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August 2000

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U.S. Department of Labor


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Bureau o f Labor Statistics

JOB ^
GROWTH
::§
T E LE V IS IO I
in

A LS O IN THIS ISSUE
P R O D U C ER PRICES IN 1999
W O M EN , W O RK, A N D VALUES

¥

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MONTHLY LABOR

REVIEW___________________
Volume 123, Number 8
August 2000

Articles
Job growth in television: cable versus broadcast

3

Technology, demand, and easing of some regulations helped shift
employment from broadcast t v to cable and other pay-Tv services
Dominic Toto

Rising producer prices in 1999 dominated by energygoods

15

Surging energy prices push up the Producer Price Index
for crude, intermediate, and finished goods
Eleni Xenofondos and William F. Snyders

Married women, work, and values

26

Economic and political values are more prominent among working women;
social and religious values play a greater role for women outside the labor force
Mahshid Jalilvand

Report
The impact of strikes on current employment statistics

32

Karthik A. Rao

Departments
Labor month in review
Technical note
Précis
Book reviews
Publications received
Current labor statistics

2
32
40
41
42
45

Editor-in-Chief: Deborah P. Klein • Executive Editor: Richard M. Devens • Managing Editor: Anna Huffman Hill • Editors: Brian I. Baker,
Bonita L. Boles, Richard Hamilton, Leslie Brown Joyner, Lawrence H. Leith • Book Reviews: Roger A. Comer, Ernestine Patterson
Leary • Design and Layout: Catherine D. Bowman, Edith W. Peters • Contributors: Ray Denison


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Labor Month in Review

The August Review
This month’s issue leads with a discus­
sion of the emergence of cable and other
pay television industries. In “Job
growth in television: cable versus
broadcast, 1958-99,” Dominic Toto
traces the history of the television in­
dustry, examines employment trends in
cable and other pay television services
and in radio and television broadcast­
ing, and reviews the more significant
regulatory, technological, and economic
changes that have taken place since the
early 1960s. Toto finds that broadcast
television accounted for most of the job
growth during the early part of the study
period, and cable and other pay televi­
sion had the most growth during the lat­
ter part.
The report on producer prices is our
final of a roundup of economic events
during the last year of the decade. (Ar­
ticles on employment and consumer
prices appeared in February and April,
respectively). In “Rising producer prices
in 1999 dominated by energy goods,”
E leni X enofondos and W illiam F.
Snyders report that the Producer Price
Index ( p p i ) rose at all stages of process­
ing in 1999. Excluding food and energy,
the increases for finished goods and in­
termediate materials ranged from about
1 to 2 percent, respectively; for crude
nonfood materials excluding energy, the
increase was 14 percent.
The Review often reports on eco­
nomic conditions of women—their par­
ticipation in the labor force, marital sta­
tu s, and ea rn in g s.T h is m onth, in
“Married women, work, and values,”
Mahshid Jalilvand examines the per­
sonal-value structures of women to as­
certain whether they have any effect on
their labor market-related decisions.
Women’s personal values appear to be
rank-ordered in a hierarchy that differs
between working and “nonworking”
women. The data indicate that economic
and political values are relatively more
important for working women than are
social and religious values, which are
2
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

relatively more important for nonwork­
ing women.
This month also features a Technical
Note explaining how strikes affect the
Bureau’s monthly employment figures.
Karthik A. Rao, in “The impact of strikes
on current employment statistics,” em­
phasizes that it is important for users of
the data to understand how strikes af­
fect the estimates “so they can accu­
rately interpret the economic meaning
of the change in the number of employ­
ees over the month.”

W age of a salesman
Five industries employed more than
three-quarters of all retail salespersons in
1998. Of these five industries, automobile
dealers and service stations paid sales­
persons the most, and apparel and acces­
sory stores paid the least. Salespersons
in the automobile dealers and service sta­
tions industry received $ 15.75 per hour in
1998. In comparison, salespersons in the
apparel and accessory stores industry
averaged $7.43 per hour.
The other three most common indus­
tries for retail salespersons in 1998 were
furniture and home furnishing stores,
general merchandise stores, and miscella­
neous retail establishments. The mean
hourly wage in furniture and home fur­
nishing stores was $10.25 in 1998. In
general merchandise stores, the average
wage was $7.88 and miscellaneous re­
tail establishments were close behind at
$7.76. Additional information is avail­
able in Occupational Employment and
Wages, 1998, BLS Bulletin 2528.

Cashier, cook com m on
jobs for youths
Among youths aged 15 years old in
1995-97, 38 percent held an “em ­
ployee” job—defined as an ongoing
relationship with a particular em ­
ployer. By a wide margin, cashier was
the most common occupation among
15-year-old females with employee

August 2000

jobs; by a small margin, cook was the
most common job for males.
Cashier was the occupation of the
longest-held job for 16 percent of the
female youths with employee jobs. In
comparison, the next most common oc­
cupations were waiters and general of­
fice clerks, at 6 percent each, Rounding
out the top five occupations for 15-yearold females were salesworkers (other
commodities) and miscellaneous food
occupations, at 5 percent each.
Of the male youths with employee
jobs, 8 percent worked as cooks in their
longest-held job, while 7 percent held
positions as janitors and cleaners. The
next most common jobs for males were
miscellaneous food occupations, waiters’
and waitresses’ assistants, and cashiers,
at 6 percent each. Note that jobs such as
babysitting or yard work done on an asneeded basis or for multiple employers
are considered “free-lance” jobs, rather
than “employee” jobs. Additional in­
formation is available from the Report
on the Youth Labor Force.

Regional
com pensation pattern
In March 2000, workers in private indus­
try in the Northeast received the highest
wages and salaries per hour of any re­
gion. The average wages and salaries of
private industry workers were as follows:
Northeast.......... .......... $16.37
West.................. .......... 15.45
Midwest........... .......... 13.91
South................. .......... 13.09
Moreover, the average cost to private
employers of benefits also was highest
in the Northeast. Workers in the private
sector in the Northeast were paid $6.30
per hour on average in benefits, $0.87
more per hour than in the West, $0.98
more than in the Midwest, and $1.58
more than in the South.
Additional information is available in
“Employer Costs for Employee Compen­
sation, March 2000,” news release u s d l
00-186.
□

Job Growth in Television

Job growth in television: cable
versus broadcast, 1958-99
As the television industry matured over the last 50 years,
technological improvements, increased demand
fo r video programming, and the easing o f some regulations
helped shift employment from broadcast television
to cable and other pay television services

Dominic Toto

Dominic Toto is an
economist in the Division
of Monthly Industry
Employment Statistics,
Bureau of Labor Statistics.


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roadcast television made its public
debut at the New York World’s Fair in
1939, dramatically changing the way
people live, work, and spend their free time.1
A decade later, community antenna television,
an early form of cable television, spread broad­
cast signals over rural Pennsylvania and Or­
egon.2 Currently, nearly all homes in the
United States with televisions have access to
some form of cable television, with approxi­
mately two-thirds of U.S. households sub­
scribing to a local cable service.3
For more than 40 years, employment in all
areas of television program delivery has risen
substantially. During the first half of this pe­
riod, radio and television broadcasting ac­
counted for most of the job gains, while during
the second half, more of the growth occurred
in cable and other pay television services.
Throughout the period, changing legislation
has greatly affected the way video service pro­
viders conduct their business, contributing to
the trend toward more rapid growth in cable
services. In addition to key regulatory and
policy changes, growing consumer demand for
television entertainment and related technologi­
cal innovations have helped boost employment
levels in all video-providing industries.
This article compares the employment his­
tory of cable and other pay television services

B

with that of radio and television broadcasting;
it also reviews some of the more significant
regulatory and economic changes that have
occurred over the period. The chronology is
broken into three phases: The first phase
(1958-72) covers the early years up to when
the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
introduced new rules regarding cable television
in March 1972.4 The second phase (1972-84)
covers the subsequent period of rapid employ­
ment growth in the television industry up to
when Congress enacted the Cable Communi­
cations Policy Act of 1984. The third phase—
during which employment growth slowed
down considerably and additional regulatory
and economic changes took place, covers the
period from 1984 to 1999.5 The first part of
the analysis focuses on employment during the
study period, and the second half looks at some
of the technological changes that have shaped
the industry since its inception.
The television industry
According to the 1987 Standard Industrial Clas­
sification (SIC) system, the primary function of
television broadcasting stations (SIC 4833) is
“broadcasting visual programs by television
to the public.”6 Cable and other pay television
services (sic 484), including satellite services,
Monthly Labor Review

August 2000 3

Job Growth in Television

T a b le

1 Top 10 o c c u p a tio n s in c a b le a n d o th e r pay-T v a n d ra d io a n d te le v is io n b ro a d c a s tin g , 1998

Rank

O ccu p atio n

Level

Percent
of industry total

Cable and other pay television (Sic 484)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Installers and repairers................................................................
Customer service representatives..............................................
Order clerks...................................................................................
First-line supervisors—product...................................................
Dispatchers, except police and f ir e ............................................
All other sales and related..........................................................
First line supervisors-administrative...........................................
Sales agents, advertising............................................................
General managers and executives............................................
Engineering and related technicians.........................................

40,520
34,920
6,130
5,230
5,170
5,120
5,090
5,000
4,680
4,030

21.1
18.2
3.2
2.7
2.7
2.7
2.7
2.6
2.4
2.1

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Radio and television broadcasting (sic 483)
Announcers...................................................................................
Sales agents, advertising............................................................
Broadcast technicians.................................................................
Producers, directors, actors .........................................................
Reporters and correspondents...................................................
General managers and executives............................................
Camera operators.........................................................................
Photographers..............................................................................
Writers and editors........................................................................
Other professionals and technicians..........................................

46,100
25,280
22,990
17,890
11,320
8,620
6,900
6,800
6,040
5,670

18.7
10.3
9.4
7.3
4.6
3.5
2.8
2.8
2.5
2.3

distribute “visual and textual television programs, on a sub­
scription or fee basis.”7 Broadcast and cable establishments
may also produce taped television programs, but it is not their
main line of business. (Firms mainly producing taped televi­
sion or motion pictures are classified in the services indus­
try— specifically, in sic 7812, motion picture and video tape
production.)
What the workers do. The workforces of the two video dis­
tribution markets differ significantly. Table 1 shows the top
10 occupations in cable and other pay television services
(SIC 484) and in radio and television broadcasting stations
(SIC 483).8 Installers and repairers (21 percent) and customer
service representatives (18 percent) stand out as the top two
job categories in cable and pay television, together making
up nearly two-fifths of employment in the industry. In radio
and television broadcasting, however, employment is con­
centrated among announcers (19 percent), advertising sales
agents (10 percent), and broadcast technicians (9 percent).
That announcers occupy the top of this list most likely re­
flects the “radio” portion of the industry more than the “tele­
vision” portion. Advertising sales agents and general manag­
ers are the only occupations to make both lists, but they are
more heavily used in radio and television broadcasting.
Within cable and other pay television, 6 of the top 10 job
categories were sales related, customer service, or su­
pervisory occupations. More “artistic” categories— such
as announcers, actors, reporters, photographers, and writ­
ers— appear among the leading occupations in radio and
television broadcasting.
4 Monthly Labor Review

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August 2000

What the workers earn. In 1999, nonsupervisory workers in
the radio and television broadcasting industry earned, on av­
erage, $18.38 per hour. This was about 26 percent more than
the average hourly earnings for cable and other pay televi­
sion services, and 39 percent more than workers in the total
private economy.9 However, when looking at average weekly
earnings, which take the number of hours worked during the
survey period into account, workers in radio and television
broadcasting earned $656 per week, only about 9 percent
more than workers in cable television. Nonsupervisory work­
ers in cable television averaged 41.4 hours per week, or 5.7
hours more than workers in radio and television broadcasting.
Em ploym ent trends
The employment data used in this article are from the bls
Current Employment Statistics (CES) program, also known as
the “establishment survey.”10 CES employment estimates for
all communications (sic 48) and for radio and television broad­
casting (SIC 483) begin in 1958. (See table 2.) Although the
employment history for cable and other pay television ser­
vices (sic 484) does not begin until 1988,11 a reasonable
proxy series can be constructed back to 1958, by subtracting
telephone communications (SIC 481) and radio and televi­
sion broadcasting (SIC 483) from total communications. The
resulting composite series “pay television and other com­
munications” (SIC 482,4,9), can be used as a rough estimate
of the growth in cable and other pay television services. Us­
ing this proxy series, the following analysis compares em­
ployment in pay television and other communications over

Table 2. Employment in communications, annual averages for selected years, 1958-99
[In thousands]

SIC
code

Industry

Series
beginning date

1958

1982

1988

1999

48

Communications..................................................

1958

860.0

1,417.1

1,279.9

1,551.5

481

Telephone communications................................

1947

732.1

1,071.8

901.1

1,069.7

483
4832
4833

Radio and television broadcasting.......................
Radio broadcasting stations...............................
Television broadcasting stations.......................

1958
1982
1982

83.6
-

210.3
107.7
102.6

227.1
117.5
109.6

247.8
116.3
131.5

482,4,9
484
482
489

Pay television and other communications............
Cable and other pay television services...............
Telegraph and other communications...................
Communications services, n.e.c............................

1958
1988
1985
1985

44.3

135.0

151.6
110.8
16.1
24.7

234.0
200.5
11.1
22.4

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Dash = data not available.
n.e.c.= not elsewhere classified.

the last 40 years with that of television broadcasting over the
same period.
Cable and other (nonbroadcast) distributors of television
shows have made great strides in establishing themselves as
major employers in video services.12 From 1958 through
1999, employment in pay television and other communica­
tions grew by an average annual rate nearly twice that of the
total nonfarm economy. Radio and television broadcasting,
by contrast, grew at a pace closer to that of the overall
economy. (See tables 3 and 4.) In 1958, radio and television
broadcasting employed nearly twice as many workers as pay
television and other communications; by 1999, however,
employment levels in the two industries were about the same.
While the 40-year trend indicates more rapid employment
growth in pay television and other communications, it masks
some interesting, more short-term trends. (See chart 1.)
Over-the-air television stations had already been in existence
for at least 12 years by 1958, and radio and television broad­
casters— the principle distributors of broadcast signals—ac­
counted for roughly 84,000 workers at the time. Over the
ensuing 14 years, employment in radio and television broad­
casting rose at a brisk pace, accounting for 79 percent of the
job growth in the combined total radio and television ser­
vices (SIC 483 and 482,4,9) from 1958 to 1972. Employment in
pay television and other communications expanded at a much
slower pace over the same period.
The trend changed significantly during the 1972-84 pe­
riod, with the introduction of new f c c rules governing cable
in 1972,12 as well as the advent of the satellite and surging
consumer demand for video services. Employment in total
radio and television services grew more rapidly than the over­
all economy, with pay television and other communications
expanding twice as rapidly as radio and television broadcast­
ing (9.1 percent versus 4.2 percent). A combined total of
191,000 jobs were added over the period— 86,000 in radio
and television broadcasting and 105,000 in pay television and

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other communications.
In the years following 1972, the FCC altered or abolished
many of the rules regarding cable television, important
deregulatory moves that at least partly explain the hiring surge
in the industry over the 1972-84 period. In 1977, for ex­
ample, many of the franchise standards were eliminated, and
in 1978, a simple registration process replaced the former
process of applying for a certificate of compliance, making
it easier and less costly to operate a cable system.14 Then, in
July 1980, the FCC repealed rules that had limited a cable
system’s right to import distant signals and that required ex­
clusive or nonduplicative programming by local cable opera­
tors.15 In 1983, the FCC eliminated its rule requiring cable
television operators to file financial information.16 These
deregulatory changes helped free cable systems from restric­
tions put in place in the 1960s and early 1970s.
In October 1984, Congress formally amended the Com­
munications Act of 1934 by enacting the Cable Communica­
tions Policy Act of 1984.17 In some important ways, 1984
marks a turning point for employment growth in the televi­
sion industry. Following that year, employment peaked in 1985
for both radio and television broadcasting and pay television
and other communications. Through 1999, annual job growth
decelerated to less than 1 percent in radio and television
broadcasting. Losses accrued in pay television from 1986 to
1988, and employment did not fully recover until 1994, when
growth began to accelerate once again. The period from the
late 1980s through the early 1990s was one of consolidation
for cable television. Many of the new alternatives to cable
(such as satellite systems) did not fare well in the mid-1980s.
In addition, increased video rentals had a negative effect on
the cable industry. Home satellite dishes, complete with ex­
panded channel capacity, started to make an impact in the early
1990s, and this development helped offset some of the drags
on employment in pay television and other communications.
The revision of the SIC system in 1987 paved the way for
Monthly Labor Review

August 2000 5

Job Growth in Television

Table 3.

Employment in the television and radio communications industry, selected years, 1958-99

[Levels in thousands]

Level

1984

1972

1958

mausny

Percent

Level

Percent

1999

Level

Percent

Level

Percent

Total television
and radio.....................

127.9

100.0

195.9

100.0

386.9

100.0

481.8

100.0

Radio and television
broadcasting...........

83.6

65.4

137.2

70.0

223.5

57.8

247.8

51.4

Pay television & other
com m unications.....

44.3

34.6

58.7

30.0

163.4

42.2

234

48.6

Table 4.

Employment change in the television and radio communications industry, selected periods, 1958-99

[Levels in thousands]

1958-99
Industry
Level

Average
annual
percent
change

Total nonfarm ................

Level

Average
annual
percent
change

Level

Average
annual
percent
change

Level

Average
annual
percent
change
2.1

2.1

2.6

2.3

1984-99

1972-84

1958-72

Total television
and radio.....................

353.9

3.3

68.0

3.1

191.0

5.9

94.9

1.5

Radio and television
broadcasting...........

164.2

2.7

53.6

3.6

86.3

4.2

24.3

0.7

Pay television & other
comm unications.....

189.7

4.3

14.4

2.1

104.7

9.1

70.6

2.5

BLS to begin publishing employment data specifically for
cable and other pay television services (The composite in­
dustry “pay television and other communications” used in this
study includes telegraph and other communications, such as
radar and satellite tracking, and communications services, not
elsewhere classified.) In early 1988, employment in cable
and other pay television services (SIC 484) about equaled that
of television broadcasting stations (SIC 4833); by the end of
the year, cable employment exceeded that of television broad­
casters. The gap continued to widen over the next decade,
with employment in cable and other pay television services
growing by an average of 5.6 percent per year. In contrast,
television broadcasting stations grew by only 1.7 percent an­
nually over the same period. (See chart 2.)
In summary, from 1958 through 1972, the maturing radio
and television broadcasting industry added jobs more rapidly
than cable and other pay television services. Over the next 12
years, both industries grew much faster, with pay television
(9.1 percent) outpacing radio and television broadcasting (4.2
percent). After 1984, the employment trends in both series
slowed until the early 1990s, when they began to accelerate
after 1992, especially in pay television and other communi­
cations. From 1988 forward, cable and other pay television
services (SIC 4841) maintained relatively steady annual growth,
as its employment level surpassed and pulled away from that
6 Monthly Labor Review

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August 2000

of television broadcasting. In 8 of the last 11 years, employ­
ment in cable and other pay television services has grown by
4 percent or more. By 1999, there were 52 percent more workers
in cable and other pay television services than in television
broadcasting stations.
The grow th of c a b le television
In addition to rapid employment growth, other statistics docu­
ment growth in the cable television industry. By 1999, twothirds of households with televisions subscribed to cable ser­
vices. The growth of cable subscribers mirrors that of the
industry’s employment until the mid-1980s. While employ­
ment stagnated until after the 1990-91 recession, the num­
ber of subscribers continued to expand, with more than 65
m illion households subscribing to cable television in
1999.18(See table 5.)
Cable systems, which provide service in a given geographic
area and generally serve 50,000 or more subscribers,19grew
more rapidly over the period than television broadcasting sta­
tions, cable’s main competition. In 1958, there were approxi­
mately equal numbers of television broadcasting stations and
cable systems. Since then, annual growth for television sta­
tions averaged only 2.8 percent through 1999, compared with
7.7 percent for cable systems. (See chart 3). The growth of


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Monthly Labor Review

August 2000 7

Job Growth in Television

Table 5.

The growth of cable TV
Industry

Pay-TV and other communications
employment (SICs 482,4,9)...............
Cable systems......................................
Cable subscribers................................
National cable networks.......................
Cable’s market penetration..................

1958

1972

1984

44,300

58,700

163,400

234,000

525
450,000

2,841
6,000,000

6,200
29,000,000
48
43.7

10,466
65,000,000
214
68.0

(D

(D

(2)

(2)

1Cable network data begin in 1976, when the number totaled 4.
2 Market penetration data begin in 1975, with 13.2 percent penetration.
S ources : Employment data: bls Division of Monthly Industry Employment Statistics. Systems, Subscibers: Warren Publishing, Inc., Television &

cable systems accelerated during the 1980s, but it leveled
off in the 1990s, due mainly to a wave of consolidation in the
industry.20
Although closely related, it is the greater number of chan­
nel choices with better reception that sets the cable market
apart from regular television broadcasting. Today, cable op­
erators provide video programming to their customers using
satellite earth stations and coaxial cable or fiber optics as the
main lines for transmitting television signals. This advanced
technology did not exist during the early years of television
and prevented rapid expansion in the number of video pro­
grams offered by cable distributors.
The e a rly years of television
Six television broadcasting stations were in operation in
1946,21 and the earliest cable systems were built during the
following 4 years. These latter systems were constructed to
serve homes on the “fringe” of the broadcast area, those who
otherwise would not be able to receive clear signals from the
television station. Cable distributors placed community an­
tennas on mountain tops or other high points and connected
homes to the towers with cables, allowing them to receive
broadcast signals.22
At the time, cable television was a very labor-intensive
business, and despite high demand, it was difficult to find
enough capital to launch a new cable enterprise. Another
obstacle faced by the cable pioneers was obtaining permis­
sion to use public rights-of-way and utility poles.23 Cable
television was a simple application of available technology
in the early years, and operators were capable of carrying
only a few channels, because of the primitive transmission
technology involved and the relatively sparse number of
broadcast signals to retransmit.24
Cable television went largely unregulated until the mid1960s. In their book on the industry, Patrick R. Parsons and
Robert M. Frieden identify several historical phases of cable
television within the period from 1947 to 1972. During the
initial 5 years of this era, the first modern systems began to
install wire-based television. After that, many family-owned,
8 Monthly Labor Review

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August 2000

1999

Cable Factbook, Services Volume No. 67, 1999. Networks: National Cable
Television Association, Cable Television Developments, Spring/Summer 2000.
Market Penetration: Nielsen Media Research, from ncta’s Cable Television
Developments, Spring/Summer 2000.

“Mom-’n-Pop” operations sprouted up until about 1964. Fi­
nally, during the 8 years ending in 1972, the FCC began insti­
tuting rules regulating cable television.24 Nevertheless, cable
television continued to expand, but not without growing pains.
Regulation in the industry, 1940-72. By 1940, the FCC had
tested on-air television stations and authorized limited com­
mercial television operation.26 Regulation of television oc­
curred because the broadcast spectrum was a publicly owned,
but limited resource.27 From 1948 to 1952, the FCC placed
a 4-year freeze on awarding licenses for new television broad­
casting stations. The airwaves were becoming congested, and
the FCC needed more time to sort out issues on standards.28
Meanwhile, largely due to the freeze, demand for cable televi­
sion services increased in areas not yet served by any form of
television, and cable systems responded by forwarding broad­
cast signals to these additional communities.
In 1958, the FCC took the position that it had no jurisdiction
over cable television, because the cable operator simply pro­
vided a piece of equipment and did not carry a signal.29 As cable
grew, however, local television stations regarded the importation
of distant signals as a competitive threat. Because cable opera­
tors received broadcast signals essentially free of charge, addi­
tional stations in a viewing area could fragment local advertising
dollars and drive the local broadcaster off the air.30 Heavy lob­
bying ensued on both sides.
A year later, the FCC launched its first study on how the
cable television industry affected the television broadcast­
ing market, but nothing was found that could be used to
restrict the entry or continuation of cable systems.31 By
the mid-1960s, however, the FCC had become the regula­
tory authority over cable television. In 1962, the Commis­
sion ruled that cable operators could use microwave sys­
tems to relay distant broadcast signals, with the provision
that there be no adverse economic effects on broadcast­
ers.31 In 1966, the FCC froze the expansion of all cable firms
in the top 100 markets and stipulated that cable systems
obtain the consent of any remote broadcast station before
importing that channel and distributing it to viewers.33
In effect, cable television was regulated as a natural

C h a rt 3.

Index of growth of cable systems and television broadcasting stations, 1958-99

Index

Index

1958= 100

1958 = 100

monopoly: an entity that incurs significant economies of
scale as output (the number of subscribers) increases.34
Local franchising authorities granted these monopolies
on the basis that inefficiencies, such as redundant line du­
plication, would have arisen if more than one firm pro­
vided video programming.
Although the first formal f c c restrictions on cable were
in place by the late 1960s, the cable industry had managed
to evolve from a transmission service to an active player in
the video program delivery market. More specifically, chan­
nel capacity had risen from 3 or 4 to about a dozen.35 Cable
television was basically reborn, and as the financial health of
the industry improved, larger businesses, and their capital,
were increasingly attracted to cable. By the mid-1960s, televi­
sion broadcasters themselves owned nearly 30 percent of all
cable systems.36
C a b le a n d satellite grow th, 1972-84
After several years of restricting cable firms from receiving
and distributing long distance television broadcasting signals,
in March 1972 the FCC issued new rules that eased some of
the limitations and restrictions—the Cable Rules o f 1972.
Cable firms were granted permission to import distant sig­
nals into major markets, but they were still limited in terms
of quantity and variety.37
The early and more restrictive pay television rules limited


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cable operators’ ability to offer better products outside of
broadcast channels. With the introduction of satellite tech­
nology in the industry, cable television gained the support of
a communications network in the sky, ushering in a new era
in video program delivery. The first use of satellites allowed
for more long-range capture of remote broadcast signals. In
1975, Home Box Office ( h b o ) rented a satellite to distribute a
boxing program to cable systems in Florida and Mississippi.38
The fusion of cable and satellite technology permanently
changed the way television is viewed in the United States.
Satellites allowed cable franchises to expand channel capacity
and offer more programming alternatives. Similar to the earlier
effect of cable television on the entire television market, the
eventual role of satellites in the video programming service
industry would change from a program delivery tool to a distri­
bution competitor. New channels, ESPN and MTV for example,
targeted special interest groups such as sports enthusiasts
and teenagers. In short, cable became a more marketable ser­
vice after satellites were introduced, and the growth of cable
television accelerated.
The extensive cable satellite system also attracted more
advertisers because it allowed for a larger audience base. Us­
ing satellite technology, for example, Ted Turner was able to
expand his local television broadcasting station into a national
cable network and thus sell advertising at more lucrative rates.
In 1975, w t b s became the first satellite-delivered broadcast
station and soon became known as the first “superstation.”39
Monthly Labor Review

August 2000 9

Job Growth in Television

Table 6

Cable industry concentration ratios, 1990-97

[In percent]

Market share
1990

1992

1994

1997

Top company.........................

24.0

25.2

24.8

29.3

Top 2 companies..................

36.7

37.9

37.3

47.7

Top 3 companies..................

42.0

43.2

42.4

55.6

Top 4 companies..................

45.6

48.2

47.2

62.3

Top 10 companies................

61.6

64.6

63.3

79.8

SOURCE: Paul Kagan Associates, Inc., cited in Annual Assessment of
the Status of Competition in the Market for the Delivery of Video Program­
ming: Fourth Annual Report, FCC 97-423 (Federal Communications Com­
mission, January 2000), p. E-4.

Today, superstation TBS has about 75 million subscribers and
roughly 12,000 affiliates nationwide.40
Rising demand for television entertainment, marketing ef­
forts, and technological innovations furthered the growth of
cable television in the 1970s and early 1980s. h b o became the
nation’s first pay television network and created the first tele­
vision production originated by a cable company. Their parent
company, Time Inc., invested in motion picture production to
differentiate Home Box Office as a premium channel and to
improve the quality and quantity of movies available on HBO.41
The Cable News Network (CNN) became the first all-news cable
channel, when it began satellite service in 1980.42 More va­
riety and better services meant more revenue for cable firms,
which in turn meant more growth for the industry. With satel­
lite technology firmly entrenched, the number of cable sys­
tems had grown to 6,200 by 1984. Cable networks, number­
ing only 4 in 1976, numbered 48 in 1984. (See table 5.)
D ereg u latio n a n d consolidation, 1984-99
Key legal aspects of the cable television industry were clari­
fied when Congress enacted the Cable Communications Policy
Act of 1984, which deregulated the industry further and re­
versed many of the restrictions from 1972. The purpose of the
1984 Cable Act was to streamline the expansion of cable sys­
tems and promote competition.43 After some consideration,
the FCC concluded that less cable regulation was needed. Spe­
cifically, the Commission no longer regulated cable rates in
markets where sufficient competition existed, but cross-own­
ership of a cable and broadcast system was disallowed.44 The
FCC contended that as cable service grew, rates charged to
customers would be checked by competition from develop­
ing video delivery alternatives, such as home satellites and
videocassette rentals.
The 1980s were characterized by increased competition be­
tween television broadcasters and cable operators. Meanwhile,
decreased viewing time for all forms of television further compli­
10 Monthly Labor Review

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August 2000

cated the issue.45 Among other things, videocassette recorders
( v c r s ) reduced time spent watching cable and broadcast televi­
sion—the number of VCRs in use increased from 15.5 million in
1984 to 170.3 million in 1998.46 In addition, new alternatives
to cable and television broadcasting, such as home satellites,
struggled to make their way into the video market.47 Despite
the move toward other viewing options, basic cable networks
still managed to gain ground relative to over-the-air television
broadcasters.48 (See chart 4.)
In the 1990s, cable system ownership became more concen­
trated, due to the many mergers and acquisitions that took
place during the period, and this activity tended to dampen
growth, especially that of employment. Time Warner, for ex­
ample, merged with Turner Broadcasting Systems in 1996.49
On the programming side, the Walt Disney Company acquired
Capital Cities/a b c and Westinghouse bought CBS.50 In 1975,
the top 10 cable companies supplied 40 percent of all cable
television subscribers.51 According to a later source of in­
dustry concentration data, by 1997, the market share of the
top 10 cable companies had doubled to 80 percent. (See table
6.) Also, in 1992, multiple cable system operators owned all
or part of 15 of the 25 largest cable networks.52
In response to the accumulated market power of cable tele­
vision operators, Congress enacted the Cable Television Con­
sumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992. More restric­
tive measures were implemented in the following years and
included rate regulation in the absence of effective competi­
tion, the prohibition of exclusive franchising, and must-carry
rules, which obligated cable operators to carry all available
local broadcast signals.53
Technological advances. While competition from other
video viewing options served to slow growth, technological
innovation continued to play a large role in the maturation
and competitive status of the cable television industry. Fiber
optics, a key breakthrough that took place during the 1980s,
enabled faster and better quality cable connections. Further
technical improvements, such as digital compression tech­
nology, allowed more system capacity,54 and numerous new
cable channels, such as Disney, The Weather Channel, and
Discovery, entered the market.55
With the proliferation of cable television channels, overthe-air television audiences became more fragmented, and ad­
vertising revenues increasingly were diverted to cable.
“Narrowcasting” allowed advertisers to target specific niche
audiences that come with unique cable channels.56 More than
one-third of all television advertising dollars were directed
toward cable audiences in 1997, compared with only 6 per­
cent in 1984.57 New products— such as NFL football on cable,
“at-home” shopping, video-on-demand, and even the cover­
age of the Gulf War by CNN— served to increase the popular­
ity of cable among consumers as well.58 The number of cable
subscriptions continued to grow despite hikes in cable tele-

Chart 4.

Television viewing shares: cable versus broadcast television, 1985-99
Percent

Percent

SOURCE: Cable TV Facts 2000 (Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau, 2000), on the Internet at http://www.cabletvadbureau.com

(visited July 2000).

Chart 5.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) for cable television and for all urban consumers,
annual averages, 1983-99

Index

Index

1982/84 = 100

1982/84= 100


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Monthly Labor Review

August 2000 11

Job Growth in Television

vision prices, which since the early 1980s have risen more
than twice as rapidly as the Consumer Price Index for all Ur­
ban Consumers (CPi-u). (See chart 5.) Despite climbing pro­
gramming costs—as cable networks began charging local
systems for program content, whereas previously the net­
works had paid the local systems to get in their channel
lineup—by the late 1980s, the revenue picture appeared to
be quite rosy for the cable industry.59
Cable companies made use of their increased revenues by
investing in plant and equipment, and in programming. From
1984 through 1992, the cable industry spent more than $15
billion on hardware.60 Similarly, cable systems’ programming
expenditures rose more than 300 percent to $7.5 billion from
1984 to 1998.61 These investments improved the competi­
tive position of cable relative to that of broadcasters.
Following the 1992 legislation, and as the U.S. economy
began recovering from the 1990-91 recession, the trend in
video delivery programming began to change once again. This
time the move was from “cable” to “other” in the cable and
other pay television industry. Like the first cable television
customers who were out of reach from a strong broadcast
television signal, direct-to-home satellite services initially
served viewers who were not able to receive cable television
services from an operator in their geographic area.
Similarly, the technological and market history tended to
repeat itself as direct-to-home satellite service customers
soon enjoyed better picture quality and more channels than
cable or broadcasters offered. These new services also de­
veloped a technological advantage in the form of digital tele­
vision service.62 Just as cable accompanied the development
of television broadcasting, the same held for satellites with
respect to cable television’s growth. In both cases, the older
industry was at first helped by the new technology, only to
later find itself in direct competition with the younger form
of video distribution.

both cable and television broadcasting stations markets.
Information and entertainment. Industry classifications sepa­
rating the delivery of information from that of entertainment
became blurred in recent years, creating a new kind of video
product, sometimes called infotainment. Firms began “bundling”
their services—a single company might offer cable television,
local and long-distance phone service, and Internet access, for
example. These “full-service” telecommunications enterprises
are expected to become increasingly prevalent, as technology
continues to improve with the change from analog to digital
distribution.66 Cable television providers expanded their ser­
vices by offering quicker access to the Internet, using high speed
cable modems rather than regular telephone lines. Similarly,
television broadcasting companies improved their strategic po­
sition by investing in cable networks, such as when the National
Broadcasting Company and Microsoft began MSNBC, a 24-hour
cable news network.67 In addition, the satellite market was at­
tractive enough that AT&T purchased a 2.5-percent equity stake
in DirecTV in 1996.68
Many cable firms reacted by offering new channels and bet­
ter service as a direct result of new competition from satellite
television providers. Cable was able to increase its program­
ming services by enabling digital compression technology for
the first time. The technological cycle had come full circle:
Satellites or other pay television services were able to offer
better picture quality and increased channel capacity, just as
cable services had enjoyed an advantage over broadcast televi­
sion in the early years of the industry.

has grown immensely
since 1958, with radio and television broadcasting leading the
way up to 1972, and pay television and other communications
adding more jobs since then. The latter industry, however, cur­
rently still trails slightly in terms of the total number of work­
ers. Looking at the more specific industry data available since
The Telecommunications Act o f 1996. The television indus­ 1988, job creation in cable and other pay television services
try was further deregulated when Congress passed the Tele­ has outpaced that of television broadcasting. Although the two
communications Act of 1996, which was intended to provide industries had similar employment levels in 1988, cable had
a “pro-competitive national policy framework.”63 The act also added 52 percent more jobs than broadcast television by 1999.
sought to remove additional barriers to competitive entry in Workers in cable and other pay television services earn less per
order to expedite competition with other multi-channel video hour than their broadcast television counterparts, but they also
tend to work more hours per week. The occupational make-up
programming deliverers.
Cable rates were deregulated on their extended basic tier, of the two industries is quite different, with installers and re­
which included specialty channels such as ESPN, MTV, and pairers leading the list for pay television, while announcers make
up the leading occupation in radio and television broadcasting.
t n t . The rates were no longer regulated if a telephone com­
For more than 40 years, the employment and market trends
pany, for example, offered cable service comparable to those
in
broadcast
and cable television have gone through unique
of the competing cable system.64 Finally, the FCC was given
the authority to suspend its rules on a short-term basis in phases, as both industries matured at different times. Cable
order to promote new or improved technology or services.65 television began as a rural-based supplement to broadcast
This opening to more competition and better technology proved television, but increased demand and technological innovations
to be a double-edged sword for cable companies in the 1990s. spurred tremendous growth in the industry. Legislation and regu­
Direct Broadcast Satellite, for example, began to move into lation in the industry both checked and boosted cable television

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August 2000

e m p l o y m e n t in t h e t e l e v is io n in d u s t r y

expansion. The establishment of a national cable and satel­
lite distribution network followed the relaxation of some of
the more restrictive policies. Technical advantages enabled
cable to eventually exercise a certain degree of market power
over broadcast television in their respective geographic mar­
kets.
As cable systems improved their market positions, they
responded by upgrading their infrastructure and improving
their service levels, channel capacity, and reception quality.

Strong job growth continued. Meanwhile, competition from
telephone companies, utilities, wireless industries, and home
satellites began to provide rivalry in the market for video
program delivery, as these related industries crossed over
or entered into pay television. Today, cable, broadcast, and
other television services continue to both influence and adapt
to the rapidly changing world of telecommunications. If tech­
nology keeps pace with demand, employment in the industry
should continue to expand as well. 69
□

Notes
1 Robert L. Hilliard and Michael C. Keith, The Broadcast Century: A Biog­
raphy o f American Broadcasting (Stoneham, ma, Butterworth-Heinemann,
1992), p. 88.
2 Hilliard and Keith, The Broadcast Century, p. 150.
3 Annual Assessment o f the Status o f Competition in Markets for the
Delivery o f Video Programming: Sixth Annual Report, FCC 99-418 (Federal
Communications Commission, January 2000), appendix B, table B -l.
4 See Federal Communications Commission Fact Sheet: Cable Television
Information Bulletin, June 2000, on the Internet at http:www.fcc.gov/csb/facts/
csgen.html (visited July 2000), pp. 1-2.
5 Federal Communications Commission Fact Sheet: Cable Television, p.
2

6 Standard Industrial Classification Manual: 1987 (Executive Office of
the President, Office of Management and Budget, 1987), p. 283.
7 Standard Industrial Classification Manual: 1987, p. 283.

16 Federal Communications Commission Fact Sheet: Cable Television, p. 2.
17 Ibid., p. 2; where it also says that “The 1984 Cable Act established poli­
cies in the areas of ownership, channel usage, franchise provisions and re­
newals, subscriber rates and privacy, obscenity and lockboxes, unauthorized
reception of services, equal employment opportunity, and pole attachments.
The new law also defined jurisdictional boundaries among Federal, State and
local authorities for regulating cable television systems.”
18 Television and Cable Factbook (Washington,
Inc., 1999), p. J-96.

DC,

Warren Publishing,

19 Television and Cable Factbook, p. J-97.
20 Paul Kagan Associates, Inc., cited in Annual Assessment o f the Status of
Competition in the Market for the Delivery of Video Programming: Fourth
Annual Report, fcc 97-423 (Federal Communications Commission, January
2000), p. E-4.
21 Television and Cable Factbook, p. J-97.

8These data are from the BLS Occupational Employment Statistics
(OES) survey, “a periodic mail survey of nonfarm establishments that
collects occupational employment data on workers by industry;” see bls
Handbook o f Methods, bulletin 2490 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, April
1997), ch. 3, pp. 32-35.

22 National Cable Television Association, The History o f Cable Televi­
sion information sheet, on the Internet at www.ncta.com/glance.html (vis­
ited July 2000).

9 Average hourly earnings data are from the Current Employment Statis­
tics (ces) Program. Average hourly earnings are gross payrolls (including
premium pay such as overtime) divided by total paid hours. Therefore,
average hourly earnings differ from wage rates, which are the payments for
a unit of time worked. Retroactive payments, irregular bonuses, and benefits
are excluded. The data are for nonsupervisory workers only.

24Robert W. Crandall and Harold Furchtgott-Roth, Cable tv: Regulation or
Competition? (Washington, DC, The Brookings Institution, 1996), pp. 2-3.

10 For more information on the ces, see “Employment, hours, and earnings
from the establishment survey,” in bls Handbook o f Methods, bulletin 2490
(Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 1997), ch. 2, pp. 15-31. From the Hand­
book (p. 15): “ bls cooperates with State employment security agencies in
the Current Employment Statistics (ces) survey to collect data each month
on employment, hours, and earnings from a sample of nonfarm establish­
ments (including government). In early 1996, this sample included over
390,000 reporting units. From these data, a large number of employment,
hours, and earnings series in considerable industry and geographic detail
are prepared and published each month [by bls].”
11 The industry group “cable and other pay television services” was not
classified independently until 1987, when the sic system was revised with
the publication of the new Standard Industrial Classification Manual: 1987.
12 Other pay-TV services include, but are not limited to, closed circuit televi­
sion, multichannel multipoint distribution systems, satellite master antenna sys­
tems, direct broadcast satellite, and other home satellite dishes.
13 Federal Communications Commission Fact Sheet: Cable Television, p. 2.
14Ibid., p. 2.
15 Patrick R. Parsons and Robert M. Frieden, The Cable and Satellite
Television Industries (Needham Heights, ma, Allyn and Bacon, 1998), p. 56.


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23 Parsons and Frieden, The Cable and Satellite Television Industries, p.
33.

25 Parsons and Frieden, The Cable and Satellite Television Industries, p.
20.

26Hilliard and Keith, The Broadcast Century, p. 92.
27 Douglas F. Greer, Industrial Organization and Public Policy, 2nd ed.
(New York, ny, Macmillan Publishing Company, 1984). p. 436.
28 Parsons and Frieden, The Cable and Satellite Television Industries, p.
27.
29Ibid., p. 38.
30Ibid., p. 36.
31 Inquiry into the Impact o f Community Antenna Systems, quoted at
The National Cable Television Center and Museum website, on the
Internet at http://www.cablecenter.org (visited August 1999).
32 Parsons and Frieden, The Cable and Satellite Television Industries,
p p .42-43.
33Ibid., p. 44.

34 Greer, Industrial Organization and Public Policy, pp. 434-35.
35 Parsons and Frieden, The Cable and Satellite Television Industries,
p. 45.
36 From Television Magazine, March 1967, cited in Parsons and Frieden,
The Cable and Satellite Television Industries, p. 47.
37 Parsons and Frieden, The Cable and Satellite Television Industries, p. 49.

Monthly Labor Review

August 2000 13

Job Growth in Television

53 Communications Engineering and Design (CED) magazine website, on
the Internet at http://www.cedmagazine.coin/retro/eighties.htnil (visited June
1998).

38Ibid., pp. 53-54.
39Ibid., pp. 53-55.
40Cable tv Developments (National Cable Television Association), fall 1998/
winter 1999.
41 The National Cable Television Center and Museum website, on the Internet
at http://www.cablecenter.org (visited August 1998).
42 Hilliard and Keith, The Broadcast Century, p. 230.
43 Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, Public Law 98-549, 98th
Congress, Sec 601, Title VI, Part I, General Provisions, Purposes, 47 USC 521.
44 Cable Communications Policy Act o f1984, Sec 623,622,613, and 634.
45 J. Fred MacDonald, One Nation Under Television (New York, ny, Pan­
theon Books, 1990). p. 258.
46 Television and Cable Factbook, 1999, p. J-3.

56 MacDonald, One Nation Under Television, p. 254.
57 Television and Cable Factbook, p. J-12.
58The National Cable Television Center and Museum, on the Internet at
http://www.cablecenter.org (visited, August 1998).
59 Cable
1997, p. 8.

tv

Developments (National Cable Television Association), fall,

60 National Cable Television Association information sheet on the 1980s.
61 Cable tv Developments (National Cable Television Association), fall 1998/
winter 1999.
62 Parsons and Frieden, The Cable and Satellite Television Industries, p. 14.

47 Parsons and Frieden, The Cable and Satellite Television Industries,
p. 60.

63 Annual Assessment of the Status of Competition in the Market for the
Delivery o f Video Programming: Third Annual Report, CS Docket No. 96-133
(Federal Communications Commission, January 1997), sec. 2, par. 5.

48 Nielsen ratings, cited in Cable tv Developments (National Cable Televi­
sion Association), spring/summer 2000, p. 5.

64 Telecommunications Act of 1996, 104th Congress, Jan. 3, 1996, S.652,
section 301.

49 Parsons and Frieden, The Cable and Satellite Television Industries,
p. 16.

65 Telecommunications Act o f 1996, 104th Congress, Jan. 3, 1996, S.652,
section 303.

50 James Walker and Douglas Ferguson, The Broadcast Television Indus­
try, (Needham Heights, ma, Allyn and Bacon, 1998). p.37.

66 Parsons and Frieden, The Cable and Satellite Television Industries, p. 12.

51 Crandall and Furchtgott-Roth, p. 9.
52 Crandall and Furchtgott-Roth, p. 15.
53 Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, Pub­
lic Law 102-385,102nd Congress, Oct. 5,1992.
54The National Cable Television Center and Museum website, on the Internet
at http://www.cablecenter.org (visited August 1998).

14 Monthly Labor Review

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August 2000

67 The National Cable Television Center and Museum web site: http://
www.cablecenter.org (visited August 1998).
68 Parsons and Frieden, The Cable and Satellite Television Industries,
p. 134.
69 A discussion of the outlook for jobs in both the broadcast and cable
television industries can be found in Career Guide to Industries: 2001-01
Edition, Bulletin 2340 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 2000), pp. 105-09.

Producer Prices, 1999

Rising producer prices in 1999
dominated by energy goods
Surging energy prices push up
the Producer Price Index fo r crude,
intermediate, and finished goods

Eleni Xenofondos
and
William F. Snyders

Eleni Xenofondos and
William F. Snyders are
economists in the
Office of Prices and
Living Conditions,
Bureau of Labor
Statistics.


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he Producer Price Index ( p p i ) for crude,
intermediate, and finished goods rose in
1999; surging energy prices were the driv­
ing force behind the acceleration in each stage of
process. The Producer Price Index for Finished
Goods rose 2.9 percent in 1999, after showing no
change in 1998, and falling 1.2 percent in 1997.
The rise in 1999 was the largest annual increase
since 1990’s 5.7-percent advance. The turnaround
in overall finished goods was primarily due to
soaring energy prices, which increased 18.1 per­
cent, following an 11.7-percent decrease during
the previous 12 months. The index for finished
consumer foods rose 0.8 percent in 1999, after a
slight 0.1 -percent increase in 1998. However, fin­
ished goods other than foods and energy—a cat­
egory that includes both consumer goods and
capital equipment—increased 0.9 percent in 1999,
after gaining 2.5 percent a year earlier. (See
table 1.)
At the earlier stages of processing, the Pro­
ducer Price Index for intermediate materials, sup­
plies, and components rose 3.7 percent, following
a 3.3-percent decline in 1998. This index captures
price movements for goods such as jet fuel, paint
materials, shipping containers, animal feeds, and
semiconductors. The overall acceleration in in­
termediate materials was primarily due to rising
prices for intermediate energy goods, which de­
clined in 1998. Also contributing to the accelera­
tion were rising prices for both nondurable and
durable manufacturing materials, both of which
fell last year. The index for materials and compo­
nents for construction rose more than in the prior

T

year. Prices for intermediate foods and feeds de­
creased less than in 1998. The intermediate core
index (which excludes foods and energy) in­
creased 1.9 percent, following a 1.6-percent de­
cline in 1998.
Similarly, prices for crude materials for further
processing advanced 15.3 percent in 1999, after
falling 16.7 percent in 1998. Crude goods in­
clude commodities such as wheat, slaughter
cattle, crude petroleum, natural gas, scrap met­
als, timber, and raw cotton. Analogous to fin­
ished and intermediate goods, most of the in­
crease in crude goods can be attributed to rising
prices for energy goods, which dropped in the
previous year. Prices for crude goods other than
foods and energy also increased substantially
from last year. The index for crude foodstuffs
and feedstuffs fell less than it did in 1998.
Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price
Index (CPI), rose 2.7 percent during 1999, accel­
erating from the 1.6-percent increase in 1998. As
with the p p i , much of the CPI’s overall increase
can be attributed to rising energy prices—gaso­
line prices paid by consumers rose 30.1 percent
in 1999. However, excluding food and energy
goods, consumer prices advanced only 1.9 per­
cent, the slowest annual rate of increase in nearly
35 years.1
Energy goo d s
The ppi for finished energy goods advanced 18.1
percent, following an 11.7-percent drop in 1998.
Taking a look further up the pipeline for energy

M onthly Labor Review

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15

Producer Prices, 1999

Table 1.

Annual percent changes for major categories of the Producer Price Index by stage of processing, 1990-99

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

Finished goods.........................................
Foods ..................................................
Energy................................................
Other...................................................

5.7
2.6
30.7
3.5

-0.1
-1.5
-9.6
3.1

1.6
1.6
-.3
2.0

0.2
2.4
-4A
.4

1.7
1.1
3.5
1.6

2.3
1.9
1.1
2.6

2.8
3.4
11.7
.6

-1.2
-.8
-6.4
.0

0.0
.1
-11.7
2.5

2.9
.8
18.1
.9

Intermediate materials, supplies, and
components...........................................
Foods and feeds.................................
Energy ................................................
Other...................................................

4.3
-1.3
21.8
1.9

-2.6
-.2
-11.6
-.8

1.0
-.5
.7
1.2

1.0
5.5
-4.2
1.6

4.4
-4.5
2.9
5.2

3.3
10.3
1.1
3.2

.7
2.1
11.2
-.9

-.8
-1.7
-7.0
.3

-3.3
-7.3
-12.1
-1.6

3.7
—4.2
19.6
1.9

Crude materials for further processing....
Foodstuffs and feedstuffs..................
Energy................................................
Other...................................................

6.0
-4.2
19.1
.6

-11.6
-5.8
-16.6
-7.6

3.3
3.0
2.3
5.7

.1
7.2
-12.3
10.7

-.5
-9.4
-.1
17.3

5.5
12.9
3.7
-4.2

14.7
-1.0
51.2
-5.5

-11.3
-4.0
-23.1
.0

-16.7
-11.0
-23.8
-16.0

15.3
-.1
36.9
14.0

Index

goods, prices for intermediate energy goods advanced 19.6
percent in 1999, following a 12.1 -percent drop in the 1998 cal­
endar year. Also, the p p i for crude energy materials rose 36.9
percent in 1999, following a 23.8-percent drop in 1998. While
most energy products accelerated during 1999, each stage of
process was driven by accelerating prices for petroleum-based
commodities.
Petroleum-based, energy goods. Crude petroleum accounted
for three-fourths of the acceleration in crude energy materials.
In 1998, petroleum prices reached near-historic lows as world
production increased 1.4 percent, petroleum demand from East
Asia waned, and a warmer-than-normal 1997-98 winter sea­
son decreased energy demand in the United States.2 Crude
petroleum prices, however, took a new direction in 1999 due to
several factors that combined to push up oil prices by 172.0
percent. First, domestic crude oil production fell from 228.1
million barrels in 1998 to 214.6 million barrels in 1999, a decline
of nearly 6.0 percent. This slowdown in production can be
traced to a 10.6-percent drop in Alaskan crude oil output as
well as a 4.8-percent decrease from the lower 48 States.3
In March 1999, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) and several non-OPEC countries announced
an agreement to reduce output. As a result, crude oil imports
from some nations to the United States dropped significantly.
(See table 2.)
Other worldwide events also affected domestic oil prices
in the United States. During most of the 1990s, the Far East
enjoyed rapid economic expansion and the commensurate
expanding demand for energy. However, in 1998, Japan’s eco­
nomic growth rate fell 2.9 percent, real gross domestic prod­
uct (GDP) in Thailand dropped 8.1 percent, and the growth
rate in South Korea fell 5.8 percent.4 Economic slumps in
these and other Asian countries caused oil demand for indus­
trial and other uses to decline. In 1999, these economies be-

16
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August 2000

gan to recover. Real GDP rebounded, and competition for
available crude oil supplies increased.
Petroleum-based products also led to the acceleration at
the intermediate stage of process. (Approximately two-thirds
of the acceleration in intermediate energy goods can be attrib­
uted to petroleum-based energy products.) Jet fuel prices
surged 90.9 percent from December 1998 to December 1999,
after falling for 2 consecutive years. The indexes for diesel
fuel, liquefied petroleum gas, and residual fuel also rose in
1999, following a decrease in the prior year.
More than half of the acceleration in prices for finished
energy goods can be traced to a 74.8-percent surge in gaso­
line prices, which followed a 33.1-percent drop in 1998. Chart
1 illustrates the strong correlation in the price movements
among crude petroleum and gasoline. Excluding gasoline, a
more detailed look shows that the index for finished goods
increased 1.3 percent in 1999, compared with the 2.9-percent
gain in the overall index. Weather-related supply issues put
upward pressure on gasoline prices as Hurricane Lenny forced
the closing of refinery operations in the Caribbean. Also,
refinery operations in Mississippi temporarily closed for main­
tenance. Among other petroleum-based energy goods, prices
for home heating oil jumped 89.4 percent, following a 36.1 percent decline in 1998. The indexes for finished lubri­
cants and liquefied petroleum gas also increased in 1999.
(See table 3.)
Energy goods other than petroleum-based. Among other
finished energy goods in 1999, electricity production declined
as cooler weather in some parts of the country substantially
reduced the need for air conditioning, keeping residential elec­
tric power prices low. (The residential electric power index
was the only finished energy component that fell in 1999.) In
addition, with no significant generation outages in 1999, the
wholesale supply of electricity was more than sufficient.

Table 2.

Imports of crude oil into the United States by
country of origin, 1998-99

Country of origin

Crude oil
(thousand barrels)

Percent
change

1998

1999

504
109,412
512,452

332
89,914
506,272

-34.1
-17.8
-1.2

502,552
251,315

419,893
227,471

-16.4
-9.5

6,219
1,628
15,376
14,908
19,423
169,580
75,543
9,375
19,527
8,311
482,252

900
335
4,763
9,227
14,748
130,168
61,247
7,708
16,645
7,632
457,655

-85.5
-79.4
-69.0
-38.1
-24.1
-23.2
-18.9
-17.8
-14.8
-8.2
-5.1

Arab opec
Qatar..................................
Kuwait................................
Saudi Arabia.......................
Other opec
Venezuela..........................
Nigeria................................

Non-OPEC
Congo (Kinshasa) .............
Yemen.................................
China, People’s Republic of
P eru...................................
Trinidad and Tobago..........
Angola................................
Gabon ................................
Malaysia.............................
Congo (Brazzaville)...........
Guatemala..........................
M exico...............................

S ource: Petroleum Supply Annual, 1999, Volume I (Energy Infor­
mation Administration). See text footnote 3 for Internet address.

Prices for residential natural gas increased, after falling in the
previous year.
Further up the energy pipeline, prices rose for commercial
electric power, industrial natural gas, and commercial natural
gas, after falling in 1998. The index for industrial electric
power fell less in 1999 than in the prior year. By contrast,
prices for coke oven products declined 5.4 percent in 1999,
after edging up 0.1 percent in the prior year.
At the crude stage of process, the index for natural gas
rose 7.9 percent, following a 17.8-percent drop in 1998. By
contrast, coal prices fell 9.3 percent, following a 1.2-percent
decrease in the previous year. Following crude oil, natural
gas and coal are the largest fuel sources used in the United
States, each supplying 23.0 percent of U.S. consumption.5
In 1999, natural gas prices increased mainly due to sum­
mer cooling needs, anticipation of decreased injection
rates, ensuing decreased winter storage levels, and de­
creased drilling activity. Hot weather in California and the
Southwest caused a higher-than-normal demand for air
conditioning. Higher energy prices and demand in 1999
also resulted from the temporary closings of hydroelectric
power plants in the Northwest and West, due to the dam s’
harmful environmental effects on some species of fish and
birds. At the same time, a maintenance shutdown of
California’s main north-south transmission line caused a
decrease in supply.


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Foods a n d re la te d products
Producer prices for finished consumer foods accelerated in
1999, rising 0.8 percent, after a 0.1-percent increase in 1998.
Leading the way, pork prices jumped 29.8 percent, following a
27.3-percent drop in 1998 and a 13.6-percent decline in 1997.
Declining pork prices in 1998 resulted from overproduction,
softer exports to Asia and Mexico, and price competition from
Canadian imports. The rebound in pork prices for 1999 can be
traced to a dramatic 266.9-percent jump in the index for slaugh­
ter hogs. In addition, greater demand for U.S. pork exports in
1999 pushed prices higher. (See table 4.)
Also contributing to the increase in finished consumer
foods was a 10.8-percent rise in beef and veal prices, which
had declined 2.7 percent in 1998. Beef prices were very strong
in the second half of 1999 in spite of record beef production
and large supplies of pork and poultry. Demand for higher
quality beef was unusually strong as U.S. and world econo­
mies continued to strengthen, particularly in Asia. In addi­
tion, expectations for a more festive holiday season bolstered
demand for higher quality beef to insure adequate supplies.
In contrast to rising meat prices, the dairy products index
fell 11.1 percent in 1999, following a 10.7-percent gain in the
prior year. Due to cold and dry weather throughout most of
1997 and 1998, milk production fell, and dairy prices gradu­
ally rose. During the same period, skyrocketing butter de­
mand also pushed prices upward. However, prices for dairy
products fell beginning in the first quarter of 1999 due to
decreased demand and increased production levels. For the
1999 calendar year, prices declined for fluid milk products,
butter, cheese, and ice cream and frozen desserts.
Among other finished consumer foods, prices rose for
fresh fruits and melons, and for finfish and shellfish, after
falling in the previous year. In contrast, the indexes for
processed young chickens and for shortening and cook­
ing oils declined in 1999, after increasing in 1998.
At the earlier stages of processing, prices for interme­
diate foods and feeds declined 4.2 percent throughout
1999, following a 7.3-percent drop in 1998. The index for
prepared animal feeds fell 2.7 percent, after dropping 20.4
percent in the prior year. Crude vegetable oil prices de­
clined due to decreasing crude input prices of corn and
soybeans. The index for crude foodstuffs and feedstuffs
edged down 0.1 percent in 1999, following an 11.0-percent
drop during the 1998 calendar year. Slaughter cattle prices
rose 19.4 percent, after falling 12.0 percent a year ago. Simi­
larly, a large upturn for slaughter hog prices was posted in
1999. The indexes for corn and alfalfa hay fell less than in
the previous year. Conversely, fluid milk prices declined
31.3 percent in 1999, after advancing 25.6 percent in 1998.
The index for slaughter broilers and fryers also declined, fol­
lowing an increase in the prior year.

M onthly Labor Review

A ugust 2000

17

Producer Prices, 1999

C h a rt 1

PPI for crude petroleum and gasoline, 1973-99

Index level

Index level

140

140

120

Gasoline

Crude

---------

petroleum

120

100

Uh.

100
I

V s-— A,.
V

I

80

80

/,

i f

/5l

a

60

a

40

_ ¿ it

aM

¿\ A i

%/ v-r

60

V

I/

V:;:

k /

40

/Î.v A ÿ -

20

20

0

I I I I I M I I I I i I I I I I I I I I I I I I I II I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 1 I ! I 1 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I i I I I I I 1I I I I I I I I I I I I I I II I I I I I I I I I 1I I 11 I I

1973 74

Chart 2.

75

76

77

78

79

80

81

82

83

84

85

86

87

88 89

90

91

92

93

94

95

96

97

Key commodity impacts to finished goods less foods and energy

1998

18
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1999

C ivilian aircraft

»
P asse ng er cars^

Light tru cks.

iiiiiiili
P rescription d ru g s.

August 2000

98

1999

0

Table 3.

Annual percent changes in Producer Price Indexes for selected energy items, 1994-99

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

Finished energy goods................
Gasoline....................................
Home heating o il.......................
Residential electric power........
Residential natural g a s ............

3.5
11.2
6.9
1.5
-2.6

1.1
2.4
11.9
.9
-2.4

11.7
27.1
25.0
.6
11.2

-6.4
-15.0
-21.7
-.2
2.4

-11.7
-33.1
-36.1
-2.5
-2.4

18.1
74.8
89.4
-.5
.9

Intermediate energy goods..........
Natural gas to electric
u tilities....................................
Diesel fuels...............................
Jet fuels....................................
Commercial electric power.......
Liquefied petroleum gas...........
Residual fu e ls...........................

2.9

1.1

11.2

-7.0

-12.1

19.6

3.4
5.9
4.3
2.3
13.0
10.2

-1.4
11.1
6.1
.6
3.9
-4.7

6.1
26.2
26.1
-.1
71.4
32.8

9.3
-22.5
-22.3
.0
-29.3
-7.6

-24.3
-33.8
-35.8
-1.8
-32.6
-39.8

15.6
86.4
90.9
.6
87.0
91.1

Crude energy materials................
Natural g a s ...............................
Crude petroleum........................
Coal...........................................

-.1
-14.0
21.1
-2.1

3.7
-.3
10.8
-.8

51.2
92.0
35.8
-1.1

-23.1
-27.9
-28.3
4.9

-23.8
-17.8
-48.6
-1.2

36.9
7.9
172.0
-9.3

Index

Finished goods other than foods and energy
The index for finished goods other than foods and energy
increased 0.9 percent, after advancing 2.5 percent in 1998.
Finished consumer goods less foods and energy increased
1.2 percent, following a 4.2-percent gain in 1998. (See table 5.)
By contrast, the index for capital equipment rose 0.3 percent
in 1999, after showing no change a year earlier. Chart 2 illus­
trates the key commodities contributing to the rise in finished
goods less foods and energy in 1998 and 1999.
Most of the deceleration in finished consumer goods other
than foods and energy was due to much lower price increases
for cigarettes and prescription drugs. The cigarette index rose
9.6 percent in 1999, after jumping 49.4 percent in 1998, and
prescription drug prices increased 0.8 percent, after gaining
20.9 percent a year ago.
Cigarette prices were idle for most of 1999 with the excep­
tion of a 9.5-percent increase in September 1999. Tobacco
manufacturers raised the per-pack price of cigarettes by 18
cents to help pay a $206 billion legal settlement. The settle­
ment also crippled the tobacco industry’s ability to market
products by limiting advertisement locations. As a result of
the price increase and better awareness of the ill effects of
smoking, cigarette sales fell during most of 1999.
In spite of double-digit growth in sales for prescription
drugs in 1999, price increases slowed dramatically, up only 0.8
percent, following a 20.9-percent hike in 1998. This decelera­
tion was led by smaller price increases for minor tranquilizers,
diuretics, cough and cold preparations, vitamins, and diabe­
tes therapy drugs. The indexes for antispasmodic, cardiovas­
cular therapy, and sedatives declined, after rising in 1998.
However, price increases for systemic anti-infectives, hor­
mones, and dermatologicals accelerated in 1999. The index


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for anti-arthritics rose, after falling in the prior year.
Prices for other finished goods less foods and energy de­
celerated in 1999. Price increases slowed for light motor
trucks, book publishing, alcoholic beverages, periodical cir­
culation, and household furniture. The indexes for men’s and
boys’ apparel and for sporting and athletic goods declined,
after rising in 1998. Conversely, prices rose more in 1999 than
in the prior year for passenger cars, mobile homes, and news­
paper circulation.
Strong economic growth and a low unemployment rate
helped raise sales of new cars by 6.8 percent in 1999. Passen­
ger car prices rose 1.2 percent in 1999, versus 0.5 percent in
1998. The 1999 passenger car index had the largest increase
since a 1.7-percent rise in 1995. Domestic car production
increased to 5.6 million units in 1999, after 4 consecutive years
of decline.6 Domestic car inventories were 1.3 million units at
the end of 1999, the same as at the end of 1998.
Within capital equipment, prices increased 0.3 percent in
1999, after showing no change a year earlier. This slight ac­
celeration was led by a 2.1 -percent increase in civilian aircraft
prices, following a 0.5-percent rise in 1998. The civilian air­
craft index advanced due to cost increases for labor and ma­
terials. Price increases also accelerated for commercial furni­
ture, transformers and power regulators, and for agricultural
machinery and equipment. In contrast, price increases slowed
for light motor trucks, heavy motor trucks, and industrial ma­
terial handling equipment. The indexes for communication
equipment and for x-ray and electromedical equipment fell
more than in 1998.
The truck indexes increased at a slower rate in 1999 ver­
sus the prior year. Prices for light trucks rose 0.3 percent,
after advancing 1.0 percent in the previous year. This slower
rate of increase can be traced to the bigger incentive pro

M onthly Labor Review

A ugust 2000

19

Producer Prices, 1999

Table 4.

Annual percent changes in Producer Price Indexes for selected food items, 1994-99
1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

Finished consumer foods.............
P ork........................................
Dairy products.........................
Fresh fruits and m elons.........
Fresh and dry vegetables......
Roasted coffee......................
Beef and veal..........................
Processed poultry..................

1.1
-11.1
-2.0
-11.2
25.6
49.8
-4.8
-3.7

1.9
15.3
5.4
2.5
-36.0
-8.2
-1.4
8.4

3.4
21.9
2.4
37.2
-24.3
-8.4
7.4
2.6

-0.8
-13.6
4.7
-8.2
21.6
18.1
-5.4
-6.3

0.1
-27.3
10.7
-19.0
8.8
-9.5
-2.7
3.8

0.8
29.8
-11.1
8.2
4.4
-.9
10.8
-3.7

Intermediate foods and feeds......
Prepared animal feeds...........
Crude vegetable o ils ..............
Flour........................................
Confectionery materials.........
Refined sugar..........................

-4.5
-10.6
4.1
-1.1
2.2
.8

10.3
20.6
-14.1
20.1
1.5
.8

2.1
5.4
-9.3
-9.0
2.2
4.2

-1.7
-3.1
13.9
-8.2
-15.8
-4.5

-7.3
-20.4
-2.7
-5.6
-1.0
.6

-4.2
-2.7
-37.5
-7.5
1.7
-2.2

Crude foodstuffs and feedstuffs ..
Slaughter hogs........................
Soybeans ................................
Wheat......................................
C om ........................................
Fluid m ilk.................................
Slaughter cattle.......................

-9.4
-21.3
-18.1
-5.6
-22.4
-5.2
-5.3

12.9
40.6
26.7
29.9
49.4
8.4
-5.2

-1.0
23.2
-3.7
-19.3
-21.0
1.1
-2.5

-4.0
-21.7
1.8
-11.3
2.2
2.8
2.0

-11.0
-76.8
-21.3
-15.0
-22.5
25.6
-12.0

-.1
266.9
-17.5
-13.9
-12.4
-31.3
19.4

Index

grams aimed at boosting sales on some models. The index for
heavy trucks rose 1.4 percent, following a 3.9-percent gain in
1998. Sales of medium-duty trucks increased more than 20.0
percent in 1999, and heavy-duty truck sales were 25.4 percent
above 1998 levels.
The index for electronic computers fell 19.7 percent in 1999.
Quality improvement in CPUs, hard drives, and other com­
puter components contributed to the falling prices of elec­
tronic computers. Improving technology and production pro­
cesses continued to result in a better product for a lower
price. In addition, price competition continued in all seg­
ments of the computer hardware industry.
In te rm e d ia te industrial m a te ria ls
The pp i for intermediate materials less foods and energy rose
1.9 percent, after falling 1.6 percent in 1998. This upturn was
mainly due to a 4.0-percent price increase for nondurable
manufacturing materials, following a 5.3-percent decline in
1998. Durable manufacturing materials also rose, after falling
in the prior year. The index for materials and components for
construction rose at a higher rate in 1999 than in 1998.
(See table 6.)
Within nondurable manufacturing materials, the indexes
for plastic resins and materials and organic chemicals ad­
vanced due to significantly higher prices for crude petroleum
in 1999. Prices for plastic resins and materials advanced 15.9
percent, after falling 13.4 percent in 1998. Similarly, the in­
dexes for primary basic organic chemicals, paperboard, paper,
and woodpulp rose, after declining in the prior year. For
woodpulp— a material input to paper and paperboard pro­
20
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August 2000

duction—rising prices were due to strong demand and lower
inventories caused by the closure of several major woodpulp
producers. Higher prices for paperboard in 1999 also resulted
from supply interruptions caused by natural disasters such as
Hurricane Floyd.
The inedible fats and oils index fell for the second con­
secutive year. This index is very sensitive to movements in
grain prices and tends to be volatile; monthly price move­
ments have ranged from a low of -20.4 percent (March 1999)
to a high o f+14.5 percent (October 1999). General weakness
in global agricultural commodity prices is the key factor caus­
ing the year’s downward movement.
The price movements of several commodities worked to
dampen the overall acceleration within the nondurable manu­
facturing materials index in 1999. The phosphates index de­
creased 8.6 percent, after gaining 4.6 percent in 1998, and
prices for alkalies and chlorine, gray fabrics, processed yarns
and threads, and synthetic fibers fell more in 1999 than in the
previous year.
The durable manufacturing materials index rose 2.4 per­
cent during 1999, after posting a 5.5-percent decline in 1998.
Prices for primary nonferrous metals (including copper and
aluminum) rose 14.0 percent in 1999, following a 16.7-percent
drop a year ago. Prices for these products rebounded due to
strong demand from the automotive industry and the con­
struction sector. The flat glass index fell less than in the
previous year. Prices for steel mill products fell 2.4 percent,
following a 6.5-percent decline in 1998. This slower rate of
price decline may be attributed to falling import levels and
some reduction in the large inventory of imported steel ac­
cumulated in 1998.

Table 5.

Annual percent changes in Producer Price Indexes for selected finished goods other than foods and energy,
1994-99
Index

1994

1995

Finished goods other than foods and
energy....................................................

1.6

Finished consumer goods less foods
and energy.............................................
Passenger c a rs .....................................
Light trucks...........................................
Prescription drugs.................................
Over-the-counter drugs.........................
Cigarettes..............................................
Books ....................................................
Periodicals.............................................
Newspapers...........................................
Household furniture...............................
Capital equipment.....................................
Heavy trucks.........................................
Truck trailers..........................................
Civilian aircraft.......................................
Commercial furniture..............................
Transformers and power regulators......
Computers.............................................
Agricultural machinery...........................
Construction machinery.........................

1996

1997

2.6

0.6

0.0

2.5

0.9

1.4
2.1
3.3
3.1
1.7
-.1
5.4
3.6
3.3
2.7

2.8
1.7
1.5
4.2
1.7
3.7
6.5
4.8
8.8
2.7

.8
-.8
.2
2.0
-1.7
3.3
3.2
2.0
4.2
1.4

.3
-2.6
-3.6
3.6
.3
10.0
3.3
4.0
.1
1.1

4.2
.5
1.0
20.9
.0
49.4
4.1
3.4
1.1
1.9

1.2
1.2
.3
.8
.9
9.6
1.8
.7
1.4
1.2

2.0
3.0
7.7
2.5
2.5
2.1
-6.8
2.7
2.0

2.2
4.1
2.2
6.1
3.4
3.3
-12.7
4.7
2.5

.4
—4.5
-1.4
3.2
2.0
-1.0
-22.3
1.4
1.8

-.6
.6
2.0
.5
1.2
.6
-21.6
1.4
1.9

.0
3.9
1.9
.5
.1
.1
-26.6
.7
1.7

.3
1.4
1.7
2.1
1.2
3.0
-19.7
1.3
1.4

The index for materials and components for construction
registered a 2.2-percent gain in 1999, after edging up only 0.1
percent during 1998. More than half of this acceleration was
due to the index for softwood lumber’s 10.1-percent rise in
1999, following a 10.1-percent decline last year. Softwood
lumber prices rose steadily during the first half of 1999 (except
for a slight drop in April) due to an active construction sector,
then weakened after July. Prices for other commodities con­
tributed to the acceleration in the construction materials in­
dex. Prices for plastic construction products and nonferrous
wire and cable also rose, after falling in 1998, and the indexes
for gypsum products and millwork rose more than in the pre­
vious year. By contrast, plywood prices fell 0.2 percent in
1999, following a 4.9-percent rise in 1998. The index for air
conditioning and refrigeration equipment also fell, after in­
creasing in the previous year. Cement prices rose less than in
the prior calendar year.
C ru d e n o n fo o d m aterials less e n e rg y
Prices for crude nonfood materials less energy rose 14.0 per­
cent in 1999, after declining 16.0 percent in the prior calendar
year. More than half of the acceleration in this index was due
to price increases for iron and steel scrap and wastepaper.
The index for iron and steel scrap rose 40.0 percent, following
a 39.9-percent drop in the previous year. Domestic demand
for iron and steel scrap in 1999 was strong, while Asian de­
mand continued to rise. The wastepaper index jumped 110.5
percent, following a 28.9-percent fall in 1998. The rising prices


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1998

1999

for wastepaper in 1999 may be linked to increased paper pro­
duction and increased usage of recycled materials in paper
products. Upturns in the indexes for aluminum base scrap,
copper ores, softwood logs, and copper base scrap also con­
tributed to the price acceleration in basic industrial materials
in 1999. By contrast, the index for raw cotton decreased 20.8
percent in 1999, after registering an 8.0-percent decline in 1998.
Price increases for gold ores and phosphates declined from
their 1998 increases. The index for pulpwood logs fell more
than in the prior year, while prices for construction sand,
gravel, and crushed stone rose less.
S e le c te d s e rv ic e industries
Among the available PPI service industries, the rate of price
increase received by physician offices slowed from 2.6 per­
cent in 1998 to 2.1 percent in 1999. Because health insurance
and managed care companies are benchmarking more of their
price changes to medicare, the annual price movements in
medicare treatments and non-medicare treatments are begin­
ning to converge. In an effort to compete for managed care
dollars, there was a growing trend toward consolidating prac­
tices to increase bargaining power. These physician net­
works bring together partners with management skills, man­
aged care expertise, information systems, and capital. (See
table 7.)
In 1999, the index for general medical and surgical hospi­
tals rose at a somewhat faster rate— 1.8 percent versus 1.3
percent in 1998. Prices received by psychiatric hospitals rose

M onthly Labor Review

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21

Producer Prices, 1999

Table 6.

Annual percent changes in Producer Price Indexes for selected intermediate and crude materials other than
foods and energy, 1994-99
Index

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

Intermediate goods other than
foods and energy........................

5.2

3.2

-0.9

0.3

-1.6

1.9

Nondurable manufacturing
materials..................................
Inedible fats and o ils .............
Woodpulp...............................
Basic organic chemicals........
Plastic resins and materials....

10.4
48.0
38.1
15.7
18.8

5.9
-3.9
40.7
.4
-4.3

-3.3
2.1
-33.0
3.6
4.2

.3
3.8
4.1
-1.7
-2.8

-5.3
-22.8
-12.5
-6.4
-13.4

4.0
-16.0
12.1
6.9
15.9

Durable manufacturing
materials...................................
Copper....................................
Aluminum.................................
Aluminum mill shapes.............
Flat glass................................

9.8
68.2
64.4
18.3
4.4

1.1
—.1
-7.3
7.9
-.5

-1.4
-22.9
-12.8
-7.9
-1.5

.0
-22.8
12.4
6.8
-1.3

-5.5
-17.7
-17.5
-8.5
-1.6

2.4
21.7
16.0
4.2
-.3

Construction materials..............
Gypsum products...................
Nonferrous wire and ca b le .....
Softwood lum ber....................

