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Payroll employment up 175,000 in February 2014

March 10, 2014

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 175,000 in February. Job growth averaged 189,000 per month over the prior 12 months. In February, job gains occurred in professional and business services and in wholesale trade, while the information industry lost jobs.

Over-the-month change in nonfarm payroll employment , seasonally adjusted, January 2012–February 2014

 

Over-the-month change in nonfarm payroll employment , seasonally adjusted, January 2012–February 2014
MonthEmployment change

January 2012

360,000

February 2012

226,000

March 2012

243,000

April 2012

96,000

May 2012

110,000

June 2012

88,000

July 2012

160,000

August 2012

150,000

September 2012

161,000

October 2012

225,000

November 2012

203,000

December 2012

214,000

January 2013

197,000

February 2013

280,000

March 2013

141,000

April 2013

203,000

May 2013

199,000

June 2013

201,000

July 2013

149,000

August 2013

202,000

September 2013

164,000

October 2013

237,000

November 2013

274,000

December 2013

84,000

January 2014

129,000(p)

February 2014

175,000(p)
Footnotes:

 

(p) preliminary

 

 

Employment in professional and business services increased by 79,000 in February. Over the prior 12 months, professional and business services added an average of 56,000 jobs per month. Accounting and bookkeeping services added 16,000 jobs in February. Employment continued to trend up in temporary help services (+24,000) and in services to buildings and dwellings (+11,000).

In February, wholesale trade added 15,000 jobs, with nearly all of the increase occurring in durable goods (+12,000). Over the prior 12 months, the employment gain in wholesale trade averaged 9,000 per month.

The information industry lost 16,000 jobs in February. Most of the decline occurred in motion picture and sound recording (-14,000); employment in this industry can be volatile from month to month.

Employment in other major industries changed little over the month.

Since the most recent recession ended in June 2009, total nonfarm payroll employment has increased 4.9 percent. Employment in the private sector increased 6.5 percent from June 2009 to February 2014, while government employment declined 3.3 percent.

Percent change in nonfarm payroll employment, by industry, June 2009–February 2014

 

Percent change in nonfarm payroll employment, by industry, June 2009–February 2014
IndustryEmployment levelPercent change
June 2009February 2014(p)

Total nonfarm

130,944,000137,699,0004.9

Total private

108,368,000115,848,0006.5

Mining and logging

686,000888,00022.7

Construction

6,010,0005,941,000-1.2

Manufacturing

11,726,00012,065,0002.8

Wholesale trade

5,577,4005,832,1004.4

Retail trade

14,536,80015,235,0004.6

Transportation and warehousing

4,233,8004,560,2007.2

Utilities

560,100549,900-1.9

Information

2,796,0002,650,000-5.5

Financial activities

7,821,0007,908,0001.1

Professional and business services

16,436,00018,963,00013.3

Education and health services

19,537,00021,285,0008.2

Leisure and hospitality

13,076,00014,482,0009.7

Other services

5,372,0005,489,0002.1

Government

22,576,00021,851,000-3.3

Federal government

2,814,0002,717,000-3.6

State government

5,176,0005,076,000-2.0

Local government

14,586,00014,058,000-3.8

(p)=preliminary

   

 

Among the major private sector industries, mining and logging experienced the largest employment gain since the end of the recession, 22.7 percent. Employment in professional and business services increased 13.3 percent, while employment in leisure and hospitality rose 9.7 percent. The information industry, utilities, and construction all lost jobs, on net, from June 2009 to February 2014.

These data are from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program and are seasonally adjusted. Data for the most recent two months are preliminary. To learn more, see "The Employment Situation — February 2014," (HTML) (PDF) news release USDL‑14‑0354. More charts featuring CES employment data can be found in Current Employment Statistics Highlights: February 2014 (PDF).

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Payroll employment up 175,000 in February 2014 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2014/ted_20140310.htm (visited March 19, 2024).

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