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Economic News Release
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Employment Situation News Release

Technical information:
  Household data:          (202) 691-6378      USDL 09-0004
                  http://www.bls.gov/cps/

  Establishment data:      (202) 691-6555      Transmission of material in this release
                  http://www.bls.gov/ces/      is embargoed until 8:30 A.M. (EST),
Media contact:             (202) 691-5902      Friday, January 9, 2009.
                                    
                                    
                THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION:  DECEMBER 2008


    Nonfarm payroll employment declined sharply in December, and the unemployment 
rate rose from 6.8 to 7.2 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. 
Department of Labor reported today.  Payroll employment fell by 524,000 over the 
month and by 1.9 million over the last 4 months of 2008.  In December, job losses 
were large and widespread across most major industry sectors.
   
Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
   
   In December, the number of unemployed persons increased by 632,000 to 11.1 mil-
lion and the unemployment rate rose to 7.2 percent.  Since the start of the reces-
sion in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons has grown by 3.6 million, 
and the unemployment rate has risen by 2.3 percentage points.  (See table A-1.)
   
   The unemployment rates for adult men (7.2 percent), adult women (5.9 percent), 
and whites (6.6 percent) increased in December.  The jobless rates for teenagers 
(20.8 percent), blacks (11.9 percent), and Hispanics (9.2 percent) were little 
changed over the month.  The unemployment rate for Asians was 5.1 percent in Decem-
ber, not seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)
   
   Among the unemployed, the number of job losers and persons who completed tempo-
rary jobs rose by 315,000 to 6.5 million in December.  Over the past 12 months, the 
size of this group has increased by 2.7 million.  (See table A-8.)  The number of 
long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) rose to 2.6 million in 
December and was up by 1.3 million in 2008.  (See table A-9.)
   
   
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  |                                                                       |
  |        Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Household Survey Data          |
  |                                                                       |
  |    Seasonally adjusted household survey data have been revised using  |
  |updated seasonal adjustment factors, a procedure done at the end of    |
  |each calendar year.  Seasonally adjusted estimates back to January 2004|
  |were subject to revision.  The unemployment rates for January-November |
  |2008 (as originally published and as revised) appear on page 5, along  |
  |with additional information about the revisions.                       |
  |                                                                       |
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------



                                  - 2 -


Table A.  Major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted        
(Numbers in thousands)                                                          
_______________________________________________________________________________ 
                         |                 |                          |         
                         |    Quarterly    |                          |         
                         |     averages    |       Monthly data       |  Nov.-  
        Category         |_________________|__________________________|  Dec.   
                         |        |        |        |        |        | change  
                         |  III   |   IV   |  Oct.  |  Nov.  |  Dec.  |         
                         |  2008  |  2008  |  2008  |  2008  |  2008  |         
_________________________|________|________|________|________|________|________ 
                         |                                                      
     HOUSEHOLD DATA      |                 Labor force status                   
                         |_____________________________________________________ 
                         |        |        |        |        |        |         
Civilian labor force ....| 154,650| 154,648| 154,878| 154,620| 154,447|    -173 
  Employment ............| 145,299| 144,046| 144,657| 144,144| 143,338|    -806 
  Unemployment ..........|   9,350|  10,602|  10,221|  10,476|  11,108|     632 
Not in labor force ......|  79,460|  80,177|  79,734|  80,208|  80,588|     380 
                         |________|________|________|________|________|________ 
                         |                                                      
                         |                 Unemployment rates                   
                         |_____________________________________________________ 
                         |        |        |        |        |        |         
All workers .............|     6.0|     6.9|     6.6|     6.8|     7.2|     0.4 
  Adult men .............|     5.8|     6.8|     6.4|     6.7|     7.2|      .5 
  Adult women ...........|     5.0|     5.6|     5.4|     5.6|     5.9|      .3 
  Teenagers .............|    19.7|    20.7|    20.7|    20.4|    20.8|      .4 
  White .................|     5.4|     6.3|     6.0|     6.2|     6.6|      .4 
  Black or African       |        |        |        |        |        |         
    American ............|    10.7|    11.5|    11.3|    11.3|    11.9|      .6 
  Hispanic or Latino     |        |        |        |        |        |         
    ethnicity ...........|     7.8|     8.9|     8.8|     8.6|     9.2|      .6 
                         |________|________|________|________|________|________ 
                         |                                                      
  ESTABLISHMENT DATA     |                     Employment                       
                         |_____________________________________________________ 
                         |        |        |        |        |        |         
Nonfarm employment.......| 137,331|p136,033| 136,597|p136,013|p135,489|   p-524 
  Goods-producing (1)....|  21,351| p20,844|  21,049| p20,867| p20,616|   p-251 
    Construction ........|   7,141|  p6,929|   7,019|  p6,934|  p6,833|   p-101 
    Manufacturing .......|  13,423| p13,115|  13,234| p13,130| p12,981|   p-149 
  Service-providing (1)..| 115,980|p115,189| 115,548|p115,146|p114,873|   p-273 
      Retail trade (2)...|  15,259| p15,043|  15,132| p15,032| p14,966|    p-67 
    Professional and     |        |        |        |        |        |         
      business services .|  17,849| p17,574|  17,708| p17,563| p17,450|   p-113 
    Education and health |        |        |        |        |        |         
      services ..........|  18,975| p19,058|  19,012| p19,059| p19,104|     p45 
    Leisure and          |        |        |        |        |        |         
      hospitality .......|  13,627| p13,505|  13,557| p13,490| p13,468|    p-22 
    Government ..........|  22,504| p22,510|  22,510| p22,507| p22,514|      p7 
                         |________|________|________|________|________|________ 
                         |                                                      
                         |                  Hours of work (3)                   
                         |_____________________________________________________ 
                         |        |        |        |        |        |         
Total private ...........|    33.7|   p33.4|    33.5|   p33.5|   p33.3|   p-0.2 
  Manufacturing .........|    40.8|   p40.2|    40.4|   p40.3|   p39.9|    p-.4 
    Overtime ............|     3.7|    p3.3|     3.5|    p3.3|    p3.0|    p-.3 
                         |________|________|________|________|________|________ 
                         |                                                      
                         |   Indexes of aggregate weekly hours (2002=100)(3)    
                         |_____________________________________________________ 
                         |        |        |        |        |        |         
Total private ...........|   106.6|  p104.5|   105.3|  p104.7|  p103.5|   p-1.2 
                         |________|________|________|________|________|________ 
                         |                                                      
                         |                     Earnings (3)                     
                         |_____________________________________________________ 
Average hourly earnings, |        |        |        |        |        |         
  total private .........|  $18.12| p$18.30|  $18.23| p$18.31| p$18.36|  p$0.05 
Average weekly earnings, |        |        |        |        |        |         
  total private .........|  610.15| p611.83|  610.71| p613.39| p611.39|  p-2.00 
_________________________|________|________|________|________|________|________ 
                                                                                
   1 Includes other industries, not shown separately.                           
   2 Quarterly averages and the over-the-month change are calculated using      
unrounded data.                                                                 
   3 Data relate to private production and nonsupervisory workers.              
   p = preliminary.                                                             
   NOTE: Seasonally adjusted household data have been revised.
See note on page 5. 