3.9
30.8
13.8
-9.6

1.9
1.0
1.6
-10.3

1.8
6.6
-3.1
19.6

1.2
7.1
-2.2
-3.8

.1
7.3
-4.6
-10.1

2.2
23.1
.3
10.1

Crude nonfood materials less
energy.........................................
Wastepaper.............................
Nonferrous scrap...................
Raw cotton..............................
Sand and gravel.....................

17.3
179.6
70.3
34.9
2.3

-4.2
-50.9
-10.3
4.2
3.6

-5.5
-1.3
-7.9
-13.0
1.9

.0
11.6
-.6
-11.2
1.8

-16.0
-28.9
-24.8
-8.0
3.5

14.0
110.5
25.6
-20.8
2.9

0.9 percent in 1999, after increasing 0.5 percent in 1998,
while the index for specialty hospitals (except psychiatric)
advanced 2.7 percent in 1999, following a 2.3-percent rise in
the prior year. One factor behind these accelerations was
the influence that health maintenance organizations (HMOs)
exercised over service providers. In the past, pressures by
managed care companies in the healthcare industry helped
keep inflation to a minimum. However, further cost contain­
ment approaches are difficult to find. As a result, providers
have been forced to increase prices as costs rise, leading to
higher reimbursement rates.
The robust U.S. economy grew more than 4.0 percent
during 1999 and coupled with higher fuel costs, permitted
the distribution service industries to set higher prices. Of
the 2 0 distribution service industries for which ppi pub­
lishes price indexes, all but three industries showed in­
creased prices in 1999. This compares to 1998, when all but
four industries raised prices. Freight transportation arrange­
ment, freight transportation on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence
Seaway, and crude petroleum pipelines were the three in­
dustries with declining prices in 1999. A common theme
among industries with increasing prices in 1999 was higher
fuel prices.
The trucking (except local) index rose 3.4 percent for the
second consecutive year. Petroleum, mostly in the form of
motor fuels, is consumed primarily for transportation pur­
poses. Crude prices have changed significantly over the
past year with prices rising from $12 per barrel in mid-Feb-

22
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

August 2000

ruary 1999—representing the lowest prices in nominal terms
since 1986—to more than $25 per barrel by the end of the year.7
These higher fuel costs—combined with strong economic con­
ditions, higher equipment costs, and driver shortages— attrib­
uted to this industry’s higher prices.
Rail freight transportation prices steadily declined over the
last several years, despite periodic marginal increases and the
problems attributed to consolidations and mergers in the mid1990s. The index for railroad line-haul operations rose 0.1 per­
cent in 1999, after rising 0.5 percent in 1998. Similar to last year,
this advance reflected increased charges for trailer-on-flatcar
freight shipments and passenger transportation services. Prices
for non-trailer-on-flatcar freight shipments fell 0.2 percent for
the year. In 1999, intermodal (shippers and containers on flat­
cars) freight volume totaled more than 9 million trailers and con­
tainers— 3.1 percent higher than in the prior year. Total freight
volume for domestic railroads reached 1,404.6 billion ton-miles
for 1999, representing a 1.8-percent increase from last year. Car­
load freight volume actually decreased 0.8 percent in 1999.
The index for scheduled air transportation accelerated from
2.5 percent in 1998 to 6.7 percent in 1999. Prices for the
nonscheduled air transportation industry also rose in 1999.
Fuel costs account for more than 10.0 percent of total ex­
penses in the airline industry. As a result, a 90.9-percent
jump in jet fuel prices put upward pressure on air transporta­
tion prices in 1999. In addition, a strong U.S. economy helped
increase demand for air travel. The airline industry enjoyed its
eighth consecutive year of air traffic growth in 1999. Through-

Table 7.

Percent change in Producer Price Indexes for the net output of selected service industries, 1993-99

SIC

Industry

code

1993-94

1994-95

1995-96

1996-97

1997-98

1998-99

Distribution
4011
4212
4213
4214
4215
4221
4222
4225
4311
4412
4424

Railroads, line-haul operating...........................................
Local trucking without storage.........................................
Trucking, except lo ca l......................................................
Local trucking with storage..............................................
Courier services, except by a ir ........................................
Farm product warehousing and storage...........................
Refrigerated warehousing and storage.............................
General warehousing and storage....................................
United States Postal Service...........................................
Deep sea foreign transportation of freight.......................
Deep sea domestic transportation of freight...................

0.4
1.7
3.1
.7
3.8
.6
.6
1.3
.0
-3.9
7.6

-0.3
1.9
.9
10.9
3.3
2.2
1.7
1.3
10.4
.8
-.6

0.0
.0
3.5
.1
3.0
-1.5
.5
1.4

4432
4449
4491
4492
4513
4581
4612
4613
4731

Freight transportation on the Great LakesSt. Lawrence Seaway....................................................
Water transportation of freight, n.e.c...............................
Marine cargo handling......................................................
Tugging and towing services............................................
Air courier services..........................................................
Airports, flying fields, and airport services......................
Crude petroleum pipelines................................................
Refined petroleum pipelines..............................................
Freight transportation arrangement..................................

-1.4
15.4
-.5
3.5
1.6
1.1
13.7
1.8

3.0
9.7
-.9
5.3
1.9
2.2
4.6

4813
4832
4841

Telephone communications, except radiotelephone........
Radio broadcasting...........................................................
Cable and other pay television services.........................

1.0
.2
2.6
.6
3.8
2.0

.7
1.9

.7
.0
-3.7
-.6

0.5
1.7
3.4
.5
4.2
.6
.5
2.9
.0
4.7
.2

0.1
1.1
3.4
.5
3.4
5.3
1.2
2.6
2.2
22.9
1.2

1.4
-.4
1.2
2.2
-3.9
3.0
-3.7
1.2
-1.4

.8

-2.2
1.8
2.8
3.1
3.0
1.4
-1.1
-.6

-.1
8.1
1.5
2.9
5.1
3.9
-1.7
.3
-2.8

.0

.1

-

-.7

1.8
-10.1
1.0
2.4
4.6
3.8
-12.4
.4
2.7

6.8
-.4

5.8
3.2

10.8
5.1

-.4
3.1
4.7

-1.7
.8
3.7

-3.0
7.7
3.3

-.6
-.5

2.2
1.4

1.2
2.6

5.7
1.5

1.7

2.5
4.1
3.1
3.0
2.1

1.3
2.5
2.9
5.3
3.0

2.8
2.9
3.1
4.9
3.5

-

1.2
4.2
.5
-6.7
.6
.9
6.2

2.6
4.4
1.3
.5
2.3
.2
.5

2.1
4.0
1.8
.9
2.7
-.8
4.0

6.5
2.2
2.6

.9
-1.6
1.5

2.5
2.6
-2.3

.1

Communications
-.1

Real estate
6512
6531

Operators and lessors of nonresidential buildings..........
Real estate agents and managers....................................

7311
8111
8711
8712
8721

Advertising agencies........................................................
Legal services..................................................................
Engineering design, analysis, and consulting services....
Architectural design, analysis, and consulting services ..
Accounting, auditing, and bookkeeping services............

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

2.8

4.1

-

2.9
5.9
3.7
.1
1.8
5.2

.7
5.4
1.5
5.0
2.9
.2

-

-

Professional, scientific, and technical

-

Health care
8011
8053
8062
8063
8069
8071
8082

Offices of physicians.......................................................
Skilled and intermediate care facilities.............................
General medical and surgical hospitals............................
Psychiatric hospitals........................................................
Specialty hospitals, except psychiatric............................
Medical laboratories..........................................................
Flome health care services ......................................................

-

3.4
4.2
5.2

Other
4512
4522
4724
6311
6331
7011

Air transportation, scheduled...........................................
Air transportation, nonscheduled......................................
Travel agencies................................................................
Life insurance carriers......................................................
Property and casualty insurance......................................
Hotels and motels.............................................................

7349
7361
7363
7372
7513
7514

Building cleaning and maintenance services, n.e.c.........
Employment agencies......................................................
Help supply services........................................................
Prepackaged software......................................................
Truck rental and leasing, without drivers.........................
Passenger car rental, without drivers...............................

-.7
.7
-2.7
-

1.4
_

2.2
2.4

8.7
1.8
-6.9

4.0

4.8

4.1

4.2

6.7
2.0
.3
-.3
1.1
2.8

1.6
.8
3.8
3.6
7.4

2.0
1.8
1.4

1.4
1.0
1.8

1.1
2.9
2.2
.9
-.9
-4.0

2.6
2.2
1.8
-2.4
.3
3.8

_

_

_

-

_

_

-

-.8
-5.0

_

.5
13.7

_

Calculations are based on a 12-month change from December to December of indicated years. Dashes indicate that the index was not in estimation,
n.e.c. = not elsewhere classified.
N ote :


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M onthly Labor Review

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23

Producer Prices, 1999

out the first half of 1999, revenue passenger miles increased at
a 3.3-percent annual rate.
Other transportation service industries with increasing price
indexes in 1999 include courier services (land and air), farm
product warehousing and storage, marine cargo handling, tug­
ging and towing services, and airports and airport services.
From December 1998 to December 1999, the index for foreign
freight transportation jumped 22.9 percent, following a 4.7percent rise during the same period in 1998. Domestic freight
transportation and water transportation also rose in 1999.
Among real estate industries, the index for operators and
lessors of nonresidential buildings rose 5.7 percent in 1999,
after registering a 1.2-percent increase in 1998. The strong
economy helped keep vacancy rates low and created good
opportunities for new construction. During the third quarter
of 1999, the national rental vacancy rate stood at 8.2 percent.8
The U.S. Census Bureau’s vacancy rate for all rental apart­
ments (five or more units in structure) fell to 8.7 percent, the
lowest rate since 1985.9 Similarly, in the professionally man­
aged, generally “upscale” segment of the market, vacancies
dropped to 3.9 percent. While 1999 was relatively lackluster
for nonresidential construction as a whole, the most impres­
sive growth came from continued gains in the office sector.
As a partial result of the mini-boom in office buildings, the
commercial sector posted a gain of nearly 8.0 percent—almost
three times the overall nonresidential average.10
The index for real estate agents and managers increased 1.5
percent in 1999, after rising 2.6 percent in the previous year.
Real estate brokerage increased 3.3 percent, and real estate
appraising increased 8.1 percent in 1999. Continued plentiful
employment, rising real income, 7.0-percent mortgage rate fluc­
tuations, and higher limits on Federal Housing Administration
loans, all led to increasing home sales, as well as higher fees
for appraisals and commissions on sales.
The functions performed by advertising, legal, and account­
ing firms are required in the day-to-day operations of most
companies, and professional, scientific, and technical firms in
the United States maintain a worldwide client base. Domestic
economic strength has further increased demand for activities
such as corporate real estate, banking and commercial-type
legal counsel, auditing, and tax preparation and consulting.
The indexes for all of these service lines increased in 1999 for
the third consecutive year. As a result of the strong economy,
new construction helped raise prices for architectural design,
analysis, and consulting services.
The index for radio broadcasting advanced 7.7 percent in
1999, following a 0.8-percent rise in the previous year. The
dramatic rise in prices for radio broadcasting can be attributed
to higher radio advertising rates in 1999. As a result of the
deregulatory Telecommunications Act of 1996, the industry
has experienced the benefits brought on by the large number
of mergers and acquisitions. This industry consolidation al­

24
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

August 2000

lowed large radio groups to control more of the market and
have greater pricing power. It also allowed these groups to
package their less-valuable inventory with their highly priced
spots, resulting in greater prices across the board. Also, the
radio industry reaped great benefits from heavy spending for
advertising due to new e-commerce and other web-related com­
panies in the last year. In addition, demand for advertisement
creation and placement increased at a faster rate in 1999.
The index for cable and other pay television services rose
3.3 percent, after a 3.7-percent increase in 1998. Price increases
continued to advance for subscriber services. Prior to this
year, the Federal Communications Commission regulated rates
for most levels of cable service. However, 1996 Telecommuni­
cations Act provisions brought an end to rate regulation. Since
March of 1999, cable systems have been free from most rate
regulations and now have the ability to increase rates at their
own discretion. A limiting factor that cable systems consid­
ered when making pricing decisions is the direct-to-home sat­
ellite industry, which experienced considerable growth in its
subscriber base. Cable advertising rates increased in 1999.
This followed a trend of rising prices in the previous few years.
The proliferation of cable channels also led to increased com­
petition, forcing individual networks to keep their prices rela­
tively stable. New advertising opportunities on the Internet
also led to greater competition for advertising dollars.
The index for telephone communication (except radio tele­
phone) fell 3.0 percent, following a 1.7-percent drop in 1998.
Competition among long-distance carriers forced publicswitched toll prices down 5.8 percent. The index for local
service (except private lines) increased only 0.2 percent. Little
has changed in price levels since passage of the 1996 Tele­
communications Act. Portions of this Act were meant to in­
crease competition and reduce prices for local telephone ser­
vice; however, outcomes have not yet been realized to any
substantial degree.
The index for wireless telecommunications (introduced
in June 1999) advanced 3.0 percent during the 6 months
ended in December. This advance was largely attributable
to increases in cellular and other wireless voice grade ser­
vice (up 6.0 percent) and paging services (up 9.4 percent)
over the 6-month period.
The index for passenger car rental (without drivers) rose
3.8 percent in 1999, after falling 4.0 percent in 1998. Higher
fuel prices and an expanding economy favoring expendi­
tures for leisure and business travel contributed to this
turnaround.
Prices received by providers of hotels and motels rose
2.8 percent, following a 4.2-percent gain in the prior year.
Charges for guestroom rentals rose 3.8 percent, while
prices for food and beverages rose 2.9 percent. However,
other guest services such as casino games fell 5.4 percent.
The strong economy has helped to keep occupancy rates

relatively high, allowing hotels and motels to increase roomrental charges.
Prepackaged software prices showed a 2.4-percent de­
crease in 1999, after a 0.9-percent rise in its first year of publi­
cation. Falling prices were partly due to declines in computer
games and other prepackaged software.
In its first year of publication, the index for property and
casualty insurance increased 1.1 percent. The 2.8-percent in­
crease in homeowners insurance helped stimulate the increase
in the property and casualty insurance index for 1999. One
explanation for this increase is that many insurers addressed
catastrophic losses through higher premiums, especially in

catastrophe-prone zones. According to the Property Claim
Services unit of Insurance Services Office, Inc., the United
States experienced 99 catastrophic events through September
1999 with insured losses of $7.4 billion.
By contrast, the index for life insurance carriers declined
0.3 percent from December 1998 to December 1999. Declines
for life insurance policies and fixed-rate deferred annuities
attributed to the drop in life insurance carriers. In order to
remain competitive, many insurers are also decreasing their
premiums for the various life insurance policies they sell. In­
creased competition from consolidation in the industry also
contributed to the decrease in life insurance carriers.

Notes
1 For details, see Todd Wilson, “Core consumer prices in 1999; low by
historical standards,” Monthly Labor Review, April 2000, pp. 3-5.

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate, February
24, 2000, on the Internet at http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/

2 See International Petroleum Data (Energy Information Administra­
tion), on the Internet at http://www.eia.doe.gov/em eu/interna-

petroleum /presentations/2000/senate022400/senate022400.htm

tional/petroleu.htm l#ProductionA .

6 Ralph W. Morris, “Motor Vehicles, 1999,” Survey o f Current Busi­
ness, February 2000.

3See

Petroleum Supply Annual, 1999, Volume I (Energy Information
Administration), on the Internet at http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/

oiI_gas/petroleum/data_pubiications/petroIeum_suppIy_annual/
psa_volumel/current/pdf/voIumel_all.pdf.

4See

East Asia: The Energy Situation (Energy Information Adminis­
tration), on the Internet at http://www.eia.doe.gov/em eu/cabs/
eastasia.html (visited June 15, 2000).

5 See Increases in Crude Oil, Distillate Fuels and Gasoline Prices,
Statement o f John Cook, Petroleum Division Director, El A, Before the


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

(visited June 15, 2000).

7See Increases in Crude
8 Daryl Delano, “Dollar

Oil, Distillate Fuels and Gasoline Prices.

value of new multifamily construction up,”
Building Design & Construction, February 2000.

9See “Vacancy

rates drop,” Journal o f Property Management, April

2000 .

10 Daryl Delano, “Office buildings: Biggest growth area last year,”
Building Design & Construction, March 2000.

M onthly Labor Review

A ugust 2000

25

Married Women, Work, Q l B I l i i l W

Married women, work,
and values
Working women appear to have a personal-value structure
different from that o f nonworking women;
economic and political values are more prominent
among women who work, while social and religious values
play a greater role fo r women who stay at home

Mahshid Jalilvand

Mahshid Jalilvand is a
professor of economics in
the Departm ent of Social
Science a t the School of
Arts and Sciences,
University of WisconsinStout, Menomonie,
Wisconsin.
26 Monthly Labor Review

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

n examination of the relevant data
shows a continuing secular increase
in the labor force participation of mar­
ried women—a phenomenon Ralph Smith called
a “subtle revolution” two decades ago.1However,
this growth has slowed down in recent years and
has at times been interrupted by factors such as
increased educational investment among married
women, the recession of the early 1990s, a rising
birthrate, and a slowdown in women’s return to
work after giving birth.2 The Bureau of Labor
Statistics projects that by the year 2008, women
will form 48 percent of the labor force, compared
with 46 percent in 1998.3Women in their forties
who are not in the labor force mostly are taking
care of their family (58 percent) or are retired
(29 percent).4
Cross-sectional studies usually have sup­
ported the idea that the higher the husband’s
income, the lower is the labor force participa­
tion rate of his wife. This relationship is just
what the theory of the backward-bending sup­
ply curve would predict—a strong inverse re­
lationship, other things being equal, between
husbands’ income and women’s participation
rate. A wife’s freedom from the labor market
is looked at as a normal good. So, accordingly,
only “poor” women work out of economic
necessity. Husbands with higher incomes would

A

August 2000

tend to have a smaller proportion of wives in
the labor force, because they could afford the
luxury of stay-at-home wives and the wives
could be relieved of the stress of contributing
to the family income. However, considering the
rise in real income that, in general, has taken
place over time, the increase in labor force par­
ticipation of wives in recent years generates
some doubt about the presumptive relationship.
The need for money to help make ends meet
seems to be one of the most popular explana­
tions of wives working, but that can hardly be
the reason for the rapid rise in married women’s
participation rate,5because wives stayed home
in earlier decades, when their husbands were
earning less. Needing money seems to be a uni­
versal and constant factor and thus cannot ex­
plain the increasing labor force participation
of women.6
The theory of labor supply, which relies on
the income and substitution effects of a change
in the wage rate, views the demand for leisure
as a consumption good. However, women are
faced with a three-way model of choice when
making labor market decisions. The choices
are leisure, paid work, and unpaid work in the
home. As the wage rate changes, income, the
price of leisure, and the monetary value of the
productivity of work time in the market compared

with time spent at home change for women. This scenario helps
explain why the labor force participation of women is increasing
in spite of the increasing real incomes of husbands.7
Studies have shown that the labor force participation rate
of wives whose husbands’ incomes were in the top half of the
income distribution has been rising more than the rate of wives
whose husbands’ incomes were in the lower half. Higher earn­
ing husbands tend to have higher earning wives, so surely,
other, nonpecuniary factors are involved that make the par­
ticipation-income relationship less negative.8
The labor force participation of married women has in­
creased sharply since 1960. Studies have shown that some
other factors besides their husbands’ income influence
women’s participation.9 Among these factors are an increase
in the amount of the wives’ education, an increasing wage
rate, the changing economic position of women and the char­
acter and conditions of their work, declines in the male-female
earnings gap and in sex discrimination, lower fertility, a larger
interval between marriage and the birth of the first child, the
use of birth control, the development of time- and labor-saving
capital-intensive devices (household technology), a secular
decline in the length of the workweek, increasing urbaniza­
tion, the unemployment and inflation rates, and, finally, gov­
ernment laws and practices.
According to so-called push-and-pull theories, the factors
influencing women’s decisions whether to participate in the
labor force can be subdivided into those external to the house­
hold and those internal to the household.10 External factors,
based on supply and demand in the labor market, will pull
women from home into the workforce as a response to excess
demand. Internal factors, related to the characteristics of the
individual and the household, will push women out of home
into the labor market.
Some attribute a portion of the increasing labor force par­
ticipation of wives to “women’s increasing perception of mar­
ket work and careers as sources of rewards (psychic as well
as financial) that can be complementary to rather than substi­
tutable for careers in the home.”11 Today, the traditional fam­
ily model of husband as breadwinner and wife as homemaker
holds only for a very small proportion of couples. Dual-earner
families are a major and growing segment of the labor force,
and increasing numbers of earners in such families are taking
second jobs. A 1997 Monthly Labor Review article states that,
in 1996, the multiple-jobholding rate for women was 6.2 per­
cent, slightly higher than the 6.1-percent rate for men, and
that women accounted for 47 percent of all multiple jobhold­
ers that year.12
In most economic models, economic agents are assumed
to be in some sense rational. As consumers, they maximize
expected utility, and as producers, expected profit. As ratio­
nal agents, they choose, among alternative courses of action,
the one that, on the average, will leave them best off. In the
language of the utilitarian, they maximize that expected util
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ity which is the subjective value of perceived possible out­
comes. According to some researchers, people seem to be
maximizing expected utility rather well.13
Besides economic factors, personal values could explain
the differences in the decisionmaking behavior of different
groups of people. Personal values are ideas about what is de­
sirable in situations in which there are alternative courses of
action. Personal values are believed to be stable and, accord­
ing to Edward Spranger, may be classified as theoretical, eco­
nomic, aesthetic, social, political, and religious.14
In this article, particular attention is given to the concept of
personal values and to their structure in different individuals
in order to examine the possible effect of those values on labor
market-related decisions of married women. The purpose of
the article is twofold: (1) to examine the effect of the personalvalue structures of a group of women, some who work and
some who do not, on their decisions regarding labor force par­
ticipation and (2) to test the truth of the statement that both
socioeconomic and sociopsychological factors affect the la­
bor market-related decisions of women. As the discussion up
to now has indicated, much of the literature from the 1960s on
down through the 1980s has focused on external factors in
explaining women’s increasing labor force participation. Even
a very recent source—the December 1999 issue of the Monthly
Labor Review, devoted entirely to women in the workforce—
concentrates almost exclusively on extrinsic influences on
women’s connection to the labor force. But a tradition dealing
with internal, or intrinsic, aspects of women’s decisions to go
to work—a tradition that coexisted with the external-factors
explanation during the 1960s through 1980s—deserves some
attention as well. It is this tradition into which a personal-value
account of women’s increasing labor force participation falls.
Personal values
Half a century ago, Clyde Kluckhohn defined value as “a con­
ception, explicit or implicit, distinctive of an individual or char­
acteristic of a group, of the desirable which influences the se­
lection from available modes, means, and ends of action.”15In
two separate works, one by Anthony G. Athos and Robert E.
Coffey and the other by Karl E. Scheibe, the authors describe
personal values as ideas and questions about what is good,
desirable, or preferable for individuals in situations in which
they are faced with alternative courses of action.16According
to Milton Rokeach, values are “abstract ideas, positive or nega­
tive, not tied to any specific object or situation, representing a
person’s beliefs about modes of conduct__ [They are] “stand­
ards of oughts and shoulds.”17In this respect, George W. Eng­
land observes that a person’s value structure is “a relatively
permanent perceptual framework which shapes and influences
the general nature of an individual’s behavior. Values are simi­
lar to attitudes but are more ingrained, permanent, and stable
in nature.”18 Rokeach, too, states that values are deeper and
Monthly Labor Review

August 2000 27

Married Women, Work, and Values

ating the highest and most satisfying values in experience.
broader than attitudes and are determinants, rather than com­
ponents, of attitudes.19Values inform behavior standards, goals,
one’s assessment of how attractive outcomes, events, and ob­
jects are, and, in the end, one’s motivation to do all sorts of
things.20
Classification of personal values
In his book Types o f Men, Spranger classified people into six
major groups on the basis of their value orientations:
1. The theoretical. This type of person’s primary interests
are the discovery of truth and the systematic ordering of
knowledge. To pursue his or her goals, the theoretical per­
son will take a “cognitive” approach, will look for identi­
ties and differences, will disregard the beauty or utility of
objects in judgments, and will seek only to observe and to
reason. The theoretical individual is an intellectual with em­
pirical, critical, and rational proclivities; examples are sci­
entists and philosophers.
2. The economic. The economic person is mainly interested
in utility, self-preservation, the practical affairs of the busi­
ness world, production, marketing, consumption, the use
of economic resources, the elaboration of credit, and the
accumulation of tangible wealth. Thus, his or her decisions
are dominated by the expected economic and practical re­
sults. This type of individual is thoroughly practical and
represents the stereotype of the American businessperson.
3. The aesthetic. Interested primarily in the artistic aspects
of life, the aesthetic person values form and harmony, judges
events in terms of grace, symmetry, or harmony and fitness,
and enjoys events for their own sake.
4. The social. This type of person loves people and has an
altruistic or philanthropic outlook on life. Viewing other
people as ends, the social individual tries to be kind, sym­
pathetic, and unselfish. He or she looks at theoretical, eco­
nomic, and aesthetic people as having rather cold and inhu­
man orientations. The social person values love as the most
important component of a human relationship and has an
attitude toward life that approaches that of the religious type.
5. The political. This type of person’s main interest is power
in all activities (not just politics). Often, political individu­
als are leaders in many areas, seeking personal power, in­
fluence, renown, and recognition.
6. The religious. The religious person is mystical and seeks
to relate, in a meaningful way, to the cosmos as a whole.
His or her mental activity is constantly directed toward cre­
28 Monthly Labor Review

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August 2000

According to Spranger, all people have all of these per­
sonal values, which form a hierarchy that varies from person
to person. Gordon W. Allport, Philip E. Vernon, and Gardner
Lindzey offer an empirical design for measuring the relative
importance of the six personal values within each individual’s
personal-value hierarchy.21
Personal values a n d d e cis io n m ak in g
The importance of judgment in making decisions has long
been recognized, primarily because of the following three
major considerations:22
1. One cannot physically gather, assimilate, and evaluate all of
the information related to the numerous external forces that
are operative in any given situation.
2. Whatever amount of information that can be collected and
evaluated is frequently imperfect in regard to what it tells
us.
3. The large number of variables related to strategic decisions
cannot be modeled, in the sense of establishing precise func­
tional relationships that provide a deterministic output or
“correct” decisions.
Accordingly, the role of judgment is most significant when
rendering a decision depends on evaluating imperfect infor­
mation. Thus, in these situations, making a decision is not
wholly an objective process, and the personal values of
decisionmakers play an important role.
Over the years, a number of researchers have examined the
influence of personal-value structures on behavior and on the
selection of alternative courses of action in making decisions.23
The general consensus is that values are, or at least become, a
part of one’s personality that affect an individual’s goal-oriented
behavior and decisionmaking.
The study
The study reported in this article required a group of women,
some of whom worked and some of whom did not. To provide
a specific class with some degree of homogeneity, the wives
of all male employees of a certain institution were chosen for
the study. Two groups were expected to emerge from this popu­
lation: working women and nonworking women. To test the
hypotheses related to the personal-value differences among
the two groups of women, some measure of the relative promi­
nence of the six basic interests or motives constituting per­
sonal values was needed.
The data were collected with the use of a questionnaire,
the first part of which contained questions related to the

by using the following techniques:
respondent’s highest level of educational attainment, employ­
ment status, spouse’s income and any income other than the
respondent’s wages, and, finally, number of children under
18 and 6 years old. Then the Allport, Vernon, and Lindzey
questionnaire,24based on Spranger’s book, was administered,
with a few changes to make it more applicable to women.
The following null hypotheses were tested:
(I) The mean scores of personal values do not differ from per­
son to person; that is, all values have the same degree of promi­
nence among all individuals.
(II) The mean scores of corresponding personal values for the
working and nonworking groups of women do not differ; that
is, the personal-value structures of the two groups of women
are the same.
(III) For each personal value, the mean scores between indi­
viduals do not differ among the two groups of women.
A word of explanation is in order regarding the difference be­
tween hypotheses (II) and (III). Hypothesis (II) considers all
values at once and tests the overall difference between the per­
sonal-value structures of the two groups; hypothesis (III) looks
at a personal value at a time. Usually, the first overall differ­
ence is tested, and if that is proven to obtain, then more de­
tailed tests are needed to see if each of the values is signifi­
cantly different or if only some of them are. If hypothesis (II)
results in no overall differences between the two groups, then
no more testing is done.
The purpose in testing these null hypotheses was to see
whether personal values have different degrees of relative
prominence, whether working and nonworking women have
different personal-value structures, and whether economic and
political values are higher in the hierarchy of personal values
than are social and religious values among working women
(because economic and political values might appear more
closely tied to work).
Out of all the questionnaires mailed, 69 percent (145 of
211) were completed and returned; the few that were com­
pleted incorrectly were excluded from the study, leaving a to­
tal of 140 (66 percent) completed questionnaires that were used.
The following tabulation shows the employment status of the
respondents:
Frequency

Percent

W orks................................

91

65

D oes not w o r k ...............

49

35

Based on their responses to the different questions in the
questionnaire, six scores ranking the personal values were cal­
culated for each of the participants. The scores, as well as the
rest of the personal information gathered, were then analyzed


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1. The software package s p s s x (Statistical Package for Social
Science) was used to analyze the data statistically.25
2. Frequency distributions were utilized to observe the distri­
bution of the participants among different subgroupings
with respect to their level of education, employment sta­
tus, husband’s income and other incomes, and number of
children.
3. Mean scores of the six personal values were computed for
all participants and also all subgroupings, in order to com­
pare the rankings of the personal values among the work­
ing-nonworking groups and subgroups.
4. Multivariate analysis of variance was employed to exam­
ine the overall differences in personal values among all
participants and among working-nonworking groups.
5. Univariate analysis of variance was used to examine differ­
ences among working-nonworking groups and subgroups
with respect to each of their personal values.
Results
The results of the study may be summarized as follows (see
table 1 for the mean scores of personal values):
1. According to the frequency distributions and cross tabula­
tions of the participants, working wives and nonworking
wives have a high degree of similarity with respect to fac­
tors such as other income besides the wife’s wages and sala­
ries, level of education, and number of children.
2. For the overall population of the study, a group of personal
values with different degrees of relative importance was
observed. These personal values are rank ordered and could
be presented in a hierarchy of priorities based on the de­
gree of the relative importance (mean score) attached to
each of them. Accordingly, null hypothesis (I) is rejected.
3. For the population as a whole, the ranking of personal val­
ues is, from highest to lowest, religious, aesthetic, social,
theoretical, political, and economic.
4. Working and nonworking wives had similar rankings of
personal values, except that the aesthetic and social values
were inverted between the two groups.
5. The degrees of relative importance of the six personal val­
ues differ significantly for the two groups of women. Ac­
cordingly, null hypothesis (II) is rejected.
Monthly Labor Review

August 2000 29

Married Women, Work, and Values

Table T.

Personal-value hierarchies of the whole population, working women, and nonworking women, ranked
by mean score
Nonworking women

Working women

Whole population
Rank

1 .......
2 .......
3 .......
4 .......
5 .......
6 .......

Personal
value

Mean
score

Personal
value

Mean
score

Personal
value

Mean
score

Religious
Aesthetic
Social
Theoretical
Political
Economic

34.93
32.63
31.91
30.35
25.81
24.38

Religious
Aesthetic
Social
Theoretical
Political
Economic

33.66
32.64
31.48
30.75
26.58
24.90

Religious
Social
Aesthetic
Theoretical
Political
Economic

37.28
32.70
32.60
29.61
24.40
23.41

6. Religious value is the dominant personal value for the whole
population. But it has a higher degree of relative impor­
tance for nonworking women than for the working group.
7. Social value is more important to nonworking women than
to working women.
8. Economic and political values are more important to work­
ing women than to non working women.
9. Theoretical value and, even more so, aesthetic value are
similar in importance to both groups of women.
10. In accordance with items 6, 7, and 8, null hypothesis (III)
is rejected for most of the personal values, except for the
theoretical and aesthetic.

I n t h i s a r t i c l e , t h e p e r s o n a l - v a l u e s t r u c t u r e s o f w o m e n have
been examined to ascertain whether they have any effect on
the women’s labor market-related decisions. Women’s personal

values appear to have different degrees of relative importance
and are ranked by each individual. The hierarchy of personal
values of working women appears to be different from that of
nonworking women.
When the two groups of women are broken down further
into subgroups, significant differences are still observed among
some personal values. However, the hierarchies do not differ
as strongly as in the more aggregated groups. This phenom­
enon could be explained by the fact that, as the groups are
disaggregated, the personal-value hierarchies of the members
of a subgroup become more similar.
The mean scores for the personal values of working women
and nonworking women, as well as the mean scores of other
subgroupings, indicate that economic and political values have
a greater relative importance for working women than do so­
cial and religious values, which are relatively more important
for nonworking women. A followup study might be conducted
with a larger group of women in a larger geographic area where
the participants are not as homogeneous. In all likelihood,
even more significant dissimilarities between the personal
values of working and nonworking women will be found. □

Notes
1 Ralph E. Smith (ed.), The Subtle Revolution: Women at Work (Wash­
ington, DC, The Urban Institute, 1979).
2 Aaron Bernstein, “Workers May Get Scarce, But Nobody’s Scared,”
Business Week, July 11, 1994, pp. 95-98; Howard V. Hayghe and Suzanne
M. Bianchi, “Married mothers’ work patterns: the job-family compromise,”
Monthly Labor Review, June 1994, pp. 24-30.
3 Howard N Fullerton, Jr., “Labor force projections to 2008: steady growth
and changing composition,” Monthly Labor Review, November 1999, pp.
19-32; see also “Labor Force,” special issue of Occupational Outlook Quar­
terly, winter 1999-2000, p. 37.
4 Work and Family: Women in Their Forties (Bureau of Labor Statistics,
April 1993).
5 Victor R. Fuchs, Flow We Live (Cambridge,
Press, 1983).

m a,

August 2000

7 Jacob Mincer, “Labor Force Participation of Married Women: A Study
of Labor Supply,” in Aspects of Labor Economics, Conference of the Uni­
versities, report of the National Bureau of Economic Research, New York
(Princeton, nj, Princeton University Press, 1962), pp. 63-105.
8 Paul Ryscavage, “More wives in the labor force have husbands with
‘above-average’ incomes,” Monthly Labor Review, June 1979, pp. 40-42.
9Mincer, “Labor Force Participation of Married Women”; see also Cynthia
B . Lloyd and Beth T. Niemi, The Economics o f Sex Differentials (New York,
Columbia University Press, 1979).
10 Alfreda P. Iglehart, Married Women and Work (Lexington,
ton Books, 1979).

ma,

Lexing­

Harvard University

6 Nathan Keyfitz, “Population Appearances and Demographic Realities,”

30 Monthly Labor Review

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Population and Development Review, March 1980, pp. 47-64.

11 F. L. Mott and D. Shapiro, “Complementarity of Work and Fertility
Among Young American Mothers,” Journal of Population Studies, July 1983,
pp. 239-52.

12 John F. Stinson, Jr., “New data on multiple jobholding available from
Monthly Labor Review, March 1997, pp. 3-8.

Scheibe, Beliefs and Values (New York, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1970).

13 Ward Edwards, “Decision Making; Psychological Aspects,” Interna­
tional Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, vol. 4, edited by David L. Sills
(New York, Macmillan and Free Press, 1968), pp. 34-42.

17 Milton Rokeach, “The Role of Values in Public Opinion Research,”
Public Opinion Quarterly, vol. 32, 1959, p. 124; and “Some Unresolved
Issues in Theories of Beliefs, Attitudes, and Values,” 1979 Nebraska Sympo­
sium on Motivation, vol. 27 (Lincoln, ne, University of Nebraska Press, 1980),
pp. 261-304; quote from p. 272.

the

cps ,”

14Edward Spranger. Types of Men (Halle, Germany, Max Niemeyer Verlag,
1928); translation by Paul J. W. Pigors (New York, Johnson Reprint Com­
pany, 1966). Note that economic personal values are different from the ex­
ternal economic factors, such as the unemployment rate and the inflation
rate, that may influence a person’s decisionmaking. Spranger’s classifica­
tion and the questionnaire based on it, though dating from 1928, are still
being used and cited in the literature. For example, references to Types of
Men appear in Lawrence J. Axelrod, “Balancing Personal Needs with Envi­
ronmental Preservation: Identifying the Values That Guide Decisions in Eco­
logical Dilemmas,” Journal o f Social Issues, fall 1994, pp. 85-104; H. T.
Hunt, “Triumph o f the Will: Heidegger’s Nazism as Spiritual Pathology,”
Journal o f Mind and Behavior, fall 1998, pp. 379-414; and S. S. Bubnova,
“Value Orientations of Personality as a Multivariate Non-linear System,”
Psikologicheskii Zhurnal, Sep.-Oct, 1999, pp. 38-44. The questionnaire has
many multiple-choice questions that are highly general and still relevant to­
day. Examples of such questions are “Which area of study do you think is
more important?” and “What type of news do you read first?”
15 Clyde K. Kluckhohn, “Values and Value Orientations in the Theory of
Action,” in Talcott Parsons and Edward A. Shils (eds.), Toward a General
Theory o f Action (Cambridge, ma, Harvard University Press, 1951); quote
from p. 395.

18George W. England, “Personal Value Systems of American Managers,”
Academy of Management Journal, March 1967, pp. 53-68.
19 Rokeach, “Some Unresolved Issues.”
20 N. T. Feather, “Values, Valences, and Choice: The Influence of Values
on the Perceived Attractiveness and Choice of Alternatives,” Journal o f Per­
sonality and Social Psychology, June 1995, pp. 1135-51.
21 Gordon W. Allport, Philip E. Vernon, and Gardner Lindzey, A Study of
Values (Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1960).
22 Robert C. Shirley, “Values in Decision Making: Their Origin and Ef­
fects,” Managerial Planning, January-February 1975, pp. 1-5.
23 See William D. Guth and Renato Tagiuri, “Personal Values and Corpo­
rate Strategy,” Harvard Business Review, September-October 1965, pp. 123—
32; England, “Personal Value Systems,” and “Organizational Goals and Ex­
pected Behavior of American Managers,” Academy of Management Journal,
June 1967, pp. 107-17; and Shirley, “Values in Decision Making.”
24 Allport, Vernon, and Lindzey, A Study o f Values.

16 Anthony G. Athos and Robert E. Coffey, Behavior in Organizations: A
Multidimensional View (Englewood Cliffs, nj, Prentice-Hall, 1968); Karl E.


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25

SPSS,

Inc.,

spssx

User’s Guide (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1983).

Monthly Labor Review

August 2000 31

Technical Note

The impact of strikes
on current employment
statistics
Karthik A. Rao
mong the important economic indi­
cators released by the Government
each month is the employment estimate
from the Current Employment Statistics
(CES) program.1 It is important for users
of CES data to understand how strikes
affect CES estimates so that they can ac­
curately interpret the economic meaning
of the change in the number of employ­
ees over the month. Conceptually, the
CES survey measures the number of per­
sons on payrolls—that is, those actu­
ally getting paid for work or for leave
that occurred during the reference pay
period. Thus, persons on strike for the
entire period are not counted as em­
ployed, because they are not on the pay­
roll.2 The growth in employment over
the month is affected by the net change
in the number of strikers—the number
of persons newly on strike minus the
number who returned to work after a
settlement. If the net is positive (more
new strikers than returning workers), em­
ployment growth over the month is re­
duced; conversely, if the net is negative,
employment growth is boosted.
While the reflection of strikers as a
reduction in employment may cloud any
underlying trend analysis, it is exactly
the measure needed for other uses of
CES data. For example, CES data are a ma­
jor input for generating estimates of per­
sonal income, part of the Bureau of Eco­
nomic Analysis’ National Income and
Product Accounts. Also, besides em­
ployment, the CES program produces es­
timates of average weekly hours and av­
erage hourly earnings. The product of
employment, weekly hours, and hourly
earnings yields aggregate earnings,
which form the basis of the wage and
salary component of the Commerce

A

Karthik A. Rao is an economist in the Divi­
sion of Monthly Industry Employment Statis­
tics, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

32
M onthly Labor Review

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Department’s preliminary estimates of
personal income. If persons on strike were
included in the CES estimates, the aggre­
gate earnings data would be inflated; es­
timates of the strikers’ earnings would
have to be “backed out” of the data used
to compute personal income. Another
major indicator that utilizes CES data is la­
bor productivity, which divides output by
the number of hours that went into pro­
ducing the output. CES data on aggregate
hours (employment multiplied by average
weekly hours) are used in this computa­
tion. If strikers’ hours were in the data,
analysts would have to eliminate them
before computing labor productivity.
Thus, for a variety of reasons, it is
important that strikes be identified and
accurately reflected in the CES estimates.
It also is important that persons using
ces data to analyze economic trends be
able to discount the effect of strikes in
the data. This technical note provides
an overview of how strikes can affect
CES estimates and of where to find cur­
rent and historical information on the as­
sociated effects.

Strikes and em ploym ent
The largest strikes that have affected CES
estimates in the past 25 years are listed
in table 1. Three major factors determine
how, where, and to what extent strikes
affect the c e s estimates: the reference
pay period, the industry code, and the
striking company’s presence in or ab­
sence from the sample.
Reference pay period. The most criti­
cal factor in determining whether a strike
will be reflected in CES estimates is its
timing. The CES reference pay period is
the pay period that includes the 12th of
the month. However, the length of pay
periods varies among establishments.
Because persons paid for any part of
the reference period are counted as em­
ployed, workers must be on strike for
their entire reference pay period in or­
der to be excluded from CES employment
counts. In all of the examples in exhibit

August 2000

1, we assume that the strikers’ January
reference pay period is from Sunday the
11th to Saturday the 17th and their Feb­
ruary reference pay period is from Sun­
day the 8th to Saturday the 14th. When
the strikes end, all workers are called
back the next day. All plants involved
in the strike are included in our sample.
In addition, strikes may be rolling,
which means that a given strike may
start and end at different dates at vari­
ous establishments. For example, the
1983 strike of 640,000 workers against
American Telephone and Telegraph
(AT&T) officially started on August 7
and ended on August 28. On August
15, 20,000 w orkers from W estern
Electric’s City Workers of Oklahoma
joined the strike, thus bringing the total
number of striking workers to 660,000.
However, these additional strikers had
worked for part of the reference pay pe­
riod, so they were counted as being
employed.
Industry code. The Standard Indus­
trial Classification (sic) system is used
by the CES program to place all of the
establishments in its sample in a spe­
cific industry.3 sic codes range from one
to four digits. A four-digit sic is the most
specific classification, a one-digit sic the
most general. For instance, the two-digit
SIC 37 stands for transportation equip­
ment, which includes everything from
cars and automobiles to guided missiles
and space vehicles. To further delineate
this industry, it is classified under SIC
code 372, “aircraft and parts,” which re­
fers to anything dealing with the aircraft
industry, from air tubes to fuselage as­
semblies. The most precise sic code for
aircraft production is the four-digit 3721,
“aircraft manufacturing.” When a strike
occurs, it is reflected in data at the four­
digit level and all the higher level aggre­
gates that include the affected four-digit
industry.
A company with numerous estab­
lishments or work sites can be classi­
fied into many four-digit Sic codes. For
example, the subsidiary of an integrated

Exhibit 1.

Examples of effects of strikes on em ploym ent figures
Effect on—
v n sm ite enure—

Strike
begins

Strike
ends

Number of
workers
involved
January
reference
period

February
reference
period

January
employment

February
employment

March
employment

Example 1:
Jan. 15
Feb. 5

2,000

No

No

None, because the
workers were
employed in some
part of January’s
reference week;
therefore, they are
counted as employed.

None, because the
strike did not continue
through the end of
February’s reference
week. Workers were
back on payrolls and
counted as employed.

Feb. 20

3,000

No

Yes

None. Strike began
after the January
reference pay
period.

Employment level
and over-the-month
change decrease
by 3,000.

Feb. 6

5,000

No

No

None. Strike began
after the January
reference pay period.

None. Strike ended
before the February
reference pay period.

Example 2:
Jan. 20

Example 3:
Jan. 18

automobile company that produces the
steel for the body of a car may be classi­
fied into “blast furnaces” (SIC 3312).
However, the subsidiary that turns the
steel into auto parts may be classified
into “automotive stamping plants” (SIC
3465). Finally, the part of the automobile
company that actually assembles the car
may be classified into “motor vehicles
and passenger car bodies” (SIC 3711). As
a result, strikes against a single company
can sometimes be distributed across
several industries, affecting employment
levels in each.
Presence in the sample. The CES pro­
gram is an establishment-based sample
survey of approximately 390,000 estab­
lishments. Known strikes are always
fully reflected in the estimates. However,
analysts who prepare the estimates of­
ten will have to make adjustments based
on the extent of the representation of


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the striking company in the sample.
Some companies are completely repre­
sented, while others are only partially
represented or not represented at all. An
example of complete representation is a
company with 10 plants on strike, all of
which are in the usable sample at the
time the estimate is made. Partial repre­
sentation is signified by a company with
10 plants on strike, but only 5 in the us­
able sample. No representation is indi­
cated by a company with 10 plants on
strike, none of which are present in the
sample.
CES industry analysts must assure
that a strike is reflected in the CES esti­
mates, regardless of its presence in the
sample. Strikes are most easily ac­
counted for if the striking establish­
ments are completely represented in the
CES sample. When this is the case, the
weight of the striking establishment is
adjusted so that the establishment rep-

Employment
level and overthe-month
change increase
by 3,000.

resents only itself in the CES estimates.
If a particular strike is only partially or
not at all represented in the sample, ana­
lysts will make adjustments to the final
estimate in order to reflect all persons in
the strike. In this case, the number of
workers on strike usually is determined
by contacting the public relations office
of the strike-affected company or by
using a published figure that is consist­
ent across a variety of public sources.

Effect on hours and
earnings estimates
Besides having an effect on CES employ­
ment counts, strikes also affect estimates
of workers’ average weekly hours and
average hourly earnings. These are
hours for which production workers ei­
ther are paid for work or are on paid leave
(including paid vacation, holidays, sick
leave, or other paid leave) for the refer-

M onthly Labor Review

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33

Technical Note

ence pay period.
When strikers work part, but not all, of
the reference pay period, the ces survey
counts them as employed, but with re­
duced hours. The magnitude of the re­
duction on average weekly hours depends
on the proportion of workers in the
industry’s sample with reduced hours and
the number of hours they worked.
When workers are on strike for an en­
tire pay period, their hours and earnings
can be affected in two ways: through
within-industry effects and by sum-acrossindustries effects.
Within-industry effects. For the spe­
cific industry involved in the strike, es­
timates are affected only if the hours or
earnings of the persons on strike or lay­
off differ significantly from the in­
dustry’s average hours or earnings. The
impact is phased in slowly over the
months the strike continues. Because
of confidentiality requirements, the Bu­
reau of Labor Statistics cannot provide
Table 1.

the precise impact of a particular strike and
related shutdowns on average weekly
hours or average hourly earnings for a
particular industry. However, the change
in the industry estimate will include the
impact of the strike, as well as develop­
ments reported by other members of the
sample. One example of the within-in­
dustry effect is the a t &t strike of 1983.
In late July of that year, AT&T workers
went on strike all across the country.
They were on strike for the full pay pe­
riod that includes August 12. Table 2
shows the estimates of employment,
average weekly hours, and average
hourly earnings within the category of
“telephone communications, except ra­
dio” (SIC 4813) during the affected
months.
The August over-the-month employ­
ment decline of nearly 635,0004 in the
category of “telephone communica­
tions, except radio” and an average
hourly earnings decline of $0.30 include
the impact of the large strike of 640,000

workers against AT&T, as well as nor­
mal monthly fluctuations in other report­
ing establishments. The impact of the
AT&T strike was reversed when the strik­
ers returned to work before the next sur­
vey reference period.
Sum-across-industry effects. The ab­
sence of persons on strike or layoff from
payrolls may affect average weekly
hours or average hourly earnings at
higher levels of industry aggregation. If
workers in the specific industry involved
in the strike work shorter hours or earn
less than workers in other industries in
the aggregation, the hours and earnings
estimates for the aggregation will be
higher. Conversely, if workers in the spe­
cific industry involved in the strike work
longer hours or earn more than workers
in other industries in the aggregation,
the hours and earnings estimates for the
aggregation will be lower.
For example, a strike in aircraft manu­
facturing (SIC 3721), which has higher

Strikes affecting ces employment by more than 50,000, 1975-2000

Year

Month

1975 ............................
1976.............................
1977.............................
1978.............................
1980.............................

May
May
December
January
July
February
March
April
May
June
August
June
September
August

1981.............................

1983.............................
1986.............................
1987.............................
1989.............................

1994.............................
1997.............................

Industry

SIC

15
301
12
12
15
291
291
12
12
15
481
481
82
481,5063,
7374

September
October
November
April
August

General building contractors: residential buildings
Tires and inner tubes
Coal mining
Coal mining
General building contractors: residential buildings
Petroleum refining
Petroleum refining
Coal mining
Coal mining
General building contractors: residential buildings
Telephone communications (at&t )
Telephone communications (at&t )
Educational services

75,000
59,900
160,000
160,000
105,000
58,300
59,200
160,000
162,000
51,300
640,000
86,100
52,000

Telephone communications; electrical apparatus and
equipment, wiring supplies, and construction materials;
computer processing and data preparation and processing
services

125,000

481
481
481
42
421

1 The amount by which ces employment levels are lowered due to
workers on strike. The figure does not include related layoffs or other
secondary effects of the strike.

34
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August 2000

Impact on ces
employment'

Telephone communications (nynex)
Telephone communications
Telephone communications
Motor freight transportation and warehousing
Trucking and courier services, except air
(United Parcel Service)

53,500
53,500
53,500
70,000
185,000

N ote : Table does not include strikes that occurred outside the
ence period,

ces

refer-

Table 2.

To assess the effect of the strike on

estimates of employment and of average hours and earnings of
telephone communications (except radio) workers (sic 4813)
during 1983 at&t strike
ces

Month and year

All
employment
(not
seasonally
adjusted)

Average
weekly
hours

CES hours and earnings estimates, the

Average
hourly
earnings

Levels:
July 1983 ..........................
August 1983.....................
September 1983...............

985.0
350.1
976.3

40.4
40.3
40.5

$11.36
11.06
11.51

-634.9
+626.2

-.1
+.2

-.30
+.45

Over-the-month changes:
July-August.....................
August-September...........

Table 3.

Effect of 1998 strike against General Motors on
in manufacturing

Category

June

July

ces

employment

Total
declines

August
returns

Total.................................
On strike ............................
On layoff............................
Total, on strike and
on la yo ff..........................

-9,400
-3,400
-6,000

-140,600
-5,800
-127,800

-150,000
-9,200
-133,800

+150,000
+9,200
+133,800

-9,400

-133,600

-143,000

+143,000

Help supply industry
(secondary effect)..........

C)

-7,000

-7,000

+7,000

1 No one on strike or on layoff in help supply industry.

weekly hours and hourly earnings than
the other two four-digit industries within
the category of “aircraft and parts” (SIC
372), would lower average hours and
hourly earnings estimates for the aircraft
industry (sic 372). Estimates for trans­
portation equipment (SIC 37) and the en­
tire manufacturing sector would be simi­
larly affected if hours and earnings in
aircraft were higher than in these aggre­
gate-level industries. The magnitude of
this effect is directly related to the num­
ber of persons on strike.

Secondary effects
of a strike
Among the potential secondary effects
of a strike is that on establishments
which are not on strike, but are depend­
ent on the striking establishment. A
good example of this is the General Mo­
tors (G M ) strike of 1998.


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On June 5, 1998, 3,000 employees
went on strike at a g m fabricated-metal­
stamping plant in Flint, Michigan. One
week later, an additional 5,800 workers
went on strike at a parts plant in Flint.
Both strikes ended on July 29. The strike
occurred at only those two plants. How­
ever, because the plants were critical to
GM’s supply chain, the strike had a dis­
proportionate effect on production. Au­
tomobile assembly plants that relied on
parts from the striking establishments
were forced to shut down. All told,
150,000 employees were out of work, due
to the primary and secondary effects of
the strike. (See table 3.) Furthermore,
many of these workers were not in the
same industry as the original plants on
strike. The affected industries included
gray and ductile iron foundries (SIC
3321), motor vehicles and passenger car
bodies (sic 3711), and even the help
supply industry (SIC 7363).

July estimates were recalculated using
the manufacturing industry employ­
ment weights for June instead of July.
The reason for the recalculation was to
ignore any possible effects of the lower
number of workers in the relatively highpaying auto-related industries because
of the strikes and shutdowns. Table 4
shows the effect on the change in aver­
age hourly earnings over the June-July
and July-August periods.
Average weekly hours were unaf­
fected by the recalculation. While the
exercise shows the effect of all shifts in
the distribution of employment across
manufacturing industries between June
and July, the most important shift was
the reduced weight of the high-paid
auto industry. Thus, the results can be
attributed primarily to the auto strike.
Average hourly earnings would have
been about 5 cents higher in manufac­
turing, but less than 1 cent higher at the
total private-industry level if the work­
ers affected by the strike had remained
on payrolls in July.
Another secondary strike effect oc­
curs when competitors of a striking firm
add employees to cover additional busi­
ness foregone by the striking company.
This effect may even offset the magni­
tude of the strike’s primary effect on CES
data. A case in point is the strike by
185,000 United Parcel Service (UPS)
workers on August 5-20 of 1997 (includ­
ing the entire reference pay period). The
temporary removal of UPS from the de­
livery services market led to increased
business for its competitors. Table 5
shows the impact on air courier services
(SIC 4513) owing to the strike against
UPS.

Despite the fact that 185,000 UPS
workers were on strike, the total loss of
employment in the industry was only
166,000. The 19,000-employee difference
was determined, in part, to be the result
of other air courier services hiring work­
ers to take advantage of their increased
business.

M onthly Labor Review

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35

Technical Note

Replacem ent workers
Sometimes the management of establish­
ments on strike hires workers to do the
jobs of the workers on strike. The new
workers are known as replacement work­
ers. The hiring of replacement workers can
complicate the estimation of a strike’s im­
pact. If replacement workers are hired im­
mediately, then the strike will not be re­
flected at all in CES data. Furthermore, if
replacement workers are hired later dur­
ing the course of an ongoing strike, thenpresence may falsely indicate that the
strike is over even if it is not. To further
complicate matters, replacement workers
could permanently displace the strikers,
or they could instead be just a temporary
solution and be laid off when the strike
ends. In dealing with the issue of replace­
ment workers, it usually is not possible to
draw conclusions directly from CES data.
Instead, one must rely on public reports,
company news, and other sources for
such information. The Bureau’s pledge of
confidentiality to its respondents pre­
cludes revealing any company-specific
information not generally available to the
public.

port to exclude movements caused by
strikes.
The strike report includes information
on the number of workers on strike during
the current and previous reference peri­
ods, new strikes, strikes settled, and the
net change. Information is provided on
specific strikes and the industries they af­
fect. There are two ways to use the report:

Statistics makes every reasonable effort
to ensure the accuracy and complete­
ness of the strike report; however, be­
cause the report is based on secondary
sources, the Bureau cannot guarantee
its accuracy or completeness.

1. Add the total number of people on
strike the current month to the
overall level of employment to see
the level with the strike effect
removed.

Information on strikes that affect CES
employment data is available starting
with 1975 and is used as input for the
seasonal adjustment process. For the
study presented in this technical note,
the information was used to compute the
net effect of those strikes each month.
The net strike effect was then added to
the official over-the-month change in
employment to compute a strike-ad­
justed series—that is, a series which re­
moves the effect of strikes. This series,
presented in table 6, is a better indicator
of underlying economic trends than the
official series is. The strike-adjusted his­
torical series also is useful if an analyst

Strike-adjusted
em ploym ent d ata

2. Add the net change in the number
of persons on strike to the current
o v e r-th e-m o n th em ploym ent
change to remove the effects of
strikes.
While the numbers in the strike report
are useful to analysts, it is important to
note that the figures should be used with
caution, as they are preliminary and pos­
sibly incomplete. The Bureau of Labor
Table 4.

Effect of 1998 strike against General Motors on ces estimates
of over-the-month changes in average hourly earnings
Over-the-month change

ces

strike report

Sector and months

staff prepare a monthly summary of
strike activity during the survey refer­
ence pay period. This CES strike report
contains information about workers di­
rectly involved in large strikes (stop­
pages of 1,000 or more workers) who
were idle during the entire reference pay
period.5 The information comes from
public sources, and the report itself is
prepared and released before any sur­
vey data are compiled. The numbers in
the report indicate the possible direct
effect of strikes on c e s employment es­
timates for the current month. Thus, the
strike report may be useful to persons
who are trying to anticipate the upcom­
ing payroll survey data. Also, after the
monthly CES estimates are released, ana­
lysts attempting to discern underlying
economic trends can use the strike re-

As published

BLS

36
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Recalculated
without
strike effect

Difference

Manufacturing:
June-July.....................................
July-August.................................

$-0.03
+.11

$+0.02
+.06

$0.05
-.04

Total private:
June-July.....................................
July-August.................................

+.03
+.07

+.04
+.06

+.01
-.01

Table 5.

estimates of employment, average weekly hours, and
average hourly earnings of air courier services workers
(sic 4513) during 1997 ups strike

ces

Levels and
over-the-month
changes

All employment
(seasonally
adjusted)

Average
hourly earnings

Average
weekly hours

Levels:
July 1997........................................
August 1997 ...................................
September 1997 .............................

464,000
298,000
468,000

28.8
33
37.5

$14.78
15.48
14.50

-166,000
170,000

4.2
4.5

.70
-.98

Over-the-month changes:

August 2000

July-August....................................
August-September........................

Table 6.

Over-the-month change in employment, excluding the effect of strikes, seasonally adjusted, all employees
on total nonagricultural payrolls, 1975-2000

[In thousands]
Year
1975:
Official series.....
Net strike
activity............
Series excluding
strikes.............
1976:
Official series.....
Net strike
activity............
Series excluding
strikes.............
1977:
Official series.....
Net strike
activity............
Series excluding
strikes.............
1978:
Official series.....
Net strike
activity............
Series excluding
strikes.............
1979:
Official series.....
Net strike
activity............
Series excluding
strikes.............
1980:
Official series.....
Net strike
activitiy...........
Series excluding
strikes.............
1981:
Official series.....
Net strike
activity............
Series excluding
strikes.............
1982:
Official series.....
Net strike
activity............
Series excluding
strikes.............
1983:
Official series.....
Net strike
activity............
Series excluding
strikes.............
1984:.......................
Official series.....
Net strike
activity............
Series excluding
strikes.............
1985:
Official series.....
Net strike
activity............
Series excluding
strikes.............
1986:
Official series.....
Net strike
activity............
Series excluding
strikes.............
1987:
Official series.....
Net strike
activity............
Series excluding
strikes.............

January February
-420

March

April

May

—403

June

July

August

September October

November

December

-323

-121

161

-71

238

354

208

311

_
_

-5

3

33

20

-12

84

-79

15

-44

-9

14

-408

-320

-88

181

-83

322

275

223

267

111

310

411

280

213

315

58

66

227

96

261

0

299

197

-44

-4

11

32

93

-26

54

-55

-74

15

-25

-30

367

276

224

347

151

40

281

41

187

15

274

167

179

277

427

389

367

404

379

214

457

230

370

240

120

296

2

15

16

-26

39

-7

24

24

-34

60

-9

90

181

292

443

363

406

397

403

238

423

290

361

330
310

193

344

530

745

321

407

226

287

110

363

452

-12

0

-18

-144

5

3

25

11

5

-26

-19

-5

181

344

512

601

326

410

251

298

115

337

433

305

169

257

441

-63

318

274

64

140

-10

211

106

151

29

-48

2

10

55

-14

-14

-13

2

19

23

171

267

437

-8

304

260

51

142

9

234

135

103

112

147

119

-215

-464

-342

-298

288

82

288

216

224

-55

59

-3

-13

-19

-6

133

-49

-16

-47

-24

-8

57

206

116

-228

-483

-348

-165

239

66

241

192

216

229

92

111

13

-77

143

125

-90

-129

25

-202

-183

-11

-3

8

177

21

-129

-32

-23

15

-15

-21

1

218

89

119

190

-56

14

93

-113

-114

10

-223

-183

-383

26

-137

-306

-66

-262

-323

-203

-182

-208

-138

26

4

0

6

6

5

24

-34

21

3

-3

-5

-6

-379

26

-131

-300

-61

-238

-357

-182

-179

-211

-143

20

151

-68

188

265

286

389

427

-340

1,115

320

319

383

2

5

0

-1

-11

0

30

674

-678

9

-23

-5

153

-63

188

264

275

389

457

334

437

329

296

378

414

519

269

338

302

373

322

238

301

313

330

168

-16

-6

6

17

-8

13

-11

63

-77

9

5

26

398

513

275

355

294

386

311

301

224

322

335

194

252

148

337

162

267

117

185

231

182

220

188

214

-41

-1

28

-24

-6

12

-8

32

-5

-5

3

1

211

147

365

138

261

129

177

263

177

215

191

215

99

119

78

178

122

-123

303

159

312

233

165

249

-32

0

11

-2

-1

167

-145

42

-31

4

-2

0

67

119

89

176

121

44

158

201

281

237

163

249

149

229

233

362

197

149

334

219

164

550

220

344

0

-31

-6

-9

6

0

7

-1

55

-60

0

-5

149

198

227

353

203

149

341

218

219

490

220

339


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M onthly Labor Review

A ugust 2000

37

Technical Note

Table 6.

Continued—Over-the-month change in employment, excluding the effect of strikes, seasonally adjusted,
all employees on total nonagricultural payrolls, 1975-2000

[In thousands]
Year
1988:
Official series.....
Net strike
activity............
Series excluding
strikes.............
1989:
Official series.....
Net strike
activity............
Series excluding
strikes.............
1990:
Official series.....
Net strike
activity............
Series excluding
/
strikes.............
1991:
Official series.....
Net strike
activity............
Series excluding
strikes.............
1992:
Official series.....
Net strike
activity............
Series excluding
strikes.............
1993:
Official series.....
Net strike
activity............
Series excluding
strikes.............
1994:
Official series.....
Net strike
activity............
Series excluding
strikes.............
1995:
Official series.....
Net strike
activitiy...........
Series excluding
strikes.............
1996:
Official series.....
Net strike
activity............
Series excluding
strikes.............
1997:
Official series.....
Net strike
activity............
Series excluding
strikes.............
1998:
Official series.....
Net strike
activity............
Series excluding
strikes.............
1999:
Official series.....
Net strike
activity............
Series excluding
strikes.............
2000:
Official series.....
Net strike
activity............
Series excluding
strikes.............
N ote :

January February
79

423

March

Aprii

May

265

226

274

June

July

August

321

268

199

September October
215

November

277

277

December
323

0

4

11

-8

1

5

16

-4

-7

-6

-11

0

79

427

276

218

275

326

284

195

208

271

266

323

302

251

194

199

101

100

95

115

130

112

281

121

2

3

27

4

0

11

10

97

-68

4

-6

-72

304

254

221

203

101

111

105

212

62

116

275

49

254

317

198

38

291

79

-162

-164

-86

-183

-200

-109

0

2

-2

-1

4

1

-162

-88

-184

-196

-108

0

-3

16

-5

A3

-1

254

314

214

33

288

78

-162

-206

-259

-170

-185

-38

93

-69

84

8

-14

-94

6

-3

-6

-2

-2

5

-6

4

-2

2

-1

8

1

-209

-265

-172

-187

-33

87

-65

82

10

-15

-86

7

-37

-7

42

182

194

46

54

146

66

134

178

147

-3

0

1

-2

A3

—9

0

12

-8

-4

0

-40

-7

39

183

192

43

45

146

78

126

174

147

236

314

-67

306

343

141

205

213

247

321

255

254

-3

0

5

-5

4

9

-4

3

5

0

2

-4

-18

236

319

-72

310

352

137

208

218

247

323

251

236

268

230

450

368

347

283

353

340

307

255

406

277

0

0

0

74

-70

5

9

5

10

-1

-2

-15

268

230

450

442

277

288

362

345

317

254

404

262

317

288

156

185

-34

194

114

306

220

125

157

172

-1

0

0

-1

0

-2

0

3

7

23

1

-41

316

288

156

184

-34

192

114

309

227

148

158

131

-69

489

236

175

344

264

196

278

151

248

266

217

30

-27

1

-3

0

21

-9

0

-5

A3

0

0

-39

462

237

172

344

285

187

278

146

245

266

217

203

295

347

294

259

226

296

71

431

318

292

324

0

0

-3

4

7

-5

0

175

-183

-1

0

0

203

295

344

298

266

221

296

246

248

317

292

324

290

193

182

244

353

217

99

378

244

208

262

347

-1

3

0

0

0

10

0

-12

6

-2

2

-1

289

196

182

244

353

227

99

366

250

206

264

346

177

420

171

228

95

253

268

159

208

258

265

250

-1

-1

0

7

0

0

0

-7

0

-1

0

0

176

419

171

235

95

253

268

152

208

257

265

250

349

95

527

414

231

0

15

-15

5

A3

349

110

512

419

228

_
_

_
_

_
_

_

_

_

_

Dash indicates data not available.

38
M onthly Labor Review

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

August 2000

wishes to compare estimates of current
em ploym ent growth with m onthly
changes in earlier years, because strikes
can significantly mask other economic
activity and introduce volatility into the
data.
An

u n d e r s t a n d in g o f th e t r e a t ­

OF STRIKES in the CES employ­
ment data is necessary for a correct
analysis of monthly movements. De­
pending on its timing compared with the
survey reference period, a strike can
have various impacts on employment,
average weekly hours, and average
hourly earnings. Further, if the company
affected by the work stoppage has
weekly hours or hourly earnings that
differ significantly from the industry av­
erage, the strike can have a large impact
on average weekly hours or hourly earn­
ings for the industry. Similarly, if the in­
dustry involved in the strike has hours
and earnings that differ significantly
from higher level aggregates, the strike
can have an impact on the higher level
estimates of average hours or hourly
earnings.
m ent


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Large strikes are widely reported in
newspapers around the country. Infor­
mation from such public sources is used
to compile a summary of strike activity
each month. This report is made avail­
able on the Internet. The purpose of the
summary is to provide an early indica­
tion of the direct impact that strikes in­
volving at least 1,000 workers will have
on the employment estimates, which are
released the following week.
In addition to their direct impact,
large strikes sometimes have secondary
effects, as, for example, when they
oblige other plants to close because
parts are in short supply. When the
magnitude of significant secondary
strike effects is known, like the direct
effects, these secondary effects are dis­
cussed in the monthly news release The
Employment Situation, the periodical
Employment and Earnings, and other
b l s publications.
□

on employment, hours, and earnings from a
sample of about 380,000 nonfarm establish­
ments (including government). From these data,
a large number of employment, hours, and earn­
ings series in considerable industry and geo­
graphic detail are prepared and published every
month. The employment data include series on
all employees, women workers, and production
or nonsupervisory workers. Hours and earnings
data include average weekly hours, average
weekly overtime hours, and average hourly and
weekly earnings. The ces is the source of the
“payroll,” or “establishment,” data that appear
in the Employment Situation news release, usu­
ally on the first Friday of each month, with
data for the previous month.

2 This approach differs from that o f the
Current Population Survey, which counts as
employed all civilian workers who have a job
during the survey reference period, including
those “with a job, but not at work”— the cat­
egory that strikers are in.
3 The ces program will convert from the sic
system to the North American Industrial Clas­
sification System (naics) in June 2003.
4 The fact that the decline was less than
640,000 indicates that without the strike, the
four-digit sic industry would have gained 5,000
jobs.

5 The strike report, which is generally re­
leased the Friday before the Employment Situ­
a tio n is released, is available on h ttp ://
1
The Bureau of Labor Statistics cooper­stats.bls.gov/ceshome.htm, or it may be ac­
ates with State employment security agencies
cessed by calling (202) 691-6555, the general
in the ces survey to collect data each month
ces information number.

Notes

M onthly Labor Review

August 2000

39

Precis

Return on training
investm ent
Knowledge of the rate of return on an
employer’s investment in employee train­
ing is beneficial for two main reasons: it
guides firms in making training investment
decisions and also helps policymakers
decide on subsidies for private invest­
ments. In the article “Measuring the
Employer’s Return on Investments in
Training: Evidence from the Literature,”
(Industrial Relations, July 2000) Ann R
Bartel of the Columbia University Gradu­
ate School of Business and the National
Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
maintains that if the expected return on
investments is underestimated, employ­
ers will overinvest. Also, she believes a
company’s return on investments in em­
ployee training may be higher than pre­
viously thought.
Bartel analyzed three components of
the literature. The first dealt with large
samples of firm-level or establishment-level
data collected through mail or phone sur­
veys. This component, however, provided
little guidance on the rate of return. Train­
ing cost data were typically unavailable,
diverse production processes may not
have been modeled properly, and the bias
from the endogeneity of the training deci­
sion may not have been entirely eliminated.
In the second approach, the case study
method, detailed data are gathered from
one company to estimate the costs and
returns from that company’s training pro­
gram. Here, the estimated rates of return
rely on the assumption regarding the skill
depreciation rate. “Assuming that skills
depreciate 5 percent per year, the estimated
rates of return range from 7 to 50 percent,”
Bartel writes. The third component is com­
pany-sponsored case studies. Even
though this approach has the potential to
address the déficiences of the previous
two components, the fact remains that few
companies calculate the return on invest­
ments in employee training. And most of
those that do, according to the author,
use faulty methodologies that preclude

40
M onthly Labor Review

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

relying on their results. Two well-con­
ceived case studies reviewed by Bartel
report return on investments in the range
of 100 to 200 percent.
Many companies do not undertake the
huge effort needed to evaluate a training
program. Therefore, the companies that
maintain detailed records on employee
performance and characteristics are best
suited for analysis. Bartel concludes that
“[I]f lack of information on the ROI [rate
on investments] is one cause of possible
underinvestment in employee training,
helping firms to measure the returns on
their training investments could help re­
solve the underinvestment problem.”

Inflation uncertainty
and labor contracts
Recent labor contract renewals have pro­
duced longer contracts than in the past.
In “Uncertainty and Labor Contract Du­
ration,” (n b er Working Paper 7731), Rob­
ert Rich and Joseph Tracy of the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York list several
such cases. For example, the Big Three
auto makers and the United Auto Work­
ers signed national contracts that were 4
years in duration in their latest round of
negotiations—this was a break from a
long tradition of 3-year contracts.
In their research on contracts and un­
certainty, Rich and Tracy studied Bureau
of Labor Statistics data for 1970-95 on
major union contracts. (A contract is ma­
jor if it covers at least 1,000 workers.) They
observe that, while the median contract
length has been fairly constant in the past
few decades, the longest contracts have
gotten longer. Contracts in the 90th per­
centile of duration have shown an up­
ward trend since the mid-1980s.
Some of the theoretical literature on
labor contracts and uncertainty sug­
gests that contract duration should be
inversely related to uncertainty. Other
literature indicates that certain sources
of uncertainty may cause workers to
seek more insurance against income
fluctuations through longer contracts.

August 2000

In their analysis, Rich and Tracy ex­
plore the relationship between contract
duration and several measures of infla­
tion uncertainty. Using their preferred
measure of inflation uncertainty, they find
that decreases in inflation uncertainty are
associated with longer contracts. They
also find that this relationship extends to
broader measures of uncertainty.

Downsizing
deconstructed
Downsizing differs from traditional lay­
offs in that the job cuts do not appear to
result from drops in demand, but instead
seem to be driven by a desire for operat­
ing efficiencies. In “Examining the Inci­
dence of Downsizing and its Effect on Es­
tablishment Performance,” ( n b e r Work­
ing Paper 7742), Peter Cappelli of the Uni­
versity of Pennsylvania examines the
causes and consequences of downsizing.
Downsizing is a relatively recent phe­
nomenon—Cappelli notes that the con­
cept of downsizing appeared after the
recession of the early 1980s. Surveys
by the American Management Associa­
tion indicated that dow nsizing in­
creased in the early to mid-1990s, even
as the economy was expanding.
For his analysis, Cappelli used data
from the Educational Quality of the
Workforce National Employer Survey.
This survey was conducted by the U.S.
Bureau of the Census for the National
Center on the Educational Quality of the
Workforce in 1994 and 1997.
Cappelli found that unionization and
severance pay are associated with more
downsizing. He also observed that es­
tablishments with a higher percentage
of managers downsize more than those
with a higher percentage of production
workers; this is consistent with an at­
tempt to move toward a flatter structure
in the organization. Regarding the con­
sequences of downsizing, Cappelli’s
analysis shows that downsizing re­
duces labor cost per employee but it also
reduces sales per employee.
□

Book Reviews

Union history
M aritim e Solidarity, Pacific Coast
Unionism: 1929-1938. By Ottilie
Markholt. Tacoma, WA, Pacific Coast
Maritime History Committee, 1999,
461pp. $19.95.
From a lifetime of work in the labor
movement as both a chronicler and an
activist, Ottilie Markholt has assembled
a massive and detailed historical log of
Pacific Coast maritime unionism in its
most explosive years. Almost all of the
m en and wom en who lived and
struggled in that era have since passed
away, so swiftly does history move
along. Thus, Markholt’s book is a valu­
able recapture of maritime history drawn
from oral histories, union journals, daily
newspapers, employers’ internal docu­
ments, and government records.
From 1939 to 1942, Markholt worked
on compiling a history of the Sailors’
Union of the Pacific. Realizing how incom­
plete the history of one union alone
would be, for the next half century, she
pursued the history of all West Coast
maritime unions, their cycles of victory
and defeat, their interunion conflicts,
their battles with employers, as well as
the role played by government, from the
President of the United States to the lo­
cal sheriff.
The author was in a unique position
to observe and record this chronicle:
first, she had worked as a Communist
Party organizer; and second, later in life,
she served as an office secretary to both
a labor council and an office workers’
union. The early years of the 20th cen­
tury saw numerous struggles between
labor and management, and Markholt
came to share with the maritime workers
their disillusionment with the ideals es­
poused by communists and their frus­
tration with the failure of unions. Hope
for “One Big Union” died early.
But the book is not a moralizing dis­
course of the author’s beliefs or ultimate
disenchantment with the movement. It is
a straightforward and mostly-objective


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

account of the unions’ leadership and
the interaction among rank-and-file
ships’ crews, longshoremen, and water­
front teamsters.
In seaports extending northward from
San Diego to Seattle, workers had
struggled to build unions since well be­
fore 1929. The book documents the ef­
forts of seamen and longshoremen, who
were working throughout the last de­
cades of the 19th century to gain con­
trol over their general working condi­
tions, such as the means by which work­
ers were hired, the size of the work crew,
their hours of work, and their compen­
sation. The poorly-paid seamen suf­
fered greatly: they were ill-fed, they
lived in crowded, verm in-infested
spaces, they were ruled by tyrannical
officers, and they were ignored by the
law and the government. Those who
protested were blacklisted.
They first organized in March of
1885, and by 1919, longshoremen had
successfully unionized all West Coast
seaports. But by the end of the socalled Roaring 20s—after a series of bro­
ken strikes—only Tacoma remained a
union port. For longshoremen and sea­
men it was back to fink halls, blacklists,
corruption, and selling of jobs. The
Great Depression only made conditions
worse. During this time period, Markholt
reports, neither cooperation with the
employers, which was the route of the
seamen’s union, nor the tactics of ei­
ther the IWW Wobblies or the commu­
nists could prevent erosion of wages
and working conditions. The commu­
nists sought, primarily, to advance the
party; the Wobblies refused to sign
contracts, choosing instead the guer­
rilla warfare of job actions.
Markholt weaves well the growing
sense of outrage and anguish that
brought about the historic 1934 strike,
which ended the corrupt practices of
the fink hall and its accompanying
blacklisting fink book. Despite employer
threats of retribution, seamen left their
ships, longshoremen respected their
lines, and teamsters refused to haul

cargo. The employers responded with
strikebreakers, resulting in the murder
of unarmed pickets. Thousands of strik­
ers fought pitched battles against a po­
lice force armed with tear gas and riot
guns. When the government finally
called out the National Guard, the unions
issued a general strike call. Workers in
other industries, sympathetic to labor’s
cause, closed down lumber and flour mills,
logging camps, and scores of other types
of workplaces. More than 100,000 work­
ers struck, and eventually maritime opera­
tions on the West Coast were shut down.
Success brought creation of the
Maritime Federation of the Pacific. The
unions declared that unified action
would be taken against em ployers
whenever any member union was at­
tacked. But there would be no political
action, no labor party. Federation soli­
darity was demonstrated in the 3-month
long 1936-37 strike in which all of the
maritime unions gained many of their
demands. But where the employers
failed, a series of expulsions and
interunion conflicts shredded the fed­
eration and ended its effectiveness.
Emergence of the Congress of Indus­
trial Organization (CIO) transformed the
West Coast unions, as each one chose
sides with either the American Federa­
tion of Labor (AFL) or the CIO, a situa­
tion Markholt reports in painstaking de­
tail. The end result was the dissolution of
the Maritime Federation.
Maritime Solidarity in many ways
parallels another labor history project,
Working Detroit, by Steve Babson.
That inland city’s waterfront handled
the lumber, the coal, and the iron ore
that created the industrial era of the
motor car. The Great Lakes’ maritime in­
dustry soon became captive to the in­
terests of the steel and auto companies,
while ashore, the craft unions gradually
dissolved into the rote assembly lines
of auto production. There, too, the
struggle for unionism was waged amid
strikes and bloodshed. Both books take
particular pains to include the extraor­
dinary problems of African-American

M onthly Labor Review

August 2000

41

Book Reviews

unionists. Working Detroit also in­
cludes the struggles of the woman in­
dustrial worker.
The end of World War I I brought
grave, new challenges to West Coast
maritime unions: the massive downsizing
of the U.S. merchant fleet and cargo con­
tainerization, to name two. Hopefully,
the post-1939 era will have as capable
and dedicated a chronicler as Ottilie
Markholt.

