114.784
112.165
119.897
124.649

200.831
180.379
298.656
183.066
121.880
118.126
112.487
109.375
116.419
122.029

202.663
182.025
306.087
184.522
122.322
115.866
111.494
104.456
116.323
121.137

203.584
182.823
307.599
185.324
122.547
117.883
113.592
106.512
118.442
122.408

180.3 184.344 173.518 179.541 184.930 190.265 189.205 187.606 184.147 184.361 184.639 190.761 189.967 190.918 190.639
177.5 181.496 170.588 176.695 182.156 187.595 186.374 184.684 181.218 181.495 181.717 187.951 187.159 188.093 187.762
94.7
93.300 93.459 93.365 93.234 93.000 92.917 93.042 93.229 93.118 93.268 93.529 93.733 93.842 93.664

&RQWLQXHG²&RQVXPHU3ULFH,QGH[HVIRU$OO8UEDQ&RQVXPHUVDQGIRU8UEDQ:DJH(DUQHUVDQG&OHULFDO:RUNHUV86FLW\
DYHUDJHE\H[SHQGLWXUHFDWHJRU\DQGFRPPRGLW\RUVHUYLFHJURXS
[1982–84 = 100, unless otherwise indicated]
Annual average
Series

2006

New vehicles…............................................
1

Used cars and trucks ……….……………………
Motor fuel…...................................................
Gasoline (all types)…..................................
Motor vehicle parts and equipment…............
Motor vehicle maintenance and repair….......
Public transportation...............….....................
Medical care.......................................................
Medical care commodities...............…............
Medical care services...............…...................
Professional services….................................
Hospital and related services….....................
2

Recreation ……….………………………………………
Video and audio

1,2

……….……………………………
2

Education and communication ……….……………
2

2007

2008

2007
Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb

138.6 137.415 138.451 138.315 138.077 137.535 137.060 136.663 136.414 136.129 136.509 137.372 137.736 137.931 137.445
140.8
221.6
220.7
116.9
218.1
225.0

136.586
239.900
238.879
121.356
225.535
228.531

135.411
195.934
194.923
119.897
223.054
223.338

135.203
221.011
220.052
120.170
223.683
224.973

135.192
243.574
242.613
120.367
224.086
226.521

135.320
266.737
265.874
120.709
224.623
227.024

135.917
261.679
260.799
120.666
225.172
231.549

136.880
253.893
252.957
121.350
226.090
233.390

137.999
239.097
238.100
121.584
226.636
231.082

137.996
240.271
239.252
122.144
226.881
229.148

137.798
240.040
238.906
122.830
227.472
231.182

137.457
263.248
262.013
123.302
228.267
231.999

137.791
259.032
257.792
123.786
228.692
231.363

138.052
261.531
260.457
124.416
230.255
232.594

138.094
260.402
259.112
125.238
231.349
233.979

335.7
279.0
351.1
291.7
463.6

350.882
282.558
370.111
303.169
493.740

346.191
280.597
364.519
300.720
482.895

346.946
279.762
365.827
301.339
485.074

348.109
281.216
366.870
301.599
487.336

348.801
281.502
367.696
301.979
488.523

349.145
280.862
368.384
302.346
489.292

351.346
282.662
370.696
303.481
493.563

352.704
283.379
372.261
304.677
495.191

353.571
283.712
373.306
304.841
498.533

355.719
284.517
375.899
306.072
505.077

357.165
285.475
377.498
306.300
510.836

357.745
285.913
378.119
307.333
510.961

360.710
287.703
381.507
309.169
518.853

362.329
288.335
383.510
310.426
523.654

108.2 108.572 108.484 108.461 108.680 108.905 108.681 108.403 108.179 108.495 108.793 108.805 108.702 109.046 109.315
103.9 102.559 102.653 102.363 102.690 103.137 103.001 102.358 101.923 102.427 102.833 102.465 102.523 102.839 103.028
113.9 116.301 114.870 115.161 115.280 115.830 115.746 115.980 116.981 117.707 117.891 117.686 117.782 118.097 118.079

Education ……….………………………………………
Educational books and supplies…..............

160.3 169.280 166.144 166.341 166.441 166.667 166.758 167.527 170.635 173.060 173.700 174.016 174.276 175.134 175.118
390.7 423.730 411.130 417.027 417.583 417.791 418.705 421.529 431.089 433.670 434.800 434.979 437.391 441.207 441.927

Tuition, other school fees, and child care…

453.3 477.589 469.284 469.224 469.472 470.148 470.329 472.395 480.960 488.199 490.061 491.022 491.554 493.797 493.672
86.0 85.782 85.112 85.408 85.523 86.140 85.999 86.015 86.148 86.184 86.182 85.807 85.834 85.935 85.919

1,2

Communication ……….……………………………
1,2
Information and information processing …
1,2

Telephone services ……….…………………
Information and information processing
other than telephone services

1,4

……….…

84.3

83.928

83.337

83.645

83.760

84.304

84.095

84.111

84.248

84.283

84.282

83.894

83.917

84.008

83.992

95.9

98.373

97.233

97.625

97.738

98.610

98.603

98.721

98.964

99.024

99.149

98.874

98.887

98.988

98.931

13.0

11.062

11.272

11.292

11.322

11.243

11.062

11.001

10.965

10.958

10.877

10.710

10.722

10.737

10.754

Personal computers and peripheral
1,2

equipment ……….………………………
Other goods and services..................................
Tobacco and smoking products...............…....
1

Personal care ……….…………………………………

10.7
9.565
9.997 10.040 10.036
9.843
9.583
9.495
9.421
9.348
9.229
8.866
8.843
8.937
8.895
330.9 344.004 340.917 341.719 342.057 343.096 343.939 344.221 344.214 345.800 346.742 347.427 348.830 350.630 351.979
521.6 555.502 550.097 551.161 548.812 550.888 553.538 555.366 556.517 561.092 562.134 563.435 568.410 574.724 577.359
188.3 193.590 191.922 192.411 193.075 193.595 193.858 193.792 193.598 194.160 194.769 195.122 195.467 195.885 196.564

1

155.7 158.268 157.992 158.528 158.578 158.566 158.739 158.445 157.813 157.654 158.408 158.579 158.407 158.167 157.877

1

209.8 216.823 214.773 215.318 215.658 216.489 216.174 217.040 217.354 217.822 218.149 218.897 219.945 220.324 221.338
314.1 326.100 321.269 322.090 324.252 325.617 326.572 326.135 327.235 329.329 329.706 330.258 330.850 333.154 334.868

Personal care products ……….…………………
Personal care services ……….…………………
Miscellaneous personal services...............…
Commodity and service group:
Commodities...........….......................................
Food and beverages…....................................
Commodities less food and beverages…........
Nondurables less food and beverages…......
Apparel …...................................................

165.7
194.9
148.7
182.6
119.1

169.554
202.531
150.865
189.507
118.518

164.171
199.540
144.567
175.371
118.211

167.350
200.056
148.836
184.604
122.021

169.746
200.488
152.034
191.650
122.475

172.126
201.478
154.964
198.237
120.931

171.216
202.185
153.367
195.053
116.389

170.252
202.823
151.724
191.603
113.157

169.122
203.610
149.781
187.515
114.146

170.141
204.584
150.795
189.981
118.986

170.865
205.428
151.448
191.230
121.536

173.489
205.763
155.011
198.661
120.920

172.952
206.141
154.086
196.636
118.126

173.711
208.055
154.345
196.910
115.866

174.083
208.674
154.603
197.606
117.883

Nondurables less food, beverages,
and apparel…............................................
Durables…....................................................
Services….........................................................
3

Rent of shelter ……….………………………………
Transporatation services…............................
Other services….............................................

226.1 237.858 214.738 227.564 238.898 250.737 248.347 244.695 237.329 238.345 238.798 251.442 249.863 251.751 251.621
114.6 112.640 113.178 113.107 112.945 112.686 112.485 112.425 112.362 112.114 112.241 112.413 112.450 112.688 112.560
234.1 241.696 238.783 239.586 240.106 240.672 242.241 242.901 243.118 243.436 243.572 243.906 244.275 245.484 246.154
216.6 224.617 222.150 222.970 223.590 223.833 224.655 225.455 225.760 225.867 226.393 226.636 227.035 228.071 228.660
230.6 233.420 232.362 232.332 232.218 231.542 232.623 233.737 233.831 233.868 234.848 235.874 236.020 236.883 237.426
268.2 275.218 271.921 272.474 273.342 274.697 274.670 274.766 276.015 277.702 278.404 278.513 278.783 279.780 280.199

Special indexes:
All items less food….......................................
All items less shelter…...................................
All items less medical care…..........................
Commodities less food…...............................
Nondurables less food…................................
Nondurables less food and apparel…............
Nondurables…...............................................
3

Services less rent of shelter ……….……………
Services less medical care services…...........
Energy…........................................................
All items less energy…...................................
All items less food and energy…..................
Commodities less food and energy…........
Energy commodities.................................
Services less energy…...............................

197.5
189.2
191.3
150.6
183.8
223.0
189.5

202.698
193.940
196.564
152.875
190.698
234.201
196.772

198.258
189.058
192.389
146.653
177.171
212.940
187.995

200.616
191.591
194.481
150.856
185.979
224.712
193.028

202.335
193.443
195.998
153.999
192.687
235.083
196.887

203.955
195.463
197.543
156.872
198.945
245.886
200.781

204.121
195.489
197.783
155.339
195.988
243.806
199.476

203.750
194.913
197.504
153.730
192.714
240.471
198.000

203.011
194.109
196.949
151.846
188.873
233.817
196.266

203.638
195.018
197.629
152.837
191.210
234.745
198.017

204.015
195.440
198.022
153.499
192.442
235.233
199.075

205.783
197.479
199.565
156.977
199.471
246.726
203.087

205.575
197.174
199.431
156.073
197.551
245.286
202.222

206.371
198.113
200.329
156.365
197.892
247.136
203.268

206.877
198.592
200.800
156.670
198.660
247.188
203.933

224.7
225.3
196.8
198.0
199.2
141.1
223.0
239.9

230.876
232.195
208.066
203.002
203.554
140.612
241.257
247.888

227.801
229.453
183.842
201.238
202.056
140.680
198.398
245.211

228.479
230.221
196.940
201.948
202.816
141.482
222.509
245.923

228.811
230.708
207.932
202.300
203.154
141.450
244.148
246.539

229.694
231.253
220.348
202.489
203.163
141.011
266.260
246.894

231.965
232.848
221.832
202.582
203.132
140.019
261.460
247.606

232.367
233.415
217.795
202.849
203.310
139.352
254.282
248.434

232.450
233.562
209.441
203.319
203.710
139.557
240.247
248.977

232.982
233.839
209.933
204.037
204.363
140.491
241.692
249.398

232.628
233.850
207.885
204.797
205.107
141.236
241.955
250.127

233.029
234.115
219.861
205.066
205.355
141.254
265.598
250.546

233.314
234.468
218.104
205.155
205.377
140.815
261.928
250.925

234.576
235.557
220.163
205.991
205.992
140.696
264.633
252.103

235.258
236.154
219.983
206.588
206.605
141.238
263.601
252.756



1

Not seasonally adjusted.

2

Indexes on a December 1997 = 100 base.

3

Indexes on a December 1982 = 100 base.

,QGH[HVRQD'HFHPEHU EDVH

127(,QGH[DSSOLHGWRDPRQWKDVDZKROHQRWWRDQ\VSHFLILFGDWH

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 103

Current Labor Statistics: Price Data

&RQVXPHU3ULFH,QGH[86FLW\DYHUDJHDQGDYDLODEOHORFDODUHDGDWDDOOLWHPV
[1982–84 = 100, unless otherwise indicated]
Pricing

All Urban Consumers
2007

schedule1
U.S. city average……………………………………………

Sept.

Oct.

Urban Wage Earners
2008

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

2007

Feb.

Sept.

Oct.

2008

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

M

208.490 208.936 210.177 210.036 211.080 211.693 203.889 204.338 205.891 205.777 206.744 207.254

Northeast urban……….………………………………………….………

M

221.436 221.951 223.356 223.425 224.325 225.213 217.486 218.151 219.871 220.146 221.065 221.702

Size A—More than 1,500,000...........................................

M

224.274 224.636 225.766 225.688 226.310 227.411 218.791 219.275 220.710 220.824 221.492 222.315

M

130.206 130.761 132.049 132.323 133.301 133.511 130.447 131.080 132.485 132.856 133.766 133.893

M

199.714 199.455 200.762 200.227 201.427 201.896 194.828 194.384 196.056 195.493 196.617 197.110

M

201.171 200.927 202.012 201.519 202.830 203.347 195.306 194.843 196.343 195.839 196.963 197.549

M

127.504 127.349 128.392 128.040 128.753 128.922 127.139 126.879 128.129 127.740 128.561 128.695

Region and area size2

3

Size B/C—50,000 to 1,500,000 ……….…………………………
4

Midwest urban ……….………………………………………….…………
Size A—More than 1,500,000...........................................
3

Size B/C—50,000 to 1,500,000 ……….…………………………
Size D—Nonmetropolitan (less than 50,000)………….....

M

195.483 195.054 196.569 195.819 196.708 197.596 193.586 193.074 194.907 194.099 194.850 195.774

South urban…….…..............................................................

M

201.697 202.155 203.437 203.457 204.510 205.060 198.873 199.319 200.849 200.850 201.814 202.291

Size A—More than 1,500,000...........................................

M

204.302 204.779 205.698 206.078 207.221 207.605 202.354 202.906 203.991 204.370 205.304 205.588

M

128.263 128.600 129.556 129.368 129.937 130.351 126.953 127.265 128.407 128.206 128.767 129.144

3

Size B/C—50,000 to 1,500,000 ……….…………………………
Size D—Nonmetropolitan (less than 50,000)………….....

M

200.898 200.712 202.550 202.878 204.524 205.189 201.250 200.942 202.913 203.333 204.954 205.523

West urban…….…...............................................................

M

212.920 213.917 214.904 214.733 215.739 216.339 207.164 208.304 209.629 209.488 210.342 210.816

Size A—More than 1,500,000...........................................