                                  - 3 -
                                  
                                  
Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
   
   The civilian labor force (154.4 million) and the labor force participation rate 
(65.7 percent) were little changed in December.  The employment-population ratio fell 
by 0.4 percentage point to 61.0 percent over the month and by 1.7 percentage points 
in 2008.  (See table A-1.)
   
   In December, the number of persons who worked part time for economic reasons (some-
times referred to as involuntary part-time workers) continued to increase, reaching 
8.0 million.  The number of such workers rose by 3.4 million over the past 12 months.  
This category includes persons who would like to work full time but were working part 
time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find full-
time jobs.  (See table A-5.)
   
Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)
   
   About 1.9 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached to the
labor force in December, 564,000 more than 12 months earlier.  These individuals wanted 
and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months.  
They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks
preceding the survey.  Among the marginally attached, there were 642,000 discouraged work-
ers in December, up by 279,000 from a year earlier.  Discouraged workers are persons not 
currently looking for work specifically because they believe no jobs are available for 
them.  The other 1.3 million persons marginally attached to the labor force in December 
had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school 
attendance or family responsibilities.  (See table A-13.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)
   
   Total nonfarm payroll employment declined sharply (-524,000) in December.  Over the 
past 4 months, payroll employment has fallen by 1.9 million, or 1.4 percent.  In Decem-
ber, large job losses continued in manufacturing, construction, and employment services, 
while health care continued to add jobs.  (See table B-1.)
   
   Manufacturing employment fell by 149,000 in December, the largest over-the-month de-
cline since August 2001.  Factory job losses totaled 791,000 in 2008, with nearly half 
of the decrease occurring in the fourth quarter.  In December, declines were widespread 
among the component industries.  The largest job losses occurred in fabricated metal 
products (-28,000) and motor vehicles and parts (-21,000).
   
   Employment in construction continued to decline (-101,000) in December and has fallen 
by 899,000 since peaking in September 2006.  Over the month, job losses occurred through-
out the industry.
   
   Within professional and business services, the temporary help industry lost 81,000 
jobs in December, bringing job losses in 2008 to 490,000.  In December, employment 
also fell in the management of companies and enterprises (-8,000) and in architectural 
and engineering services (-7,000).
   
   Employment in retail trade declined by 67,000 in December and by 522,000 for all of 
2008.  More than half of the losses in 2008 occurred in the last 4 months of the year.  
In December, employment decreased in automobile dealerships (-22,000), furniture and 
home furnishing stores (-8,000), and electronics and appliance stores (-5,000).  Whole-
sale trade employment fell by 30,000 over the month and by 164,000 in 2008.
   
                                  - 4 -          
                                  
   Elsewhere in the service-providing sector, employment in transportation and ware-
housing declined by 24,000 in December, with losses in truck transportation (-16,000) 
and air transportation (-4,000).  The information industry lost 20,000 jobs over the 
month.  Food services employment continued to trend downward (-20,000) and has de-
creased by 104,000 since its recent peak in June 2008.  Employment in financial
activities edged down in December and fell by 148,000 in 2008.
   
   Health care employment continued to grow in December (32,000), with over-the-month 
job gains in ambulatory services (14,000) and hospitals (12,000).  In 2008, health care
added 372,000 jobs.
   
   The change in total nonfarm employment for October was revised from -320,000 to 
-423,000, and the change for November was revised from -533,000 to -584,000.  Monthly 
revisions result from additional sample reports and the monthly recalculation of sea-
sonal factors.
   
Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)
   
   In December, the average workweek for production and nonsupervisory workers on pri-
vate nonfarm payrolls fell by 0.2 hour to 33.3 hours, seasonally adjusted--the lowest 
level on record for the series, which began in 1964.  The manufacturing workweek, at 
39.9 hours, declined by 0.4 hour over the month, and factory overtime, at 3.0 hours, 
declined by 0.3 hour.  (See table B-2.)
   
   The index of aggregate weekly hours of production and nonsupervisory workers on 
private nonfarm payrolls fell by 1.1 percent in December and 4.0 percent since peaking 
in December 2007.  The manufacturing index declined by 2.4 percent over the month.  
(See table B-5.)
   
Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)
   
   In December, average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers on 
private nonfarm payrolls rose by 5 cents, or 0.3 percent, seasonally adjusted.  This 
followed gains of 8 cents in November and 6 cents in October.  For all of 2008, average 
hourly earnings increased by 3.7 percent and average weekly earnings rose by 2.2 percent.  
(See table B-3.)
   
                     ______________________________
   
   
   The Employment Situation for January 2009 is scheduled to be released on Friday, Feb-
ruary 6, at 8:30 A.M. (EST).
   
   
   
                                  - 5 -
   
          Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Household Survey Data

   At the end of each calendar year, BLS routinely updates the seasonal
adjustment factors for the labor force series derived from the Current
Population Survey (CPS), or household survey.  As a result of this
process, seasonally adjusted data for January 2004-November 2008 were
subject to revision.
   
   Table B shows the unemployment rates for January to November 2008, as
first published and as revised.  The rates were unchanged in 5 of the 11
months and changed by one-tenth of a percentage point in the remaining 6
months.  Revised seasonally adjusted data for other major labor force
series beginning in December 2007 appear in table C.
   
   An article describing the seasonal adjustment methodology for the
household survey data and revised data for January 2008-November 2008
is available at http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsrs2009.pdf.
   
   Historical data for the household series contained in the A tables of
this release can be accessed at http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsatabs.htm.  
Revised historical seasonally adjusted monthly and quarterly data for 
additional series are available on the Internet at ftp://ftp.bls.gov/
pub/special.requests/lf/.