Economic growth and development
C itiz e n s h ip a n d Im m ig ra tio n C a n a d a ,

Canada.. .The Place to Be: Annual Immi­
gration Plan for the Year 2000. C itiz e n ­
sh ip a n d Im m ig ra tio n C a n a d a , C o m m u ­
n ic a tio n s B ra n c h , O tta w a , O n ta rio , 1999,
17 p p .

from Project Star.

C a m b rid g e , MA, N a ­
tio n al B u re au o f E co n o m ic R e se arc h , In c.,
2 0 0 0 , 42 pp . (W o rk in g P a p e r 7 6 5 6 .) $ 1 0
p e r c o p y , p lu s $ 1 0 fo r p o s ta g e a n d h a n ­
d lin g o u ts id e th e U n ite d S ta te s.

Industrial relations

Manufactur­
ing Advantage: Why High-Performance
Work Systems Pay Off. Ith aca, NY, C o rn e ll

A p p e lb a u m , E ile e n a n d o th e rs ,
E d w a r d s , S e b a s t ia n a n d A l e ja n d r a C o x
E d w a rd s , Economic Reforms and Labor

Markets: Policy Issues and Lessons from
Chile. C a m b rid g e , m a , N a tio n a l B u re a u
o f E c o n o m ic R e se a rc h , In c ., 2 0 0 0 ,6 6 pp .
(W o rk in g P a p e r 7 6 4 6 .) $ 10 p e r copy, p lu s
$ 10 f o r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g o u tsid e th e
U n ite d S ta te s.

— Ray Denison
Formerly with the AFL-CIO

Single Peaked vs. Di­
versified Capitalism: The Relation Be­
tween Economic Institutions and Out­
comes. C a m b rid g e , m a , N a tio n a l B u re a u

U n iv e rs ity P re s s , 2 0 0 0 , 2 5 9 p p . $ 1 9 .9 5 ,
p a p e r.
B lau , F ra n c in e D . a n d R o n a ld C . E h re n b e rg ,
e d s., Gender and Family Issues in the
Workplace. N e w Y ork, R u ssell S a g e F o u n ­
d a tio n , 2 0 0 0 , 301 p p . $ 1 4 .9 5 , p a p er.

F re e m a n , R ic h a rd B .,

Publications received

o f E c o n o m ic R e se a rc h , In c ., 2 0 0 0 ,4 5 pp.
(W o rk in g P a p e r 7 5 5 6 .) $ 10 p e r copy, p lu s
$ 10 f o r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g o u tsid e th e
U n ite d S ta te s.

Economic and social statistics
F e rn a n d e z , R a q u e l a n d R ic h a rd R o g e rso n ,
Sorting and Long-Run Inequality. C a m ­
b rid g e, m a , N a tio n a l B u re au o f E co n o m ic
R e s e a rc h , In c ., 2 0 0 0 , 35 p p . (W o rk in g
P a p e r 7 5 0 8 .) $ 1 0 p e r co p y , p lu s $ 1 0 fo r
p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g o u tsid e th e U n ite d
S ta te s.

Is
Addiction “Rational" ? Theory and Evi­
dence. C a m b rid g e , MA, N a tio n a l B u re a u

The Simple
Economics of Open Source. C a m b rid g e ,

L e rn e r, J o s h a n d J e a n T iro le ,

m a , N a tio n a l B u re a u o f E c o n o m ic R e ­

s e a rc h , In c ., 2 0 0 0 ,3 8 p p . W o rk in g P a p e r
7 6 0 0 .) $ 1 0 p e r copy, p lu s $ 1 0 fo r p o s t­
a g e a n d h a n d lin g o u t s i d e th e U n ite d
S ta te s.

G ru b e r, J o n a th a n a n d B o to n d K o s z e g i,

o f E c o n o m ic R e se a rc h , In c ., 2 0 0 0 ,5 2 p p .
(W o rk in g P a p e r 7 5 0 7 .) $ 10 p e r copy, p lu s
$ 10 fo r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g o u ts id e th e
U n ite d S ta te s.

Education

How
Large Are the Social Returns to Educa­
tion? Evidencefrom Compulsory School­
ing Laws. C a m b rid g e , MA, N a tio n a l B u ­

A c e m o g lu , D a ro n a n d J o s h u a A n g rist,

Sources and
Methods: Labour Statistics, Transition
Countries Companion to the Yearbook of
Labour Statistics, Vol. 9. 1999, 4 9 9 pp .

r e a u o f E c o n o m ic R e s e a rc h , In c ., 1999,
4 2 pp . (W o rk in g P a p e r 7 4 4 4 .) $ 1 0 p e r
c o p y , p lu s $ 1 0 fo r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g
o u ts id e th e U n ite d S ta te s.

I n te r n a tio n a l L a b o u r O ffic e ,

A v a ila b le in th e U n ite d S ta te s fro m th e
W a s h in g to n b ra n c h o f ilo , W ald o rf, m d .

Dropout
and Enrollment Trends in the Post-War
Period: What Went Wrong in the 1970s?

C a rd , D a v id a n d T h o m a s L e m ie u x ,

Is ra e l, C e n tra l B u re a u o f S ta tistic s , Monthly
Bulletin of Statistics. F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 0 .

C a m b rid g e , m a , N a tio n a l B u re a u o f E c o ­
n o m ic R e se arc h , Inc., 2 0 0 0 ,5 9 p p. (W ork­
in g P a p e r 7 6 5 8 .) $ 1 0 p e r copy, p lu s $ 1 0
f o r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g o u ts id e th e
U n ite d S ta te s.

J e ru s a le m , Is ra e l C e n tra l B u re a u o f S ta ­
tis tic s, 156 p p .

Economic Analysis of So­
cial Interactions. C a m b rid g e , MA, N a ­

M a n s k i, C h a rle s ,

tio n al B u re a u o f E c o n o m ic R e se arc h , Inc.,
2 0 0 0 ,4 1 p p . (W o rk in g P a p e r 7 5 8 0 .) $ 1 0
p e r co p y , p lu s $ 1 0 fo r p o s ta g e a n d h a n ­
d lin g o u ts id e th e U n ite d S ta te s.
S o c ia l S e c u rity A d m in is tra tio n , Annual Sta­

tistical Supplement to the Social Security
Bulletin, 1999. W a s h in g to n , 2 0 0 0 , 393
p p . S to c k N o . 7 5 3 - 0 0 1 - 0 0 0 1 7 - 4 . $ 3 5 .
F o r sa le b y th e S u p e rin te n d e n t o f D o c u ­
m e n ts , s so p : W a s h in g to n , DC 2 0 4 0 2 9328

42
M onthly Labor Review

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

On the Front
Line: Organization of Work in the Infor­
mation Economy. Ith aca, NY, C o rn e ll U n i­

F re n k e l, S te p h e n J. a n d o th e rs ,

v e rs ity P re ss , 1999, 3 1 8 p p . $ 1 9 .9 5 , p a ­
per.

The
American Workplace: Skills, Compensa­
tion, and Employee Involvement. N e w

I c h n io w s k i, C a s e y a n d o th e r s , e d s .,

Y ork, C a m b rid g e U n iv e rsity P re ss , 2 0 0 0 ,
2 8 7 p p . $ 5 4 .9 5 .

Interest-Based Collec­
tive Bargaining: A Success Story.

K e n n e d y , B re n d a L .

K in g sto n , O n ta rio , Q u e e n ’s U n iv e rsity ,
I n d u s tr ia l R e la tio n s C e n te r, IRC P re s s ,
1999, 2 0 p p .
O z a k i, M u n e to , e d ., Negotiating Flexibility:

The Role of the Social Partners and the
State. G e n e v a , In te rn a tio n a l L a b o u r O r­
g a n iz a tio n , 1999, 157 p p . b ib lio g ra p h y .
A v a ila b le in th e U n ite d S ta te s fro m th e
W ald o rf, m d . O ffice .

Labour Unions, Public
Policy and Economic Growth. N e w Y ork,

P a lo k a n g a s , T ap io ,

C a m b rid g e U n iv e rs ity P re s s , 2 0 0 0 , 2 3 7
p p . $ 6 4 .9 5 .

Team Training: Does
It Increase Satisfaction and Improve Per­
formance? K in g s to n , O n ta rio , Q u e e n ’s

R o c h elle, C h a n ta l d e la,

U n iv e rsity , In d u s tria l R e la tio n s C e n te r,
IRC P re ss , 1999, 19 p p .

Civilizing Capitalism:
The National Consumers’ League,
Women’s Activism, and Labor Standards
in the New Deal Era. C h a p e l H ill, NC,

H a ll, B ro n w y n , H ., A lb e rt N . L in k , a n d Jo h n
T. S c o tt, Universities as Research Part­
ners. C a m b rid g e , m a , N a tio n a l B u re a u o f
E c o n o m ic R e se a rc h , In c ., 2 0 0 0 , 46 pp .
(W o rk in g P a p e r 7 6 4 3 .) $ 10 p e r copy, p lu s
$ 10 f o r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g o u tsid e th e
U n ite d S ta te s.

S to rrs, L a n d o n R . Y.,

K ru e g e r, A la n B . a n d D ia n e M . W h itm o re ,

W o n g , D a n ie l F.,

August 2000

The Effect of Attending a Small Class in
the Early Grades on College-Test Taking
and Middle School Test Results: Evidence

U n iv e rsity o f N o rth C a ro lin a P re ss , 2 0 0 0 ,
3 9 2 p p . b i b li o g r a p h y . $ 4 9 .9 5 , c lo th ;
$ 1 9 .9 5 , p ap er.

Attendance Management
Programs: Doing It Right. K in g s to n ,
O n ta rio , Q u e e n ’s U n iv e rsity , In d u s tria l
R e la tio n s C e n te r, irc P re ss , 1 9 9 9 ,2 5 p p .

Industry and government
organization
L em er, Jo sh , 150 Years of Patent Office Prac­
tice. C a m b rid g e , m a , N a tio n a l B u re a u o f
E c o n o m ic R e s e a rc h , In c ., 2 0 0 0 , 4 4 pp.
(W o rk in g P a p e r 7 4 7 7 .) $ 10 p e r copy, p lu s
$ 10 fo r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g o u tsid e th e
U n ite d S ta te s.

Corporate Power, American De­
mocracy and the Automobile Industry.

L u g er, S tan ,

N e w Y o rk , C a m b rid g e U n iv e rs ity P re ss,
2000, 208 pp.

Labor and econom ic history

Grand Master Workman:
Terence Powderly and the Knights of La­
bor. W e s tp o r t, c t . G r e e n w o o d P r e s s ,

P h e la n , C r a ig ,

2000, 29 4 pp. $65.

Labor force

Outsourcing at Will: Un­
just Dismissal Doctrine and the Growth
of Temporary Help Employment. C a m ­

A u to r, D a v id H .,

b rid g e, m a , N a tio n a l B u re au o f E c o n o m ic
R e s e a rc h , In c ., 2 0 0 0 , 49 pp . (W o rk in g
P a p e r 7 5 5 7 .) $ 1 0 p e r copy, p lu s $ 1 0 fo r
p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g o u tsid e th e U n ite d
S ta te s.
B ean , F ra n k D . a n d S tep h an ie B ell-R o se, eds.,

Immigration and Opportunity: Race,
Ethnicity, and Employment in the United
States. N e w Y ork, R u ss e ll S a g e F o u n d a ­
tio n , 1 999, 4 2 5 p p . $ 3 9 .9 5 .
B e r tr a n d , M a r ia n n e , D o u g la s M ille r , a n d
S e n d h il M u lla in a th a n , Public Policy and

Extended Families: Evidencefrom South
Africa. C a m b rid g e , m a , N a tio n a l B u re a u
o f E c o n o m ic R e se a rc h , In c ., 2 0 0 0 ,4 6 p p.
(W o rk in g P a p e r 7 5 9 4 .) $ 10 p e r copy, p lu s
$ 10 fo r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g o u tsid e th e
U n ite d S ta te s.

Inventing Ourselves Out of
Jobs: America’s Debate Over Technologi­
cal Unemployment 1929-1981. B a lti­

B ix , A m y S u e ,

m o re , m d , T h e Jo h n s H o p k in s U n iv e r­
sity P re s s , 2 0 0 0 , 3 7 8 pp . $ 4 5 .
B la u , F ra n c in e D ., L a w re n c e M . K a h n , an d
J a n e W a ld fo g e l, Understanding Young

Women’s Marriage Decisions: The Role
of Labor and Marriage Market Condi­
tions. C a m b rid g e , m a , N a tio n a l B u re a u
o f E c o n o m ic R e se a rc h , In c ., 2 0 0 0 ,4 0 p p.
(W o rk in g P a p e r 7 5 1 0 .) $ 10 p e r copy, p lu s
$ 10 fo r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g o u tsid e th e
U n ite d S ta te s.

Do Immi­
grant Inflows Lead to Native Outflows?

C a rd , D a v id a n d Jo h n E. D iN a rd o ,
C a m b rid g e ,

m a , N a tio n a l


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

B u re a u o f E co -

n o m ic R e se a rc h , In c ., 22 pp . (W o rk in g
P a p e r 7 5 7 8 .) $ 1 0 p e r c o p y , p lu s $ 1 0 fo r
p o sta g e a n d h a n d lin g o u tsid e th e U n ite d
S ta te s.
C a s s o n i, A d r ia n a , S te v e n G . A lle n , a n d
G a sto n J. L a b a d ie , The Effects of Unions

on Employment: Evidence from an Un­
natural Experiment in Uruguay. C a m ­
b rid g e, m a , N a tio n a l B u re au o f E co n o m ic
R e s e a r c h , In c ., 2 0 0 0 ,4 6 p p . (W o rk in g
P a p e r 7 5 0 1 .) $ 1 0 p e r copy, p lu s $ 1 0 fo r
p o s ta g e an d h a n d lin g o u tsid e th e U n ite d
S ta te s.

From Mill Town to Board
Room: The Rise of Women’s Paid Labor.

C o sta , D o ra L .,

C a m b rid g e , m a , N a tio n a l B u re a u o f E c o ­
n o m ic R esearch , Inc., 2 0 0 0 ,3 4 pp. (W ork­
ing P a p e r 7 6 0 8 .) $ 1 0 p e r copy, p lu s $ 1 0
f o r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g o u ts id e th e
U n ite d S ta te s.

The
Effect of Immigration on Native Self-em­
ployment. C a m b rid g e , m a , N a tio n a l B u ­

F a irlie , R o b e rt W. a n d B ru c e D . M e y e r,

re a u o f E c o n o m ic R e se a rc h , In c ., 2 0 0 0 ,
42 pp . (W o rk in g P a p e r 7 5 6 1 .) $ 1 0 p e r
c o p y , p lu s $ 1 0 fo r p o s ta g e an d h a n d lin g
o u tsid e th e U n ite d S ta te s.

Law
Wage Services: Interpreting the U.S.—
German Differences. C a m b rid g e , m a , N a ­

F re e m a n , R ic h a rd a n d R o n a ld S ch ettk at,

tional B u reau o f E co n o m ic R esearch , Inc.,
2 0 0 0 , 25 pp . (W o rk in g P a p e r 7 6 1 1 .) $ 10
p e r copy, p lu s $ 1 0 fo r p o sta g e a n d h a n ­
d lin g o u tsid e th e U n ite d S ta te s.

____ ,Skill Compression, Wage Differentials
and Employment: Germany vs. the US.
C a m b rid g e , m a , N a tio n a l B u re a u o f E c o ­
n o m ic R e s e a r c h , I n c .., 2 0 0 0 , 2 8 p p .
(W o rk in g P a p e r 7 6 1 0 .) $ 10 p e r copy, p lu s
$ 10 fo r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g o u tsid e th e
U n ite d S ta te s.
R o se n , S h w e rin a n d A lle n S a n d e rso n , Labor
Markets in Professional Sports. C a m ­
b rid g e, m a , N a tio n a l B u re au o f E co n o m ic
R e s e a rc h , In c ., 2 0 0 0 , 35 pp . (W o rk in g
P a p e r 7 5 7 3 .) $ 1 0 p e r copy, p lu s $ 1 0 fo r
p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g o u tsid e th e U n ite d
S ta te s.

Com­
peting for Federal Jobs: Job Search Ex­
periences of New Hires. (A Report to the
President and the Congress of the United
States by the U.S. Merit Systems Protec­
tion Board.) W a sh in g to n , 2 0 0 0 , 2 4 pp.

U .S . M e rit S y s te m s P ro te c tio n B o a rd ,

Labor organizations

What’s Nextfor Orga­
nized Labor? The Report of the Century
Foundation Task Force on the Future of

L ic h te n s te in , N e lso n ,

Unions. N e w Y ork, T h e C e n tu ry F o u n ­
d a tio n P re s s , 1999, 127 p p .
Prices and living conditions

Youth Smoking In The
U.S.: Prices and Policies. C a m b rid g e , MA,

G ru b e r, J o n a th a n ,

N a tio n a l B u re a u o f E c o n o m ic R e s e a rc h ,
In c ., 2 0 0 0 ,4 5 p p . (W o rk in g P a p e r 7 5 0 6 .)
$ 1 0 p e r copy, p lu s $ 1 0 fo r p o s ta g e a n d
h a n d lin g o u ts id e th e U n ite d S ta te s.

P ro d u c tiv ity a n d te c h n o lo g ic a l
change
D ., Endogenous R&D
Spillovers and Industrial Research Pro­
ductivity. C a m b rid g e , m a , N a tio n a l B u ­

A d am s, Jam es

re a u o f E c o n o m ic R e s e a rc h , In c ., 2 0 0 0 ,
38 pp . (W o rk in g P a p e r 7 4 8 4 .) $ 1 0 p e r
c o p y , p lu s $ 1 0 fo r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g
o u tsid e th e U n ite d S ta te s.
______ , E ric P. C h ia n g a n d Je ffre y L . Je n s e n ,
The Influence of Federal Laboratory R&D
on Industrial Research. C a m b rid g e , m a ,
N a tio n a l B u re a u o f E c o n o m ic R e se a rc h ,
In c ., 2 0 0 0 ,4 1 p p . (W o rk in g P a p e r 7 6 1 2 .)
$ 10 fo r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g o u ts id e th e
U n ite d S ta te s.
C o h e n , W esle y M ., R ic h a rd R . N e ls o n , an d
Jo h n P. W alsh , Protecting Their Intellec­

tual Assets: Appropriability Conditions
and Why U.S. Manufacturing Firms
Patent (Or Not). C a m b rid g e , m a , N atio n al
B u re au o f E c o n o m ic R e se arc h , In c., 2 0 0 0 ,
4 2 p p . (W o rk in g P a p e r 7 5 5 2 .) $ 1 0 p e r
co p y , p lu s $ 1 0 fo r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g
o u tsid e th e U n ite d S ta te s.

Heart
of Darkness: Modeling Public-Private
Funding Interactions Inside the R&D Black
Box. C a m b rid g e , m a , N a tio n a l B u re a u o f

D a v id , P a u l A . a n d B ro n w y n H . H a ll,

E c o n o m ic R e s e a rc h , In c ., 2 0 0 0 , 2 7 p p .
(W o rk in g P a p e r 7 5 3 8 .) $ 10 p e r copy, p lu s
$ 10 fo r p o sta g e a n d h a n d lin g O u ts id e th e
U n ite d S ta te s.

Wage and Pro­
ductivity Dispersion In U.S. Manufactur­
ing: The Role of Computer Investment.

D u n n e , T im o th y a n d o th e rs ,

C a m b rid g e , m a , N a tio n a l B u re a u o f E c o ­
n o m ic R e se arc h , Inc., 2 0 0 0 ,6 1 p p . (W o rk ­
in g P a p e r 7 4 6 5 .) $ 1 0 p e r co p y , p lu s $ 1 0
f o r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d li n g o u ts id e th e
U n ite d S ta te s.

Geographic Localization
of International Technology Diffusion.

K eller, W o lfg a n g ,

C a m b rid g e , m a , N a tio n a l B u re a u o f E c o ­
n o m ic R e s e a rc h , In c ., 2 0 0 0 , (W o rk in g
P a p e r 7 5 0 9 .) $ 1 0 p e r co p y , p lu s $ 1 0 fo r
p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g o u ts id e th e U n ite d
S ta te s.

M onthly Labor Review

August 2000

43

Wage-Setting Institutions as Industrial
Policy. C a m b rid g e , MA, N a tio n a l B u re a u

Do
Patents Matter?: Empirical Evidence Af­
ter g a tt . C a m b rid g e , m a , N a tio n a l B u ­

L a n jo u w , Je a n O . a n d Ia in C o c k b u rn ,

r e a u o f E c o n o m ic R e s e a rc h , In c ., 2 0 0 0 ,
4 4 p p . (W o rk in g P a p e r 7 4 9 5 .) $ 1 0 p e r
co p y , p lu s $ 1 0 fo r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g
o u ts id e th e U n ite d S ta te s.

o f E c o n o m ic R e se a rc h , In c ., 2 0 0 0 ,5 7 pp.
(W o rk in g P a p e r 7 5 0 2 .) $ 10 p e r copy, p lu s
$ 10 fo r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g o u tsid e th e
U n ite d S ta te s.

Optimal
Exercise Prices for Executive Stock Op­
tions. C a m b rid g e , m a , N a tio n a l B u re a u

H a ll, B ra in J. a n d K e v in J. M u rp h y ,

L e m e r, Jo s h , 150 Years of Patent Protection.
C a m b rid g e , m a , N a tio n a l B u re a u o f E c o ­
n o m ic R e se arc h , Inc., 2 0 0 0 ,5 6 pp. (W ork­
in g P a p e r 7 4 7 8 .) $ 1 0 p e r c o p y , p lu s $ 1 0
f o r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g o u ts id e th e
U n ite d S ta te s.

Social institutions and social change
B l a n c h f l o w e r , D a v id G . a n d A n d r e w J.
O s w a ld , Well-being Over Time in Britain
and the USA. C a m b rid g e , m a , N a tio n a l
B u re au o f E c o n o m ic R e se arc h , Inc., 2 000,
35 p p . (W o rk in g P a p e r 7 4 8 7 .) $ 1 0 p e r
co p y , p lu s $ 1 0 fo r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g
o u ts id e th e U n ite d S ta te s.

o f E c o n o m ic R e se a rc h , In c ., 2 0 0 0 ,1 4 pp.
(W o rk in g P a p e r 7 5 4 8 .) $ 10 p e r copy, p lus
$ 10 fo r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g o u tsid e th e
U n ite d S ta te s.
N e u m a rk , D a v id , M a rk S c h w e itz er, a n d W il­
lia m W asch e r, The Effects of Minimum

Wages Throughout the Wage Distribution.
C a m b rid g e , m a , N a tio n a l B u re a u o f E c o ­
n o m ic R e se arc h , Inc., 2 0 0 0 ,3 7 p p. (W ork­
in g P a p e r 7 5 1 9 .) $ 1 0 p e r copy, p lu s $ 1 0
f o r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g o u ts id e th e
U n ite d S ta te s.
R u h m , C h ris to p h e r J. a n d C a re y B o rk o sk i,

M itc h e ll, O liv ia S ., P. B re tt H a m m o n d , a n d
A n n a M . R a p p a p o rt, e d s., Forecasting

Compensation in the Nonprofit Sector.
C a m b rid g e , m a , N a tio n a l B u re a u o f E c o ­
n o m ic R esearch , Inc., 2 0 0 0 ,4 3 pp. (W ork­
ing P a p e r 7 5 6 2 .) $ 1 0 p e r copy, p lu s $ 1 0
f o r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g o u ts id e th e
U n ite d S ta te s.

Retirement Needs and Retirement Wealth.
P h ila d e lp h ia , U n iv e rs ity o f P e n n s y lv a ­
n ia P re ss , 2 0 0 0 , 3 73 p p . $ 4 9 .9 5 , p ap er.

Choice,
Chance, and Wealth Dispersion at Retire­
ment. C a m b rid g e , m a , N a tio n a l B u re a u

V en ti, S te v e n F. a n d D a v id A . W ise,

o f E c o n o m ic R e se a rc h , In c ., 2 0 0 0 ,6 9 pp.
(W o rk in g P a p e r 7 5 2 1 .) $ 10 p e r copy, p lu s
$ 10 fo r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g o u ts id e th e
U n ite d S ta te s.

Wages and compensation
B e rtra n d ,
M a ria n n e
and
M u lla in a th a n , Do CEOs Set

S e n d h il

Their Pay?
The Ones Without Principles Do. C a m ­

b rid g e, MA, N a tio n a l B u re a u o f E co n o m ic
R e s e a rc h , In c ., 2 0 0 0 , 5 6 p p . (W o rk in g
P a p e r 7 6 0 4 .) $ 1 0 p e r c o p y p lu s $ 1 0 fo r
p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g o u ts id e th e U n ite d
S ta te s .

Welfare programs and social
insurance
G la e s e r, E d w a rd L ., M a tth e w E . K a h n , an d
Jo rd a n R a p p ap o rt, Why Do The Poor Live
in Cities? C a m b rid g e , m a , N a tio n a l B u ­
re a u o f E c o n o m ic R e s e a rc h , In c ., 2 0 0 0 ,
61 p p . (W o rk in g P a p e r 7 6 3 6 .) $ 1 0 p e r
c o p y , p lu s $ 1 0 fo r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g
o u tsid e th e U n ite d S ta te s.
G u s tm a n , A la n L . a n d T h o m a s L .
S te in m e ie r , How Effective Is Redistri­

D a v is , S te v e n J. a n d M a g n u s H e n re k s o n ,

44
M onthly Labor Review

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

August 2000

bution Under the Social Security Ben­
efit Formula? C a m b r id g e , MA, n a tio n a l
B u r e a u o f E c o n o m ic R e s e a r c h , I n c .,
2 0 0 0 , 4 6 p p . ( W o rk in g P a p e r 7 5 9 7 ,)
$ 10 p e r c o p y , p lu s $ 10 f o r p o s ta g e a n d

h a n d lin g o u t s i d e th e U n i t e d S ta te s.

----Retirement Outcomes in the Health and
Retirement Study. C a m b rid g e , m a , N a ­
tional B u re au o f E co n o m ic R e se arc h , Inc.,
2 0 0 0 ,4 2 p p . (W o rk in g P a p e r 7 5 8 8 .) $ 1 0
p e r copy, p lu s $ 1 0 fo r p o s ta g e a n d h a n ­
d lin g o u tsid e th e U n ite d S ta te s.
L e v in , P h illip B . a n d D a v id J. Z im m e rm a n ,

Children's Wefare Exposure and Subse­
quent Development. C a m b rid g e , m a , N a ­
tio n al B u re au o f E c o n o m ic R e se arc h , Inc.,
2 0 0 0 , 37 pp . (W o rk in g P a p e r 7 5 2 2 .) $ 1 0
p e r c o p y , p lu s $ 1 0 fo r p o s ta g e a n d h a n ­
d lin g o u ts id e th e U n ite d S ta te s.
N e u m a rk , D a v id a n d W illia m W asch e r, Us­
ing the ElTC to Help Poor Families: New

Evidence and a Comparison with the Mini­
mum Wage. C a m b r id g e , m a , N a tio n a l
B u re au o f E c o n o m ic R e se arc h , In c., 2 0 0 0 ,
43 p p . (W o rk in g P a p e r 7 5 9 9 .) $ 1 0 p e r
co p y , p lu s $ 1 0 fo r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g
o u tsid e th e U n ite d S ta te s.

Do Living Wage
Ordinances Reduce Urban Poverty?

______ ,a n d S c o tt A d a m s ,

C a m b rid g e , m a , N a tio n a l B u re a u o f E c o ­
n o m ic R e se arc h , Inc., 2 0 0 0 ,4 4 p p. (W o rk ­
ing P a p e r 7 6 0 6 .) $ 1 0 p e r co p y , p lu s $ 1 0
f o r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g o u ts id e th e
U n ite d S ta te s.
S o cial S ecu rity A d m in istra tio n , Earnings and

Employment Data for Workers Covered
Under Social Security, by State and
County, 1996. W ash in g to n , 2 0 0 0 ,2 7 9 p p.
SSA P u b lic a tio n N o . 1 3 -1 1 7 8 4 .

Worker training and developm ent

Why Do Temporary Help
Firms Provide Free General Skills Train­
ing? C a m b rid g e , m a , N a tio n a l B u re a u o f

A u to r, D a v id H .,

E c o n o m ic R e s e a rc h , In c ., 2 0 0 0 , 5 9 p p .
(W o rk in g P a p e r 7 6 3 7 .) $ 10 p e r copy, p lu s
$ 10 fo r p o s ta g e a n d h a n d lin g o u ts id e th e
U n ite d S ta te s.
□

Current Labor Statistics

N otes on lab o r statistics

....................

46

1. L a b o r m a rk e t i n d i c a t o r s ................................................................
2. A n n u a l a n d q u a rte rly p e rc e n t c h a n g e s in
c o m p e n s a tio n , p ric e s, a n d p r o d u c t i v i t y ...........................
3. A lte rn a tiv e m e a s u re s o f w a g e s an d
c o m p e n s a tio n c h a n g e s ...............................................................

56

C o m p a ra tiv e indicators

Labor compensation and collective
bargaining data—continued
26. P a rtic ip a n ts in b e n e fits p la n s , sm a ll firm s
a n d g o v e r n m e n t.............................................................................
27 . W o rk sto p p a g e s in v o lv in g 1,000 w o rk e rs o r m o r e .............

79
80

57
57

Price data
28 . C o n s u m e r P ric e In d e x : U .S . c ity a v e ra g e , by e x p e n d itu re

Labor fo rc e d a ta
4. E m p lo y m e n t sta tu s o f th e p o p u la tio n ,
se a so n a lly a d j u s t e d ....................................................................
5. S e le c te d e m p lo y m e n t in d ic a to rs ,
se a so n a lly a d j u s t e d ....................................................................
6. S e le c te d u n e m p lo y m e n t in d ic a to rs,
se a so n a lly a d j u s t e d ....................................................................
7. D u ra tio n o f u n e m p lo y m e n t,
se a so n a lly a d j u s t e d ....................................................................
8. U n e m p lo y e d p e rs o n s b y re a s o n fo r u n e m p lo y m e n t,
s e a s o n a lly a d j u s t e d ....................................................................
9. U n e m p lo y m e n t ra te s b y sex a n d ag e,
se a so n a lly a d j u s t e d .....................................................................
10. U n e m p lo y m e n t ra te s b y S ta te s,
se a so n a lly a d j u s t e d .....................................................................
11. E m p lo y m e n t o f w o rk e rs b y S ta te s,
se a so n a lly a d j u s t e d .....................................................................
12. E m p lo y m e n t o f w o rk e rs b y in d u stry ,
se a so n a lly a d j u s t e d .....................................................................
13. A v e ra g e w e e k ly h o u rs b y in d u stry ,
se a so n a lly a d j u s t e d .....................................................................
14. A v e ra g e h o u rly e a rn in g s b y in d u stry ,
se a so n a lly a d j u s t e d .....................................................................
15. A v e ra g e h o u rly e a rn in g s b y i n d u s t r y ........................................
16. A v e ra g e w e e k ly e a rn in g s by i n d u s t r y ......................................
17. D iffu s io n in d e x e s o f e m p lo y m e n t c h a n g e ,
se a s o n a lly a d j u s t e d .....................................................................
18. A n n u a l d ata: E m p lo y m e n t sta tu s o f th e p o p u l a t i o n .........
19. A n n u a l d ata: E m p lo y m e n t le v e ls by in d u s t r y ......................
2 0 . A n n u a l d ata: A v e ra g e h o u rs
a n d e a rn in g s le v e ls b y i n d u s t r y ..............................................

c a te g o ry a n d c o m m o d ity a n d s e rv ic e g r o u p s ....................

81
84

58

29 . C o n s u m e r P ric e In d e x : U .S . c ity a v e ra g e an d
lo c a l d a ta , all i t e m s .......................................................................
30. A n n u a l d ata: C o n s u m e r P ric e In d e x , a ll ite m s
a n d m a jo r g r o u p s ...........................................................................

85

59

31.

P ro d u c e r P ric e In d e x e s b y sta g e o f p r o c e s s i n g ...................

86

60

32. P ro d u c e r P ric e In d e x e s fo r th e n e t o u tp u t o f m a jo r
in d u stry g r o u p s .............................................................................

87

33. A n n u a l d ata: P ro d u c e r P ric e In d e x e s
61

b y sta g e o f p r o c e s s in g ................................................................

88

61

3 4 . U .S . e x p o rt p ric e in d e x e s by S ta n d a rd In te rn a tio n a l
T ra d e C l a s s i f ic a ti o n ....................................................................

89

62

35. U .S . im p o rt p ric e in d e x e s b y S ta n d a rd In te rn a tio n a l
T ra d e C l a s s i f ic a ti o n ....................................................................

90

63

36. U .S . e x p o rt p ric e in d e x e s b y e n d -u s e c a t e g o r y .....................
37 . U .S . im p o rt p ric e in d e x e s b y e n d -u s e c a t e g o r y ....................

91
92

63

c a te g o rie s o f s e r v i c e s ...................................................................


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

92

64

66
67

68
69
70
71
71
72

Labor c o m p e n s a tio n a n d c o lle c tiv e
b a rg a in in g d a ta
2 1 . E m p lo y m e n t C o s t In d e x , c o m p e n sa tio n ,
b y o c c u p a tio n a n d in d u stry g r o u p ........................................
2 2 . E m p lo y m e n t C o s t In d e x , w a g e s a n d sa laries,
b y o c c u p a tio n a n d in d u stry g r o u p ........................................
2 3 . E m p lo y m e n t C o s t In d e x , b e n e fits , p riv a te in d u stry
w o rk e rs , b y o c c u p a tio n a n d in d u stry g r o u p .....................
2 4 . E m p lo y m e n t C o s t In d e x , p riv a te n o n fa rm w o rk e rs,
b y b a rg a in in g sta tu s , re g io n , a n d a re a s i z e ........................
2 5 . P a rtic ip a n ts in b e n e fit p la n s , m e d iu m a n d larg e f i r m s .......

38. U .S .in te rn a tio n a l p ric e in d e x e s f o r s e le c te d

73
75

Productivity data
3 9 . In d e x e s o f p ro d u c tiv ity , h o u rly c o m p e n s a tio n ,
a n d u n it c o sts, d a ta se a so n a lly a d j u s t e d ............................
40. A n n u a l in d e x e s o f m u ltifa c to r p r o d u c ti v i ty ...........................
41. A n n u a l in d e x e s o f p ro d u c tiv ity , h o u rly c o m p e n sa tio n ,
u n it c o sts, a n d p r i c e s ..................................................................
42. A n n u a l in d e x e s o f o u tp u t p e r h o u r fo r s e le c te d
in d u s t r ie s ..........................................................................................

93
94
95
96

International comparisons data
43 . U n e m p lo y m e n t ra te s in n in e c o u n trie s ,
d a ta se a so n a lly a d ju s te d ............................................................. 9 9
44 . A n n u a l d ata: E m p lo y m e n t sta tu s o f th e c iv ilia n
w o rk in g -a g e p o p u la tio n , 10 c o u n tr i e s .................................. 100
45. A n n u a l in d e x e s o f p ro d u c tiv ity a n d re la te d m e a su re s,
12 c o u n t r i e s ..................................................................................... 101

Injury and illness data

76

46. A n n u a l d ata: O c c u p a tio n a l in ju ry a n d illn e ss
in c id e n c e r a t e s ................................................................................ 102

77
78

47 . F a ta l o c c u p a tio n a l in ju rie s by e v e n t o r
e x p o s u r e ........................................................................................... 104

M onthly Labor Review

August 2000

45

Notes on Current Labor Statistics

T h is se c tio n o f th e Review p re s e n ts th e p r in ­
c ip a l s ta tis tic a l se rie s c o lle c te d a n d c a lc u ­
l a t e d b y th e B u r e a u o f L a b o r S ta tis tic s :
se rie s o n la b o r fo rc e ; e m p lo y m e n t; u n e m ­
p lo y m e n t; la b o r c o m p e n s a tio n ; c o n su m e r,
p ro d u c e r, a n d in te rn a tio n a l p ric e s; p ro d u c ­
tiv ity ; in te rn a tio n a l c o m p a ris o n s; a n d in ju ry
a n d illn e ss sta tistic s . In th e n o te s th a t fo llo w ,
th e d a ta in e a c h g ro u p o f ta b le s a re b rie fly
d e sc rib e d ; k e y d e fin itio n s a re g iv e n ; n o te s
o n th e d a ta a re se t fo rth ; a n d so u rc e s o f a d d i­
tio n a l in fo rm a tio n a re cite d .

G e n e r a l notes
T h e f o llo w in g n o te s a p p ly to se v e ra l ta b le s
in th is sectio n :
Seasonal adjustment. C e rta in m o n th ly
a n d q u a rte rly d a ta a re a d ju s te d to e lim in a te
th e e ffe c t o n th e d a ta o f s u c h fa c to rs as c li­
m a tic c o n d itio n s, in d u stry p ro d u c tio n s c h e d ­
u le s , o p e n in g a n d c lo s in g o f sc h o o ls, h o li­
d a y b u y in g p e rio d s , a n d v a c a tio n p ra c tic e s,
w h ic h m ig h t p re v e n t sh o rt-te rm e v a lu a tio n
o f th e s ta tis tic a l s e rie s . T a b le s c o n ta in in g
d a ta th a t h a v e b e e n a d ju s te d are id e n tifie d as
“ se a so n a lly a d ju s te d .” (A ll o th e r d a ta a re n o t
se a so n a lly a d ju s te d .) S e a so n a l e ffe c ts a re e s ­
t im a te d o n th e b a s is o f p a s t e x p e r ie n c e .
W h e n n e w s e a s o n a l fa c to rs a re c o m p u te d
e a c h y e ar, re v is io n s m a y a ffe c t se a so n a lly
a d ju s te d d a ta fo r se v e ra l p re c e d in g y e a rs.
S e a s o n a lly a d ju s te d d a ta a p p e a r in ta b le s
1 - 1 4 ,1 6 - 1 7 , 3 9 , an d 43. S e a so n a lly a d ju s te d
la b o r fo rc e d a ta in ta b le s 1 a n d 4 - 9 w e re r e ­
v is e d in th e F e b ru a ry 2 0 0 0 issu e o f th e Re­
view. S e a so n a lly a d ju s te d e s ta b lis h m e n t s u r­
v e y d a ta s h o w n in ta b le s 1, 1 2 - 1 4 a n d l b 17 w e re r e v is e d in th e Ju ly 2 0 0 0 Review an d
r e fle c t th e e x p e rie n c e th ro u g h M a rc h 2 0 0 0 .
A b r ie f e x p la n a tio n o f th e se a so n a l a d ju s t­
m e n t m e th o d o lo g y a p p e a rs in “ N o te s o n th e
d a ta .”
R e v is io n s in th e p ro d u c tiv ity d a ta in tab le
45 a re u su a lly in tro d u c e d in th e S e p te m b e r
issu e . S e a s o n a lly a d ju s te d in d e x e s a n d p e r ­
c e n t c h a n g e s f r o m m o n th - t o - m o n th a n d
q u a rte r-to -q u a rte r are p u b lis h e d fo r n u m e r­
o u s C o n s u m e r a n d P ro d u c e r P ric e In d e x se ­
rie s . H o w e v e r, se a so n a lly a d ju s te d in d e x e s
a re n o t p u b lis h e d fo r th e U .S . a v e ra g e A llIte m s CPI. O n ly se a so n a lly a d ju s te d p e rc e n t
c h a n g e s a re a v a ila b le fo r th is se ries.
Adjustments for price changes. S o m e
d a ta — s u c h as th e “r e a l” e a rn in g s s h o w n in
ta b le 14— a re a d ju s te d to e lim in a te th e e f­
f e c t o f c h a n g e s in p ric e . T h e s e a d ju s tm e n ts
a re m a d e b y d iv id in g c u rre n t-d o lla r v a lu e s
b y th e C o n s u m e r P ric e In d e x o r th e a p p ro ­
p ria te c o m p o n e n t o f th e in d ex , th e n m u lti­
p ly in g b y 100. F o r e x a m p le , g iv e n a c u rre n t
h o u rly w a g e r a te o f $3 a n d a c u rre n t p ric e

46
M onthly Labor Review

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

International
Comparisons of Unemployment, BLS B u lle ­

tio n a l c o m p a ris o n s d a ta , see

in d e x n u m b e r o f 150, w h e re 1982 = 100, th e
h o u rly r a te e x p re s s e d in 1982 d o lla rs is $2
($ 3 /1 5 0 x 100 = $ 2 ). T h e $2 (o r an y o th e r
r e s u ltin g v a lu e s ) a re d e s c rib e d as “ r e a l ,”
“ c o n s ta n t,” o r “ 198 2 ” d o lla rs.

tin 1979.
D e ta ile d d a ta o n th e o c c u p a tio n a l in ju ry
a n d illn e ss se ries are p u b lis h e d in Occupa­

Sources of inform ation

tional Injuries and Illnesses in the United
States, by Industry, a BLS a n n u a l b u lle tin .
F in a lly , th e Monthly Labor Review c a r­

D a ta th a t s u p p le m e n t th e ta b le s in th is s e c ­
tio n a re p u b lis h e d by th e B u re a u in a v a rie ty
o f so u rc e s . D e fin itio n s o f e a c h se rie s a n d
n o te s o n th e d a ta a re c o n ta in e d in la te r s e c ­
tio n s o f th e s e N o te s d e sc rib in g e a c h se t o f
d a ta . F o r d e ta ile d d e sc rip tio n s o f e a c h d a ta
se ries, see b l s Handbook of Methods, B u l­
letin 2 4 9 0 . U s e rs also m ay w ish to c o n su lt

Major Programs of the Bureau of Labor Sta­
tistics, R e p o rt 9 1 9 . N e w s re le a s e s p ro v id e
th e la te st sta tistic a l in fo rm a tio n p u b lis h e d b y
th e B u re a u ; th e m a jo r re c u rrin g re le a s e s are
p u b lis h e d a c c o rd in g to th e sc h e d u le a p p e a r­
in g o n th e b a c k c o v e r o f th is issu e.
M o re in fo rm a tio n a b o u t la b o r fo rce , e m ­
p lo y m e n t, an d u n e m p lo y m e n t d a ta an d th e
h o u s e h o ld a n d e s ta b lis h m e n t su rv e y s u n d e r­
ly in g th e d a ta are a v a ila b le in th e B u r e a u ’s
m o n th ly p u b lic a tio n , Employment and Earn­
ings. H is to ric a l u n a d ju s te d a n d se a so n a lly
a d ju s te d d a ta fro m th e h o u se h o ld su rv e y are
a v a ila b le o n th e In tern e t:
h ttp ://s ta ts .b ls .g o v /c p s h o m e .h tm
H isto ric a lly c o m p a ra b le u n a d ju s te d a n d s e a ­
so n a lly a d ju s te d d a ta fro m th e e sta b lis h m e n t
su rv e y a ls o are a v a ila b le o n th e In tern et:
h ttp ://s ta ts .b ls .g o v /c e s h o m e .h tm
A d d itio n a l in fo rm a tio n o n la b o r fo rc e d a ta
fo r a re a s b e lo w th e n a tio n a l lev e l are p ro ­
v id e d in th e BLS a n n u a l re p o rt, Geographic

Profile of Employment and Unemployment.
F o r a c o m p re h e n s iv e d is c u s s io n o f th e
E m p lo y m e n t C o s t In d e x , see Employment
Cost Indexes and Levels, 1975-95, BLS B u l­
le tin 2 4 6 6 . T h e m o s t re c e n t d a ta fro m th e
E m p lo y e e B e n e fits S u rv e y a p p e a r in th e fo l­
lo w in g B u re a u o f L a b o r S ta tistic s b u lle tin s:

Employee Benefits in Medium and Large
Firms; Employee Benefits in Small Private
Establishments; a n d Employee Benefits in
State and Local Governments.
M o re d e ta ile d d a ta o n c o n s u m e r a n d p ro ­
d u c e r p ric e s a re p u b lis h e d in th e m o n th ly
p e r io d ic a ls , The CPI Detailed Report a n d
Producer Price Indexes. F o r an o v e rv ie w o f
th e 1998 r e v is io n o f th e C P I , see th e D e c e m ­
b e r 1996 issu e o f th e Monthly Labor Review.
A d d itio n a l d a ta o n in te rn a tio n a l p ric e s a p ­
p e a r in m o n th ly n e w s re le ases.
L is tin g s o f in d u strie s fo r w h ic h p ro d u c ­
tiv ity in d e x e s a re a v a ila b le m ay b e fo u n d o n
th e In tern e t:
h ttp ://s ta ts .b ls .g o v /ip rh o m e .h tm
F o r a d d itio n a l in fo rm a tio n o n in te r n a ­

August 2000

rie s a n a ly tic a l a rtic le s o n a n n u a l a n d lo n g e r
te rm d e v e lo p m e n ts in la b o r fo rc e , e m p lo y ­
m e n t, a n d u n e m p lo y m e n t; e m p lo y e e c o m ­
p e n s a tio n a n d c o lle c tiv e b a rg a in in g ; p ric e s;
p ro d u c tiv ity ; in te rn a tio n a l c o m p a ris o n s; an d
in ju ry a n d illn e ss d a ta .

Symbols
n .e.c. =
n .e .s. =
p =

r

=

n o t e ls e w h e re c la ss ifie d ,
n o t e ls e w h e re sp e c ifie d .
p re lim in a ry . T o in c re a s e th e tim e ­
lin e ss o f so m e se ries, p re lim in a ry
fig u re s a re issu e d b a se d o n r e p re ­
se n ta tiv e b u t in c o m p le te re tu rn s ,
re v is e d . G e n e ra lly , th is r e v is io n
r e f le c ts th e a v a ila b ility o f la te r
d a ta , b u t a ls o m ay r e fle c t o th e r a d ­
ju stm e n ts.

C om parative Indicators
(T ab les 1 -3 )
C o m p a r a tiv e in d ic a to r s ta b le s p r o v id e a n
o v e rv ie w a n d c o m p a ris o n o f m a jo r b l s sta ­
tis tic a l se ries. C o n se q u e n tly , a lth o u g h m a n y
o f th e in c lu d e d se rie s a re a v a ila b le m o n th ly ,
all m e a su re s in th e s e c o m p a ra tiv e ta b le s a re
p re s e n te d q u a rte rly a n d a n n u ally .
Labor market indicators in c lu d e e m ­
p lo y m e n t m e a su re s fro m tw o m a jo r su rv e y s
a n d in fo rm a tio n o n ra te s o f c h a n g e in c o m ­
p e n sa tio n p ro v id e d by th e E m p lo y m e n t C o st
In d e x (ECl) p ro g ra m . T h e la b o r fo rc e p a r tic i­
p a tio n ra te , th e e m p lo y m e n t-to -p o p u la tio n
ra tio , a n d u n e m p lo y m e n t ra te s fo r m a jo r d e ­
m o g r a p h ic g r o u p s b a s e d o n th e C u r r e n t
P o p u la tio n (“ h o u s e h o ld ” ) S u rv e y a re p r e ­
se n te d , w h ile m e a su re s o f e m p lo y m e n t a n d
a v e ra g e w e e k ly h o u rs b y m a jo r in d u stry se c ­
to r are g iv e n u sin g n o n fa rm p a y ro ll d a ta . T h e
E m p lo y m e n t C o s t In d e x (c o m p e n s a tio n ), by
m a jo r se c to r an d b y b a rg a in in g sta tu s, is c h o ­
sen fro m a v a rie ty o f b l s c o m p e n s a tio n an d
w a g e m e a su re s b e c a u s e it p ro v id e s a c o m ­
p re h e n s iv e m e a s u re o f e m p lo y e r c o s ts fo r
h irin g lab o r, n o t j u s t o u tla y s fo r w a g e s , an d
it is n o t a ffe c te d b y e m p lo y m e n t sh ifts a m o n g
o c c u p a tio n s a n d in d u strie s.
D a ta on changes in compensation, prices,
and productivity are p re se n te d in t a b l e 2 .

M e a s u r e s o f r a te s o f c h a n g e o f c o m p e n s a ­
tio n a n d w a g e s f ro m th e E m p lo y m e n t C o s t
I n d e x p r o g r a m a r e p r o v i d e d f o r a ll c i v i l ­
ia n n o n f a r m w o r k e r s ( e x c l u d i n g F e d e r a l
a n d h o u s e h o l d w o r k e r s ) a n d f o r a ll p r iv a te
n o n f a r m w o r k e r s . M e a s u r e s o f c h a n g e s in
c o n s u m e r p r i c e s f o r a ll u r b a n c o n s u m e r s ;
p ro d u c e r p ric e s by s ta g e o f p ro c e s s in g ;
o v e r a l l p r i c e s b y s ta g e o f p r o c e s s in g ; a n d
o v e r a ll e x p o r t a n d im p o r t p r ic e in d e x e s a re
g iv e n . M e a s u r e s o f p r o d u c tiv ity ( o u tp u t p e r
h o u r o f a ll p e r s o n s ) a re p r o v i d e d f o r m a jo r
s e c to r s .

Alternative measures of wage and com­
pensation rates of change, w h ic h re fle c t th e
o v e ra ll tre n d in la b o r c o sts, a re su m m a riz e d
in ta b le 3. D iffe re n c e s in c o n c e p ts a n d sco p e,
r e la te d to th e s p e c ific p u rp o s e s o f th e se ries,
c o n trib u te to th e v a ria tio n in c h a n g e s am o n g
th e in d iv id u a l m e a su re s.

Notes on the data
D e fin itio n s o f e a c h se rie s a n d n o te s o n th e
d a ta are c o n ta in e d in la te r s e c tio n s o f th e s e
n o te s d e s c rib in g e a c h se t o f d a ta .

Employment and
Unemploym ent Data
(T ab les 1; 4 - 2 0 )

Household survey data
Description of the series
E mployment

data in th is s e c tio n a re o b ­
ta in e d fro m th e C u rre n t P o p u la tio n S u rv ey ,
a p ro g ra m o f p e rs o n a l in te rv ie w s c o n d u c te d
m o n th ly b y th e B u re a u o f th e C e n s u s fo r th e
B u re a u o f L a b o r S ta tistic s . T h e sa m p le c o n ­
sists o f a b o u t 5 0 ,0 0 0 h o u s e h o ld s s e le c te d to
re p re s e n t th e U .S . p o p u la tio n 16 y e a rs o f a g e
a n d o ld er. H o u s e h o ld s a re in te rv ie w e d o n a
r o ta tin g b a s is , so th a t th re e -fo u rth s o f th e
s a m p le is th e sa m e fo r a n y 2 c o n s e c u tiv e
m o n th s .

c e d in g 4 w eeks. P e rso n s w h o d id n o t lo o k fo r
w o rk b e c a u se th ey w e re o n la y o ff a re also
c o u n te d a m o n g th e u n em p lo y ed . The unem­
ployment rate re p re se n ts th e n u m b e r u n e m ­
p lo y ed as a p e rce n t o f th e c iv ilia n la b o r force.
T h e civilian labor force c o n sists o f all
e m p lo y e d o r u n e m p lo y e d p e r s o n s in th e
c iv ilia n n o n in stitu tio n a l p o p u la tio n . P e rso n s
not in the labor force are th o se n o t c la s s ifie d
a s e m p lo y e d o r u n e m p lo y e d . T h is g r o u p
in c lu d e s d is c o u r a g e d w o rk e rs , d e f in e d as
p e rso n s w h o w a n t a n d a re a v a ila b le fo r a jo b
a n d w h o h a v e lo o k e d fo r w o rk so m e tim e in
th e p a s t 12 m o n th s (o r sin c e th e e n d o f th e ir
last jo b if th ey h e ld o n e w ith in th e p a s t 12
m o n th s ) , b u t a r e n o t c u r r e n t ly lo o k in g ,
b e c a u s e t h e y b e li e v e t h e r e a r e n o j o b s
a v a ila b le o r th e re are n o n e fo r w h ic h th ey
w o u ld q u a lif y . T h e civilian noninstitu­
tional population c o m p rise s all p e rso n s 16
y e a rs o f ag e a n d o ld e r w h o a re n o t in m a tes
o f p e n a l o r m e n ta l in stitu tio n s , sa n ita riu m s ,
o r h o m e s fo r th e a g ed , in firm , o r n eedy. T h e
civilian labor force participation ra te is the
p ro p o r tio n o f th e c iv ilia n n o n in s titu tio n a l
p o p u la tio n th a t is in th e la b o r fo rc e . T h e
employment-population ratio is e m p lo y ­
m e n t a s a p e r c e n t o f th e c iv i l ia n n o n i n ­
stitu tio n a l p o p u la tio n .

Notes on the data
F ro m tim e to tim e , a n d e s p e c ia lly a fte r a
d e c e n n ia l c e n s u s , a d ju s tm e n ts a re m a d e in
th e C u r r e n t P o p u la tio n S u rv e y fig u r e s to
c o r r e c t f o r e s t im a ti n g e r r o r s d u r i n g th e
in te rc e n s a l y e a rs. T h e s e a d ju s tm e n ts a ffe c t
th e c o m p a ra b ility o f h is to ric a l d a ta . A d e ­
s c rip tio n o f th e s e a d ju s tm e n ts a n d th e ir e f ­
f e c t o n th e v a rio u s d a ta se rie s a p p e a rs in th e
E x p l a n a t o r y N o t e s o f Employment and

Earnings.
D a ta b e g in n in g in 2 0 0 0 a re n o t strictly
c o m p a ra b le w ith d a ta fo r 1999 a n d e a rlie r
y e a rs b e c a u se o f th e in tro d u c tio n o f re v is e d
p o p u la tio n c o n tro ls. A d d itio n a l in fo rm a tio n
a p p e a rs in th e F e b ru a ry 2 0 0 0 issu e o f Em­

ployment and Earnings.
Definitions
Employed persons in c lu d e (1) all th o se w h o
w o rk e d fo r p a y a n y tim e d u rin g th e w e e k
w h ic h in c lu d e s th e 12th d a y o f th e m o n th o r
w h o w o rk e d u n p a id fo r 15 h o u rs o r m o re in
a fa m ily -o p e ra te d e n te rp ris e a n d (2 ) th o se
w h o w e re te m p o ra rily a b se n t fro m th e ir re g u ­
lar jo b s b e c a u s e o f illn e ss, v a c a tio n , in d u s­
tria l d is p u te , o r s im ila r re a s o n s . A p e rs o n
w o rk in g a t m o re th a n o n e jo b is c o u n te d o n ly
in th e j o b a t w h ic h h e o r sh e w o rk e d th e
g re a te s t n u m b e r o f h o u rs.
Unemployed persons a re th o s e w h o d id
n o t w o rk d u rin g th e su rv e y w e ek , b u t w e re
a v a ila b le fo r w o rk e x c e p t fo r te m p o ra ry ill­
n e ss a n d h a d lo o k e d fo r jo b s w ith in th e p re ­


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

L a b o r fo rc e d a ta in ta b le s 1 a n d 4 - 9 a re
s e a s o n a lly a d ju s te d . S in c e J a n u a ry 19 8 0 ,
n a tio n a l la b o r fo rc e d a ta h a v e b e e n s e a s o n ­
a lly a d ju s te d w ith a p ro c e d u re c a lle d X - l l
arima w h ic h w a s d e v e lo p e d a t S ta tis tic s
C a n a d a as an e x te n s io n o f th e s ta n d a rd X 11 m e th o d p re v io u s ly u s e d b y b l s . A d e ­
ta ile d d e s c rip tio n o f th e p ro c e d u re a p p e a rs
in th e X - l l a r i m a Seasonal Adjustment
Method, b y E s te la B e e D a g u m (S ta tis tic s
C a n a d a , C a ta lo g u e N o . 1 2 -5 6 4 E , J a n u a ry
1 9 8 3 ).
A t th e b e g in n in g o f e a c h c a le n d a r year,
h is to ric a l s e a s o n a lly a d ju s te d d a ta u su a lly
a re re v is e d , a n d p ro je c te d s e a s o n a l a d ju s t­
m e n t fa c to rs a re c a lc u la te d f o r u se d u rin g
th e J a n u a ry - J u n e p e rio d . T h e h is to ric a l s e a ­

s o n a lly a d ju s te d d a ta u s u a lly a re r e v is e d fo r
o n ly th e m o s t r e c e n t 5 y e a rs . In Ju ly , n e w
se a s o n a l a d ju s tm e n t fa c to rs , w h ic h in c o rp o ­
r a te th e e x p e rie n c e th r o u g h J u n e , a re p r o ­
d u c e d fo r th e J u ly - D e c e m b e r p e rio d , b u t n o
re v is io n s a re m a d e in th e h is to ric a l d a ta .
F or a d d it io n a l inform ation o n n a ­
tio n a l h o u s e h o ld s u rv e y d a ta , c o n ta c t th e
D iv isio n o f L a b o r F o rc e S tatistics: (2 0 2 ) 6 9 1 —
6378.

Establishment survey data
Description of the series
E mployment , h o ur s , a n d

earnings data

in th is s e c tio n a re c o m p ile d fro m p a y r o ll
re c o rd s re p o rte d m o n th ly o n a v o lu n ta ry b a ­
sis to th e B u re a u o f L a b o r S ta tis tic s a n d its
c o o p e ra tin g S ta te a g e n c ie s b y a b o u t 3 0 0 ,0 0 0
e s ta b lis h m e n ts r e p re s e n tin g a ll i n d u s tr ie s
e x c e p t a g ric u ltu re . I n d u s tr ie s a re c la s s if ie d
in a c c o rd a n c e w ith th e 1987 Standard In­
dustrial Classification (SIC) Manual. In m o s t
i n d u s tr ie s , th e s a m p lin g p r o b a b ilitie s a re
b a s e d o n th e s iz e o f th e e s ta b lis h m e n t; m o s t
la r g e e s ta b l i s h m e n t s a re t h e r e f o r e in th e
sa m p le . (A n e s ta b lis h m e n t is n o t n e c e s s a r ­
ily a firm ; it m a y b e a b ra n c h p la n t, f o r e x ­
a m p le , o r w a r e h o u s e .) S e lf - e m p lo y e d p e r ­
s o n s a n d o th e r s n o t o n a r e g u la r c iv i l ia n
p a y r o ll a r e o u t s i d e th e s c o p e o f th e s u r ­
v e y b e c a u s e th e y a re e x c lu d e d f r o m e s t a b ­
lis h m e n t r e c o r d s . T h is la r g e ly a c c o u n ts f o r
th e d i f f e r e n c e in e m p l o y m e n t f i g u r e s b e ­
t w e e n th e h o u s e h o l d a n d e s t a b l i s h m e n t
su rv e y s.

Definitions
A n establishment is an e c o n o m ic u n it w h ic h
p ro d u c e s g o o d s o r s e rv ic e s (s u c h as a fa c ­
to ry o r sto re ) a t a sin g le lo c a tio n a n d is e n ­
g a g e d in o n e ty p e o f e c o n o m ic a ctiv ity .
Employed persons a re a ll p e r s o n s w h o
r e c e iv e d p a y ( i n c l u d i n g h o l id a y a n d s ic k
p a y ) f o r a n y p a r t o f th e p a y r o ll p e r io d i n ­
c lu d in g th e 1 2 th d a y o f th e m o n th . P e r ­
s o n s h o ld in g m o r e t h a n o n e j o b ( a b o u t 5
p e r c e n t o f a ll p e r s o n s in t h e l a b o r f o r c e )
a re c o u n te d in e a c h e s t a b l i s h m e n t w h ic h
r e p o r t s th e m .
Production workers in m a n u f a c tu r in g
in c lu d e w o rk in g s u p e rv is o rs a n d n o n s u p e rv is o ry w o rk e rs c lo s e ly a s s o c ia te d w ith p r o ­
d u c tio n o p e r a tio n s . T h o s e w o r k e r s m e n ­
tio n e d in ta b le s 1 1 - 1 6 in c lu d e p r o d u c tio n
w o rk e rs in m a n u fa c tu rin g a n d m in in g ; c o n ­
s t r u c t i o n w o r k e r s in c o n s t r u c t i o n ; a n d
n o n su p e rv iso ry w o rk e rs in th e fo llo w in g in ­
d u stries: tra n s p o rta tio n a n d p u b lic u tilitie s;
w h o le sa le an d re ta il trade; fin an c e, in su ran ce,
an d re al estate; an d serv ices. T h e s e g ro u p s a c ­
c o u n t fo r a b o u t fo u r-fifth s o f th e to ta l e m -

M onthly Labor Review

A ugust 2000

47

Current Labor Statistics
p lo y m e n t o n p riv ate n o n a g ric u ltu ra l p ay ro lls.
Earnings a re th e p a y m e n ts p ro d u c tio n
o r n o n s u p e rv is o ry w o rk e rs r e c e iv e d u rin g
th e su rv e y p e rio d , in c lu d in g p re m iu m p a y
fo r o v e rtim e o r la te -s h ift w o rk b u t e x c lu d ­
in g i r r e g u l a r b o n u s e s a n d o t h e r s p e c ia l
p a y m e n t s . Real earnings a r e e a r n i n g s
a d ju ste d to r e fle c t th e e ffe c ts o f c h a n g e s in
c o n s u m e r p ric e s . T h e d e f la to r f o r th is se rie s
is d e riv e d fro m th e C o n s u m e r P ric e In d e x
fo r U rb a n W ag e E a rn e rs an d C le ric a l
W o rk e rs (CPI-W).
Hours r e p r e s e n t th e a v e r a g e w e e k ly
h o u rs o f p ro d u c tio n o r n o n s u p e rv iso ry w o rk ­
e rs fo r w h ic h p a y w a s re c e iv e d , a n d a re d if­
f e r e n t f ro m s ta n d a r d o r s c h e d u le d h o u rs .
Overtime hours r e p re s e n t th e p o rtio n o f a v ­
e ra g e w e e k ly h o u rs w h ic h w a s in e x c e ss o f
r e g u la r h o u rs a n d fo r w h ic h o v e rtim e p re m i­
u m s w e re p a id .
T h e Diffusion Index re p re se n ts th e p e r­
c e n t o f in d u strie s in w h ic h e m p lo y m e n t w as
risin g o v e r th e in d ic a te d p erio d , p lu s o n e -h a lf
o f th e in d u stries w ith u n c h an g e d em p lo y m en t;
5 0 p e rc e n t in d icates an e q u al b a la n ce b e tw ee n
in d u strie s w ith in cre asin g an d d e cre asin g e m ­
p lo y m e n t. In lin e w ith B u re au p ra ctic e , d ata
fo r th e 1-, 3-, an d 6 -m o n th sp an s are se a so n ­
ally a d ju ste d , w h ile th o se fo r th e 1 2 -m o n th
sp an are u n a d ju ste d . D a ta are c en tere d w ith in
th e sp an . T ab le 17 p ro v id es an in d ex o n p ri­
v a te n o n fa rm e m p lo y m e n t b a se d o n 3 5 6 in ­
d u stries, a n d a m an u fa c tu rin g in d ex b a se d on
139 in d u stries. T h e s e in d ex es are u se fu l fo r
m e a su rin g th e d isp e rsio n o f e co n o m ic gain s
o r lo sse s a n d are also e c o n o m ic in d icators.

B e g in n in g in J u n e 1996, th e BLS u se s th e
X -1 2 arima m e th o d o lo g y to s e a so n a lly a d ­
j u s t e s ta b lis h m e n t su rv e y d a ta . T h is p ro c e ­
d u re , d e v e lo p e d by th e B u re a u o f th e C e n ­
su s, c o n tro ls fo r th e e ffe c t o f v a ry in g su rv e y
in te rv als (also k n o w n as th e 4- v e rsu s 5 -w e ek
e ffe c t), th e re b y p ro v id in g im p ro v e d m e a ­
su re m e n t o f o v e r-th e -m o n th c h a n g e s a n d u n ­
d e rly in g e c o n o m ic tren d s. R e v is io n s o f d ata,
u su a lly fo r th e m o s t re c e n t 5 -y e a r p e rio d , are
m a d e o n c e a y e a r c o in c id e n t w ith th e b e n c h ­
m a rk re v isio n s.
In th e e s ta b lis h m e n t su rvey, e stim a te s fo r
th e m o s t re c e n t 2 m o n th s a re b a se d o n in ­
c o m p le te re tu rn s a n d are p u b lis h e d as p re ­
lim in a ry in th e ta b le s ( 1 2 - 1 7 in th e Review).
W h e n all re tu rn s h a v e b e e n re c e iv e d , th e e s ­
tim a te s are re v is e d a n d p u b lis h e d as “ fin a l”
(p rio r to a n y b e n c h m a r k r e v is io n s ) in th e
th ird m o n th o f th e ir a p p e a ra n c e . T h u s, D e ­
c e m b e r d a ta a re p u b lis h e d as p re lim in a ry in
Ja n u a ry a n d F e b ru a ry a n d as fin a l in M a rc h .
F o r th e sa m e re a s o n s , q u a rte rly e s ta b lis h ­
m e n t d a ta (ta b le 1) a re p re lim in a ry fo r th e
firs t 2 m o n th s o f p u b lic a tio n a n d fin a l in th e
th ird m o n th . T h u s , fo u rth -q u a rte r d a ta are
p u b lis h e d a s p re lim in a ry in Ja n u a ry an d F e b ­
ru a ry a n d a s fin a l in M a rch .
F or additional information o n e s ta b ­
lis h m e n t su rv e y d a ta , c o n ta c t th e D iv isio n o f
M o n th ly In d u s tr y E m p lo y m e n t S ta tis tic s :
(2 0 2 ) 6 9 1 - 6 5 5 5 .

Unemployment data by
State
Description of the series

Notes on the data
E s ta b lis h m e n t su rv e y d a ta a re a n n u a lly a d ­
ju s te d to c o m p re h e n s iv e c o u n ts o f e m p lo y ­
m e n t (c a lle d “ b e n c h m a rk s ” ). T h e la te st a d ­
ju s tm e n t, w h ic h in c o rp o ra te d M a rc h 1999
b e n c h m a rk s , w a s m a d e w ith th e re le a s e o f
M a y 2 0 0 0 d a ta , p u b lis h e d in th e Ju ly 2 0 0 0
is s u e o f th e Review. C o in c id e n t w ith th e
b e n c h m a rk a d ju s tm e n t, h isto ric a l se a so n a lly
a d ju s te d d a ta w e re re v is e d to r e fle c t u p d a te d
se a so n a l fa c to rs. U n a d ju s te d d a ta fro m A p ril
19 9 9 fo rw a rd a n d se a so n a lly a d ju s te d d a ta
fro m J a n u a ry 1 9 9 6 fo rw a rd a re s u b je c t to
r e v is io n in fu tu re b e n c h m a rk s .
In ad d itio n to th e ro u tin e b e n c h m a rk re v i­
sio n s an d u p d a te d seaso n al fa cto rs in tro d u c ed
w ith th e re le a s e o f th e M a y 2 0 0 0 d ata, all e sti­
m ate s fo r th e w h o le sa le trad e d iv isio n fro m
A p ril 1998 fo rw a rd w e re re v is e d to in co rp o ­
rate a n e w sa m p le d e sig n . T h is re p re se n ted
th e first m a jo r in d u stry d iv isio n to c o n v e rt to
a p ro b a b ility -b a s e d s a m p le u n d e r a 4 -y e a r
p h a s e -in p la n fo r th e e s ta b lis h m e n t su rv e y
sa m p le re d e sig n p ro jec t. F o r ad d itio n al in fo r­
m atio n , see th e th e Ju n e 2 0 0 0 issu e o f Employ­

ment and Earnings.
R e v is io n s in S tate d a ta (table 11) o c cu rre d
w ith th e p u b lic a tio n o f Ja n u a ry 2 0 0 0 data.

48
M onthly Labor Review

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

D a ta p re s e n te d in th is s e c tio n a re o b ta in e d
fro m th e L o c a l A re a U n e m p lo y m e n t S ta tis ­
tic s (LAUS) p ro g ra m , w h ic h is c o n d u c te d in
c o o p e ra tio n w ith S ta te e m p lo y m e n t se c u rity
a g e n c ie s.
M o n th ly e s tim a te s o f th e la b o r fo rc e ,
e m p lo y m e n t, a n d u n e m p lo y m e n t fo r S ta te s
a n d su b -S ta te a re a s a re a k e y in d ic a to r o f lo ­
c a l e c o n o m ic c o n d itio n s, a n d fo rm th e b a sis
fo r d e te rm in in g th e e lig ib ility o f an a re a fo r
b e n e fits u n d e r F e d e ra l e c o n o m ic a ssista n c e
p ro g ra m s su c h as th e J o b T ra in in g P a rtn e r­
sh ip A ct. S e a so n a lly a d ju ste d u n e m p lo y m e n t
ra te s a re p re s e n te d in ta b le 10. In s o f a r as
p o ss ib le , th e c o n c e p ts a n d d e fin itio n s u n d e r­
ly in g th e s e d a ta are th o se u se d in th e n a tio n a l
e s tim a te s o b ta in e d fro m th e CPS.

Notes on the data
D a ta re fe r to S tate o f re sid en c e. M o n th ly d a ta
fo r all S tates a n d th e D istrict o f C o lu m b ia are
d e riv e d u s in g s ta n d a r d iz e d p ro c e d u re s
e stab lish e d b y bl s . O n c e a year, e stim ates are
re v is e d to n e w p o p u la tio n co n tro ls, u su a lly
w ith p u b lic a tio n o f Ja n u a ry e s tim a te s , an d
b e n ch m ark e d to a n n u al a v erag e CPS levels.

August 2000

F or additional information on data in

th is se rie s , c all (2 0 2 ) 6 9 1 - 6 3 9 2 (ta b le 10) o r
(2 0 2 ) 6 9 1 - 6 5 5 9 (ta b le 11)._________________

Com pensation and
W age Data
(T ab les 1 -3 ; 2 1 - 2 7 )

C ompensation and wage data a re g a th e re d
by th e B u re a u fro m b u s in e s s e s ta b lis h m e n ts ,
S ta te a n d lo c a l g o v e rn m e n ts , la b o r u n io n s,
c o lle c tiv e b a rg a in in g a g re e m e n ts o n file w ith
th e B u re a u , a n d s e c o n d a ry s o u rc e s .

Employment Cost Index
Description of the series
T h e Employment Cost Index (ECl) is a q u a r­
terly m e a su re o f th e ra te o f c h a n g e in c o m ­
p e n s a ti o n p e r h o u r w o r k e d a n d in c lu d e s
w a g e s , sa la rie s , a n d e m p lo y e r c o s ts o f e m ­
p lo y e e b e n e fits . It u s e s a fix e d m a rk e t
b a s k e t o f la b o r— s im ila r in c o n c e p t to th e
C o n s u m e r P ric e I n d e x ’s fix e d m a rk e t b a s k e t
o f g o o d s a n d se rv ic e s— to m e a s u re c h a n g e
o v e r tim e in e m p lo y e r c o sts o f e m p lo y in g
labor.
S ta tis tic a l se rie s o n to ta l c o m p e n s a tio n
costs, on w a g es a n d salaries, a n d o n b e n efit
co sts are a v ailab le fo r p riv ate n o n fa rm w o rk ­
ers e x clu d in g p ro p rieto rs, th e se lf-em p lo y e d ,
an d h o u se h o ld w o rk ers. T h e to ta l c o m p e n sa ­
tio n co sts an d w a g es an d salaries se ries are
also a v ailab le fo r S tate an d lo cal g o v e rn m e n t
w o rkers an d fo r the civ ilia n n o n farm eco n o m y ,
w h ic h c o n sists o f p riv a te in d u stry a n d S tate
an d local g o v e rn m e n t w o rk ers co m b in ed . F e d ­
eral w o rk e rs are e x clu d ed .
T h e E m p lo y m e n t C o s t In d e x p ro b a b ility
sa m p le c o n s is ts o f a b o u t 4 ,4 0 0 p riv a te n o n ­
fa rm e s ta b lis h m e n ts p ro v id in g a b o u t 2 3 ,0 0 0
o c c u p a tio n a l o b s e rv a tio n s a n d 1 ,0 0 0 S ta te
a n d lo ca l g o v e rn m e n t e s ta b lish m e n ts p ro v id ­
ing 6 ,0 0 0 o c c u p a tio n a l o b s e rv a tio n s s e le c te d
to r e p re s e n t to ta l e m p lo y m e n t in e a c h secto r.
O n a v e ra g e , e a c h r e p o rtin g u n it p ro v id e s
w a g e a n d c o m p e n s a tio n in fo rm a tio n o n fiv e
w e ll- s p e c if ie d o c c u p a tio n s . D a ta a re c o l ­
le c te d e a c h q u a rte r fo r th e p a y p e rio d in c lu d ­
ing th e 12th d a y o f M a rc h , Ju n e , S e p te m b e r,
a n d D e ce m b er.
B e g in n in g w ith J u n e 1 9 8 6 d a ta , f ix e d
e m p lo y m e n t w e ig h ts fro m th e 1 9 8 0 C e n s u s
o f P o p u l a t i o n a r e u s e d e a c h q u a r t e r to
c a lc u la te th e c iv ilia n a n d p r iv a te in d e x e s
a n d th e in d e x fo r S ta te a n d lo c a l g o v e r n ­
m e n ts . (P rio r to J u n e 198 6 , th e e m p lo y m e n t
w e ig h ts a re fro m th e 1 9 7 0 C e n s u s o f P o p u ­
la tio n .) T h e s e fix e d w e ig h ts , a ls o u s e d to
d e r iv e a ll o f th e in d u s try a n d o c c u p a tio n
se rie s in d e x e s , e n s u re th a t c h a n g e s in th e s e
in d e x e s r e fle c t o n ly c h a n g e s in c o m p e n s a ­
tio n , n o t e m p lo y m e n t s h ifts a m o n g in d u s-

trie s o r o c c u p a tio n s w ith d if f e r e n t le v e ls o f
w a g e s a n d c o m p e n s a tio n . F o r th e b a rg a in in g
s ta tu s , r e g io n , a n d m e tro p o lita n /n o n -m e tro p o lita n a re a s e rie s , h o w e v e r, e m p lo y m e n t
d a ta b y i n d u s tr y a n d o c c u p a ti o n a re n o t
a v a ila b le fro m th e c e n s u s . In s te a d , th e 198 0
e m p lo y m e n t w e ig h ts a re r e a llo c a te d w ith in
th e s e se rie s e a c h q u a r te r b a se d o n th e c u r ­
r e n t s a m p le . T h e re fo re , th e s e in d e x e s a re n o t
s tric tly c o m p a r a b le to th o s e f o r th e a g g r e ­
g a te , in d u stry , a n d o c c u p a tio n se rie s .