M

216.429 217.314 218.196 218.020 219.036 219.799 208.921 210.025 211.268 211.095 212.040 212.614

M

129.064 129.866 130.581 130.481 131.328 131.538 128.642 129.419 130.356 130.309 130.935 131.148

M
M
M

190.962 191.324 192.224 192.140 193.045 193.685 189.072 189.471 190.680 190.622 191.461 191.982
128.506 128.869 129.848 129.718 130.431 130.728 127.759 128.103 129.268 129.156 129.830 130.092
200.903 200.941 202.525 202.333 203.200 203.803 199.289 199.275 201.016 200.867 201.685 202.292

Chicago–Gary–Kenosha, IL–IN–WI…………………………..
Los Angeles–Riverside–Orange County, CA……….…………

M
M

206.454 206.696 207.821 207.155 208.757 209.526 199.419 199.558 200.887 200.217 201.525 202.497
217.697 218.696 219.943 219.373 220.918 221.431 209.849 211.259 212.844 212.282 213.825 214.231

New York, NY–Northern NJ–Long Island, NY–NJ–CT–PA…

M

228.308 228.552 229.504 229.395 229.869 231.020 222.174 222.624 223.716 223.873 224.557 225.281

Boston–Brockton–Nashua, MA–NH–ME–CT……….…………

1

227.850

– 230.689

– 231.980

– 227.429

– 230.440

– 231.291

–

Cleveland–Akron, OH……………………………………………

1

197.000

– 197.726

– 199.686

– 187.784

– 188.488

– 190.115

–

Dallas–Ft Worth, TX…….………………………………………

1

194.847

– 196.465

– 197.079

– 197.027

– 198.521

– 199.407

–

Washington–Baltimore, DC–MD–VA–WV ……….………………

1

134.678

– 135.151

– 136.293

– 134.277

– 134.844

– 135.826

–

Atlanta, GA……………………..…………………………………

2

3

Size B/C—50,000 to 1,500,000 ……….…………………………
Size classes:
5

A ……….………………………………………….…………..……………
3
B/C ……………………….….………………………………………….…
D…………….…………......................................................
Selected local areas 6

7

– 201.938

– 202.751

– 204.166

– 200.714

– 202.034

– 203.473

Detroit–Ann Arbor–Flint, MI……………………………………

2

– 201.786

– 200.201

– 202.378

– 196.237

– 195.866

– 197.670

Houston–Galveston–Brazoria, TX………………………………

2

– 184.922

– 186.246

– 187.585

– 183.426

– 184.975

– 185.904

Miami–Ft. Lauderdale, FL……………...………………………

2

– 215.159

– 217.319

– 219.082

– 213.454

– 215.561

– 216.971

Philadelphia–Wilmington–Atlantic City, PA–NJ–DE–MD……

2

– 218.929

– 219.025

– 220.935

– 218.061

– 218.791

– 220.718

San Francisco–Oakland–San Jose, CA…….…………………

2

– 217.949

– 218.485

– 219.612

– 213.133

– 214.204

– 214.913

Seattle–Tacoma–Bremerton, WA………………...……………

2

– 218.427

– 218.966

– 221.728

– 213.107

– 214.024

– 216.332

1
Foods, fuels, and several other items priced every month in all areas; most other
goods and services priced as indicated:
M—Every month.
1—January, March, May, July, September, and November.
2—February, April, June, August, October, and December.

Report :
Anchorage,
AK;
Cincinnatti,
OH–KY–IN;
Kansas
City,
MO–KS;
Milwaukee–Racine, WI; Minneapolis–St. Paul, MN–WI; Pittsburgh, PA; Port-land–Salem,
OR–WA; St Louis, MO–IL; San Diego, CA; Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater, FL.

2

Regions defined as the four Census regions.

3

Indexes on a December 1996 = 100 base.

NOTE: Local area CPI indexes are byproducts of the national CPI program. Each local
index has a smaller sample size and is, therefore, subject to substantially more sampling
and other measurement error. As a result, local area indexes show greater volatility than
the national index, although their long-term trends are similar. Therefore, the Bureau of
Labor Statistics strongly urges users to consider adopting the national average CPI for use
in their escalator clauses. Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.
Dash indicates data not available.

4

The "North Central" region has been renamed the "Midwest" region by the Census
Bureau. It is composed of the same geographic entities.
5

Indexes on a December 1986 = 100 base.

6

In addition, the following metropolitan areas are published semiannually and
appear in tables 34 and 39 of the January and July issues of the CPI Detailed

104

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

7

Indexes on a November 1996 = 100 base.

40. Annual data: Consumer Price Index, U.S. city average, all items and major groups
[1982–84 = 100]
Series
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers:
All items:
Index..................……...............................................
Percent change............................……………………
Food and beverages:
Index................…….................................................
Percent change............................……………………
Housing:
Index....………………...............................................
Percent change............................……………………
Apparel:
Index........................…….........................................
Percent change............................……………………
Transportation:
Index........................………......................................
Percent change............................……………………
Medical care:
Index................…….................................................
Percent change............................……………………
Other goods and services:
Index............…….....................................................
Percent change............................……………………
Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners
and Clerical Workers:
All items:
Index....................……………...................................
Percent change............................……………………

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

160.5
2.3

163.0
1.6

166.6
2.2

172.2
3.4

177.1
2.8

179.9
1.6

184.0
2.3

188.9
2.7

195.3
3.4

201.6
3.2

207.342
2.8

157.7
2.6

161.1
2.2

164.6
2.2

168.4
2.3

173.6
3.1

176.8
1.8

180.5
2.1

186.6
3.3

191.2
2.5

195.7
2.4

203.300
3.9

156.8
2.6

160.4
2.3

163.9
2.2

169.6
3.5

176.4
4.0

180.3
2.2

184.8
2.5

189.5
2.5

195.7
3.3

203.2
3.8

209.586
3.1

132.9
.9

133.0
.1

131.3
–1.3

129.6
–1.3

127.3
–1.8

124.0
–2.6

120.9
–2.5

120.4
–.4

119.5
–.7

119.5
.0

118.998
-0.4

144.3
0.9

141.6
–1.9

144.4
2.0

153.3
6.2

154.3
0.7

152.9
–.9

157.6
3.1

163.1
3.5

173.9
6.6

180.9
4.0

184.682
2.1

234.6
2.8

242.1
3.2

250.6
3.5

260.8
4.1

272.8
4.6

285.6
4.7

297.1
4.0

310.1
4.4

323.2
4.2

336.2
4.0

351.054
4.4

224.8
4.4

237.7
5.7

258.3
8.7

271.1
5.0

282.6
4.2

293.2
3.8

298.7
1.9

304.7
2.0

313.4
2.9

321.7
2.6

333.328
3.6

157.6
2.3

159.7
1.3

163.2
2.2

168.9
3.5

173.5
2.7

175.9
1.4

179.8
2.2

184.5
5.1

191.0
1.1

197.1
3.2

202.767
2.9

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 105

Current Labor Statistics: Price Data

3URGXFHU3ULFH,QGH[HVE\VWDJHRISURFHVVLQJ
> @
Annual average

2007

Grouping
2006
Finished goods....……………………………
Finished consumer goods.........................
Finished consumer foods........................

2007

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

July

2008
Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.p Dec.p Jan.p Feb.p

160.4
166.0
156.7

166.6
173.5
166.9

161.8
167.1
163.9

164.1
170.2
166.3

165.9
172.7
166.8

167.5
174.8
166.8

167.2
174.4
166.3

168.5
176.2
166.4

166.1
173.0
166.3

167.4
174.8
168.4

168.6
175.9
169.7

171.3
179.4
169.4

170.6
178.5
172.0

171.9
180.0
174.5

172.2
180.2
173.8

excluding foods.....................................
Nondurable goods less food.................
Durable goods......................................
Capital equipment...................................

169.2
182.6
136.9
146.9

175.6
191.8
138.2
149.5

167.9
180.0
138.4
149.2

171.2
185.2
138.2
149.1

174.5
190.4
137.7
149.1

177.6
195.0
137.7
149.1

177.2
194.5
137.7
149.0

179.7
198.1
137.6
149.1

175.3
191.8
137.2
149.0

177.0
194.6
136.7
148.9

177.9
194.5
139.8
150.6

182.9
201.6
140.1
150.8

180.6
198.5
139.5
150.6

181.7
200.0
140.0
151.3

182.4
200.7
140.4
152.0

Intermediate materials,
supplies, and components........…………

164.0

170.6

164.3

166.6

169.1

171.1

172.0

173.6

171.5

172.2

172.2

176.5

175.3

177.6

178.8

for manufacturing......................................
Materials for food manufacturing..............
Materials for nondurable manufacturing...
Materials for durable manufacturing.........
Components for manufacturing................

155.9
146.2
175.0
180.5
134.5

162.4
161.5
183.9
189.8
136.3

157.6
152.8
174.5
183.8
136.0

158.7
155.5
176.3
186.3
135.8

160.6
157.5
177.7
192.9
136.0

162.8
160.6
182.9
195.0
136.0

163.6
163.0
184.9
194.8
136.2

164.5
163.6
187.1
195.1
136.4

163.4
164.5
185.0
191.8
136.5

163.3
166.6
186.0
189.1
136.5

164.4
166.3
189.4
189.0
136.6

166.3
166.2
195.0
189.8
136.6

166.3
170.1
195.3
187.9
136.8

168.3
174.2
199.5
189.2
137.3

169.8
177.2
201.3
192.2
137.7

Materials and components
for construction.........................................
Processed fuels and lubricants...................
Containers..................................................
Supplies......................................................

188.4
162.8
175.0
157.0

192.4
173.9
180.3
161.7

190.6
156.1
178.1
160.1

191.2
164.6
178.1
160.4

192.1
171.6
179.2
160.7

192.8
176.2
179.6
160.8

193.1
178.1
179.7
161.4

193.5
183.0
180.2
161.9

193.5
175.3
180.5
162.0

193.2
178.4
181.0
162.3

193.2
175.5
182.3
163.0

192.9
191.0
183.1
163.9

193.0
184.4
183.5
164.6

194.1
188.3
184.4
166.5

195.5
188.4
185.6
168.0

Crude materials for further
processing.......................…………………
Foodstuffs and feedstuffs...........................
Crude nonfood materials............................

184.8
119.3
230.6

207.3
146.7
246.7

197.0
138.8
235.1

202.1
142.0
241.5

204.2
143.7
243.9

208.0
148.1
246.6

209.7
148.4
249.6

210.3
150.0
249.2

202.8
147.8
237.6

204.6
151.9
237.4

211.8
150.0
252.0

228.4
152.7
279.4

230.5
158.9
277.9

236.4
162.5
285.3

245.5
164.5
300.0

Special groupings:
Finished goods, excluding foods................
Finished energy goods...............................
Finished goods less energy........................
Finished consumer goods less energy.......
Finished goods less food and energy.........

161.0
145.9
157.9
162.7
158.7

166.2
156.4
162.8
168.7
161.7

161.0
139.0
161.6
167.0
161.2

163.2
147.4
162.1
167.8
161.0

165.3
155.4
162.2
168.0
161.0

167.4
161.9
162.4
168.3
161.3

167.1
160.9
162.3
168.2
161.3

168.8
166.4
162.4
168.3
161.4

165.8
155.6
162.5
168.4
161.5

166.9
159.7
163.0
169.2
161.5

168.1
159.1
164.7
170.8
163.2

171.5
170.5
164.7
170.9
163.5

169.9
164.7
165.5
172.0
163.5

170.9
166.3
166.7
173.4
164.3

171.5
166.3
167.1
173.8
165.1

and energy................................................
Consumer nondurable goods less food

166.7

170.0

169.2

169.0

169.0

169.5

169.6

169.7

170.0

170.0

171.8

172.1

172.3

173.0

174.1

and energy..............................................

191.5

197.0

195.1

194.9

195.4

196.5

196.7

197.1

197.9

198.3

199.0

199.3

200.2

201.2

202.7

Intermediate materials less foods
and feeds..................................................
Intermediate foods and feeds.....................
Intermediate energy goods.........................
Intermediate goods less energy..................

165.4
135.2
162.8
162.1

171.5
154.4
174.6
167.5

165.2
147.2
155.7
164.4

167.5
149.8
164.0
165.2

170.0
151.0
170.5
166.7

172.1
151.6
176.7
167.6

172.9
154.5
179.2
168.1

174.5
155.9
184.2
168.8

172.3
156.3
177.0
168.1

172.9
158.2
179.5
168.2

172.9
159.6
177.4
168.9

177.3
161.3
192.3
170.2

175.9
164.9
186.0
170.4

178.0
170.4
190.2
172.1

179.1
174.7
190.9
173.4

and energy................................................

163.8

168.4

165.5

166.2

167.7

168.6

169.0

169.6

168.8

168.9

169.5

170.8

170.8

172.3

173.5

Crude energy materials..............................
Crude materials less energy.......................
Crude nonfood materials less energy.........

226.9
152.3
244.5

233.0
182.7
283.3

223.9
172.3
265.6

224.7
179.3
284.5

226.5
181.6
288.4

233.0
183.7
282.8

238.0
183.6
281.5

236.8
185.5
284.0

221.7
183.8
284.7

219.9
188.3
289.9

237.7
187.4
292.8

272.5
190.0
294.6

270.6
195.1
294.8

275.9
201.1
309.0

291.5
205.3
320.2

Finished consumer goods

Materials and components

Finished consumer goods less food

Intermediate materials less foods

S SUHOLPLQDU\

106

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

3URGXFHU3ULFH,QGH[HVIRUWKHQHWRXWSXWRIPDMRULQGXVWU\JURXSV
>'HFHPEHU XQOHVVRWKHUZLVHLQGLFDWHG@
NAICS

2007

Industry
Feb.
Total mining industries (December 1984=100).............................