Table B.  Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates and changes due to 
revision, January-November 2008

   Year and month         As first           As          Change
                          published       revised

         2008

January ...............      4.9             4.9           0.0
February ..............      4.8             4.8            .0
March .................      5.1             5.1            .0
April .................      5.0             5.0            .0
May ...................      5.5             5.5            .0
June ..................      5.5             5.6            .1
July ..................      5.7             5.8            .1
August ................      6.1             6.2            .1
September .............      6.1             6.2            .1
October ...............      6.5             6.6            .1
November ..............      6.7             6.8            .1



                                  - 6 -
HOUSEHOLD DATA                                                                                                                    HOUSEHOLD DATA

  Table C.  Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age, seasonally adjusted
                                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                  
                                             2007                                                2008                                             
      Employment status, sex, and age                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                  
                                             Dec.    Jan.    Feb.    Mar.    Apr.    May     June    July    Aug.   Sept.    Oct.    Nov.    Dec. 
                                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                  
                   TOTAL                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                  
  Civilian noninstitutional population(1)  233,156 232,616 232,809 232,995 233,198 233,405 233,627 233,864 234,107 234,360 234,612 234,828 235,035
    Civilian labor force.................. 153,836 153,873 153,498 153,843 153,932 154,510 154,400 154,506 154,823 154,621 154,878 154,620 154,447
          Participation rate..............    66.0    66.1    65.9    66.0    66.0    66.2    66.1    66.1    66.1    66.0    66.0    65.8    65.7
      Employed............................ 146,294 146,317 146,075 146,023 146,257 145,974 145,738 145,596 145,273 145,029 144,657 144,144 143,338
          Employment-population ratio.....    62.7    62.9    62.7    62.7    62.7    62.5    62.4    62.3    62.1    61.9    61.7    61.4    61.0
      Unemployed..........................   7,541   7,555   7,423   7,820   7,675   8,536   8,662   8,910   9,550   9,592  10,221  10,476  11,108
          Unemployment rate...............     4.9     4.9     4.8     5.1     5.0     5.5     5.6     5.8     6.2     6.2     6.6     6.8     7.2
                                                                                                                                                  
           Men, 20 years and over                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                  
  Civilian noninstitutional population(1)  104,197 103,866 103,961 104,052 104,152 104,258 104,371 104,490 104,613 104,741 104,869 104,978 105,083
    Civilian labor force..................  78,943  78,907  78,806  78,866  78,820  78,913  79,055  79,286  79,308  79,392  79,380  79,335  78,998
          Participation rate..............    75.8    76.0    75.8    75.8    75.7    75.7    75.7    75.9    75.8    75.8    75.7    75.6    75.2
      Employed............................  75,496  75,474  75,395  75,216  75,147  74,992  74,949  74,973  74,737  74,503  74,292  74,045  73,285
          Employment-population ratio.....    72.5    72.7    72.5    72.3    72.2    71.9    71.8    71.8    71.4    71.1    70.8    70.5    69.7
      Unemployed..........................   3,446   3,433   3,412   3,650   3,673   3,921   4,106   4,313   4,572   4,889   5,088   5,290   5,714
          Unemployment rate...............     4.4     4.4     4.3     4.6     4.7     5.0     5.2     5.4     5.8     6.2     6.4     6.7     7.2
                                                                                                                                                  
          Women, 20 years and over                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                  
  Civilian noninstitutional population(1)  111,903 111,739 111,822 111,902 111,990 112,083 112,183 112,290 112,401 112,518 112,633 112,731 112,825
    Civilian labor force..................  67,888  67,982  67,879  68,174  68,118  68,367  68,421  68,273  68,666  68,385  68,700  68,753  68,891
          Participation rate..............    60.7    60.8    60.7    60.9    60.8    61.0    61.0    60.8    61.1    60.8    61.0    61.0    61.1
      Employed............................  64,976  65,101  64,993  65,079  65,196  65,114  65,169  65,103  65,003  65,008  64,975  64,902  64,860
          Employment-population ratio.....    58.1    58.3    58.1    58.2    58.2    58.1    58.1    58.0    57.8    57.8    57.7    57.6    57.5
      Unemployed..........................   2,912   2,881   2,886   3,095   2,923   3,252   3,252   3,170   3,662   3,377   3,725   3,851   4,031
          Unemployment rate...............     4.3     4.2     4.3     4.5     4.3     4.8     4.8     4.6     5.3     4.9     5.4     5.6     5.9
                                                                                                                                                  
         Both sexes, 16 to 19 years                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                  
  Civilian noninstitutional population(1)   17,056  17,012  17,027  17,041  17,056  17,064  17,073  17,084  17,092  17,101  17,110  17,118  17,126
    Civilian labor force..................   7,005   6,984   6,813   6,803   6,993   7,231   6,924   6,947   6,849   6,844   6,799   6,531   6,557
          Participation rate..............    41.1    41.1    40.0    39.9    41.0    42.4    40.6    40.7    40.1    40.0    39.7    38.2    38.3
      Employed............................   5,822   5,742   5,688   5,729   5,914   5,868   5,620   5,520   5,533   5,518   5,390   5,196   5,194
          Employment-population ratio.....    34.1    33.8    33.4    33.6    34.7    34.4    32.9    32.3    32.4    32.3    31.5    30.4    30.3
      Unemployed..........................   1,183   1,241   1,125   1,075   1,079   1,363   1,304   1,427   1,316   1,326   1,408   1,335   1,363
          Unemployment rate...............    16.9    17.8    16.5    15.8    15.4    18.9    18.8    20.5    19.2    19.4    20.7    20.4    20.8

    1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation.
    NOTE:  Seasonally adjusted data have been revised to reflect updated seasonal adjustment factors.




                                  - 7 -
                                  
                                  
   -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
  |                                                                    |
  |               Changes to Household Data Table A-13                 |
  |                                                                    |
  |   Effective with this release, the wording was changed in one of   |
  |the categories in table A-13.  "Searched for work and available     |
  |to work now," was changed to "Marginally attached to the labor      |
  |force." This is strictly a change in title, and not in definition;  |
  |the data shown are not affected.  This change is being made to cor- |
  |respond with the text in the release.                               |
  |                                                                    |
   -------------------------------------------------------------------- 





   -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
  |                                                                    |
  |            Revisions in the Establishment Survey Data              |
  |                                                                    |
  |   With the release of January 2009 data on February 6, 2009, the   |
  |Current Employment Statistics survey will introduce revisions to    |
  |the nonfarm payroll employment, hours, and earnings data to reflect |
  |the annual benchmark adjustments for March 2008 and updated seasonal|
  |adjustment factors.  Not seasonally adjusted data beginning with    |
  |April 2007 and seasonally adjusted data beginning with January 2004 |
  |are subject to revision.                                            |
  |                                                                    |
   -------------------------------------------------------------------- 





   -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
  |                                                                    |
  |              Planned Changes in the Household Survey               |
  |                                                                    |
  |   Effective with the release of data for January 2009, revisions   |
  |will be introduced into the population controls for the household   |
  |survey.  These changes reflect the routine annual updating of inter-|
  |censal population estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau.              |
  |                                                                    |
  |   In addition, the Current Population Survey (household data) will |
  |change its industry classification from the 2002 Census Industry    |
  |Classification to an updated version derived from the 2007 North    |
  |American Industry Classification System.  Several industry titles   |
  |will be updated.  In addition, the new classification reflects      |
  |minor definitional changes within the information sector.  Histori- |
  |cal data will not be revised.                                       |
  |                                                                    |
   -------------------------------------------------------------------- 




                                  - 8 -


    Frequently Asked Questions about Employment and Unemployment Estimates


Why are there two monthly measures of employment?