Definitions
Total compensation c o s ts in c lu d e w a g e s ,
s a la rie s , a n d th e e m p l o y e r ’s c o s ts f o r e m ­
p lo y e e b e n e fits .
Wages and salaries c o n s is t o f e a rn in g s
b e fo re p a y ro ll d e d u c tio n s , in c lu d in g p ro d u c ­
tio n b o n u s e s , in c e n tiv e e a rn in g s , c o m m is ­
sio n s, a n d c o s t-o f-liv in g a d ju s tm e n ts .
Benefits in c lu d e th e c o s t to e m p lo y e rs
f o r p a id le a v e , s u p p le m e n ta l p a y (in c lu d ­
in g n o n p ro d u c tio n b o n u se s), in su ran ce, re tire ­
m e n t a n d sa v in g s p lan s, an d leg ally re q u ire d
b e n e fits (s u c h as S o c ia l S e c u rity , w o r k e r s ’
c o m p e n sa tio n , an d u n e m p lo y m e n t insurance).
E x c lu d e d fro m w a g es an d salaries a n d e m ­
p lo y e e b e n e fits are su c h item s as p a y m e n t-in k in d , free ro o m a n d b o ard , an d tips.

Notes on the data
T h e E m p lo y m e n t C o s t In d e x f o r c h a n g e s in
w a g e s a n d s a la rie s in th e p riv a te n o n fa rm
e c o n o m y w a s p u b lis h e d b e g in n in g in 1975.
C h a n g e s in to ta l c o m p e n s a tio n c o st— w a g es
a n d s a la rie s a n d b e n e fits c o m b in e d — w e re
p u b lis h e d b e g in n in g in 1980. T h e se rie s o f
c h a n g e s in w a g e s a n d s a la rie s a n d fo r to ta l
c o m p e n s a tio n in th e S ta te a n d lo c a l g o v e rn ­
m e n t s e c to r a n d in th e c i v i l ia n n o n f a rm
e c o n o m y ( e x c l u d in g F e d e r a l e m p lo y e e s )
w e re p u b lis h e d b e g in n in g in 1981. H is to ri­
c al in d e x e s (Ju n e 1 9 8 1 = 1 0 0 ) a re a v a ila b le o n
th e In te rn e t:
h ttp ://sta ts .b is .g o v /e c th o m e .h tm
F or a d d it io n a l inform atio n o n th e
E m p lo y m e n t C o s t In d e x , c o n ta c t th e O ffic e
o f C o m p e n s a tio n L e v e ls a n d T re n d s : (2 0 2 )
6 9 1 -6 1 9 9 .

Employee Benefits Survey
Description of the series
Employee benefits d a ta a re o b ta in e d fro m
th e E m p lo y e e B e n e f its S u rv e y , an a n n u a l
s u rv e y o f th e in c id e n c e a n d p ro v is io n s o f
s e le c te d b e n e f its p r o v id e d b y e m p lo y e rs .
T h e s u rv e y c o lle c ts d a ta fro m a s a m p le o f
a p p r o x im a te ly 9 ,0 0 0 p riv a te s e c to r a n d
S ta te a n d lo c a l g o v e r n m e n t e s ta b lis h m e n ts .
T h e d a ta are p re se n te d as a p e rce n ta g e o f e m ­


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

p lo y ee s w h o p articip a te in a c ertain b e n efit, o r
as an a v erag e b e n efit p ro v isio n (fo r ex am p le,
th e a v era g e n u m b e r o f p a id h o lid a y s p ro v id ed
to e m p lo y e es p e r y ear). S elected d ata fro m the
su rv ey are p re sen te d in tab le 25 fo r m ed iu m
an d larg e p riv ate e stab lish m en ts an d in tab le
26 fo r sm all p riv ate e stab lish m en ts an d S tate
an d local g o v ern m en t.
T h e s u rv e y c o v e rs p a id le a v e b e n e f its
s u c h as h o lid a y s a n d v a c a tio n s, a n d p e rso n a l,
fu n e ra l, j u r y d u ty , m ilita ry , fa m ily , a n d sic k
le a v e ; s h o rt-te rm d is a b ility , lo n g -te rm d is ­
a b ility , a n d life in s u ra n c e ; m e d ic a l, d e n ta l,
a n d v is io n c a re p la n s ; d e fin e d b e n e fit a n d
d e fin e d c o n tr ib u tio n p la n s ; fle x ib le b e n e fits
p la n s ; r e im b u r s e m e n t a c c o u n ts ; a n d u n p a id
fa m ily lea v e.
A l s o , d a ta a r e t a b u l a t e d o n th e i n c i ­
d e n c e o f s e v e r a l o t h e r b e n e f i ts , s u c h as
s e v e ra n c e p a y , c h ild -c a re a s s is ta n c e , w e ll­
n e s s p r o g r a m s , a n d e m p lo y e e a s s i s t a n c e
p ro g ra m s .

Definitions
Employer-provided benefits a re b e n e fits
th a t a re fin a n c e d e ith e r w h o lly o r p a rtly by
th e e m p lo y e r. T h e y m ay b e sp o n s o re d b y a
u n io n o r o th e r th ird p arty , as lo n g as th e re is
so m e e m p lo y e r fin a n c in g . H o w e v e r, so m e
b e n e fits th a t are fu lly p a id fo r b y th e e m ­
p lo y e e a ls o are in c lu d e d . F o r e x a m p le , lo n g ­
te rm c a re in su ra n c e a n d p o s tre tire m e n t life
in su ra n c e p a id e n tire ly b y th e e m p lo y e e are
in c lu d e d b e c a u s e th e g u a ra n te e o f in s u ra b il­
ity a n d a v a ila b ility a t g ro u p p re m iu m ra te s
a re c o n s id e re d a b e n efit.
Participants are w orkers w h o are co v ered
by a benefit, w hether o r n ot they use that b e n e fit
I f th e b e n e f it p la n is fin a n c e d w h o lly b y
em p lo y ers an d requires em p lo y ees to co m plete
a m in im u m length o f service fo r eligibility, the
w orkers are con sid ered participants w h eth er or
n o t th ey h a v e m e t th e re q u ire m e n t. I f w o rk e rs
a re re q u ire d to c o n trib u te to w a rd s th e c o s t o f
a p la n , th ey are c o n sid e re d p a rtic ip a n ts o n ly
if th e y e le c t th e p la n a n d a g re e to m a k e th e
re q u ire d c o n trib u tio n s .
Defined benefit pension plans u se p re d e ­
te rm in e d fo rm u la s to c alc u la te a re tire m e n t
b e n efit (if any), an d o b lig a te the e m p lo y e r to
p ro v id e th o se b en efits. B en efits are g e n era lly
b a se d on salary, y e ars o f serv ice, o r both.
Defined contribution plans g e n e ra lly
s p e c ify th e le v e l o f e m p lo y e r a n d e m p lo y e e
c o n trib u tio n s to a p la n , b u t n o t th e fo rm u la
f o r d e te rm in in g e v e n tu a l b e n e fits . In ste a d ,
in d iv id u a l a c c o u n ts a re s e t u p fo r p a r tic i­
p a n ts , a n d b e n e fits a re b a s e d o n a m o u n ts
c r e d ite d to th e s e a c c o u n ts .
Tax-deferred savings plans are a ty p e o f
d e f in e d c o n tr ib u tio n p la n th a t a llo w p a r ­
tic ip an ts to c o n trib u te a p o rtio n o f th eir sal­
ary to an e m p lo y e r-sp o n so re d p lan and d e fer
in co m e taxes u n til w ith d raw al.

Flexible benefit plans a llo w e m p lo y e e s
to c h o o se am o n g sev eral b e n efits, su c h as life
insurance, m ed ical care, and v acation days, and
am ong several levels o f co verage w ithin a giv en
benefit.

Notes on the data
S u rv e y s o f e m p lo y e e s in m e d iu m a n d la rg e
e s ta b lis h m e n ts c o n d u c te d o v e r th e 1 9 7 9 - 8 6
p e rio d in c lu d e d e s ta b lis h m e n ts th a t
e m p lo y e d a t le a s t 5 0 , 100, o r 2 5 0 w o rk e rs ,
d e p e n d in g o n th e in d u s tr y ( m o s t s e r v ic e
in d u s trie s w e re e x c lu d e d ). T h e su rv e y
c o n d u c te d in 198 7 c o v e r e d o n ly S ta te a n d
lo c a l g o v e rn m e n ts w ith 5 0 o r m o re
e m p lo y e e s . T h e su rv e y s c o n d u c te d in 1988
a n d 1 9 8 9 in c lu d e d m e d iu m a n d la rg e
e s ta b lis h m e n ts w ith 100 w o rk e rs o r m o re in
p riv a te in d u strie s. A ll surv ey s co n d u cted o v e r
th e 1 9 7 9 -8 9 p e rio d e x c lu d e d e s ta b lis h m e n ts
in A la s k a a n d H a w a ii, a s w e ll a s p a r t- tim e
e m p lo y e e s.
B e g in n in g in 1990, su rv e y s o f S ta te an d
lo c a l g o v e rn m e n ts a n d s m a ll p r iv a te
e s t a b l i s h m e n t s w e r e c o n d u c t e d in e v e n n u m b ere d y ears, a n d su rv e y s o f m e d iu m and
larg e e stab lish m en ts w e re c o n d u c te d in o d d n u m b e r e d y e a rs . T h e s m a ll e s ta b lis h m e n t
s u r v e y i n c l u d e s a ll p r i v a t e n o n f a r m
e stab lish m en ts w ith fe w e r th an 100 w o rk ers,
w h ile th e S ta te an d local g o v e rn m e n t su rv ey
in clu d e s all g o v e rn m e n ts , re g a rd le s s o f th e
n u m b e r o f w o rk ers. A ll th ree su rv ey s in clu d e
full- a n d p a rt-tim e w o rk e rs, an d w o rk e rs in all
5 0 S tates an d th e D istric t o f C o lu m b ia .
F or a d d it io n a l inform atio n o n th e
E m p lo y e e B e n e fits S u rv e y , c o n ta c t th e O f ­
fic e o f C o m p e n s a tio n L e v e ls a n d T re n d s o n
th e In te rn e t:

http://stats.bls.gov/ebshome.htm

Work stoppages
Description of the series
D a ta o n w o rk s to p p a g e s m e a s u re th e n u m ­
b e r a n d d u ra tio n o f m a jo r strik e s o r lo c k o u ts
(in v o lv in g 1,0 0 0 w o rk e rs o r m o re ) o c c u rrin g
d u rin g th e m o n th (o r y e a r), th e n u m b e r o f
w o rk e rs in v o lv e d , a n d th e a m o u n t o f w o rk
tim e lo st b e c a u s e o f s to p p a g e . T h e s e d a ta are
p re s e n te d in ta b le 27.
D a ta a re la rg e ly fro m a v a rie ty o f p u b ­
l is h e d s o u r c e s a n d c o v e r o n ly e s t a b l i s h ­
m e n ts d ire c tly in v o lv e d in a s to p p a g e . T h e y
d o n o t m e a s u r e th e in d ir e c t o r se c o n d a ry
e f fe c t o f s to p p a g e s o n o th e r e s ta b lis h m e n ts
w h o s e e m p lo y e e s a re id le o w in g to m a te ria l
s h o rta g e s o r la c k o f se rv ic e .

Definitions
Number of stoppages:

T he num ber of
s tr ik e s a n d lo c k o u ts in v o lv in g 1 ,0 0 0 w o r k ­
e rs o r m o r e a n d la s tin g a fu ll s h if t o r lo n g e r.

M onthly Labor Review

A ugust 2000

49

Current Labor Statistics

W orkers involved: T h e n u m b e r o f
w o rk e rs d ire c tly in v o lv e d in th e sto p p a g e .
Number of days idle: T h e a g g r e g a te
n u m b e r o f w o r k d a y s l o s t b y w o r k e r s in ­
v o lv e d in th e sto p p a g e s .
Days of idleness as a percent of estimated
working time: A g g re g a te w o rk d a y s lo st as a
p e rc e n t o f th e a g g re g a te n u m b e r o f sta n d ard
w o rk d a y s in th e p e r io d m u ltip lie d b y to ta l
e m p lo y m e n t in th e p erio d .

Notes on the data
T h is se rie s is n o t c o m p a ra b le w ith th e o n e
te rm in a te d in 1981 th a t c o v e re d strik e s in ­
v o lv in g six w o rk e rs o r m o re.
F or a dd itio na l information o n w o rk
s to p p a g e s d a ta , c o n ta c t th e O ffic e o f C o m ­
p e n s a tio n a n d W o rk in g C o n d itio n s : (2 0 2 )
6 9 1 - 6 2 8 2 , o r th e In te rn e t:

http ://sta ts.bls.gov/cbahome.htm

force.
T h e CPI is b a s e d o n p ric e s o f fo o d , c lo th ­
in g , sh e lte r, fu e l, d ru g s, tra n s p o rta tio n fa re s,
d o c to r s ’ a n d d e n tis ts ’ fe e s, a n d o th e r g o o d s
a n d se rv ic e s th a t p e o p le b u y fo r d a y -to -d a y
liv in g . T h e q u a n tity a n d q u a lity o f th e s e
ite m s a re k e p t e s s e n tia lly u n c h a n g e d b e ­
tw e e n m a jo r r e v is io n s so th a t o n ly p r ic e
c h a n g e s w ill b e m e a su re d . A ll ta x e s d ire c tly
a sso c ia te d w ith th e p u rc h a se a n d u se o f item s
a re in c lu d e d in th e in d ex .
D a ta c o lle c te d fro m m o re th a n 2 3 ,0 0 0 r e ­
ta il e s ta b lis h m e n ts a n d 5 ,8 0 0 h o u s in g u n its
in 87 u rb a n a re a s a c ro ss th e c o u n try are u se d
to d e v e lo p th e “ U .S . c ity a v e ra g e .” S e p a ra te
e s tim a te s fo r 14 m a jo r u rb a n c e n te rs a re p r e ­
se n te d in ta b le 29 . T h e a re a s lis te d are as in ­
d ic a te d in fo o tn o te 1 to th e tab le . T h e a re a
in d e x e s m e a s u re o n ly th e a v e ra g e c h a n g e in
p ric e s fo r e a c h a re a sin c e th e b a se p e rio d , an d
d o n o t in d ic a te d iffe re n c e s in th e le v e l o f
p ric e s a m o n g c ities.

Price Data

Notes on the data

(T ab les 2; 2 8 - 3 8 )

In J a n u a ry 1983, th e B u re a u c h a n g e d th e
w a y in w h ic h h o m e o w n e r s h i p c o s ts a re
m e a u re d fo r th e CPI-U. A r e n ta l e q u iv a le n c e
m e th o d r e p la c e d th e a s s e t-p ric e a p p ro a c h to
h o m e o w n e r s h i p c o s ts f o r t h a t s e r ie s . In
J a n u a ry 1985, th e sa m e c h a n g e w a s m a d e
in th e cpi -w . T h e c e n tr a l p u r p o s e o f th e
c h a n g e w a s to s e p a ra te s h e lte r c o s ts fro m
th e in v e s tm e n t c o m p o n e n t o f h o m e - o w n e r ­
sh ip so th a t th e in d e x w o u ld r e fle c t o n ly th e
c o s t o f s h e lte r s e rv ic e s p r o v id e d by o w n e ro c c u p ie d h o m e s . A n u p d a te d cpi -u a n d CPiw w e re in tro d u c e d w ith r e le a s e o f th e J a n u ­
a ry 1987 a n d J a n u a ry 1998 d a ta .
F or a d d it io n a l inform ation o n c o n ­
s u m e r p r ic e s , c o n ta c t th e D iv is io n o f C o n ­
su m e r P ric e s a n d P ric e In d e x e s: (2 0 2 )
6 9 1 -7 0 0 0 .

P rice

data a r e g a t h e r e d b y th e B u r e a u
o f L a b o r S ta tis tic s fro m re ta il a n d p r i­
m a r y m a r k e ts in th e U n ite d S ta te s . P r ic e
in d e x e s a r e g iv e n in r e la ti o n to a b a s e p e ­
r i o d — 1 9 8 2 = 1 0 0 f o r m a n y P r o d u c e r P r ic e
In d e x e s, 1 9 8 2 -8 4 = 100 fo r m an y C o n ­
s u m e r P ric e In d e x e s (u n le s s o th e rw is e
n o te d ) , a n d 1 9 9 0 = 1 0 0 f o r I n t e r n a ti o n a l
P ric e In d e x e s.

Consumer Price Indexes
Description of the series
T h e Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a m e a ­
su re o f th e a v e ra g e c h a n g e in th e p ric e s p a id
b y u rb a n c o n s u m e rs f o r a fix e d m a rk e t b a s ­
k e t o f g o o d s a n d se rv ic e s. T h e CPI is c a lc u ­
la te d m o n th ly f o r tw o p o p u la tio n g ro u p s, o n e
c o n s is tin g o n ly o f u rb a n h o u s e h o ld s w h o s e
p rim a ry s o u rc e o f in c o m e is d e riv e d fro m th e
e m p lo y m e n t o f w a g e e a r n e r s a n d c le r ic a l
w o rk e rs , a n d th e o th e r c o n s is tin g o f all u r ­
b a n h o u s e h o ld s . T h e w a g e e a rn e r in d e x (CPIW) is a c o n tin u a tio n o f th e h is to ric in d e x th a t
w a s in tro d u c e d w e ll o v e r a h a lf - c e n tu r y a g o
f o r u s e in w a g e n e g o tia tio n s . A s n e w u se s
w e re d e v e lo p e d fo r th e CPI in r e c e n t y e a rs,
th e n e e d fo r a b r o a d e r a n d m o re re p re s e n ta ­
tiv e in d e x b e c a m e a p p a re n t. T h e a ll-u rb a n
c o n s u m e r in d e x (CPi-U), in tro d u c e d in 1978,
is r e p re s e n ta tiv e o f th e 1 9 9 3 -9 5 b u y in g h a b ­
its o f a b o u t 8 7 p e rc e n t o f th e n o n in s titu tio n a l
p o p u la tio n o f th e U n ite d S ta te s a t th a t tim e ,
c o m p a r e d w ith 3 2 p e r c e n t r e p re s e n te d in th e
CPi-w. In a d d itio n to w a g e e a rn e rs a n d c le r i­
c a l w o rk e rs , th e CPI-U c o v e rs p ro fe s s io n a l,
m a n a g e ria l, a n d te c h n ic a l w o rk e rs , th e se lfe m p lo y e d , s h o r t- te r m w o r k e r s , th e u n e m ­
p lo y e d , re tire e s , a n d o th e rs n o t in th e la b o r

50
M onthly Labor Review

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Producer Price Indexes
Description of the series
Producer Price Indexes (PPi) m e a s u re a v ­
e ra g e c h a n g e s in p ric e s re c e iv e d b y d o m e s ­
tic p r o d u c e rs o f c o m m o d itie s in a ll sta g e s
o f p ro c e s s in g . T h e s a m p le u s e d f o r c a lc u ­
la tin g th e s e in d e x e s c u rre n tly c o n ta in s a b o u t
3 ,2 0 0 c o m m o d itie s a n d a b o u t 8 0 ,0 0 0 q u o ­
ta tio n s p e r m o n th , s e le c te d to r e p re s e n t th e
m o v e m e n t o f p ric e s o f a ll c o m m o d h ie s p r o ­
d u c e d in th e m a n u fa c tu rin g ; a g ric u ltu re , fo r­
e stry , a n d fis h in g ; m in in g ; a n d g a s a n d e le c ­
tric ity a n d p u b lic u tilitie s se c to rs. T h e sta g eo f - p r o c e s s in g s t r u c tu r e o f ppi o r g a n iz e s
p ro d u c ts b y c la s s o f b u y e r a n d d e g re e o f
fa b ric a tio n (th a t is, fin is h e d g o o d s , in te rm e ­
d ia te g o o d s, a n d c ru d e m a te ria ls ). T h e tr a d i­
tio n a l c o m m o d ity stru c tu re o f ppi o rg a n iz e s
p ro d u c ts by s im ila rity o f e n d u se o r m a te ­
ria l c o m p o s itio n . T h e in d u stry a n d p ro d u c t

August 2000

s t r u c t u r e o f ppi o r g a n i z e s d a t a in
a c c o r d a n c e w ith th e S t a n d a r d I n d u s t r i a l
C la s s ific a tio n (SIC) a n d th e p ro d u c t c o d e e x ­
te n s io n o f th e sic d e v e lo p e d b y th e U .S . B u ­
re a u o f th e C e n su s.
T o th e e x te n t p o s s ib l e , p r ic e s u s e d in
c a l c u l a ti n g P r o d u c e r P r ic e I n d e x e s a p p ly
to th e f i r s t s i g n i f ic a n t c o m m e r c i a l t r a n s ­
a c tio n in th e U n i t e d S t a te s f r o m t h e p r o ­
d u c ti o n o r c e n t r a l m a r k e ti n g p o in t. P r ic e
d a ta a r e g e n e r a lly c o ll e c t e d m o n th ly , p r i ­
m a r ily b y m a il q u e s t io n n a i r e . M o s t p r ic e s
a re o b ta in e d d ire c tly fro m p ro d u c in g c o m ­
p a n ie s o n a v o lu n ta ry a n d c o n f id e n tia l b a ­
sis. P ric e s g e n e r a ll y a r e r e p o r t e d f o r th e
T u e s d a y o f th e w e e k c o n ta i n in g t h e 1 3 th
d a y o f th e m o n th .
S in ce Ja n u a ry 1992, p rice c h an g e s fo r th e
v a r io u s c o m m o d itie s h a v e b e e n a v e r a g e d
t o g e t h e r w i t h i m p l i c i t q u a n t i t y w e i g h ts
re p re se n tin g th eir im p o rta n ce in th e to ta l n e t
sellin g v a lu e o f all c o m m o d itie s as o f 1987.
T h e d e ta ile d d a ta a re a g g re g a te d to o b ta in
in d e x e s fo r s ta g e -o f-p ro c e s s in g g ro u p in g s,
c o m m o d ity g ro u p in g s, d u ra b ility -o f-p ro d u c t
g ro u p in g s, and a n u m b e r o f sp ecial c o m p o site
g ro u p s. A ll P ro d u c e r P r ic e In d e x d a ta a re
s u b je c t to re v is io n 4 m o n th s a f te r o rig in a l
p u b lic a tio n .
F or a d d it io n a l inform atio n o n p r o ­
d u c e r p r i c e s , c o n ta c t th e D i v i s i o n o f I n ­
d u s t r i a l P r i c e s a n d P r ic e I n d e x e s : (2 0 2 )
6 9 1 -7 7 0 5 .

International Price Indexes
Description of the series
T h e International Price Program p ro d u c e s
m o n th ly a n d q u a r te r ly e x p o r t a n d im p o rt
p ric e in d e x e s fo r n o n m ilita ry g o o d s tra d e d
b e tw e e n th e U n ite d S ta te s a n d th e r e s t o f th e
w o rld . T h e e x p o r t p r ic e in d e x p ro v id e s a
m e a su re o f p ric e c h a n g e f o r a ll p ro d u c ts so ld
b y U .S . re s id e n ts to fo re ig n b u y e rs. (“R e s i­
d e n ts ” is d e fin e d as in th e n a tio n a l in c o m e
a c c o u n ts ; it in c lu d e s c o r p o r a t io n s , b u s i ­
n e sse s, a n d in d iv id u a ls , b u t d o e s n o t re q u ire
th e o rg a n iz a tio n s to b e U .S . o w n e d n o r th e
in d iv id u a ls to h a v e U .S . c itiz e n s h ip .) T h e
im p o rt p ric e in d e x p ro v id e s a m e a s u r e o f
p ric e c h a n g e fo r g o o d s p u rc h a s e d fro m o th e r
c o u n trie s b y U .S . re s id e n ts .
T h e p ro d u c t u n iv e rs e fo r b o th th e im p o rt
a n d e x p o rt in d e x e s in c lu d e s ra w m a te ria ls ,
a g ric u ltu ra l p ro d u c ts , se m ifin ish e d m a n u fa c ­
tu re s , an d fin is h e d m a n u fa c tu re s , in c lu d in g
b o th c a p ita l a n d c o n s u m e r g o o d s. P ric e d a ta
fo r th e s e ite m s a re c o lle c te d p rim a rily by
m a il q u e s tio n n a ire . In n e a rly a ll c a s e s, th e
d a ta a re c o lle c te d d ire c tly fro m th e e x p o rte r
o r im p o rte r, a lth o u g h in a fe w c a s e s, p ric e s
are o b ta in e d fro m o th e r so u rc es.
T o th e e x te n t p o ssib le , th e d a ta g a th e red
re fe r to p rice s a t th e U .S . b o rd e r fo r ex p o rts
an d a t e ith e r th e fo reig n b o rd e r o r th e U .S .

b o rd e r fo r im p o rts. F o r n e arly all p ro d u cts,
th e p rice s re fe r to tran sac tio n s c o m p le te d d u r­
ing th e first w e e k o f th e m o n th . S u rv e y re ­
sp o n d e n ts are a sk e d to in d ic a te all d isco u n ts,
a llo w a n ce s, an d re b ates a p p lic ab le to th e re ­
p o rte d p rice s, so th at th e p rice u se d in the c a l­
c u la tio n o f th e in d ex es is th e actu al p rice fo r
w h ic h th e p ro d u c t w as b o u g h t o r sold.
In a d d itio n to g e n e ra l in d e x e s o f p ric e s
fo r U .S . e x p o rts a n d im p o rts, in d ex e s are also
p u b lis h e d fo r d e ta ile d p ro d u c t c a te g o rie s o f
e x p o rts a n d im p o rts . T h e s e c a te g o rie s are
d e fin e d a c c o rd in g to th e f iv e -d ig it lev e l o f
d e ta il fo r th e B u re a u o f E c o n o m ic A n a ly sis
E n d -u s e C la s s ific a tio n (SiTC), a n d th e fo u r­
d i g i t le v e l o f d e ta i l f o r th e H a r m o n iz e d
S y s te m . A g g re g a te im p o rt in d e x e s by c o u n ­
try o r r e g io n o f o rig in are a ls o a v a ila b le .

publishes indexes for selected catego­
ries o f internationally traded services, calcu­
lated on an international basis and on a balance-of-paym ents basis.
bls

Notes on the data

tio n , w h ic h a ls o in c lu d e s th e o th e r c o sts a s ­
s o c ia te d w ith b rin g in g th e p ro d u c t to th e U .S .
b o rd e r. It d o e s n o t, h o w e v e r, in c lu d e d u ty
c h a rg e s. F o r a g iv e n p ro d u c t, o n ly o n e p ric e
b a sis se rie s is u se d in th e c o n stru c tio n o f an
in d ex .

F or additional information o n in te r­
n a tio n a l p ric e s, c o n ta c t th e D iv isio n o f Inte m a tio n a l P r ices: (2 0 2 ) 6 9 1 -7 1 5 5 .

Productivity Data
(T ab les 2; 3 9 - 4 2 )

Business sector and major
sectors
Description of the series
T h e p ro d u c tiv ity m e a su re s re la te re al o u tp u t
to re al in p u t. A s su ch , th ey e n c o m p a s s a fa m ­
ily o f m e a su re s w h ic h in c lu d e s in g le -fa c to r
in p u t m e a su re s, su c h as o u tp u t p e r h o u r, o u t­
p u t p e r u n it o f la b o r in p u t, o r o u tp u t p e r u n it
o f c a p ita l in p u t, as w ell as m e a su re s o f m u l­
tifa c to r p ro d u c tiv ity (o u tp u t p e r u n it o f c o m ­
b in e d la b o r an d c a p ita l in p u ts). T h e B u re a u
in d e x e s sh o w th e c h a n g e in o u tp u t re la tiv e
to c h a n g e s in th e v a rio u s in p u ts. T h e m e a ­
su re s c o v e r th e b u sin e ss, n o n fa rm b u sin e ss,
m a n u fa c tu rin g , a n d n o n fin a n c ia l c o rp o ra te
se c to rs.

T h e e x p o r t a n d i m p o r t p r ic e in d e x e s a re
w e ig h te d in d ex es o f th e L a sp e y re s ty p e. P ric e
r e l a t i v e s a r e a s s i g n e d e q u a l im p o r t a n c e
w ith in e a c h h a rm o n iz e d g ro u p a n d a re th en
a g g re g a te d to th e h ig h e r lev el. T h e v a lu e s a s ­
s ig n e d to e a c h w e ig h t c a te g o ry a re b a se d on
tra d e v a lu e fig u re s c o m p ile d by th e B u re a u
o f th e C e n su s. T h e tra d e w e ig h ts c u rre n tly
u se d to c o m p u te b o th in d e x e s re la te to 1990.
B e ca u se a p rice in d ex d e p en d s o n th e sam e
item s b e in g p ric e d fro m p e rio d to p e rio d , it is
n e ce ssa ry to re co g n ize w h en a p ro d u c t’s speci­
fic a tio n s o r te rm s o f tra n s a c tio n h a v e b e en
m o d ifie d . F o r th is re aso n , th e B u re a u ’s q u e s­
tio n n a ire re q u e sts d e ta ile d d e sc rip tio n s o f the
p h y sic al a n d fu n c tio n a l c h a ra c te ris tic s o f the
p ro d u c ts b e in g p rice d , as w ell as in fo rm a tio n
o n th e n u m b e r o f u n its b o u g h t o r sold, d is­
c o u n ts, c re d it term s, p a ck a g in g , c la ss o f b u y e r
o r seller, a n d so forth. W h e n th ere are ch an g e s
in e ith e r th e sp e c ifica tio n s o r term s o f tra n s­
a ctio n o f a p ro d u c t, th e d o lla r v a lu e o f e ach
c h a n g e is d e le te d fro m th e to ta l p ric e c h an g e
to o b ta in th e “p u re ” c h an g e . O n c e th is v a lu e
is d e te r m in e d , a lin k in g p ro c e d u re is e m ­
p lo y e d w h ic h a llo w s fo r th e c o n tin u e d re p ric ­
in g o f th e item .

Output per hour of all persons (la b o r p r o ­
d u c tiv ity ) is th e q u a n tity o f g o o d s a n d s e r­
v ic e s p ro d u c e d p e r h o u r o f la b o r in p u t. Out­
put per unit of capital services (c a p ita l p ro ­
d u c tiv ity ) is th e q u a n tity o f g o o d s a n d s e r ­
v ic e s p ro d u c e d p e r u n it o f c a p ita l s e rv ic e s
in p u t. Multifactor productivity is th e q u a n ­
tity o f g o o d s a n d se rv ic e s p ro d u c e d p e r c o m ­
b in e d in p u ts . F o r p riv a te b u s in e s s a n d p r i­
v a te n o n fa rm b u s in e s s , in p u ts in c lu d e la b o r
a n d c a p ita l u n its . F o r m a n u fa c tu rin g , in ­
p u ts in c lu d e la b o r, c a p ita l, e n e rg y , n o n -e n ­
e rg y m a te ria ls , a n d p u rc h a s e d b u s in e s s s e r­
v ic e s.

F o r th e e x p o rt p ric e in d e x e s, th e p re fe rre d
p ric in g is f.a .s. (fre e a lo n g s id e sh ip ) U .S . p o rt
o f e x p o r ta tio n . W h e n f ir m s r e p o r t e x p o r t
p ric e s f.o .b . (fre e o n b o a rd ), p ro d u c tio n p o in t
in fo rm a tio n is c o lle c te d w h ic h e n a b le s th e
B u re a u to c a lc u la te a s h ip m e n t c o st to th e p o rt
o f e x p o rta tio n . A n a tte m p t is m a d e to c o lle c t
tw o p ric e s fo r im p o rts. T h e first is th e im p o rt
p ric e f.o .b . a t th e fo re ig n p o rt o f e x p o rta tio n ,
w h ic h is c o n s is te n t w ith th e b a sis fo r v a lu a ­
tio n o f im p o rts in th e n a tio n a l a c c o u n ts . T h e
se c o n d is th e im p o rt p ric e c .i.f.(c o s ts , in s u r­
a n c e , a n d fre ig h t) a t th e U .S . p o rt o f im p o rta ­

Compensation per hour is to ta l c o m p e n ­
s a tio n d iv id e d by h o u rs a t w o rk . T o ta l c o m ­
p e n s a tio n e q u a ls th e w a g e s a n d s a la rie s o f
e m p lo y e e s p lu s e m p lo y e rs ’ c o n trib u tio n s fo r
so c ia l in s u ra n c e a n d p riv a te b e n e fit p la n s ,
p lu s an e s tim a te o f th e s e p a y m e n ts fo r th e
s e lf-e m p lo y e d (e x c e p t f o r n o n fin a n c ia l c o r ­
p o r a tio n s in w h ic h th e r e a re n o s e lf - e m ­
p lo y e d ). Real compensation per hour is
c o m p e n s a t i o n p e r h o u r d e f l a t e d b y th e
c h a n g e in th e C o n s u m e r P ric e In d e x f o r A ll
U rb a n C o n su m e rs.
Unit labor costs a re th e la b o r c o m p e n ­


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

C o rre s p o n d in g in d e x e s o f h o u rly c o m ­
p e n s a tio n , u n it la b o r c o s ts , u n it n o n la b o r
p a y m e n ts, a n d p ric e s are a ls o p ro v id e d .

Definitions

s a tio n c o s ts e x p e n d e d in th e p r o d u c tio n o f a
u n it o f o u tp u t a n d a re d e riv e d b y d iv id in g
c o m p e n s a tio n b y o u tp u t. Unit nonlabor
payments i n c l u d e p r o f i ts , d e p r e c ia t io n ,
in te re s t, a n d in d ire c t ta x e s p e r u n it o f o u t­
p u t. T h e y a re c o m p u te d b y su b tra c tin g c o m ­
p e n s a tio n o f all p e r s o n s fro m c u r re n t- d o lla r
v a lu e o f o u tp u t a n d d iv id in g b y o u tp u t.
Unit nonlabor costs c o n ta in a ll th e
c o m p o n e n ts o f u n it n o n la b o r p a y m e n ts e x ­
c e p t u n it p ro fits .

Unit profits in c lu d e c o r p o ra te p r o f its
w ith- in v e n to ry v a lu a tio n a n d c a p ita l c o n ­
su m p tio n a d ju s tm e n ts p e r u n it o f o u tp u t.
Hours of all persons a re th e to ta l h o u rs
a t w o rk o f p a y ro ll w o rk e rs , s e lf-e m p lo y e d
p e rso n s, a n d u n p a id fa m ily w o rk e rs.
Labor inputs a re h o u rs o f a ll p e rs o n s a d ­
ju s te d f o r th e e ffe c ts o f c h a n g e s in th e e d u ­
c a tio n a n d e x p e rie n c e o f th e la b o r fo rc e .
Capital services a re th e flo w o f s e rv ic e s
fro m th e c a p ita l s to c k u se d in p ro d u c tio n . It
is d e v e lo p e d fro m m e a s u re s o f th e n e t sto c k
o f p h y s ic a l a s s e ts — e q u ip m e n t, s tru c tu re s ,
lan d , a n d in v e n to rie s — w e ig h te d b y re n ta l
p ric e s fo r e a c h ty p e o f a sse t.
Combined units of labor and capital
inputs are d e riv e d b y c o m b in in g c h an g e s in
la b o r a n d c ap ita l in p u t w ith w e ig h ts w h ic h
r e p re s e n t e a c h c o m p o n e n t’s s h a re o f to ta l
cost. C o m b in e d u n its o f labor, c ap ital, energy,
m aterials, a n d p u rc h a se d bu sin ess serv ices are
sim ila rly d e riv e d by c o m b in in g c h a n g e s in
e a c h in p u t w ith w e ig h ts th at re p re se n t e a c h
in p u t’s sh are o f to tal co sts. T h e in d ex es fo r
e a c h in p u t an d fo r c o m b in e d u n its are b a se d
on ch an g in g w eig h ts w h ic h are av erag es o f th e
sh ares in the c u rre n t a n d p re c e d in g y e a r (the
T o m q u ist in d e x -n u m b e r fo rm u la).

Notes on the data
B usiness sector o u tp u t is a n an n u ally -w eig h ted
in dex co n stru cted by ex clu d in g fro m real gro ss
d o m estic p ro d u c t (gdp) th e fo llo w in g outp u ts:
g e n e ra l g o v e rn m e n t, n o n p ro fit in stitu tio n s ,
p a id e m p lo y e es o f p riv ate h o u se h o ld s, an d th e
re n ta l v a lu e o f o w n e r-o c c u p ie d d w e llin g s .
N o n fa rm b u sin e ss also e x clu d es fa rm in g . P ri­
v ate b u sin e ss an d p riv a te n o n fa rm b u sin e ss
fu rth e r e x clu d e g o v e rn m e n t en te rp rises. T h e
m easu res are su p p lied b y th e U .S . D e p a rtm e n t
o f C o m m e rc e ’s B u re au o f E co n o m ic A n a ly ­
sis. A n nual estim ates o f m an ufacturing sectoral
o u tp u t are p ro d u c e d by th e B u re au o f L a b o r
S tatistics. Q u a rterly m a n u fa c tu rin g o u tp u t in ­
d e x es fro m th e F e d e ral R e se rv e B o a rd are ad ­
ju s te d to th ese a n n u al o u tp u t m e a su re s b y th e
bls . C o m p e n sa tio n d a ta are d e v elo p ed fro m
d a ta o f th e B u re au o f E c o n o m ic A n a ly sis a n d
the B u re au o f L a b o r Statistics. H o u rs d a ta are
d e v elo p ed fro m d a ta o f th e B u re au o f L a b o r
S tatistics.
T h e p ro d u c tiv ity a n d a sso c ia te d c o st m e a ­
su re s in ta b le s 3 9 - 4 2 d e s c rib e th e re la tio n -

M onthly Labor Review

A ugust 2000

51

Current Labor Statistics
sh ip b e tw e e n o u tp u t in re a l te rm s a n d th e
la b o r a n d c a p ita l in p u ts in v o lv e d in its p ro ­
d u c tio n . T h e y sh o w th e c h a n g e s fro m p e rio d
to p e rio d in th e a m o u n t o f g o o d s a n d se r­
v ic e s p ro d u c e d p e r u n it o f in p u t.
A lth o u g h th ese m ea su re s re la te o u tp u t to
h o u rs an d c a p ital serv ices, th ey d o n o t m e a ­
su re th e c o n trib u tio n s o f labor, c ap ital, o r any
o th e r sp e c ific fa c to r o f p ro d u c tio n . R a th e r,
th ey re fle c t th e jo in t e ffe c t o f m an y in fluences,
in clu d in g c h a n g e s in tec h n o lo g y ; sh ifts in th e
c o m p o s itio n o f th e lab o r force; c ap ital in v est­
m en t; lev el o f o u tp u t; c h an g e s in th e u tiliza ­
tio n o f cap acity , e n erg y, m ate ria l, and re sea rc h
a n d d e v elo p m en t; th e o rg a n iz atio n o f p ro d u c ­
tio n ; m an a g e ria l sk ill; an d c h ara cte ristics and
effo rts o f th e w o rk fo rce.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION o n th is
p r o d u c tiv ity se rie s , c o n ta c t th e D iv isio n o f
P ro d u c tiv ity R e se a rc h : (2 0 2 ) 6 9 1 - 5 6 0 6 .

Industry productivity measures
Description of the series
T h e BLS in d u stry p ro d u ctiv ity d a ta su p p lem en t
th e m e a s u re s f o r th e b u s in e s s e c o n o m y a n d
m a jo r s e c to rs w ith a n n u a l m e a s u re s o f la b o r
p r o d u c tiv ity f o r s e le c te d in d u s tr ie s a t th e
th re e - a n d f o u r - d ig it le v e ls o f th e S ta n d a rd
I n d u s tr ia l C l a s s if ic a tio n s y s te m . T h e
in d u s tr y m e a s u r e s d if f e r in m e th o d o lo g y
a n d d a ta s o u rc e s fro m th e p ro d u c tiv ity
m e a s u re s f o r th e m a jo r s e c to rs b e c a u s e th e
in d u s try m e a s u re s a re d e v e lo p e d in d e p e n ­
d e n tly o f th e N a tio n a l I n c o m e a n d P r o d u c t
A c c o u n ts f r a m e w o r k u s e d f o r th e m a jo r
s e c to r m e a s u re s .

e m p lo y e e s . F o r so m e tra n s p o r ta tio n in d u s ­
trie s , o n ly in d e x e s o f o u tp u t p e r e m p lo y e e
a re p re p a re d . F o r s o m e tr a d e a n d s e rv ic e
in d u s tr ie s , in d e x e s o f o u tp u t p e r h o u r o f
a ll p e r s o n s ( in c lu d in g s e lf - e m p lo y e d ) a re
c o n s tru c te d .
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION On th is s e ­
ries, c o n ta c t th e D iv isio n o f In d u stry P ro d u c ­
tiv ity S tu d ies: (2 0 2 ) 6 9 1 - 5 6 1 8 .

International Comparisons
(T ab les 4 3 - 4 5 )

Labor force and
unemployment
Description of the series
T ab les 43 a n d 4 4 p re s e n t c o m p a ra tiv e m e a s ­
u re s o f th e la b o r fo rc e , e m p lo y m e n t, a n d u n ­
e m p l o y m e n t — a p p r o x i m a t i n g U .S . c o n ­
c e p ts— fo r th e U n ite d S ta te s, C a n a d a , A u s ­
tralia, Ja p a n , a n d se v e ra l E u ro p e a n co u n tries.
T h e u n e m p lo y m e n t sta tistic s (a n d , to a le s se r
e x te n t, e m p lo y m e n t s ta tistic s ) p u b lis h e d by
o th e r in d u s tria l c o u n trie s a re n o t, in m o s t
c a s e s , c o m p a r a b le to U .S . u n e m p lo y m e n t
sta tistic s. T h e re fo re , th e B u re a u a d ju s ts th e
fig u re s fo r s e le c te d c o u n trie s , w h e re n e c e s ­
sary, fo r all k n o w n m a jo r d e fin itio n a l d iffe r­
e n c e s. A lth o u g h p re c is e c o m p a ra b ility m ay
n o t b e a c h ie v e d , th e s e a d ju s te d fig u re s p ro ­
v id e a b e tte r b a sis fo r in te rn a tio n a l c o m p a ri­
so n s th a n th e fig u re s re g u la rly p u b lis h e d by
e a c h c o u n try .

Definitions

Definitions

Output per hour is derived by dividing an in­

F o r th e p rin c ip a l U .S . d e fin itio n s o f th e la­
bor force, employment, and unemployment,
se e th e N o te s s e c tio n o n E m p lo y m e n t an d
U n e m p lo y m e n t D a ta : H o u s e h o l d s u r v e y

d e x o f in d u stry o u tp u t by an in d ex o f lab o r
in p u t. F o r m o st in d u stries, output in d ex es are
d e riv e d fro m d a ta o n th e v a lu e o f in d ustry o u t­
p u t a d ju s te d fo r p ric e ch an g e . F o r th e re m a in ­
ing in d u stries, o u tp u t in dexes are d e riv e d fro m
d a ta o n th e p h y sic a l q u a n tity o f p ro d u ctio n .
T h e labor input series co n sist o f the hours
o f all em p lo y e es (p ro d u ctio n a n d n o n p ro d u c ­
tio n w o rk ers), th e h o u rs o f all perso n s (paid
e m p lo y e es, p artn ers, p ro p rieto rs, an d u n p aid
fam ily w o rk ers), o r the n u m b er o f em p lo y ees,
d e p en d in g u p o n th e industry.

Notes on the data
T h e in d u s try m e a s u re s a re c o m p ile d fro m
d a ta p ro d u c e d b y th e B u re a u o f L a b o r S ta ­
tis tic s, th e D e p a rtm e n ts o f C o m m e rc e , I n te ­
rio r, a n d A g ric u ltu re , th e F e d e ra l R e s e rv e
B o a rd , re g u la to ry a g e n c ie s , tra d e a s s o c ia ­
tio n s , a n d o th e r so u rc es.
F o r m o s t i n d u s t r ie s , th e p r o d u c ti v i ty
in d e x e s r e fe r to th e o u tp u t p e r h o u r o f a ll

52
M onthly Labor Review

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

d ata.

Notes on the data
T h e a d ju s te d s ta tistic s h a v e b e e n a d a p te d to
th e a g e a t w h ic h c o m p u ls o ry s c h o o lin g e n d s
in e a c h c o u n try , ra th e r th a n to th e U .S . s ta n ­
d a rd o f 16 y e a rs o f a g e a n d o ld er. T h e re fo re ,
th e a d ju s te d sta tistic s re la te to th e p o p u la ­
tio n a g e d 16 a n d o ld e r in F ra n c e , S w ed e n ,
a n d th e U n ite d K in g d o m ; 15 a n d o ld e r in
C a n a d a , A u s tr a lia , J a p a n , G e rm a n y , I ta ly
fro m 1993 o n w a rd , a n d th e N e th e rla n d s ; a n d
14 a n d o ld e r in Ita ly p rio r to 1993. T h e in s ti­
tu tio n a l p o p u la tio n is in c lu d e d in th e d e ­
n o m in a to r o f th e la b o r fo rc e p a rtic ip a tio n
ra te s a n d e m p lo y m e n t-p o p u la tio n ra tio s fo r
J a p a n a n d G e rm a n y ; it is e x c lu d e d fo r th e
U n ite d S ta te s a n d th e o th e r c o u n trie s .
In th e U .S . la b o r fo rc e su rv e y , p e rs o n s o n

August 2000

la y o ff w h o are aw aitin g re c a ll to th e ir jo b s are
c la s s if i e d a s u n e m p lo y e d . E u r o p e a n a n d
Ja p a n e s e la y o ff p ra c tic e s a re q u ite d iffe re n t
in n a tu re fro m th o s e in th e U n ite d S ta te s;
th e re fo re , s tric t a p p lic a tio n o f th e U .S . d e f i­
n itio n h a s n o t b e e n m a d e o n th is p o in t. F o r
fu rth e r in fo rm a tio n , se e Monthly Labor Re­
view, D e c e m b e r 1981, p p . 8 -1 1 .
T h e fig u re s fo r o n e o r m o re re c e n t y e a rs
fo r F ra n c e , G e rm an y , Italy , th e N e th e rla n d s ,
an d th e U n ite d K in g d o m a re c a lc u la te d u sin g
a d ju s tm e n t fa c to rs b a se d o n la b o r fo rc e s u r­
v e y s fo r e a rlie r y e a rs a n d a re c o n s id e re d p r e ­
lim in ary . T h e r e c e n t- y e a r m e a s u re s fo r th e s e
c o u n trie s , th e re fo re , a re s u b je c t to re v is io n
w h e n e v e r d a ta fro m m o re c u rre n t la b o r fo rc e
su rv e y s b e c o m e a v a ila b le .
T h e re are b re a k s in th e d a ta se rie s fo r th e
U n ite d S ta te s ( 1 9 9 0 , 1 9 9 4 , 1 9 9 7 , 1 9 9 8 ),
F ra n c e (1 9 9 2 ), Ita ly ( 1 9 9 1 ,1 9 9 3 ) , th e N e th ­
e rla n d s (1 9 8 8 ), a n d S w e d e n (1 9 8 7 ).
F o r th e U n ite d S ta te s, th e b r e a k in se rie s
re fle c ts a m a jo r re d e s ig n o f th e la b o r fo rc e
su rv e y q u e s tio n n a ire a n d c o lle c tio n m e th o d ­
o lo g y in tro d u c e d in J a n u a ry 1994. R e v is e d
p o p u la tio n e s tim a te s b a s e d o n th e 1 9 9 0 c e n ­
su s, a d ju s te d fo r th e e s tim a te d u n d e rc o u n t,
a ls o w e re in c o rp o ra te d . In 1996, p re v io u s ly
p u b lis h e d d a ta fo r th e 1 9 9 0 -9 3 p e rio d w e re
r e v is e d to r e f l e c t th e 1 9 9 0 c e n s u s - b a s e d
p o p u la tio n c o n tr o ls , a d ju s te d f o r th e u n ­
d e rc o u n t. In 1997, re v is e d p o p u la tio n c o n ­
tro ls w e re in tro d u c e d in to th e h o u s e h o ld s u r­
v e y . T h e r e f o r e , t h e d a ta a r e n o t s t r i c t l y
c o n p a ra b le w ith p rio r y e a rs. In 1998, n e w
c o m p o s ite e s tim a tio n p ro c e d u re s a n d m in o r
re v is io n s in p o p u la tio n c o n tro ls w e re in tro ­
d u c e d in to th e h o u s e h o ld su rv e y . T h e re fo re ,
th e d a ta are n o t s tric tly c o m p a ra b le w ith d a ta
fo r 1997 a n d e a rlie r y e a rs. S e e th e N o te s se c ­
tio n o n E m p lo y m e n t a n d U n e m p lo y m e n t
D a ta o f th is Review.
F o r F ra n c e , th e 1992 b re a k re fle c ts th e
s u b s titu tio n o f sta n d a rd iz e d E u ro p e a n U n io n
S ta tistic a l O ffic e ( eurostat ) u n e m p lo y m e n t
s ta tis tic s f o r th e u n e m p lo y m e n t d a ta e s t i ­
m a te d a c c o rd in g to th e In te rn a tio n a l L a b o r
O ffic e ( ilo) d e fin itio n a n d p u b lis h e d in th e
O rg a n iz a tio n f o r E c o n o m ic C o o p e ra tio n a n d
D e v e lo p m e n t ( oecd ) a n n u a l y e a rb o o k a n d
q u a rte rly u p d a te . T h is c h a n g e w a s m a d e b e ­
c a u s e th e EUROSTAT d a ta are m o re u p -to -d a te
th a n th e OECD fig u re s . A lso , sin c e 1 9 9 2 , th e
EUROSTAT d e fin itio n s a re c lo s e r to th e U .S .
d e fin itio n s th a n th e y w e re in p rio r y e a rs. T h e
im p a c t o f th is r e v is io n w a s to lo w e r th e u n ­
e m p lo y m e n t r a te b y 0.1 p e rc e n ta g e p o in t in
1992 a n d 1993, b y 0 .4 p e rc e n ta g e p o in t in
1994, a n d 0.5 p e rc e n ta g e p o in t in 1 995.
F o r Italy , th e 1991 b re a k r e fle c ts a r e v i­
sio n in th e m e th o d o f w e ig h tin g s a m p le d a ta .
T h e im p a c t w a s to in c re a s e th e u n e m p lo y ­
m e n t ra te b y a p p ro x im a te ly 0.3 p e rc e n ta g e
p o in t, fro m 6 .6 to 6.9 p e rc e n t in 1991.
In O c to b e r 1992, th e su rv e y m e th o d o l-

o g y w a s re v is e d a n d th e d e fin itio n o f u n e m ­
p lo y m e n t w a s c h a n g e d to in c lu d e o n ly th o se
w h o w e re a c tiv e ly lo o k in g fo r a jo b w ith in
th e 3 0 d a y s p re c e d in g th e su rv e y an d w h o
w e re a v a ila b le f o r w o rk . In a d d itio n , th e
lo w e r a g e lim it fo r th e la b o r fo rc e w a s ra is e d
fro m 14 to 15 y e a rs. (P rio r to th e s e c h a n g e s,
bls a d ju s te d I t a l y ’s p u b lis h e d u n e m p lo y ­
m e n t ra te d o w n w a rd b y e x c lu d in g fro m th e
u n e m p l o y e d th o s e p e r s o n s w h o h a d n o t
a c tiv e ly s o u g h t w o rk in th e p a s t 3 0 d a y s.)
T h e b re a k in th e se rie s a ls o re fle c ts th e in ­
c o rp o ra tio n o f th e 1991 p o p u la tio n c e n s u s
re s u lts . T h e im p a c t o f th e s e c h a n g e s w a s to
ra is e I t a l y ’s a d ju s te d u n e m p lo y m e n t ra te by
a p p ro x im a te ly 1.2 p e rc e n ta g e p o in ts , fro m
8 .3 to 9 .5 p e r c e n t in f o u r th - q u a r te r 1992.

in 1994, w h e n u n e m p lo y m e n t w as h ig h er. In
1998, th e a d ju s te d u n e m p lo y m e n t ra te h a d
ris e n fro m 6.5 to 8 .4 p e rc e n t d u e to th e a d ­
ju s tm e n t to in c lu d e stu d e n ts.
T h e n e t e f f e c t o f th e 1 9 8 7 a n d 1993
c h a n g e s a n d th e bls a d ju s tm e n t fo r stu d e n ts
se e k in g w o rk lo w e re d S w e d e n ’s 1987 u n e m ­
p lo y m e n t ra te fro m 2.3 to 2 .2 p e rce n t.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION o n th is s e ­
rie s, c o n ta c t th e D iv isio n o f F o re ig n L a b o r
S ta tistic s: (2 0 2 ) 6 9 1 - 5 6 5 4 .

T h e s e c h a n g e s d id n o t a ffe c t e m p lo y m e n t
sig n ific a n tly , e x c e p t in 1993. E s tim a te s by
th e I ta lia n S ta tistic a l O ffic e in d ic a te th a t e m ­
p l o y m e n t d e c lin e d b y a b o u t 3 p e r c e n t in
1993, r a th e r th a n th e n e a rly 4 p e rc e n t in d i­
c a te d b y th e d a ta s h o w n in ta b le 44 . T h is d if­
fe re n c e is a ttrib u ta b le m a in ly to th e in c o rp o ­
ra tio n o f th e 1991 p o p u la tio n b e n c h m a rk s in
th e 1993 d a ta . D a ta fo r e a rlie r y e a rs h a v e n o t
b e e n a d ju s te d to in c o rp o ra te th e 1991 c e n ­
su s re su lts .
F o r th e N e th e rla n d s , a n e w su rv e y q u e s ­
tio n n a ir e w a s i n tr o d u c e d in 1992 th a t a l­
lo w e d fo r a c lo s e r a p p lic a tio n o f ilo g u id e ­
lin e s. eurostat h a s re v is e d th e D u tc h se ries
b a c k to 1988 b a se d o n th e 1992 c h a n g e s. T h e
1988 re v is e d u n e m p lo y m e n t ra te is 7 .6 p e r ­
c en t; th e p re v io u s e stim a te fo r th e sa m e y e a r
w a s 9 .3 p e rc e n t.
T h e re h a v e b e e n tw o b re a k s in se rie s in
th e S w e d is h la b o r fo rc e su rv ey , in 1987 a n d
1 9 9 3 . A d ju s tm e n ts h a v e b e e n m a d e fo r th e
199 3 b r e a k b a c k to 1 9 87. In 198 7 , a n e w
q u e s tio n n a ire w a s in tro d u c e d . Q u e s tio n s r e ­
g a rd in g c u rre n t a v a ila b ility w e re a d d e d a n d
th e p e rio d o f a c tiv e w o rk s e e k in g w as re d u c e d
fro m 6 0 d a y s to 4 w e e k s. T h e s e c h a n g e s lo w ­
e re d S w e d e n ’s 1987 u n e m p lo y m e n t ra te by
0 .4 p e rc e n ta g e p o in t, fro m 2.3 to 1.9 p e rce n t.
In 1 9 9 3 , th e m e a s u re m e n t p e rio d fo r th e la ­
b o r fo rc e su rv e y w a s c h a n g e d to re p re s e n t
a ll 5 2 w e e k s o f th e y e a r ra th e r th a n o n e w e e k
e a c h m o n th a n d a n e w a d ju s tm e n t fo r p o p u ­
la tio n to ta ls w a s in tro d u c e d . T h e im p a c t w as
to ra is e th e u n e m p lo y m e n t r a te by a p p ro x i­
m a te ly 0 .5 p e rc e n ta g e p o in t, fro m 7 .6 to 8.1
p e rc e n t. S ta tis tic s S w e d e n re v is e d its la b o r
fo rc e su rv e y d a ta fo r 1 9 8 7 -9 2 to ta k e in to
a c c o u n t th e b re a k in 1993. T h e a d ju s tm e n t
ra is e d th e S w e d ish u n e m p lo y m e n t ra te b y 0 .2
p e rc e n ta g e p o in t in 1987 a n d g ra d u a lly ro se
to 0 .5 p e rc e n ta g e p o in t in 1992.
B e g in n in g w ith 1 9 8 7, bls h a s a d ju s te d
th e S w e d is h d a ta to c la s s ify s tu d e n ts w h o
a ls o s o u g h t w o rk as u n e m p lo y e d . T h e im ­
p a c t o f th is c h a n g e w a s to in c re a s e th e a d ­
ju s te d u n e m p lo y m e n t ra te b y 0.1 p e rc e n ta g e
p o in t in 1987 a n d b y 1.8 p e rc e n ta g e p o in ts

T ab le 45 p re s e n ts c o m p a ra tiv e in d e x e s o f
m a n u fa c tu rin g la b o r p ro d u c tiv ity (o u tp u t p e r
h o u r), o u tp u t, to ta l h o u rs, c o m p e n s a tio n p e r
h o u r, a n d u n it la b o r c o s ts f o r th e U n ite d
S ta te s , C a n a d a , Ja p a n , a n d n in e E u ro p e a n
c o u n tries. T h e s e m e a su re s are tren d c o m p a ri­
so n s— th a t is, se rie s th a t m e a su re c h a n g e s
o v e r tim e — ra th e r th a n le v e l c o m p a ris o n s.
T h e re are g re a te r te c h n ic a l p ro b le m s in c o m ­
p a rin g th e le v e ls o f m a n u fa c tu rin g o u tp u t
a m o n g c o u n trie s .
bls c o n stru c ts th e c o m p a ra tiv e in d e x e s
fro m th re e b a sic a g g re g a te m e a su re s— o u t­
p u t, to ta l la b o r h o u rs, a n d to ta l c o m p e n s a ­
tio n . T h e h o u rs a n d c o m p e n s a tio n m e a su re s
r e fe r to a ll e m p lo y e d p e rso n s (w a g e a n d sa l­
ary e a rn e rs p lu s se lf-e m p lo y e d p e rs o n s a n d
u n p a id fa m ily w o rk e rs) in th e U n ite d S ta te s,
C a n a d a , J a p a n , F ra n c e , G e rm a n y , N o rw ay ,
a n d S w e d e n , a n d to all e m p lo y e e s (w a g e a n d
sa la ry e a rn e rs) in th e o th e r c o u n trie s .


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Manufacturing productivity
and labor costs
Description of the series

Definitions
Output, in g e n e ra l, re fe rs to v a lu e a d d e d in
m a n u fa c tu rin g fro m th e n a tio n a l a c c o u n ts o f
e a c h c o u n try . H o w ev e r, th e o u tp u t se rie s fo r
J a p a n p rio r to 1970 is an in d e x o f in d u stria l
p ro d u c tio n , a n d th e n a tio n a l a c c o u n ts m e a ­
su re s fo r th e U n ite d K in g d o m are e sse n tia lly
id e n tic a l to th e ir in d e x e s o f in d u stria l p ro ­
d u ctio n .
T h e 1 9 7 7 -9 7 o u tp u t d a ta fo r the U n ited
S tates are the g ro ss p ro d u c t orig in atin g (value
ad d ed ) m ea su re s p re p are d by th e B u re au o f
E c o n o m ic A n a ly sis o f th e U .S . D e p artm en t
o f C o m m e rc e . C o m p a ra b le m a n u fa c tu rin g
o u tp u t d a ta c u rren tly are n o t av ailab le p rio r
to 1977.
U .S . g ro ss p ro d u c t o rig in a tin g is a c h a in ty p e a n n u a l-w e ig h te d se ries. (F o r m o re in ­
fo rm a tio n o n th e U .S . m e a su re , se e R o b e rt
E . Y usk av ag e, “ Im p ro v e d E stim a te s o f G ro ss
P r o d u c t b y In d u stry , 1 9 5 9 - 9 4 ,” Survey of
Current Business, A u g u s t 1996, p p . 133—
5 5 .) T h e Ja p a n e se v a lu e a d d e d series is b a se d
u p o n o n e se t o f fix e d p ric e w e ig h ts fo r th e
y e a rs 1970 th ro u g h 1997. O u tp u t se rie s fo r

th e o th er fo reig n e co n o m ies also e m p lo y fix ed
p ric e w e ig h ts , b u t th e w e ig h ts a re u p d a te d
perio d ically (for ex am p le, e v ery 5 o r 10 years).
T o p re s e rv e th e c o m p a ra b ility o f th e U .S .
m e a su re s w ith th o se fo r o th e r e c o n o m ie s, bls
u se s g ro ss p ro d u c t o r ig in a tin g in m a n u fa c ­
tu rin g fo r th e U n ite d S ta te s fo r th e s e c o m ­
p a ra tiv e m e a su re s. T h e g ro ss p ro d u c t o rig i­
n a tin g se rie s d iffe rs fro m th e m a n u fa c tu rin g
o u tp u t se rie s th a t bls p u b lis h e s in its n e w s
re le a s e s o n q u a rte rly m e a s u re s o f U .S . p r o ­
d u c tiv ity a n d c o sts (a n d th a t u n d e rlie s th e
m e a su re s th a t a p p e a r in ta b le s 39 a n d 41 in
th is s e c tio n ). T h e q u a rte rly m e a s u re s a re o n
a “ se c to ra l o u tp u t” b a sis, ra th e r th an a v a lu e a d d e d b a sis. S e c to ra l o u tp u t is g ro ss o u tp u t
less in tra s e c to r tra n s a c tio n s.

Total labor hours re fe rs to h o u rs w o rk e d
in all c o u n trie s . T h e m e a su re s a re d e v e lo p e d
fro m sta tistics o f m a n u fa c tu rin g e m p lo y m e n t
a n d a v era g e h o u rs. T h e series u se d fo r F ra n c e
(fro m 1970 fo rw a rd ), N o rw a y , a n d S w e d e n
a re o ffic ia l se rie s p u b lis h e d w ith th e n a tio n a l
a cc o u n ts. W h e re o fficial to ta l h o u rs se ries are
n o t a v a ila b le , th e m e a su re s a re d e v e lo p e d b y
bls u sin g e m p lo y m e n t fig u res p u b lis h e d w ith
th e n a tio n a l a c c o u n ts , o r o th e r c o m p re h e n ­
s iv e e m p lo y m e n t s e rie s , a n d e s tim a te s o f
a n n u al h o u rs w o rk e d . F o r G erm an y , bls u se s
e stim a te s o f a v era g e h o u rs w o rk e d d e v e lo p e d
b y a re s e a rc h in stitu te c o n n e c te d to th e M in ­
istry o f L a b o r f o r u se w ith th e n a tio n a l a c ­
c o u n ts e m p lo y m e n t fig u re s . F o r th e o th e r
c o u n trie s , bls c o n s tru c ts its o w n e s tim a te s
o f a v e ra g e h o u rs.
D e n m a rk h a s n o t p u b lis h e d e s tim a te s o f
a v era g e h o u rs fo r 1 9 9 4 -9 7 ; th e re fo re , th e bls
m e a s u re o f la b o r in p u t fo r D e n m a rk e n d s in
1993.
Total compensation (labor cost) in clu d es
all p a y m e n ts in c a s h o r in -k in d m a d e d irec tly
to e m p lo y e es p lu s e m p lo y e r e x p en d itu re s fo r
leg ally re q u ire d in su ra n ce p ro g ra m s an d c o n ­
trac tu a l an d p riv ate b e n efit p lan s. T h e m e a ­
sures are fro m th e n a tio n a l a c c o u n ts o f e ac h
co untry, e x ce p t th o se fo r B e lg iu m , w h ic h are
d e v e lo p e d by BLS u sin g sta tistics o n e m p lo y ­
m en t, a v erag e h o u rs, a n d h o u rly c o m p e n sa ­
tion. F o r C a n ad a , F ra n c e, an d S w ed e n , c o m ­
p e n sa tio n is in cre ased to a cc o u n t fo r o th e r sig ­
n ific an t tax e s o n p a y ro ll o r e m p lo y m en t. F o r
th e U n ited K in g d o m , c o m p e n sa tio n is re d u ce d
b e tw ee n 1967 and 1991 to a c c o u n t fo r e m ­
p lo y m e n t-re la te d su b s id ie s . S e lf-e m p lo y e d
w o rk e rs a re in clu d e d in th e a ll-em p lo y ed -p e rso n s m e a su re s by a ssu m in g th a t th e ir h o u rly
c o m p e n sa tio n is e q u al to th e a v era g e fo r w a g e
an d salary e m p lo y e e s.

Notes on the data
In g e n e ra l, th e m e a su re s re la te to to ta l m a n u ­
fa ctu rin g as d e fin e d b y th e In tern a tio n a l S ta n ­
d a rd In d u s tria l C la s s ific a tio n . H o w e v e r, th e
m e a su re s fo r F ra n c e (fo r a ll y e a rs) a n d Ita ly

M onthly Labor Review

A ugust 2000

53

Current Labor Statistics
(b e g in n in g 1 970) re fe r to m in in g a n d m a n u ­
fa c tu rin g less e n e rg y -re la te d p ro d u c ts , a n d
th e m e a su re s fo r D e n m a rk in c lu d e m in in g
a n d e x c lu d e m a n u fa c tu rin g h a n d ic ra fts fro m
1 9 6 0 to 1966.
T h e m e a s u re s f o r r e c e n t y e a rs m a y be
b a se d o n c u rre n t in d ic a to rs o f m a n u fa c tu r­
in g o u tp u t (su c h as in d u s tria l p ro d u c tio n in ­
d e x e s ) , e m p lo y m e n t, a v e r a g e h o u r s , a n d
h o u rly c o m p e n s a tio n u n til n a tio n a l a c c o u n ts
a n d o th e r s ta tis tic s u se d fo r th e lo n g -te rm
m e a s u re s b e c o m e a v a ila b le .
F or additional information o n th is s e ­
rie s , c o n ta c t th e D iv isio n o f F o re ig n L a b o r
S ta tistic s : (2 0 2 ) 6 9 1 - 5 6 5 4 .

O ccupational Injury
and Illness Data
(T ab les 4 6 - 4 7 )

Survey of O c c u p a tio n a l
Injuries a n d Illnesses

an o c c u p a tio n a l injury, c a u s e d by e x p o su re to
fa c to rs a s s o c ia te d w ith e m p lo y m e n t. It in ­
c lu d e s acu te an d ch ro n ic illn esses o r d ise ase
w h ic h m ay b e c a u s e d b y in h ala tio n , a b so rp ­
tio n , in g estio n , o r d irec t c o n tact.
Lost workday injuries and illnesses are
c a s e s th a t in v o lv e d a y s a w a y fro m w o rk , o r
d a y s o f re s tric te d w o rk a c tiv ity , o r b o th .
Lost workdays in c lu d e th e n u m b e r o f
w o r k d a y s ( c o n s e c u tiv e o r n o t) o n w h ic h
th e e m p lo y e e w a s e ith e r a w a y f ro m w o rk
o r a t w o r k in s o m e r e s tr ic te d c a p a c ity , o r
b o th , b e c a u s e o f a n o c c u p a tio n a l in ju ry o r
illn e s s , bls m e a s u r e s o f th e n u m b e r a n d
in c id e n c e r a te o f l o s t w o r k d a y s w e re d i s ­
c o n tin u e d b e g in n in g w ith th e 199 3 su rv e y .
T h e n u m b e r o f d a y s a w a y fro m w o r k o r
d a y s o f r e s t r ic te d w o r k a c tiv ity d o e s n o t
in c lu d e th e d a y o f in ju ry o r o n s e t o f illn e s s
o r a n y d a y s o n w h ic h th e e m p lo y e e w o u ld
n o t h a v e w o rk e d , s u c h as a F e d e r a l h o lid a y ,
e v e n th o u g h a b le to w o rk .
Incidence rates a r e c o m p u te d a s th e
n u m b e r o f i n ju r ie s a n d /o r i ll n e s s e s o r lo st
w o rk d a y s p e r 100 fu ll-tim e w o rk e rs.

Notes on the data
Description of the series
T h e S u rv ey o f O c cu p atio n al In juries an d Ill­
n esses co llects d ata fro m em p lo y ers ab o u t their
w o rk e rs’ jo b -relate d n o n fatal injuries an d ill­
nesses. T h e in fo rm atio n that em ployers provide
is b a se d o n reco rd s th at they m ain tain u n d er
th e O c c u p a tio n a l S a fe ty a n d H e a lth A c t o f
1970. S elf-em p lo y ed individuals, farm s w ith
fe w e r th an 11 e m p lo y ees, e m p lo y e rs reg u lated
b y o th er F e d e ral safety an d h ealth law s, and
F ed eral, S tate, an d local g o v e rn m e n t agencies
are e x clu d ed fro m th e survey.
T h e s u rv e y is a F e d e r a l- S ta te c o o p e r a ­
tiv e p ro g ra m w ith an in d e p e n d e n t s a m p le
s e l e c t e d f o r e a c h p a r t i c i p a t i n g S t a te . A
s tr a tif ie d r a n d o m s a m p le w ith a N e y m a n a l­
lo c a tio n is s e le c te d to r e p re s e n t a ll p riv a te
in d u s tr ie s in th e S ta te . T h e s u rv e y is s tr a ti­
f ie d b y S ta n d a r d I n d u s tr ia l C la s s if ic a tio n
a n d s iz e o f e m p lo y m e n t.

Definitions
U n d e r th e O c c u p a tio n a l S a fe ty a n d H e a lth
A c t, e m p lo y e rs m a in ta in re c o rd s o f n o n fa ta l
w o rk -re la te d in ju rie s a n d illn e sse s th a t in ­
v o lv e o n e o r m o re o f th e fo llo w in g : lo ss o f
c o n sc io u s n e s s, re s tric tio n o f w o rk o r m o tio n ,
tra n s fe r to a n o th e r jo b , o r m e d ic a l tre a tm e n t
o th e r th a n firs t aid .
Occupational injury is an y injury su ch as
a cut, fractu re, sprain, o r am p u tatio n th at re ­
sults fro m a w o rk -re la ted ev en t o r a single, in­
stan tan eo u s e x p o su re in the w o rk environm ent.
Occupational illness is an ab n o rm a l c o n ­
d itio n o r d iso rd er, o th er than on e resulting from

54
M onthly Labor Review

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

T h e d e fin itio n s o f o c c u p a tio n a l in ju rie s a n d
illn e sse s a re fro m Recordkeeping Guidelines
for Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (U .S .
D e p a rtm e n t o f L ab o r, B u re a u o f L a b o r S ta ­
tis tic s, S e p te m b e r 1986).
E stim ates are m ad e fo r industries an d e m ­
p lo y m e n t size classes fo r total recordable cases,
lost w orkday cases, days aw ay from w ork cases,
a n d n o n fa ta l c a s e s w ith o u t lo st w o rk d a y s.
T h ese d ata also are sh o w n separately fo r in ju ­
ries. Illn ess d a ta are available fo r seven c ateg o ­
ries: o ccu p atio n al skin d iseases o r disorders,
d u st d iseases o f the lungs, resp irato ry co n d i­
tio n s d u e to toxic agents, p o iso n in g (system ic
effects o f toxic agents), d isorders d ue to p h y si­
cal ag en ts (o th er th an toxic m aterials), d iso r­
ders asso ciated w ith rep eated trau m a, and all
o th er occu p atio n al illnesses.
T h e su rv e y c o n tin u e s to m ea su re th e n u m ­
b e r o f n e w w o rk -re la ted illn ess c ases w h ich
are re co g n ize d , d iag n o sed , an d re p o rte d d u r­
ing th e year. S o m e co n d itio n s, fo r ex am p le,
lo n g -te rm late n t illn esses c au sed by ex p o su re
to c arc in o g e n s, o ften are d iffic u lt to re la te to
the w o rk p la ce a n d are n o t a d eq u a te ly re c o g ­
n ize d a n d rep o rted . T h e s e lo n g -term late n t ill­
n esses are b e lie v ed to b e u n d e rstated in the
s u rv e y ’s illn ess m easu re. In c o n trast, th e o v e r­
w h e lm in g m a jo rity o f th e re p o rte d n e w ill­
n e sse s are th o se w h ic h are e asie r to directly
re la te to w o rk p la ce activ ity (for ex am p le, c o n ­
ta c t d e rm a titis and c arp a l tu n n el sy n d ro m e).
M o s t o f th e e stim a te s are in th e fo rm o f
in cid e n ce ra te s, d e fin e d as th e n u m b e r o f in ­
ju rie s a n d illn esses p e r 100 e q u iv a le n t fu ll­
tim e w o rk e rs. F o r th is p u rp o se , 2 0 0 ,0 0 0 e m ­
p lo y e e h o u rs re p re se n t 100 e m p lo y e e y ears

August 2000

(2 ,0 0 0 h o u rs p e r em p lo y e e). F u ll d e ta il o n th e
av ailab le m ea su re s is p re se n te d in th e an n u al
b u lletin , Occupational Injuries and Illnesses:

Counts, Rates, and Characteristics.
C o m p a ra b le d a ta fo r m o re th a n 4 0 S ta te s
a n d te rrito rie s a re a v a ila b le fro m th e BLS O f­
fic e o f S afety , H e a lth an d W o rk in g C o n d i­
tio n s . M a n y o f th e s e S ta te s p u b lis h d a ta o n
S ta te a n d lo ca l g o v e rn m e n t e m p lo y e e s in a d ­
d itio n to p riv a te in d u stry d a ta .
M in in g a n d r a ilro a d d a ta are fu rn is h e d to
bls b y th e M in e S a fe ty a n d H e a lth A d m in is ­
tra tio n a n d th e F e d e ra l R a ilro a d A d m in is tra ­
tio n . D a ta fro m th e s e o rg a n iz a tio n s a re in ­
c lu d e d in b o th th e n a tio n a l a n d S ta te d a ta
p u b lis h e d a n n u ally .
W ith th e 1992 su rv ey , bls b e g a n p u b lis h ­
in g d e ta ils o n s e rio u s, n o n fa ta l in c id e n ts r e ­
su ltin g in d a y s a w a y fro m w o rk . In c lu d e d are
so m e m a jo r c h a ra c te ris tic s o f th e in ju re d a n d
ill w o rk e rs, s u c h as o c c u p a tio n , a g e, g e n d e r,
ra c e , a n d le n g th o f s e rv ic e , as w e ll as th e c ir­
c u m s ta n c e s o f th e ir in ju rie s a n d illn e sse s (n a ­
tu re o f th e d is a b lin g c o n d itio n , p a rt o f b o d y
a ffe c te d , e v e n t a n d e x p o s u re , an d th e so u rc e
d ire c tly p ro d u c in g th e c o n d itio n ). In g e n e ra l,
th e s e d a ta a re a v a ila b le n a tio n w id e fo r d e ­
ta ile d in d u strie s a n d fo r in d iv id u a l S ta te s a t
m o re a g g re g a te d in d u stry lev e ls.
F or additional information o n o c c u ­
p a tio n a l in ju rie s a n d illn e s s e s , c o n ta c t th e
O ffic e o f O c c u p a tio n a l S a fe ty , H e a lth a n d
W o rk in g C o n d itio n s a t (2 0 2 ) 6 9 1 - 6 1 8 0 , o r
a c c e s s th e In te rn e t at:

http ://www.bls.gov/oshhome.htm

Census of Fatal
O c c u p a tio n a l Injuries
T h e C e n su s o f F a ta l O c c u p a tio n a l In ju rie s
c o m p ile s a c o m p le te ro s te r o f fa ta l j o b - r e ­
late d in ju rie s, in c lu d in g d e ta ile d d a ta a b o u t
th e f a ta ll y i n ju r e d w o r k e r s a n d th e f a ta l
e v e n ts . T h e p ro g ra m c o lle c ts a n d c ro s s
c h e c k s fa ta lity in f o r m a tio n fro m m u ltip le
so u rc e s , in c lu d in g d e a th c e rtific a te s , S ta te
a n d F e d e ra l w o r k e r s ’ c o m p e n s a tio n re p o rts ,
O c c u p a tio n a l S a fe ty a n d H e a lth A d m in is tra ­
tio n a n d M in e S a fe ty a n d H e a lth A d m in is ­
tra tio n re c o rd s , m e d ic a l e x a m in e r a n d a u ­
to p sy re p o rts , m e d ia a c c o u n ts , S ta te m o to r
v e h ic le fa ta lity re c o rd s , a n d fo llo w -u p q u e s ­
tio n n a ire s to e m p lo y e rs .
In a d d itio n to p r iv a te w a g e a n d s a la ry
w o r k e r s , th e s e l f - e m p lo y e d , fa m ily m e m ­
b e rs , a n d F e d e r a l, S ta te , a n d lo c a l g o v e r n ­
m e n t w o r k e r s a re c o v e r e d b y th e p r o g r a m .
T o b e in c lu d e d in th e f a ta lity c e n s u s , th e
d e c e d e n t m u s t h a v e b e e n e m p lo y e d ( th a t is
w o r k in g f o r p a y , c o m p e n s a tio n , o r p r o f it)
a t th e tim e o f th e e v e n t, e n g a g e d in a le g a l
w o rk a c tiv ity , o r p r e s e n t a t th e s ite o f
th e i n c i d e n t a s a r e q u i r e m e n t o f h is o r h e r
jo b .