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

July

2008
Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.p Dec. p Jan. p Feb.p

207.8
248.3
150.8
177.9

210.6
252.4
153.7
175.5

214.1
257.1
158.2
172.1

221.1
268.2
159.1
172.8

222.6
270.9
159.3
171.2

222.3
269.6
162.4
168.9

212.5
254.1
160.8
168.6

214.3
256.2
162.2
169.7

228.3
279.6
162.4
168.5

253.8
320.6
165.6
168.8

251.4
317.5
163.5
168.4

256.2
323.4
168.4
167.5

263.8
334.1
171.7
168.7

157.7
153.8
109.0
107.5
101.5
148.8
106.5
114.7
106.1
212.3

160.1
155.8
108.5
107.7
101.4
149.3
106.8
114.5
106.3
237.2

162.2
156.9
109.1
107.4
101.6
149.7
107.0
114.7
106.6
259.3

163.8
158.7
109.2
107.6
101.5
149.6
107.0
114.8
106.5
274.3

163.7
160.3
109.3
107.8
101.4
149.4
107.5
115.2
106.5
268.2

164.9
160.4
109.2
108.4
101.5
149.4
108.4
115.4
106.7
283.1

163.0
160.3
109.9
108.6
101.5
149.9
107.8
115.6
106.8
258.0

163.7
160.8
110.3
108.7
101.3
150.0
107.2
116.1
107.0
267.4

164.5
160.7
111.1
108.9
101.5
150.4
106.5
117.1
107.1
266.9

167.9
161.3
111.2
109.5
101.9
150.5
106.1
117.8
107.3
305.1

166.7
162.9
111.2
109.6
101.7
150.6
105.9
118.1
107.6
286.9

168.4
165.8
112.0
110.4
101.6
151.4
105.3
118.4
107.9
295.3

169.4
167.8
112.8
110.8
101.8
152.6
105.4
119.1
108.1
297.1




(December 1984=100)………………………………….…………
Chemical manufacturing (December 1984=100)…………………… 198.1
149.6
Plastics and rubber products manufacturing

199.4
149.4

201.1
149.4

201.9
149.8

202.8
149.9

203.6
150.4

204.9
151.3

205.0
151.2

206.4
151.6

208.8
152.3

210.6
152.9

214.0
154.6

215.7
155.8









Primary metal manufacturing (December 1984=100)………………
Fabricated metal product manufacturing (December 1984=100)…
Machinery manufacturing………………………..……………………
Computer and electronic products manufacturing…………………
Electrical equipment, appliance, and components manufacturing
Transportation equipment manufacturing……………………………
Furniture and related product manufacturing

184.6
160.7
111.5
95.4
119.3
105.0
165.3

187.2
161.3
111.7
95.1
119.7
104.8
165.2

194.1
161.9
112.0
95.1
120.5
104.5
165.5

197.1
162.5
112.1
94.7
121.8
104.4
165.7

196.4
162.2
112.0
94.6
122.1
104.4
165.9

196.4
162.3
112.1
94.1
123.0
104.4
165.6

192.1
162.9
112.3
93.5
123.6
104.2
165.7

188.8
162.8
112.5
93.3
123.7
103.8
165.9

188.6
163.3
112.7
93.1
124.2
106.3
166.1

189.3
163.6
112.7
92.8
124.2
106.4
166.4

188.6
164.0
113.0
92.8
123.9
105.9
166.6

190.2
164.6
113.8
92.3
125.1
106.2
167.2

194.4
165.8
114.4
92.6
126.1
106.6
167.8



Miscellaneous manufacturing………………………………………… 106.5

106.8

106.8

107.1

107.0

106.9

107.0

107.1

107.2

107.6

107.7

108.7

109.1

114.1
115.2
104.6
121.6
60.1
131.0

114.9
115.8
101.8
122.1
66.1
128.7

115.7
115.7
97.9
122.2
71.1
130.5

115.6
115.2
110.2
123.0
86.1
129.5

116.2
116.2
112.4
123.1
86.5
127.7

115.6
116.5
111.6
123.6
81.6
123.1

114.9
119.6
109.8
124.3
71.3
128.3

116.0
119.0
107.8
123.9
73.7
126.0

115.3
120.1
111.1
123.5
78.0
130.2

116.1
121.2
106.4
123.9
72.8
127.9

115.5
120.7
106.8
124.1
102.7
131.1

116.3
122.8
85.2
124.3
66.0
133.6

118.9
120.6
87.9
124.0
59.5
135.5

Air transportation (December 1992=100)…………………………… 178.6
Water transportation…………………………………………………… 111.2
Postal service (June 1989=100)……………………………………… 164.7

181.5
111.4
164.7

182.4
111.4
164.7

177.8
111.5
175.4

185.9
111.7
175.4

188.0
113.6
175.5

189.1
114.7
175.5

180.5
115.3
175.5

187.2
117.2
175.5

187.8
114.2
175.5

183.7
114.4
175.5

191.4
118.2
175.5

192.4
120.5
175.5

124.4

124.5

125.4

129.9

131.6

130.8

129.3

127.2

127.8

127.5

127.1

128.4

122.3
106.7
123.6
157.5
112.9
111.3

122.4
106.7
123.6
157.3
113.4
111.5

122.2
106.7
123.6
157.4
113.7
111.5

122.0
106.4
123.6
157.4
113.7
112.2

122.1
107.2
123.6
157.6
113.9
112.5

122.2
107.0
123.8
158.1
114.9
112.9

122.2
107.7
123.9
158.0
115.7
113.2

122.9
107.6
124.1
158.2
115.8
113.5

122.9
107.7
125.1
161.3
116.4
113.9

123.0
107.5
125.0
161.4
115.5
113.4

122.9
107.8
124.9
160.9
116.2
114.3

122.8
107.8
125.5
162.1
117.0
114.8

122.9
107.9
125.7
162.0
117.3
116.1

107.7
103.1
99.5
100.1
117.3
105.7
110.8
102.7
116.7
152.5
109.0

107.8
102.5
99.7
100.2
117.3
105.8
111.4
103.4
116.7
152.8
109.8

108.0
101.1
100.4
100.1
118.1
105.9
111.4
103.6
117.0
153.0
110.6

108.2
101.6
100.7
100.4
118.7
106.0
110.4
104.0
114.1
153.3
110.9

108.1
101.8
101.0
100.3
118.6
106.8
110.8
103.7
114.4
153.4
111.4

108.2
98.7
102.2
100.4
120.5
106.2
111.1
103.8
121.2
153.7
112.2

108.4
98.7
101.3
100.4
120.4
107.9
111.1
103.2
122.3
153.8
112.6

108.4
99.6
102.0
100.4
121.1
109.0
110.7
102.9
117.2
154.3
112.4

108.5
101.0
101.8
100.3
121.4
108.5
110.5
103.5
118.9
154.8
113.1

108.6
102.1
101.3
100.4
121.5
107.7
110.5
104.4
119.1
155.2
113.5

108.5
101.2
100.9
100.4
122.1
109.8
109.8
103.5
117.8
155.0
113.7

109.3
101.6
100.6
100.3
119.2
110.2
110.0
108.1
120.9
159.4
115.3

109.4
102.3
100.8
100.6
117.1
107.8
110.1
106.1
120.9
160.1
114.2

138.3
104.4
121.0
100.2
105.1
106.2
138.4

139.4
105.1
121.2
100.5
105.3
106.6
139.1

139.7
105.1
121.3
101.2
105.3
107.2
140.7

139.8
105.1
121.4
101.0
105.4
107.2
141.1

140.1
105.1
121.6
101.4
105.4
107.2
143.1

140.3
105.1
121.8
101.1
105.5
107.3
147.1

140.8
105.1
121.9
101.0
105.5
107.9
147.2

140.7
105.1
122.0
100.9
106.8
108.9
145.0

140.8
105.1
122.4
102.5
106.9
108.9
145.8

140.5
105.1
122.3
101.3
105.8
109.6
144.1

141.0
105.1
122.2
101.2
106.1
107.7
143.8

138.8
105.0
121.9
97.3
107.5
110.6
144.8

139.1
105.0
122.3
97.3
108.2
112.2
142.9














Oil and gas extraction (December 1985=100) .............................
Mining, except oil and gas……………………………………………
Mining support activities………………………………………………
Total manufacturing industries (December 1984=100)................
Food manufacturing (December 1984=100)…………………………
Beverage and tobacco manufacturing...........................................
Textile mills....................................................................................
Apparel manufacturing………………………………...………………
Leather and allied product manufacturing (December 1984=100)
Wood products manufacturing………………………………………
Paper manufacturing.....................................................................
Printing and related support activities...........................................
Petroleum and coal products manufacturing

(December 1984=100)………….…………………………………

(December 1984=100)………………………………………………

Retail trade







Motor vehicle and parts dealers………………………………………
Furniture and home furnishings stores………………………………
Electronics and appliance stores……………………………………
Health and personal care stores………………………………………
Gasoline stations (June 2001=100)…………………………………
Nonstore retailers………………………………………………………
Transportation and warehousing





Utilities


Utilities…………………………………………………………………… 125.6
Health care and social assistance








Office of physicians (December 1996=100)…………………………
Medical and diagnostic laboratories…………………………………
Home health care services (December 1996=100)…………………
Hospitals (December 1992=100)……………………………………
Nursing care facilities…………………………………………………
Residential mental retardation facilities………………………………
Other services industries














Publishing industries, except Internet ………………………………
Broadcasting, except Internet…………………………………………
Telecommunications……………………………………………………
Data processing and related services………………………………
Security, commodity contracts, and like activity……………………
Lessors or nonresidental buildings (except miniwarehouse)………
Offices of real estate agents and brokers……………………………
Real estate support activities…………………………………………
Automotive equipment rental and leasing (June 2001=100)………
Legal services (December 1996=100)………………………………
Offices of certified public accountants………………………………
Architectural, engineering, and related services

(December 1996=100)………………………………………………

Advertising agencies……………………………………………………

Employment services (December 1996=100)………………………

Travel agencies…………………………………………………………

Janitorial services………………………………………………………

Waste collection…………………………………………………………

Accommodation (December 1996=100)……………………………
S SUHOLPLQDU\

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 107

Current Labor Statistics: Price Data

43. Annual data: Producer Price Indexes, by stage of processing
> @
Index

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Finished goods
7RWDO
)RRGV«««««««««««««
(QHUJ\«««««««««««««««««
2WKHU«««««««««««««
























































Intermediate materials, supplies, and
components
7RWDO
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(QHUJ\««««««««««««
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Crude materials for further processing
7RWDO
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(QHUJ\«««««««««««««««««
2WKHU«««««««««««««

86H[SRUWSULFHLQGH[HVE\HQGXVHFDWHJRU\
[2000 = 100]
2007

Category
Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

July

2008
Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

ALL COMMODITIES……………....................................

113.9

114.7

115.2

115.5

116.0

116.1

116.3

116.7

117.6

118.7

119.2

120.6

121.7

Foods, feeds, and beverages……………...……………
Agricultural foods, feeds, and beverages….............
Nonagricultural (fish, beverages) food products……

143.5
145.6
125.6

146.9
149.2
128.0

145.3
146.8
133.9

145.1
147.0
129.8

148.6
151.0
128.5

149.2
151.5
130.2

151.4
153.7
132.2

157.8
160.8
133.0

164.1
167.6
134.2

165.9
169.8
133.1

170.9
175.3
134.0

180.5
185.3
139.8

188.6
194.0
142.2

Industrial supplies and materials……………...………… 143.0

108

145.5

147.2

148.3

149.0

148.6

148.8

148.8

150.5

153.9

154.1

157.0

158.8

Agricultural industrial supplies and materials…........

126.8

127.3

126.9

125.1

128.7

138.6

137.4

140.0

142.7

144.9

144.7

146.0

150.6

Fuels and lubricants…...............................…………

182.1

188.8

198.6

199.1

201.1

202.9

197.4

200.9

204.8

224.7

222.2

231.4

225.0

Nonagricultural supplies and materials,
excluding fuel and building materials…………...…
Selected building materials…...............................…

141.3
112.2

143.5
112.7

144.3
112.9

145.7
113.3

146.1
113.9

144.6
114.1

145.7
114.0

145.0
114.4

146.5
114.2

147.9
113.8

148.5
113.6

150.9
112.8

153.7
114.1

Capital goods……………...…………………………….… 99.2
Electric and electrical generating equipment…........ 105.9
Nonelectrical machinery…...............................……… 92.7

99.2
106.0
92.8

99.3
106.5
92.7

99.5
106.4
92.9

99.6
106.5
92.9

99.7
106.6
93.1

99.8
106.7
93.1

99.9
106.7
93.1

100.1
107.1
93.2

100.3
107.2
93.4

100.5
107.3
93.6

100.7
107.4
93.6

101.1
107.7
93.9

Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines……………...

105.8

105.9

106.0

106.0

106.1

106.2

106.2

106.3

106.5

106.5

106.7

106.9

107.0

Consumer goods, excluding automotive……………... 104.8
Nondurables, manufactured…...............................… 105.1
Durables, manufactured…………...………..........…… 103.3

104.8
105.0
103.4

105.4
105.7
103.9

105.7
106.4
104.0

105.8
106.7
103.7

106.1
107.0
104.0

106.3
107.2
104.2

106.2
107.0
104.2

106.4
107.4
104.2

106.8
108.0
104.4

107.2
108.2
105.2

107.3
108.3
105.3

107.7
108.7
105.7

Agricultural commodities……………...…………………
Nonagricultural commodities……………...……………

145.0
112.6

142.9
113.2

142.8
113.6

146.7
113.8

149.0
113.7

150.5
113.8

156.8
113.8

162.8
114.4

165.0
115.4

169.4
115.6

177.8
116.5

185.7
117.1

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

142.0
111.9

86LPSRUWSULFHLQGH[HVE\HQGXVHFDWHJRU\
[2000 = 100]
2007

Category
Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

July

2008
Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

ALL COMMODITIES……………....................................