   The household survey and establishment survey both produce sample-based
estimates of employment and both have strengths and limitations.  The estab-
lishment survey employment series has a smaller margin of error on the mea-
surement of month-to-month change than the household survey because of its
much larger sample size.  An over-the-month employment change of 104,000 is
statistically significant in the establishment survey, while the threshold for
a statistically significant change in the household survey is about 400,000.
However, the household survey has a more expansive scope than the establish-
ment survey because it includes the self-employed, unpaid family workers,
agricultural workers, and private household workers, who are excluded by the
establishment survey.  The household survey also provides estimates of
employment for demographic groups.


Are undocumented immigrants counted in the surveys?

   Neither the establishment nor household survey is designed to identify the
legal status of workers.  Thus, while it is likely that both surveys include
at least some undocumented immigrants, it is not possible to determine how many
are counted in either survey.  The household survey does include questions about
whether respondents were born outside the United States.  Data from these ques-
tions show that foreign-born workers accounted for 15.7 percent of the labor 
force in 2007 and 47.7 percent of the net increase in the labor force from 2000 
to 2007.


Why does the establishment survey have revisions?

   The establishment survey revises published estimates to improve its data
series by incorporating additional information that was not available at the
time of the initial publication of the estimates.  The establishment survey
revises its initial monthly estimates twice, in the immediately succeeding 
2 months, to incorporate additional sample receipts from respondents in the
survey and recalculated seasonal adjustment factors.  For more information on 
the monthly revisions, please visit http://www.bls.gov/ces/cesrevinfo.htm.

   On an annual basis, the establishment survey incorporates a benchmark
revision that re-anchors estimates to nearly complete employment counts
available from unemployment insurance tax records.  The benchmark helps 
to control for sampling and modeling errors in the estimates.  For more 
information on the annual benchmark revision, please visit http://www.bls.
gov/web/cesbmart.htm.


Does the establishment survey sample include small firms?

   Yes; about 40 percent of the establishment survey sample is comprised of busi-
ness establishments with fewer than 20 employees.  The establishment survey sam-
ple is designed to maximize the reliability of the total nonfarm employment esti-
mate; firms from all size classes and industries are appropriately sampled to 
achieve that goal.



                                  - 9 -

Does the establishment survey account for employment from new businesses?

   Yes; monthly establishment survey estimates include an adjustment to account
for the net employment change generated by business births and deaths.  The
adjustment comes from an econometric model that forecasts the monthly net jobs
impact of business births and deaths based on the actual past values of the net
impact that can be observed with a lag from the Quarterly Census of Employment
and Wages.  The establishment survey uses modeling rather than sampling for this
purpose because the survey is not immediately able to bring new businesses into
the sample.  There is an unavoidable lag between the birth of a new firm and its
appearance on the sampling frame and availability for selection.  BLS adds new
businesses to the survey twice a year.


Is the count of unemployed persons limited to just those people receiving
unemployment insurance benefits?

   No; the estimate of unemployment is based on a monthly sample survey of
households.  All persons who are without jobs and are actively seeking and
available to work are included among the unemployed.  (People on temporary
layoff are included even if they do not actively seek work.)  There is no
requirement or question relating to unemployment insurance benefits in the
monthly survey.


Does the official unemployment rate exclude people who have stopped looking for
work?

   Yes; however, there are separate estimates of persons outside the labor force
who want a job, including those who have stopped looking because they believe no
jobs are available (discouraged workers).  In addition, alternative measures of
labor underutilization (discouraged workers and other groups not officially
counted as unemployed) are published each month in the Employment Situation news
release.






                                  - 10 - 


Technical Note

   This news release presents statistics from two major surveys, the Current
Population Survey (household survey) and the Current Employment Statistics
survey (establishment survey).  The household survey provides the information
on the labor force, employment, and unemployment that appears in the A tables,
marked HOUSEHOLD DATA.  It is a sample survey of about 60,000 households con-
ducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

   The establishment survey provides the information on the employment, hours,
and earnings of workers on nonfarm payrolls that appears in the B tables, marked
ESTABLISHMENT DATA.  This information is collected from payroll records by BLS
in cooperation with state agencies.  The sample includes about 160,000 businesses
and government agencies covering approximately 400,000 individual worksites.  
The active sample includes about one-third of all nonfarm payroll workers.  The
sample is drawn from a sampling frame of unemployment insurance tax accounts.

   For both surveys, the data for a given month  relate to a particular week or
pay period.  In the household survey,  the reference week is generally the calen-
dar week that contains the 12th day of the month.  In the establishment survey,
the reference  period is the pay period including the 12th, which may or may not
correspond directly to the calendar week.

Coverage, definitions, and differences between surveys

   Household survey.  The sample  is selected  to reflect the entire civilian
noninstitutional population.  Based on responses to a series of questions on work
and job search activities, each person  16 years and over in a sample household
is classified as employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force.

   People are classified as employed if they did any work at all as paid employees
during the reference week; worked in their own business, profession, or on their
own farm; or worked without pay at least 15 hours in a family business or farm.
People are also counted as employed if they were temporarily absent from their
jobs because of illness, bad weather, vacation, labor-management disputes, or
personal reasons.

   People are classified as unemployed if they meet all of the following criteria:
They had no employment during the  reference week; they were available for work at
that time; and they made specific efforts to find employment sometime during the
4-week period ending with the reference week.  Persons laid off from  a job and
expecting recall need not be looking for work to be counted as unemployed.  The
unemployment data derived from the household survey in no way depend upon the
eligibility for or receipt of unemployment insurance benefits.

   The civilian labor force  is the sum of employed and  unemployed persons.  Those
not classified as employed or unemployed are not in the labor force.  The unemploy-
ment rate is the number unemployed as a percent of the  labor force.  The labor
force participation rate is the labor force as a percent of the population, and the
employment-population ratio is the employed as a percent of the population.