Definition

r e l a t e d i ll n e s s e s , w h ic h c a n b e d i f f i c u l t
to iden tify d u e to long laten cy perio d s.

A fatal work injury is an y in te n tio n a l o r u n ­
in te n tio n a l w o u n d o r d a m a g e to th e b o d y re ­
su ltin g in d e ath fro m a cu te ex p o su re to energy,
su c h as h e a t o r e lectricity , o r k in etic e n erg y
fro m a c rash , o r fro m th e a b se n ce o f s u c h e s­
sen tials as h e a t o r o x y g e n c au sed by a sp ecific
e v e n t o r in c id e n t o r series o f e v en ts w ith in a
sin g le w o rk d a y o r sh ift. F a talitie s th at o c cu r
d u rin g a p e rs o n ’s c o m m u te to o r fro m w o rk
are e x c lu d e d fro m th e c en su s, as w ell as w ork-

Notes on the data
T w e n ty -e ig h t d a ta e le m e n ts a re c o lle c te d ,
c o d e d , a n d ta b u la te d in th e fa ta lity p ro g ra m ,
in c lu d in g in fo rm a tio n a b o u t th e fa ta lly in ­
ju r e d w o rk e r, th e fa ta l in c id e n t, a n d th e m a ­
c h in e ry o r e q u ip m e n t in v o lv e d . S u m m a ry
w o rk e r d e m o g ra p h ic d a ta a n d e v e n t c h a r a c ­
te ris tic s a re in c lu d e d in a n a tio n a l n e w s r e ­

le a se th a t is a v a ila b le a b o u t 8 m o n th s a fte r
th e e n d o f th e r e fe r e n c e y e ar. T h e C e n s u s o f
F a ta l O c c u p a tio n a l In ju rie s w a s in itia te d in
1992 as a j o in t F e d e r a l- S ta te e ffo rt. M o s t
S ta te s issu e s u m m a ry in fo rm a tio n a t th e tim e
o f th e n a tio n a l n e w s re le a s e .
F o r a d d i t i o n a l i n f o r m a t i o n o n th e
C e n su s o f F a ta l O c c u p a tio n a l In ju rie s c o n ­
ta c t th e b l s O f f ic e o f S a fe ty , H e a lth , a n d
W o rk in g C o n d itio n s a t (2 0 2 ) 6 9 1 - 6 1 7 5 , o r
th e In te rn e t at:

http://www.bls.gov/oshhome.htm

Bureau of Labor Statistics Internet
The Bureau of Labor Statistics World Wide Web site on the Internet contains a range of
data on consumer and producer prices, employment and unemployment, occupational com­
pensation, employee benefits, workplace injuries and illnesses, and productivity. The
homepage can be accessed using any Web browser:
http://stats.bls.gov
Also, some data can be accessed through anonymous f t p or Gopher at
stats.bls.gov


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

M onthly Labor Review

A ugust 2000

55

Current Labor Statistics:

C om parative Indicators

1. Labor market indicators
III

II

I

IV

III

II

2000

1999

1998

1999

Selected indicators

II

I

IV

Employment data
Employment status of the civilian noninstitutionalized
population (household survey):'
67.1
64.1
4.5
4.4

67.1
64.3
4.2
4.1

11.1

3.2
4.6
9.8
3.6

10.3
3.0
4.3
9.5
3.3

125,865
106,042
25,414
18,805
100,451

128,786
108,616
25,482
18,543
103,304

Labor force participation rate....................................................
Employment-population ratio....................................................
Unemployment rate.................................................................
Men......................................................................................
16 to 24 years......................................................................
25 years and over................................................................
Women.................................................................................
16 to 24 years......................................................................
25 years and over...............................................................

67.1
64.2
4.3
4.2
10.4

67.0
64.2
4.2
4.1

3.0
4.4
9.2
3.4

3.0
4.4
9.5

67.0
64.3
4.1
4.0
10.4
2.9
4.2
9.4

3.6

67.2
64.3
4.3
4.2
10.4
3.0
4.4
9.8
3.4

3.3

3.1

126,967
107,016
25,469
18,716
101,498

127,800
107,741
25,488
18,632
102,312

128,430
108,319
25,454
18,543
102,976

129,073
108,874
25,459
18,516
103,614

129,783
109,507
25,524
18,482
104,259

67.1
64.1
4.4
4.3

3.6

67.0
64.0
4.5
4.5
11.5
3.2
4.5
9.9
3.5

125,486
105,726
25,427
18,871
100,059

126,180
106,321
25,408
18,765
100,772

67.0
64.1
4.4
4.3
10.7
3.1
4.6
9.7

1 0 .6

3.1
4.6
9.4

1 0 .0

67.5
64.7
4.1
4.0
9.7
2.9
4.2
9.6
3.2

67.3
64.6
4.0
3.9
9.7
2 .8

4.1
9.0
3.2

Employment, nonfarm (payroll data), in thousands:1
Total........................................................................................
Goods-producing.................................................................
Manufacturing..................................................................
Service-producing................................................................

130,626
110,195
25,680
18,481
104,946

131,537
110,711
25,704
18,487
105,833

Average hours:
34.6
41.7
4.6

34.5
41.7
4.6

34.6
41.7
4.6

34.6
41.7
4.6

34.6
41.7

34.5
41.6

34.5
41.7

34.5
41.8

34.5
41.7

34.5
41.7

34.5
41.7

4.5

4 .5

4.6

4 .6

4 .7

4 .6

4 .7

3.4
3.5

3.4
3.4

.8

1.2

.6

1.1

1.1

.6

.4
.4

1 .0

.9

2 .8

3.4

.8

.7

.5

.8

3.4
3.4

.8

1.3
1.5

.6

State and local government workers......................................

3.8
3.0

.3
.5

Workers by bargaining status (private industry):
Union......................................................................................
Nonunion................................................................................

3.0
3.5

2.7
3.6

1 .0

1.1

.5

1.1

.6

.4
.5

.7

.8

1 .2

Private sector........................................................................
Manufacturing.....................................................................
Overtime..........................................................................
Employment Cost Index2
Percent change in the ECI, compensation:
All workers (excluding farm, household and Federal workers)....
Private industry workers........................................................
Goods-producing3 .............................................................
Service-producing3 ...........................................................

1
2
3

.3

.6

.9

.9
.9

1.3
1.5

“

.7

.9

1 .0

1 .6

-

1.3
.4

.9
1.5

.8

1.4

1 .0

.6

“

.9
.9

.7
1 .0

1.3
1.5

“

1.1

Quarterly data seasonally adjusted.
Annual changes are December-to-December changes. Quarterly changes are calculated using the last month of each quarter.
Goods-producing industries include mining, construction, and manufacturing. Service-producing industries include all other private sector industries.

Note: Dash indicates data not available.

M onthly Labor Review
56

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

1998

1998

1999
I

1999

II

III

IV

I

II

2000
III

IV

I

Compensation data1’2
Employment Cost Index—compensation (wages,
salaries, benefits):
Civilian nonfarm..................................................................

3.4

3.4

0 .8

0 .8

1 .2

0 .6

0.4

1 .0

Private nonfarm..............................................................

3.5

3.4

.9

.9

1.1

.6

.4

1.1

1.1

0.9

1.3

.9

1.5

.9

Employment Cost Index—wages and salaries:
Civilian nonfarm................................................................

3.7

3.5

.7

1.3

.7

.5

1 .0

.8

1 .1

Private nonfarm..............................................................

3.9

3.5

1.1

.9

1.3

.6

.5

1 .2

.9

.9

1 .2

1 .6

2.7

.6

.5

.4

.2

.7

.7

1 .0

.2

1.7

Finished goods....................................................................

.0

2.9

Finished consumer goods................................................

.0

3.8

.9

1.1

Price data1
Consumer Price Index (All Urban Consumers): All Items.....
Producer Price Index:

-

- .8

.5

- .1

.4

.0

1 .2

1.5

.1

1 .6

1 .0

.8

.0

.2

.0

1 .8

2 .2

- .2

2 .0

Capital equipment............................................................

.0

.3

.0

-.5

-.4

Intermediate materials, supplies, and components.............
Crude materials....................................................................

-3.3

3.7

-1.4

.2

-.5

-16.7

15.3

- 8 .8

1 .8

-

.9

- .1

-.4

-.4

1 .2

.1

1 .6

- .2

1.9

1.9

.1

2 .0

-5.6

-2.5

- .1

9.4

1 0 .2

-3.5

9.5

-

Productivity data3
Output per hour of all persons:
Business sector....................................................................

2.9

3.2

4.8

.7

3.5

4.3

2.9

.8

4.7

6 .6

1 .8

Nonfarm business sector......................................................

2 .8

3.0

4.7

1 .0

3.2

4.1

2.7

.5

5.0

6.9

2.4

Nonfinancial corporations4 ...................................................

4.0

4.0

3.7

3.9

5.9

3.1

4.1

3.4

4.0

5.1

3.6

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.
1

2

Excludes Federal and private household workers.

3

Annual rates of change are computed by comparing annual averages. Quarterly per-

cent changes reflect annual rates of change in quarterly indexes. The data are
seasonally adjusted.
4

Output per hour of all employees.

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

1998
IV

Four quarters ending—

1999
I

II

III

IV

2000

1998

I

IV

1999
I

II

2000
III

IV

I

Average hourly compensation: 1
All persons, business sector.........................................................
All persons, nonfarm business sector..........................................

4.9
4.6

4.9
4.2

5.1
4.7

4.5
4.6

.6

.4
.4
.4
.5
.5

1 .0

1.1

1.1

.9
.9
.9
1.5

3.3
3.8

3.5
4.1

5.4
5.4

5.4
5.2

5.3
4.9

4.9
4.5

4.5
4.3

4.1
4.3

.9
.9
.7
1 .0

1.3
1.5
1.3
1.5

1 .0

.6

3.4
3.5
3.0
3.5
3.0

3.0
3.0
3.0
3.0
2.9

3.2
3.3
2.7
3.4
3.0

3.1
3.1
2.5
3.2
2.9

3.4
3.4
2.7
3.6
3.4

4.3
4.6
3.6
4.7
3.6

3.7
3.9
3.3
4.0
3.1

3.3
3.3
3.1
3.3
2.9

3.6
3.6
3.1
3.7
3.1

3.3
3.2
2.5
3.3
3.3

3.5
3.5

4.0
4.2
2.7
4.4
3.8

Employment Cost Index—compensation:
Civilian nonfarm2 ...............................................................
Private nonfarm.........................................................................
Union........................................................................................
Nonunion..................................................................................
State and local governments.....................................................

.6

.5
.6
.6

.7
1 .2

.4

Employment Cost Index—wages and salaries:
Civilian nonfarm2 ...........................................................................

.7

Private nonfarm..........................................................................
Union........................................................................................
Nonunion..................................................................................
State and local governments.....................................................

.6

.5
.7
.7

.5
.5
.4
.5
.4

1 .0

1.1

.8

1.1

1 .2

.9
.7
.9
1.9

.9

1 .2

.6

.5
1.3

.8
1 .2

.4

1

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

2

Excludes Federal and household workers.


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.9
.9

.6

M onthly Labor Review

2 .6

3.6
3.6

August 2000

57

Current Labor Statistics:

Labor Force Data

4. Employment status of the population, by sex, age, race, and Hispanic origin, monthly data seasonally adjusted
[Numbers in thousands]

Employment status

2000

1999

Annual average
1999

June

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

207,753
139,368
67.1
133,488

207,632
139,332
67.1
133,398

207,828
139,336
67.0
133,399

208,038
139,372
67.0
133,530

208,265
139,475
67.0
133,650

208,483
139,697
67.0
133,940

208,666
139,834
67.0
134,098

208,832
140,108
67.1
134,420

208,782
140,910
67.5
135,221

208,907
141,165
67.6
135,362

209,053
140,867
67.4
135,159

209,216
141,230
67.5
135,706

209,371
140,489
67.1
134,715

209,543
140,762
67.2
135,179

64.3
5,880
4.2
68,385

64.2
5,934
4.3
68,300

64.2
5,937
4.3
68,492

64.2
5,842
4.2
6 8 ,6 6 6

64.2
5,825
4.2
68,790

64.2
5,757
4.1
68,786

64.3
5,736
4.1
68,832

64.4
5,688
4.1
68,724

64.8
5,689
4.0
67,872

64.8
5,804
4.1
67,742

64.7
5,708
4.1
68,187

64.9
5,524
3.9
67,986

64.3
5,774
4.1
68,882

64.5
5,583
4.0
68,781

90,790
69,715
76.8
67,135

91,555
70,194
76.7
67,761

91,487
70,116
76.6
67,645

91,561
70,167
76.6
67,703

91,692
70,240
76.6
67,768

91,793
70,328
76.6
67,943

91,896
70,339
76.5
67,898

91,986
70,388
76.5
68,037

92,052
70,529
76.6
68,197

92,057
70,917
77.0
68,585

92,092
71,120
77.2
68,691

92,145
70,822
76.9
68,480

92,303
70,761
76.7
68,481

92,408
70,603
76.4
68,230

92,546
70,714
76.4
68,430

73.9
2,350

74.0
2,244

73.9
2,246

73.9
2,256

73.9
2,237

74.0
2,189

73.9
2,206

74.0
2,262

74.1
2,227

74.5
2,303

74.6
2,309

74.3
2,232

74.2
2,213

73.8
2,217

73.9
2,269

64,785
2,580
3.7

65,517
2,433
3.5

65,399
2,471
3.5

65,447
2,464
3.5

65,531
2,472
3.5

65,754
2,385
3.4

65,692
2,441
3.5

65,775
2,351
3.3

65,970
2,332
3.3

66,282
2,332
3.3

66,382
2,429
3.4

66,249
2,342
3.3

66,269
2,280
3.2

66,013
2,373
3.4

66,161
2,284
3.2

98,786
59,702
60.4
57,278

100,158
60,840
60.7
58,555

100,131
60,988
60.9
58,647

100,203
60,852
60.7
58,477

100,285
60,904
60.7
58,648

100,385
60,860
60.6
58,630

100,458
60,955
60.7
58,800

100,573
61,052
60.7
58,838

1 0 0 ,6 6 6

100,579
61,576
61.2
59,280

1 0 0 ,6 6 6

61,154
60.7
58,958

61,575
61.2
59,398

100,713
61,671
61.2
59,422

100,809
61,920
61.4
59,757

100,929
61,614
61.0
59,248

101,007
61,596
61.0
59,278

58.0
768

58.5
803

58.6
851

58.4
798

58.5
780

58.4
778

58.5
800

58.5
768

58.6
791

58.9
826

59.0
871

59.0
894

59.3
899

58.7
864

58.7
834

56,510
2,424
4.1

57,752
2,285
3.8

57,796
2,341
3.8

57,679
2,375
3.9

57,868
2,256
3.7

57,852
2,230
3.7

58,000
2,155
3.5

58,070
2,214
3.6

58,167
2,196
3.6

58,454
2,297
3.7

58,526
2,178
3.5

58,528
2,249
3.6

58,858
2,163
3.5

58,383
2,367
3.8

58,444
2,318
3.8

15,644
8,256
52.8
7,051

16,040
8,333
52.0
7,172

16,014
8,228
51.4
7,106

16,065
8,317
51.8
7,219

16,061
8,228
51.2
7,114

16,086
8,287
51.5
7,077

16,129
8,403
52.1
7,242

16,107
8,394
52.1
7,223

16,114
8,425
52.3
7,265

16,147
8,416
52.1
7,356

16,149
8,470
52.4
7,273

16,196
8,374
51.7
7,257

16,104
8,549
53.1
7,467

16,034
8,271
51.6
7,237

15,991
8,452
52.9
7,471

45.1
261

44.7
234

44.4
233

44.9
224

44.3
217

44.0

44.9
232

44.8
280

45.1
261

45.6
242

45.0
228

44.8
233

46.4
243

45.1
217

46.7
218

6,790
1,205
14.6

6,938
1,162
13.9

6,873

6,897
1,114
13.5

6,865

6,943
1,171
14.0

7,004
1,160
13.8

1 2 .6

7,046
1,197
14.1

7,024
1,117
13.3

7,224
1,082
12.7

7,020
1,034
12.5

7,253
981

14.6

7,010
1,161
13.8

7,114
1,060

13.6

6,995
1,098
13.2

171,478
115,415
67.3
Employed..................... 110,931
Employment-pop64.7
4,484
Unemployed................
Unemployment rate...
3.9
Black

173,085
116,509
67.3
112,235

172,999
116,518
67.4
112,115

173,133
116,492
67.3
112,193

173,275
116,619
67.3
112,308

173,432
116,495
67.2
112,303

173,585
116,654
67.2
112,548

173,709
116,703
67.2
112,611

173,821
117,008
67.3
112,951

173,812
117,716
67.7
113,704

173,886
117,821
67.8
113,634

173,983
117,832
67.7
113,630

174,092
117,988
67.8
113,915

174,197
117,097
67.2
112,988

174,316
117,451
67.4
113,484

64.8
4,273
3.7

64.8
4,403
3.8

64.8
4,299
3.7

64.8
4,311
3.7

64.8
4,192
3.6

64.8
4,106
3.5

64.8
4,092
3.5

65.0
4,057
3.5

65.4
4,011
3.4

65.3
4,187
3.6

65.3
4,202
3.6

65.4
4,073
3.5

64.9
4,108
3.5

65.1
3,967
3.4

24,373
15,982
65.6
14,556

24,855
16,365
65.8
15,056

24,833
16,308
65.7
15,069

24,867
16,366
65.8
14,962

24,904
16,321
65.5
15,047

24,946
16,474

24,985
16,489

25,019
16,508

25,161
16,596

6 6 .0

6 6 .0

6 6 .0

6 6 .2

6 6 .0

15,124

15,187

25,076
16,785
66.9
15,471

25,135
16,636

6 6 .0

25,047
16,622
66.4
15,254

25,105
16,572

15,114

25,051
16,513
65.9
15,204

15,356

15,444

15,261

25,191
16,557
65.8
15,275

59.7
1,426
8.9

60.6
1,309

60.7
1,239
7.6

60.2
1,404

60.4
1,274
7.8

60.6
1,360
8.3

60.5
1,365
8.3

60.7
1,321

60.7
1,309
7.9

60.9
1,368

61.7
1,314
7.8

61.2
1,216
7.3

61.4
1,191
7.2

60.7
1,335

1998
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional
population1....................... 205,220
Civilian labor force............ 137,673
67.1
Participation rate........
Employed..................... 131,463
Employment-pop64.1
ulation ratio2............
6 ,2 1 0
Unemployed.................
Unemployment rate....
4.5
Not in the labor force....... 67,547
Men, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional
population1.......................
Civilian labor force............
Participation rate.......
Employed.....................
Employment-population ratio2...........
Agriculture.................
Nonagricultural
industries................
Unemployed.................
Unemployment rate....
Women, 20 years and over
Civilian noninstitutional
Civilian labor force...........
Participation rate.......
Employed.....................
Employment-population ratio2...........
Agriculture.................
Nonagricultural
industries................
Unemployed.................
Unemployment rate....
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years
Civilian noninstitutional
Civilian labor force...........
Participation rate.......
Employed.....................
Employment-population ratio2 ...........
Agriculture.................
Nonagricultural
industries...............
Unemployed.................
Unemployment rate...
White

1 ,1 2 2

212

1 ,2 1 0

1 1 .6

Civilian noninstitutional

Civilian noninstitutional
population1......................

Employed....................
Employment-population ratio2...........
Unemployed................
Unemployment rate...

8 .0

8 .6

See footnotes at end of table.

58
M onthly Labor Review

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

August 2000

8 .0

8 .2

8 .0

60.6
1,302
7.9

4.

Continued—Employment status of the population, by sex, age, race, and Hispanic origin, monthly data seasonally adjusted

[Numbers in thousands]

Employment status

Annual average

1999

2000

1998

1999

June

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

21,070
14,317
67.9
13,291

21,650
14,665
67.7
13,720

21,618
14,624
67.6
13,655

21,684
14,617
67.4
13,696

21,752
14,710
67.6
13,759

21,820
14,766
67.7
13,795

21,881
14,809
67.7
13,879

21,947
14,887
67.8
13,979

22,008
14,984

22,108
15,249
69.0
14,382

22,166
15,313
69.1
14,355

22,231
15,355
69.1
14,524

22,292
15,322
68.7
14,432

22,355
15,325

14,095

22,047
15,251
69.2
14,395

63.1
1,026
7.2

63.4
945
6.4

63.2
969

63.2
921
6.3

63.3
951
6.5

63.2
971

63.4
930
6.3

63.7
908

64.0
889
5.9

65.3
856
5.6

65.1

64.8
958
6.3

65.3
831
5.4

64.7
890
5.8

64.7
864
5.6

Hispanic origin
Civilian noninstitutional
population1 .......................
Civilian labor force.............
Participation rate........
Employed.....................
Employment-population ratio2............
Unemployed.................
Unemployment rate....

6 .6

6 .6

The population figures are not seasonally adjusted.
2 Civilian employment as a percent of the civilian noninstitutional population.
Note : Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because

5.

6.1

6 8 .1

868

5.7

6 8 .6

14,461

data for the "other races" groups are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the
white and black population groups.

Selected employment indicators, monthly data seasonally adjusted

[In thousands]

Selected categories

Annual average

1999

2000

1998

1999

June

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

Characteristic
Employed, 16 years and over..
Men...................................
Women.............................

131,463
70,693
60,771

133,488
71,446
62,042

133,398
71,330
62,068

133,399
71,437
61,962

133,530
71,436
62,094

133,650
71,630
62,020

133,940
71,623
62,317

134,098
71,732
62,366

134,420
71,927
62,493

135,221
72,358
62,863

135,362
72,473
62,889

135,159
72,313
62,846

135,706
72,307
63,399

134,715
71,948
62,767

135,179
72,217
62,962

Married men, spouse
present.............................

42,923

43,254

43,279

43,350

43,368

43,367

43,206

43,273

43,283

43,951

43,535

43,297

43,272

43,216

43,357

Married women, spouse
present.............................

32,872

33,450

33,758

33,387

33,504

33,275

33,521

33,635

33,762

34,166

33,882

33,780

33,877

33,786

33,824

Women who maintain
families.............................

7,904

8,229

8,028

8,272

8,335

8,312

8,398

8,526

8,375

8,362

8 ,2 2 0

8,082

8,307

8,301

8,280

Wage and salary workers....
2 ,0 0 0
Self-employed workers.......
1,341
Unpaid family workers.........
38
Nonagricultural industries:
Wage and salary workers.... 119,019
Government.......................
18,383
Private industries............... 100,637
Private households........
962
Other............................
99,674
Self-employed workers......
8,962
Unpaid family workers........
103

1,944
1,297
40

1,923
1,341
39

1,939
1,292
45

1,908
1,266
46

1,930
1,198
40

1,936
1,267
42

2,049
1,216
41

2,018
36

2,024
1,320
38

2,025
1,344
51

2,043
1,292
42

2,054
1,272
43

2,006
1,252
38

2,059
1,175
50

121,323
18,903
102,420
933
101,487
8,790
95

121,006
19,007
101,999
983
101,016
8,840

121,188
19,032
102,156
944

121,654
18,817
102,837
939
101,898
8,833

121,965
18,902
103,063
944
102,119

8,820
77

121,583
19,080
102,503
1,035
101,468
8,791

88

121,150
19,114
102,036
873
101,163
9,000
93

100

101

108

122,426
18,959
103,467
948
102,519
8,662
98

122,823
19,013
103,810
952
102,858
8,802
92

123,166
19,394
103,772
1,016
102,756
8,793
74

123,169
19,598
103,571
998
102,573
8,704
107

123,623
19,280
104,343
1,019
103,324
8,750
103

122,860
19,169
103,691
953
102,783
8,714
82

123,002
18,777
104,225
957
103,268
8,665
71

3,665

3,357

3,377

3,316

3,279

3,283

3,179

3,274

3,320

3,219

3,139

3,124

3,124

3,248

3,117

2,095

1,968

2,048

1,974

1,904

1,922

1,928

1,930

1,951

1,893

1,807

1,820

1,844

1,962

1,811

1,258

1,079

1,045

1,050

1,057

1,073

993

1,032

1,025

1 ,0 1 2

1,023

953

1,016

978

1 ,0 2 2

18,530

18,758

18,716

18,983

19,230

18,801

18,799

18,651

18,618

18,889

19,031

18,770

18,474

18,409

18,308

3,501

Class of worker
Myricunure:

1 0 1 ,2 1 2

8 ,6 8 6

1 ,2 1 1

Persons at work part time1
All industries:
Part time for economic
reasons.............................
Slack work or business
conditions.....................
Could only find part-time
work..............................
Part time for noneconomic
reasons............................
Nonagricultural industries:
Part time for economic
reasons.............................
Slack work or business
conditions.....................
Could only find part-time
work..............................
Part time for noneconomic
reasons...........................
1

3,189

3,209

3,142

3,127

3,112

2,983

3,105

3,157

3,066

2,985

3,003

3,021

3,096

2,967

1,997

1,861

1,902

1,850

1,813

1,806

1,807

1,815

1,843

1,801

1,705

1,766

1,782

1,840

1,713

1,228

1,056

1,031

1,034

1,041

1,063

964

1,013

1,018

966

1,005

922

989

962

994

17,954

18,197

18,106
18,466
18,652
18,273
18,249
18,083
18,061
18,347
Excludes persons "with a job but not at work" during the survey period for such reasons as vacation, illness, or industrial disputes.

18,406

18,184

17,943

17,853

17,743


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59

Current Labor Statistics:

6.

Labor Force Data

Selected unemployment indicators, monthly data seasonally adjusted

[Unemployment rates]

1998

1999

2000

1999

Annual average
Selected categories
June

July

Aug.

Sept.

4.3
13.6
3.5
3.8

4.3
13.2
3.5
3.9

4.2
13.5
3.5
3.7

4.2
14.6
3.4
3.7

3.7
11.7
12.3
1 1 .0

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

4.1
14.0
3.3
3.6

4.1
13.8
3.3
3.6

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

Characteristic
Total, 16 years and over...........................
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years....................
Men, 20 years and over........................
Women, 20 years and over...................
White, total............................................
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years...............
Men, 16 to 19 years......................
Women, 16 to 19 years.................
Men, 20 years and over....,..............
Women, 20 years and over..............

4.5
14.6
3.7
4.1

4.2
13.9
3.5
3.8

1 0 .0

10.7
10.5

2 .8

2 .8

2 .8

3.1

3.3

3.2

7.2

8 .0

2 2 .2
2 2 .0

23.9
27.7

22.4

2 0 .2

6 .6

7.9
25.4
32.0
18.2
6.9

12.4
9.1

2 .8

2 .8

2 .8

3.1

3.0

3.1

8 .0

23.9
24.0
23.8
7.4
7.2

7.8
24.3
22.3
26.6
7.1
6.5

7.3
25.1
21.3
28.9
6.4
6 .1

5.8

7.2
7.0

5.6

5.7

6.3

5.4

5.8
1.9
2.9
6.5
3.9
5.3

6 .1

6 .6

7.6
24.8
28.8

13.0

1 2 .1

13.3
10.9

7.9
25.3
27.5
23.0
7.0
6.7

8 .0

3.5
1 0 .6

1 2 .8

8.3
30.8
35.3
26.1
7.7

1 1 .1

3.5
1 1 .6

1 1 .2

8.3
30.8
30.3
31.4
7.1
6.7

1 2 .0

3.6
11.7
11.3

3.4
1 0 .8

7.8
28.1
29.6
26.7
6.3
6.9

1 2 .0

11.3
3.0
3.3

3.6
12.5
14.4
10.4
2.9
3.1

3.5
1 2 .2

8 .6

1 2 .6

3.9
12.7
3.2
3.5

3.5

26.9
30.7
23.4
7.2
7.7

14.1
10.9
3.2
3.4

3.7
11.4
11.7

11.9
11.7
2.9
3.1

8 .2

2.9
3.2

8.9
27.6
30.1
25.3
7.4
7.9

27.9
30.9
25.1
6.7
6 .8

6.4
6.7

Hispanic origin, total..........................

7.2

6.4

6 .6

6.3

6.5

6 .6

6.3

6 .1

5.9

Married men, spouse present............
Married women, spouse present.......

2.4
2.9
7.2
4.3
5.3

2 .2

2 .2

2.3

2 .2

2 .1

2 .2

2 .0

2 .1

2 .0

1 .8

2.7
6.5
4.0
5.3

2 .8

2.3
2.7
6.3
4.1
4.6

2 .2

2.7
6.4
4.1
5.0

2 .6

2.5

2.5

2.5

2 .6

2 .6

2.7

2 .6

6.4
4.0
5.0

6 .0

6 .0

6 .2

6 .2

6 .1

6 .8

4.0
4.7

3.9
4.9

3.9
4.9

3.9
4.6

3.9
4.9

3.8
5.1

6.3
3.8
4.6

4.6
3.2
7.5
3.9
3.4
4.7
3.4
5.5
2.5
4.5
2.3
8.3

4.3
5.7
7.0
3.6
3.5
3.9
3.0
5.2
2.3
4.1

4.4
4.8
7.3
3.7
3.5
4.0
2.9
5.3
2.4
4.2
2.3
9.3

4.4

4.3
6.7
6.9
3.9
4.0
3.9

4.2
4.6
5.7
3.7
3.7
3.7
3.3
5.3
2.3
3.9

4.2
2 .6

5.2
2.3
4.1

4.2
5.0
6.7
3.7
3.5
4.0
3.1
4.9
2.3
4.0

4.1
4.1

6.9
3.5
3.7
3.1
3.4
5.2
2.4
4.4

4.2
4.2
7.6
3.8
3.7
4.1
3.0
4.8
2.4
4.0

3.8

3.9
3.7
5.1
2.5
4.2

4.2
4.0
7.5
3.3
3.0
3.8
3.2
5.3
2.9
3.7

2 .2

2 .1

2 .0

2 .1

2 .0

2 .1

2 .1

2 .2

9.0

9.6

5.7

7.7

8.3

7.1

5.0

6.5

4.3
2.5
6.9
3.9
3.0
5.2
3.1
5.4
2.4
4.0
1.7
5.6

7.1
4.0

6.7
3.5

6 .8

6 .8

6 .6

6 .6

6 .0

3.3

3.5

3.5

3.5

6.9
3.4

6 .1

3.5

6.5
3.3

6 .0

3.6

7.0
3.5

6 .8

3.8

3.0

2 .8

2 .6

3.0

3.1

1 .8

1 .6

2.7
1.7

2.9

2 .0

2.7
1.7

2 .6

1 .8

2.7
1.7

2.5

1 .8

1 .8

1 .8

1 .6

Black, total............................................
Both sexes, 16 to 19 years..............
Men, 16 to 19 years......................
Women, 16 to 19 years.................
Men, 20 years and over...................
Women, 20 years and over..............

Part-time workers..............................

2 1 .2

6.4
4.1
4.9

28.4
31.0
25.9
7.0

4.0

4.1
13.3
3.3
3.6

1 2 .0

3.2
3.2

3.8
1 2 .0

3.3
3.7

4.1
12.5
3.4
3.8

4.1
14.1
3.4
3.5

3.5

3.1
3.3

3.7
1 2 .0

4.0
1 2 .6

1 1 .8

3.6
12.3
12.7
11.9
2.9
3.2

3.9
1 2 .6

3.2
3.4

4.1
13.8
3.5
3.5

1 1 .6

3.2
3.8
3.4
9.4
1 1 .2

7.4

6 .6

5.6
1.9
2 .6
6 .1

3.8
4.8

Industry
Nonagricultural wage and salary

Manufacturing.......................................
Nondurable goods............................
Transportation and public utilities........
Wholesale and retail trade...................
Finance, insurance, and real estate....
Services...............................................
Agricultural wage and salary workers.....

2 .2

8.9

6 .0

2 .8

6 .6

3.6
3.6
3.5
3.0
5.2
2 .1

6.4
3.2
2 .8

7.6

4.0
3.5
5.9
3.4
3.5
3.1
2.7
5.2
2.3
3.8
2.5
7.3

3.4

7.0
3.6

6.4
3.4

2.7

2 .6

2.5

1 .6

1.5

1 .6

2.9
1.5

4.0
2 .8

5.2
4.0
3.9
4.1
2.9
4.9
2 .6

3.7
1.7
8.4

4.2
4.2
5.8
3.7
3.6
3.7
3.2
5.1
2.4
4.1
2 .0

Educational attainment1
Less than a high school diploma..............
High school graduates, no college...........
Some college, less than a bachelor's
College graduates....................................
1

Data refer to persons 25 years and over.

M onthly Labor Review
60

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

August 2000

7.

Duration of unemployment, monthly data seasonally adjusted

[Numbers in thousands]

8.

1999

Annual average

Weeks of
unemployment

1998

1999

2000

June

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov,

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June
2,595
1,759
1,242
593
649
12.4
5.8

2,622
1,950
1,637
763
875

2,568
1,832
1,480
755
725

2,540
1,775
1,634
806
828

2,640
1,778
1,511
779
732

2,599
1,798
1,463
747
716

2,582
1,805
1,412
708
704

2,545
1,811
1,434
719
715

2,601
1,760
1,401
725
676

2,620
1,694
1,388
693
695

2,447
1,754
1,372
667
705

2,603
1,864
1,277
673
604

2,824
1,719
1,295
657
637

2,455

5 to 14 weeks.................................
15 weeks and over.........................
15 to 26 weeks............................
27 weeks and over......................

1,250
670
580

2,531
1,953
1,337
677
660

Mean duration, in weeks................
Median duration, in weeks.............

14.5
6.7

13.4
6.4

14.3
6.3

13.5
5.8

13.2
6.4

13.0
5.9

13.2
6.3

13.0

12.9
5.9

13.2
5.7

12.5

1 2 .8

12.4

1 2 .6

6 .0

6 .0

5.8

6 .2

6.1

1 ,8 6 8

Unemployed persons by reason for unemployment, monthly data seasonally adjusted

[Numbers in thousands]
Reason for
unemployment
Job losers1 .....................................

Annual average
1998

1999

2,822
866

1,957
734
2,132
520

2,622
848
1,774
783
2,005
469

1999
June

July

2,670
876
1,794
831
2,038
359

2,670
847
1,823
768
2,003
459

Aug.
2,629
893
1,736
793
1,942
481

Sept.
2,573
869
1,704
758
1,967
504

2000
Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

2,518
802
1,716
778
1,958
511

2,493
851
1,642
821
1,935
485

2,401
795
1,606
825
2,036
453

2,477
739
1,739
776
2,043
393

2,616
838
1,778
759
1,975
387

2,541
781
1,759
824
1,979
434

2,306
703
1,602
883
1,961
408

2,483
894
1,589
774
2,093
500

2,450
959
1,491
671
2,076
343

Percent of unemployed
45.5

44.6

45.3

45.3

45.0

44.3

43.7

43.5

42.0

43.5

45.6

44.0

41.9

42.4

44.2

13.9
31.5

14.4
30.2
13.3
34.1

14.9
30.4
14.1
34.6

15.3
29.7
13.6
33.2
8 .2

13.9
29.8
13.5
34.0
8.9

14.8
28.6
14.3
33.7
8.5

13.9
28.1
14.4
35.6
7.9

13.0
30.6
13.6
35.9
6.9

14.6
31.0
13.2
34.4
6.7

13.5
30.5
14.3
34.3
7.5

29.1
15.1
35.6
7.4

15.3
27.2
13.2
35.8
8 5

17.3
26.9

6 .1

15.0
29.4
13.1
33.9
8.7

1 2 .8

8 .0

14.4
30.9
13.0
33.9
7.8

2 .1

1.9

1.9

1.9

1.9

1 .8

1 .8

1 .8

1.7

1 .8

1.9

1 .8

1 .6

1 .8

1.7

.5
1.5
.4

.6

.6

.6

.6

.6

.6

.6

.6

.6

.6

1.5
.3

1.4
.3

1.4
.3

1.4
.4

1.4
.3

1.5
.3

1.4
.3

.5
1.4
.3

.6

1.4
.3

.5
1.4
.4

1.4
.3

1.4
.3

1.5
.4

.5
1.5

1 1 .8

34.3
8.4

1 2 .1

37.5
6 2

Percent of civilian
labor force

New entrants...................................
1

.2

Includes persons who completed temporary jobs.


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61

Current Labor Statistics:

9.

Labor Force Data

Unemployment rates by sex and age, monthly data seasonally adjusted

[Civilian workers]
Sex and age

Annual average
1998

Total, 16 years and over.................
16 to 24 years..............................
16 to 19 years..........................
16 to 17 years.......................

4.5
10.4
14.6
17.2
1 2 .8

20 to 24 years..........................
25 years and over.......................
25 to 54 years.......................
55 years and over.................
Men, 16 years and over................
16 to 24 years...........................
16 to 17 years.....................
18 to 19 years.....................
20 to 24 years........................
25 years and over.....................
55 years and over...............
Women, 16 years and over...........
16 to 24 years...........................

18 to 19 years.....................
25 years and over.....................
25 to 54 years.....................
55 years and over...............

7.9
3.4
3.5
2.7
4.4
1 1 .1

16.2
19.1
14.1
8 .1

3.2
3.3

1999
4.2
9.9
13.9
16.3
12.4
7.5
3.1
3.2
2 .8

4.1
10.3
14.7
17.0
13.1
7.7
3.0
3.0

2 .8

2 .8

4.6
9.8
12.9
15.1
11.5
7.8
3.6
3.8

4.3
9.5
13.2
15.5

2 .6

2 .8

62
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1 1 .6

7.2
3.3
3.4

2000

1999
June
4.3
9.8
13.6
16.3
1 1 .8

7.6
3.2
3.3
3.0
4.1
10.5
14.3
16.8
12.7
8.3
3.0
3.0
2.7
4.4
9.1
13.0
15.7
10.9
6 .8

3.5
3.5
3.3

August 2000

July
4.3
9.7
13.2
15.4
11.7
7.6
3.2
3.3
2.9

Aug.
4.2
9.6
13.5
15.9
1 2 .1

7.3
3.2
3.2
2.7

13.8
16.1

4.1
9.9
13.9
16.2

1 2 .2

1 2 .6

8 .1

7.6
3.1
3.1
2.9

4.1
1 0 .2

3.0
3.0
3.0
4.4
9.1
14.7

4.3
9.3
13.2
15.6

1 1 .2

1 1 .6

7.1
3.5
3.6
2.9

7.0
3.3
3.4
2.4

1 2 .6

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

4.2

4.1

4.1

1 0 .0

1 0 .0

1 0 .0

14.6
16.1
13.8
7.2
3.1
3.2

13.9
15.9
12.4
7.7
3.0
3.1
2.7

14.0
16.5
12.3
7.7
3.0
3.1

2 .6

2 .6

4.0
9.9
14.6
16.6
13.2
7.2
3.0
3.0
2.9

4.1
10.4
14.2
15.5
13.2

2 .8

2 .6

4.3

4.2
9.6
13.4
16.3
11.4
7.2
3.1
3.2
2.5

4.2
9.8
13.0
16.1

1 0 .0

14.7
15.6
14.5
7.2
3.2
3.4
2 .1

8 .2

2.9
3.0

Dec.
4.1
9.8
13.8
16.5
1 2 .1

7.4
3.0
3.0
2.7

Jan.
4.0
9.3
1 2 .6

14.0
11.4
7.4
3.0
3.1
2 .8

4.0

4.0

1 0 .2

1 0 .6

14.9
16.9
13.6
7.5

15.2
17.7
13.5
7.8

3.9
9.7
14.0
14.3
13.7
7.2

2 .8

2 .8

2 .8

2.9

2.9
2.5

2.9
2.5

4.1
8.9

4.2
8.9

1 0 .8

7.9
3.1
3.3
2 .6

Feb.
4.1

Mar.

14.1
15.9

4.1
9.7
13.3
15.3

1 2 .8

1 2 .1

1 0 .0

7.5
3.0
3.0
3.0

7.6
3.0
3.0
2.7

4.1
10.3
15.5
17.3
13.9
7.3
2.9
2.9

3.8
9.2
12.4
15.1
10.5
7.4
2 .8
2 .8

2 .8

2 .8

4.1
9.6

4.3

1 2 .2

1 1 .1

1 2 .6

15.1
10.5
7.0
3.2
3.2
2.9

13.7
8.9
7.6
3.2
3.3
3.1

14.3
1 1 .6

7.8
3.0
3.0
3.3

1 0 .2

14.4
15.4
13.7
7.7
3.2
3.3
2.7

Apr.
3.9
9.3
12.7
14.6
11.4
7.2
2.9
3.0
2.4
3.8
9.6
13.6
15.8
12.4
7.3
2.7
2.7
2.7

May
4.1
9.8
12.5
16.0
10.4
8 .2

3.0
3.1
2.4
3.9
1 0 .0

13.1
16.9
1 0 .8

8.3

June
4.0
9.0
1 1 .6

13.1
1 0 .6

7.5
3.0
3.1
2.3
3.9
9.5
14.1
15.6
13.3
6 .8

2 .8

2 .8

2 .8

2.9

2 .6

2 .2

4.0
8.9

4.3
9.5

1 1 .6

1 1 .8

13.3
10.4
7.2
3.0
3.2

15.0
9.9

4.1
8.5
8.9
10.4
7.8

2 .0

8 .2

8 .2

3.3
3.5
2.3

3.2
3.4
2.4


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

10. Unemployment rates by State, seasonally adjusted
State

May

Apr.

May

1999

2000

2000p

Alabama...
Alaska.....
Arizona....
Arkansas..
California..

4.9

4.1

4.3

6 .8

6 .6

6 .1

4.6
4.5
5.3

3.7
4.4
4.8

3.8
4.5
5.0

Colorado.................
Connecticut.............
Delaware.................
District of Columbia..
Florida.....................

2.9
3.4
3.6
6.3
3.9

2 .8

2 .2

2.3
3.6
5.5
3.8

2.4
3.6
5.4
3.8

Georgia............
Hawaii..............
Idaho...............
Illinois...............
Indiana.............

4.1
5.7
5.5
4.4
3.1

3.6
4.3
4.4
4.3
3.5

3.6
4.3
4.3
4.3
3.2

Iowa.................
Kansas.............
Kentucky..........
Louisiana.........
Maine...............

2 .6

2 .2

2.9
4.7
5.0
4.5

3.3
3.9
4.4
3.3

Maryland..........
Massachusetts..
Michigan...........
Minnesota........
Mississippi........

3.7
3.2
3.8
2.9
5.2

3.2
2 .8

3.0
2 .6

5.5

May
1999

State

Apr.

May

2000

2000p

37
5.3
3.0
4.6

Montana....................................................
Nebraska..................................................
Nevada.....................................................

2 8

New Jersey...............................................
New Mexico.............................................

2.8

25
4.9
29
3.8
25

4.9

2.8
3.4
2.7

North Carolina..........................................
North Dakota.............................................

4.8
5.6
5.2
3.1
3.5

38
54
46
30

Ohio.........................................................
Oklahoma.................................................
Oregon......................................................
Pennsylvania............................................
Rhode Island............................................

4.3
3.5
5.8
4.4
4.2

3.9
2.9
4.6
3.8
3.7

5.0
4.0
4.0

2.3
3.4 South Dakota............................................
4.0 Tennessee................................................
4.9 Texas........................................
3.5 Utah.........................................................

46
3.0
4.1
47
4.0

3 .5

4.0

2.3
37

2.6

3.4
2.5 Virginia......................................................
3.2 Washington..............................................
3.0
5.8 Wisconsin.................................................
Wyoming...................................................

3.8
5.5
4.6
3.3
2.4

2 .8

4.0

2.8

2.7

3.6
4.4
2.9

?4
2.7
4.6
51
3.4
4.0

2.5
2.5
4.7
5.6
3.3
3.8

4 .5

30
2 .8

5.0
6 .8

3.1
5.1

p= preliminary

11.

Employment of workers on nonfarm payrolls by State, seasonally adjusted

[In thousands]
State

May
1999

Apr.

May

2000

2000p

State
Missouri......................................

May

Apr.

May

1999

2000

2000p

2,716.5
379.6
888.3
979 0
603.6

2,749.0
389.8
895.1
1,015.2
613.2

2,748.4
390.6
894.2
1,022.9
612.4

3,923.3
742 4
8,599.6
3,921.4
325.3

3,933.3
743.4
8,633.4
3,932.5
324.2

Alabama.................
Alaska....................
Arizona...................
Arkansas................
California................

1,914.2
276.3
2,148.2
1,137.0
13,924.8

1,949.2
282.9
2,246.0
1,167.3
14,330.7

1,958.9
282.4
2,256.7
1,169.3
14,390.1

Nebraska.....................................

Colorado................
Connecticut............
Delaware................
District of Columbia.
Florida....................

2,123.8
1 ,6 6 8 . 8
410.1
613.6
6,832.5

2,196.5
1,692.0
422.8
620.0
7,112.9

2 ,2 0 1 . 0

New Jersey.................................

1,694.6
423.4
618.5
7,153.0

New York....................................
North Carolina............................
North Dakota..............................

3,860.0
728.3
8,427.7
3,852.1
322.9

Georgia..................
Hawaii....................
Idaho......................
Illinois.....................
Indiana...................

3,870.2
531.6
535.8
5,953.7
2,968.0

4,006.0
541.5
556.2
6,012.9
2,993.6

4,007.5
543.6
558.7
6,007.9
3,007.7

Ohio............................................
Oklahoma...................................
Oregon........................................
Pennsylvania..............................
Rhode Island...............................

5,536.2
1,456.4
1,565.9
5,571.7
463.2

5,601.6
1,486.1
1,591.5
5,621.2
470.6

5,596.5
1,490.2
1,595.1
5,610.8
471.9

Iowa........................
Kansas...................
Kentucky.................
Louisiana................
Maine.....................

1,467.5
1,320.8
1,791.9
1,888.7
582.7

1,488.4
1,344.5
1,836.5
1,911.5
601.3

1,491.6
1,345.6
1,838.7
1,917.1
601.3

South Carolina............................
South Dakota..............................
Tennessee..................................
Texas..........................................
Utah.............................................

1,827.5
372.2
2 ,6 6 6 . 2
9,119.8
1,046.0

1 ,8 6 8 . 0

379.9
2,709.6
9,358.1
1,069.0

1,877.8
378.0
2,717.6
9,407.9
1,070.2

Maryland.................
Massachusetts.......
Michigan.................
Minnesota...............
Mississippi..............

2,378.5
3,223.8
4,526.6
2,600.2
1,153.1

2,441.3
3,291.7
4,572.1
2,654.8
1,156.5

2,444.8
3,291.7
4,583.4
2,656.3
1,157.2

Vermont......................................
Virginia.........................................
Washington.................................
West Virginia...............................
Wisconsin....................................
Wyoming.....................................

290.5
3,396.1
2,633.1
725.8
2,773.9
231.2

295.4
3,471.1
2,679.8
732.2
2,820.8
235.6

296.9
3,467.9
2,696.9
745.0
2,813.1
235.1

New Hampshire..........................

p= preliminary
NOTE: Some data in this table may differ from data published elsewhere because of the continual updating of the data base.

M onthly Labor Review

August 2000

63

Current Labor Statistics:
12.

Labor Force Data

Employment of workers on nonfarm payrolls by industry, monthly data seasonally adjusted

[In thousands]
Industry

1998
TOTAL.............................. 125,865
PRIVATE SECTOR................. 106,042
GOODS-PRODUCING.................
Mining ...................................
Metal mining...........................
Oil and gas extraction..............
Nonmetallic minerals,
except fuels..........................

25,414
590
49
339

2000

1999

Annual average
1999

June

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

Mayp

June11

128,786
108,616

128,630
108,507

128,898
108,735

129,057
108,846

129,265
109,042

129,523
109,275

129,788
109,517

130,038
109,730

130,387
110,036

130,482
110,088

131,009
110,462

131,419
110,752

131,590
110,587

131,601
110,793

25,482
535
45
293

25,432
529
45
287

25,488
528
45
286

25,430
526
44
286

25,460
527
45
287

25,483
529
45
289

25,527
527
45
288

25,561
530
45
291

25,677

25,624

530
45
293

533
45
296

25,738
536
45
300

25,725
539
45
303

25,687
537
44
304

25,700
539
45
305

110

112

112

112

112

112

112

112

110

110

Construction...........................
General building contractors.....
Heavy construction, except
building................................
Special trades contractors.......

6 ,0 2 0

1,377

6,404
1,450

6,388
1,447

6,408
1,451

6,401
1,447

6,439
1,458

6,470
1,464

6,516
1,470

6,552
1,474

6,652
1,498

6,618
1,491

6,726
1,508

6,694
1,497

6,670
1,496

6,673
1,494

840
3,804

869
4,084

866

867
4,090

865
4,089

866

4,075

4,115

872
4,134

876
4,170

882
4,196

892
4,262

885
4,242

905
4,313

899
4,298

891
4,283

884
4,295

Manufacturing.........................
Production workers............

18,805
12,952

18,543
12,739

18,515
12,711

18,552
12,753

18,503
12,706

18,494
12,700

18,484
12,702

18,484
12,702

18,479
12,701

18,495
12,713

18,473
12,697

18,476
12,683

18,492
12,689

18,480
12,683

18,488
12,681

Durable goods.......................
Production workers............

11,205
7,666

11,103
7,590

11,083
7,572

11,125
7,620

11,097
7,590

11,090
7,580

11,083
7,581

11,085
7,579

11,087
7,579

11,099
7,592

11,088
7,592

11,094
7,580

11,104
7,584

11,107
7,586

1 1 ,1 2 1

Lumber and wood products....
Furniture and fixtures.............
Stone, clay, and glass
products.............................
Primary metal industries........
Fabricated metal products......
Industrial machinery and
equipment..........................
Computer and office
equipment........................
Electronic and other electrical
equipment..........................
Electronic components and
accessories......................
Transportation equipment......
Motor vehicles and
equipment.........................
Aircraft and parts.................
Instruments and related
products............................
Miscellaneous manufacturing
industries............................

814
533

828
548

827
547

829
554

829
551

830
551

831
553

831
553

831
552

830
553

832
553

830
555

830
557

828
558

826
558

562
715
1,509

563
700
1,517

562
698
1,515

563
701
1,517

563
699
1,515

563
697
1,518

562
697
1,519

564
698
1,520

565
698
1,521

568
699
1,523

567
699
1,525

568
701
1,528

567
699
1,534

567
699
1,536

570
700
1,539

2,206

2,141

2,139

2,142

2,135

2,133

2,130

2,131

2,132

2,130

2,131

2,124

2,126

2,125

2,129

382

370

373

371

370

370

369

370

370

369

368

366

364

360

360

1,707

1,670

1,667

1,675

1,669

1,670

1,672

1,670

1,673

1,679

1,684

1,682

1,691

1,693

1,699

660
1,893

636
1,884

634
1,878

635
1,890

637
1,887

636
1,880

638
1,873

638
1,870

640
1,867

642
1,871

645
1,855

646
1,865

651
1,859

654
1,861

661
1,860

995
525

1,019
495

1,018
496

1,029
493

1,026
488

1,025
483

1 ,0 2 2

1 ,0 2 2

478

473

1,023
470

1,027
469

1,029
453

1,028
467

1,026
461

1,024
463

1,028
459

873

856

856

859

854

852

849

850

849

847

844

844

844

845

847

111

111

111

111

111

7,590

395

395

394

395

395

396

397

398

399

399

398

397

397

395

393

7,600
5,287

7,440
5,149

7,432
5,139

7,427
5,133

7,406
5,116

7,404
5,120

7,401
5,121

7,399
5,123

7,392
5,122

7,396
5,121

7,385
5,105

7,382
5,103

7,388
5,105

7,373
5,097

7,367
5,091

1,683
Food and kindred products.....
41
Tobacco products..................
598
Textile mill products...............
Apparel and other textile
766
products............................
677
Paper and allied products......
Printing and publishing..........
1,565
Chemicals and allied products
1,043
Petroleum and coal products...
139
Rubber and miscellaneous
1,005
plastics products.................
84
Leather and leather products..
SERVICE-PRODUCING.............. 100,451
Transportation and public
utilities................................
6,611
Transportation........................
4,273
Railroad transportation..........
231
Local and interurban
469
passenger transit................
1,744
Trucking and warehousing.....
Water transportation.............
181
Transportation by air.............
1,181
14
Pipelines, except natural gas..
454
Transportation services........
Communications and public
2,338
1,477
Communications...................
Electric, gas, and sanitary
861

1,677
39
560

1,674
39
560

1,674
38
557

1,667
36
556

1,673
38
552

1,673
38
550

1,675
38
552

1,674
38
549

1,681
38
548

1,672
37
549

1,671
35
549

1,678
37
548

1,676
37
545

1,681
38
543

692

693

688
668

1,553
1,034
134

1,551
1,033
133

1,552
1,032
134

1,551
1,031
133

674
665
1,551
1,032
133

672
665
1,549
1,031
132

669
665
1,548
1,030
132

666

668

681
667
1,552
1,030
132

678

668

664
1,549
1,031
132

665
663
1,550
1,031
132

665
662
1,551
1,031
132

665
662
1,554
1,030
132

660
661
1,552
1,027
132

651
660
1,558
1,025
131

1,006
78

1,003
78

1,008
76

1,008
77

1,005
77

1,008
77

1,009
76

1,011

1,011

103,304

103,198

103,410

103,627

103,805

104,040

6,826
4,409
230

6,817
4,408
232

6,834
4,420
229

6,848
4,426
227

6 ,8 6 6

4,436
226

485
1,805
187
1,227
13
463

485
1,803
187
1,224
13
464

486
1,808
188
1,230
13
466

488
1,810
188
1,234
13
466

2,416
1,552

2,409
1,544

2,414
1,551

2,422
1,558

Nondurable goods.................
Production workers............

Retail trade.............................
Building materials and garden
General merchandise stores....
Department stores................

666

1 ,0 1 0

1 ,0 1 0

76

76

76

1,007
75

1,008
75

1,006
74

104,261

76
104,477

104,710

104,858

105,271

105,694

105,903

105,901

6,875
4,441
226

6,898
4,453
226

6,911
4,459
226

6,925
4,470
225

6,937
4,479
225

6,953
4,492

6,970
4,509

222

221

6,961
4,498
219

6,979
4,507
217

488
1,816
189
1,238
13
466

489
1,818
190
1,241
13
464

490
1,823
190
1,246
13
465

491
1,818
192
1,253
13
466

493
1,827
192
1,256
13
464

494
1,828
196
1,259

494
1,833
197
1,268

498
1,839

498
1,832

496
1,834

12

12

12

12

12

465

466

469

468

471

2,430
1,565

2,434
1,572

2,445
1,581

2,452
1,588

2,455
1,591

2,458
1,598

2,461
1,602

2,461
1,604

2,463
1,607

2,472
1,615

200

200

1,270

1,269

201

1,276

865

865

863

864

865

862

864

864

864

860

859

857

856

857

6,800

6,924

6,905

6,927

6,962

6,973

6,989

7,002

7,005

7,011

7,033

7,055

7,047

7,031

22,295

22,788

22,810

22,833

6,946
22,841

22,844

22,863

22,893

22,936

22,973

22,987

23,027

23,197

23,081

23,130

994
2,757
2,414

1,004
2,752
2,408

1,008
2,752
2,406

1 ,0 1 2

1,016
2,765
2,419

1 ,0 2 0

1,034
2,756
2,409

1,032
2,791
2,443

1 ,0 2 2

1,013
2,757
2,401

948
2,730
2,415

989
2,771
2,431

985
2,777
2,439

989
2,774
2,433

See footnotes at end of table.

64
M onthly Labor Review

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

August 2000

992
2,768
2,426

2,766
2,416

2,762
2,417

2,762
2,406

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

Annual average
1998

Food stores.............................
Automotive dealers and
service stations....................
New and used car dealers.....
Apparel and accessory stores...
Furniture and home furnishings
stores..................................
Eating and drinking places.......
Miscellaneous retail
establishments....................

1999

1999
June

July

Aug.

Sept.

2000

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May.p

Junep

3,484

3,495

3,494

3,495

3,498

3,495

3,496

3,498

3,501

3,501

3,503

3,502

3,522

3,515

3,515

2,332
1,047
1,141

2,369
1,079
1,174

2,365
1,078
1,172

2,368
1,081
1,184

2,369
1,084
1,181

2,372
1,087
1,183

2,377
1,089
1,186

2,380
1,092
1,190

2,386
1,094
1,182

2,399
1,097
1,176

2,394

2,407
1,105
1,188

2,410
1,106
1,195

2,408
1,107
1,194

2,413

1,025
7,768

1,082
7,940

1,085
7,965

1,086
7,958

1,090
7,958

1,092
7,956

1,093
7,950

1,091
7,966

1,098
7,986

1,099
7,998

1 ,1 0 2

1 ,1 1 1

7,992

8 ,0 0 0

1,113
8,097

1,114
8,031

8,066

2 ,8 6 8

2,969

2,967

2,979

2,985

2,995

3,005

3,008

3,005

3,019

3,021

3,029

3,037

3,035

3,048

7,389
3,588
2,046
1,472
256
658

7,569
3,691
2,061
1,476
252
710

7,573
3,693
2,060
1,476
251
718

7,583
3,700
2,060
1,475
251
718

7,590
3,704
2,063
1,476
251
716

7,589
3,702
2,063
1,476
250
711

7,599
3,704
2,063
1,475
250
706

7,604
3,707
2,061
1,473
250
704

7,613
3,710
2,059
1,471
248
704

7,612
3,709
2,058
1,470
247
699

7,624
3,717
2,057
1,469
245
699

7,621
3,713
2,054
1,466
243
692

7,610
3,709
2,052
1,464
243
686

7,599
3,702
2,044
1,457
243
683

7,593
3,707
2,045
1,457
242
679

1 ,1 0 0

1,184

1 ,1 1 0

1,198
1 ,1 2 0

Finance, insurance, and
Finance...................................
Depository institutions...........
Commercial banks..............
Savings institutions..............
Nondepository institutions......
Security and commodity
brokers...............................
Holding and other investment
offices.................................
Insurance...............................
Insurance carriers.................
Insurance agents, brokers,
and service..........................
Real estate.............................
Services'................................
Agricultural services................
Hotels and other lodging places
Personal services....................
Business services....................
Services to buildings.............
Personnel supply services......
Help supply services...........
Computer and data
processing services.............
Auto repair services
and parking..........................
Miscellaneous repair services...
Motion pictures........................
Amusement and recreation
services...............................
Health services........................
Offices and clinics of medical
doctors................................
Nursing and personal care
facilities...............................
Hospitals...............................
Home health care services.....
Legal services.........................
Educational services................
Social services.........................
Child day care services..........
Residential care.....................
Museums and botanical and
zoological gardens................
Membership organizations.......
Engineering and management
services................................
Engineering and architectural
services...............................
Management and public
relations.............................
Government.............................
Federal....................................
Federal, except Postal
Service...............................
State.......................................
Education..............................
Other State government........
Local.......................................
Education..............................
Other local government.........
1

647

688

684

691

695

697

703

709

713

716

723

728

732

736

743

238
2,335
1,591

231
2,371
1,611

231
2,373
1,613

231
2,374
1,611

230
2,375
1,611

231
2,376
1,610

232
2,378
1,612

233
2,375
1,608

234
2,378
1,610

236
2,372
1,606

238
2,373
1,606

239
2,373
1,605

239
2,365
1,597

239
2,361
1,594

240
2,360
1,593

744
1,465

761
1,507

760
1,507

763
1,509

764
1,511

766
1,511

766
1,517

767
1,522

768
1,525

766
1,531

767
1,534

768
1,535

768
1,536

767
1,536

767
1,526

37,533
708
1,789

38,970
761
1,845
1,228
9,242
982
3,585
3,216

39,070
765
1,851
1,233
9,303
988
3,618
3,244

39,191
764
1,857
1,237
9,339
992
3,626
3,251

39,321
770
1,863
1,243
9,404
994
3,678
3,298

39,482
774
1,863
1,247
9,465
997
3,712
3,327

39,606
782

39,707
782

39,844
806

39,914
796

1 ,8 6 8

1 ,8 6 8

1 ,8 6 6

1 ,8 6 8

8,618
950
3,278
2,956

39,027
766
1,848
1,233
9,267
985
3,601
3,228

1,252
9,502
998
3,734
3,343

1,257
9,538
997
3,748
3,358

1,263
9,571
997
3,753
3,361

1,265
9,615

40,195
801
1,902
1,272
9,735
3,885
3,485

40,212
798
1,905
1,261
9,715
998
3,855
3,440

40,360
798
1,920
1,270
9,769

3,773
3,382

40,090
812
1,885
1,265
9,681
1,004
3,817
3,418

1,615

1,831

1,831

1,846

1,857

1 ,8 6 6

1,874

1,880

1 ,8 8 8

1,896

1,906

1,915

1,927

1,930

1,938

1,145
376
576

1,184
377
610

1,185
375
614

1,185
375
617

1,185
376
618

1,186
377
619

1,191
379
624

1,191
379
625

1,192
382
624

1,194
382
626

1,195
384
623

1,192
384
630

1,195
383
634

1,192
382
633

1,191
384
643

1 ,2 0 1

1 ,0 0 0

1 ,0 0 1

1 ,0 0 2

3,878
3,450

1,594

1,660

1,649

1,650

1,664

1,672

1,691

1,701

1,703

1,721

1,723

1,729

1,752

9,853

9,989

9,983

9,994

10,008

10,015

10,027

10,041

10,053

10,066

10,078

10,091

10,093

1,806

1,877

1,875

1,880

1,885

1 ,8 8 8

1,893

1,898

1,903

1,910

1,914

1,920

1,925

1,929

1,930

1,772
3,930

1,785
3,983
635
997
2,278
2,799
693
772

1,784
3,983
635
996
2,285
2,790
697
776

1,786
3,987
636
999
2,292
2,808
701
780

1,785
3,989
635

971
2,178
2,646
621
744

1,785
3,982
636
997
2,276
2,800
695
775

2,294
2,823
701
785

1,785
3,992
636
1,003
2,299
2,845
708
790

1,785
3,992
637
1,005
2,305
721
795

1,787
3,997
637
1,007
2,309
2,884
729
800

1,788
4,001
638
1,008
2,308
2,905
737
803

1,790
4,002
639
1,007
2,309
2,912
740
807

1,791
4,004
639
1,007
2,329
2,929
749
810

1,789
3,999
641
1,004
2,329
2,940
753
812

1,787
4,004
639
1,005
2,353
2,944
757
815

1,786
4,009
640
1,009
2,351
2,938
757
819

94
2,372

98
2,425

98
2,427

98
2,419

98
2,426

98
2,430

99
2,431

99
2,434

99
2,438

100

100

102

100

102

2,439

2,439

2,440

2,439

2,438

2,441

3,139

3,254

3,246

3,265

3,276

3,283

3,300

3,310

3,327

3,344

3,354

3,369

3,368

3,385

3,410

908

953

951

956

957

956

964

969

974

982

984

985

987

994

1,007

666

1 ,0 0 0

1,036

1,032

1,037

19,823

20,123
2,662

20,163
2,656

2 0 ,2 1 1

2 ,6 8 6

20,170
2,669

1,819
4,612
1,922
2,690
12,525
7,085
5,440

1,796
4,695
1,968
2,727
12,806
7,272
5,534

1,788
4,673
1,950
2,723
12,788
7,257
5,531

1,782
4,691
1,967
2,724
12,816
7,273
5,543

1 ,0 0 0

2 ,8 6 8

101

1,754
1 0 ,1 0 1

1,773
10,116

1,044

1,054

1,058

1,068

1,074

1,077

1,085

1,088

1,094

1,105

2,655

20,223
2,655

20,248
2,647

20,271
2,646

20,308
2,646

20,351
2,663

20,394
2,700

20,547
2,816

20,667
2,885

21,003
3,235

20,808
3,038

1,783
4,698
1,972
2,726
12,858
7,305
5,553

1,785
4,714
1,978
2,736
12,854
7,299
5,555

1,779
4,722
1,979
2,743
12,879
7,308
5,571

1,780
4,723
1,980
2,743
12,902
7,323
5,579

1,780
4,727
1,983
2,744
12,935
7,343
5,592

1,797
4,725
1,981
2,744
12,963
7,356
5,607

1,835
4,728
1,981
2,747
12,966
7,355
5,611

1,951
4,733
1,982
2,751
12,998
7,373
5,625

2 ,0 2 2

4,744
1,990
2,754
13,038
7,408
5,630

2,371
4,737
1,984
2,753
13,031
7,393
5,638

2,175
4,726
1,972
2,754
13,044
7,411
5,633

1,045

Includes other industries not shown separately.

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


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

M onthly Labor Review

A ugust 2000

65

Current Labor Statistics:

Labor Force Data

13. Average weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls, by industry, monthly
data seasonally adjusted
1998

1999

2000

1999

Annual average
Industry

June

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

34.5

34.5

34.5

34.5

34.5

34.5

34.5

34.6

34.5

34.6

34.4

34.5

Mayp Junep

PRIVATE SECTOR.................................

34.6

34.5

34.5

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

41.0

41.0

41.1

41.1

41.1

41.2

41.1

41.3

41.0

41.1

41.3

41.2

41.5

40.9

40.8

43.9

43.8

43.9

44.5

44.1

44.3

44.1

44.2

44.3

44.7

44.7

44.7

45.3

44.2

44.6

41.8
4.7

41.7
4.6

42.2
4.9

41.4
4.5

41.6
4.6

MINING.......................................................
MANUFACTURING...................................
Overtime hours...................................

41.7
4.6

41.7
4.6

41.8
4.7

41.8
4.6

41.8
4.6

41.8
4.7

41.8
4.7

41.7
4.7

41.7
4.7

41.7
4.6

Durable goods........................................
Overtime hours..................................
Lumber and wood products.................
Furniture and fixtures..........................
Stone, clay, and glass products...........
Primary metal industries......................
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products...........................................
Fabricated metal products...................

42.3
4.8
41.1
40.5
43.5
44.2

42.2
4.8
41.2
40.3
43.5
44.2

42.3
4.8
41.2
40.4
43.5
44.3

42.4
4.8
41.1
40.5
43.5
44.4

42.3
4.8
41.2
40.3
43.5
44.4

42.4
4.9
41.1
40.4
43.5
44.5

42.3
4.8
41.1
40.1
43.5
44.3

42.2
4.8
41.1
39.9
43.8
44.3

42.2
4.8
41.0
40.2
43.5
44.4

42.3
4.8
41.1
40.2
43.6
44.5

42.3
4.9
41.0
40.3
43.5
44.5

42.3
4.8
40.9
40.2
43.4
44.4

42.8
5.1
41.2
40.6
43.6
44.9

42.0
4.7
40.7
40.3
43.0
43.9

42.2
4.8
40.8
39.9
42.8
44.0

44.6
42.3

44.8
42.2

44.9
42.2

45.0
42.3

45.0
42.3

45.0
42.3

45.2
42.2

45.3
42.1

45.4
42.1

45.3
42.4

45.4
42.4

45.2
42.5

45.0
43.0

44.7
42.2

45.2
42.3

Industrial machinery and equipment....
Electronic and other electrical
equipment.........................................
Transportation equipment...................
Motor vehicles and equipment..........
Instruments and related products.......
Miscellaneous manufacturing.............

42.8

42.2

42.1

42.3

42.3

42.4

42.3

42.2

42.2

42.3

42.3

42.3

42.9

42.1

42.4

41.4
43.4
43.5
41.3
39.9

41.4
43.8
45.0
41.5
39.8

41.5
44.1
45.3
41.5
39.9

41.5
44.2
45.5
41.6
39.9

41.6
43.9
45.1
41.5
40.0

41.6
44.0
45.4
41.5
39.9

41.6
43.8
45.0
41.5
39.8

41.4
43.6
44.7
41.5
39.7

41.5
43.4
44.5
41.5
39.7

41.6
43.8
45.0
41.3
39.5

41.6
44.0
45.0
41.2
39.5

41.8
43.7
44.6
41.2
39.4

42.2
44.3
45.5
41.6
39.8

41.4
43.2
44.2
41.2
39.3

41.5
43.9
45.3
41.2
39.5

40.9
4.3
41.7
41.0
37.3
43.4

40.9
4.4
41.8
40.9
37.5
43.5

41.0
4.5
41.8
40.7
37.6
43.6

41.0
4.4
41.9
41.1
37.5
43.5

41.0
4.4
41.7
41.0
37.4
43.6

41.0
4.4
41.7
40.9
37.4
43.4

41.0
4.5
41.9
41.2
37.5
43.5

41.0
4.5
41.8
41.3
37.4
43.4

40.9
4.5
41.7
41.2
37.5
43.3

40.9
4.4
41.6
41.1
37.6
43.3

41.0
4.5
41.6
41.7
37.7
43.5

40.9
4.3
41.6
41.6
37.8
43.2

41.3
4.6
41.9
41.9
38.0
43.6

40.6
4.3
41.2
41.0
37.0
42.8

40.6
4.3
41.5
41.0
37.1
42.6

38.3
43.2

38.2
43.0

38.3
43.0

38.3
43.1

38.3
43.2

38.3
43.2

38.3
43.0

38.3
43.0

38.3
43.0

38.3
42.9

38.3
42.7

38.2
42.6

38.5
42.9

38.0
42.7

38.1
42.6

41.7
37.6

41.7
37.8

41.8
37.9

41.7
37.9

41.7
37.9

41.8
37.5

41.5
37.6

41.5
37.7

41.5
37.4

41.6
37.8

41.6
38.1

41.5
38.0

42.1
38.9

41.3
38.2

41.3
37.7

SERVICE-PRODUCING..............................

32.9

32.8

32.8

32.9

32.8

32.8

32.9

32.8

32.9

32.9

32.8

32.8

32.8

32.8

32.9

TRANSPORTATION AND
PUBLIC UTILITIES...............................

39.5

38.7

38.9

38.8

38.8

38.6

38.4

38.3

38.4

38.4

38.3

38.3

38.7

38.5

38.3

WHOLESALE TRADE..............................

38.3

38.3

38.3

38.4

38.3

38.4

38.6

38.4

38.5

38.6

38.5

38.6

38.6

39.0

38.8

RETAIL TRADE........................................

29.0

29.0

29.1

29.1

29.0

28.8

29.0

29.0

29.1

29.1

29.1

29.0

28.8

28.9

29.0

Overtime hours.................................
Food and kindred products.................
Apparel and other textile products......
Paper and allied products...................

Chemicals and allied products............
Rubber and miscellaneous
Leather and leather products.............

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

M onthly Labor Review
66

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

August 2000

14. Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls, by industry,
seasonally adjusted
2000

1999

Annual average
Industry
1998
PRIVATE SECTOR (in current dollars).. $ 12.78
Goods-produclng.................................

1999

June

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

$ 13.24

$13.23

$13.27

$13.30

$13.35

$13.38

$13.41

$13.44

$13.49

$13.54

$13.58

$13.64

Mayp Junep
$13.66

$13.71

14.34

14.84

14.85

14.89

14.91

14.96

14.99

15.03

15.05

15.13

15.20

15.25

15.30

15.28

15.33

16.91

17.09

17.07

17.26

17.16

17.14

17.09

17.04

17.09

17.14

17.27

17.26

17.24

17.27

Construction........................................

16.61

17.18

17.18

17.20

17.21

17.26

17.33

17.00
17.37

17.44

17.50

17.60

17.67

17.78

17.75

17.78

Manufacturing.....................................