114.1

115.9

117.5

118.6

120.0

121.5

121.1

121.8

123.6

127.5

127.3

129.4

129.6

Foods, feeds, and beverages……………...……………
Agricultural foods, feeds, and beverages….............
Nonagricultural (fish, beverages) food products……

124.8
135.4
101.1

124.6
135.1
101.3

126.3
137.6
100.9

127.4
139.1
101.2

127.8
139.5
101.5

129.4
141.4
102.7

130.1
142.1
103.2

131.8
144.4
103.5

133.2
146.5
103.2

133.4
147.1
102.5

134.4
148.3
103.0

138.7
153.9
104.3

138.5
153.6
104.4

Industrial supplies and materials……………...………… 162.0

169.8

176.4

180.5

185.6

190.9

188.5

190.7

197.2

212.8

211.3

218.9

219.4

Fuels and lubricants…...............................…………
Petroleum and petroleum products…………...……

194.0
196.8

209.6
213.6

222.1
228.2

228.2
234.3

238.2
245.6

249.8
260.3

244.0
256.4

250.0
264.4

262.4
277.7

294.8
312.2

290.2
306.7

303.3
321.5

300.7
316.6

Paper and paper base stocks…...............................

111.4

111.5

110.6

110.6

110.8

110.3

110.7

111.2

112.2

108.0

109.2

113.1

114.0

Materials associated with nondurable
supplies and materials…...............................………
Selected building materials…...............................…
Unfinished metals associated with durable goods…
Nonmetals associated with durable goods…...........

123.8
111.0
197.7
102.0

124.0
111.4
202.9
101.8

124.5
111.4
209.4
101.6

125.1
111.2
217.1
101.7

125.4
113.1
219.7
101.6

126.6
116.9
215.1
102.1

127.3
116.5
215.3
102.2

128.2
116.9
209.1
102.5

131.4
115.7
211.0
103.0

133.7
115.6
214.8
103.3

135.5
116.0
217.1
103.8

144.8
115.9
214.8
105.4

148.4
113.4
223.1
105.9

Capital goods……………...…………………………….… 91.2
Electric and electrical generating equipment…........
104.1
Nonelectrical machinery…...............................……… 87.4

91.1
104.3
87.2

90.9
104.9
86.9

91.1
105.2
87.0

91.3
105.7
87.2

91.6
105.8
87.4

91.8
106.4
87.6

91.9
106.5
87.7

92.0
106.8
87.7

92.1
107.5
87.7

92.2
107.9
87.8

91.9
107.8
87.4

92.0
108.4
87.4

Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines……………...

104.4

104.4

104.5

104.6

104.7

104.8

105.0

105.2

105.6

106.2

106.8

107.1

107.3

Consumer goods, excluding automotive……………...
101.2
Nondurables, manufactured…...............................… 104.0
Durables, manufactured…………...………..........…… 98.1
Nonmanufactured consumer goods…………...……… 102.1

101.3
104.1
98.3
102.2

101.3
104.1
98.2
102.3

101.3
104.3
98.1
102.4

101.4
104.3
98.2
102.6

101.7
104.8
98.3
103.1

102.0
104.9
98.8
103.4

102.1
105.0
98.8
103.4

102.2
105.1
99.0
103.3

102.4
105.3
99.2
103.3

102.5
105.6
99.3
103.4

103.0
106.3
99.5
103.4

103.3
106.4
100.0
103.4

86LQWHUQDWLRQDOSULFH,QGH[HVIRUVHOHFWHGFDWHJRULHVRIVHUYLFHV
[2000 = 100, unless indicated otherwise]
Category

2005
Dec.

2006
Mar.

June

2007

Sept.

Dec.

Mar.

June

Sept.

Dec.

Import air freight……………...........................................
Export air freight……………...……………………………

128.9
112.0

129.7
113.6

135.2
115.9

133.1
117.9

131.2
116.7

130.7
117.0

132.3
117.0

134.2
119.8

142.6
128.3

Import air passenger fares (Dec. 2006 = 100)……………
Export air passenger fares (Dec. 2006 = 100)…............

116.3
128.3

114.9
130.8

136.7
139.3

130.9
142.4

125.4
137.3

122.9
140.2

144.6
147.3

140.2
154.6

135.3
155.7

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 109

Current Labor Statistics: Productivity Data

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110

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

48. Annual indexes of multifactor productivity and related measures, selected years
> XQOHVVRWKHUZLVHLQGLFDWHG@
Item

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Private business
3URGXFWLYLW\
Output per hour of all persons......……………..............
87.2
Output per unit of capital services……………………… 105.6
Multifactor productivity……………………………………
93.9
Output…...............................………………………….……
76.8

87.4
104.4
93.7
79.2

90.0
104.5
95.3
82.8

91.7
104.7
96.2
87.2

94.3
103.3
97.4
91.5

97.2
102.2
98.7
96.2

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

102.8
96.1
100.2
100.5

107.1
95.0
101.9
102.0

111.2
95.9
104.6
105.2

114.7
98.0
107.3
109.9

117.1
99.1
109.2
114.1

119.1
99.9
110.4
118.4

86.3
72.8
81.8
82.6

88.8
75.8
84.5
83.8

90.6
79.2
86.9
86.1

94.2
83.3
90.7
87.6

96.4
88.5
93.9
91.2

99.0
94.2
97.5
95.1

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

98.6
104.5
100.3
106.9

97.2
107.4
100.2
112.7

96.9
109.7
100.6
116.0

98.4
112.2
102.4
117.1

100.2
115.1
104.5
118.1

102.8
118.6
107.3
119.2

3URGXFWLYLW\
Output per hour of all persons........……………………… 87.7
Output per unit of capital services……………………… 106.5
Multifactor productivity……………………………………
94.5
Output…...............................………………………….……
76.7

88.2
105.5
94.5
79.3

90.5
105.3
95.8
82.8

92.0
105.1
96.4
87.2

94.5
103.7
97.7
91.5

97.3
102.4
98.8
96.3

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

102.7
96.1
100.1
100.5

107.1
94.9
101.9
102.1

111.0
95.7
104.4
105.2

114.4
97.7
107.1
109.9

116.8
99.1
109.1
114.1

118.7
99.8
110.2
118.4

85.7
72.1
81.2
82.4

88.2
75.2
83.9
83.6

90.2
78.7
86.5
86.0

93.9
82.9
90.4
87.5

96.2
88.2
93.7
91.1

99.0
94.0
97.5
95.0

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

98.7
104.6
100.4
106.9

97.2
107.6
100.2
112.8

97.1
110.0
100.7
116.1

98.6
112.4
102.5
117.0

100.4
115.1
104.6
117.9

103.0
118.7
107.5
119.0

3URGXFWLYLW\
Output per hour of all persons...…………………………
Output per unit of capital services………………………
Multifactor productivity……………………………………
Output…...............................………………………….……

76.1
96.6
89.0
76.4

79.4
98.2
90.6
80.4

82.4
97.6
91.0
83.1

86.9
100.2
93.6
89.2

91.7
100.5
95.8
93.8

95.8
100.3
96.5
97.4

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

101.5
93.6
98.7
94.9

108.6
92.5
102.4
94.3

115.3
93.5
105.3
95.2

117.9
95.9
109.2
96.9

123.4
99.6
113.0
100.3

–
–
–
–

Inputs:
Hours of all persons.....................................................
Capital services…………...………..........………….……
Energy……………….……….........................................
Nonenergy materials....................................................
Purchased business services.......................................
Combined units of all factor inputs…………...………...

100.3
79.0
110.4
74.8
84.7
85.8

101.2
81.8
113.7
78.8
88.9
88.7

100.8
85.2
110.3
86.0
88.5
91.3

102.6
89.0
108.2
92.9
92.1
95.3

102.3
93.4
105.4
97.7
95.0
98.0

101.6
97.1
105.5
102.6
100.0
100.9

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

93.5
101.4
90.6
93.3
100.7
96.2

86.8
101.9
89.3
88.3
98.2
92.1

82.6
101.8
84.4
87.7
99.1
90.5

82.2
101.1
81.1
85.5
95.2
88.7

81.3
100.7
78.5
86.3
96.5
88.8

–
–
–
–
–
–

Inputs:
Labor input...................................................................
Capital services…………...………..........………….……
Combined units of labor and capital input………………
Capital per hour of all persons.......................……………
Private nonfarm business

Inputs:
Labor input...................................................................
Capital services…………...………..........………….……
Combined units of labor and capital input………………
Capital per hour of all persons......…………………………
Manufacturing [1996 = 100]

127('DVKLQGLFDWHVGDWDQRWDYDLODEOH

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 111

Current Labor Statistics: Productivity Data

49. Annual indexes of productivity, hourly compensation, unit costs, and prices, selected years
> @
Item

1962

1972

1982

1992

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

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2007

Business
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±
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±
±
±

±
±
±
±
±
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±
±
±
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±
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Nonfarm business
2XWSXWSHUKRXURIDOOSHUVRQV
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Nonfinancial corporations
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&RPSHQVDWLRQSHUKRXU««««««««««««««
5HDOFRPSHQVDWLRQSHUKRXU««««««««««««
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Manufacturing
2XWSXWSHUKRXURIDOOSHUVRQV
&RPSHQVDWLRQSHUKRXU««««««««««««««
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112

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

50. Annual indexes of output per hour for selected NAICS industries
[1997=100]
NAICS

Industry

21
211
212
2121
2122


0LQLQJ«««««««««««««««««««
2LODQGJDVH[WUDFWLRQ«««««««««««««
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1987

1990

1997

1998

1999

2000

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2002

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2004

2005

2006

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Utilities

Manufacturing

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 113

Current Labor Statistics: Productivity Data

50. Continued - Annual indexes of output per hour for selected NAICS industries
[1997=100]
NAICS

Industry

1987

1990

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006







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Wholesale trade

Retail trade

114

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

50. Continued - Annual indexes of output per hour for selected NAICS industries
[1997=100]
NAICS

Industry

1987

1990

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

77.6
66.9
110.8
111.1
138.5

81.6
69.0
107.4
106.9
127.2

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

108.3
102.3
99.9
99.6
100.5

115.3
105.5
101.9
102.5
96.4

115.1
103.1
101.0
101.1
98.5

116.7
118.4
103.8
103.3
108.2

121.3
118.3
104.7
104.8
105.3

127.5
125.7
107.2
106.7
112.2

134.0
140.1
112.9
112.2
120.3

134.9
135.6
118.3
117.1
127.7

142.9
150.1
122.1
119.2
153.3

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93.6
84.0




97.6
91.0




100.0
100.0




104.6
104.0




99.1
107.1




105.7
112.2




107.1
116.2




110.1
122.9




117.0
129.5




127.8
134.3




141.8
133.2




148.8
139.7










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73.2
78.9




82.2
82.3




100.0
100.0




111.5
101.0




119.8
103.2




129.4
105.8




134.5
113.0




136.0
111.6




141.1
113.7




166.0
123.6




181.7
133.7




203.1
124.9







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73.5

54.8
65.1
77.6

75.1

61.2
69.5
73.3

100.0

100.0
100.0
100.0

105.3

114.7
108.9
102.3

113.4

131.0
111.3
116.2

120.2

147.3
114.1
115.2

124.8

164.7
112.6
102.7

129.1

179.3
119.1
113.8

136.9

188.8
126.1
108.9

140.7

192.9
130.8
103.4

145.0

199.7
142.0
120.6

152.3

210.4
159.3
125.3









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64.5
68.3
50.7

95.5
70.8


70.4
75.0
54.7

95.1
74.1


100.0
100.0
100.0

100.0
100.0


119.1
105.3
114.3

106.3
101.9


113.4
103.0
128.9

105.4
104.2


116.5
104.4
152.2

111.1
122.5


121.9
96.9
163.6

95.7
127.9


142.0
94.4
182.1

91.2
135.0


149.7
99.9
195.5

102.3
127.0


152.6
96.9
215.5

110.5
130.3


159.5
103.5
218.4

105.1
121.5


166.6
118.5
256.3

110.7
135.6








$LUWUDQVSRUWDWLRQ«««««««««««««««««« 81.1
/LQHKDXOUDLOURDGV«««««««««««««««««« 58.9
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90.9
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77.5
69.8

112.6
94.2
138.5

100.0
100.0

100.0
100.0
100.0

97.6
102.1

91.0
101.6
112.6

98.2
105.5

96.1
102.8
117.6

98.1
114.3

94.8
105.5
121.9

91.9
121.9

84.0
106.3
123.4

102.1
131.9

81.6
106.4
131.1

112.7
142.0

86.2
107.8
134.1

126.0
146.4

88.7
110.0
126.9

135.7
138.5

88.5
111.2
124.7


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6RIWZDUHSXEOLVKHUV«««««««««««««««««

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:LUHGWHOHFRPPXQLFDWLRQVFDUULHUV««««««««««« 56.9
:LUHOHVVWHOHFRPPXQLFDWLRQVFDUULHUV«««««««««« 75.6
&DEOHDQGRWKHUSURJUDPGLVWULEXWLRQ«««««««««« 105.2



109.2



66.0
70.4
100.0



100.0



100.0
100.0
100.0



99.8



107.7
110.5
97.1



101.8



116.7
145.2
95.8



106.5



122.7
152.8
91.6



101.6



116.7
191.9
87.7



99.8



124.1
217.9
95.0



100.6



130.5
242.5
101.2



103.8



133.9
292.0
113.7



102.7



140.2
392.4
110.4






-



&RPPHUFLDOEDQNLQJ«««««««««««««««««

72.8

80.7

100.0

97.0

99.8

102.7

99.6

102.1

103.7

108.5

108.4

-





3DVVHQJHUFDUUHQWDO««««««««««««««««« 92.7
7UXFNWUDLOHUDQG59UHQWDODQGOHDVLQJ««««««««« 60.4
9LGHRWDSHDQGGLVFUHQWDO««««««««««««««« 77.0

90.8
68.6
97.1

100.0
100.0
100.0

100.1
115.2
113.2

112.2
120.6
129.4

112.3
121.1
134.9

111.1
113.7
133.3

114.6
113.5
130.3

121.2
115.1
148.5

118.3
135.7
154.5

110.5
145.5
155.6

-







7D[SUHSDUDWLRQVHUYLFHV«««««««««««««««
$UFKLWHFWXUDOVHUYLFHV«««««««««««««««««
(QJLQHHULQJVHUYLFHV«««««««««««««««««
$GYHUWLVLQJDJHQFLHV«««««««««««««««««
3KRWRJUDSK\VWXGLRVSRUWUDLW««««««««««««««