                                  - 11 -


   Establishment survey.  The sample establishments are drawn from private nonfarm
businesses such as factories, offices, and stores, as well as federal, state, and
local government entities.  Employees on nonfarm payrolls are those who received pay
for any part of the reference pay period, including persons on paid leave.  Persons
are counted in each job they hold.  Hours and earnings data are for private busi-
nesses and relate only to production workers in the goods-producing sector and non-
supervisory workers in the service-providing sector.  Industries are classified on 
the basis of their principal activity in accordance with the 2007 version of the 
North American Industry Classification System.

   Differences in employment estimates.  The numerous conceptual and methodological
differences between the household and establishment surveys result in important dis-
tinctions in the employment estimates derived from the surveys.  Among these are:

   --The household survey includes agricultural workers, the self-employed, unpaid
family workers, and private household workers among the employed.  These groups are
excluded from the establishment survey.

   --The household survey includes people on unpaid leave among the employed.  The
establishment survey does not.

   --The household survey is limited to  workers 16 years of age and older.  The
establishment survey is not limited by age.

   --The  household survey has no duplication of individuals, because individuals
are counted only once, even if they hold more than one job. In the establishment
survey, employees working at more than one job  and thus appearing on more than
one payroll would be counted separately for each appearance.

Seasonal adjustment

   Over the course of a year, the size of the nation's labor force and the levels of
employment and unemployment undergo sharp fluctuations due to such seasonal events as
changes in weather, reduced or expanded production, harvests, major holidays, and the
opening and closing of schools.  The effect of such seasonal  variation can be very
large; seasonal fluctuations may account for as much as 95 percent of the month-to-
month changes in unemployment.

   Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each year,
their influence on statistical trends can be eliminated by adjusting the statistics
from month to month.  These adjustments make nonseasonal developments, such as de-
clines in economic activity or increases in the participation of women in the labor
force, easier to spot.  For example, the large number of youth entering the labor
force each June is likely to obscure any other changes that have taken place rela-
tive to May, making it difficult to determine if the level of economic activity has
risen or declined.  However, because the effect of students finishing school in pre-
vious years is known, the statistics for the current year can be adjusted to allow
for a comparable change.  Insofar as the seasonal adjustment is made correctly, the
adjusted figure provides a more useful tool with which to analyze changes in economic
activity.


                                  - 12 -


   Most seasonally adjusted series are independently adjusted in both the  household
and establishment surveys.  However, the adjusted series for many  major estimates,
such as total payroll employment, employment in most supersectors, total employment,
and unemployment are computed by aggregating independently adjusted component series.
For example, total unemployment is derived by summing the adjusted series for four
major age-sex components; this differs from the unemployment estimate that would be
obtained by directly adjusting the total or by combining the duration, reasons, or
more detailed age categories.

   For both the household and establishment surveys, a concurrent seasonal adjustment
methodology is used in which new seasonal factors are calculated each month, using all
relevant data, up to and including the data for the current month.  In the household
survey, new seasonal factors are used to adjust only the current month's data.  In the
establishment survey, however, new seasonal factors are used each month to adjust the
three most recent monthly estimates.  In both surveys, revisions to historical data
are made once a year.

Reliability of the estimates

   Statistics based on the household and establishment surveys are subject to both
sampling and nonsampling error.  When a sample rather than the entire population is
surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimates may differ from the "true"
population values they represent.  The exact difference, or sampling error, varies
depending on the particular sample selected, and this variability is measured by the
standard error of the estimate.  There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of con-
fidence, that an estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard
errors from the "true" population value because of sampling error.  BLS analyses are
generally conducted at the 90-percent level of confidence.

   For example, the confidence interval for the monthly change in total employment
from the household survey is on the order of plus or minus 430,000.  Suppose the
estimate of total employment increases by 100,000 from one month to the next.  The
90-percent confidence interval on the monthly change would range from -330,000 to
530,000 (100,000 +/- 430,000).  These figures do not mean that the sample results are
off by these magnitudes, but rather that there is about a 90-percent chance that the
"true" over-the-month change lies within this interval.  Since this range includes
values of less than zero, we could not say with confidence that employment had, in
fact, increased.  If, however, the reported employment rise was half a million, then
all of the values within the 90-percent confidence interval would be greater than zero.
In this case, it is likely (at least a 90-percent chance) that an employment rise had,
in fact, occurred.  At an unemployment rate of around 5.5 percent, the 90-percent con-
fidence interval for the monthly change in unemployment is about +/- 280,000, and for
the monthly change in the unemployment rate it is about +/- .19 percentage point.

   In general, estimates involving many individuals or establishments have lower stan-
dard errors (relative to the size of the estimate) than estimates which are based on a
small number of observations.  The precision of estimates is also improved when the
data are cumulated over time such as for quarterly and annual averages.  The seasonal
adjustment process can also improve the stability of the monthly estimates.


                                  - 13 -


   The household and establishment surveys are also affected by nonsampling error.
Nonsampling errors can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample a seg-
ment of the population, inability to obtain information for all respondents in the 
sample, inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct information on a
timely basis, mistakes made by respondents, and errors made in the collection or pro-
cessing of the data.
 
   For example, in the establishment survey, estimates for the most recent 2 months are
based on substantially incomplete returns; for this reason, these estimates are labeled
preliminary in the tables.  It is only after two successive revisions to a monthly esti-
mate, when nearly all sample reports have been received, that the estimate is considered
final.

   Another major source of nonsampling error in the establishment survey is the inabil-
ity to capture, on a timely basis, employment generated by new firms.  To correct for
this systematic underestimation of employment growth, an estimation procedure with two
components is used to account for business births.  The first component uses business
deaths to impute employment for business births.  This is incorporated into the sample-
based link relative estimate procedure by simply not reflecting sample units going out
of business, but imputing to them the same trend as the other firms in the sample.  The
second component is an ARIMA time series model designed to estimate the residual net
birth/death employment not accounted for by the imputation.  The historical time series
used to create and test the ARIMA model was derived from the unemployment insurance uni-
verse micro-level database, and reflects the actual residual net of births and deaths
over the past five years.

   The sample-based estimates from the establishment survey are adjusted once a year (on
a lagged basis) to universe counts of payroll employment obtained from administrative
records of the unemployment insurance program.  The difference between the March sample-
based employment estimates and the March universe counts is known as a benchmark revision,
and serves as a rough proxy for total survey error.  The new benchmarks also incorporate
changes in the classification of industries.  Over the past decade, the benchmark revision
for total nonfarm employment has averaged 0.2 percent, ranging from less than 0.1 percent
to 0.6 percent.