13.49

13.91

13 93

13.98

14.01

14.04

14.06

14.07

14.10

14.15

14.21

14.23

14.28

14.26

14.34

Excluding overtime.........................

12.79

13.18

13.19

13.24

13.27

13.29

13.31

13.33

13.36

13.41

13.45

13.47

13.49

13.52

13.59

12.27

12.73

12.71

12.76

12.78

12.83

1 2 .8 6

12.89

12.93

12.97

13.01

13.05

13.11

13.15

13.20

Service-producing................................
Transportation and public utilities......

15.31

15.69

15.67

15.72

15.73

15.79

15.79

15.84

15.94

15.92

16.00

16.04

16.12

16.20

16.29

Wholesale trade..................................

14.07

14.58

14.56

14.61

14.65

14.70

14.75

14.76

14.83

14.90

14.89

14.90

15.03

15.04

15.11

Retail trade.........................................

8.74

9.10

9.13

9.16

9.18

9.21

9.25

9.26

9.32

9.35

9.39

9.39

9.43

14.07

9.08
14.62

9.07

Finance, insurance, and real estate....

14.62

14.68

14.65

14.71

14.73

14.76

14.78

14.86

14.87

14.95

14.98

15.02

15.06

Services..............................................

12.84

13.36

13.35

13.39

13.42

13.46

13.51

13.53

13.57

13.61

13.66

13.69

13.74

13.79

13.84

7.75

7.86

7.88

7.88

7.87

7.86

7.87

7.87

7.87

7.88

7.87

7.84

7.87

7.88

7.86

PRIVATE SECTOR (in constant (1982)
dollars)...................................................

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


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

M onthly Labor Review

August 2000

67

Current Labor Statistics:

Labor Force Data

15. Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls, by industry
2000

1999

Annual average
Industry

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

Mayp Junep

1998

1999

June

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

PRIVATE SECTOR..................................

$12.78

$13.24

$13.15

$13.16

$13.20

$13.38

$13.41

$13.43

$13.46

$13.58

$13.58

$13.59

$13.69

$13.64

$13.62

MINING.....................................................

16.91

17.09

16.98

17.17

17.05

17.13

17.05

17.01

17.19

17.30

17.20

17.28

17.29

17.18

17.12

CONSTRUCTION.....................................

16.61

17.18

17.13

17.27

17.31

17.46

17.54

17.42

17.47

17.39

17.42

17.54

17.66

17.71

17.75

MANUFACTURING..................................

13.49

13.91

13.90

13.91

13.95

14.11

14.03

14.08

14.20

14.19

14.19

14.22

14.28

14.26

14.32

Durable goods.......................................
Lumber and wood products................
Furniture and fixtures.........................
Stone, clay, and glass products.........
Primary metal industries.....................
Blast furnaces and basic steel
products..........................................
Fabricated metal products.................

13.98
10.90
13.59
15.48

14.40
11.47
11.23
13.87
15.83

14.40
11.46
11.16
13.91
15.90

14.38
11.53
11.25
13.97
16.02

14.47
11.54
11.28
13.94
15.98

14.62
11.56
11.33
14.10
16.18

14.55
11.60
11.33
14.00
16.01

14.58
11.60
11.36
14.04
16.12

14.73
11.64
11.47
13.97
16.17

14.72
11.67
11.47
13.94
16.20

14.73
11.63
11.51
13.96
16.28

14.76
11.62
11.59
14.03
16.34

14.82
11.73
11.64
14.23
16.51

14.80
11.74
11.69
14.26
16.39

14.87
11.83
11.70
14.32
16.54

18.42
13.07

18.81
13.48

18.99
13.49

19.06
13.47

18.93
13.52

18.99
13.64

18.90
13.52

19.11
13.59

19.09
13.72

19.16
13.71

19.32
13.67

19.49
13.69

19.72
13.75

19.44
13.75

19.61
13.82

Industrial machinery and equipment...
Electronic and other electrical
equipment........................................
Transportation equipment..................
Motor vehicles and equipment.........
Instruments and related products......
Miscellaneous manufacturing............

14.47

15.02

14.99

15.08

15.14

15.24

15.18

15.22

15.36

15.39

15.40

15.43

15.42

15.44

15.46

13.10
17.51
17.84
13.81

13.46
18.04
18.41
14.17
11.30

13.42
18.14
18.61
14.13
11.26

13.49
17.88
18.16
14.25
11.29

13.52
18.17
18.53
14.28
11.31

13.64
18.50
18.96
14.29
11.43

13.60
18.41
18.85
14.36
11.45

13.61
18.39
18.80
14.34
11.41

13.73
18.72
19.22
14.41
11.54

13.77
18.57
18.99
14.38
11.52

13.72
18.58
19.03
14.41
11.53

13.70
18.70
19.17
14.40
11.55

13.70
18.82
19.36
14.40
11.58

13.66
18.79
19.34
14.44
11.58

13.68
18.96
19.53
14.43
11.59

Nondurable goods................................
Food and kindred products................

12.76
11.80
18.56
10.39
8.52
15.50

13.16
12.09
19.07
10.71

13.21
12.15
21.09
10.71
8.83
16.02

13.17
12.07

13.33
12.18
18.90
10.78
9.01
16.24

13.25
12.09
17.82
10.73
8.99
16.09

13.31
12.19
18.02
10.80
8.98
16.08

13.39
12.28
18.03
10.84
9.04
16.12

13.37
12.23
17.21
10.84
9.03
16.02

13.36
12.23
17.48
10.85
9.03
15.99

13.37
12.27
19.10

15.94

13.14
12.15
20.69
10.76
8.89
15.95

9.05
16.00

13.45
12.36
19.71
10.94
9.05
16.15

13.43
12.36
20.19
10.90
9.07
16.14

13.48
12.40
20.81
10.92
9.10
16.25

13.46
17.09
20.91

13.84
17.38
21.39

13.74
17.26
21.06

13.81
17.39
21.28

13.98
17.61
21.62

14.02
17.64
21.76

14.12
17.67
21.76

14.10
17.70
21.62

14.13
17.67
22.03

14.18
17.63
22.24

14.20
17.77
21.77

14.16
17.76
21.27

14.16
17.76

2 1 .2 1

13.98
17.67
21.55

2 1 .1 2

11.89
9.35

12.36
9.77

12.30
9.65

12.41
9.69

12.37
9.86

12.51
9.95

12.42
9.91

12.46
9.93

12.57

12.61
10.08

12.57
9.96

12.58

12.76

1 0 .0 1

12.67
10.13

1 2 .6 6

1 0 .0 1

10.06

1 0 .1 1

PUBLIC UTILITIES...............................

15.31

15.69

15.59

15.69

15.69

15.80

15.78

15.90

15.96

15.98

16.05

16.02

16.15

16.11

16.18

WHOLESALE TRADE.............................

14.07

14.58

14.45

14.57

14.65

14.68

14.74

17.76

14.85

14.99

14.91

14.83

15.14

15.01

14.99

RETAIL TRADE......................................

8.74

9.08

9.02

9.03

9.05

9.19

9.21

9.22

9.26

9.33

9.35

9.37

9.42

9.39

9.38

AND REAL ESTATE............................

14.07

14.62

14.51

14.54

14.62

14.64

14.69

14.74

14.76

14.99

14.93

14.97

15.12

15.03

14.94

SERVICES...............................................

12.84

13.36

13.21

13.18

13.23

13.45

13.51

13.57

13.65

13.78

13.77

13.77

13.83

13.76

13.70

Textile mill products............................
Apparel and other textile products.....
Paper and allied products..................
Printing and publishing......................
Chemicals and allied products..........
Petroleum and coal products.............
Rubber and miscellaneous
plastics products...............................
Leather and leather products............

1 1 .1 0

1 0 .8 8

8 .8 6

2 0 .8 6

10.72
8 .8 8

15.95
13.83
17.41

1 0 .8 6

TRANSPORTATION AND

FINANCE, INSURANCE,

p = preliminary.
NOTE: bee "Notes on tne data" tor a description ot tne most recent Dencnmark revision.

M onthly Labor Review
68

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

August 2000

16. Average weekly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls, by industry
A n n u a l a v e ra g e

1999

In d u s try
1998

2000

1999

June

J u ly

Aug.

S e p t.

O c t.

Nov.

D ec.

Jan.

Feb.

M a r.

A p r.

M ayp

Junep

$456.78
271.25

$454.99
456.44
270.83

$456.65
457.82
271.01

$463.32
458.85
274.15

$458.93
460.58
269.96

$463.99
461.61
272.45

$463.34
462.65
271.91

$465.72
463.68
273.31

$467.15
465.41
273.51

$464.44
468.48
270.50

$464.78
468.51
268.35

$473.67
471.94
273.32

$467.85
469.90
269.65

$471.25
473.00
270.06

P R IV A T E S E C T O R

Current dollars.......................... $442.19
Seasonally adjusted.............
Constant (1982) dollars..........
268.32
M IN IN G ....................................................

742.35

748.54

750.52

767.50

758.73

758.86

758.73

758.65

763.24

766.39

758.52

758.59

776.32

764.51

770.40

C O N S T R U C T IO N .................................

646.13

671.74

681.77

689.07

692.40

673.96

701.60

688.09

677.84

664.04

674.15

680.55

692.27

701.32

702.90

Current dollars.........................
Constant (1982) dollars...........

562.53
341.34

580.05
344.45

581.02
345.85

573.09
340.11

583.11
345.04

588.39
346.11

589.26
346.01

594.18
348.70

603.50
354.17

590.30
345.61

588.89
342.98

590.13
340.72

595.48
343.61

590.36
340.27

595.71
341.38

D u ra b le g o o d s ..................................

591.35
456.21
441.45

607.68

610.56

598.21

612.08

615.50

634.86

621.18

620.13

622.87

628.37

476.74
449.75

475.04
452.25

482.37
459.10

472.80
456.60

618.38
480.24
458.87

622.57

472.56
452.57

480.24
458.94

480.73
471.42

474.97
459.95

469.85
458.10

470.61
462.44

482.10
464.44

623.08
480.17
465.26

486.21
466.83

591.17
684.22

603.35
699.69

612.04
707.55

611.89
698.47

614.75
704.72

620.40
716.77

616.00
709.24

620.57
720.56

604.90
732.50

591.06
722.52

591.90
722.83

596.28
723.86

614.74
734.70

620.31
722.80

621.49
731.07

821.53
552.86

842.69
568.86

858.35
571.98

850.08
560.35

849.96
571.90

852.65
571.52

848.61
574.60

865.68
580.29

878.14
594.08

867.95
579.93

875.20
576.87

875.10
577.72

891.34
583.00

872.86
580.25

886.37
585.97

619.32

633.84

631.08

628.84

637.39

635.51

640.60

646.85

663.55

654.08

652.96

654.23

655.35

651.57

655.50

542.34
759.93

557.24
790.15

556.93
798.16

550.39
754.54

562.43
794.03

563.33
812.15

568.48
810.04

572.98
811.00

582.15
838.66

572.83
811.51

569.38
815.66

571.29
819.06

569.92
829.96

562.79
817.37

569.09
832.34

776.04

828.45

843.03

777.25

828.29

860.78

852.02

849.76

887.96

850.75

856.35

860.73

880.88

866.43

884.71

570.35
434.11

588.06
449.74

586.40
449.27

584.25
442.57

591.19
452.40

587.32
453.77

594.50
459.15

600.85
459.82

612.43
466.22

595.33
450.43

595.13
453.13

593.28
456.23

594.72
456.25

592.04
453.94

593.07
458.96

M A N U F A C T U R IN G

Lumber and wood products.....
Furniture and fixtures..............
Stone, clay, and glass
products..............................
Primary metal industries.........
Blast furnaces and basic
steel products.....................
Fabricated metal products.......
Industrial machinery and
equipment..........................
Electronic and other electrical
equipment...........................
Transportation equipment.......
Motor vehicles and
equipment.........................
Instruments and related
products..............................
Miscellaneous manufacturing....

629.00

N o n d u ra b le g o o d s ..........................

521.88

538.24

538.74

537.65

539.97

546.53

547.23

551.03

557.02

544.16

542.42

542.82

548.76

543.92

548.64

Food and kindred products......
Tobacco products...................
Textile mill products................
Apparel and other textile
products..............................
Paper and allied products........

492.06
710.85
425.99

505.36
762.80
438.04

506.66
829.67
442.24

507.87
849.93
434.83

506.94
836.49
440.59

512.62
754.11
438.75

512.62
753.79
445.30

518.08
774.86
449.28

520.67
793.32
453.11

505.10
672.91
443.36

500.21
685.22
448.11

501.84
741.08
450.69

506.76
782.49
456.20

506.76
803.56
446.90

513.36
826.16
451.00

317.80
672.70

332.25
693.39

338.71
693.83

326.71
6 8 8 .8 6

333.00
690.64

331.57
709.69

338.92
704.74

337.65
704.30

343.52
712.50

335.92
695.27

339.53
687.57

342.09
686.40

341.19
696.07

336.50
687.56

341.25
692.25

Printing and publishing............
Chemicals and allied products..
Petroleum and coal products...
Rubber and miscellaneous
plastics products...................
Leather and leather products....

515.52
738.29
911.68

528.69
747.34
921.91

520.75
742.18
905.58

526.16
742.55
923.55

531.07
750.37
903.55

539.63
765.11
930.96

539.63
758.99
933.98

543.98
765.58
935.68

550.68
772.18
937.86

534.39
757.56
933.98

536.94
750.98
956.10

540.26
749.28
969.66

542.44
757.00
966.59

533.83
754.80
916.74

533.83
756.58
927.17

495.81
351.56

515.41
369.31

516.60
371.53

510.05
363.38

512.12
381.58

520.42
372.13

516.67
374.60

523.32
378.33

532.97
375.75

523.32
372.96

520.40
375.49

520.81
379.38

528.34
388.99

524.12
385.30

529.54
387.21

P U B L IC U T IL IT IE S ...........................

604.75

607.20

608.01

610.34

618.19

608.30

605.95

608.97

612.86

612.03

611.51

608.76

626.62

617.01

621.31

W H O L E S A L E T R A D E ........................

538.88

558.41

553.44

556.57

565.49

560.78

567.49

566.78

570.24

578.61

568.07

566.51

588.95

582.39

580.11

R E T A IL T R A D E .....................................

253.46

263.32

265.19

270.00

270.60

264.67

266.17

264.61

271.32

265.91

266.48

267.98

272.24

271.37

274.83

512.15

529.24

522.36

527.80

540.94

528.50

530.31

530.64

534.31

551.63

538.97

537.42

554.90

539.58

540.83

418.58

435.54

430.65

432.30

439.24

434.44

441.78

443.74

444.99

450.61

448.90

447.53

453.62

445.82

447.99

T R A N S P O R T A T IO N A N D

F IN A N C E , IN S U R A N C E ,
A N D R E A L E S T A T E ........................
S E R V IC E S ..............................................

p= preliminary.
note:

bee "Notes on tne data” tor a description ot tne most recent DencnmarK revision, uasn indicates data not avanaoie.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

M onthly Labor Review

A ugust 2000

69

Current Labor Statistics:

17.

Labor Force Data

Diffusion indexes of employment change, seasonally adjusted

[In percent]
Timespan and year

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

July

Aug.

Nov

Oct.

Sept.

Dec.

Private nonfarm payrolls, 356 industries
Over 1-month span:
1997........................................................
1998........................................................
1999........................................................
2 0 0 0 ........................................................

57.3
63.2
54.1
60.8

Over 3-month span:
1997........................................................
1998........................................................
1999........................................................
2 0 0 0 ........................................................

62.6
64.3
58.3
61.0

57.3
62.6

Over 6 -month span:
1997........................................................
1998........................................................
1999........................................................
2 0 0 0 ........................................................

66.3
69.8
60.0
65.6

Over 12-month span:
1997........................................................
1998........................................................
1999........................................................

69.0
69.7
60.3

59.7
56.6
58.8
54.1

62.8
60.5

64.0

57.7
59.7
57.9
54.1

61.2
53.9
58.8

60.1
58.1
53.8

61.5
56.2
57.3

65.3
53.8
60.7

62.1
59.0
60.8

61.2
57.4
59.0

-

-

-

-

-

-

62.1

6 6 .2

58.8

61.5
57.4
58.1

57.9
60.7

67.4
59.7
59.6

69.4
58.1
63.5

69.0
58.6
64.3

69.1
59.4
63.1

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

53.9

63.2
58.7
59.6

60.7

56.5

57.7
58.3
52.8
45.9

66.3
63.2
58.4
61.9

66.7
66.3
54.4
57.0

63.2
63.6
57.3
54.5

67.0
67.4
58.0
60.8

6 6 .6

66.3
61.8
58.6

65.6
62.9
54.4

67.1
61.4
59.7

66.3
59.0
60.4

68.5
58.4
62.1

69.0
57.4
64.0

70.4
59.7
62.8

69.7
59.3
65.2

70.4
59.1
64.6

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

67.3
67.3
58.3

68.3
67.3
57.6

69.7
65.9
59.4

69.5
63.9
59.6

70.1
62.5
60.5

70.1
61.5
61.9

70.4
62.1
61.0

70.5
61.0
62.6

70.1
59.8
62.9

69.4
59.8
62.6

70.4
58.1
62.6

6 6 .6

65.2
57.6
59.7

58.0

Manufacturing payrolls, 139 industries
Over 1-month span:
1997........................................................
1998........................................................
1999........................................................
2 0 0 0 ........................................................

49.6
57.9
45.0
52.2

52.5
50.7
41.0
47.8

56.1
53.6
42.8
51.1

54.0
50.7
46.4
51.1

51.4
47.1
40.3
45.7

54.3
50.0
46.4
48.9

50.7
37.8
54.7

53.6
50.0
38.1

56.5
45.7
46.4

61.9
39.9
51.8

60.4
41.7
51.4

55.4
43.9
50.4

-

-

-

-

-

-

Over 3-month span:
1997........................................................
1998........................................................
1999........................................................
2 0 0 0 ........................................................

50.7
56.8
36.7
47.8

53.2
56.8
37.1
52.5

55.8
52.2
37.1
49.3

56.1
52.2
34.5
48.9

53.2
48.6
37.8
47.5

52.5
41.4
43.5

52.5
39.2
39.9

55.8
40.3
45.0

59.7
43.2
42.1

66.5
37.1
50.4

64.7
36.7
51.1

64.0
40.6
50.7

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Over 6 -month span:
1997........................................................
1998.......................................................
1999.......................................................
2 0 0 0 .......................................................

53.2
60.1
35.6
51.4

53.2
54.3
33.5
46.8

52.5
50.4
33.5
48.2

52.9
39.9
37.1

51.8
43.5
32.7

53.2
42.1
38.8

54.7
38.8
41.0

61.2
36.7
45.7

61.2
36.0
48.2

64.4
39.9
43.2

64.7
34.5
48.6

63.7
32.7
51.1

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Over 12-month span:
1997.......................................................
1998.......................................................
1999.......................................................

54.7
55.0
37.4

52.5
51.8
32.4

54.0
51.8
31.7

54.0
46.8
35.3

55.4
40.6
36.0

56.8
39.9
37.1

57.2
37.8
38.8

57.9
38.1
39.6

58.3
37.1
42.4

56.8
36.0
42.4

56.8
34.2
43.5

57.2
33.5
46.0

- Data not available.
NOTE: Figures are the percent of industries with employment increasing
plus one-half of the industries with unchanged employment, where 50
percent indicates an equal balance between industries with increasing and

M onthly Labor Review
70

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August 2000

decreasing employment. Data for the 2 most recent months shown in each
span are preliminary. See the "Definitions" in this section. See "Notes on
the data" for a description of the most recent benchmark revision.

18.

Annual data: Employment status of the population

[Numbers in thousands]
Employment status
Civilian noninstitutional population..........
Civilian labor force................................
Labor force participation rate.............
Employed.........................................
Employment-population ratio.........
Agriculture...................................
Nonagricultural industries...........
Unemployed....................................
Unemployment rate........................
Not in the labor force............................

19.

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

190,925
126,346
66.2

192,805
128,105
66.4

194,838
129,200
66.3

196,814
131,056
66.6

198,584
132,304
66.6

200,591
133,943
66.8

203,133
136,297
67.1

205,220
137,673
67.1

207,753
139,368
67.1

117,718
61.7
3,269
114,499

118,492
61.5
3,247
115,245

120,259
61.7
3,115
117,144

123,060
62.5
3,409
119,651

124,900
62.9
3,440
121,460

126,708
63.2
3,443
123,264

129,558
63.8
3,399
126,159

131,463
64.1
3,378
128,085

133,488
64.3
3,281
130,207

8,628
6.8
64,578

9,613
7.5
64,700

8,940
6.9
65,638

7,996
6.1
65,758

7,404
5.6
66,280

7,236
5.4
66,647

6,739
4.9
66,837

6,210
4.5
67,547

5,880
4.2
68,385

Annual data: Employment levels by industry

[In thousands]
Industry

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

Total employment.........................................
Private sector............................................
Goods-producing...................................
Mining.................................................
Construction.......................................
Manufacturing.....................................

108,249
89,847
23,745
689
4,650
18,406

108,601
89,956
23,231
635
4,492
18,104

110,713
91,872
23,352
610
4,668
18,075

114,163
95,036
23,908
601
4,986
18,321

117,191
97,885
24,265
581
5,160
18,524

119,608
100,189
24,493
580
5,418
18,495

122,690
103,133
24,962
596
5,691
18,675

125,865
106,042
25,414
590
6,020
18,805

128,786
108,616
25,482
535
6,404
18,543

Service-producing.................................
Transportation and public utilities.......
Wholesale trade.................................
Retail trade..........................................
Finance, insurance, and real estate....
Services..............................................

84,504
5,755
6,081
19,284
6,646
28,336

85,370
5,718
5,997
19,356
6,602
29,052

87,361
5,811
5,981
19,773
6,757
30,197

90,256
5,984
6,162
20,507
6,896
31,579

92,925
6,132
6,378
21,187
6,806
33,117

95,115
6,253
6,482
21,597
6,911
34,454

97,727
6,408
6,648
21,966
7,109
36,040

100,451
6,611
6,800
22,295
7,389
37,533

103,304
6,826
6,924
22,788
7,569
39,027

Federal............................................
State.................................................
Local................................................

18,402
2,966
4,355
11,081

18 645
2,969
4,408
11,267

18 841
2,915
4,488
11,438

19 128
2,870
4,576
11,682

19 80S
2,822
4,635
11,849

1Q 419
2,757
4,606
12,056

2,699
4,582
12,276

2,686
4,612
12,525

2,669
4,695
12,806

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


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M onthly Labor Review

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71

Current Labor Statistics:

20.

Labor Force Data

Annual data: Average hours and earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on nonfarm
payrolls, by industry
1991

Industry

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

P r iv a t e s e c to r :

Average weekly hours..............................................
Average hourly earnings (in dollars)........................
Average weekly earnings (in dollars).......................

385.86

34.5
11.43
394.34

34.4
11.82
406.61

34.6
12.28
424.89

34.6
12.78
442.19

34.5
13.24
456.78

44.3
14.60
646.78

44.8
14.88
666.62

44.7
15.30
683.91

45.3
15.62
707.59

45.4
16.15
733.21

43.9
16.91
742.35

43.8
17.09
748.54

38.0
14.15
537.70

38.5
14.38
553.63

38.9
14.73
573.00

38.9
15.09
587.00

39.0
15.47
603.33

39.0
16.04
625.56

38.9
16.61
646.13

39.1
17.18
6/1 ./4

40.7
11.18
455.03

41.0
11.46
469.86

41.4
11.74
486.04

42.0
12.07
506.94

41.6
12.37
514.59

41.6
12.77
531.23

42.0
13.17
553.14

41.7
13.49
562.53

41.7
13.91
580.05

38.1
13.20
502.92

38.3
13.43
514.37

39.3
13.55
532.52

39.7
13.78
547.07

39.4
14.13
556.72

39.6
14.45
572.22

39.7
14.92
592.32

39.5
15.31
604.75

38.7
15.69
607.20

38.1
11.15
424.82

38.2
11.39
435.10

38.2
11.74
448.47

38.4
12.06
463.10

38.3
12.43
476.07

38.3
12.87
492.92

38.4
13.45
516.48

38.3
14.07
538.88

38.3
14.58
558.41

28.6
6.94
198.48

28.8
7.12
205.06

28.8
7.29
209.95

28.9
7.49
216.46

28.8
7.69
221.47

28.8
7.99
230.11

28.9
8.33
240.74

29.0
8.74
253.46

29.0
9.08
263.32

35.7
10.39
370.92

35.8
10.82
387.36

35.8
11.35
406.33

35.8
11.83
423.51

35.9
12.32
442.29

35.9
12.80
459.52

36.1
13.34
481.57

36.4
14.07
512.15

36.2
14.62
529.24

32.4
10.23
331.45

32.5
10.54
342.55

32.5
10.78
350.35

32.5
11.04
358.80

32.4
11.39
369.04

32.4
11.79
382.00

32.6
12.28
400.33

32.6
12.84
418.58

32.6
13.36
435.54

34.3
10.32
353.98

34.4
10.57
363.61

34.5
10.83
373.64

44.4
14.19
630.04

43.9
14.54
638.31

38.1
14.00
533.40

34.7
1 1 .1 2

M in in g :

Average weekly hours............................................
Average hourly earnings (In dollars)......................
Average weekly earnings (in dollars).....................
C o n s t r u c t io n :

Average weekly hours............................................
Average hourly earnings (in dollars)......................
Average weekly earnings (in dollars).....................
M a n u f a c t u r in g :

Average weekly hours............................................
Average hourly earnings (in dollars)......................
Average weekly earnings (in dollars).....................
T r a n s p o r t a t io n a n d p u b l i c u tilitie s :

Average weekly hours............................................
Average hourly earnings (in dollars).....................
Average weekly earnings (in dollars)....................
W h o le s a l e tr a d e :

Average weekly hours...........................................
Average hourly earnings (In dollars).....................
Average weekly earnings (in dollars)....................
R e ta il tr a d e :

Average weekly hours...........................................
Average weekly earnings (in dollars)....................
F in a n c e , i n s u r a n c e , a n d re a l e s ta te :

Average weekly hours...........................................

S e r v ic e s :

Average weekly hours...........................................
Average weekly earnings (in dollars)...................

M onthly Labor Review
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August 2000

21.

Employment Cost Index, compensation,1by occupation and industry group

[June 1989 = 100]
1998

1999

2000

Percent change
3
12
months
months
ended
ended

Series
Mar.

June

Sept.

Dec.

Mar.

June

Sept.

Dec.

Mar.

Mar. 2000
C iv ilia n w o rk e rs 2..................................................................................

136.3

137.4

139.0

139.8

140.4

141.8

143.3

144.6

146.5

1.3

4.3

137.7
137.5
139.1
138.0
133.2
136.9

138.7
138.3
139.7
139.3
134.3
137.9

140.6
140.0
141.7
140.4
135.3
139.4

141.4
141.0
141.8
141.3
136.1
140.0

141.9
141.3
143.5
142.5
137.1
141.3

143.3
142.2
145.4
143.4
138.3
142.4

145.0
143.9
147.3
144.7
139.5
143.1

146.3
145.3
148.6
146.1
140.6
144.8

148.4
146.7
150.5
148.6
142.7
146.0

1.4

4.6
3.8
4.9
4.3
4.1
3.3

135.1
136.4
136.8
138.3
138.0
137.1
137.5
136.4
136.2

136.3
137.2
137.7
139.0
138.5
138.2
137.7
137.4
137.3

137.2
138.2
139.6
140.8
139.1
139.4
140.2
138.9
139.0

137.9
138.9
140.4
141.7
139.1
140.2
141.0
139.9
139.9

139.0
139.9
140.9
142.3
140.5
141.3
141.3
140.8
140.5

140.0
140.9
142.4
143.2
141.4
142.2
141.7
141.5
141.9

141.2
142.1
144.0
145.1
142.7
143.4
144.6
142.4
143.4

142.5
143.6
145.3
146.5
144.3
145.0
145.8
144.4
144.7

144.9
146.0
147.1
148.0
145.9
146.3
146.5
145.7
146.6

Excluding sales occupations.......................................

136.3
136.4

137.5
137.5

139.0
138.8

139.8
139.4

140.4
140.5

142.0
141.9

143.3
143.2

144.6
144.5

Workers, by occupational group:
White-collar workers.....................................................
Excluding sales occupations.....................................
Professional specialty and technical occupations.........
Executive, adminitrative, and managerial occupations..
Sales occupations......................................................
Administrative support occupations, including clerical...
Blue-collar workers......................................................
Precision production, craft, and repair occupations......
Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors..........
Transportation and material moving occupations.........
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers....

138.1
138.8
138.8
139.4
135.3
138.2
133.1
132.9
133.6
129.3
137.0

139.4
139.9
140.1
140.0
137.3
139.6
134.3
134.4
134.7
129.9
137.6

141.1
141.3
141.6
141.9
140.4
140.6
135.2
135.4
135.7
130.7
138.5

142.0
141.9
142.6
141.8
142.6
141.4
135.9
136.1
136.8
130.7
139.2

142.4
143.0
142.9
143.7
139.6
142.6
136.9
137.2
137.3
131.6
141.0

144.1
144.5
144.1
145.8
142.6
143.7
138.2
138.4
138.4
133.6
142.3

145.6
146.0
145.2
147.7
144.1
145.0
139.4
139.6
139.9
134.4
143.2

146.9
147.3
146.7
149.1
145.3
146.2
140.5
140.6
141.4
135.2
144.4

Service occupations.....................................................

135.3

136.0

137.3

138.0

139.5

140.6

141.0

142.6

143.9

.9

3.2

Production and nonsupervisory occupations4 ...............

135.3

136.6

138.0

139.0

139.3

140.8

141.9

143.1

145.3

1.5

4.3

135.1
134.5
137.7
136.3
133.5
130.6
136.4
138.2
136.5
135.0
136.5
135.9

136.2
135.6
138.8
137.4
134.6
132.7
137.2
139.1
137.3
135.9
137.4
136.7

137.1
136.5
139.7
138.3
135.5
133.4
138.2
140.1
138.3
136.8
138.5
137.6

137.8
137.2
140.2
138.8
136.3
134.3
138.9
140.5
138.7
137.7
139.2
138.2

138.9
138.3
141.7
140.4
137.1
135.6
139.9
141.8
140.1
138.5
139.9
139.6

139.9
139.3
142.7
141.3
138 3
136.9
140.9
143.0
141.3
139.4
141.0
140.4

141.1
140.5
143.9
142 5
139 4
137.9
142.1
144.3
142.5
140.5
142.3
141.5

142.5
141.8
145.5
143 9
140 7
138.7
143.6
145.8
143.8
142.1
144.0
142.8

144.8
144.2
148 1
146 5
142 8
140.8
146.0
148.2
146.2
144.4
146.5
144.9

1 .6

4.2
4.3
45

136.7
137.4
138.0
139.5
132.1
135.0
135.8
134.0
137.9
136.6
139.6
134.7
135.5
137.7
137.0
133.1
131.2
131.3

137.8
138.5
139.3
140.6
133.2
135.8
137.1
134.9
139.7
139.2
140.3
135.8
136.3
138.6
138.2
134.4
133.0
132.9

139.6
140.0
141.2
142.2
134.3
137.0
138.5
136.7
140.7
140.5
141.0
137.6
138.1
140.8
140.0
135.9
133.2
133.7

140.5
140.6
142.2
142.8
134.8
137.8
139.3
137.3
141.9
141.7
142.1
138.2
138.8
142.8
141.2
135.6
134.0
132.7

140.9
141.7
142.3
143.8
136.2
139.3
139.7
136.8
143.4
143.3
143.4
138.9
139.9
142.7
142.4
136.8
135.0
134.3

142.8
143.3
144.3
145.5
137.8
140.5
140.9
138.1
144.6
144.9
144.2
141.1
141.9
144.6
144.0
139.1
135.6
135.7

144.1
144.6
145.8
147.0
139.1
140.8
141.8
138.7
145.7
146.1
145.1
142.2
142.8
146.3
145.8
140.0
137.2
137.0

145.3
145.9
147.0
148.3
139.8
142.4
142.3
139.5
146.1
146.0
146.1
143.5
144.3
148.5
147.4
140.7
138.3
138.1

147.4
147.7
149.3
150.3
141.8
143.6
143.9
140.4
148.6
148.4
148.9
145.6
146.4
150.0
149.6
143.2
139.7
140.1

Workers, by occupational group:
White-collar workers......................................................
Professional specialty and technical..............................
Executive, adminitrative, and managerial......................
Administrative support, including clerical.......................
Blue-collar workers........................................................
Service occupations.......................................................

1 .0

1.3
1.7
1.5
.8

Workers, by industry division:
Goods-producing...........................................................
Manufacturing..............................................................
Service-producing.........................................................
Services......................................................................
Health services..........................................................
Hospitals.................................................................
Educational services..................................................
Public administration3 ....................................................
Nonmanufacturing.........................................................
P riv a te in d u s try w o r k e r s ................................................................

Workers, by industry division:
Goods-producing.........................................................
Excluding sales occupations..................................

Construction...............................................................
Manufacturing............................................................
White-collar occupations..........................................
Excluding sales occupations..................................
Blue-collar occupations............................................
Durables...................................................................
Nondurables..............................................................
Service-producing........................................................
Excluding sales occupations..................................
White-collar occupations..........................................
Excluding sales occupations..................................
Blue-collar occupations............................................
Transportation and public utilities...............................
Transportation..........................................................
Public utilities...........................................................
Communications....................................................
Electric, gas, and sanitary services.........................
Wholesale and retail trade..........................................
Excluding sales occupations..................................
Wholesale trade.......................................................
Excluding sales occupations..................................
Retail trade..............................................................
General merchandise stores...................................
Food stores............................................................

1.7
1.7

.9
.5
.9
1.3

4.2
4.4
4.4
4.0
3.8
3.5
3.7
3.5
4.3

146.8
146.5

1.5
1.4

4.6
4.3

149.3
149.4
148.4
151.1
148.9
149.0
142.6
142.3
144.0
137.5
146.4

1 .6

4.8
4.5
3.8
5.1
6.7
4.5
4.2
3.7
4.9
4.5
3.8

1 .2
1 .0
1.1

1.4
1 .2

1.3
2.5
1.9
1.5
1 .2
1 .8

1.7
1.4

1.7
1 8
1 8

1.5
1.7
1 .6

1.7
1 .6

1.7
1.5
1.4
1 .2
1 .6

1.3
1.4
.8
1.1

42
3.8
4.4
4.5
4.4
4.3
4.7
3.8
4.6
4.2
4.9
4.5
4.1
31
3.0

.6

2 .6

1.7

3.6
3.6
3.8
4.8
4.6
5.1
5.1
4.7
3.5
4.3

1 .6

1.9
1.5
1.5
1 .0

1.5
1 .8
1 .0

1.4

See footnotes at end of table.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

M onthly Labor Review

A ugust 2000

73

Current Labor Statistics:

21.

Compensation & Industrial Relations

Continued—Employment Cost Index, compensation,1by occupation and industry group

[June 1989 = 100]

Series
Mar.

June

Sept.

Dec.

Mar.

June

Percent change

2000

1999

1998

Sept.

Dec.

Mar.

3

12

months

months

ended

ended

Mar. 2000
Finance, insurance, and real estate...............................

136.7

138.4

141.0

142.5

141.5

145.8

147.6

148.3

152.0

2.5

7.4

Excluding sales occupations.....................................
Banking, savings and loan, and other credit agencies.
Insurance......................................................................
Services..........................................................................
Business services........................................................
Health services.............................................................
Hospitals....................................................................
Educational services....................................................
Colleges and universities...........................................

140.2
143.3
137.4
139.3
139.5
138.2
136.7
143.4
144.3

141.3
145.3
138.9
140.3
140.7
138.7
138.2
143.9
144.8

143.2
148.4
141.9
141.8
143.5
139.0
139.1
147.0
147.8

143.3
146.7
141.7
142.7
145.9
139.0
139.9
147.7
148.5

145.6
148.8
141.7
143.5
147.5
140.5
141.2
148.3
149.2

148.8
155.4
144.0
144.6
148.7
141.4
142.1
148.7
149.6

151.0
159.3
144.5
146.1
150.7
142.6
143.0
152.2
152.6

151.6
159.8
145.8
147.6
151.9
144.2
144.6
153.0
153.3

154.2
162.7
149.9
149.4
154.2
145.8
145.8
154.0
154.6

1.7

5.9
9.3
5.8
4.1
4.5
3.8
3.3
3.8
3.6

Nonmanufacturing..........................................................

136.0

137.2

138.9

139.7

140.3

142.0

143.4

144.5

146.7

1.5

4.6

White-collar workers.....................................................
Excluding sales occupations....................................
Blue-collar occupations................................................
Service occupations.....................................................

137.9
139.3
131.0
134.9

139.2
140.5
132.4
135.7

141.1
142.0
133.4
136.9

142.0
142.7
134.0
137.7

142.3
143.7
135.2
139.2

144.1
145.3
136.8
140.4

145.6
146.8
138.0
140.7

146.9
148.1
138.7
142.3

149.2
150.2
140.6
143.5

1 .6

1.4
1.4
.8

4.8
4.5
4.0
3.1

S t a t e a n d lo c a l g o v e r n m e n t w o r k e r s ..............................................

136.5

136.9

139.0

139.8

140.5

141.0

143.1

144.6

145.5

.6

3.6

136.1
135.6
137.5
136.9
135.0

136.2
135.6
137.9
137.2
135.2

138.4
137.7
140.4
139.5
136.8

139.3
138.5
141.6
140.3
137.8

139.8
138.8
142.6
141.4
138.8

140.2
139.3
142.8
141.3
139.5

142.6
142.0
144.5
143.0
140.9

144.0
143.2
146.1
145.0
142.5

144.9
144.1
147.0
145.9
143.7

.6

3.6
3.8
3.1
3.2
3.5

1 .8
2 .8
1 .2

1.5
1.1
.8

.7
.8

Workers, by occupational group:
White-collar workers...........................................................
Professional specialty and technical................................
Executive, administrative, and managerial.....................

.6
.6
.6
.8

Workers, by industry division:
Services...........................................................................

136.5

136.6

140.0

140.5

143.2

144.5

145.2

.5

3.7

136.1

136.2

139.0
138.7

139.7

Services excluding schools5 ..........................................
Health services............................................................

138.8

139.6

140.3

142.6

143.8

145.2

1 .0

4.0

138.0
138.4
136.5
136.7
136.2
138.1

140.3
140.7
138.8
139.1
138.8
140.4

140.7
141.2
139.6
139.9
139.3
141.5

141.2
141.7
139.9
140.2
139.6
141.7

142.0
142.7
140.3
140.6
140.0
142.1

144.2
144.8
143.1
143.5
142.9
144.8

145.8
146.3
144.4
144.7
144.1
146.5

147.3
147.9
145.0
145.3
144.5
147.4

1 .0

Elementary and secondary.....................................
Colleges and universities.......................................

137.9
138.4
136.3
136.6
136.1
137.9

.6

4.3
4.4
3.6
3.6
3.5
4.0

Public administration3 .......................................................

136.4

137.4

138.9

139.9

140.8

141.5

142.4

144.4

145.7

.9

3.5

Educational services....................................................

Cost (cents per hour worked) measured in the Employment Cost Index consists of
wages, salaries, and employer cost of employee benefits.
1

Consists of private Industry workers (excluding farm and household workers) and
State and local government (excluding Federal Government) workers.
2

M onthly Labor Review
74

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

August 2000

3

1.1

.4
.4
.3

Consists of legislative, judicial, administrative, and regulatory activities.

4 This series has the same industry and occupational coverage as the Hourly
Earnings index, which was discontinued in January 1989.
5

Includes, for example, library, social, and health services.

22.

Employment Cost Index, wages and salaries, by occupation and industry group

[June 1989= 100]
1998

1999

2000

Series
Mar.

C iv ilia n

workers1.....................................

June

Sept.

Dec.

Mar.

June

134.0

135.0

136.8

137.7

138.4

135.6
135.8
137.4
135.0
130.4
133.7

136.7
136.6
138.3
136.2
131 4
134.5

138 8
138 5
140.5
137.5
132 6
136.1

139 7
139 4
140 3
138 6
133 3
137.0

140 1

Manufacturing.............................................................
Service-producing.........................................................
Services.....................................................................
Health services.........................................................
Hospitals..................................................................

132.0
133.7
134.8
136.9
136.2
134.2
136 3

133 3
134.6
135.7
137.6
136.5
135.1
136 5

134 4
136.0
137.8
139.6
137.6
136.4
139 1

Public administration2 ..................................................
Nonmanufacturing.........................................................

132.7
134.0

133.2
135.1

133.7
133.7

White-collar workers.................................................
Excluding sales occupations....................................
Professional specialty and technical occupations.........
Executive, adminitrative, and managerial occupations..
Sales occupations......................................................
Administrative support occupations, including clerical...
Blue-collar workers.................................................
Precision production, craft, and repair occupations......
Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors..........
Transportation and material moving occupations.........
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers....
Service occupations...................................................

Sept.

139.8

141.3

141 6
140 0

140 R
1 in 9

14? 0

138.3

139.4

135 ?
136.8
138.7
140.5
137.6
137.1

13fi 3
137.9
139.2
141.5
138.8
138.1

134.8
137.0

135.9
137.8

134.9
134.8

136.6
136.3

135.7
136.3
135.9
137.8
133.1
135.3
130.2
129.8
131.6
125.9
133.2

137.0
137.5
137.1
138.7
135.2
136.7
131 3
131.2
132.7
126.4
133.7

132.1

Production and nonsupervisory occupations3 ...............

Dec.

Mar.

Percent change
3
12
months
months
ended
ended
Mar. 2000

142.5

144.0

140.1

141.7

143.0

139.0
140.7
142.3
139.7
138.8

140.2
142.3
144.1
140.9
140.1

141.5
143.5
145.5
142.5
141.6

142.9
145.0
146.6
143.8
142.6

136.9
138.4

137.8
139.9

139.5
141.5

141.5
142.6

142.5
144.2

1.1

137.4
136.9

138.1
138.2

139.7
139.6

141.0
140.8

142.2
142.0

143.9
143.5

1.1

139.0
139.1
138.7
140.9
138.8
137.9
132 4
132.3
133.8
127.6
135.1

139.9
139.7
139.7
140.5
141.3
138.9
133 ?
133.0
134.9
127.8
135.8

140.3
141.0
140.7
141.9
137.3
140.4

142.1
142.5
141.8
144.3
140.5
141.4

143.5
143.9
142.6
146.4
142.1
142.7

144.8
145.2
144.1
147.6
143.3
143.8

146.6
146.7
145.1
149.2
146.7
146.0

134.3
135.7
129.1
137.3

135.6
136.7
131.0
138.3

136.7
138.3
131.9
139.4

137.5
139.5
132.7
140.4

138.9
140.7
134.1
141.8

1 .0

133.0

134.4

135.3

136.7

137.8

138.0

139.6

141.0

1 .0

3.1

132.3

133.6

135.2

136.4

136.8

138.2

139.3

140.4

142.1

1 .2

3.9

Workers, by industry division:
Goods-producing..........................................................
Excluding sales occupations..................................
White-collar occupations..........................................
Excluding sales occupations...................................
Blue-collar occupations............................................
Construction........................................................
Manufacturing............................................
White-collar occupations..........................................
Excluding sales occupations...................................
Blue-collar occupations............................................
Durables.................................................
Nondurables..................................................

132.0
131.3
135.0
133.3
130.1
126.0
133.7
135.6
133.8
132.3
133.4
134.2

133.2
132.5
136.3
134.6
131.3
128.1
134.6
136.8
135.0
133.1
134.5
134.9

134.3
133.6
137.4
135.7
132.3
128.5
136.0
138.3
136.3
134.3
135.9
136.0

135.2
134.4
138.2
136.4
133.3
129.3
136.8
139.0
137.1
135.3
136.9
136.8

136.3
135.5
139.4
137.8
134.3
130.7
137.9
140.1
138.3
136.3
137.9
138.0

137.3
136.6
140.5
138.8
135.4
131.9
139.0
141.4
139.6
137.2
139.1
138.7

138.5
137.8
141.7
140.1
136.6
133.0
140.2
142.7
140.8
138.4
140.4
139.7

139.7
138.9
143.0
141.3
137.6
133.6
141.5
144.0
142.0
139.7
141.8
140.9

141.3
140.5
145.0
143.2
139.0
136.0
142.9
145.8
143.7
140.8
143.0
142.7

1.1

3.7
3.7
4.0
3.9
3.5
4.1
3.6
4.1
3.9
3.3
3.7
3.4

Service-producing..................................................
Excluding sales occupations...................................
White-collar occupations..........................................
Excluding sales occupations...................................
Blue-collar occupations............................................
Service occupations.................................................
Transportation and public utilities................................
Transportation...............................................
Public utilities......................................................
Communications....................................................
Electric, gas, and sanitary services.........................
Wholesale and retail trade..........................................
Excluding sales occupations...................................
Wholesale trade.............................................
Excluding sales occupations...................................
Retail trade.................................................
General merchandise stores...................................
Food stores............................................................

134.4
135.2
135.7
137.3
130.2
132.1
132.1
130.1
134.5
134.4
134.7
133.3
134.7
136.2
136.5
131.9
129.4
129.0

135.6
136.2
137.0
138.4
131.1
133.0
132.8
130.4
135.7
135.8
135.6
134.6
135.6
137.1
137.8
133.3
131.5
130.5

137.6
137.9
139.2
140.2
132.4
134.2
134.3
132.4
136.5
136.7
136.3
136.6
137.6
139.3
139.6
135.2
132.2
131.7

138.4
138.5
140.1
140.7
132.9
135.2
135.1
132.9
137.8
138.0
137.4
137.0
138.2
141.3
140.8
134.8
133.0
130.5

138.9
139.8
140.3
142.0
134.4
136.7
135.4
132.3
139.2
139.4
138.9
137.7
139.5
140.7
141.9
136.2
133.7
131.8

140.8
141.4
142.3
143.7
135.9
137.8
136.8
133.7
140.6
141.1
140.0
139.6
141.1
142.3
143.0
138.3
134.3
132.8

142.1
142.6
143.8
145.1
137.0
138.0
137.5
134.4
141.5
141.9
140.9
140.7
141.8
144.3
144.8
138.9
135.6
133.9

143.3
143.8
145.0
146.4
137.8
139.6
137.9
134.9
141.8
142.2
141.3
142.0
143.3
146.5
146.4
139.6
136.7
134.9

145.0
145.3
146.9
147.8
139.1
141.1
138.5
134.9
143.2
143.4
143.0
143.8
145.2
147.4
147.9
142.1
137.8
136.7

4.0

1.1

Workers, by occupational group:
White-collar workers......................................................
Executive, adminitrative, and managerial......................
Administrative support, including clerical.......................
Service occupations.......................................................

.9

3.4

1 .0

3.6
4.2
3.6
3.6
3.3

Workers, by industry division:

P riv a te in d u s try w o r k e r s .........................

Excluding sales occupations......................................

1 .0
.8

.9
.7
.7

4.1
4.2
4.2
3.8

1.2

Workers, by occupational group:

1.1

4.5
4.0
3.1
5.1

2.4
1.5

4.0

1 .2
1 .0

.7

6 .8

3.4
3.7
3.9
3.3

1 .0

.9
1.1

1 .2

1.4
1.3
1 .0
1 .8
1 .0

1.3
1 .2
.8
.8

1.3
1 .2
1 .0

1.3
1.0

.9
1.1

.4

4.4
3.9
4.7
4.1
3.5
3.2
2.3

.0

2 .0

1.0

2.9
2.9
3.0
4.4
4.1
4.8
4.2
4.3
3.1
3.7

.8
1.2

1.3
1.3
.6
1 .0
1 .8
.8

1.3

See footnotes at end of table.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

M onthly Labor Review

A ugust 2000

75

Current Labor Statistics:

22.

Compensation & Industrial Relations

Continued—Employment Cost Index, wages and salaries, by occupation and industry group

[June 1989 = 100]

Series
Mar.

Sept.

June

Dec.

Mar.

June

Percent change

2000

1999

1998

Sept.

Dec.

Mar.

3

12

months
ended

months
ended

Mar. 2000
Finance, insurance, and real estate...............................
Excluding sales occupations.....................................
Banking, savings and loan, and other credit agencies.
Insurance......................................................................
Services..........................................................................
Business services........................................................
Health services.............................................................
Hospitals....................................................................
Educational services....................................................
Colleges and universities...........................................

132.6
135.9
140.9
133.1
137.2
137.6
136.2
133.6
139.1
139.1

134.8
137.5
143.2
134.8
138.3
139.2
136.5
134.7
139.6
139.7

138.1
139.7
147.0
138.7
140.0
141.8
137.5
135.8
142.8
142.8

139.8
139.6
144.4
138.5
140.8
144.1
137.4
136.5
143.5
143.6

137.2
141.0
146.1
137.4
142.2
145.4
138.7
137.6
143.9
144.1

142.4
144.8
154.5
139.8
143.2
146.3
139.6
138.3
144.2
144.4

144.5
147.5
159.2
140.2
144.5
148.5
140.6
139.3
147.5
147.2

145.2
148.0
159.6
141.5
146.0
149.8
142.2
140.9
148.2
147.9

148.7
150.2
162.0
145.5
147.4
152.0
143.5
141.8
148.9
148.9

Nonmanufacturing..........................................................
White-collar workers.....................................................
Excluding sales occupations....................................
Blue-collar occupations................................................
Service occupations.....................................................

133.4
135.5
136.9
128.2
132.0

134.7
136.8
138.1
129.5
132.9

136.5
138.9
139.8
130.5
134.1

137.4
139.8
140.3
131.1
135.1

137.9
140.1
141.6
132.4
136.5

139.7
142.0
143.2
134.0
137.7

141.0
143.5
144.6
135.1
137.9

142.1
144.7
145.9
135.8
139.5

143.9
146.5
147.4
137.4
140.9

State and local government workers...............................

135.1

135.4

137.6

138.5

139.0

139.6

142.2

143.5

135.0
135.5
135.1
133.0
133.1

135.2
135.6
135.6
133.3
133.5

137.6
137.9
138.0
135.4
135.1

138.5
138.7
139.3
136.5
136.0

138.9
138.9
140.1
137.4
136.9

139.3
139.4
140.5
137.5
137.6

142.1
142.5
142.7
139.6
139.4

135.7

135.9

138.4

139.2

139.5

139.9

138.2
139.2
139.1
139.3
139.5
139.3
139.6

139.0
139.7
139.7
139.5
139.6
139.5
139.6

139.6
140.4
140.6
139.8
140.0
139.9
139.8

135.9

136.9

137.8

8.4
6.5
10.9
5.9
3.7
4.5
3.5
3.1
3.5
3.3

2.4
1.5
1.5
2 .8
1 .0

1.5
.9
.6

.5
.7

1 .0

4.4
4.6
4.1
3.8
3.2

144.3

.6

3.8

143.4
143.6
144.3
141.7
140.7

144.1
144.3
144.9
142.4
141.5

.5
.5
.4
.5
.6

3.7
3.9
3.4
3.6
3.4

142.9

144.0

144.6

.4

3.7

142.1
142.8
142.8
142.9
143.1
143.1
142.6

143.2
144.2
144.1
144.0
144.2
144.1
144.4

144.3
145.3
145.3
144.5
144.7
144.5
144.9

.8

.3
.3
.3
.3

3.8
4.0
4.0
3.6
3.7
3.6
3.8

139.5

141.5

142.5

.7

4.1

1.3
1 .2
1 .0
1 .2

Workers, by occupational group:
White-collar workers...........................................................
Professional specialty and technical................................
Executive, administrative, and managerial.....................
Administrative support, including clerical.........................

Workers, by industry division:
Services...........................................................................
Services excluding schools4 ..........................................

Elementary and secondary.....................................
Colleges and universities.......................................

135.4
136.3
136.3
135.7
135.8
136.0
135.2

135.5
136.5
136.5
135.8
136.0
136.1
135.5

137.8
138.7
138.6
138.4
138.5
138.7
137.7

Public administration2 .......................................................

132.7

133.2

134.8

Health services............................................................
Educational services....................................................

Consists of private industry workers (excluding farm and household workers) and
State and local government (excluding Federal Government) workers.
1

2 Consists of legislative, judicial, administrative, and regulatory activities.

23.

.8
.8

This series has the same industry and occupational coverage as the Hourly
Earnings index, which was discontinued in January 1989.
3

4

Includes, for example, library, social, and health services.

Employment Cost Index, benefits, private industry workers by occupation and industry group

[June 1989 = 100]
2000

1999

1998
Series
Mar.

June

Sept.

Dec.

Mar.

June

Sept.

Dec.

Mar.

Percent change
3
months

12
months

ended

ended

Mar. 2000
142.6

143.7

144.5

145.2

145.8

147.3

148.6

150.2

153.8

2.4

5.5

144.7
139.1

145.6
140.4

146.6
141.0

147.4
141.6

147.9
142.2

149.4
143.6

151.0
144.8

152.5
146.2

156.3
150.0

2.5
2 .6

5.7
5.5

141.5
142.7
141.7
142.7

142.5
143.8
142.4
143.9

143.0
144.9
142.6
145.0

143.2
145.7
142.7
145.8

144.3
146.1
143.6
146.3

145.2
147.9
144.5
148.0

146.3
149.4
145.7
149.4

148.2
150.7
147.8
150.7

152.3
154.0
152.3
154.0

Workers, by occupational group:

Workers, by industry division:

Nonmanufacturing.............................................................

76
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August 2000

2 .2

5.6
5.4

3.0

6 .1

2 .2

5.3

2 .8

24.

Employment Cost Index, private nonfarm workers by bargaining status, region, and area size

[June 1989 = 100]
1998

1999

2000

Series
Mar.

June

Sept.

Dec.

Mar.

June

Sept.

Dec.

Mar.

Percent change
3

12

months

months

ended

ended

Mar. 2000
C O M P E N S A T IO N
W o r k e r s , b y b a r g a in in g s ta t u s 1

Union.......................................................................................
Goods-producing.................................................................
Service-producing...............................................................
Manufacturing......................................................................

134.0
132.7
135.3
133.6
133.9

135.3
134.3
136.2
134.6
135.3

136.8
135.6
138.0
136.0
136.9

137.5
136.5
138.5
136.9
137.4

138.0
136.8
139.2
137.0
138.1

139.0
138.2
139.7
138.1
139.2

140.2
139.2
141.0
139.1
140.3

141.2
140.8
141.4
141.0
140.8

143.0
143.3
142.5
144.5
141.7

Nonunion.................................................................................
Goods-producing.................................................................
Service-producing...............................................................
Manufacturing.....................................................................

136.7
135.9
136.7
137.2
136.3

137.8
136.9
138.0
138.0
137.5

139.3
137.7
139.7
138.9
139.1

140.1
138.3
140.6
139.4
140.0

140.8
139.7
141.1
140.7
140.6

142.5
140.5
143.0
141.7
142.4

143.8
141.8
144.4
143.0
143.8

145.2
143.1
145.7
144.4
145.1

147.4
145.4
148.0
146.5
147.4

136.0
135.5
138.3
135.2

137.0
136.4
139.6
136.6

138.7
137.6
140.9
138.5

139.5
138.1
141.4
140.0

140.5
139.1
141.7
140.3

141.5
140.7
143.6
142.1

143.2
141.8
145.0
143.3

144.3
143.0
146.3
144.7

146.3
145.0
148.9
147.0

1 .6

4.1
4.2
5.1
4.8

136.4
135.9

137.5
137.1

139.1
138.2

139.8
139.4

140.4
140.5

142.0
141.8

143.3
143.1

144.7
143.6

146.9
146.0

1.5
1.7

4.6
39

129.6
127.9
131.8
129.6
129.6

130.7
129.4
132.2
130.4
130.8

132.4
131.0
134.1
132.2
132.4

133.1
131.7
134.8
133.0
133.1

133.6
132.3
135.4
133.6
133.7

134.7
133.8
135.8
134.7
134.6

135.7
134.9
136.8
135.8
135.6

136.5
136.1
137.2
137.5
135.9

137.2
137.2
137.6
138.8
136.4

.5

2.7
3.7

134.5
133.6
134.6
135.1
134 0

135.7
134.7
135.9
136.2
135.3

137.4
135.7
137.9
137.3
137.1

138.3
136.5
138.8
138.2
138.0

139.0
137.8
139.3
139.4
138.6

140.7
138.8
141.3
140.5
140.5

142.0
140.0
142.6
141.7
141.8

143.3
141.1
143.9
142.9
143.0

145.1
142.9
145.8
144.4
145.0

132.6
134.0
134.7
132.9

133.8
134.9
136.0
134.5

135.4
136.5
137.5
136.7

136.4
136.7
138.0
138.4

137.1
137.9
138.9
138.2

138.2
139.4
141.0
140.2

139.9
140.2
142.4
141.3

140.9
141.5
143.6
142.6

142.3
143.0
145.3
144.7

133.8
132.5

135.1
133.4

136.9
134.7

137.7
136.0

138.3
137.1

139.9
138.4

141.2
139.8

142.5
140.2

144.1
142.2

1.3

2.5

3.6
4.8
2.4
5.5

.6

2 .6

1.5

4.7
4.1
4.9
4.1
4.8

1 .8
.8

1 .6
1 .6

1.5
1 .6

W o r k e r s , b y r e g io n 1

Northeast................................................................................
South......................................................................................

1.4
1.4
1 .8

W o r k e r s , b y a r e a s iz e 1

Metropolitan areas..................................................................

W A G E S A N D S A L A R IE S
W o r k e r s , b y b a r g a in in g s ta t u s 1

Union.......................................................................................
Goods-producing.................................................................
Service-producing...............................................................
Manufacturing......................................................................

Nonunion.................................................................................
Goods-producing.................................................................
Service-producing...............................................................
Manufacturing......................................................................

.8

.3
.9
.4
1.3
1.3
1.3
1 .0

14

1 .6

3.9
2 0

4.4
3.7
4.7
3.6
4.6

W o r k e r s , b y r e g io n 1

Northeast................................................................................
South......................................................................................
Midwest (formerly North Central)...........................................
West.......................................................................................

1 .0
1.1
1 .2

1.5

3.8
3.7
4.6
4.7

W o r k e r s , b y a r e a s iz e 1

Metropolitan areas.................................................................
Other areas............................................................................

1.1

1.4

4.2
3.7

1 The indexes are calculated differently from those for the occupation and industry groups. For a detailed description of the index calculation, see the M onthly Labor Review
Technical Note, "Estimation procedures for the Employment Cost Index," May 1982.


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Current Labor Statistics:

Compensation & Industrial Relations

25. Percent of full-time employees participating in employer-provided benefit plans, and in selected features within plans,
medium and large private establishments, selected years, 1980-97
Ite m

Scope of survey (in 000's)......................................
Number of employees (in 000's):
With medical care................................................
With life insurance...............................................
With defined benefit plan.....................................

1984

1982

1980

1988

1986

1991

1989

1997

1995

1993

33,374

38,409

21,352

21,043

21,013

21,303

31,059

32,428

31,163

28,728

20,711
20,498
17,936

20,412
2 0 ,2 0 1

17,676

20,383
20,172
17,231

20,238
20,451
16,190

27,953
28,574
19,567

29,834
30,482
20,430

25,865
29,293
18,386

23,519
26,175
16,015

25,546
29,078
17,417

29,340
33,495
19,202

9
26
73
26

10

11

10

8

27
72
26

-

-

88

3.2
99

26
71
26
84
3.3
97
9.2

30
67
28
80
3.3
92

_
_
_
_
80
3.3
89
9.1

_
_

-

29
72
26
85
3.2
96
9.4
24
3.3
98

9
29

-

9
25
76
25

T im e -o ff p la n s

Participants with:
Paid lunch time.....................................................
Average minutes per day....................................
Paid rest time.......................................................
Average minutes per day....................................
Paid funeral leave................................................
Average days per occurrence.............................
Paid holidays........................................................
average uays per year.......................................
Paid personal leave..............................................
Average days per year.......................................
Paid vacations......................................................

10
-

75

-

-

-

99

99

10.1

1 0 .0

20

100

24
3.8
99

99
9.8
23
3.6
99

62

67

67

70

-

-

-

-

-

1 0 .0

25
3.7
100

1 0 .2

68

26
83
3.0
91
9.4

_

_
81
3.7
89
9.3

22

21

21

22

20

3.1
97

3.3
96

3.1
97

3.3
96

3.5
95

68

67
37
26

65
60
53

58
_
_
84

56
93

-

-

-

-

69
33
16

-

-

-

-

-

-

Participants in medical care plans...........................
Percent of participants with coverage for:
Home health care...............................................

97

97

97

95

90

92

83

82

77

76

-

-

62

8

70
18

76
79
28

75
80
28

81
80
30

86

58

46
62

66

Extended care facilities.......................................
Physical exam....................................................

82
42

78
73
56

85
78
63

36
$11.93
58
$35.93

43
$12.80
63
$41.40

44
$19.29
64
$60.07

47
$25.31
$72.10

51
$26.60
69
$96.97

61
$31.55
76
$107.42

67
$33.92
78
$118.33

69
$39.14
80
$130.07

Paid sick leave1..................................................
Unpaid maternity leave........................................
Unpaid paternity leave..........................................
Unpaid family leave.............................................

37
18

In s u ra n c e p la n s

Percent of participants with employee
contribution required for:
Self coverage....................................................
Average monthly contribution............................
Family coverage................................................

26

27

-

-

46

51

-

-

96

96

96

96

92

94

94

91

87

87

69

72

78
8

“

64

59

49

44

76
5
41

77
7
37

74

10

71
7
42

71

-

74
64

72

-

40

43

47

48

42

45

40

41

42

43

54

51

51

49

46

43

45

44

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

participants in denned benefit pension pians..........

84

84

82

76

63

63

59

Percent of participants with:
Normal retirement prior to age 65........................
Early retirement available...................................
Ad hoc pension increase in last 5 years..............
Terminal earnings formula..................................
Benefit coordinated with Social Security............

55
98
53
45

58
97
52
45

63
97
47
54
56

64
98
35
57
62

59
98
26
55
62

62
97
64
63

55
98
7
56
54

-

-

-

60

45

48

48

MVfcjfctyts m u m m y u u m riu u u u n .....................................

Participants in life insurance plans..........................
Percent of participants with:
Accidental death and dismemberment
insurance..........................................................
Survivor income benefits.....................................
Retiree protection available..................................
Participants in long-term disability
insurance plans...................................................
Participants in sickness and accident
insurance plans...................................................
Participants in short-term disability plans ' ...............

66

6

6

33

-

-

53

55

56

52

50

52
95

52
95

61
48

52
96
4
58
51

56
49

49

55

57

43

54

55

R e tire m e n t p la n s

Participants in defined contribution plans................
Participants in plans with tax-deferred savings
arrangements.....................................................

33

36

22

41

44

6

10

O th e r b e n e fits

Employees eligible for:
Flexible benefits plans..........................................
Reimbursement accounts2 ...................................
Premium conversion plans...................................
1 The definitions for paid sick leave and short-term disability (previously sickness and
accident insurance) were changed for the 1995 survey. Paid sick leave now includes only
plans that specify either a maximum number of days per year or unlimited days. Shortterms disability now includes all insured, self-insured, and State-mandated plans available
on a per-disability basis, as well as the unfunded per-disability plans previously reported as
sick leave. Sickness and accident insurance, reported in years prior to this survey, included
only insured, self-insured, and State-mandated plans providing per-disability bene­

M onthly Labor Review
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August 2000

12
12
13
10
5
9
32
52
38
36
12
23
5
7
5
fits at less than full pay.
2 Prior to 1995, reimbursement accounts included premium conversion plans, which
specifically allow medical plan participants to pay required plan premiums with pretax
dollars. Also, reimbursement accounts that were part of flexible benefit plans were
tabulated separately.
2

Note: Dash indicates data not available.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

26. Percent of full-time employees participating in employer-provided benefit plans, and in selected features
within plans, small private establishments and State and local governments, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1996
Small private establishments

Item
1990

1992

1994

State and local governments
1996

1987

1990

1992

1994

Scope of survey (in 000's).....................................

32,466

34,360

35,910

39,816

10,321

12,972

12,466

12,907

Number of employees (in 000's):
With medical care..................................
With life insurance............................................
With defined benefit plan.....................................

22,402
20,778
6,493

24,396
21,990
7,559

23,536
21,955
5,480

25,599
24,635
5,883

9,599
8,773
9,599

12,064
11,415
11,675

11,219
11,095
10,845

11,192
11,194
11,708

Time-off plans
Participants with:
Paid lunch time..................................................
Average minutes per day...................................
Paid rest time.............................................
Average minutes per day...................................
Paid funeral leave...............................................
Average days per occurrence.............................
Paid holidays.........................................

37
48
27
47
2.9
84

37
49
26
50
3.0
82

_
-

_

50
3.1
82

51
3.0
80

34
58
29
56
3.7
81

36
56
29
63
3.7
74

34
53
29
65
3.7
75

9.5

9.2

11

12

7.5
13

2 .8

2 .6

2 .6

7.6
14
3.0

88

88

86

13.6
39
2.9
67

14.2
38
2.9
67

11.5
38
3.0

88

10.9
38
2.7
72

Paid sick leave 2..........................................

47

53

50

50

97

95

95

94

Unpaid leave.........................................
Unpaid paternity leave.........................................
Unpaid family leave.........................................

17

_

_

-

-

-

18
7
-

47

48

57
30
-

51
33
-

59
44
-

93

Average days per year1......................................
Paid personal leave............................................
Average days per year.......................................
Paid vacations...................................................

8

8

-

-

_
62
3.7
73

66

_

Insurance plans
Participants in medical care plans...........................
Percent of participants with coverage for:
Home health care.............................................
Extended care facilities......................................
Physical exam...................................................

69

71

66

64

93

93

90

87

79
83
26

80
84
28

-

-

-

-

76
78
36

82
79
36

87
84
47

84
81
55

Percent of participants with employee
contribution required for:
Self coverage.................................................
Average monthly contribution............................
Family coverage..........................................

42
$25.13
67

47
$36.51
73

52
$40.97
76

52
$42.63
75

35
$15.74
71

38
$25.53
65

43
$28.97
72

47
$30.20
71

Average monthly contribution............................

$109.34

$150.54

$159.63

$181.53

$71.89

$117.59

$139.23

$149.70

Participants in life insurance plans.........................
Percent of participants with:
Accidental death and dismemberment
insurance.........................................................
Survivor income benefits.....................................
Retiree protection available.................................
Participants in long-term disability
insurance plans...................................................
Participants in sickness and accident
insurance plans..............................................

64

64

61

62

85

88

89

87

78

76

79

77

74

64

1

1

2

1

1

1

1

2

19

25

20

13

55

45

46

46

19

23

20

22

31

27

28

30

6

26

26

14

21

22

21

Participants in short-term disability plans2..............

_

_

_

29

20

22

15

15

93

90

87

91

54
95
7
58
49

50
95
4
54
46

-

92
90
33

89

92
89

-

47
92
_

16

10

100

100

100

-

53
44

18

8

10

92
87
13
99
49

31

33

34

38

9

9

9

9

17

24

23

28

28

45

45

24

3
19

4

5

12

5

5
31

5
50

5
64

7

_

_

_

Retirement plans
Participants in defined benefit pension plans..........
Percent of participants with:
Normal retirement prior to age 65....................
Early retirement available................................
Ad hoc pension increase In last 5 years...............
Terminal earnings formula.......................
Benefit coordinated with Social Security..............
Participants in defined contribution plans.................
Participants in plans with tax-deferred savings
arrangements..........................................
Other benefits
Employees eligible for:
Flexible benefits plans......................................
Reimbursement accounts 3 ..................................
Premium conversion plans ................................. |

1

2

8

14

-

-

-

-

-

67

67

88

Methods used to calculate the average number of paid holidays were revised
in 1994 to count partial days more precisely. Average holidays for 1994 are
not comparable with those reported in 1990 and 1992.

sick leave. Sickness and accident insurance, reported in years prior to this
survey, included only insured, self-insured, and State-mandated plans
providing per-disability benefits at less than full pay.

The definitions for paid sick leave and short-term disability (previously
sickness and accident insurance) were changed for the 1996 survey. Paid sick
leave now includes only plans that specify either a maximum number of days
per year or unlimited days. Short-term disability now includes all insured, selfinsured, and State-mandated plans available on a per-disability basis, as well
as the unfunded per-disability plans previously reported as

Prior to 1996, reimbursement accounts included premium conversion plans,
which specifically allow medical plan participants to pay required plan
premiums with pretax dollars. Also, reimbursement accounts that were part of
flexible benefit plans were tabulated separately.

2

Note: Dash indicates data not available.

M onthly Labor Review

A ugust 2000

79

Current Labor Statistics:

Compensation & Industrial Relations

27. Work stoppages involving 1,000 workers or more

1997
Number of stoppages:
Beginning in period...........................

1998

2000

1999

Annual totals
Measure
Jan.p

Feb.p

Mar.p

Apr.p
1

Mayp

29
34

34

1

In effect during period.......................

34

5

2
5

0
2

3

3
6

Workers Involved:
Beginning in period (in thousands)....
In effect during period (in thousands).

339
351

387
387

1.4
9.2

4.1
10.3

.0
4.4

8.0
12.4

9.6
22.0

4,497

5,116

129.0

104.1

101.2

256.8

314.8

.01

ft

.01

.01

Junep

July11 Aug.p Sept.p Oct.p

Dec.p

1

0
1

0
1

2

1

1

2

6

6

3

5

0
2

2.2

1.7
16.3

11.0
15.4

19.1
34.5

.0
10.1

2.0

21.6

5.0

.0
3.0

.0
3.0

309.4

266.4

118.8

176.2

67.1

63.6

63.0

60.0

.01

.01

ft

.01

Ô

Ô

ft

2

Days idle:
Percent of estimated workina time1...

.01

.02

Jan.p

Nov.p

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 worked is found in " Total economy' measures of strike idleness," Monthly Labor Review, October 1968, pp. 54-56.

2 Less than 0.005.
p= preliminary.

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August 2000

28. 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]
A n n u a l a v e ra g e

1999

2000

S e r ie s
1998

1999

June

J u ly

Aug.

S e p t.

O c t.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

M a r.

A p r.

M ay

June

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX
FOR ALL URBAN CONSUMERS
All items..........................................................
All items (1967- 100)......................................

163.0
488.3

166.6
499.0

166.2
497.9

166.7
499.2

167.1
500.7

167.9
502.9

168.2
503.9

168.3
504.1

168.3
504.1

168.7
505.5

169.7
508.4

171.1
512.5

171.2
512.9

171.3
513.3

172.3
516.1

Food and beverages.......................................

161.1
160.7
161.1
181.1
147.3

164.6
164.1
164.2
185.0
147.9

164.1
163.6
163.7
185.7
147.2

164.2
163.8
163.7
186.3
147.3

164.7
164.2
164.1
184.9
148.5

165.1
164.6
164.5
185.2
149.2

165.5
165.1
165.1
185.2
149.2

165.7
165.2
165 1
184 8
150 5

165.9
165 4

166.6
166 1

166.8

167.1

167.2

167.8

167.9

185 9
149 8

185 6
150 ?

150.8
198.2

159.6
203.1

156.1
203.2

155.7
202.0

156.5
202.1

158.7
202.6

164.1
202.2

164.6
201.2

162.1
204.5

160.4
208.4

160 9
203.0

159 1
201.7

160 6
201.6

204.3

199.9

133.0
150.8
150.2
146.9
165.5

134.3
153.5
152.3
148.3
168.9

134.3
153.6
152.4
147.5
169.2

134.3
153.7
152.4
148.1
169.3

134.5
154.2
152.7
148.6
169.9

134.2
153.9
153.5
148.5
169.2

134.6
153.7
153.3
149.0
168.7

133.9
153.0
152.1
145.3
169 0

134.7
153 3
152.3
145.1
169 4

137.1
154 3
154.8
147.0
169 8

138.4

138.5

137.6

137.3

137.5

154.4
145.6

154.6
145.9

152.4
144.8

153.7
147.0

154.0
146.6

102.6
161.1
101.6
165.7

104.9
165.1
105.2
169.7

104.9

104.2
165.1
105.5
169.9

104.8
165.6
105.8
170.2

105.3
165.8
106.4
170.7

104.3
166.2
106.8
170.5

103.9
166.5
106.9
171.2

105.7

107 0

105 2

166.8
106.9
171 8

104.3
167.2
107.5
172 4

106.4

164.6
104.4
169.5

167.6
107.9
173 0

167.9
107.9

168.1
108.0

168.3
108.1

168.6
108.1

160.4
182.1

163.9
187.3

164.1
187.2

164.7
188.0

165.0
188.3

165.2
188.3

165.0
188.5

164.9
188.6

164.8
188.6

165.8
189.8

166.9
190.7

167.6
191.8

167.6
191.8

167.8
192.0

169.4
192.9

Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence3

172.1
109.0
187.8

177.5
112.3
192.9

177.1
113.8
192.6

177.5
117.1
193.0

177.9
117.1
193.4

178.4
113.8
193.9

178.8
113.1
194.2

179.8
108.5
194.9

180.3
105.8
195.2

180.8
111.3
195.7

181.2
115.1
196.1

181.7
120.9
196.4

181.9
119.4
196.8

182.3
117.5
197.2

182.8
120.5
197.7

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..........................

99.8
128.5
113.7
90.0
121.2
126.6
133.0
131.8
126.0

101.3
128.8
113.5
91.4
120.9
126.7

102.1
131.1
116.0
87.5
124.0
126.8
127.3
128.3
116.1

102.2
131.4
116.2
89.2
124.1
126.8
127.5
127.1
117.9

102.3
132.7
117.6
93.9
125.3
127.0

102.2
129.6
114.1
106.3
120.3
126.4

131.8
130.5
125.4

102.2
130.3
115.0
97.6
122.0
126.6
134.6
134.0
128.4

102.1
130.0
114.6
100.7
121.4
126.4

131.3
131.1
123.3

102.2
130.2
115.1
87.3
123.0
126.8
130.9
131.4
122.6

133.6
133.2
126.6

130.1
131.5
121.8

102.4
129.9
114.3
114.4
119.8
127.0
126.8
129.2
116.0

102.4
132.9
117.6
147.2
120.6
127.2
129.2
130.0
120.0

102.6
131.8
116.3
130.1
120.7
127.9
132.5
131.5
125.9

103 1
131.7
116.1
123.7
121.0
128.2
133.3
131.6
126.7

103 8
132.4
116.8
121.6
122.0
128.1
132.2
132.6
124.4

103 9
138.9
124.0
120.9
130.2
128.1
128.3
129.4
119.2

Infants' and toddlers' apparel1......................
Footwear....................................................
Transportation.................................................
Private transportation....................................

126.1
128.0
141.6
137.9

129.0
125.7
144.4
140.5

126.8
125.4
143.4
139.7

127.4
125.2
144.7
140.6

128.3
123.8
145.7
141.9

129.9
124.7
146.5
142.9

132.4
126.1
147.3
143.3

132.6
126.4
147.6
143.6

133.0
123.7
148.3
144.4

133.3
121.6
148.3
144.4

133.1
122.1
149.7
145.6

133.9
124.7
153.4
149.2

132.3
126.7
152.9
148.7

131.7
126 1
153.1
148.8

130.5
123.9
155.7
151.4

New and used motor vehicles2.....................
New vehicles.........................................