90.0
90.2
95.9
98.1


93.8
99.4
107.9
95.9


100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0


111.4
98.2
89.2
124.8


106.8
98.0
97.9
109.8


107.6
102.0
107.5
108.9


111.0
100.1
106.9
102.2


107.6
100.5
113.1
97.6


112.6
100.5
120.8
104.2


118.3
107.8
133.0
93.2


123.9
114.2
131.2
93.6


-





(PSOR\PHQWSODFHPHQWDJHQFLHV««««««««««««
7UDYHODJHQFLHV««««««««««««««««««
-DQLWRULDOVHUYLFHV««««««««««««««««««


75.1


94.3

100.0

100.0

86.8

95.3

93.2

98.6

89.8

101.0

99.6

102.1

116.8

105.6

115.4

118.8

119.8

116.6

117.9

122.0


-





0HGLFDODQGGLDJQRVWLFODERUDWRULHV«««««««««««
0HGLFDOODERUDWRULHV«««««««««««««««««
'LDJQRVWLFLPDJLQJFHQWHUV««««««««««««««





100.0
100.0


118.8
117.2


124.7
121.4


131.9
127.4


135.3
127.7


137.6
123.1


140.8
128.6


140.8
130.7


138.8
127.1







$PXVHPHQWDQGWKHPHSDUNV««««««««««««« 112.0
%RZOLQJFHQWHUV««««««««««««««««««« 106.0

112.5
94.0

100.0
100.0

110.5
89.9

105.2
89.4

106.0
93.4

93.0
94.3

106.5
96.4

113.2
102.4

101.4
107.9

110.0
106.1

-







%XLOGLQJPDWHULDODQGVXSSOLHVGHDOHUV««««««««««
/DZQDQGJDUGHQHTXLSPHQWDQGVXSSOLHVVWRUHV«««««
)RRGDQGEHYHUDJHVWRUHV«««««««««««««««
*URFHU\VWRUHV«««««««««««««««««««
6SHFLDOW\IRRGVWRUHV«««««««««««««««««







Transportation and warehousing

Information

Finance and insurance
Real estate and rental and leasing

Professional and technical services

Administrative and waste services

Health care and social assistance

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 115

Current Labor Statistics: Productivity Data & International Comparisons

50. Continued - Annual indexes of output per hour for selected NAICS industries
[1997=100]
NAICS

Industry

1987

1990

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

85.2
96.0

96.5
89.9


82.1
102.4

103.6
99.8


100.0
100.0

100.0
100.0


100.0
101.0

101.2
100.6


105.5
100.9

100.4
105.2


111.7
103.5

102.0
115.0


107.6
103.8

102.5
115.3


112.0
104.4

102.7
114.9


114.3
106.3

105.4
117.6


120.8
107.0

106.8
118.0


115.8
108.2

107.8
119.2


110.9

111.2
116.4


85.9
83.5
103.7
97.1
95.8

89.9
82.1
98.4
94.8
107.7

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

103.6
108.6
106.8
100.1
69.3

106.1
108.6
103.3
105.0
76.3

109.4
108.2
94.8
107.6
73.8

108.9
114.6
91.8
110.9
81.2

103.7
110.4
94.6
112.5
100.5

104.1
119.7
95.7
103.8
100.5

112.0
125.0
92.9
110.6
102.0

112.5
130.4
93.2
120.8
113.2

-

Accommodation and food services







7UDYHOHUDFFRPPRGDWLRQV«««««««««««««««
)RRGVHUYLFHVDQGGULQNLQJSODFHV««««««««««««
)XOOVHUYLFHUHVWDXUDQWV«««««««««««««««
/LPLWHGVHUYLFHHDWLQJSODFHV««««««««««««««
6SHFLDOIRRGVHUYLFHV«««««««««««««««««
'ULQNLQJSODFHVDOFRKROLFEHYHUDJHV««««««««««







$XWRPRWLYHUHSDLUDQGPDLQWHQDQFH«««««««««««
+DLUQDLODQGVNLQFDUHVHUYLFHV«««««««««««««
)XQHUDOKRPHVDQGIXQHUDOVHUYLFHV«««««««««««
'U\FOHDQLQJDQGODXQGU\VHUYLFHV««««««««««««
3KRWRILQLVKLQJ««««««««««««««««««««

Other services

NOTE: Dash indicates data are not available.

8QHPSOR\PHQWUDWHVDSSUR[LPDWLQJ86FRQFHSWVFRXQWULHVVHDVRQDOO\DGMXVWHG
[Percent]

United States………

2005
5.1

2006
4.6

III

II

I

IV

III

II

I

IV

III

II

I

2007

2006

2005

&RXQWU\

5.3

5.1

5.0



4.7

4.7

4.7

4.5

4.5

4.5

4.7

6.0



5.7

5.5

5.6

5.4

5.4

5.2

5.2

Canada………………

6.0

5.5

6.2

6.0

Australia………………

5.1

4.8

5.1

5.1

5.0



5.0

4.9

4.7

4.6

4.5

4.3

4.3

Japan…………………

4.5

4.2

4.6

4.4

4.4



4.3

4.2

4.2

4.1

4.0

3.8

-

France………………

9.9

9.7

9.8

9.9

9.9



10.0

9.8

9.6

9.4

9.1

9.0

-

Germany……………

11.2

10.4

11.5

11.4

11.1



11.0

10.6

10.1

9.7

9.2

9.0

-

Italy……………………

7.8

6.9

7.9

7.8

7.7



7.3

6.9

6.7

6.5

6.2

6.1

-

Netherlands…………

5.2

4.4

5.6

5.3

5.0



4.8

4.3

4.2

4.2

4.0

3.6

-

Sweden………………

7.7

7.0

6.3

7.7

7.6



7.3

7.3

6.7

6.5

6.3

5.9

5.8

United Kingdom……

4.8

5.5

4.7

4.8

4.8



5.3

5.5

5.6

5.5

5.5

5.4

-

NOTE: Dash indicates data not available.
Quarterly figures for Italy and quarterly and monthly figures for France, Germany, and the
Netherlands are calculated by applying annual adjustment factors to current published data
and therefore should be viewed as less precise indicators of unemployment under U.S.
concepts than the annual figures. Quarterly and monthly figures for Sweden are BLS
seasonally adjusted estimates derived from Swedish not seasonally adjusted data.
There are breaks in series for Germany (2005) and Sweden (2005). For details on breaks
in series, see the technical notes of the report Comparative Civilian Labor Force Statistics,
Ten Countries, 1960-2006 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, October 12, 2007), available on the
Internet at http://www.bls.gov/fls/flscomparelf.htm.

116

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

For further qualifications and historical annual data, see the full report, also available
at this site. For monthly unemployment rates, as well as the quarterly and annual
rates published in this table, see the report Unemployment rates in ten countries,
civilian labor force basis, approximating U.S. concepts, seasonally adjusted, 1995(Bureau of Labor Statistics), available on the Internet at
2007,
ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/ForeignLabor/flsjec.txt .
Unemployment rates may differ between the two reports mentioned, because the
former is updated on a bi-annual basis, whereas the latter is updated monthly and
reflects the most recent revisions in source data.

52. Annual data: employment status of the working-age population, approximating U.S. concepts, 10 countries
[Numbers in thousands]

Employment status and country
Civilian labor force

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

136,297
14,884
9,204
67,200
25,116
39,415
22,753
7,612
4,414
28,401

137,673
15,135
9,339
67,240
25,434
39,752
23,004
7,744
4,401
28,474

139,368
15,403
9,414
67,090
25,791
39,375
23,176
7,881
4,423
28,777

142,583
15,637
9,590
66,990
26,099
39,302
23,361
8,011
4,482
28,952

143,734
15,891
9,744
66,860
26,393
39,459
23,524
8,098
4,522
29,085

144,863
16,366
9,893
66,240
26,645
39,413
23,728
8,186
4,537
29,335

146,510
16,733
10,079
66,010
26,922
39,276
24,020
8,255
4,557
29,557

147,401
16,955
10,221
65,770
26,961
39,711
24,084
8,279
4,571
29,775























66.8
64.8
64.6
63.0
55.7
57.1
47.3
60.2
63.9
62.4

67.1
65.1
64.3
63.2
55.6
57.3
47.3
61.1
63.2
62.5

67.1
65.4
64.3
62.8
56.0
57.7
47.7
61.8
62.8
62.5

67.1
65.9
64.0
62.4
56.4
56.9
47.9
62.5
62.7
62.8

67.1
66.0
64.4
62.0
56.6
56.7
48.1
63.0
63.7
62.9

66.8
66.1
64.4
61.6
56.8
56.7
48.3
63.3
63.6
62.7

66.6
67.1
64.3
60.8
56.9
56.4
48.5
63.5
63.9
62.9

66.2
67.7
64.6
60.3
57.0
56.0
49.1
63.7
63.8
63.0

66.0
67.7
64.6
60.0
56.7
56.4
49.1
63.6
63.6
63.0
















56.4
58.2





United States……………………………………………… 126,708
Canada……………………………………………………
13,338
Australia……………………………………………………
8,364
Japan………………………………………………………
64,200
France……………………………………………………
22,036
Germany…………………………………………………
35,637
Italy………………………………………………………… 20,124
Netherlands………………………………………………
6,966
Sweden……………………………………………………
4,014
United Kingdom…………………………………………
25,941

129,558
13,637
8,444
64,900
22,176
35,508
20,169
7,189
3,969
26,413

131,463
13,973
8,618
64,450
22,597
36,059
20,370
7,408
4,033
26,686

133,488
14,331
8,762
63,920
23,080
36,042
20,617
7,605
4,110
27,051

136,891
14,681
8,989
63,790
23,714
36,236
20,973
7,781
4,222
27,368

136,933
14,866
9,086
63,460
24,167
36,350
21,359
7,875
4,295
27,599

136,485
15,223
9,264
62,650
24,311
36,018
21,666
7,925
4,303
27,812

137,736
15,586
9,480
62,510
24,337
35,615
21,972
7,895
4,293
28,073

139,252
15,861
9,668
62,640
24,330
35,604
22,124
7,847
4,271
28,358























63.2
59.1
59.3
60.9
49.1
52.0
42.0
56.2
57.6
57.3

63.8
59.6
59.0
61.0
49.1
51.6
41.9
57.7
56.8
58.2

64.1
60.4
59.3
60.2
49.7
52.3
42.2
59.1
57.6
58.5

64.3
61.3
59.6
59.4
50.4
52.1
42.6
60.3
58.3
59.1

64.4
62.0
60.3
59.0
51.4
52.2
43.2
61.2
60.0
59.4

63.7
61.9
60.0
58.4
52.0
52.2
43.8
61.5
60.4
59.5

62.7
62.4
60.2
57.5
51.9
51.5
44.3
61.5
60.6
59.6

62.3
63.1
60.7
57.1
51.6
50.8
44.9
60.9
60.1
59.8

62.3
63.3
61.1
57.1
51.2
50.6
45.1
60.3
59.4
60.0
















50.9
52.2





7,236
1,285
751
2,250
2,946
3,505
2,555
489
440
2,298

6,739
1,248
759
2,300
2,940
3,907
2,584
423
445
1,987

6,210
1,162
721
2,790
2,837
3,693
2,634
337
368
1,788

5,880
1,072
652
3,170
2,711
3,333
2,559
277
313
1,726

5,692
956
602
3,200
2,385
3,065
2,388
231
260
1,584

6,801
1,026
658
3,400
2,226
3,110
2,164
223
227
1,486

8,378
1,143
629
3,590
2,334
3,396
2,062
261
234
1,524

8,774
1,147
599
3,500
2,585
3,661
2,048
360
264
1,484

8,149
1,093
553
3,130
2,631
4,107
1,960
422
300
1,417























5.4
8.8
8.2
3.4
11.8
9.0
11.3
6.6
9.9
8.1

4.9
8.4
8.3
3.4
11.7
9.9
11.4
5.6
10.1
7.0

4.5
7.7
7.7
4.1
11.2
9.3
11.5
4.4
8.4
6.3

4.2
7.0
6.9
4.7
10.5
8.5
11.0
3.5
7.1
6.0

4.0
6.1
6.3
4.8
9.1
7.8
10.2
2.9
5.8
5.5

4.7
6.5
6.8
5.1
8.4
7.9
9.2
2.8
5.0
5.1

5.8
7.0
6.4
5.4
8.8
8.6
8.7
3.2
5.2
5.2

6.0
6.9
5.9
5.3
9.6
9.3
8.5
4.4
5.8
5.0

5.5
6.4
5.4
4.8
9.8
10.3
8.1
5.1
6.6
4.8























United States……………………………………………… 133,943
Canada……………………………………………………
14,623
Australia……………………………………………………
9,115
66,450
Japan………………………………………………………
France……………………………………………………
24,982
Germany…………………………………………………
39,142
Italy………………………………………………………… 22,679
Netherlands………………………………………………
7,455
4,454
Sweden……………………………………………………
United Kingdom…………………………………………
28,239

Participation rate1
United States………………………………………………
Canada……………………………………………………
Australia……………………………………………………
Japan………………………………………………………
France……………………………………………………
Germany…………………………………………………
Italy…………………………………………………………
Netherlands………………………………………………
Sweden……………………………………………………
United Kingdom…………………………………………

Employed

Employment-population ratio2
United States………………………………………………
Canada……………………………………………………
Australia……………………………………………………
Japan………………………………………………………
France……………………………………………………
Germany…………………………………………………
Italy…………………………………………………………
Netherlands………………………………………………
Sweden……………………………………………………
United Kingdom…………………………………………

Unemployed
United States………………………………………………
Canada……………………………………………………
Australia……………………………………………………
Japan………………………………………………………
France……………………………………………………
Germany…………………………………………………
Italy…………………………………………………………
Netherlands………………………………………………
Sweden……………………………………………………
United Kingdom…………………………………………

Unemployment rate
United States………………………………………………
Canada……………………………………………………
Australia……………………………………………………
Japan………………………………………………………
France……………………………………………………
Germany…………………………………………………
Italy…………………………………………………………
Netherlands………………………………………………
Sweden……………………………………………………
United Kingdom…………………………………………
1

Labor force as a percent of the working-age population.