Other information

   Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon
request.  Voice phone:  (202) 691-5200; TDD message referral phone:  1-800-877-8339.






  HOUSEHOLD DATA                                                                                                           HOUSEHOLD DATA
  
  Table A-1.  Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age

  (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                                                   Not seasonally adjusted                      Seasonally adjusted (1)                  
                                                                                                                                         
         Employment status, sex, and age                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                         
                                                   Dec.      Nov.      Dec.      Dec.      Aug.     Sept.      Oct.      Nov.      Dec.  
                                                   2007      2008      2008      2007      2008     2008       2008      2008      2008  
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                      TOTAL                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                         
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........  233,156   234,828   235,035   233,156   234,107   234,360   234,612   234,828   235,035 
    Civilian labor force.......................  153,705   154,624   154,349   153,836   154,823   154,621   154,878   154,620   154,447 
          Participation rate...................     65.9      65.8      65.7      66.0      66.1      66.0      66.0      65.8      65.7 
      Employed.................................  146,334   144,609   143,350   146,294   145,273   145,029   144,657   144,144   143,338 
          Employment-population ratio..........     62.8      61.6      61.0      62.7      62.1      61.9      61.7      61.4      61.0 
      Unemployed...............................    7,371    10,015    10,999     7,541     9,550     9,592    10,221    10,476    11,108 
          Unemployment rate....................      4.8       6.5       7.1       4.9       6.2       6.2       6.6       6.8       7.2 
    Not in labor force.........................   79,451    80,204    80,686    79,320    79,284    79,739    79,734    80,208    80,588 
      Persons who currently want a job.........    4,398     5,077     5,180     4,666     4,836     5,140     5,065     5,393     5,488 
                                                                                                                                         
             Men, 16 years and over                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                         
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........  112,852   113,660   113,769   112,852   113,281   113,414   113,546   113,660   113,769 
    Civilian labor force.......................   82,171    82,415    82,226    82,398    82,790    82,885    82,892    82,666    82,338 
          Participation rate...................     72.8      72.5      72.3      73.0      73.1      73.1      73.0      72.7      72.4 
      Employed.................................   77,970    76,690    75,548    78,275    77,484    77,249    76,938    76,577    75,847 
          Employment-population ratio..........     69.1      67.5      66.4      69.4      68.4      68.1      67.8      67.4      66.7 
      Unemployed...............................    4,201     5,725     6,678     4,123     5,306     5,636     5,954     6,089     6,491 
          Unemployment rate....................      5.1       6.9       8.1       5.0       6.4       6.8       7.2       7.4       7.9 
    Not in labor force.........................   30,680    31,245    31,543    30,453    30,491    30,529    30,654    30,994    31,431 
                                                                                                                                         
             Men, 20 years and over                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                         
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........  104,197   104,978   105,083   104,197   104,613   104,741   104,869   104,978   105,083 
    Civilian labor force.......................   78,893    79,243    79,071    78,943    79,308    79,392    79,380    79,335    78,998 
          Participation rate...................     75.7      75.5      75.2      75.8      75.8      75.8      75.7      75.6      75.2 
      Employed.................................   75,296    74,283    73,088    75,496    74,737    74,503    74,292    74,045    73,285 
          Employment-population ratio..........     72.3      70.8      69.6      72.5      71.4      71.1      70.8      70.5      69.7 
      Unemployed...............................    3,597     4,960     5,984     3,446     4,572     4,889     5,088     5,290     5,714 
          Unemployment rate....................      4.6       6.3       7.6       4.4       5.8       6.2       6.4       6.7       7.2 
    Not in labor force.........................   25,305    25,735    26,012    25,255    25,305    25,349    25,489    25,643    26,085 
                                                                                                                                         
            Women, 16 years and over                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                         
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........  120,304   121,168   121,266   120,304   120,825   120,946   121,066   121,168   121,266 
    Civilian labor force.......................   71,534    72,209    72,122    71,437    72,033    71,735    71,986    71,954    72,109 
          Participation rate...................     59.5      59.6      59.5      59.4      59.6      59.3      59.5      59.4      59.5 
      Employed.................................   68,364    67,919    67,802    68,020    67,789    67,780    67,720    67,567    67,491 
          Employment-population ratio..........     56.8      56.1      55.9      56.5      56.1      56.0      55.9      55.8      55.7 
      Unemployed...............................    3,170     4,290     4,320     3,418     4,244     3,956     4,267     4,387     4,618 
          Unemployment rate....................      4.4       5.9       6.0       4.8       5.9       5.5       5.9       6.1       6.4 
    Not in labor force.........................   48,771    48,959    49,143    48,867    48,792    49,210    49,080    49,214    49,157 
                                                                                                                                         
            Women, 20 years and over                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                         
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........  111,903   112,731   112,825   111,903   112,401   112,518   112,633   112,731   112,825 
    Civilian labor force.......................   68,116    69,108    69,042    67,888    68,666    68,385    68,700    68,753    68,891 
          Participation rate...................     60.9      61.3      61.2      60.7      61.1      60.8      61.0      61.0      61.1 
      Employed.................................   65,359    65,317    65,204    64,976    65,003    65,008    64,975    64,902    64,860 
          Employment-population ratio..........     58.4      57.9      57.8      58.1      57.8      57.8      57.7      57.6      57.5 
      Unemployed...............................    2,757     3,791     3,838     2,912     3,662     3,377     3,725     3,851     4,031 
          Unemployment rate....................      4.0       5.5       5.6       4.3       5.3       4.9       5.4       5.6       5.9 
    Not in labor force.........................   43,787    43,623    43,784    44,015    43,736    44,133    43,933    43,978    43,935 
                                                                                                                                         
           Both sexes, 16 to 19 years                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                         
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........   17,056    17,118    17,126    17,056    17,092    17,101    17,110    17,118    17,126 
    Civilian labor force.......................    6,696     6,272     6,235     7,005     6,849     6,844     6,799     6,531     6,557 
          Participation rate...................     39.3      36.6      36.4      41.1      40.1      40.0      39.7      38.2      38.3 
      Employed.................................    5,679     5,008     5,058     5,822     5,533     5,518     5,390     5,196     5,194 
          Employment-population ratio..........     33.3      29.3      29.5      34.1      32.4      32.3      31.5      30.4      30.3 
      Unemployed...............................    1,017     1,264     1,177     1,183     1,316     1,326     1,408     1,335     1,363 
          Unemployment rate....................     15.2      20.2      18.9      16.9      19.2      19.4      20.7      20.4      20.8 
    Not in labor force.........................   10,359    10,846    10,891    10,051    10,243    10,257    10,311    10,587    10,568 

    1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted and
  seasonally adjusted columns.
    NOTE:  Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.  Seasonally adjusted household data have
  been revised to reflect updated seasonal adjustment factors.