100.1
143.4
150.6
92.2
91.6
101.1
167.1
190.3

100.1
142.9
152.0
100.7
100.1
100.5
171.9
197.7

99.7
142.5
150.9
99.2
98.6
100.1
171.7
192.6

99.8
142.0
152.3
102.5
101.9
100.0
172.1
200.8

99.7
141.4
153.8
107.8
107.2
100.1
172.1
197.1

100.1
141.6
155.7
110.3
109.7
100.6
172.8
194.7

100.5
142.3
156.4
110.0
109.4
100.5
173.2
201.5

100.9
143.1
156.1
109.3
108.7
101.2
173.6
202.2

101.1
143.6
155.0
112.2
111.5
100.8
173.8
201.2

100.8
143.3
153.9
112.6
111.9
100.8
174.6
199.5

100.3
143.0
153.0
118.1
117.3
100.9
175.2
204.2

100.4
143.3
153.0
131.7
130.9
101.4
175.7
209.8

100.8
143.5
154.0
128.7
127.9
101.0
175.9
209.2

101.0
143.3
155.4
128.3
127.6
101.1
176.3
210.4

100.8
142.9
155.7
139.0
138.3
101.2
176.8
212.6

242.1
221.8
246.8
222.2
287.5
101.1
101.1

250.6
230.7
255.1
229.2
299.5
102.1
100.7

250.2
230.5
254.6
229.3
297.6
102.2
100.7

251.1
231.7
255.5
229.8
299.3
102.2
100.6

251.9
232.5
256.2
230.1
301.3
102.2
100.9

252.3
233.1
256.6
230.4
302.1
101.7
100.1

252.8
233.2
257.1
230.9
302.9
101.8
100.1

253.3
233.7
257.7
231.4
303.9
101.9
100.1

254.2
234.6
258.5
231.7
306.3
102.0
100.1

255.5
235.2
260.1
233.1
308.4

257.0
235.5
262.0
234.9
310.5
102.5
100.8

258.1
236.3
263.2
236.1
311.5
102.9
100.9

258.8
237.0
263.9
236.6
312.7

260.5
238.2
265.6
237.9
315.6
103.4
101.5

Fruits and vegetables.................................
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage
materials.................................................
Sugar and sweets.....................................
Fats and oils.............................................
Other foods...........................................
Food away from home1.................................
Other food away from home1'2....................
Housing..........................................................
Shelter........................................................
Rent of primary residence............................
Lodging away from home.............................

Used cars and trucks1................................
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........................

100.3

101.2

100.3

100.4

101.2

101.9

102.1

102.2

102.3

102.7

102.2

102.0

101.8

259.4
237.5
264.4
237.1
313.5
103.1
101.3
101.8

102.1
250.8

107.0
261.7

105.7
262.1

106.0
262.3

107.5
264.5

109.4
267.0

109.6
269.0

109.3
255.7

109.3
256.0

110.2
273.9

110.6
278.3

110.6
276.9

110.7
276.7

110.9
276.8

111.5
277.5

294.2
98.7

308.4
96.0

304.4
95.5

305.4
95.5

309.9
95.6

315.3
95.3

315.9
95.3

316.3
95.9

316.3
95.9

317.3
96.0

318.0
94.7

318.3
94.3

318.7
93.8

319.2
93.7

320.9
92.6

98.5
100.7

95.5
100.1

94.9
99.7

94.9
99.5

95.0
99.8

94.7
99.6

94.7
99.8

95.3
100.6

95.4
100.7

95.5
100.9

94.1
99.4

93.6
98.9

93.1
98.6

93.0
98.5

91.8
97.2

other than telephone services1,4............
Personal computers and peripheral

39.9

30.5

29.8

30.0

29.8

29.3

28.7

28.2

28.2

28.0

27.6

27.2

26.7

26.6

26.0

equipment1,2....................................
Other goods and services.................................
Tobacco and smoking products......................

78.2
237.7
274.8

53.5
258.3
355.8

54.5
255.9
343.2

52.9
258.3
356.0

50.9
257.6
350.1

49.7
262.6
373.8

48.2
263.2
373.3

47.0
263.0
369.8

47.2
263.0
369.1

46.4
264.7
375.1

45.1
266.7
383.0

44.2
268.0
387.3

42.7
271.9
404.4

42.4
270.2
393.5

41.2
269.6
388.5

Personal care1..............................................

156.7

161.1

161.1

161.1

161.4

161.8

162.4

162.8

162.9

163.4

163.8

164.3

164.8

165.1

165.4

Personal care products1..............................
Personal care services1..............................

148.3
166.0

151.8
171.4

152.6
170.9

152.0
171.4

152.3
171.9

153.0
172.1

153.4
172.9

153.3
173.9

152.5
174.3

152.8
174.9

152.6
175.6

153.5
176.2

153.4
176.2

153.0
177.3

153.6
177.9

Recreation2.......................................
Video and audio1'2.................................
Education and communication2.......................
Education2...................................................
Educational books and supplies..................
Tuition, other school fees, and child care.....
Communication1,2...............................
Information and information processing1,2....
Telephone services1,2.............................
Information and information processing


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

102.3
100.5

M onthly Labor Review

102.9
100.3

101.5

A ugust 2000

81

Current Labor Statistics:

Price Data

28. Continued—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]

1998

1999

2000

1999

Annual average
Series

June

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

234.7

243.0

242.4

242.9

243.9

244.6

245.6

246.0

246.6

247.6

248.9

249.4

250.9

251.7

252.0

141.9
161.1
130.5
132.6
133.0

144.4
164.6
132.5
137.5
131.3

143.9
164.1
131.9
136.6
130.9

143.9
164.2
131.9
136.7
127.3

144.5
164.7
132.5
138.0
127.5

145.8
165.1
134.3
141.0
131.8

146.4
165.5
134.9
141.9
134.6

146.2
165.7
134.6
141.3
133.6

146.1
165.9
134.4
140.9
130.1

146.2
166.6
134.0
140.5
126.8

147.4
166.8
135.7
143.9
129.2

149.2
167.1
138.4
148.5
132.5

149.3
167.2
138.4
148.5
133.3

149.2
167.8
138.0
147.6
132.2

149.7
167.9
138.6
149.1
128.3

Nondurables less food, beverages,
and apparel.............................................
Durables.....................................................

137.4
127.6

146.0
126.0

144.8
125.7

146.8
125.6

148.8
125.4

151.2
125.7

151.2
125.9

150.7
126.0

152.1
125.9

153.1
125.7

157.2
125.3

162.7
125.6

162.3
125.6

161.5
125.8

165.8
125.4

Services..........................................................

184.2

188.8

188.6

189.5

189.9

190.1

190.2

190.5

190.5

191.4

192.2

193.1

193.3

193.6

195.0

Rent of shelter3............................................
Transporatation services...............................
Other services..............................................
Special indexes:

189.6
187.9
216.9

195.0
190.7
223.1

194.9
189.3
222.2

195.7
191.0
222.6

196.1
190.2
223.9

196.1
189.9
224.5

196.3
191.9
225.1

196.3
192.7
226.0

196.3
192.8
226.5

197.6
193.0
227.4

198.5
193.7
227.4

199.7
195.0
227.8

199.8
195.2
228.0

199.9
195.7
228.4

200.8
196.1
228.7

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................................................

163.4
157.2
158.6
132.0
134.6
139.2
146.9

167.0
160.2
162.0
134.0
139.4
147.5
151.2

166.7
159.7
161.6
133.4
138.6
146.3
150.5

167.2
160.1
162.0
133.4
138.7
148.2
150.6

167.7
160.6
162.5
134.0
139.9
150.0
151.5

168.5
161.6
163.2
135.8
142.8
152.3
153.2

168.8
162.0
163.6
136.3
143.7
152.3
154.0

168.8
162.1
163.6
136.1
143.1
151.9
153.7

168.8
162.1
163.6
135.9
142.8
153.2
153.6

169.2
162.3
164.0
135.6
142.4
154.2
153.7

170.3
163.3
164.9
137.2
145.7
158.0
155.6

171.9
164.8
166.3
139.9
150.1
163.0
158.1

172.0
164.9
166.4
139.9
150.1
162.7
158.2

172.1
165.1
166.5
139.4
149.3
161.9
158.0

173.2
166.0
167.5
140.1
150.7
166.0
158.8

Services less rent of shelter3.........................
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.................................

191.8
178.4
102.9
170.9
173.4
143.2
92.1
190.6

195.8
182.7
106.6
174.4
177.0
144.1
100.0
195.7

195.6
182.6
106.8
174.0
176.6
143.7
98.3
195.3

196.5
183.4
108.7
174.3
176.9
143.2
101.3
196.1

196.9
183.8
111.3
174.5
177.1
143.0
106.3
196.5

197.3
183.9
113.2
175.1
177.7
144.6
109.1
196.6

197.4
184.1
111.6
175.7
178.3
145.3
109.1
197.2

197.9
184.3
111.2
175.8
178.4
145.0
108.7
197.5

198.0
184.3
112.2
175.7
178.2
144.2
111.8
197.7

198.6
185.1
112.5
176.2
178.7
143.6
112.8
198.7

199.2
185.8
116.7
176.8
179.4
144.2
120.6
199.5

199.9
186.7
122.2
177.7
180.4
145.3
131.7
200.5

200.2
186.9
120.7
178.0
180.7
145.9
128.4
200.7

200.9
187.2
121.0
178.1
180.8
145.5
127.9
200.9

202.9
188.6
129.6
178.2
180.8
144.5
137.6
201.6

159.7
475.6

163.2
486.2

162.8
485.0

163.3
486.3

163.8
487.8

164.7
490.5

165.0
491.5

165.1
491.7

165.1
491.8

165.5
492.9

166.4
495.6

167.8
499.7

167.9
500.1

168.1
500.7

169.1
503.8

Food and beverages.........................................

160.4
160.0
160.0
180.9
147.0

163.8
163.4
163.0
184.7
147.6

163.3
162.8
162.5
185.5
146.9

163.4
163.0
162.5
186.1
146.8

163.9
163.5
162.9
184.8
148.2

164.3
163.9
163.5
185.0
148.9

164.7
164.4
164.0
185.0
148.8

164.9
164.5
164.0
184.5
150.1

165.2
164.7
164.2
185.7
149.4

165.9
165.4
165.1
185.5
149.8

166.1
165.6
165.1
185.8
150.8

166.4
165.9
165.3
185.9
152.0

166.5
166.0
165.4
186.9
152.5

167.2
166.7
166.4
188.4
153.5

167.3
166.8
166.3
187.3
154.6

Dairy and related products1..........................
Fruits and vegetables...................................
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage
materials.................................................
Other foods at home....................................
Sugar and sweets.....................................
Fats and oils..............................................
Other foods...............................................

150.4
197.0

159.4
201.8

155.7
201.9

155.3
201.0

156.0
201.2

158.4
201.6

164.0
201.0

164.6
199.8

161.9
202.8

159.9
207.0

160.4
201.7

158.7
200.5

160.2
200.5

159.3
203.1

159.4
198.9

131.8
150.2
150.1
146.5
165.4

133.2
152.8
152.2
147.9
168.8

133.2
152.8
152.0
147.2
169.0

133.1
153.0
152.0
147.8
169.2

133.2
153.5
152.6
148.3
169.7

133.0
153.3
153.3
148.1
169.2

133.4
152.9
153.2
148.6
168.5

132.7
152.3
152.0
144.9
168.8

133.5
152.7
152.3
144.7
169.4

136.0
153.7
154.8
146.8
169.8

137.6
153.8
154.3
145.2
170.5

137.8
154.5
154.5
145.7
171.6

136.7
153.4
152.3
144.5
170.7

136.4
154.9
153.6
146.9
172.2

136.7
155.6
153.9
146.4
173.4

Other miscellaneous foods1'2..................
Food away from home1..................................

102.6
161.1
101.6
164.6

104.6
165.0
105.1
168.8

104.4
164.4

103.9
164.9

104.4

166.8
106.9
171.0

106.2
167.6
107.8
172.2

104.7

166.5
106.8
170.4

103.9
167.1
107.4
171.6

106.7

105.3
169.1

103.8
166.1
106.6
169.5

105.2

104.5
168.7

105.1
165.8
106.2
169.8

103.4

165.5
105.8
169.2

167.9
107.8
172.8

168.1
108.3
172.9

106.1
168.3
108.5
172.9

108.0
168.6
108.4
173.6

156.7
176.6

160.0
181.6

160.2
181.5

160.7
182.0

161.0
182.4

161.3
182.6

161.0
182.8

161.1
183.1

161.1
183.3

161.8
184.1

162.7
184.8

163.2
185.6

163.3
185.8

163.6
186.1

165.2
186.8

171 7

177 1
122.2
175.7

176 8
113.8
175.4

177 1
116.7
175.7

177 5
116.8
176.1

178 0
113.8
176.5

178.4

109.0
171.1

113.1
176.8

179 3
108.4
177.4

179.9
105.7
177.8

180.3
110.8
178.2

180.7
114.5
178.6

181.2
119.9
178.8

181.4
118.7
179.1

181.8
117.8
179.5

182.3
120.9
180.0

100.0
128.4
113.3
90.3
120.8
125.0
131.6
131.4
123.9

101.6
128.7
113.0
91.7
120.4
124.7
130.1
131.2
121.3

102.3
130.2
114.7
87.8
122.6
124.8
129.6
131.6
120.6

102.2
131.1
115.7
87.6
123.6
124.9
126.4
128.6
114.4

102.3
131.4
115.9
89.3
123.7
124.7
126.4
127.2
116.0

102.5
132.6
117.2
93.9
124.9
124.8
130.5
130.3
123.3

102.4
130.1
114.4
97.7
121.5
124.5
133.1
134.0
126.0

102.3
129.8
114.0
100.7
120.9
124.2
132.3
133.3
124.4

102.4
129.2
113.5
106.0
119.8
124.2
129.0
131.6
119.8

102.6
129.5
113.6
114.0
119.4
124.5
125.9
129.3
114.2

102.6
132.0
116.3
144.5
120.1
124.6
127.9
129.9
118.0

102.8
131.2
115.4
129.6
120.2
125.3
131.0
131.5
123.5

103.3
131.1
115.2
123.0
120.5
125.6
131.8
131.5
124.3

104.0
131.9
116.0
120.9
121.6
125.5
130.9
132.7
122.1

104.1
138.7
123.3
120.2
129.9
125,3
127.3
129.5
117.4

Private transportation.....................................

126.7
128.7
140.5
138.0

130.3
126.2
143.4
140.7

128.0
125.8
142.4
139.9

128.4
125.8
143.7
140.9

129.6
124.4
145.0
142.4

134.8
124.2
147.6
145.0

134.9
122.3
147.7
145.1

134.7
122.6
149.1
146.4

135.7
124.7
152.9
150.1

134.1
127.1
152.2
149.5

133.4
126.6
152.5
149.7

100.3

100.4

100.0

100.1

100.2

134.1
126.6
146.6
143.9
101.2

134.3
126.9
146.9
144.2

New and used motor vehicles2.....................

131.4
125.1
146.0
143.6
100.7

101.5

101.5

101.2

100.7

100.8

101.2

101.5

132.0
124.6
155.5
152.8
101.4

Miscellaneous personal services..................
Commodity and service group:
Commodities...................................................
Food and beverages.....................................
Commodities less food and beverages............
Nondurables less food and beverages...........
Apparel....................................................

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR URBAN
WAGE EARNERS AND CLERICAL WORKERS
All Items (1967 - 100)........................................

Other food away from home1,2....................
Alcoholic beverages.......................................
Housing..........................................................
Shelter..........................................................

Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence3
Tenants' and household insurance1,2............
Fuels........................................................
Fuel oil and other fuels............................
Household furnishings and operations..........
Apparel..........................................................

82
M onthly Labor Review

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

August 2000

28. Continued—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]
Series

Annual average
1998

1999

1999
June

July

Aug.

Sept.

2000
Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

New vehicles.............................................

144.6

144.0

143.6

143.2

142.6

142.8

143.5

144.3

144.7

144.5

144.2

144.5

144.7

144.5

144.1

Used cars and trucks1................................
Motor fuel....................................................

152.0

153.3

152.2

153.7

155.2

157.0

157.7

157.3

156.3

155.3

154.4

154.4

155.4

156.8

157.1

92.2
91.7
100.5
168.2
187.1

1 0 0 .8

1 0 2 .6

112.9

118.6

132.0

128.5

128.5

140.1

100.3
176.1

100.5
176.6

100.9
177.2

1 0 0 .6

177.4

100.5
177.8

100.5
178.3

241.4
218.6
246.6
223.7
283.6

249 7
226.8
254.9
230.8
295 5

249 4
226.6
254.5
231.0
293 6

227.8
255.3
231.4
295 3

107.8
107 3
99.6
173.5
192.5
251 0
228.4
256.0
231.7
297 3

112.3

173.3
193.1

99.2
98.7
99.6
173.1
189.0

232.9
264.4

233.7
265.6

100.9

101.3

1 0 1 .6

1 0 1 .6

102.5

101.1

100.5

100.5

100.4

Education and communication2 ........................

100.4

101.5

100.7

1 0 0 .8

101.5

102.1

Educational books and supplies..................

253.1

107.2
264.1

106.0
264.8

106.3
265.0

Tuition, other school fees, and child care.....

288.5
99.1

302.8
96.9

299.2
96.4

99.0
100.7

96.5
1 0 0 .2

other than telephone services1,4.............
Personal computers and peripheral

41.2

equipment1,2 ....................................
Other goods and services..................................
Tobacco and smoking products......................

77.9
236.1
274.8

Motor vehicle parts and equipment...............
Motor vehicle maintenance and repair...........

Medical care commodities..............................
Medical care services.................. .................

Recreation2 .....................................................
Video and audio1,2........................................

Communication1,2 .........................................
Information and information processing1,2 ....
Telephone services1,2..............................
Information and information processing

100 2
1 0 0 .0

102 1

99.5
173.5
195.7
250 3

1 1 0 .6

1 1 0 .0

109.5

1 1 0 ,0

109 4

1 0 ft 9

99.9
174.3
190 7
251 4

99.8
174.7
196 3
251 9

1 0 0 .6

1 0 0 .2

175.1
197 0
252 5

175.2
196 n

229.0
256.4
232.0
29ft 2

229.1
257.0
232 5
29ft 9

229.5
257.6
233 1

230.2
258.4
233 4

230.7
259.9
234 ft

231.0
261.9
23fi 7

231.8
263.1

232.4
263.8

101.5

1 0 1 .0

101.1

100.7

99.8

1 0 1 .0

1 0 1 .2

101.4

1 0 1 .6

1 0 2 .0

1 0 2 .0

102.3

99.9

99.9

99.8

1 0 0 .2

100.4

1 0 0 .6

1 0 0 .0

1 0 1 .0

1 0 1 .2

1 02.1

102.3

102.5

102.5

103.0

102.5

1 0 2 .2

1 02.1

1 02.1

101.7

107.7
267.2

109.5
269.9

109.7
271.8

109.4
256.5

109.4
256.9

110.5
276.6

110.9
281.3

1 1 1 .0

1 11.1

280.0

279.9

111.3
280.0

280.9

300.2
96.3

304.1
96.5

309.5
96.2

310.0
96.3

310.4
96.9

310.4
97.0

311.7
97.1

312.7
95.7

312.8
95.3

313.4
94.8

313.8
94.7

315.4
93.6

96.0
99.9

96.0
99.7

96.1

95.8
99.7

95.9

96.6

96.6

99.9

1 0 0 .0

1 0 0 .8

100.9

31.6

30.8

31.1

30.8

30.3

29.9

29.3

29.3

53.1
261.9
356.2

54.0
258.7
343.5

52.5
262.0
356.6

50.6
260.7
350.6

49.4
267.3
374.4

48.1
267.9
374.0

46.9
267.4
370.4

162.6
154.1

96.7

1 1 1 .8

95.3

94.8

94.4

99.6

99.1

98.8

94.3
98.7

97.4

28.9

28.6

28.2

27.6

27.5

27.0

46.9
267.3
369.7

45.7
269.3
375.7

44.5
271.7
383.6

43.6
273.3
387.8

42.0
278.0
404.9

41.8
275.4
393.7

40.7
274.5
388.7

163.0

163.1

163.9
153.2

164.3
154.1

164.9

153.1

163.5
153.4

164.6

154.0

153.9

153.4

165.3
154.0

176.1

1 01.1

93.0

Personal care1...............................................

156.8

161.3

161.3

161.9

149.3

152.5

153.3

161.3
152.7

161.6

Personal care products1..............................

153.1

153.7

Personal care services1...............................
Miscellaneous personal services..................
Commodity and service group:

166.3
234.0

171.7

171.2
242.6

171.8
243.2

172.2

172.4

173.2

174.4

243.1

243.8

244.5

245.5

245.9

174.7
246.7

175.3
247.6

248.9

176.6
249.4

176.6
250.4

251.2

178.3
251.4

Commodities...................................................

141.8
160.4
130.6
132.1
131.6

144.7
163.8
133.2
138.1
130.1

144.0
163 3
132 5
137.0
129.6

144.2
163 4
132 7
137.5
126.4

144.8
163 9
133 4
138.8
126.4

146.3
164 3
135 4
142.1
130.5

146.8

146.6

146.6

146.6

147.8

149.8

149.9

149.9

150.6

165 9
142.9
133.1

135 6
142.2
132.3

142.0
129.0

141.7
125.9

145.1
127.9

150.2
131.0

150.2
131.8

149.4
130.9

151.5
127.3

137.0
127.3

147.2
126.0

145.7
125.6

148.1
125.7

150.2
125.7

153.2
126.1

153.1
126.3

152.5
126.4

153.9
126.3

155.0
126.0

159.3
125.6

165.7
125.8

164.4
126.2

169.6
125.9

Nondurables less food and beverages...........
Apparel.....................................................
NonauraDies less tooo, Beverages,
and apparel.............................................
Durables......................................................

1
2
3

177.7

Services..........................................................

181.0

185.3

185.2

185.9

186.3

186.6

186.7

187.1

187.2

187.9

188.5

189.2

165.2
126.0
189.4

189.8

191.2

Rent of shelter3 .............................................
Transportation services...............................
Other services..............................................
Special indexes:

170.1
185.4
213.7

174.9
187.9
219.6

174.7
186.7
218.8

175.3
188.0
219.2

175.6
187.4
220.3

175.8
187.3
220.9

176.1
189.0
2 2 1 .6

176.3
189.8
222.3

176.5
189.9
222.9

177.3
190.2
223.8

178.0
190.8
223.7

178.7
191.8
224.0

178.9
192.0
224.2

179.2
192.4
224.6

179.9
192.6
224.7

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.................................................

159.5
155.0
155.8
132.0
134.1
138.7
146.5

163.1
158.1
159.2
134.6
140.0
148.4
151.3

162.7
157.6
158.8
133.9
138.9
147.0
150.5

163.2
158.0
159.2
134.2
139.4
149.3
150.8

163.7
158.6
159.7
134.8
140.7
151.2
151.7

164.7
159.7
160.7
136.7
143.8
154.0
153.6

165.0
160.1
161.0
137.2
144.6
153.8
154.3

165.1
160.1
161.1
137.0
144.0
153.4
154.0

165.1
160.1
161.1
136.8
143.8
154.7
154.0

165.4
160.3
161.4
136.5
143.6
155.8
154.2

166.4
161.3
162.3
138.2
146.8
159.8
156.0

168.0
162.8
163.6
141.0
151.7
165.7
158.8

168.2
163.0
163.8
141.0
151.7
165.3
158.9

168.3
163.1
164.0
140.7
150.9
164.5
158.8

169.5
164.3
165.0
141.7
152.9
169.4
159.9

Services less rent of shelter3 ..........................
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..................................

170.7
175.4

174.1
179.5
106.1
171.1
173.1
144.3
100.3
192.6

174.0
179.4
106.2
170.6
172.7
143.8
98.6
192.2

174.7
180.1
108.4
170.9
172.9
143.5

175.0
180.4

175.5
180.7
113.1
171.8
173.9
145.0
109.7
193.4

175.4
180.8
111.4
172.4
174.5
145.7
109.4
194.0

175.8
181.1

175.9
181.2

1 1 1 .0

1 12.1

172.5
174.5
144.6

176.9
182.4
116.7
173.3
175.3
144.6
120.4
196.2

177.4
183.1
122.9
174.1
176.2
145.6
132.0
196.9

177.7
183.3

172.6
174.7
145.4
109.1
194.4

176.4
181.9
112.5
172.8
174.8
144.1
113.1
195.5

178.2
183.7
121.5
174.6
176.7
146.0
128.3
197.5

180.2
185.1
130.9
174.6
176.6
145.0
139.1
198.0

Not seasonally adjusted.
Indexes on a December 1997 = 100 base.
Indexes on a December 1982 = 1 00 base.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1 02.1

167.6
169.6
142.7
92.3
187.7

1 0 1 .8

192.8

111.1

171.1
173.1
143.3
106.8
193.2
4

112.1

194.7

1 2 1 .0

174.5
176.7
146.4
128.3
197.1

Indexes on a December 1988 = 100 base.

NoTE: lndex aPP|ies t0 a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

M onthly Labor Review

August 2000

83

Current Labor Statistics:

Price Data

29. Consumer Price Index: U.S. city average and available local area data: all items
[1982-84 = 100, unless otherwise indicated]
All Urban Consumers

Pricing
sched-

Area

ule 1
U.S. city average.......................................................
Region and area size2
Northeast urban..............................................................
Size A—More than 1,500,000.......................................
Size B/C—50,000 to 1,500,000s...................................
Midwest urban4. .............................................................
Size A—More than 1,500,000.......................................
Size B/C—50,000 to 1,500,000s...................................
Size D—Nonmetropolitan (less than 50,000)................
South urban....................................................................

1999
May

Urban Wage Earners
1999

2000

June

M

166.2

166.2

M
M

172.8
173.6

173.1
174.1

M

103.9

103.8

M

162.2

M
M

163.6

162.5
164.1

103.7

103.7

M

156.5

156.9

M

161.6
160.5
104.1

161.7
160.9
104.1

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

169.7

171.1

171.2

177.4

June

171.3

172.3

May

2000

June

162.8

Mar.

Feb.

Apr.

May

June

162.8

166.4

167.8

167.9

168.1

169.1

178.3
179.2

178.4

178.2

178.8

169.7

170.0

175.8

179.0

179.6

169.4

169.9

175.1
174.9

175.3

179.1

174.3
174.1

175.3

178.3
106.7

175.0

175.0

175.5

107.2

107.4

107.6

103.5

103.4

106.3

166.9

169.5

158.3

158.5

162.1

107.0
163.2

107.2

167.0

106.8
163.4

106.9

165.8

107.3
167.4

163.8

166.1

167.2

168.2

169.0

171.2

163.6

108.3

106.1

106.9

106.9

164.5
107.0

166.8

159.8

161.5

161.3

106.9
161.4

159.3
103.4

163.8

106.8

158.9
103.4

162.7

106.0

168.3
106.8

163.1

154.4

154.9

158.3

160.0

159.9

160.0

161.7

164.7
164.1

166.4

166.6

167.4

159.7

165.7

167.1

158.1
103.7

103.6

164.6
163.4
106.7

164.9
163.7

107.6

163.0
161.8
105.7

164.9

166.1
107.1

159.7
158.4

106.9

163.7
107.0

164.9
107.4

162.6
164.7

162.3
164.2

165.8
167.4

167.6

167.6
169.4

167.9

168.0

169.6

169.9

163.5

167.1

168.7

104.3

105.9

106.8

169.0
107.1

169.3
107.1

169.6
107.4

108.6

105.9

165.9
106.9

166.6
166.1
107.1

165.1
171.9

166.8
173.4

166.7

167.0

166.9

168.3

173.7

173.9

169.8
104.8

169.3
104.5

173.3
106.2

174.9
107.1

175.1
107.2

175.4

174.3
175.7

107.3

107.6

164.0
104.7

M
M
M

150.5
104.1
161.9

150.7
104.0
162.0

154.0
106.1
164.9

155.2
106.9
166.7

155.2
107.1
166.7

155.4
107.1
166.8

156.3
107.7
167.4

149.0
103.8
160.8

149.2
103.6
160.9

152.5
105.9
164.1

153.6
106.8
165.9

153.7
106.9
166.0

154.0
107.0
166.1

155.0
107.6
166.8

Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL—IN—Wl..................................
Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA....................

M
M

168.2
166.2

168.9
165.4

171.3
169.2

172.0
170.6

171.7
170.6

173.5
171.1

175.8
170.9

162.3
159.7

163.0
158.9

165.6
162.4

166.4
163.9

166.1
163.9

167.9
164.4

170.2
164.2

New York, NY-Northern NJ-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA.

M

176.1

176.8

180.4

181.4

181.2

181.3

181.9

171.5

172.1

175.8

176.6

176.6

176.9

177.4

Boston-Brockton-Nashua, MA-NH-ME-CT....................
Cleveland-Akron, OH......................................................
Dallas-Ft Worth, TX........................................................

1

-

-

182.7
166.8

-

181.6
166.4

-

172.6
153.7

-

-

-

-

-

-

157.0
103.4

-

-

163.2
106.7

-

103.6

163.1
107.0

-

1

-

-

106.9

-

180.5
158.9
163.1
106.6

-

-

181.1
159.2
162.9

-

1

174.2
161.5
157.2

164.8
163.8
148.3

167.4

-

169.8
168.1
152.7

-

171.1

-

161.9

164.9

167.2

158.3
147.1

162.0
150.5

-

166.9
175.7
178.6
177.7

-

158.9
171.9
168.3
168.0

163.5
174.5
172.5

-

171.5

-

Size A—More than 1,500,000.......................................

M

Size B/C—50,000 to 1,500,000s...................................
Size D—Nonmetropolitan (less than 50,000)................

M

West urban.....................................................................

M

162.1
168.7

Size A—More than 1,500,000.......................................

M
M

Size B/C—50,000 to 1,500,000s...................................

M

162.0

169.1

Size classes:
A5 .............................................................................
B/C3 ............................................................................
D................................................................................
S e le c te d lo c a l a re a s 6

Washinqton-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV7 .......................
Atlanta, GA.....................................................................

1

Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, Ml.............................................
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX....................................

2

-

2

-

Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, FL................................................
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, PA-NJ-DE-MD....
San Francisco-Oaktand-San Jose, CA............................
Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA....................................

2

2

-

2

-

2

2

161.3
172.1
171.8
172.7

167.2
152.1
165.9
174.7
176.5
176.0

' 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.
2 Regions defined as the four Census regions.
3 Indexes on a December 1996 = 100 base.
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.

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 Report: Anchorage, AK;
Cincinnnti-Hamilton, OH-KY-IN; Denver-Boulder-Greeley, CO; Honolulu, HI; Kansas City,
6

84
M onthly Labor Review

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

August 2000

-

-

-

-

170.8
154.0
168.0
176.4
179.0
179.1

-

-

162.8
151.3
164.5
175.7
174.8
173.2

-

168.7
165.6
153.0
165.7
176.0
175.2
174.4

MO-KS; Milwaukee-Racine, Wl; Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI; Pittsburgh, PA; Portland-Salem, OR-WA; St Louis, MO-IL; San Diego, CA; Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater,
FL.
7 Indexes on a November 1996 = 100 base.
- Data not available.
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.

30.

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:
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.......................................................


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

136.2
4.2

140.3
3.0

144.5
3.0

148.2

152.4

2 .6

2 .8

136.8
3.6

138.7
1.4

141.6

144.9
2.3

148.9

133.6
4.0

137.5
2.9

141.2
2.7

144.8
2.5

148 5

128.7
3.7

131.9
2.5

133.7
1.4

133.4

123.8
2.7

126.5
2 .2

130.4
3.1

177.0
8.7

190.1
7.4

171.6
7.9

183.3

134.3
4.1

138.2
2.9

6 .8

1996

1997

1998

1999

156.9
3.0

160.5
2.3

163.0

153.7
3.2

157.7

161.1

164.6

2 .6

2 .2

2 .2

152.8
2.9

156.8

160.4
2.3

163.9

132.0
- 1 .0

131.7

132.9
.9

133.0

131.3
-1.3

134.3
3.0

139.1
3.6

143.0

144.3
0.9

141.6
-1.9

144.4

201.4
5.9

2 1 1 .0

220.5
4.5

228.2
3.5

234.6

4.8

2 .8

242.1
3.2

250.6
3.5

192.9
5.2

198.5
2.9

206.9
4.2

215.4
4.1

224.8
4.4

237.7
5.7

258.3
8.7

142.1

145.6
2.5

149.8
2.9

154.1
2.9

157.6
2.3

159.7
1.3

163.2

2 .1

2 .8

- .2

2 .8

2 .6

- .2

2 .8

M onthly Labor Review

2 .6

1 .6

.1

A ugust 2000

166.6
2 .2

2 .2

2 .0

2 .2

85

Current Labor Statistics:

31.

Price Data

Producer Price Indexes, by stage of processing

[1982 = 100]
Grouping

Annual average
1998

Finished goods.....................................
Finished consumer goods......................
Finished consumer foods.....................

1999

1999
June

July

Aug.

Sept.

2000
Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

130.7
128.9
134.3

133.0
132.0
135.1

132.7
131.7
135.1

132.9
132.1
134.6

133.7
133.2
135.9

134.7
134.6
136.7

135.1
134.5
135.8

134.9
134.3
135.4

134.9
134.3
135.6

134.7
133.9
135.0

136.0
135.7
136.0

136.8
136.7
136.0

137.0
136.9
137.1

137.5
137.6
138.0

138.4
138.8
137.3

126.4

130.0
127.5
132.3
137.2

130.8
128.9
131.7
137.0

131.9
130.4
131.6
136.9

133.5
132.8
131.2
136.7

133.7
131.5
134.9
138.5

133.6
131 6
134.6
138.3

133.6
131 7
134.4
138.3

133.3
131 4
134.1
138.4

135.4
134.3
133.9
138.5

136 8
136 4
133.8
138.5

136.6
136.0
133.9
138.7

137.2
136 9
134.0
138.7

139.2
139.9
133.6
138.5

123.0

123.9

124.6

125.3

125.0

125.2

125.4

125.9

126.9

127.8

128.0

128.3

129.7

125.0

125.4

125.9

1 2 2 .0

1 2 2 .2

125.5
126.2
125.6

126.5
126.2
125.7

127.7
126.5
125.7

125.9
120.9
127.8
126.7
125.7

125.9
118.2
128.2
127.2
125.8

126.4
117.6
128.6
128.6
125.9

127.0
117.5
129.7
129.6
125.9

127.6
118.1
131.3
129.7
126.0

128.0
119.6
132.1
129.8
125.9

128.4

1 2 1 .1

133.2
129.6
126.0

128.6
120.7
133.9
129.3
126.1

Finshed consumer goods

Durable goods....................................
Capital equipment................................

132.9
137.6

130.5
127.9
133.0
137.6

Intermediate materials,
supplies, and components..................

123.0

123.2

1 2 2 .2

Materials and components
for manufacturing...................................
Materials for food manufacturing............
Materials for nondurable manufacturing..

126.1
123.2
126.7
128.0
125.9

124.6

124.1

1 2 0 .8

1 2 0 .0

124.9
125.1
125.7

123.8
124.8
125.7

124.6
119.0
124.8
126.1
125.6

146.8
81.1
140.8
134.8

148.9
84.6
142.5
134.2

149.5
84.9
142.2
133.9

150.5
87.6
142.1
133.9

150.4
90.0
143.6
134.2

149.6
92.5
145.7
134.4

149.1
89 3
146.3
134.8

149.4
90 2
146.5
135.0

149.8
90 6
146.5
135.1

150.4
91 5
147.2
135.2

150.8
94 8
147.2
135.6

151.3
97 4
148.1
136 0

151.6
96 3
151.8
136.2

151.1
96.7
152.8
136.6

150.9
103.2
153.3
137.1

96.8
103.9
88.4

98.2
98.7
94.3

97.4
99.5
92.5

97.9
96.2
95.5

103.1

107.3

101.5

108.3

109.2
99.5
111.9

103.5
96.9
104.3

105.8
96.5
108.3

110.3
97.6
115.1

112.9
101.4
116.7

103.5
111.5

115.4
104.6
118.6

121.9

1 0 0 .1

104.0
98.8
103.8

1 1 0 .6

1 0 0 .1

Finished consumer goods less energy.....
Finished goods less food and energy.......

129.5
75.1
141.1
142.5
143.7

132.3
78.8
143.0
145.2
146.1

131.8
78.6
142.6
144.8
145.5

132.3
80.7
142.3
144.5
145.3

133.0
83.5
142.5
144.9
145.2

134.0
85.8
143.1
145.8
145.7

134.7
83.5
144.2
146.6
147.5

134.7
83.6
144.0
146.3
147.4

134.6
83.6
144.0
146.4
147.4

134.5
83.8
143.6
145.8
147.0

135.9
87.5
144.3
146.7
147.5

136.9
90.9
144.3
146.7
147.5

136.8
90.1
144.7
147.2
147.7

137.2
91.5
145.0
147.6
147.8

138.6
97.0
144.6
147.1
147.5

Finished consumer goods less food
and energy............................................

147.7

151.7

151.0

150.9

150.7

151.7

153.6

153.4

153.4

152.8

153.6

153.6

153.7

153.8

153.4

Consumer nondurable goods less food
and enerqy...........................................

159.1

166.3

165.7

165.9

165.7

167.9

168.1

168.2

168.2

167.3

169.0

169.1

169.2

169.4

169.0

125.4
110.9
89.6
132.3

126.0

126.0

92.1
132.5

125.7
112.4
89.0
132.9

89.9
133.0

126.2
109.7
90.3
133.0

126.8
109.3
91.2
133.5

130.7
113.5
102.9
135.5

Components for manufacturing...............

1 2 0 .6

Materials and components

Containers................................................

Crude materials for further
processing.........................................
Foodstuffs and feedstuffs.........................
Crude nonfood materials..........................

1 0 1 .8

131.4

Special groupings:
Finished goods, excluding foods...............
Finished energy goods.............................

Intermediate materials less foods
123.9

123.7

1 1 1 .1

1 1 0 .2

84.6
131.7

84.6
131.5

124.7
109.1
87.2
131.9

Intermediate goods less energy................

123.4
116.2
80.8
132.4

Intermediate materials less foods
and energy............................................

133.5

133.1

132.9

133.4

133.7

133.9

134.2

134.4

134.6

135.1

135.5

136.1

136.5

136.7

136.9

Crude energy materials............................
Crude materials less energy....................
Crude nonfood materials less energy.......

6 8 .6

78.5
107.9
135.2

77.1
107.7
132.2

80.4
105.8
134.2

87.3
109.4
136.8

95.4

98.9
110.5
142.6

87.9
109.5
146.0

1 0 0 .2

1 1 0 .0

88.7
109.8
141.7

92.0

113.6
142.1

1 1 0 .2

111.5
151.3

102.5
114.1
150.9

96.3
115.2
149.0

105.8
115.8
148.5

122.9
113.3
146.8

M onthly Labor Review
86

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

August 2000

1 1 1 .8

139.1

1 1 1 .6

149.8

127.8

128.8

128.9

1 1 0 .0

1 1 1 .0

1 1 1 .8

94.5
133.9

97.1
134.5

96.0
134.9

129.2
113.2
96.5
135.2

32.

Producer Price Indexes for the net output of major industry groups

[December 1984 = 100, unless otherwise indicated]
Industry

SIC

Annual average
1998

10
12

13
14

20
21
22

23
24
25
26

T o ta l m in in g in d u s trie s ..........................................

Metal mining...............................................
Coal mining (12/85 = 100)...........................
Oil and gas extraction (12/85 = 100)............
Mining and quarrying of nonmetallic
minerals, except fuels...............................
T o ta l m a n u fa c tu rin g in d u s trie s ..........................

Food and kindred products.........................
Tobacco manufactures................................
Textile mill products....................................
Apparel and other finished products
made from fabrics and similar materials......
Lumber and wood products,
except furniture.........................................
Furniture and fixtures.................................
Paper and allied products............................

1999

1999
June

July

Aug.

Sept.

2000
Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

70.8

78.0

76.3

78.7

84.7

91.5

87.7

95.1

86.7

89.5

95.8

98.9

94.9

1 0 0 .0

113.8

73.2
89.5
68.3

70.3
87.3
78.5

67.3

6 8 .8

73.4

8 6 .0

86.1

1 0 2 .6

73.3
84.8
107.0

73.4
84.4

1 0 1 .6

73.9
85.3
94.2

75.3
84.7

91.2

72.6
85.4
90.4

71.7

86.9
79.6

70.4
85.9
96.9

76.3

8 8 .2

69.3
86.9
87.6

1 0 1 .8

108.3

73.7
85.0
127.1

132.2

134.0

134.2

134.2

134.2

134.3

134.4

134.4

134.4

135.0

135.3

135.7

136.0

137.5

136.8

126.2
126.3
243.1
118.6

128.3
126.3
325.7
116.3

127.8
126.0
316.2
116.3

128.3
125.9
316.1
115.9

129.0
126.8
316.5
116.0

129.7
127.5
344.5
115.9

130.2
127.5
344.4
116.1

130.3
127.1
344.5
115.9

130.5
126.7
345.0
116.1

130.8
126.7
329.4
116.2

132.2
127.2
348.6
116.4

132.9
127.4
347.3
116.5

132.8
128.2
347.2
116.1

133.4
129.1
347.1
116.3

134.0
129.1
342.2
116.2

124.8

125.3

125.1

125.1

125.5

125.6

125.6

125.4

125.3

125.2

125.2

125.6

125.6

125.6

125.5

157.0
139.7
136.2

161.8
141.3
136.4

165.2
141.1
135.8

168.5
141.3
136.3

166.9
141.6
137.3

163.1
141.8
138.7

160.0
142.0
139.9

159.6
142.0
140.2

160.6
142.1
140.4

161.4
142.4
141.0

161.6
142.5
141.5

162.1
143.0
143.2

161.8
143.0
145.8

159.0
143.3
146.9

158.4
143.5
147.2

76.2

8 6 .0

27

Printing, publishing, and allied industries.......

174.0

177.6

177.2

177.4

177.7

178.1

178.6

179.1

179.2

180.4

180.8

181.1

181.3

181.7

182.9

28
29
30
31
32
33
34

Chemicals and allied products.....................
Petroleum refining and related products.......
Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products..
Leather and leather products.......................
Stone, clay, glass, and concrete products.....
Primary metal industries..............................
Fabricated metal products,
except machinery and transportation
transportation equipment..........................

148.7
66.3

149.7
76.8

149.9
79.6

137.1
129.3
120.9

136.5
132.6
115.8

152.8
87.0
122.9
137.0
133.6
117.1

153.0
89.5
123.3
137.0
133.7
117.1

152.9
91.8
123.4
137.0
133.5
117.4

153.6
94.0
123.5
137.5
134.4
118.6

154.5
104.1
123.5
137.5
134.6
119.5

155.2

1 2 2 .2

150.0
85.3
122.5
136.7
133.1
115.7

151.0
90.2

1 22.1

149.0
74.2
121.9
136.5
132.7
115.0

155.5
107.8
124.1
137.4
134.7
120.5

156.9
111.4
123.3
137.5
134.8
120.5

157.1
118.0
123.9
137.4
134.9

128.7

129.1

129.1

129.1

129.1

129.2

129.4

129.6

129.7

129.9

130.0

130.3

130.4

130.3

130.3

35

Machinery, except electrical.........................

117.7

117.3

117.5

117.3

117.2

117.1

117.1

117.1

117.0

117.1

117.3

117.4

117.4

117.5

117.5

36

Electrical and electronic machinery,
equipment, and supplies............................
Transportation.............................................
Measuring and controlling instruments;
photographic, medical, and optical
goods; watches and clocks........................
Miscellaneous manufacturing industries
industries (12/85 = 100).............................

110.4
133.6

109.5
134.5

109.5
133.6

109.5
133.0

109.5
132.9

109.2
132.6

109.1
136.7

109.1
136.2

108.9
136.2

108.7
136.3

108.6
136.5

108.6
136.4

108.7
136.3

108.6
136.1

108.6
136.0

126.0

125.7

125.3

125.1

125.0

124.9

125.2

125.3

125.6

126.0

126.2

126.0

126.1

126.3

126.5

129.7

130.3

130.5

130.5

130.1

130.0

130.4

130.2

130.5

130.7

131.1

130.8

131.1

131.3

131.3

1 1 1 .6

114.8
135.3
113.0
130.8
98.3

114.6
135.2
116.8
130.9
98.6

114.8
135.2
117.4
131.4
98.2

115.1
135.2
117.2
131.7
98.2

115.8
135.2
117.3
131.8
98.3

115.5
135.2
116.7
133.1
98.3

115.5
135.2
116.7
133.4
98.2

115.8
135.2
116.1
134.2
98.2

116.5
135.2
116.4
141.0

117.0
135.2
117.0
141.6
101.9

118.1
135.2
117.8
144.3
101.9

118.2
135.2
118.5
142.5
101.9

118.8
135.2
119.8
149.6
101.9

119.4
135.2
123.2
147.5

37
38

39

122.1

136.7
132.7
115.4

1 2 2 .8

136.9
133.2
116.4

1 1 1 .0

123.5
137.4
134.7
1 2 0 .0

1 2 0 .1

S e rv ic e in d u s trie s :

42
43
44
45
46

Motor freight transportation
and warehousing (06/93 - 100)..................
U.S. Postal Service (06/89 = 100)..................
Water transportation (12/92 - 100)................
Transportation by air (12/92 = 100)...............
Pipelines, except natural qas (12/92 = 100)...


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

132.3
105.6
124.5
99.2

1 02.1

M onthly Labor Review

A ugust 2000

1 0 2 .0

87

Current Labor Statistics:

33.

Price Data

Annual data: Producer Price Indexes, by stage of processing

[1982 = 100]
1991

Index

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

Finished goods
121.7
124.1
78.1
131.1

123.2
123.3
77.8
134.2

124.7
125.7
78.0
135.8

125.5
126.8
77.0
137.1

127.9
129.0
78.1
140.0

131.3
133.6
83.2
142.0

131.8
134.5
83.4
142.4

130.7
134.3
75.1
143.7

133.0
135.1
78.8
146.1

114.4
115.3
85.1
121.4

114.7
113.9
84.3

118.5
118.5
83.0
127.1

124.9
119.5
84.1
135.2

125.7
125.3
89.8
134.0

125.6
123.2
89.0
134.2

123.0
123.2
80.8
133.5

123.2

1 2 2 .0

116.2
115.6
84.6
123.8

1 0 1 .2

100.4
105.1
78.8
94.2

102.4
108.4
76.7
94.1

1 0 1 .8

102.7
105.8
69.4
105.8

113.8
121.5
85.0
105.7

1 1 1 .1

106.5
72.1
97.0

96.8
103.9

98.2
98.7
78.5
91.1

Intermediate materials, supplies, and
uumpufieiHS
1 2 0 .8

84.3
133.1

Crude materials for further processing

Other...........................................................................

M onthly Labor Review
88

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

105.5
80.4
97.5

August 2000

1 1 2 .2

87.3
103.5

6 8 .6

84.5

34.

U.S. export price indexes by Standard International Trade Classification

[1995 = 100, unless otherwise indicated]
S IT C

0

June
F o o d a n d liv e a n im a ls .............................................................

04
05

Meat and meat preparations.....................................
Cereals and cereal preparations...........................
Vegetables, fruit, and nuts, prepared fresh or dry........

2

C ru d e m a te ria ls , in e d ib le , e x c e p t fu e ls ...............................

01

21
22

24
25
26
27
28
3
32
33

1999

In d u s tr y

R ev. 3

Hides, skins, and furskins, raw.......................
Oilseeds and oleaginous fruits..................................
Cork and wood..................................
Pulp and waste paper........................
Textile fibers and their waste.........................
Crude fertilizers and crude minerals...........................
Metalliferous ores and metal scrap.....................

J u ly

87.4
94.2
70.9
99.8

87.6
97.3
73.3
97.8

97.5
72.7
94.3

74.9
79.0
79.2
82.0

74.7
80.3
72.8
82.9
71.5
65.2
93.6
72.3

76.5
83.4
80.1
83.0
73.5
65.1
93.0
73.0

77.7
86.5
85.0
82.8
75.2
64.4
93.3
73.5

6 6 .0
6 8 .6

93.5
70.7

D ec.

86.4
97.4
69.5
96.6

86.3
97.7
70.1
94.3

85.6
100.9
68.5
91.2

78.1
82.3
83.5
77.1
64.5
93.1
75.1

77.8
87.8
78.1
83.8
78.7
63.4
93.8
77.3

8 8 .6

Jan.

86.3

Feb.

M a r.

A p r.

71.0
90.9

86.9
98.0
74.1
89.0

78.9
90.5
79.6
85.0
80.9
62.5
94.1
78.4

80.0
91.1
80.5
86.4
84.3
61.2
94.3
80.0

82.2
89.5
84.8
86.5
88.3
65.7
94.0
80.7

93.5
80.9

84.2
85.5
88.3
87.4
93.8
68.9
93.0
80.4

1 0 0 .1

8 6 .8

87.5

99.4
74.4

1 0 2 .2

8 8 .6

83.2
87.7
8 6 .0

87.2
90.0
6 8 .6

M ay

June

74.0
90.6

88.3
105.1
75.0
90.1

87.4
109.5
71.6
87.8

85.2
86.5
89.1
86.7
99.0
69.0
93.0
79.6

84.4
86.7
86.3
86.7
97.6
69.6
93.3
78.2

1 0 2 .0

98.3
107.6

109.0
98.2
119.8

113.8
98.3
126.4

115.3
97.6
128.6

119.5
97.6
131.3

121.4
97.6
133.4

126.6
97.5
140.1

129.5
96.1
143.6

138.5
96.1
159.6

152.1
96.1
179.2

137.2
94.7
152.0

142.3
94.5
163.1

145.0
93.8
168.3

77.1

78.8

81.9

79.0

78.0

75.8

74.3

70.8

71.6

70.1

67.1

92.3
99.8

93.3
99.8
103.5
94.9
97.8
98.8

93.6
100.3
103.4
95.0
98.0
99.1

93.8

94.4
103.0
95.5

95.8
99.9
103.2
97.7

96.0

103.4
94.8
97.8
99.2

94.2
100.4
103.3
94.8
98.6
99.9

1 0 0 .1

1 0 0 .2

95.7
99.7
102.9
98.1
99.3
99.1

A n im a l a n d v e g e ta b le o ils, fa ts , a n d w a x e s .......................

76.6

76.8

91.2

Medicinal and pharmaceutical products...............
Essential oils; polishing and cleaning preparations.......
Plastics in primary forms (12/92 = 100)...........
Plastics in nonprimary forms (12/92 = 100).................
Chemical materials and products, n.e.s.........

101.9
88.4
97.2
99.6

91.6
100.3
101.9
89.7
97.4
99.4

6

M a n u fa c tu re d g o o d s c la s s ifie d c h ie fly by m a te ria ls .....

96.8

62
64

68

Rubber manufactures, n.e.s...................
Paper, paperboard, and articles of paper, pulp,
and paperboard...................................
Nonmetallic mineral manufactures, n.e.s......................
Nonferrous metals.................................

7
71
72
74

87

Nov.

Coal, coke, and briquettes...................
Petroleum, petroleum products, and related materials...

C h e m ic a ls a n d r e la te d p ro d u c ts , n .e .s ................................

77
78

8 6 .6

2000
O c t.

M in e ra l fu e ls , lu b ric a n ts , a n d re la te d p ro d u c ts ...............

4

75
76

S e p t.

89.2
91.5
75.9
98.5

5
54
55
57
58
59

66

Aug.

91.8
99.9
90.6
97.4
99.3

92.1
97.6
99.2

93.3
99.8
102.3
94.4
97.9
98.9

97.1

97.3

97.5

97.8

98.0

98.3

98.3

105.5

105.6

105.8

106.9

108.2

108.2

108.5

83.4
106.3
85.0

84.4
106.3
85.3

85.4
106.3
87.0

86.3
106.1
8 8 .0

87.2
106.0
90.2

87.6
106.0
90.7

M a c h in e r y a n d tra n s p o rt e q u ip m e n t.....................................

97.6

97.3

97.3

97.2

97.4

Power generating machinery and equipment.............
Machinery specialized for particular industries............
General industrial machines and parts, n.e.s.,
and machine parts.........................
Computer equipment and office machines....................
Telecommunications and sound recording and
reproducing apparatus and equipment.....................
Electrical machinery and equipment..............
Road vehicles.................................

109.6
106.1

1 1 0 .1

1 10.1

1 10.1

1 1 0 .2

105.8

105.8

105.9

106.0

107.3
71.6

107.5
71.0

107.5
71.0

107.6
70.2

107.7
70.5

96.9
102.5

97.0
87.7
102.4

96.9
87.5
102.3

96.9
87.6
102.4

96.6
87.4
103.1

105.2

105.4

105.4

105.4

105.5

1 0 0 .6

8 8 .6

1 0 1 .8

1 0 2 .1

1 0 0 .2

1 0 0 .2

1 0 0 .0

103.1
98.4
99.8
99.3

99.6

99.4

99.0

99.7

99.9

1 0 0 .0

100.3

104.7

103.7

103.6

103.7

103.9

104.3

87.2
105.8
92.3

87.6
105.8
93.4

87.8
106.0
98.8

88.4
106.2
101.9

89.1
106.4
100.3

90.5
106.4
98.1

89.7
106.5

97.5

97.2

97.4

97.3

97.3

97.3

97.4

97.3

1 1 1 .0

1 1 1 .0

1 1 1 .8

1 1 1 .8

1 1 1 .8

1 1 2 .0

1 1 2 .0

106.1

104.7

106.2

106.3

106.1

111.9
106.2

106.2

106.5

107.7
70.4

107.9
70.2

107.5
70.1

107.6
68.7

108.0
68.7

108.2
68.5

108.2
68.5

108.3
68.3

96.6
87.3
103.1

96.7
86.7
103.1

96.4
86.4
103.5

97.0
8 6 .6

103.6

96.6
86.3
104.0

96.4
86.4
103.9

97.0
86.3
103.9

96.9
85.7
103.9

105.6

105.3

105.2

105.4

105.7

105.7

105.7

105.7

1 0 0 .1

P ro fe s s io n a l, s c ie n tific , a n d c o n tro llin g
in s tru m e n ts a n d a p p a ra tu s ..................................


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

M onthly Labor Review

A ugust 2000

89

Current Labor Statistics:

35.

Price Data

U.S. import price indexes by Standard International Trade Classification

[1995 = 100, unless otherwise indicated]
2000

1999

S IT C

Industry
June

R ev. 3

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

0

F o o d a n d liv e a n im a ls ...................................................................

93.3

92.6

92.0

93.7

94.0

92.3

91.6

94.3

96.7

97.7

98.4

97.8

93.6
98.2

93.1

94.5

91.0
98.4

94.7

Meat and meat preparations........................................
Fish and crustaceans, mollusks, and other
aquatic invertebrates.................................................
Vegetables, fruit, and nuts, prepared fresh or dry.........
Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices, and manufactures
thereof......................................................................

91.5
99.4

92.4

99.1

1 0 0 .2

1 0 0 .2

01

99.1

104.3
103.2

104.2
103.5

103.8

103.1

107.5
97.2

106.8
103.6

107.9

108.0

1 1 1 .0

1 0 1 .6

105.0
96.5

106.8

1 0 2 .6

1 0 2 .0

1 0 2 .1

1 0 1 .2

100.7

109.6
96.8

109.3
96.6

69.4

64.3

63.2

61.4

62.0

6 6 .0

70.6

67.2

64.7

61.0

61.1

59.8

59.5

111.4

111.7

111.9

112.4

112.9
1 1 0 .0

03
05
07

1

B e v e ra g e s a n d to b a c c o ................................................................

110.4

1 1 0 .6

1 1 1 .2

1 1 2 .2

111.5

111.5

1 1 2 .0

1 1 1 .2

11

Beverages..................................................................

107.2

107.6

107.7

109.1

108.5

108.5

108.7

107.9

108.2

108.5

108.7

109.4

C ru d e m a te ria ls , in e d ib le , e x c e p t fu e ls .................................

90.3

93.1

92.7

91.7

90.8

90.3

92.2

93.6

94.7

94.3

93.8

91.9

Cork and wood............................................................
Pulp and waste paper..................................................
Metalliferous ores and metal scrap..............................
Crude animal and vegetable materials, n.e.s................

122.3
60.6
91.9
101.7

131.9
61.4
91.9

128.9
61.1
93.8
105.0

121.7

116.7
63.9
98.4

114.9

118.7
6 8 .2

98.0
106.5

99.0
111.9

118.6
72.4
104.0
111.9

117.6
75.1
101.7

121.1

117.0
72.0
105.7
124.3

1 1 0 .1

112.9
77.0
99.6
106.7

1 1 0 .1

6 6 .8

117.7
70.5
101.4

145.2
146.1
147.8

165.7
167.9
161.4

165.4
166.6
170.5

148.5
147.1
171.5

154.1
154.1
167.5

170.9
169.8
l9b.5

92.2
88.3
88.9
98.2
89.6
93.7
79.3

92.7
89.0
89.3
98.2
89.6
93.0
79.0

92.8
8 8 .8

93.4
89.8

94.3
91.5

88.4
97.3
89.7
93.9
80.4

97.3
89.4
93.9
80.3

1 0 0 .0

1 0 1 .6

1 0 0 .6

1 0 0 .0

94.3
90.7
87.4
97.3
89.9
94.0
80.8
100.9

2

24
25
28
29
3
33
34

M in e ra l fu e ls , lu b ric a n ts , a n d re la te d p ro d u c ts ...............

5
52
53
54
55
57
58
59

C h e m ic a ls a n d re la te d p ro d u c ts , n .e .s ..................................

6

64

Petroleum, petroleum products, and related materials....
Gas, natural and manufactured....................................

Inorganic chemicals....................................................
Dying, tanning, and coloring materials.........................
Medicinal and pharmaceutical products........................
Essential oils; polishing and cleaning preparations.......
Plastics In primary forms (12/92 = 100)........................
Plastics in nonprimary forms (12/92 = 100)..................
Chemical materials and products, n.e.s........................
M a n u fa c tu re d g o o d s c la s s ifie d c h ie fly b y m a te ria ls ....

Paper, paperboard, and articles of paper, pulp,
and paperboard........................................................
Nonmetalllc mineral manufactures, n.e.s.....................

1 0 2 .8

6 6 .0

94.3
1 1 1 .1

1 1 2 .1

90.5
80.1
1 0 0 .6

92.7

92.7
91.3
106.5

105.3
103.8
123.1

117.1
115.9
134.1

126.5
125.7
142.2

128.0
127.4
141.1

134.7
132.6
161.5

141.2
141.4
150.2

90.6
86.7
91.9
96.2
92.4
93.6
75.6
97.4

90.6
86.4
90.6
96.2
91.7
93.7
75.8
98.0

90.4

91.3
8 6 .6

90.5
96.3
91.8
93.1
76.1
98.1

90.2
97.0
92.3
93.8
77.9
98.1

91.8
87.2
90.6
97.4
91.8
93.8
78.9
98.6

92.1
87.7
91.4
97.8
92.3
93.9
79.4
98.4

92.0

8 6 .2

92.0

91.9

92.4

92.6

93.9

94.5

95.5

98.0

97.5

97.1

97.6

94.4

94.5

95.0

93.3
94.9

93.9

94.3

94.4

94.4

92.7

92.8

92.3

92.4

92.5

92.2

83.6
87.6
95.8

83.5
100.9
89.9
95.6

8 8 .0

89.7
97.3
90.2
94.0
79.7
99.5

8 8 .0

8 6 .1

96.8
89.8
94.3
80.8
99.7

84.4

87.4

8 6 .2

8 6 .6

86.9

87.1

8 8 .8

1 0 1 .2

1 0 1 .6

1 0 1 .2

1 0 0 .8

1 0 1 .2

1 0 0 .8

91.1
95.8

94.8
95.6

95.4
95.9

95.6
95.9

98.9
95.7

104.4
96.1

115.1
96.1

100.9
110.3
95.9

89.7
100.7
106.9
95.9

89.2
100.5
110.7
95.7

83.7

69

Manufactures of metals, n.e.s.....................................

83.7
100.9
87.7
96.1

7

M a c h in e ry a n d tra n s p o rt e q u ip m e n t.....................................

90.3

89.9

89.9

89.9

89.9

89.8

89.7

89.8

89.8

89.6

89.7

89.7

89.6

72
74

Machinery specialized for particular industries.............
General Industrial machines and parts, n.e.s.,
and machine parts...................................................
Computer equipment and office machines..................
Telecommunications and sound recording and
reproducing apparatus and equipment......................

97.6

97.3

97.2

97.6

97.8

98.2

97.8

97.7

97.9

97.3

97.1

97.0

95.9

97.6
63.1

97.3
62.0

97.3
61.8

97.4
61.6

97.3
61.4

97.3
61.4

97.0
61.7

97.0
61.5

96.7
61.4

97.0
61.0

96.9
60.5

96.7
60.2

96.2
60.0

87.6
82.7
102.3

87.3
81.9
102.4

87.0
82.1
102.4

87.1
82.5

8 6 .0

85.9
82.2
102.4

85.6
82.1
102.3

85.2
82.4
102.4

85.2
82.2

84.9
82.2

1 0 2 .6

1 0 2 .6

84.5
83.0
102.7

84.5
83.4
102.7

84.4
83.2

1 0 2 .2

82.6
102.4

1 0 2 .8

100.7

100.7

1 0 0 .6

1 0 0 .8

1 0 0 .8

1 0 0 .8

1 0 0 .8

1 0 0 .8

100.9

100.7

100.5

100.7

100.3

91.3

91.2

91.1

91.4

92.2

92.5

92.5

92.2

91.7

91.8

91.8

91.9

91.6

66
68

75
76

.
8£
88

Photographic apparatus, equipment, and supplies,
and optical qoods, n.e.s...........................................

M onthly Labor Review
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1 0 1 .1

36.

U.S. export price indexes by end-use category

[1995 = 100]
1999

Category
June

July

Aug.

Sept.

2000
Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

A L L C O M M O D IT I E S ......................................................................

94.5

94.4

94.7

94.8

95.1

95.3

95.2

95.4

95.8

96.3

96.2

96.5

96.3

Foods, feeds, and beverages....................................
Agricultural foods, feeds, and beverages................
Nonagricultural (fish, beverages) food products.....

88.9

87.9
86.9
99.5

87.6
86.7
98.2

87.4
86.4
99.7

86.7
85.6
99.2

8 6 .0

87.1

8 6 .0

8 6 .2

97.8

88.3
87.7
96.6

8 6 .2

100.9

87.8
87.1
97.0

87.0

84.9
99.5

86.3
85.4
98.3

87.2

113.1

86.7
85.0
106.8

Industrial supplies and materials................................

87.5

88.3

89.0

89.5

90.4

91.1

91.7

92.1

93.6

95.2

94.6

95.3

95.3

Agricultural industrial supplies and materials..........

78.4

76.2

76.3

76.6

77.5

76.6

76.7

75.2 .

76.9

77.7

78.2

78.2

78.2

Fuels and lubricants................................................
Nonagricultural supplies and materials,
excluding fuel and building materials....................
Selected building materials.....................................

99.8

106.1

110.5

1 1 1 .8

114.4

115.9

120.4

122.7

131.3

143.6

127.8

133.0

135.6

8 6 .0

8 6 .6
8 8 .0

87.0
88.4

87.5
87.4

88.3
87.8

89.1
87.7

89.3

87.8

8 8 .6

89.7
89.2

90.4
89.5

91.0
90.1

91.9
90.4

92.3
90.0

92.0
89.9

Capital goods.............................................................
Electric and electrical generating equipment..........
Nonelectrical machinery..........................................

96.5
99.0
92.9

96.2
98.2
92.6

96.2
98.0
92.6

96.1
98.3
92.4

96.2
98.3
92.4

96.3
98.4
92.5

96.0
98.5
92.1

96.1
98.3
92.1

96.0
98.8
91.9

96.0
98.8
91.8

96.1
98.7
91.9

96.1
98.9
91.9

96.0
99.0
91.7

Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines...................

103.2

103.2

103.2

103.3

104.0

103.9

103.8

103.9

103.8

104.2

104.2

104.2

104.1

Consumer goods, excluding automotive....................
Nondurables, manufactured....................................
Durables, manufactured..........................................

1 0 2 .0

101.9

1 0 2 .0

101.9

1 0 2 .2

1 0 2 .2

102.4

102.5

1 0 2 .0

1 0 2 .0

1 0 2 .1

102.4

1 0 2 .8

1 0 2 .6

100.5

1 0 0 .6

1 0 0 .8

100.7

1 0 0 .8

102.5
100.9

102.3
102.4

1 0 0 .8

1 0 1 .0

101.4

1 0 1 .0

102.4
102.3
101.3

102.4
102.4
101.3

1 0 2 .2

1 0 2 .1

102.4
102.9

101.3

85.0
95.6

83.1
95.7

84.7
95.8

84.6
95.9

84.5
96.3

83.7
96.6

83.1
96.6

83.2
96.8

84.0
97.2

84.4
97.6

85.1
97.4

85.6
97.7

84.4
97.6

Agricultural commodities............................................
Nonagricultural commodities......................................


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8 6 .8

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1 0 2 .1

91

Current Labor Statistics:

Price Data

37. U.S. import price indexes by end-use category
2000

1999
Category

A L L C O M M O D IT I E S ......................................................................

92.4

Foods, feeds, and beverages.....................................
Agricultural foods, feeds, and beverages................
Nonagricultural (fish, beverages) food products.....

93.7
89.3
105.2

Industrial supplies and materials................................

91.8

Fuels and lubricants................................................
Petroleum and petroleum products......................

Sept.

Aug.

July

June

95.2

94.3

93.3

95.4

96.2

May

June

96.8

97.2

99.2

99.3

97.9

98.3

99.5

94.8
89.8
107.7

93.6
88.4
107.2

93.3
87.6
108.1

92.5
86.6
108.3

93.3
86.7
110.8

91.9
85.2
109.8

91.3
84.4
109.8

105.4

106.3

96.1

99.9

103.1

104.3

106.9

109.4

111.0

118.6

119.8

114.3

115.9

121.5

140.7
140.9

144.2
145.8

164.7
167.5

163.7
166.2

147.7
147.4

153.1
153.8

169.5
169.2

81.2

82.1

82.8

83.1

85.6

86.9

87.2

94.8
87.4

89.2
110.5
97.4
87.2

92.1
109.1
102.0
88.3

91.8
105.0
105.0
87.5

8 6 .1

93.2
91.2

105.4
103.5

116.7
115.6

126.0
125.2

128.1
127.3

77.0

77.0

76.9

78.4

78.5

81.8

87.0
87.7
86.7

86.9
118.9
89.0
86.7

87.7
113.4
89.7
87.3

Capital goods.............................................................
Electric and electrical generating equipment..........
Nonelectrical machinery.........................................

82.6
91.5
79.5

81.9
91.1
78.7

81.9
91.2
78.7

Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines...................

101.7

1 0 1 .8

1 2 0 .6

88.3

8 8 .8

89.1

1 1 0 .0

1 1 1 .1

93.0
87.5

108.3
94.4
87.5

82.0
91.6
78.8

81.9
91.7
78.6

81.8
91.8
78.5

81.7
91.1
78.4

101.9

101.9

1 0 2 .0

1 0 2 .0

1 0 2 .0

97.4
100.3
94.1
99.1

97.7

97.5
100.5
94.1

97.6
100.7
94.2
98.8

97.4
1 0 0 .2

94.3
98.3

1 0 0 .8

94.2
99.9

1 0 0 .0

97.5
1 0 0 .6

94.1
99.8

89.7

90.4

110.1

112.1

100.3
88.0

107.1
87.6

91.2
111.9
104.3
87.8

81.7
91.8
78.3

81.6
91.8
78.2

81.3
92.1
77.9

81.4
93.9
77.7

81.2
94.2
77.5

80.9
94.3
77.1

102.1

102.2

102.2

102.3

102.6

102.7

97.5
100.4
94.1
101.5

97.4
100.4
93.8
102.0

97.1
100.3
93.5

97.1
100.3
93.4
100.3

96.9

96.4
99.5
93.0
98.0

100.1

38. U.S. international price Indexes for selected categories of services
[1990 = 100, unless otherwise indicated]

Sept.

Dec.

Mar.

June

Sept.

Dec.

Mar.

June

8 8 .0

8 6 .2

92.7

92.8

87.9
92.7

90.7
91.7

88.9
91.7

88.4
92.8

104.5
98.9

107.3
1 0 2 .6

1 0 2 .6

114.2
108.6
148.0

1 0 2 .2

104.2

112.3
106.3
133.7

106.8

1 0 1 .1

139.4

136.3

113.4
107.9
142.1

Airfreight (inbound) (9/90 = 100)..................................
Air freight (outbound) (9/92 = 100)................................

81.8
95.8

87.4
95.2

Air passenger fares (U.S. carriers)...............................
Air passenger fares (foreign carriers)...........................
Ocean liner freight (inbound)........................................

107.3
104.0
105.0

103.1

August 2000

2000

1999

1998
Category

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Apr.

93.0
87.2
108.2

91.6

134.3
132.5

97.5
100.4
94.4
98.0

Feb.

Jan.

Dec.

92.3
87.6
104.9

8 8 .0

87.4
114.2
88.3
87.0

Durables, manufactured.........................................
Nonmanufactured consumer goods......................

Nov.

92.5
87.7
105.0

92.8

Materials associated with nondurable
supplies and materials..........................................
Selected building materials.....................................
Unfinished metals associated with durable goods..
Nonmetals associated with durable goods.............

Consumer goods, excluding automotive...................

Oct.

Mar.

100.1

93.3
99.7

39.

Indexes of productivity, hourly compensation, and unit costs, quarterly data seasonally adjusted

[1992 = 100]
Quarterly indexes
Ite m

1997
II

III

1998
IV

I

II

1999
III

IV

I

II

2000
III

IV

1

II

B u sin ess

Output per hour of all persons.......................................
Compensation per hour................................................
Real compensation per hour.........................................
Unit labor costs..............................................................
Unit nonlabor payments................................................
Implicit price deflator.....................................................

107.3
112.3
99.8
104.7
118.0
109.6

108.3
113.5
100.4
104.8
118.5
109.9

1 1 0 .2

107.1

108.0
113.0

108.1
114.7

108.5
115.3
101.5
106.3
116.8

109.7
117.1
102.9
106.7
116.4
110.3

1 1 0 .0

1 1 0 .6

1 1 1 .6

1 1 2 .6

1 1 2 .8

118.5
103.8
107.7
115.1
110.5

1 2 0 .0

121.4
105.5
108.8
114.6
110.9

123.0
106.4
109.3
115.1
111.4

124.5
106.9
110.4
114.1

109.3
116.4
102.3
106.5
117.4
110.5

109.8
117.9
103.2
107.5
116.3
110.7

110.3
119.4
104.2
108.3
115.8

1 1 1 .2

1 1 2 .0

1 1 2 .1

1 2 0 .8

1 2 2 .1

104.9
108.5
115.8

105.7
109.0
116.7

123.6
106.1
1 1 0 .2

1 1 1 .0

1 1 1 .2

1 1 1 .8

1 1 2 .2

112.3
115.2

113.4
116.6

114.9
118.0
103.0

115.8
119.3
103.7

118.2
122.4
105.1
103.0
103.5
101.4
147.5
113.2
106.7

130.4
122.4
105.1
93.8

104.7
108.5
114.6
110.7

1 1 1 .8

114.2
126.1
107.6
110.5
114.3
111.9

116.3
127.3
107.8
109.5
116.8

113.6
125.2
106.8
110.3
116.1
112.4

115.8
126.5
107.2
109.3
118.6
112.7

1 2 0 .1

1 2 1 .8

113.6

114.2

119.7
124.0
105.8
103.2
103.6

106.6

121.5
125.3
106.1
103.0
103.1
102.5
145.7
113.5
106.6

122.3
126.1
105.8
103.1
103.1
103.3
150.9
115.4
107.2

131.9
124.1
105.9
94.1

135.1
125.5
106.4
92.9

137.7
127.0
106.5
92.2

1 1 2 .2

116.7
128.4
107.7

118.5
130.4
108.4

1 1 0 .0

1 1 0 .0

118.2
113.0

1 2 0 .0

116.3
127.8
107.2
109.8

117.9
129.4
107.6
109.8

113.7

N o n fa rm b u s in es s

Output per hour of all persons.......................................
Compensation per hour................................................
Real compensation per hour.........................................
Unit labor costs..............................................................
Unit nonlabor payments................................................
Implicit price deflator.....................................................

1 1 2 .0

99.5
104.5
118.8
109.7

1 0 0 .0

1 0 1 .0

104.7
119.5
1 1 0 .1

106.1
117.8
110.4

109.3

1 1 0 .8

1 1 1 .6

1 1 1 .1

1 1 2 .1

113.7

115.7

N o n fin a n c ia l c o rp o ra tio n s

Output per hour of all employees..................................
Compensation per hour................................................
Real compensation per hour.........................................
Total unit costs.............................................................
Unit labor costs............................................................
Unit nonlabor costs......................................................
Unit profits.....................................................................
Unit nonlabor payments................................................
Implicit price deflator.....................................................

98.7

99.2

1 0 1 .6

1 0 1 .1

1 0 1 .6

1 0 1 .2

101.4
155.3
115.1
106.1

160.3
116.0
106.1

116.3
110.5
98.1
95.0

118.7
111.5
98.6
93.9

1 0 0 .8

1 0 0 .1

1 0 1 .2

1 0 2 .1

101.5
101.9
100.4
156.5
114.7
106.1

1 0 2 .0

102.3

1 0 2 .1

1 0 2 .6

1 0 2 .6

1 0 2 .8

102.7

103.0

100.5
150.4
113.2
106.1

100.9
147.2
112.7
106.1

1 0 0 .2

1 0 1 .6

151.4
113.3
106.2

144.5
112.5
106.2

117.1
120.9
104.6
102.5
103.2
100.7
149.7
113.2
106.5

121.3
115.2

122.7
116.6

1 0 1 .2

1 0 2 .1

95.0

95.1

125.1
118.1
103.0
94.4

126.8
119.4
103.7
94.1

128.9
120.7
104.4
93.6

1 0 2 .1

143.3
1 1 2 .6

_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
-

M a n u fa c tu rin g

Output per hour of all persons.......................................
Compensation per hour.................................................
Real compensation per hour.........................................
Unit labor costs..............................................................

1 2 0 .1

113.3
99.8
94.4

139.4
128.3
106.8
92.0

- Data not available.


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Current Labor Statistics:

40.