2

Employment as a percent of the working-age population.

NOTE: There are breaks in series for the United States (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003,
2004), Australia (2001), Germany (1999, 2005), and Sweden (2005). For details on
breaks in series, see the technical notes of the report Comparative Civilian Labor Force
Statistics, Ten Countries, 1960-2006

(Bureau of Labor Statistics, October 12, 2007), available on the Internet at
http://www.bls.gov/fls/flscomparelf.htm. For further qualifications and historical annual
data, see the full report, also available at this site. Data in this report may not be
consistent with data in Unemployment rates in ten countries, civilian labor force basis,
approximating U.S. concepts, seasonally adjusted, 1995-2007, (Bureau of Labor
Statistics), because the former is updated on a bi-annual basis, whereas the latter is
updated monthly and reflects the most recent revisions in source data.

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 117

Current Labor Statistics: International Comparisons

53. Annual indexes of manufacturing productivity and related measures, 16 economies
[1992 = 100]
Measure and economy

1980

1990

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Output per hour
United States………………………
Canada………………………….……
Australia…………………….………
Japan…………………………………
Korea…………………………..……
Taiwan………………………………
Belgium…………………………...…
Denmark……………………………
France………………………………
Germany………………………...……
Italy……………………………...……
Netherlands…………………...……
Norway………………………………
Spain………………………………..
Sweden……………………………..
United Kingdom……………….……

68.4
74.0
68.5
63.6
–
49.1
65.4
82.0
66.0
77.2
75.3
70.8
78.5
67.3
78.3
57.3

93.5
94.7
92.4
94.4
82.7
89.8
96.8
98.5
95.3
99.0
97.3
98.0
98.3
93.1
96.4
90.1

102.8
104.5
104.5
101.7
108.3
101.3
102.5
100.3
101.8
101.0
102.8
103.7
99.9
101.8
107.8
104.1

108.2
110.4
107.0
103.3
118.1
105.2
107.9
112.7
109.5
108.5
107.6
113.3
99.9
104.9
118.9
106.7

112.3
111.7
106.4
111.0
129.7
112.9
112.7
112.7
114.9
110.2
111.1
117.7
98.7
108.6
126.3
105.0

116.7
111.2
112.3
116.1
142.6
121.5
114.3
109.0
115.5
113.3
112.5
120.3
101.6
107.2
130.5
104.1

121.7
116.3
115.4
120.2
160.8
126.5
125.5
117.7
122.3
119.9
113.3
120.7
101.8
108.3
142.4
105.1

130.1
121.8
118.5
121.3
179.3
132.7
127.1
117.1
128.7
120.4
112.5
124.2
99.2
110.2
150.8
106.4

136.7
127.0
119.7
124.5
199.4
140.9
125.9
119.0
134.4
123.4
112.5
129.3
102.7
112.1
164.7
111.6

147.1
134.7
128.1
131.2
216.4
148.4
130.5
123.2
143.7
132.0
116.1
138.6
105.9
113.2
175.9
117.2

148.6
131.8
131.4
128.4
214.8
155.1
131.8
123.4
146.0
135.4
116.6
139.2
108.8
115.8
170.9
122.2

164.4
134.1
137.1
133.1
235.8
169.0
136.2
124.2
152.0
136.7
114.8
143.5
111.9
116.3
189.6
125.7

174.8
134.4
140.1
142.2
252.2
174.5
139.5
129.3
158.7
141.6
112.1
146.5
121.6
119.2
205.0
132.1

185.3
136.5
142.3
152.1
281.2
183.2
145.8
136.8
162.3
146.8
110.4
156.3
128.8
121.4
226.8
140.0

189.4
141.7
143.7
162.0
300.4
196.5
150.3
138.3
169.2
152.3
110.3
161.7
133.3
123.3
241.0
145.0

193.2
141.6
144.1
165.1
332.7
209.9
153.6
145.4
175.4
163.1
111.8
166.8
137.7
126.6
255.2
151.5

Output
United States…………………..…… 73.6
Canada……………………………… 85.6
Australia……………………………… 89.8
Japan………………………………… 60.8
Korea………………………………… 28.6
Taiwan……………………………… 45.4
Belgium……………………………… 78.2
Denmark…………………………… 92.0
France……………………………… 88.3
Germany…………………………… 85.3
Italy…………………………………… 81.0
Netherlands………………………… 77.7
Norway……………………………… 105.7
Spain……………………………….. 78.6
Sweden……………………………… 92.4
United Kingdom…………………… 87.3

98.2
106.7
104.2
97.1
88.1
91.0
101.0
101.7
100.5
99.1
100.5
98.3
101.7
98.4
110.7
105.3

104.2
105.4
103.8
96.3
105.1
100.9
97.0
97.0
96.6
92.0
97.6
99.4
102.0
96.1
102.0
101.4

112.2
113.5
109.1
94.9
117.1
106.9
101.4
107.5
100.7
94.9
104.1
104.7
104.7
97.8
117.8
106.2

117.3
118.7
108.5
98.9
130.8
112.7
104.2
112.7
105.2
94.0
109.1
108.6
105.2
101.5
133.3
107.9

121.6
120.3
111.9
103.0
139.2
118.7
104.6
107.5
105.2
92.0
107.8
110.2
109.4
104.0
137.7
108.6

129.0
127.8
114.5
105.6
146.0
125.5
113.2
116.3
110.1
96.1
109.6
111.7
114.1
110.7
148.4
110.6

137.7
134.3
117.8
100.1
134.5
129.5
115.1
117.2
115.4
97.2
109.9
115.5
113.3
117.4
160.7
111.3

143.7
145.5
117.5
99.7
163.7
139.0
115.2
118.2
119.3
98.2
109.6
119.8
113.2
124.1
175.8
112.3

152.7
160.1
123.1
104.9
191.5
149.2
120.1
122.5
124.8
104.8
112.9
127.8
112.6
129.6
190.2
115.0

144.2
153.9
121.9
99.1
195.7
138.1
120.1
122.5
126.0
106.6
111.8
127.6
111.8
133.7
185.8
113.5

148.2
155.2
127.8
97.6
210.5
150.4
119.2
119.0
125.9
104.4
110.4
127.7
111.2
133.5
197.5
110.5

149.9
154.0
130.1
102.8
222.2
158.4
117.6
115.7
128.3
105.1
107.8
126.2
114.9
135.2
207.1
110.7

158.2
157.5
130.1
108.8
246.8
173.8
121.9
117.5
129.4
108.9
106.4
130.6
121.4
136.0
226.2
113.0

159.8
160.1
130.3
114.4
264.3
185.3
121.6
113.8
131.2
110.4
103.7
130.6
126.8
137.4
236.6
111.6

164.5
158.5
128.7
119.4
286.5
198.7
124.9
120.0
133.2
116.9
107.6
133.7
132.4
141.3
248.8
113.2

Total hours
United States……………………… 107.6
Canada……………………………… 115.8
Australia……………………………… 131.1
Japan………………………………… 95.5
Korea………………………………… –
Taiwan……………………………… 92.4
Belgium……………………………… 119.7
Denmark…………………………… 112.1
France……………………………… 133.8
Germany…………………………… 110.5
Italy…………………………………… 107.6
Netherlands………………………… 109.8
Norway……………………………… 134.7
Spain……………………………….. 116.7
Sweden……………………………… 118.0
United Kingdom…………………… 152.3

104.9
112.6
112.7
102.9
106.4
101.4
104.3
103.3
105.5
100.1
103.3
100.4
103.4
105.7
114.8
116.9

101.3
100.9
99.3
94.7
97.1
99.6
94.7
96.8
94.8
91.1
95.0
95.9
102.1
94.4
94.7
97.4

103.7
102.8
102.0
91.9
99.2
101.7
94.0
95.4
91.9
87.5
96.8
92.5
104.8
93.2
99.1
99.5

104.4
106.3
101.9
89.1
100.9
99.8
92.4
100.0
91.6
85.3
98.2
92.3
106.6
93.5
105.6
102.7

104.2
108.1
99.7
88.8
97.6
97.7
91.5
98.6
91.0
81.3
95.8
91.6
107.7
97.0
105.6
104.4

106.0
109.9
99.2
87.9
90.8
99.2
90.2
98.8
90.1
80.1
96.7
92.6
112.1
102.2
104.3
105.2

105.8
110.2
99.4
82.5
75.0
97.6
90.5
100.1
89.7
80.8
97.7
93.0
114.2
106.5
106.5
104.6

105.1
114.5
98.2
80.0
82.1
98.7
91.5
99.4
88.7
79.6
97.4
92.7
110.3
110.7
106.7
100.6

103.8
118.9
96.0
80.0
88.5
100.5
92.1
99.4
86.8
79.4
97.2
92.2
106.4
114.4
108.1
98.1

97.0
116.7
92.8
77.2
91.1
89.0
91.2
99.3
86.3
78.7
95.9
91.7
102.7
115.4
108.7
92.9

90.1
115.8
93.2
73.3
89.3
89.0
87.5
95.8
82.8
76.4
96.2
89.0
99.3
114.8
104.2
88.0

85.7
114.6
92.8
72.3
88.1
90.8
84.3
89.5
80.8
74.3
96.1
86.2
94.4
113.4
101.1
83.8

85.4
115.4
91.4
71.5
87.8
94.9
83.6
85.9
79.7
74.2
96.4
83.5
94.2
112.1
99.7
80.7

84.4
112.9
90.7
70.6
88.0
94.3
80.9
82.3
77.5
72.5
94.1
80.8
95.1
111.5
98.2
77.0

85.1
112.0
89.3
72.3
86.1
94.6
81.3
82.5
75.9
71.7
96.2
80.2
96.1
111.6
97.5
74.7

90.5
89.2
87.5
90.6
68.0
85.2
90.1
93.6
88.5
89.4
87.7
89.8
92.3
79.9
87.9
88.7

102.0
101.2
105.2
102.7
115.9
105.9
104.8
102.4
104.3
106.2
105.7
104.4
101.5
109.4
97.4
104.5

105.3
104.1
106.1
104.7
133.1
111.1
105.6
106.0
108.0
111.0
107.3
108.9
104.5
113.4
99.9
107.0

107.3
106.6
113.5
108.3
161.6
120.2
108.6
108.2
110.7
117.0
112.0
111.8
109.2
118.3
105.3
108.9

109.3
108.2
121.7
109.1
188.1
128.2
110.6
112.6
112.5
122.5
120.0
113.8
113.8
121.1
113.5
108.7

112.2
110.9
126.0
112.7
204.5
132.1
114.7
116.5
116.3
124.9
124.1
116.4
118.8
124.0
119.6
112.3

118.7
116.6
128.4
115.5
222.7
137.1
116.5
119.6
117.2
126.7
123.3
121.4
125.8
124.9
124.2
121.2

123.4
119.0
132.9
115.4
223.9
139.6
118.0
122.6
121.0
129.6
125.6
125.7
133.0
124.7
128.1
128.3

134.7
123.0
140.2
114.7
239.1
142.3
120.1
125.0
127.0
136.3
128.7
132.1
140.5
126.6
133.0
133.8

137.8
126.3
149.2
116.2
246.7
151.4
126.4
130.9
130.6
140.6
134.0
138.1
148.9
131.6
139.4
140.7

147.8
130.5
156.0
117.0
271.6
146.7
131.9
136.5
136.9
144.0
137.5
146.1
157.9
135.4
146.9
149.0

158.2
135.8
162.7
114.5
285.0
149.1
135.8
145.7
141.0
147.2
141.6
151.9
164.3
142.2
153.5
156.9

161.5
139.8
171.7
115.5
325.5
151.6
138.7
151.3
144.6
148.0
145.7
158.1
169.7
147.1
157.6
165.1

168.3
146.6
182.2
116.5
351.5
158.2
143.5
161.7
143.7
149.8
150.2
161.3
177.7
152.8
163.0
172.3

172.4
149.4
192.7
114.9
375.5
161.5
146.5
166.7
147.5
155.9
152.9
165.8
185.8
157.4
169.2
184.2

Hourly compensation
(national currency basis)
United States………………………
Canada………………………………
Australia………………………………
Japan…………………………………
Korea…………………………………
Taiwan………………………………
Belgium………………………………
Denmark……………………………
France………………………………
Germany……………………………
Italy……………………………………
Netherlands…………………………
Norway………………………………
Spain………………………………..
Sweden………………………………
United Kingdom……………………
See notes at end of table.