  HOUSEHOLD DATA                                                                                                           HOUSEHOLD DATA
  
  Table A-2.  Employment status of the civilian population by race, sex, and age

  (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                                                   Not seasonally adjusted                      Seasonally adjusted (1)                  
                                                                                                                                         
      Employment status, race, sex, and age                                                                                              
                                                   Dec.      Nov.      Dec.      Dec.      Aug.     Sept.      Oct.      Nov.      Dec.  
                                                   2007      2008      2008      2007      2008     2008       2008      2008      2008  
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                     WHITE                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                         
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........  189,093   190,221   190,351   189,093   189,747   189,916   190,085   190,221   190,351 
    Civilian labor force.......................  125,334   126,057   125,588   125,403   125,987   125,844   126,298   126,029   125,634 
        Participation rate.....................     66.3      66.3      66.0      66.3      66.4      66.3      66.4      66.3      66.0 
      Employed.................................  120,004   118,721   117,409   119,947   119,082   118,964   118,722   118,226   117,357 
        Employment-population ratio............     63.5      62.4      61.7      63.4      62.8      62.6      62.5      62.2      61.7 
      Unemployed...............................    5,331     7,336     8,179     5,456     6,904     6,880     7,577     7,803     8,277 
        Unemployment rate......................      4.3       5.8       6.5       4.4       5.5       5.5       6.0       6.2       6.6 
    Not in labor force.........................   63,759    64,165    64,763    63,690    63,761    64,072    63,787    64,193    64,718 
                                                                                                                                         
             Men, 20 years and over                                                                                                      
    Civilian labor force.......................   65,462    65,681    65,424    65,471    65,680    65,718    65,792    65,762    65,331 
        Participation rate.....................     76.2      76.0      75.6      76.3      76.2      76.2      76.2      76.1      75.5 
      Employed.................................   62,789    61,995    60,965    62,929    62,336    62,125    61,972    61,761    61,101 
        Employment-population ratio............     73.1      71.7      70.5      73.3      72.3      72.0      71.8      71.5      70.7 
      Unemployed...............................    2,674     3,686     4,459     2,542     3,344     3,593     3,821     4,001     4,230 
        Unemployment rate......................      4.1       5.6       6.8       3.9       5.1       5.5       5.8       6.1       6.5 
                                                                                                                                         
            Women, 20 years and over                                                                                                     
    Civilian labor force.......................   54,465    55,131    55,033    54,249    54,703    54,543    54,891    54,810    54,878 
        Participation rate.....................     60.4      60.8      60.6      60.2      60.5      60.2      60.6      60.4      60.5 
      Employed.................................   52,517    52,454    52,199    52,148    52,113    52,233    52,178    52,014    51,846 
        Employment-population ratio............     58.3      57.8      57.5      57.8      57.6      57.7      57.6      57.3      57.1 
      Unemployed...............................    1,948     2,677     2,833     2,101     2,590     2,310     2,714     2,796     3,031 
        Unemployment rate......................      3.6       4.9       5.1       3.9       4.7       4.2       4.9       5.1       5.5 
                                                                                                                                         
           Both sexes, 16 to 19 years                                                                                                    
    Civilian labor force.......................    5,406     5,245     5,131     5,683     5,604     5,583     5,615     5,457     5,425 
        Participation rate.....................     41.3      40.0      39.1      43.4      42.8      42.6      42.9      41.6      41.4 
      Employed.................................    4,698     4,272     4,245     4,870     4,634     4,605     4,572     4,451     4,409 
        Employment-population ratio............     35.9      32.6      32.4      37.2      35.4      35.2      34.9      34.0      33.6 
      Unemployed...............................      709       973       886       813       970       978     1,043     1,006     1,016 
        Unemployment rate......................     13.1      18.6      17.3      14.3      17.3      17.5      18.6      18.4      18.7 
                                                                                                                                         
           BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                         
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........   27,704    28,021    28,059    27,704    27,896    27,939    27,982    28,021    28,059 
    Civilian labor force.......................   17,498    17,683    17,720    17,574    17,949    17,733    17,768    17,708    17,796 
        Participation rate.....................     63.2      63.1      63.2      63.4      64.3      63.5      63.5      63.2      63.4 
      Employed.................................   15,999    15,705    15,649    16,013    16,026    15,709    15,762    15,703    15,674 
        Employment-population ratio............     57.7      56.0      55.8      57.8      57.4      56.2      56.3      56.0      55.9 
      Unemployed...............................    1,499     1,979     2,071     1,561     1,923     2,024     2,006     2,005     2,122 
        Unemployment rate......................      8.6      11.2      11.7       8.9      10.7      11.4      11.3      11.3      11.9 
    Not in labor force.........................   10,206    10,338    10,339    10,129     9,947    10,206    10,214    10,313    10,263 
                                                                                                                                         
             Men, 20 years and over                                                                                                      
    Civilian labor force.......................    7,858     7,957     7,981     7,888     8,072     8,000     7,961     7,954     7,999 
        Participation rate.....................     70.4      70.6      70.7      70.7      72.0      71.2      70.7      70.5      70.8 
      Employed.................................    7,196     7,013     6,879     7,244     7,213     7,049     7,019     6,989     6,930 
        Employment-population ratio............     64.5      62.2      60.9      64.9      64.3      62.7      62.3      62.0      61.4 
      Unemployed...............................      662       944     1,102       644       859       952       942       965     1,069 
        Unemployment rate......................      8.4      11.9      13.8       8.2      10.6      11.9      11.8      12.1      13.4 
                                                                                                                                         
            Women, 20 years and over                                                                                                     
    Civilian labor force.......................    8,814     9,069     9,031     8,830     9,036     8,931     9,016     9,069     9,060 
        Participation rate.....................     63.5      64.5      64.2      63.6      64.6      63.7      64.2      64.5      64.4 
      Employed.................................    8,212     8,234     8,264     8,203     8,218     8,097     8,213     8,249     8,256 
        Employment-population ratio............     59.1      58.6      58.7      59.1      58.7      57.8      58.5      58.7      58.7 
      Unemployed...............................      602       836       767       627       818       834       804       820       804 
        Unemployment rate......................      6.8       9.2       8.5       7.1       9.1       9.3       8.9       9.0       8.9 
                                                                                                                                         