Productivity Data

Annual indexes of multifactor productivity and related measures, selected years

[1992 = 100]
Item

1960

1970

1980

1989

1990

1991

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

P rivate b u s in es s

Productivity:
95.5
103.8

99.6
98.6

96.7
98.6
98.1
96.9

1 0 2 .6

1 0 0 .2

102.7

96.5
99.0
94.1

98.3
98.7
98.1

1 0 2 .0

96.3

96.9
98.8
98.4
97.0

96.1

50.8
117.3
70.7
34.0

70.1
117.1
86.5
51.6

83.8
107.3
95.3
72.6

66.9
29.0
48.1
43.3

73.7
44.1
59.7
59.9

67.7
76.2
78.1

102.4
94.2
97.8
92.0

54.3
126.1
74.9
33.7

72.2
124.1
89.4
51.8

85.6
111.4
97.6
73.1

95.9
104.6
100.5
98.1

62.1
26.7
45.0
43.0

71.7
41.8
58.0
58.2

85.4
65.6
74.9
76.8

102.4
93.9
97.7
91.7

1 0 2 .6

96.3
99.0
93.8

98.2
98.6
98.1

42.1
125.6
72.9
38.7

54.5
116.3
84.2
56.8

70.4
101.5
87.3
75.7

90.7
103.5
100.4
97.1

93.0
101.3
99.8
97.5

95.1
97.3
98.6
95.5

92.0
30.9
51.5
39.1
27.3
53.1

104.2
48.8
85.4
46.0
47.4
67.4

107.5
74.6
92.5
74.5
71.9
86.7

107.1
93.8
96.8
88.3
88.9
96.7

104.8
96.3
99.9
91.3
91.8
97.7

100.4
98.2

1 0 0 .0

97.8

1 0 2 .1

103.7
102.3
102.4
114.7

105.2

1 1 0 .6

1 1 2 .1

114.1
117.1
116.5

101.4

1 0 2 .6

1 0 0 .1

1 0 0 .6

1 0 1 .0

100.7

102.3

1 0 0 .1

1 0 0 .6

101.9
100.7

102.7

107.0

1 1 0 .0

106.4
104.6
106.3
98.3

108.9
108.0
109.3
99.2

1 0 0 .1

1 0 0 .6

1 0 1 .2

103.7

104.9

1 0 0 .8

1 0 2 .1

1 0 1 .8

1 0 2 .1

1 0 2 .1

1 0 0 .1

100.5
107.1

1 0 0 .8

102.7

110.4

102.3
115.0

106.5
104.8
106.5
98.5

109.0
108.4
109.5
99.4

110.9
112.4

114.6
117.7
117.0

1 0 1 .6

1 0 2 .8

103.6

105.3
105.2
104.4
109.1

109.4
106.8
108.4
113.8

113.8
107.0
110.7
118.0

101.4
101.7
103.7
103.0
104.3
102.3

103.6
103.6
107.3
104.4
107.8
104.5

104.0
106.6
109.5
101.4

103.7
110.3
107.0
105.4

-

1 1 1 .0

1 1 1 .6

-

105.0

106.6

-

1 0 2 .6

103.1
1 2 0 .1

Inputs:
8 6 .6

1 0 2 .6

99.4

1 1 2 .2

P rivate n o n fa rm b u s in es s

Productivity:
1 0 2 .6

99.8
98.8

103.0

1 2 0 .2

Inputs:
1 0 0 .1

102.9
1 0 2 .2

102.9
99.3

1 1 2 .6

M an u fa c tu rin g

Productivity:
1 0 2 .2
1 0 1 .8
1 0 1 .2

_
_
-

Inputs:

Combined units of all factor inputs.............................
- Data not available.

M onthly Labor Review
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August 2000

1 0 0 .1

93.1
91.9
96.9

-

41.

Annual indexes of productivity, hourly compensation, unit costs, and prices, selected years

[1992 = 100]
Ite m

1960

1970

1980

1989

1990

1991

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

B u s in e s s

Output per hour of all persons.......................................
Compensation per hour................................................
Real compensation per hour.........................................
Unit labor costs..............................................................
Unit nonlabor payments................................................
Implicit price deflator.....................................................

48.8
13.7
60.0
28.0
25.2
27.0

67.0
23.5
78.9
35.1
31.6
33.9

80.4
54.2
89.5
67.4
61.5
65.2

93.9
85.8
95.9
91.3
91.8
91.5

95.2
90.7
96.5
95.3
93.9
94.8

96.3
95.0
97.5
98.7
97.0
98.1

100.5
102.5
99.9
101.9
102.5

51.9
14.3
62.8
27.5
24.6
26.5

68.9
23.7
79.5
34.4
31.3
33.3

82.0
54.6
90.0
66.5
60.5
64.3

94.2
85.8
95.9
91.1
91.3
91.2

95.3
90.5
96.3
95.0
93.6
94.5

96.4
95.0
97.5
98.5
97.1
98.0

55.4
15.6
68.3
26.8
28.1
23.3
50.2
30.2
28.8

70.4
25.3
84.7
34.8
35.9
31.9
44.4
35.1
35.6

81 1
56.4
93.1
68.4
69.6
65.1

94

95 4
90.8
96.6
95.9
95.2
98.0
94.3
97.1
95.8

97 fi
95.2
97.8
98.8
97.5

41.9
14.9
65.2
35.5
26.8
30.2

54.3
23.7
79.5
43.7
29.4
34.9

1 0 2 .6

105.4
1 1 0 .1

106.4
104.0

106.7
99.3
104.1
109.4
106.0

100.5

1 0 1 .8

1 0 2 .8

1 0 2 .2

. 104.3
99.5
102.5
106.9
104.1

106.6
99.2
103.7
110.4
106.1

1 0 2 .2

101.9
104.5
99.7
1 0 2 .6

99.7
104.5
113.3
107.7

107.6
113.3
100.4
105.3
117.1
109.7

110.5
119.3
104.3
107.9
115.2

114.0
125.2
107.3
109.9
115.1

1 1 0 .6

1 1 1 .8

1 1 0 .2

113.4
124.4
106.5
109.7
116.8
112.3

N o n fa rm b u s in es s

Output per hour of all persons......................................
Compensation per hour................................................
Real compensation per hour.........................................
Unit labor costs..............................................................
Unit nonlabor payments................................................
Implicit price deflator.....................................................

99.6
101.7
103.0
1 0 2 .2

105.4
109.8
99.5
104.2
113.5
107.6

107.3
112.9
1 0 0 .0

105.1
118.0
109.8

118.6
103.8
107.7
116.3
1 1 0 .8

N o n fin a n c ia l c o rp o ra tio n s

Output per hour of all employees.................................
Compensation per hour................................................
Real compensation per hour.........................................
Total unit costs..............................................................
Unit labor costs............................................................
Unit nonlabor costs......................................................
Unit profits.....................................................................
Unit nonlabor payments................................................
Implicit price deflator.....................................................

6 8 .8
6 6 .0

68.4

6

8 6 .2

96.3
92.0
91.1
94.6
97.3
95.3
92.5

1 0 2 .1

mn s

1 fifi

?

104 3

1 0 2 .1

104.3
99.5

106.2
98.9

99.6

109.1
98.8

1 1 2 .0

1 0 1 .0

1 0 1 .1

1 0 2 .0

1 0 1 .2

99.3
101.4

101.3

1 0 1 .0

101.9

101.4

1 0 1 .6

1 0 0 .2

101.3
131.7
109.0
103.7

93.0
99.7
98.3

113.2
103.5

95.0
95.6
98.1

1 0 2 .0

1 0 0 .2

1 0 0 .8

1 0 0 .6

100.7

98.9
99.6

1 0 1 .0

100.4
102.9
101.9

1 0 2 .1

117.4
102.7
1 0 2 .2
1 0 2 .8

1 0 2 .2

1 0 0 .6

1 0 0 .8

1 0 0 .8

139.0

152.2
113.8
105.5

156.7
115.0
106.1

148.3
112.9
106.1

113.1
109.3
99.0
96.6

117.6
111.4
98.8
94.8
109.7
103.9

123.9
117.3

1 1 1 .6

105.1

123.2
105.5
102.9
103.4
101.7
146.5
113.1
106.6

M a n u fa c tu rin g

Output per hour of all persons......................................
Compensation per hour................................................
Real compensation per hour.........................................
Unit labor costs..............................................................
Unit nonlabor payments................................................
Implicit price deflator.....................................................

70.3
55.6
91.7
79.1
80.2
79.8

90.5
8 6 .6

96.8
95.8
95.4
95.5

92.9
90.8
96.6
97.7
99.6
98.9

102.7

100.9

105.2
105.6

109.3
107.9
100.4
98.7
107.2
103.9

1 1 0 .1

104.9

1 0 2 .6

94.6
104.6
100.7

131.6
123.2
105.5
93.6

_
-

- Data not available.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

M onthly Labor Review

A ugust 2000

95

Current Labor Statistics:

42.

Productivity Data

Annual indexes of output per hour for selected 3-digit sic industries

[1987= 100]
In d u s tr y

S IC

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

M in in g

102
104
122
131
142

109.2
101.5
111.7
101.0
101.3

106.6
113.3
117.3
98.0
98.7

102.7
122.3
118.7
97.0
102.2

100.5
127.4
122.4
97.9
99.8

115.2
141.6
133.0
102.1
105.0

118.1
159.8
141.2
105.9
103.6

126.0
160.8
148.1
112.4
108.7

117.2
144.2
155.9
119.4
105.4

116.5
138.3
168.0
123.9
107.2

118.9
159.0
176.6
125.2
114.0

117.5
186.3
187.3
128.7
111.9

Meat products.....................................................
Dairy products.....................................................
Preserved fruits and vegetables...........................
Grain mill products..............................................
Bakery products..................................................

201
202
203
204
205

100.1
108.4
97.0
101.3
96.8

99.2
107.7
97.8
107.6
96.1

97.1
107.3
95.6
105.4
92.7

99.6
108.3
99.2
104.9
90.6

104.6
111.4
100.5
107.8
93.8

104.3
109.6
106.8
109.2
94.4

101.2
111.8
107.6
108.4
96.4

102.3
116.4
109.1
115.4
97.3

97.4
116.0
109.2
108.0
95.6

103.2
119.5
111.8
118.7
99.3

“

Sugar and confectionery products........................
Fats and oils.......................................................
Beverages...........................................................
Miscellaneous food and kindred products.............
Cigarettes............................................................

206
207
208
209
211

99.5
108.9
106.0
107.0
101.2

101.8
116.4
112.7
99.3
109.0

103.2
118.1
117.7
99.3
113.2

102.0
120.1
120.5
101.6
107.6

99.8
114.1
127.6
101.6
111.6

104.5
112.6
127.0
105.3
106.5

106.2
111.8
130.8
101.0
126.6

108.3
120.3
134.3
103.1
142.9

113.8
110.1
135.7
109.2
147.2

117.1
120.0
136.3
103.9
147.2

-

Broadwoven fabric mills, cotton............................
Broadwoven fabric mills, manmade.....................
Narrow fabric mills...............................................
Knitting mills.......................................................
Textile finishing, except wool...............................

221
222
224
225
226

99.6
99.2
108.4
96.3
90.3

99.8
106.3
92.7
108.0
88.7

103.1
111.3
96.5
107.5
83.4

111.2
116.2
99.6
114.1
79.9

110.3
126.2
112.9
119.5
78.6

117.8
131.7
111.4
128.1
79.3

122.1
142.5
120.1
134.3
81.2

134.0
145.3
118.9
138.6
78.5

137.3
147.6
126.3
150.5
79.2

130.9
161.9
107.7
150.2
94.0

"

Carpets and rugs................................................
Yarn and thread mills...........................................
Miscellaneous textile goods.................................
Men's and boys' suits and coats...........................
Men's and boys' furnishings.................................

227
228
229
231
232

98.6
102.1
101.6
105.1
100.1

97.8
104.2
109.1
97.7
100.1

93.2
110.2
109.2
93.9
102.1

89.2
111.4
104.6
90.2
108.4

96.1
119.6
106.5
89.0
109.1

97.1
126.6
110.4
97.4
108.4

93.3
130.7
118.5
97.7
111.7

95.8
137.4
123.7
92.5
123.4

100.2
147.4
123.1
97.4
134.7

100.3
155.5
117.9
130.3
152.4

-

Women's and misses' outerwear..........................
Women's and children’s undergarments...............
Hats, caps, and millinery.....................................
Miscellaneous apparel and accessories...............
Miscellaneous fabricated textile products.............

233
234
235
238
239

101.4
105.4
99.0
101.3
96.6

96.8
94.6
96.4
88.4
95.7

104.1
102.1
89.2
90.6
99.9

104.3
113.6
91.1
91.8
100.7

109.4
117.4
93.6
91.3
107.5

121.8
124.5
87.2
94.0
108.5

127.4
138.0
77.7
105.5
107.8

135.5
161.3
84.3
116.8
109.2

141.6
174.5
82.2
120.1
105.6

151.5
196.3
83.5
105.2
117.0

"

Logging..............................................................
Sawmills and planing mills...................................
Millwork, plywood, and structural members..........
Wood containers................................................
Wood buildings and mobile homes......................

241
242
243
244
245

93.7
100.7
98.8
103.1
97.8

89.4
99.6
97.1
108.8
98.8

86.3
99.8
98.0
111.2
103.1

86.0
102.6
98.0
113.1
103.0

96.2
108.1
99.9
109.4
103.1

88.6
101.9
97.0
100.1
103.8

87.8
103.3
94.5
100.9
98.3

86.0
110.2
92.7
106.1
97.0

85.4
115.6
92.4
106.7
96.7

71.9
117.5
89.9
106.6
101.1

-

Miscellaneous wood products.............................
Household furniture............................................

249
251
252
253
254

95.9
99.4
94.3
109.6
95.7

102.4
102.0
97.5
113.7
92.4

107.7
104.5
95.0
119.8
95.6

110.5
107.1
94.1
120.2
93.0

114.2
110.5
102.5
140.6
102.7

115.3
110.6
103.2
161.0
107.4

111.8
112.5
100.5
157.4
98.9

115.4
116.9
101.1
173.3
101.2

114.4
121.6
106.4
181.5
97.5

123.1
121.8
117.9
186.5
121.4

-

259
261
262
263
265

103.6
99.6
103.9
105.5
99.7

101.9
107.4
103.6
101.9
101.5

103.5
116.7
102.3
100.6
101.3

102.1
128.3
99.2
101.4
103.4

99.5
137.3
103.3
104.4
105.2

103.6
122.5
102.4
108.4
107.9

104.7
128.9
110.2
114.9
108.4

110.0
131.£
118.6
119.5
105.1

113.2
132.6
111.6
118.0
106.3

102.2
104.4
107.0
124.2
110.1

•

101.1
96.9
97.9
99.1
96.7

101.6
95.2
98.3
94.1
89.0

101.4
90.6
93.9
96.6
92.2

105.3
85.8
89.5
100.8
95.9

105.5
81.5
92.9
97.7
105.8

107.9
79.4
89.5
103.5
104.5

110.6
79.9
81.9
103.0
97.5

113.3
79.0
87.8
101.6
94.8

113.6
77.4
89.1
99.3
93.6

121.7
79.0
100.1
102.2
114.5

-

Miscellaneous publishing....................................

267
271
272
273
274

Greeting cards....................................................
Blankbooks and bookbinding..............................
Printing trade services........................................

275
276
277
278
279

100.0
98.7
100.1
95.6
99.9

101.1
89.7
109.1
94.2
94.3

102.5
93.0
100.6
99.4
99.3

102.0
89.1
92.7
96.1
100.6

108.0
94.5
96.7
103.6
112.0

106.9
91.1
91.4
98.7
115.3

106.5
82.0
89.0
105.4
111.0

107.2
76.9
92.5
108.7
116.7

108.3
75.2
90.8
114.5
126.2

109.2
78.9
92.2
115.3
124.2

281
282
283
284
285

105.7
98.8
101.0
102.0
101.4

104.3
99.7
102.8
100.6
103.3

106.8
100.9
103.8
103.8
106.3

109.7
100.0
104.5
105.3
104.3

109.7
107.5
99.5
104.4
102.9

105.6
112.0
99.9
108.7
108.8

102.3
125.3
104.S
111.2
116.7

109.3
128.3
108.7
118.6
118.C

110.1
125.C
112.120.9
125.6

116.1
133.8
112.6
130.4
127.2

Copper ores........................................................
Gold and silver ores.............................................
Bituminous coal and lignite mining........................
Crude petroleum and natural gas.........................
Crushed and broken stone...................................
M a n u fa c tu r in g

Public building and related furniture.....................
Partitions and fixtures..........................................
Miscellaneous furniture and fixtures....................
Paper mills.........................................................
Paperboard mills................................................
Paperboard containers and boxes......................
Miscellaneous converted paper products............
Newspapers.......................................................
Periodicals.........................................................

Industrial Inorganic chemicals.............................
Plastics materials and synthetics.........................
Soaps, cleaners, and toilet goods.......................
Paints and allied products...................................
See footnotes at end of table.

96
M onthly Labor Review

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

August 2000

"

“

-

-

-

-

_
-

“
-

42. Continued-Annual indexes of output per hour for selected 3-digit sic industries
[1987 = 100]
Industry

SIC

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

Industrial organic chemicals...............................
Agricultural chemicals........................................
Miscellaneous chemical products........................
Petroleum refining..............................................
Asphalt paving and roofing materials...................

286
287
289
291
295

109.9
103.7
95.4
105.3
98.3

110.4
104.3
95.2
109.6
95.3

101.4
104.7
97.3
109.2
98.0

95.8
99.5
96.1
106.6
94.1

111.3
100.4

1 2 0 .1

Miscellaneous petroleum and coal products........
Tires and inner tubes.........................................
Hose and belting and gaskets and packing..........
Fabricated rubber products, n.e.c........................
Miscellaneous plastics products, n.e.c.................

299
301
305
306
308

98.4
102.9
103.7
104.2
100.5

101.9
103.8
96.3
105.5
1 0 1 .8

94.8
103.0
96.1
109.0
105.7

90.6
102.4
92.4
109.9
108.2

Footwear, except rubber..............................
Luggage.............................................................
Handbags and personal leather goods................
Flat glass......................................................
Glass and glassware, pressed or blown...............

314
316
317
321
322

101.3
93.7
98.5
91.9

1 0 1 .1

1 0 1 .1

104.8
93.1
90.7

1 0 0 .6

1 0 0 .2

106.2
96.5
84.5
104.8

94.4
100.3
98.7
83.6
102.3

Products of purchased glass...............................
Cement, hydraulic....................................
Structural day produds......................................
Pottery and related produds...............................
Concrete, gypsum, and plaster produds.............

323
324
325
326
327

Miscellaneous nonmetallic mineral produds........
Blast furnace and basic steel produds.................
Iron and steel foundries...............................
Primary nonferrous metals..................................
Nonferrous rolling and drawing............................

329
331
332
333
335

Nonferrous foundries (castings)...........................
Miscellaneous primary metal produds.................
Metal cans and shipping containers.....................
Cutlery, handtools, and hardware.........................
Plumbing and heating, except eledric..................

336
339
341
342
343

Fabricated strudural metal produds....................
Screw machine produds, bolts, etc.....................
Metal forgings and stampings..............................
Metal services, n.e.c............................................
Ordnance and accessories, n.e.c.........................

95.9
103.2
98.8
99.6

90.1

92.2
103.8
107.1
108.0

101.5
107.8
97.8
115.2
114.4

104.2
116.5
99.7
123.1
116.7

96.3
124.1
102.7
119.1
120.7

87.4
131.1
104.6
121.5
120.9

104.2
90.7

113.0
92.3

92.7
108.9

105.2
89.5
97.8
97.7
108.7

97.6
112.9

117.1
90.5
81.8
99.6
115.7

106.2
119.9
106.8
100.3
104.6

105.9
125.6
114.0
108.4
101.5

104.5
133.5
1 1 2 .1

106.3
142.4
113.0
105.3

1 0 1 .8

1 1 1 .2

103.1
97.1
102.4

1 0 1 .2

95.5
108.0
105.4
106.1
93.6

95.4
109.6
106.1
102.3
92.7

94.0
107.8
104.5
110.7
91.0

104.3
117.1
107.2
101.9
96.0

106.6
106.5
97.8
103.7

105.1
105.0
108.5
101.7
101.5

104.0
113.7
117.6
97.3

103.6
109.1
122.9
96.8

103.6
114.5
127.8

1 0 2 .6

1 0 2 .0

98.4

1 0 2 .0

344
345
346
347
348

100.4
98.5
101.5
108.3
97.7

96.9
96.1
99.8
102.4
89.8

98.8
96.1
95.6
104.7
82.1

1 0 0 .0

103.9
102.3
103.7

104.8
104.4
108.7

1 1 1 .6

1 2 0 .6

8 8 .6

84.6

Miscellaneous fabricated metal produds.............
Engines and turbines.....................................
Farm and garden machinery...........................
Construdion and related machinery....................
Metalworking machinery.....................................

349
351
352
353
354

101.4
106.8
106.3
106.5

95.9
110.7
110.7
108.3
103.5

97.5
106.5
116.5
107.0

97.4
105.8
112.9
99.1
96.4

Special Industry machinery..................................
General industrial machinery...............................
Refrigeration and service machinery....................
Industrial machinery, n.e.c...................................
Eledric distribution equipment..........................

355
356
358
359
361

108.3
101.5
106.0
107.1
105.0

107.5
101.5
103.6
107.3
106.3

1 0 1 .6

1 0 1 .6

100.7
109.0
106.5

104.9
117.0
119.6

Eledrical industrial apparatus..............................
Household appliances.........................................
Eledric lighting and wiring equipment..................
Communications equipment.................................
Miscellaneous eledrical equipment & supplies......

362
363
364
366
369

104.6
103.0
101.9
110.5

107.4
104.7

107.7
105.8
99.9
121.4
90.6

107.1
106.5
97.5
124.5
98.6

117.1
115.0
105.7
146.7
101.3

Motor vehicles and equipment.............................
Aircraft and parts................................................
Ship and boat building and repairing....................
Railroad equipment............................................
Motorcycles, bicycles, and parts........................
Guided missiles, space vehicles, parts.................

371
372
373
374
375
376

103.2

102.4
98.9
103.7
141.1
93.8
116.5

96.6
108.2
96.3
146.9
99.8
110.5

104.2
112.4
102.7
147.9
108.4
110.5

Search and navigation equipment.......................
Measuring and controlling devices.......................
Medical instruments and supplies.........................
Ophthalmic goods.............................................
Photographic equipment & supplies.....................

381
382
384
385
386

112.7
107.0
116.9

122.1

1 2 1 .2

118.9
113.9
118.7
125.1

107.8

1 1 0 .2

103.0
1 1 2 .6

104.0
107.8
95.5
1 0 2 .6

1 0 1 .0

104.6
105.9
1 0 2 .1

106.5
105.4

1 0 2 .8

1 0 0 .6

99.4
113.5
92.6
104.1
104.8
103.9
105.2
1 1 2 .6

105.6

1 0 0 .2

107.2
99.6
103.3
98.2
97.6
135.3
94.6
1 1 0 .6

105.8
1 02.1

107.9
123.3
113.0

1 0 1 .1

97.9
92.9
99.4
81.5

108.3

1996

98.6
108.5
107.8
132.3

101.5
115.1
111.4
99.5
102.5

1 0 0 .8

1995

99.9
105.0
105.7
123.8
104.9

92.6
112.4
109.6
98.6
102.3

1 1 0 .2

97.7
108.3
109.8
95.8

94.6
99.5

1994

1 0 0 .1

1 2 1 .0

1 2 0 .2

.

142.0
113.1

149.2

_

1 2 0 .8

-

87.1
138.8
107.4

97.2
148.5
112.5
125.4
130.1

1 2 1 .0

124.7
126.1
1 1 0 .6

83.2
101.5
121.4
1 2 2 .0

109.3
104.5

128.7
119.6
119.3
107.3

107.8
142.7
112.7

110.4
155.1
116.2

1 1 2 .6

104.0

1 1 2 .1

134.5
140.9
109.2
109.1

117.8
152.2
144.2
111.3
109.2

122.3
149.6
155.2
118.2
118.6

126.4
140.9
160.8
113.1
127.2

107.7
107.2
108.5
123.0
83.6

105.8
109.7
109.3
127.7
87.6

106.5

1 1 0 .0

1 1 0 .2

151.3

113.6
128.4
87.5

1 2 0 .2

123.5
100.5

103.2
122.3
125.0
117.7
109.9

106.6
122.7
134.7
114.8

108.3
136.6
137.2
123.3
114.9

106.2
134.2
141.0
131.8
118.6

1 2 1 .2

1 2 2 .2

134.0
109.4
114.7
141.4
143.9

130.1

106.7
110.7
127.4
131.8

132.3
109.0
112.7
138.8
143.0

132.9
123.4
107.8
150.3
108.2

134.9
131.4
113.4
166.0
110.5

150.8
127.3
113.7
170.9
114.1

154.3
127.4
116.9
190.3
123.1

106.2
115.2
106.2
151.0
130.9

106.7
107.8
98.0
150.0
120.3

1 2 2 .1

108.8
109.6
103.8
152.5
125.1
118.9

1 2 1 .0

107.2
113.0
99.2
148.3
125.5
129.4

116.5
114.0
104.3
183.2
120.5
126.6

129.1
125.2
127.3
157.8
126.9

132.1
135.0
126.7
160.6
132.7

149.5
147.8
131.5
167.2
129.5

142.2
151.9
139.8
188.2
128.7

148.9
144.3
146.3

113.6
104.8
108.6
118.5

1 2 2 .1

_

.

-

_
_
.

-

125.3
133.1
116.1
116.1
109.2

1 1 0 .8

108.5
111.3
132.3
104.0

_

129.5
136.4
109.7
107.6
128.2

99.2

1 0 2 .0

123.5
144.5
116.4

1 1 0 .1

1 1 1 .0

109.2
118.6
108.2
107.4

106.0

112.9
120.4

1 0 1 .2

107.9
98.3

103.3
113.9
104.3

106.1
124.3

1998

1 1 0 .0

112.7
160.9
121.7
116.0
112.3

1 0 1 .1

1 0 2 .0

8 6 .8

1 1 1 .2

99.0

1997

_

-

_

_
_
-

_

_
_

-

_
_

_

-

_
-

1 1 0 .1

114.8
129.7
143.9

-

163.9
138.1
121.4
2 2 1 .0

124.6

-

_

_
.
_

-

_
_

2 0 2 .6

_

1 2 1 .6

-

See footnotes at end ot table.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

M onthly Labor Review

A ugust 2000

97

Current Labor Statistics:

42.

Productivity Data

C o n tin u e d -A n n u a l indexes of output per hour for selected 3-digit SIC industries

[1987 = 100]
Industry

SIC

Jewelry, silverware, and plated ware......................
Musical instruments.................................................
Toys and sporting goods........................................
Pens, pencils, office, and art supplies....................
Costume jewelry and notions..................................
Miscellaneous manufactures..................................

391
393
394
395
396
399

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

78.8
119.9
144.1
142.2
1 1 2 .8

117.2
83.9
139.6
127.7
119.1
109.3

129.5
106.6
105.7

125.4
106.5
108.6

130.9
104.7

132.4
108.3

1 1 1 .6

1 1 1 .1

130.1
109.5
108.5

142.2

1 2 1 .8

85.6
126.8
125.6

148.1
109.6
86.7
135.0
137.1

159.5
105.8
84.4
150.5
158.6

1 0 2 .1

4213
431
4512,13,22 (pts.)

105.2
99.9
99.5

109.3
99.7
95.8

1 1 1 .1

104.0
92.9

116.9
103.7
92.5

123.4
104.5
96.9

481
483
484
491,3 (pt.)
492,3 (pt.)

106.2
103.1

1 1 1 .6

127.7
108.3
88.3
115.2

135.5
106.7
86.7

1 1 1 .1

Lumber and other building materials dealers.........
Paint, glass, and wallpaper stores.........................
Hardware stores.....................................................
Retail nurseries, lawn and garden supply stores....
Department stores...................................................

521
523
525
526
531

1 0 1 .0

Variety stores..........................................................
Miscellaneous general merchandise stores...........

533
539
541
542
546

101.9

New and used car dealers......................................
Auto and home supply stores.................................
Gasoline service stations.......................................
Men's and boys' wear stores..................................
Women's clothing stores........................................

551
553
554
561
562

103.4
103.2
103.0
106.0
97.8

Family clothing stores.............................................
Shoe stores.............................................................
Miscellaneous apparel and accessory stores.......
Furniture and homefurnishings stores...................
Household appliance stores..................................

565
566
569
571
572

1 0 2 .0

Radio, television, computer, and music stores......

109.5

1998

1 0 2 .6

96.7
96.0
104.9
111.3
1 1 0 .8

1997

86.9
113.6
135.2
143.7
108.1

95.8
96.9
109.7
116.8
106.7
109.2

1 0 2 .0

1996

1 0 0 .2

99.3
97.1
108.1
118.2
105.3
106.5

104.8
108.3

1995

99.5
88.7
109.7
129.9
129.0
106.1

96.7
95.6
114.2

102.9
96.1
106.0
112.9
93.8
100.9

1 0 0 .1
1 0 1 .8

1994

1 1 1 .6

115.8
107.7

-

"

Transportation
i rucwng, excepx local ..........................................
u.o. posxai service ...............................................
M ir iransporiaxion ..................................................

126.6
107.1
1 0 0 .2

utilities
Telephone communications....................................
Radio and television broadcasting.........................
Cable and other pay TV services............................
Electric utilities........................................................
Gas utilities..............................................................

1 0 2 .0

104.9
108.3

160.9

171.2

1 0 1 .1

1 0 0 .8

87.6
146.5
145.9

157.2
153.4

1 1 1 .2

105.8

119.8
106.1
87.5
113.4
109.6

99.1
101.7
115.2
103.4
97.0

103.6
106.0
110.5
83.9
94.2

101.3
99.4
102.5
88.5
98.2

105.4
106.5
107.2
100.4
100.9

110.5
114.7
105.8
106.6
105.7

118.3
130.2
112.7
116.6
108.6

117.6
135.3
108.5
117.2
110.9

121.7
140.2

1 2 2 .2

1 1 2 .1

1 1 1 .2

136.6
118.4

128.1
123.5

133.0
166.0
125.3
136.1
129.4

124.4
109.8
95.4
97.6
83.3

151.2
116.4
94.6
96.8
89.7

154.2

167.7
136.1
93.3
95.8
94.0

184.7
159.7
92.8
93.7
86.5

190.1
160.9
92.5
91.1
87.2

203.2
163.9
91.2
89.1
8 6 .8

229.2
164.9
89.4
81.1
81.7

247.6
168.2
89.2
84.7
75.4

262.5
189.9
90.2
89.9
65.0

102.5

106.1
102.7

106.5

108.7

1 1 2 .2

107.6
98.7
115.2
115.5
118.4

107.1
105.7
126.3
117.5
128.5

108.2
104.6
125.1
125.7
142.3

107.8
104.2
125.0
132.2
145.8

108.0
107.0
130.6
145.5
154.8

111.7
111.5
89.1
108.4
113.9

114.5
113.2
92.9
107.6
117.0

120.4
126.3
100.4
108.8

133.8
134.5

138.7

142.1
143.5
118.1
119.4
155.5

145.6
136.4
131.0

1 2 1 .2

138.8
146.9
127.1
118.6
141.8
204.6
99.5
109.6

215.1
100.5
115.4
108.9
138.0

258.9

165.5
115.8
139.5

123.7
177.2
113.4
147.3

131.5
193.5

105.5
129.3
103.5

129.7
109.7
108.7
126.6
106.3

133.0
107.9
108.0
133.7
107.5

133.0
108.8
113.5
153.4
108.4

114.6
99.7
119.5
101.4

127.6
97.1
114.1
100.5

149.C
101.3
115.2
99.5

153.0
107.0

106.2
99.7
107.7

113.3
104.9
92.5
1 1 0 .1

1 2 0 .6

1 1 0 .1

8 8 .0

i raae

Meat and fish (seafood) markets............................

Drug and proprietary stores...................................

Miscellaneous shopping goods stores..................
Fuel dealers............................................................

1 0 2 .8

108.6
106.7
99.2

1 0 0 .8

98.9
99.0
89.8

1 0 1 .6

1 2 1 .8

93.7
88.4
94.7
104.1
99.0
104.3
119.2
103.0

1 0 0 .0

109.7
118.2

1 0 2 .6

120.4
117.9
119.3

105.2
109.6
99.5

1 0 2 .6

102.7
96.3
98.6
98.5

104.9
107.2
95.2
100.9
103.5

104.5
106.1

1 0 2 .8

106.4
105.1
78.8
101.5
105.2

573
581
591
592
593

118.6

114.6

1 0 1 .1

102.5

137.8
102.5
103.6
108.4
110.4

1 0 2 .8

101.9
98.2
105.3

128.3
103.1
104.7
105.9
98.6

177.0

1 0 2 .2

119.6
104.0
103.6
105.2
100.3

152.7

1 0 2 .8

105.4
100.7
1 1 2 .1

105.7
99.1
115.4

196.7
100.9
106.9
103.7
117.3

594
596
598
599

100.7
105.6
95.6
105.9

104.2
108.8
84.4
113.7

105.0
109.3
85.3
103.2

102.7

106.5
127.5
92.7
117.3

111.9
143.3
100.7
125.0

117.8
146.1
114.2
126.2

602
701
721
722
723

1 0 2 .8

104.8
95.0
99.7
94.9
99.6

107.7
96.1

1 1 0 .1

724
726
753
783

108.8
102.5
105.7
107.1

1 1 1 .6

1 0 0 .2

97.9
108.1
114.3

90.9
106.9
115.8

1 0 1 .1

104.9
104.2
1 1 0 .8

92.0
103.1

113.7
101.5

8 8 .6
1 0 1 .8

1 2 2 .1

84.4
1 1 1 .6

1 2 2 .1
1 1 2 .0

1 1 2 .8

129.8
1 2 0 .0

143.8

1 2 1 .6

184.5

1 0 1 .1

117.7
113.9
158.4

1 1 2 .0

157.6

Finance ana services

Laundry, cleaning, and garment services.............
Photographic studios, portrait...............................

Funeral services and crematories........................
Automotive repair shops.......................................
Motion picture theaters.........................................

Refers to output per employee.
“ Refers to ouput per full-time equivalent employee year on fiscal basis.

M onthly Labor Review
98

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

August 2000

97.6
97.2
1 0 0 .1

95.1

1 0 1 .8

96.6
96.8

99.1
99.2
92.8
94.8

107.8
98.3
97.7
99.6

118.5
106.2
98.9
105.9
95.7

121.7
109.6
104.0
117.4
99.8

94.1
89.5
98.7
116.C

1 1 2 .1

1 2 0 .8

103.2
103.C

98.2
104.C
109.8

117.7
103.8
112.3
106.8

1 1 1 .0

1 1 0 .8

n.e.c. = not elsewhere classified
- Data not available.

126.4
1 1 0 .1

1 2 1 .2

101.3

43. Unemployment rates, approximating U.S. concepts, in nine countries, quarterly data
seasonally adjusted
C o u n try

A n n u a l a v e ra g e
1998

1999

1998
I

II

1999
III

IV

I

II

III

IV

United States......................................

4.5

4.2

4.7

4.4

4.5

4.4

4.3

4.3

4.2

4.1

Canada...............................................
Australia.............................................
Japan................................................

8.3

8 .6

8.3

8 .2

8 .1

8 .0

7.6
7.2
4.7

7.8
7.4
4.8

7.6
7.1
4.8

7.0
7.0
4.7
1 0 .6

4.1

8 .1

8 .0

8 .1

3.7

4.2

4.3

7.7
4.5

7.9
7.5
4.7

France................................................

1 1 .8

1 2 .0

11.7

11.7

11.5

11.3

1 1 .2

1 1 .0

Germany............................................

9.4

9.0

9.9

9.5

9.1

9.1

9.0

9.0

9.1

Italy1 ...................................................
Sweden..............................................
United Kinqdom.................................

1 2 .0

11.5

1 1 .8

1 2 .0

1 2 .0

1 2 .0

11.9

1 1 .6

1 1 .6

8.4
6.3

7.1

8 .8

6.4

8.7
6.3

8.5
6.3

7.6
6.3

7.2
6.3

7.0

6 .1

7.0
5.9

1

1 1 .1

Quarterly rates are for the first month of the quarter.

NOTE: Quarterly figures for France, Germany, and the United Kingdom
are calculated by applying annual adjustment factors to current published


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

'

6 .1

9.0
1 1 .1

7.1
5.9

data, and therefore should be viewed as less precise indicators of
unemployment under U.S. concepts than the annual figures. See "Notes
on the data" for information on breaks in series. For further qualifications
and historical data, see Comparative Civilian Labor Force Statistics, Ten
Countries,1959-1998 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Oct. 22,1999).

M onthly Labor Review

A ugust 2000

99

Current Labor Statistics:

International Comparison

44. Annual data: Employment status of the working-age population, approximating U.S. concepts, 10 countries
[Numbers in thousands]
1999

1998

1997

1996

1995

1994

1993

1992

1991

1990

E m p lo y m e n t s ta tu s a n d c o u n tr y
C i v i l i a n la b o r f o r c e

United States'...........................................................
Canada.....................................................................
Australia....................................................................
Japan........................................................................
France.......................................................................
Germany"..................................................................
Netherlands...............................................................
Sweden.....................................................................
United Kingdom.........................................................

125,840
14,241
8,444
63,050
24,300

126,346
14,330
8,490
64,280
24,490

128,105
14,362
8,562
65,040
24,550

129,200
14,505
8,619
65,470
24,650

131,056
14,627
8,776
65,780
24,760

132,304
14,750
9,001
65,990
24,820

133,943
14,900
9,127
66,450
25,090

136,297
15,153
9,221
67,200
25,180

137,673
15,418
9,347
67,240
25,360

139,368
15,721
9,470
67,100
25,590

29,410
22,670
6,640
4,597
28,730

39,130
22,940
6,750
4,591
28,610

39,040
22,910
6,950
4,520
28,410

39,140
22,570
7,090
4,443
28,310

39,210
22,450
7,190
4,418
28,280

39,100
22,460
7,270
4,460
28,480

39,180
22,570
7,370
4,459
28,620

39,450
22,680
7,530
4,418
28,760

39,430
22,960
7,720
4,402
28,870

23,130
4,430
29,090

P a r tic ip a tio n ra te 3

United States'...........................................................
Canada.....................................................................
Australia....................................................................
Japan........................................................................
France.......................................................................
Germany"..................................................................
Italy...........................................................................
Sweden.....................................................................
United Kingdom.........................................................

66.5
67.1
64.6
62.6
56.0

66.4
65.7
63.9
63.4
55.8

66.3
65.4
63.6
63.3
55.6

6 6 .6

6 6 .6

6 6 .8

66.5
64.1
63.2
56.0

65.2
63.9
63.1
55.5

64.9
64.6
62.9
55.2

64.7
64.6
63.0
55.5

67.1
64.9
64.3
63.2
55.3

67.1
65.1
64.4
62.8
55.4

67.1
65.6
64.2
62.4
55.7

55.3
47.2
56.1
67.4
64.1

58.9
47.7
56.5
67.0
63.7

58.3
47.5
57.8
65.7
63.1

58.0
47.9
58.5
64.5
62.8

57.6
47.3
59.0
63.7
62.5

57.3
47.1
59.3
64.1
62.7

57.4
47.1
59.8
64.0
62.7

57.6
47.2
60.7
63.3
62.8

57.6
47.6
62.0
62.8
62.7

47.8
63.2
62.9

118,793
13,084
7,859
61,710

117,718
12,851
7,676
62,920
22,140

118,492
12,760
7,637
63,620
21,990

120,259
12,858
7,680
63,810
21,740

123,060
13,112
7,921
63,860
21,710

124,900
13,357
8,235
63,890
21,890

126,708
13,463
8,344
64,200
21,960

129,558
13,774
8,429
64,900
22,060

131,463
14,140
8,597
64,450
22,390

133,488
14,531
8,785
63,930
22,760

36,920
21,360
6,350
4,447
26,090

36,420
21,230
6,560
4,265
25,530

36,030
20,270
6,620
4,028
25,340

35,890
19,940
6,670
3,992
25,550

35,900
19,820
6,760
4,056
26,000

35,680
19,920
6,900
4,019
26,280

35,540
19,990
7,130
3,973
26,740

35,720

20,460
4,117
27,330

6 6 .2

E m p lo y e d

United States'...........................................................
Canada.....................................................................
Australia...................................................................
Japan........................................................................
France......................................................................
Germany"..................................................................
Italy...........................................................................
Netherlands..............................................................
Sweden....................................................................
United Kingdom.........................................................

2 2 ,1 0 0

27,950
21,080
6,230
4,513
26,740

2 0 ,2 1 0

7,410
4,034
27,050

E m p lo y m e n t-p o p u la tio n ra tio 4

United States'...........................................................
Canada....................................................................
Australia...................................................................
Japan.......................................................................
Germany".................................................................
Italy..........................................................................

62.8
61.7
60.1
61.3
50.9

61.7
59.7
57.9
61.8
50.6

61.5
58.4
57.0
62.0
49.9

52.6
43.9
52.6

55.5
44.5
53.2
64.9
58.0

54.4
44.0
54.5
62.0
56.7

2 ,2 1 0

8,628
1,480
814
1,360
2,350

1,590
410
84
1,990

1,580
400
144
2,520

9,613
1,602
925
1,420
2,560
? R?n
1,680
390
255
2,880

6 6 .1

United Kingdom........................................................

59.6

61.7
58.0
56.6
61.7
49.0
53.4
43.0
54.7
58.5
56.2

62.5
58.4
57.7
61.3
48.7

62.9
58.8
59.1
60.9
48.7

63.2
58.5
59.1
60.9
48.5

63.8
59.0
58.8
61.0
48.4

64.1
59.7
59.2
60.2
48.9

64.3
60.6
59.6
59.4
49.6

52.8
42.0
54.7
57.6
56.5

52.6
41.5
55.1
58.3
57.2

52.2
41.6
55.9
57.7
57.6

51.9
41.6
57.5
56.9
58.3

52.2
41.9
59.5
57.6
58.7

42.3
58.7
59.1

8,940
1,647
939
1,660
2,910

7,996
1,515
856
1,920
3,050

7,404
1,393
766

6,739
1,379
791
2,300
3,120

6 ,2 1 0

6 ,2 1 0

2,920

7,236
1,437
783
2,250
3,130

1,277
750
2,790
2,980

1,190
685
3,170
2,830

3 110
2,300
470
415
2,970

3 320
2,510
520
426
2,730

3,200
2,640
510
404
2,480

3,500
2,650
470
440
2,340

3,910
2,690
400
445

3,710
2,750
310
368
1,820

2,670
313
1,760

U n e m p lo y e d

United States'..........................................................
Australia...................................................................
France.....................................................................

Netherlands.............................................................

7,047
1,157
585
1,340

2 ,1 0 0

2 ,0 2 0

_

U n e m p lo y m e n t r a te

6.9

10.3
9.6

2.1

2.1

2.2

9.1

9.6

10.4

8.1

1 1 .2
1 0.8

fi
1.8

6.9
5.9
3.1

6.9

8.8

7.0
6 .2

United Kingdom.......................................................

7.C
5.e
5.e
10.1

6 9
11.4
10.9
2.5
1 1 .8

79

6 1

1 1 .8

5

82

8

1 0.2

1 1 .2

6.8

7.2
9.8
9.7

9.C
10.8

5.6
9.4
8.5
3.2

10.4
9.7
2.9
12.3

1 1.8

7.C
9.1
8.7

5.4
9.6

4.9
9.1

4.5
8.3

4.2
7.6
7.2
4.7

8 .6

8 .6

8 .0

3.4
12.5

3.4
12.4

1 1 .8

11.1

8.9
11.7
6.4
9.9

9.9
11.9
5.3

9.4
1 2 .C
4.C

10.1

&.A

9.0
11.5
7.1

6 .C

6.1

8.2

7.CI

4.1

' Data for 1994 are not directly comparable with data for 1993 and earlier years. For
3 Labor force as a percent of the working-age population,
additional Information, see the box note under "Employment and Unemployment Data"
4 Employment as a percent of the working-age population.
in the notes to this section.
2
Data from 1991 onward refer to unified Germany. See Comparative Civilian Labor Note: See "Notes on the data" for information on breaks in series for the United
States, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Dash indicates
Force Statistics, Ten Countries, 1959-1998, October 22, 1999, on the Internet at
data not available.
h t t p : //s t a t s .b ls .g o v /f ls d a t a .h t m .

100
M onthly Labor Review

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

August 2000

45.

Annual indexes of manufacturing productivity and related measures, 12 countries

[1992 = 100]_______________
Item a n d c o u n try

196 0

197 0

198 0

1 98 7

1 98 8

198 9

199 0

1991

199 3

1994

199 5

1 99 6

1 99 7

1998

O u tp u t p e r h o u r

United States..................................................
Canada..........................................................
Japan.............................................................
Denmark........................................................

40.7
14.0
18.0
29.9
2 1 .8

Italy................................................................
Netherlands.....................................................
Norway...........................................................
Sweden..........................................................
United Kingdom...............................................

29.2
19.6
18.6
36.7
27.6
31.2

59.2
38.0
32.9
52.7
43.1
52.0
36.8
38.1
57.8
52.8
44.7

71.9
75.3
63.9
65.4
90.3
66.7
77.2
64.1
69.2
76.7
74.0
56.1

94.4
91.3
81.2
88 9
90.6
81.8
88.1

85.1
91.6
93.3
90.1
79.4

98.0
91.1
84.8
92 0
94.1
87.4
91.5
86.7
93.7
92.1
90.8
82.3

.97.1
92.4
89.5
96 9
99.6
91.9
94 6
89.4
97.1
94.6
93.8
8 6 .2

97.8
95.3
95.4
96 8
99.1
93.5
99 0
92.5
98.6
96.6
95.0
88.3

98.3
95.1
99.4

102.1

99.6
96.9
101 9
95.2
99.6
97.5
95.0
92.2

104.5

102.5
100.5

1 0 0 .6
100 6

102.9
101.4
1 0 0 .6

106.7
104.0

108.3
106.2
1 0 1 .8

108 5
107 9
105.6
112.7
101.4
116.1
106.8

114.9
108.9
109.3

117.3
107.3
115.8

121.4

127.9
111.7
120.4

113.4
125.7
101.9
133.6
104.0

113.6
127.8
104.1
136.5
105.1

128.8
128.0

135.0
133.0
103.6

122.1
1 1 1 .0

109.3
117.7

110.3
119.7

1 0 2 .0

1 0 2 .0

122.4
104.8

125.4
103.2

119.6
118.8

1 2 1 .6

1 0 0 .6

106.7
104 2
117.8
104.5
92.5
106.7
108.4

95.8
110.4
114.1

132.9
108.2

140.3
109.6

146.4

103.7

105.5
115.4
91.5
89.5

105.6
119.0

O u tp u t

United States..................................................
Canada...........................................................
Japan.............................................................
Denmark.........................................................
France............................................................
Germany.........................................................
Italy.................................................................
Netherlands.....................................................
Sweden..........................................................
United Kingdom...............................................

-

34.2
10.7
30.7
40.8
31.0
41.5
21.4
31.7
56.5
46.5
67.7

-

60.5
38.8
57.6
6 8 .0

64.1
70.9
44.7
59.5
89.1
81.7
90.3

77.3
85.4
59.9
78.2
91.3
88.7
85.3
78.4
77.4
103.6
91.8
87.2

97.9
103.2
78.4
8 8 .8

99.3
87.2
8 8 .0
8 8 .2

89.5
110.7
107.7
94.4

104.5
109.3
84.6
93.3

104.0
1 1 0 .8

92.2
90.9
94.5
92.8
105 3

90.2
99.1
104.3
97.2
94.0
98.1
96.9
101 3

1 1 0 .2

101.4
106.6

1 0 0 .8

102.5
106.6
96.3
1 0 1 .0

102.7
99.1
99.1
99.6

98.7
98.8
101.4
100 7
101.7
99.8
1 0 2 .8

99.2

103.5
105.1
96.0
97 0
99.0
95.7
91.8
96.4
98.2

104.2

104 2
114.7
104.8
93.7
107.2
107.8

1 1 2 .2

113.2
95.4
101 4
109.3
100.3
93.5
1 0 2 .2

1 2 0 .2

100.1

1 0 0 .6

1 1 1 .6

1 1 0 .6

103.6

105.4

105.3

1 0 0 .0

101.3
101.4

115.7
106.1

130.1
107.8

107.1
119.9

104.8
111.9
100.9
104.3
103.7
105 9

100.4
103.8

101.4
1 0 2 .6

103.6
106.6
93.7
93.6
-

104.0
109.1
92.0
92.0

84.3
98.0
91.6
106.9
106.3
102.9

80.4
96.7
90.5
107.9
106.0
104.8
109.3

111.1

120.3
1 1 0 .2

126.5
114.6
100.7
112.5
116.6

1 1 0 .0

T o ta l h o u rs

United States...................................................
Canada...........................................................
Japan.............................................................
Belgium..........................................................
Denmark.........................................................
Germany..........................................................
Italy.................................................................
Netherlands.....................................................
Norway...........................................................
Sweden..........................................................
United Kingdom...............................................

92.1
84.1
76.3
170.7
136.5
142.1
142.3
109.0
170.6
154.0
168.3
217.3

104.4
102.1

102.3
174.7
129.0
148.7
136.3
1 2 1 .2

156.2
154.3
154.7
2 0 2 .1

107.5
113.5
93.8
119.7

103.8
113.0
96.6

1 2 0 .0

135.0
124.0
155.3

109.6
106.6
99.9
103.6
97.7
118.6
119.5
118.9

99.8
101.5
107.2
105.5
99.3
108.9
99.0
114.3
121.4
123.2

102.3
104.7
105 8
99.3
109.7
99.8
107.1
119.0
122.3

55.6
47.7
58.6
52.5
49.6

80.7
75.3
77.9
79.7
80.1

84.0
77.8
79.2
81.1
82.9

76.0
66.7
87.8
78.5
67.3
64.8

101.1

133.1
110.5
122.4
1 1 1 .8

1 0 0 .0

1 0 0 .8

1 0 2 .0

101.5
102.1

103 0
100.9
104.2

95.6
94.7
94.8

107.7
101.5
103.7
116.4
119.2

109.0
108.5

94.9
97.5

86.7
96.7
92.4
105.2
99.6
99.4

82.5
84.2
85.9
87.7

90.8
89.5
90.7
90.1
92.7

95.6
94.7
95.9
97.3
95.9

102.7
99.6
104.6
104.8
104.6

105.6
100.4
106.7
106.1
-

107.9
103.6
109.5
109.2
-

79.1
69.3
87.7
83.3
71.7
67.7

83.2
75.9
88.5
87.2
79.4
72.9

89.4
84.4
90.8
92 3
87.6
80.9

95.1
93.6
95.2
97 5
95.4
90.5

105.9
107.5
103.7
101 5
98.0
104.3

111.7
107.8
108.2

1 1 2 .8

85.7
85.5
93.4
8 8 .2

88.1

93.4
86.5
79.9
93.6
90.4
79.0
82.2

93.6
87.9
84.9
91.1
92.2
84.7
84.6

92.8
93.9
95.0
93.0
93.6
96.8
90.3
91.3
92.1
95.6
92.3
91.6

97.2
99.6
96.5
98.1
96.3
99.3
93.3
98.4
95.5

1 0 0 .6

88.1

89.2
89.2
94.0
88.7

97.6
94.5
104.9
97.9
93.0
96.8
103.6

100.4
98.2

85.7
83.9
92.4
77.0
79.0
82.9
76.9
75.6
83.2

89.2
91.0
86.3
72.3
72.6
77.7
73.0
76.2
75.5
82.9
76.4
78.5

92.8
97.2
83.1
89.5
91.3
94.1
87.3
93.8
88.9
95.0
90.8
92.5

97.2
105.0
90.9
92.3
90.8
93.1
87.8
97.6
89.8
95.7
96.6
98.2

100.1

1 0 1 .0
1 0 0 .8

91.3
93.6
96.9

-

102.1

1 1 2 .0

92.2
90.8
-

-

78.6
97.4
90.8
111.1

105.0
105.4

8 6.1

91.2
-

79.3
99.0
91.2
111.9
107.3
104.7

C o m p e n s a t io n p e r h o u r

United States...................................................
Canada...........................................................
Japan..............................................................
Belgium..........................................................
Denmark.........................................................

14.9
10.4
4.3
5.4
4.6
4.3

Germany.........................................................
Italy.................................................................
Netherlands.....................................................

8.1

Sweden...........................................................
United Kingdom...............................................
U n it la b o r c o s t s :

23.7
17.8
16.5
13.7
13.3
10.3
20.7
4.7

6.4
4.7
4.1
3.1

2 0 .2

6.3

53.6
28.2
64.4
39.0
37.4
33.2

25.5
30.9
30.1
15.4
19.5
27.8

30.0
43.3
41.7
25.2
24.0
39.8
12.7
52.9
20.4
20.5
14.1

77.2
63.3
91.7
80.3
55.0
61.2
69.4
44.0
93.0
50.8
50.6
59.1

85.5
82.5
96.0
89.7
88.4
96.2
86.3
78.3
95.9
84.1
74.7
81.6

34.7
15.3
27.0
20.3
23.0
17.1
24.9
25.7
17.8
23.0
19.2

77.2
65.4
51.3
88.3
58.9
76.7
59.6
63.3
82.3
63.9
69.6
77.8

85.5
75.2
84.2
77.2
77.9
84.7
74.9
74.4
83.2
77.5
68.5
75.7

1.6

1 1 .8
1 0 .8

8 6 .6

101.1

106.5

-

113.4
106.7
113.9
115.2
-

115.8
116.0
-

1 1 0 .6

123.7
120.9
113.2

126.6
125.9
115.8

127.6
124.8
118.3

109 2
106.2
107.4

113.4
108.2

118.3
111.4

121.5
117.8

93.2
95.8
95.8
97.6
92.7
95.3
107.5
109.6
94.6
111.4
90.4
104.8

92.9
96.2
93.8
94.6
95.9
91.2
103.9

93.4
99.2
96.2
94.7
94.0
89.4
100.4
109.8
92.5
121.4
89.0

117.7

1 0 2 .8

110.9
1 1 2 .0

119.4
1 1 0 .8

National currency basis

United States...................................................
Canada...........................................................
Japan..............................................................
Belgium...........................................................
Denmark.........................................................
France............................................................
Germany..........................................................
Italy.................................................................
Netherlands.....................................................
Norway...........................................................
Sweden...........................................................
United Kingdom...............................................
U.S. dollar basis
United States...................................................
Canada...........................................................
Japan..............................................................
Belgium...........................................................
Denmark.........................................................
France............................................................
Germany.........................................................
Italy.................................................................
Netherlands.....................................................
Norway...........................................................
Sweden...........................................................
United Kingdom...............................................

8 .0

34.4
12.9
14.9
9.8

1 0 0 .0

97.2
104.1
102.3
100.1
1 0 2 .2

105.3
104.4
102.3
100.9
91.8
100.3

102.1

96.0
102.9
87.0
99.7

93.9
95.2
100.1

96.4
93.8
94.1
105.9
103.2
94.0
107.1
8 6 .8

102.5

111.1

92.2
116.9
88.5
107.1

1 1 2.1

92.9
83.9
98.3
84.9
87.6
82.6
93.5
80.3
83.0
102.5
67.5
99.3

93.4
80.8
93.1
83.8
84.7
80.2
89.1
77.9
82.0
99.9
65.2
105.2

U n it la b o r c o s t s :

-

31.8
10.9
19.4
13.5
2 1.1

10.4
16.0
16.0
11.3
16.8
15.6

86.1

75.0
82.9

1 0 0 .6

91.1
118.8
95.1
93.2
95.5
99.4
81.8
96.8
88.3
6 8 .6

85.3

97.6
83.6
130.1
94.2
88.3
92.4
99.8
78.1
92.8
90.7
65.7
86.5

93.9
83.8
135.1
105.2
101.1

99.9
115.5
78.0
103.0
105.0
70.8
91.6

93.2
84.9
111.7
101.4
96.5
98.6
1 1 1 .6

87.5
98.6
107.1
78.5
95.6

- Data not available.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

M onthly Labor Review

August 2000

101

Current Labor Statistics:

46.

Injury and Illness

Occupational injury and illness rates by industry,' United States
In c id e n c e ra te s p er 1 0 0 fu ll-tim e w o rk e rs 3

Industry and type of case

1987

1988

1989

1

1990

1991

1992

1993 4 1994

4

1995 4

1996

4

1997 4 19984

P R IV A T E S E C T O R 5

Total cases..........................................................................
Lost workday cases................................................................
Lost workdays........................................................................

8.3
3.8
69.9

3.6
-

7.4
3.4
-

7.1
3.3
-

6.7
3.1
-

4.7
-

9.7
4.3
-

8.7
3.9
-

8.4
4.1
-

7.9
3.9
-

6 .2

5.4
3.2
-

5.9
3.7
-

4.9
2.9
-

8 .6

8 .6

8 .8

4.0
76.1

4.0
78.7

4.1
84.0

8.4
3.9
86.5

8.9
3.9
93.8

8.5
3.8
"

8.4
3.8
-

10.9
5.6

10.9
5.7
100.9

1 1 .6

1 0 .8

1 1 .6

11.2

1 0 .0

5.9
1 1 2 .2

5.4
108.3

5.4
126.9

5.0
-

8.1

A g r ic u lt u r e , f o r e s t r y , a n d f i s h in g 5

Total cases..........................................................................
Lost workday cases................................................................
Lost workdays........................................................................

1 1 .2

5.7
94.1

1 0 1 .8

8.5
4.9
144.0

8.5
4.8
137.2

8.3
5.0
119.5

7.4
4.5
129.6

7.3
4.1
204.7

6 .8

5.1
152.1

3.9
-

6.3
3.9
-

3.9
-

14.7

14.6

14.3

1 1 .8

1 0 .6

6 .8

135.8

142.2

143.3

148.1

13.1
5.8
161.9

1 2.2

6 .8

14.2
6.7
147.9

13.0

6 .8

5.5
-

5.5
-

4.9
-

9.9
4.5
-

9.5
4.4
-

4.0
-

14.2
6.5
134.0

14.0
6.4
132.2

13.9
6.5
137.3

13.4
6.4
137.6

1 2.0

1 2 .2

5.5
132.0

5.4
142.7

11.5
5.1
-

10.9
5.1
-

9.8
4.4
-

9.0
4.0
-

8.5
3.7
-

8.4
3.9
-

14.5
6.4
139.1

15.1
7.0
162.3

13.8
6.5
147.1

13.8
6.3
144.6

1 2 .8

12.1

11.1

1 0 .2

6 .0

5.1

5.0

9.9
4.8

9.0
4.3

8.7
4.3

4.1

160.1

5.4
165.8

15.0
7.1
135.7

14.7
7.0
141.1

14.6
6.9
144.9

14.7
6.9
153.1

13.5
6.3
151.3

13.8

1 2 .8

12.5
5.8

11.1

9.1

5.0

10.4
4.8

1 0 .0

5.8

168.3

11.9
5.3
95.5

13.1
5.7
107.4

13.1
5.8
113.0

13.2
5.8
120.7

12.7
5.6
121.5

12.5
5.4
124.6

12.1

1 2 .2

1 1 .6

1 0 .6

5.3

5.5

5.3

4.9

10.3
4.8

9.7
47

12.5
5.4
96.8

14.2
5.9

14.1

14.2

13.1
5.4

13.5
5.7

5.6

5.1

11.3
5.1

10.7
50

116.5

123.3

13.4
5.5
126.7

1 1 .6

6 .0

13.6
5.7
122.9

1 2 .8

6 .0

18.4
9.4
177.5

18.1

16.3
7.6
165.8

15.9
7.6

15.7
7.7

14.9
7.0

14.2

13.5
6.5

13.2

6 .8

172.5

16.8
8.3
172.0

16.9
7.8

15.9
7.2

14.8

14.6
6.5

15.0
7.0

13.9
6.4

1 2 .2

1 2 .0

11.4

5.4

5.8

13.8
6.3

13.2
6.5

12.3
5.7

12.4

1 1 .8

6 .0

5.7

15.0
7.2

14.0

14.2
6.4

13.9

6 .2

9.5

M in in g

Total cases..........................................................................
Lost workday cases................................................................
Lost workdays........................................................................

8 .8

C o n s t r u c t io n

Total cases..........................................................................
Lost workday cases................................................................
Lost workdays........................................................................
General building contractors:
Total cases..........................................................................
Lost workday cases................................................................
Lost workdays........................................................................
Heavy construction, except building:
Total cases..........................................................................

Special trades contractors:
Total cases..........................................................................

6.1

6.1

8 .8

8 .2

4.7

M a n u f a c t u r in g

Total cases..........................................................................

Durable goods:
Total cases..........................................................................
Lost workdays.......................................................................
Lumber and wood products:
Total cases........................................................................

Furniture and fixtures:
Total cases.......................................................................

Stone, clay, and glass products:
Total cases.......................................................................

Primary metal industries:
Total cases.......................................................................

Fabricated metal products:
Total cases.......................................................................

Industrial machinery and equipment:
Total cases.......................................................................

111.1

18.9
9.6
176.5

19.5
189.1

15.4
6.7
103.6

16.6
7.3
115.7

16.1
7.2

14.9
7.1
135.8

16.0
7.5
141.0

15.5
7.4
149.8

15.4
7.3
160.5

17.0
7.4
145.8

19.4

18.7

19.0

8 .2

8.1

8.1

1 0 .0

8 .8

6 .6

128.4
14.8

13.6

6 .8

6.1

156.0

152.2
17.5
7.1
175.5

17.0
7.3

16.8
7.2

16.5
7.2

15.0

16.8

16.2
6.7

16.4
6.7

15.8
6.9

1 4 .4

ii .i
4.2

1 1 .6

1 1 .2

9 .9

1 0 .0

4 .4

4 .4

4.0

4.1

161.3

168.3

180.2

17.7
7.4
169.1

18.8
138.8

18.5
7.9
147.6

18.7
7.9
155.7

17.4
7.1
146.6

144.0

11.3

12.1

12.1

1 2 .0

1 1 .2

11.1

4 .4

4.7
82.8

4 .4

8 6 .8

4.7
88.9

8 6 .6

4.2
87.7

9.1
3.9
77.5

9.1
3.8
79.4

8 .6

8A

8.2

8 .2

6 .6

3.7
83.0

3.6
81.2

3.5

3.6

7.6
3.3

6 .8

3.3
64.6

3.1

3.1

17.7

17.7
6 .8

18.7
7.1
186.6

19.6
7.8

18.6
7.9

16.3
7.0

138.6

18.3
7.0
166.1

18.5
7.1

134.2

17.6
6.9
153.7

15.4

6 .6

5.6
2.5
55.4

5.£
2.7
57.8

6 .C
2.7
64.4

5.S
2.7
65.3

5.6
2.5

5.£
2.7

5.2
2.4

5.1
2.3

4.E
2.3

11.1

11.3
5.1
113.1

11.3
5.1
104.0

10.7
5.0
108.2

1 0 .0

9 .9

9.1

4.6

4.5

4.3

9.5
4.4

8.9
4.2

17.0
7.2
121.9

72.7

8 .0

4.8

6 .6

6 .8

1 1.8

Electronic and other electrical equipment:
7.2
3.1

8 .0

Transportation equipment:
13.5
5.7
105.7

6 .6

Instruments and related products:

Lost workdays....................................................................
Miscellaneous manufacturing industries:
Total cases.......................................................................
Lost workdays....................................................................

5.E
2.4
43.9

51.5

10.7
4.6
81.5

11.3
5.1
91.0

See footnotes at end of table.

102
M onthly Labor Review

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

August 2000

6.1
2 .6

5.1
97.6

8.1

46.

Continued— Occupational injury and illness rates by industry,' United States
I n c id e n c e r a t e s p e r 1 0 0 f u l l - t im e w o r k e r s 3

industry ana type ot case
Nondurable goods:
Total cases..........................................................................
Lost workday cases...............................................................
Lost workdays.......................................................................
Food and kindred products:
Total cases.......................................................................
Lost workday cases............................................................
Lost workdays....................................................................
Tobacco products:
Total cases.......................................................................
Lost workday cases............................................................
Lost workdays....................................................................
Textile mill products:
Total cases........................................................................
Lost workday cases............................................................
Lost workdays....................................................................
Apparel and other textile products:
Total cases........................................................................
Lost workday cases............................................................
Lost workdays....................................................................
Paper and allied products:
Total cases........................................................................
Lost workday cases.............................................................
Lost workdays....................................................................
Printing and publishing:
Total cases........................................................................
Lost workday cases.............................................................
Lost workdays....................................................................

1987

1988

1989

1

1990

1991

1992

11.4
5.4
101.7

5.5
107.8

11.7
5.6
116.9

11.5
5.5
119.7

1 2 1 .8

18.5
9.2
169.7

18.5
9.3
174.7

2 0 .0

2 0 2 .6

19.5
9.9
207.2

2.5
46.4

9.3
2.9
53.0

8.7
3.4
64.2

7.7
3.2
62.3

9.0
3.6
65.9

9.6
4.0
78.8

10.3
4.2
81.4

9.6
4.0
85.1

7.4
3.1
59.5

8.1

8 .6

8 .8

3.5
6 8 .2

3.8
80.5

13.1
5.9
124.3

12.7
5.8
132.9

6 .6

11.1

5.1
93.5
17.7
8 .6

153.7
8 .6

1 2 .8

5.8
122.3

1 1 .6

4

1994

4

1995

4

1996

4

4

1998

4

10.5
5.1
-

9.9
4.9
-

9.2
4.6
-

4.4
-

18.8
9.5
211.9

17.6
8.9

17.1
9.2

16.3
8.7
-

15.0

14.5

8 .0

8 .0

6.4

6 .0

5.3
2.4

6.7

2.4
42.9

5.8
2.3
-

5.6

2 .8

2 .6

2 .8

5.9
2.7

6.4
3.1
-

4.4
88.3

9.9
4.2
87.1

9.7
4.1
-

8.7
4.0

4.1

7.8
3.6

6.7
3.1

6.7
3.4
-

3.9
92.1

9.2
4.2
99.9

9.5
4.0
104.6

9.0
3.8
-

8.9
3.9
-

3.6
-

7.4
3.3
-

7.0
3.1

12.1

1 1.2

1 1 .0

5.5
124.8

5.0
122.7

5.0
125.9

9.9
4.6
-

9.6
4.5

8.5
4.2
-

7.9
3.8
-

7.3
3.7

6.9
3.3
69.8

6.7
3.2
74.5

7.3
3.2
74.8

6.9
3.1
-

6.7
3.0
-

6.4
3.0
-

6 .0
2 .8

5.7
2.7

-

-

6 .0

5.9
2.7
-

5.7

2 .8

2 .8

5.5
2.7
-

4.8
2.4
-

4.8
2.3
-

5.2
2.5
-

4.7
2.3
-

4.8
2.4
-

4.6
2.5
-

4.3
-

3.5
1.5
-

13.9
6.5
-

14.0
6.7

12.9
6.5
-

12.3
6.3
-

11.9
5.8
-

11.5
5.5
-

1 0 .6

9.5
4.5
-

52.0
10.1

8 .2

8 .2

3.2
59.8

6.9
3.3
63.8

Chemicals and allied products:
Total cases........................................................................
Lost workday cases.............................................................
Lost workdays....................................................................

7.0
3.1
58.8

7.0
3.3
59.0

7.0
3.2
63.4

6.5
3.1
61.6

6.4
3.1
62.4

64.2

Petroleum and coal products:
Total cases........................................................................
Lost workday cases............................................................
Lost workdays....................................................................

7.3
3.1
65.9

7.0
3.2
68.4

6 .6

6 .6

6 .2

5.9

3.3

3.1
77.3

2.9

2 .8

68.1

6 8 .2

71.2

15.9
7.6
130.8

16.3

16.2
8 .0

142.9

147.2

16.2
7.8
151.3

15.1
7.2
150.9

14.5

8.1

12.4
5.8
114.5

11.4
5.6
128.2

13.6
6.5
130.4

12.1

12.1

12.1

1 2 .0

5.9
152.3

12.5
5.9
140.8

5.4
128.5

.5.5
-

5.3
-

11.4
4.8
-

10.7
4.5
-

8.4
4.9
108.1

8.9
5.1
118.6

9.2
5.3
121.5

9.6
5.5
134.1

9.3
5.4
140.0

9.1
5.1
144.0

9.5
5.4
-

9.3
5.5
-

9.1
5.2
-

8.7
5.1
-

7.7
3.4
56.1

7.8
3.5
60.9

8 .0

7.9
3.5
65.6

7.6
3.4
72.0

8.4
3.5
80.1

8.1

3.6
63.5

3.4
-

7.9
3.4
-

7.5
3.2
-

2.9
-

7.4
3.7
64.0

7.6
3.8
69.2

7.7
4.0
71.9

7.4
3.7
71.5

7.2
3.7
79.2

7.6
3.6
82.4

7.8
3.7
-

7.7
3.8

7.5
3.6

-

-

7.8
3.3
52.9

7.9
3.4
57.6

8.1

8.1

3.4
63.2

7.7
3.3
69.1

8.7
3.4
79.2

8 .2

3.4
60.0

3.3
-

7.9
3.3
-

7.5
3.0
-

2.4
1.1
24.1

2.9

2.9
1.2

-

2.7
1.1
-

2 .6

1.2

32.9

6 .8

153.3

8 .8

-

6.7
3.1
55.1

Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products:
Total cases........................................................................
Lost workday cases.............................................................
Lost workdays.....................................................................
Leather and leather products:
Total cases........................................................................
Lost workday cases.............................................................
Lost workdays.....................................................................

1997

10.7
5.0
-

9.9

11.3
5.3

1993

-

2 .2

4.3
-

8.5
4.5
i3.e
7.5
-

6.5
2 .£

7.1
3.7
5.4
2.E
4.5
2.1

-

T r a n s p o r t a t io n a n d p u b lic u t ilit ie s

Total cases..........................................................................
Lost workday cases................................................................
Lost workdays........................................................................

4.8
-

7.5
4.5
-

6.7
3.0
-

6.5
2.5
-

3.4

6.5
3.2

6.5
3.5

-

-

-

8 .2

W h o le s a le a n d r e ta il t r a d e

Total cases..........................................................................
Lost workday cases................................................................
Lost workdays........................................................................
Wholesale trade:
Total cases..........................................................................
Lost workday cases................................................................
Lost workdays........................................................................
Retail trade:
Total cases..........................................................................
Lost workday cases................................................................
Lost workdays........................................................................

6 .8

6 .6

6.9

6 .8

2 .8

2.9
-

-

6.5
2.7
-

F in a n c e , i n s u r a n c e , a n d r e a l e s t a t e

Total cases..........................................................................
Lost workday cases................................................................
Lost workdays........................................................................

2 .0

2 .0

2 .0

.9
14.3

.9
17.2

.9
17.6

2.4
1.1
27.3

5.5
2.7
45.8

5.4

5.5
2.7
51.2

6 .0

6 .2

6.5

6.4

6 .0

2 .8

7.1
3.0

6.7

2 .8

2 .8

2 .8

2 .8

2 .6

47.7

56.4

60.0

6 8 .6

-

-

-

-

1.0

-

2.4
.9
-

2 .2

0.9
-

1.£
0.7
-

S e r v ic e s

Total cases..........................................................................
Lost workday cases................................................................
Lost workdays........................................................................

2 .6

Data for 1989 and subsequent years are based on the Standard Industrial Class­
ification 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.
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.
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:
1


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

5.6
2.5
-

5.5
2.4
-

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).
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.
- Data not available.

M onthly Labor Review

August 2000

103

Current Labor Statistics:

47.

Injury and Illness

Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, 1993-98
Fatalities
E ven t o r e x p o s u re 1

1998

1 9 9 3 -9 7

19972

A v e ra g e

Num ber

Num ber

Total.......................................................................................

6,335

6,238

T r a n s p o r t a t io n in c i d e n t s ....................................................................................

2,611
1,334
652
109
234
132
249
360
267
388
214
315
373
106
83

2,605
1,393
640
103
230
142
282
387
298
377
216
261
367
109
93

1,241
995
810
75

1 ,1 1 1

Highway incident...........................................................................
Collision between vehicles, mobile equipment...........................
Moving in same direction.........................................................
Moving in opposite directions, oncoming................................
Moving in intersection..............................................................
Vehicle struck stationary object or equipment............................
Noncollision incident...................................................................
Jackknifed or overturned—no collision...................................
Nonhighway (farm, industrial premises) incident..........................
Overturned..................................................................................
Aircraft........................................................................................... .
Worker struck by a vehicle............................................................
Water vehicle incident....................................................................
Railway..........................................................................................
A s s a u lt s a n d v io le n t a c t s ..................................................................................

Shooting.....................................................................................
Stabbing.....................................................................................
Other, including bombing..........................................................
Self-inflicted injuries.......................................................................
Struck by object.............................................................................
Struck by falling object...............................................................
Struck by flying object................................................................
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects......................
Caught in running equipment or machinery...............................
Caught in or crushed in collapsing materials................................
F a lls ...............................................................................................................................

5
6

4
4
7

215

1,035
579
384
54
320
189
118

941
517
317
58
266
129
140

16
9
5

668

716
653
116
154
87
44

702
623

80

554
298
138
40
123
59
90
72

572
334
153
46
104
48
87
75

199

196

205

101

70

26
3

5
6

1,005
573
369
65
290
153
124

Oxygen deficiency........................................................................
Drowning, submersion...............................................................

Based on the 1992 BLS Occupational Injury and Illness

2

860
708
73
79
216

120

1

2

2

4

1

Exposure to caustic, noxious, or allergenic substances...............

O t h e r e v e n t s o r e x p o s u r e s 3............................................................................

112

12

16

586
320
128
43

E x p o s u r e to h a r m f u l s u b s t a n c e s o r e n v ir o n m e n t s .........................

44
24

960
709
569
61
79
223

591
94
139
83
52

Fall from ladder...........................................................................

100

2,630
1,431
701
118
271
142
306
373
300
384
216
223
413
60

110

C o n t a c t w ith o b je c t s a n d e q u ip m e n t .........................................................

P e rc e n t

6,026

21

12

9
1
1

4

1

4
2
2
12
10

111

2

156
97
51

2

3
1

9
6

3
1
2
1
1
1

3

16

Includes the category "Bodily reaction and exertion."

Classification Structures.
2 The BLS news release issued August 12, 1998, reported a
total of 6,218 fatal work injuries for calendar year 1997. Since
then, an additional 2 0 job-related fatalities were identified,
bringing the total job-related fatality count for 1997 to 6,238.

M onthly Labor Review
104

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

NOTE: Totals for major categories may include sub­
categories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to
totals because of rounding. Dash indicates less than 0.5
percent.

August 2000

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Schedule of release dates for BLS statistical series
MLR table
number

Series

Release
date

Period
covered

Release
date

Period
covered

Release
date

Period
covered

Employment situation

August 4

July

September 1

August

October 6

September

Productivity and costs

August 8

2nd quarter September 6

U.S. Import and Export
Price Indexes

August 10

July

September 13

August

October 12

September

34-38

Producer Price Indexes

August 11

July

September 14

August

October 13

September

2; 31-33

Consumer Price indexes

August 16

July

September 15

August

October 18

September

2; 28-30

Real earnings

August 16

July

September 15

August

October 18

September

14, 16

October 26

3rd quarter

1-3; 21-24

Employment Cost Indexes


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1; 4-20
2; 39-42

2nd quarter