118

55.9
47.4
–
58.6
–
29.6
52.5
44.5
36.7
53.6
30.6
59.8
39.0
28.0
37.4
35.8

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

&RQWLQXHG²$QQXDOLQGH[HVRIPDQXIDFWXULQJSURGXFWLYLW\DQGUHODWHGPHDVXUHVHFRQRPLHV
Measure and economy

1980

1990

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Unit labor costs
(national currency basis)
United States……………………… 81.8
Canada……………………………… 64.1
Australia……………………………… –
Japan………………………………… 92.1
Korea………………………………… 44.4
Taiwan……………………………… 60.3
Belgium……………………………… 80.3
Denmark…………………………… 54.3
France……………………………… 55.6
Germany…………………………… 69.4
Italy…………………………………… 40.7
Netherlands………………………… 84.5
Norway……………………………… 49.7
Spain……………………………….. 41.5
Sweden……………………………… 47.7
United Kingdom…………………… 62.4

96.7
94.2
94.6
95.9
82.1
94.9
93.0
95.0
92.8
90.3
90.2
91.7
93.9
85.8
91.2
98.5

99.2
96.9
100.6
101.0
107.0
104.6
102.3
102.2
102.4
105.2
102.9
100.7
101.6
107.4
90.4
100.4

97.3
94.3
99.2
101.4
112.7
105.6
97.9
94.1
98.6
102.4
99.8
96.2
104.6
108.1
84.0
100.2

95.5
95.4
106.6
97.6
124.6
106.5
96.4
96.0
96.3
106.2
100.8
95.0
110.7
108.9
83.4
103.7

93.7
97.3
108.4
94.0
131.9
105.5
96.8
103.3
97.4
108.2
106.6
94.6
112.0
112.9
87.0
104.4

92.2
95.4
109.2
93.8
127.1
104.5
91.4
98.9
95.0
104.2
109.5
96.5
116.7
114.5
84.0
106.8

91.2
95.7
108.4
95.2
124.2
103.4
91.6
102.1
91.0
105.2
109.6
97.7
126.7
113.4
82.3
113.9

90.3
93.7
111.0
92.7
112.3
99.1
93.7
103.0
90.0
105.1
111.7
97.3
129.5
111.2
77.7
115.0

91.6
91.3
109.4
87.4
110.5
95.9
92.0
101.4
88.4
103.3
110.9
95.3
132.7
111.8
75.6
114.2

92.7
95.8
113.6
90.5
114.8
97.6
95.9
106.1
89.4
103.8
114.9
99.2
136.8
113.6
81.6
115.1

89.9
97.4
113.8
87.9
115.2
86.8
96.9
109.9
90.1
105.3
119.8
101.8
141.0
116.4
77.5
118.6

90.5
101.0
116.1
80.5
113.0
85.5
97.3
112.7
88.9
104.0
126.3
103.7
135.1
119.3
74.9
118.8

87.2
102.4
120.7
76.0
115.8
82.7
95.1
110.6
89.1
100.8
132.0
101.2
131.7
121.2
69.5
117.9

88.9
103.4
126.8
71.9
117.0
80.5
95.5
116.9
85.0
98.3
136.2
99.8
133.3
124.0
67.7
118.8

89.3
105.5
133.7
69.6
112.8
76.9
95.4
114.6
84.1
95.6
136.7
99.4
134.9
124.3
66.3
121.6

Unit labor costs
(U.S. dollar basis)
United States……………………… 81.8
Canada……………………………… 66.3
Australia……………………………… –
Japan………………………………… 51.5
Korea………………………………… 57.3
Taiwan……………………………… 42.1
Belgium……………………………… 88.3
Denmark…………………………… 58.1
France……………………………… 69.6
Germany…………………………… 59.6
Italy…………………………………… 58.5
Netherlands………………………… 74.8
Norway……………………………… 62.6
Spain……………………………….. 59.3
Sweden……………………………… 65.7
United Kingdom…………………… 82.2

96.7
97.5
100.5
83.9
90.7
88.7
89.5
92.7
90.2
87.3
92.7
88.5
93.3
86.2
89.7
99.5

99.2
90.7
93.0
115.3
104.2
99.6
95.1
95.1
95.7
99.3
80.6
95.2
88.9
86.3
67.5
85.3

97.3
83.4
98.7
125.8
109.6
100.4
94.2
89.4
94.1
98.6
76.3
93.0
92.1
82.6
63.4
86.9

95.5
84.0
107.4
131.7
126.5
101.1
105.2
103.5
102.2
115.8
76.2
104.1
108.6
89.5
68.0
92.7

93.7
86.3
115.4
109.5
128.6
96.7
100.4
107.6
100.7
112.3
85.2
98.6
107.7
91.3
75.6
92.3

92.2
83.2
110.4
98.3
105.3
91.3
82.1
90.4
86.2
93.8
79.2
86.9
102.3
80.0
64.0
99.0

91.2
77.9
92.7
92.2
69.6
77.5
81.1
92.0
81.7
93.4
77.7
86.6
104.3
77.7
60.3
106.9

90.3
76.2
97.5
103.3
74.0
77.2
79.6
89.0
77.4
89.4
75.7
82.7
103.1
72.9
54.7
105.3

91.6
74.3
86.5
102.8
76.7
77.2
67.7
75.6
65.8
76.2
65.1
70.2
93.6
63.5
48.0
98.0

92.7
74.8
79.8
94.3
69.7
72.6
68.4
76.9
64.6
74.2
65.5
70.9
94.5
62.6
46.0
93.8

89.9
74.9
84.1
89.0
72.3
63.2
73.0
84.2
68.7
79.5
72.1
76.8
109.8
67.7
46.4
100.9

90.5
87.2
103.0
88.0
74.4
62.5
87.8
103.4
81.2
94.0
91.0
93.7
118.6
83.1
54.0
109.9

87.2
95.1
120.9
89.0
79.3
62.4
94.3
111.5
89.5
100.1
104.5
100.4
121.4
92.8
55.1
122.4

88.9
103.2
131.5
82.8
89.7
63.0
94.7
117.7
85.4
97.8
107.9
99.1
128.6
95.0
52.8
122.5

89.3
112.4
137.0
75.8
92.8
59.5
95.5
116.5
85.3
95.9
109.3
99.7
130.8
96.1
52.4
126.9

NOTE: Data for Germany for years before 1993 are for the former West Germany. Data for 1993 onward are for unified Germany. Dash indicates data not available.

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 119

Current Labor Statistics: Injury and Illness Data

54. Occupational injury and illness rates by industry, 1 United States
Industry and type of case

Incidence rates per 100 full-time workers

2

1989

1

1990

1991

1992

1993

4

1994

4

1995

4

1996

4

1997

4

3

1998

4

1999

4

2000

4

2001

4

5

PRIVATE SECTOR

8.6
4.0
78.7

8.8
4.1
84.0

8.4
3.9






8.5
3.8
–

8.4
3.8
–

8.1
3.6
–

7.4
3.4
–

7.1
3.3
–



±



±



±



±

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
Total cases ............................………………………….
Lost workday cases.....................................................
Lost workdays........………...........................................

10.9
5.7
100.9

11.6
5.9
112.2

10.8
5.4






11.2
5.0
–

10.0
4.7
–

9.7
4.3
–

8.7
3.9
–

8.4
4.1
–



±



±



±



±

Mining
Total cases ............................………………………….
Lost workday cases.....................................................
Lost workdays........………...........................................

8.5
4.8
137.2

8.3
5.0
119.5

7.4
4.5






6.8
3.9
–

6.3
3.9
–

6.2
3.9
–

5.4
3.2
–

5.9
3.7
–



±



±



±



±

Construction
Total cases ............................………………………….
Lost workday cases.....................................................
Lost workdays........………...........................................

14.3
6.8
143.3

14.2
6.7
147.9

13.0
6.1






12.2
5.5
–

11.8
5.5
–

10.6
4.9
–

9.9
4.5
–

9.5
4.4
–



±



±



±



±

General building contractors:
Total cases ............................………………………….
Lost workday cases.....................................................
Lost workdays........………...........................................

13.9
6.5
137.3

13.4
6.4
137.6

12.0
5.5






11.5
5.1
–

10.9
5.1
–

9.8
4.4
–

9.0
4.0
–

8.5
3.7
–



±



±



±



±

Heavy construction, except building:
Total cases ............................………………………….
Lost workday cases.....................................................
Lost workdays........………...........................................

13.8
6.5
147.1

13.8
6.3
144.6


6.0






11.1
5.1
–

10.2
5.0
–

9.9
4.8
–

9.0
4.3
–

8.7
4.3
–



±



±



±



±

Special trades contractors:
Total cases ............................………………………….
Lost workday cases.....................................................
Lost workdays........………...........................................

14.6
6.9
144.9

14.7
6.9
153.1

13.5
6.3






12.8
5.8
–

12.5
5.8
–

11.1
5.0
–

10.4
4.8
–

10.0
4.7
–



±



±



±



±

Manufacturing
Total cases ............................………………………….
Lost workday cases.....................................................

13.1
5.8

13.2
5.8

12.7
5.6




12.1
5.3

12.2
5.5

11.6
5.3

10.6
4.9

10.3
4.8













Lost workdays........………...........................................

113.0

120.7





–

–

–

–

–

±

±

±

±

14.1
6.0
116.5

14.2
6.0
123.3

13.6
5.7






13.1
5.4
–

13.5
5.7
–

12.8
5.6
–

11.6
5.1
–

11.3
5.1
–



±



±

±
±
±



±

Total cases ............................…………………………
Lost workday cases..................................................
Lost workdays........………........................................

18.4
9.4
177.5

18.1
8.8
172.5

16.8
8.3






15.9
7.6
–

15.7
7.7
–

14.9
7.0
–

14.2
6.8
–

13.5
6.5
–



±



±



±



±

Furniture and fixtures:
Total cases ............................…………………………
Lost workday cases..................................................
Lost workdays........………........................................

16.1
7.2
–

16.9
7.8
–

15.9
7.2
±





14.6
6.5
–

15.0
7.0
–

13.9
6.4
–

12.2
5.4
–

12.0
5.8
–



±



±



±



±

Stone, clay, and glass products:
Total cases ............................…………………………
Lost workday cases..................................................
Lost workdays........………........................................

15.5
7.4
149.8

15.4
7.3
160.5

14.8
6.8






13.8
6.3
–

13.2
6.5
–

12.3
5.7
–

12.4
6.0
–

11.8
5.7
–



±



±



±



±

Primary metal industries:
Total cases ............................…………………………
Lost workday cases..................................................
Lost workdays........………........................................

18.7
8.1
168.3

19.0
8.1
180.2

17.7
7.4






17.0
7.3
–

16.8
7.2
–

16.5
7.2
–

15.0
6.8
–

15.0
7.2
–



±



±



±





Fabricated metal products:
Total cases ............................…………………………
Lost workday cases..................................................
Lost workdays........………........................................

18.5
7.9
147.6

18.7
7.9
155.7

17.4
7.1






16.2
6.7
–

16.4
6.7
–

15.8
6.9
–

14.4
6.2
–

14.2
6.4
–



±



±



±



±

Industrial machinery and equipment:
Total cases ............................…………………………
Lost workday cases..................................................
Lost workdays........………........................................

12.1
4.8
86.8

12.0
4.7
88.9

11.2
4.4






11.1
4.2
–

11.6
4.4
–

11.2
4.4
–

9.9
4.0
–

10.0
4.1
–



±



±



±



±

Electronic and other electrical equipment:
Total cases ............................…………………………
Lost workday cases..................................................
Lost workdays........………........................................

9.1
3.9
77.5

9.1
3.8
79.4

8.6
3.7






8.3
3.5
–

8.3
3.6
–

7.6
3.3
–

6.8
3.1
–

6.6
3.1
–



±



±



±



±

Transportation equipment:
Total cases ............................…………………………
Lost workday cases..................................................
Lost workdays........………........................................

17.7
6.8
138.6

17.8
6.9
153.7

18.3
7.0






18.5
7.1
–

19.6
7.8
–

18.6
7.9
–

16.3
7.0
–

15.4
6.6
–



±



±



±



±

Instruments and related products:
Total cases ............................…………………………
Lost workday cases..................................................
Lost workdays........………........................................

5.6
2.5
55.4

5.9
2.7
57.8

6.0
2.7






5.6
2.5
–

5.9
2.7
–

5.3
2.4
–

5.1
2.3
–

4.8
2.3
–



±



±



±



±

Miscellaneous manufacturing industries:
Total cases ............................…………………………
Lost workday cases..................................................
Lost workdays........………........................................

11.1
5.1
97.6

11.3
5.1
113.1

11.3
5.1






10.0
4.6
–

9.9
4.5
–

9.1
4.3
–

9.5
4.4
–

8.9
4.2
–



–



–



–



–

Total cases ............................………………………….
Lost workday cases.....................................................
Lost workdays........………...........................................
5

Durable goods:
Total cases ............................………………………….
Lost workday cases.....................................................
Lost workdays........………...........................................
Lumber and wood products:

See footnotes at end of table.

120

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

&RQWLQXHG²2FFXSDWLRQDOLQMXU\DQGLOOQHVVUDWHVE\LQGXVWU\8QLWHG6WDWHV
Industry and type of case2

,QFLGHQFHUDWHVSHUZRUNHUV 
1989

1

1990

1991

1993 4 1994 4 1995 4 1996 4 1997 4 1998 4 1999 4 2000 4 2001 4

1992

Nondurable goods:
Total cases ............................…………………………..…
Lost workday cases.........................................................
Lost workdays........………...............................................

11.6
5.5
107.8

11.7
5.6
116.9

11.5
5.5






10.7
5.0
–

10.5
5.1
–

9.9
4.9
–

9.2
4.6
–



–




Food and kindred products:
Total cases ............................…………………………..
Lost workday cases......................................................
Lost workdays........………............................................

18.5
9.3
174.7

20.0
9.9
202.6

19.5
9.9






17.6
8.9
–

17.1
9.2
–

16.3
8.7
–

15.0
8.0
–



–




Tobacco products:
Total cases ............................…………………………..
Lost workday cases......................................................
Lost workdays........………............................................

8.7
3.4
64.2

7.7
3.2
62.3

6.4
2.8






5.8
2.3
–

5.3
2.4
–

5.6
2.6
–

6.7
2.8
–



–




Textile mill products:
Total cases ............................…………………………..
Lost workday cases......................................................
Lost workdays........………............................................

10.3
4.2
81.4

9.6
4.0
85.1

10.1
4.4






9.7
4.1
–

8.7
4.0
–

8.2
4.1
–

7.8
3.6
–



–

Apparel and other textile products:
Total cases ............................…………………………..
Lost workday cases......................................................
Lost workdays........………............................................

8.6
3.8
80.5

8.8
3.9
92.1

9.2
4.2






9.0
3.8
–

8.9
3.9
–

8.2
3.6
–

7.4
3.3
–

Paper and allied products:
Total cases ............................…………………………..
Lost workday cases......................................................
Lost workdays........………............................................

12.7
5.8
132.9

12.1
5.5
124.8

11.2
5.0






9.9
4.6
–

9.6
4.5
–

8.5
4.2
–

Printing and publishing:
Total cases ............................…………………………..
Lost workday cases......................................................
Lost workdays........………............................................

6.9
3.3
63.8

6.9
3.3
69.8

6.7
3.2






6.9
3.1
–

6.7
3.0
–

Chemicals and allied products:
Total cases ............................…………………………..
Lost workday cases......................................................
Lost workdays........………............................................

7.0
3.2
63.4

6.5
3.1
61.6

6.4
3.1






5.9
2.7
–

Petroleum and coal products:
Total cases ............................…………………………..
Lost workday cases......................................................
Lost workdays........………............................................

6.6
3.3
68.1

6.6
3.1
77.3

6.2
2.9






Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products:
Total cases ............................…………………………..
Lost workday cases......................................................
Lost workdays........………............................................

16.2
8.0
147.2

16.2
7.8
151.3

15.1
7.2


Leather and leather products:
Total cases ............................…………………………..
Lost workday cases......................................................
Lost workdays........………............................................

13.6
6.5
130.4

12.1
5.9
152.3

7UDQVSRUWDWLRQDQGSXEOLFXWLOLWLHV
Total cases ............................…………………………..…
Lost workday cases.........................................................
Lost workdays........………...............................................

9.2
5.3
121.5

:KROHVDOHDQGUHWDLOWUDGH
Total cases ............................…………………………..…
Lost workday cases.........................................................
Lost workdays........………...............................................



±



±



±



±



±



±





±



±



±



±



±



±



±



–








±



±



±

7.9
3.8
–



–



±



±



±



±

6.4
3.0
–

6.0
2.8
–



–



±



±



±



±

5.7
2.8
–

5.5
2.7
–

4.8
2.4
–



–



±



±



±



±

5.2
2.5
–

4.7
2.3
–

4.8
2.4
–

4.6
2.5
–



–



±



±



±



±





13.9
6.5
–

14.0
6.7
–

12.9
6.5
–

12.3
6.3
–



–



±



±



±



±

12.5
5.9






12.1
5.5
–

12.0
5.3
–

11.4
4.8
–

10.7
4.5
–



–



±



±



±



±

9.6
5.5
134.1

9.3
5.4






9.5
5.4
–

9.3
5.5
–

9.1
5.2
–

8.7
5.1
–



–



±



±



±



±

8.0
3.6
63.5

7.9
3.5
65.6

7.6
3.4






8.1
3.4
–

7.9
3.4
–

7.5
3.2
–

6.8
2.9
–



–



±



±



±



±

Wholesale trade:
Total cases ............................…………………………..…
Lost workday cases.........................................................
Lost workdays........………...............................................

7.7
4.0
71.9

7.4
3.7
71.5

7.2
3.7






7.8
3.7
–

7.7
3.8
–

7.5
3.6
–

6.6
3.4
–



–



±



±



±



±

Retail trade:
Total cases ............................…………………………..…
Lost workday cases.........................................................
Lost workdays........………...............................................

8.1
3.4
60.0

8.1
3.4
63.2

7.7
3.3






8.2
3.3
–

7.9
3.3
–

7.5
3.0
–

6.9
2.8
–



–



±



±



±



±

)LQDQFHLQVXUDQFHDQGUHDOHVWDWH
Total cases ............................…………………………..…
Lost workday cases.........................................................
Lost workdays........………...............................................

2.0
.9
17.6

2.4
1.1
27.3

2.4
1.1






2.9
1.2
–

2.7
1.1
–

2.6
1.0
–

2.4
.9
–



–



±



±



±



±

6HUYLFHV
Total cases ............................…………………………..…
Lost workday cases.........................................................
Lost workdays........………...............................................

5.5
2.7
51.2

6.0
2.8
56.4

6.2
2.8






6.7
2.8
–

6.5
2.8
–

6.4
2.8
–

6.0
2.6
–



–



–



–



–



–





1
Data for 1989 and subsequent years are based on the Standard Industrial Classification Manual, 1987 Edition. For this reason, they are not strictly comparable with data
for the years 1985–88, which were based on the Standard Industrial Classification
Manual, 1972 Edition, 1977 Supplement.

N = number of injuries and illnesses or lost workdays;
EH = total hours worked by all employees during the calendar year; and
200,000 = base for 100 full-time equivalent workers (working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks
per year).

2
Beginning with the 1992 survey, the annual survey measures only nonfatal injuries and
illnesses, while past surveys covered both fatal and nonfatal incidents. To better address
fatalities, a basic element of workplace safety, BLS implemented the Census of Fatal
Occupational Injuries.

4
Beginning with the 1993 survey, lost workday estimates will not be generated. As of 1992,
BLS began generating percent distributions and the median number of days away from work
by industry and for groups of workers sustaining similar work disabilities.
5

Excludes farms with fewer than 11 employees since 1976.

3

The incidence rates represent the number of injuries and illnesses or lost workdays per
100 full-time workers and were calculated as (N/EH) X 200,000, where:

NOTE: Dash indicates data not available.

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008 121

Current Labor Statistics: Injury and Illness Data

55. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, 1996-2005
20053

1996-2000
(average)

2001-2005
(average)2

All events ...............................................................

6,094

5,704

5,734

100

Transportation incidents ................................................
Highway ........................................................................
Collision between vehicles, mobile equipment .........
Moving in same direction ......................................
Moving in opposite directions, oncoming ..............
Moving in intersection ...........................................
Vehicle struck stationary object or equipment on
side of road .............................................................
Noncollision ...............................................................
Jack-knifed or overturned--no collision .................
Nonhighway (farm, industrial premises) ........................
Noncollision accident ................................................
Overturned ............................................................
Worker struck by vehicle, mobile equipment ................
Worker struck by vehicle, mobile equipment in
roadway ..................................................................
Worker struck by vehicle, mobile equipment in
parking lot or non-road area ....................................
Water vehicle ................................................................
Aircraft ...........................................................................

2,608
1,408
685
117
247
151

2,451
1,394
686
151
254
137

2,493
1,437
718
175
265
134

43
25
13
3
5
2

264
372
298
378
321
212
376

310
335
274
335
277
175
369

345
318
273
340
281
182
391

6
6
5
6
5
3
7

129

136

140

2

171
105
263

166
82
206

176
88
149

3
2
3

Assaults and violent acts ...............................................
Homicides .....................................................................
Shooting ....................................................................
Suicide, self-inflicted injury ............................................

1,015
766
617
216

850
602
465
207

792
567
441
180

14
10
8
3

Contact with objects and equipment ............................
Struck by object ............................................................
Struck by falling object ..............................................
Struck by rolling, sliding objects on floor or ground
level .........................................................................
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects .......
Caught in running equipment or machinery ..............
Caught in or crushed in collapsing materials ................

1,005
567
364

952
560
345

1,005
607
385

18
11
7

77
293
157
128

89
256
128
118

94
278
121
109

2
5
2
2

Falls ..................................................................................
Fall to lower level ..........................................................
Fall from ladder .........................................................
Fall from roof .............................................................
Fall to lower level, n.e.c. ...........................................

714
636
106
153
117

763
669
125
154
123

770
664
129
160
117

13
12
2
3
2

Exposure to harmful substances or environments .....
Contact with electric current ..........................................
Contact with overhead power lines ...........................
Exposure to caustic, noxious, or allergenic substances
Oxygen deficiency .........................................................

535
290
132
112
92

498
265
118
114
74

501
251
112
136
59

9
4
2
2
1

Fires and explosions ......................................................
Fires--unintended or uncontrolled .................................
Explosion ......................................................................

196
103
92

174
95
78

159
93
65

3
2
1

Event or exposure1

Number

Percent

1 Based on the 1992 BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification Manual.
2 Excludes fatalities from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
3 The BLS news release of August 10, 2006, reported a total of 5,702 fatal work injuries for calendar year
2005. Since then, an additional 32 job-related fatalities were identified, bringing the total job-related fatality
count for 2005 to 5,734.
NOTE: Totals for all years are revised and final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not
shown separately. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. N.e.c. means
"not elsewhere classified."
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State, New York City,
District of Columbia, and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.

122

Monthly Labor Review • April 2008

COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

Fatal Occupational Injuries Associated with Golf Courses and Country Clubs,
2001-2006
by Stephen M. Pegula
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Originally Posted: April 23, 2008
Golf courses are typically thought of as places of recreation and sport. From 2001 to 2006, however, a total of 106 workers
died either at or working for a golf course (henceforth to be referred to as golf-course-related fatalities).1 Although golfcourse-related fatalities accounted for a relatively small percentage of the total number of workplace fatalities from 2001 to
2006, they have trended upward in recent years. As can be seen in the tabulation below, from 2001 to 2003, the average
number of golf-course-related fatalities per year was 15, and from 2004 to 2006, the average number of fatalities was 20:
Year

Fatalities

2001

13

2002

21

2003

11

2004

22

2005

24

20062

15

&nsbsp;
Employment at golf courses and country clubs increased by 18 percent from 2001 to 2006, while total employment increased
just 3 percent over the same period.3 Note that employment at golf courses and country clubs varies depending on the time
of year. Employment is highest in the summer months and lowest during the winter months. Not surprisingly, as the following
tabulation shows, golf-course-related occupational fatalities follow a similar pattern, with more fatalities occurring during the
summer months:
Month4

Fatalities

January

7

February

6

March

4

April

9

May

11

June

15

July

10

August

9

September

13

October

7

Page 1

COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

Month4

Fatalities

November

6

December

9

Of those killed in golf-course-related occupational injuries, 93 percent were male. Hispanic or Latino workers, who constituted
15 percent of all workplace fatalities from 2001 to 2006, accounted for 33 percent (35 fatalities) of all workers killed in golfcourse-related fatalities. In addition, among all fatalities at golf courses over the period, 35 of the decedents were born
outside of the United States, most frequently (21) in Mexico.
As the following tabulation shows, the most common event5 leading to golf-course-related fatalities during the 2001-06 period
involved nonhighway vehicle accidents--19 overturned vehicle incidents and 14 other nonhighway incidents:
Event

Fatalities

Overturned vehicle (nonhighway)

19

Other nonhighway incident (excluding overturned vehicle)

14

Fall to a lower level

8

Highway incident

7

Homicide

6

Trench collapse

6

Struck by falling object

6

Suicide

5

Drowning, submersion

5

Airplane accident

5

In 9 of the 19 cases of golf-course-related occupational fatalities involving nonhighway vehicle overturns, the vehicle that the
decedent overturned was a riding lawnmower. In 3 of these cases, the decedent drowned after his or her vehicle flipped into
a body of water. In 9 cases, a decedent was driving or riding in a golf cart at the time of the fatal incident. Of the 5 aircraft
incidents, 3 of the decedents were killed when their aircraft crashed at a golf course. Of the 6 homicides, 4 occurred during
the commission of a robbery.
Not surprisingly, as the following tabulation demonstrates, the decedents in golf-course-related occupational fatalities were
commonly employed in the golf course and country club industries.6
Industry

Fatalities

Golf courses and country clubs

72

Golf course construction7

6

Landscaping, tree and lawn care

5

Similarly, as one might expect, the following tabulation shows that the most common occupation among workers killed in golfcourse-related incidents over the 200106 period was landscaping.8

Page 2

COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

Occupation

Fatalities

Landscaping occupations

51

Laborers

10

Golf course owner/manager

4

Landscaping occupations accounted for 48 percent of all golf-course-related fatalities over the period, but landscapers
accounted for only 3 percent of all occupational fatalities during that same period.
Finally--and not surprisingly--California and Florida, both renowned as prime golfing destinations, had the highest number of
golf-course-related fatalities:
State

Fatalities

California

16

Florida

16

South Carolina

8

Nevada

7

North Carolina

5

Texas

5

Stephen M. Pegula
Economist, Office of Safety, Health, and Working Conditions, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Telephone: (202) 691-6166; E-mail: Pegula.Stephen@bls.gov.

Notes
1 Data from 2006 are preliminary. Data from previous years are revised and final. All data are taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program. In this analysis, a worker is considered to be working for a golf course if he or she was
employed in particular industries or if the fatality occurred at a golf course or country club. For 2001 and 2002, when the CFOI program used
the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system to define industry, a decedent working in SIC 7992, public golf courses, was included.
Those working in SIC 7997, membership sports and recreation clubs, were included unless the case narrative clearly indicated that the person
was working for another type of sports club--for example, a gun or shooting club. From 2003 to 2006, when the CFOI program used the North
American Industry Classification System (NAICS) to define industry, a decedent working in NAICS 713910, golf courses and country clubs,
was included. In addition, cases with variants of the following terms were examined to determine if they should be included: golf, course,
country club, water hazard, sand trap, bunker, driving range, clubhouse, locker room, pro shop, putting green, flagstick, putter, fairway wood,
teebox, dogleg, and cartpath. Note that fatalities incurred by workers either at or working for miniature golf courses are not included in these
counts.
2 Data from 2006 are preliminary. For more information, see note 1.
3 Employment data are taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). Data are for NAICS
713910, golf courses and country clubs, and includes both public and private sector workers. For more information, see the QCEW page on
the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/cew/.
4 This is the month the fatal injury was incurred, which may differ from the month when the decedent actually died.
5 The CFOI program uses the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) to define the event that precipitated the fatal injury
as well as the source of the fatal injury. For more information, see the OIICS page on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshoiics.htm.
6 For data from 2001 and 2002, the CFOI program used the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system to define industry and the Census
Bureau’s occupational coding system to define occupation. For data from 2003 to 2006, the CFOI program used the North American Industry
Classification System (NAICS) to define industry and the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system to define occupation. The CFOI
program considers there to be a break in series due to industry classification differences between the SIC system and NAICS and due to

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U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

occupation classification differences between the Census Bureau’s occupation codes and the SOC occupation codes; CFOI generally
encourages users not to make comparisons over time involving two different classification systems. In this analysis, however, the author
determined that the industry and occupation codes were compatible enough to be combined across coding systems.
7 Although there is not a specific industry code for golf course construction in either the SIC or NAICS coding structures, the CFOI program
tracks the "Actual Industry" in which a person works. This Actual Industry field is a text field that can be used to provide more detail on a
particular case. In these 6 cases, the Actual Industry narrative was "golf course construction" or some variant thereof.
8 See note 6.

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