           Both sexes, 16 to 19 years                                                                                                    
    Civilian labor force.......................      826       657       708       856       842       802       790       685       736 
        Participation rate.....................     31.0      24.4      26.3      32.2      31.4      29.9      29.4      25.5      27.4 
      Employed.................................      590       457       506       567       595       563       531       464       488 
        Employment-population ratio............     22.2      17.0      18.8      21.3      22.2      21.0      19.8      17.3      18.1 
      Unemployed...............................      235       199       202       289       247       239       260       221       248 
        Unemployment rate......................     28.5      30.4      28.5      33.8      29.3      29.8      32.9      32.2      33.7 
                                                                                                                                         
                     ASIAN                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                         
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........   10,801    10,811    10,873     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
    Civilian labor force.......................    7,225     7,134     7,223     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
        Participation rate.....................     66.9      66.0      66.4     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
      Employed.................................    6,958     6,791     6,857     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
        Employment-population ratio............     64.4      62.8      63.1     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
      Unemployed...............................      267       343       365     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
        Unemployment rate......................      3.7       4.8       5.1     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
    Not in labor force.........................    3,577     3,677     3,651     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   

    1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted and
  seasonally adjusted columns.
    2 Data not available.
    NOTE:  Estimates for the above race groups will not sum to totals shown in table A-1 because data are not presented for all races. 
  Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.  Seasonally adjusted household data have been
  revised to reflect updated seasonal adjustment factors.






  HOUSEHOLD DATA                                                                                                           HOUSEHOLD DATA
  
  Table A-3.  Employment status of the Hispanic or Latino population by sex and age

  (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                                                   Not seasonally adjusted                      Seasonally adjusted (1)                  
                                                                                                                                         
         Employment status, sex, and age                                                                                                 
                                                   Dec.      Nov.      Dec.      Dec.      Aug.     Sept.      Oct.      Nov.      Dec.  
                                                   2007      2008      2008      2007      2008     2008       2008      2008      2008  
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
          HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                         
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........   31,903    32,558    32,649    31,903    32,273    32,369    32,465    32,558    32,649 
    Civilian labor force.......................   21,924    22,137    22,221    21,861    22,201    22,259    22,187    22,074    22,134 
        Participation rate.....................     68.7      68.0      68.1      68.5      68.8      68.8      68.3      67.8      67.8 
      Employed.................................   20,534    20,263    20,129    20,504    20,404    20,506    20,232    20,168    20,096 
        Employment-population ratio............     64.4      62.2      61.7      64.3      63.2      63.4      62.3      61.9      61.6 
      Unemployed...............................    1,390     1,874     2,093     1,357     1,797     1,752     1,955     1,906     2,038 
        Unemployment rate......................      6.3       8.5       9.4       6.2       8.1       7.9       8.8       8.6       9.2 
    Not in labor force.........................    9,980    10,421    10,428    10,042    10,073    10,111    10,278    10,484    10,515 
                                                                                                                                         
             Men, 20 years and over                                                                                                      
    Civilian labor force.......................   12,654    12,760    12,752     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
        Participation rate.....................     85.0      84.1      83.8     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
      Employed.................................   11,921    11,777    11,558     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
        Employment-population ratio............     80.0      77.7      76.0     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
      Unemployed...............................      733       983     1,194     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
        Unemployment rate......................      5.8       7.7       9.4     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
                                                                                                                                         
            Women, 20 years and over                                                                                                     
    Civilian labor force.......................    8,206     8,362     8,430     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
        Participation rate.....................     58.6      58.5      58.8     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
      Employed.................................    7,707     7,745     7,765     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
        Employment-population ratio............     55.0      54.2      54.2     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
      Unemployed...............................      498       618       665     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
        Unemployment rate......................      6.1       7.4       7.9     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
                                                                                                                                         
           Both sexes, 16 to 19 years                                                                                                    
    Civilian labor force.......................    1,064     1,015     1,039     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
        Participation rate.....................     35.5      32.8      33.5     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
      Employed.................................      906       741       805     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
        Employment-population ratio............     30.2      24.0      26.0     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
      Unemployed...............................      158       274       234     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   
        Unemployment rate......................     14.9      27.0      22.6     (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)       (2)   

    1 The population figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation; therefore, identical numbers appear in the unadjusted and
  seasonally adjusted columns.
    2 Data not available.
    NOTE:  Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.  Updated population controls are introduced
  annually with the release of January data. Seasonally adjusted household data have been revised to reflect updated seasonal adjustment
  factors.






  HOUSEHOLD DATA                                                                                                           HOUSEHOLD DATA
  
  Table A-4.  Employment status of the civilian population 25 years and over by educational attainment

  (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                                                   Not seasonally adjusted                        Seasonally adjusted                    
                                                                                                                                         
             Educational attainment                                                                                                      
                                                   Dec.      Nov.      Dec.      Dec.      Aug.     Sept.      Oct.      Nov.      Dec.  
                                                   2007      2008      2008      2007      2008     2008       2008      2008      2008  
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
         Less than a high school diploma                                                                                                 
  Civilian labor force.........................   12,283    12,137    12,136    12,283    12,203    12,165    12,390    12,185    12,108 
      Participation rate.......................     46.4      47.0      46.5      46.4      47.5      47.0      48.3      47.2      46.4 
    Employed...................................   11,280    10,865    10,719    11,356    11,014    10,977    11,106    10,899    10,793 
      Employment-population ratio..............     42.6      42.1      41.1      42.9      42.9      42.5      43.3      42.2      41.4 
    Unemployed.................................    1,003     1,272     1,417       927     1,189     1,187     1,284     1,286     1,315 
      Unemployment rate........................      8.2      10.5      11.7       7.5       9.7       9.8      10.4      10.6      10.9 
                                                                                                                                         
      High school graduates, no college (1)                                                                                              
  Civilian labor force.........................   38,850    38,586    38,838    38,714    38,323    38,264    38,428    38,271    38,656 
      Participation rate.......................     62.9      62.8      62.7      62.7      62.8      62.4      62.6      62.3      62.5 
    Employed...................................   37,036    36,009    35,815    36,928    36,084    35,851    35,939    35,643    35,683 
      Employment-population ratio..............     60.0      58.6      57.9      59.8      59.1      58.5      58.5      58.1      57.6 
    Unemployed.................................    1,814     2,577     3,023     1,786     2,239     2,413     2,489     2,628     2,972 
      Unemployment rate........................      4.7       6.7       7.8       4.6       5.8       6.3       6.5       6.9       7.7 
                                                                                                                                         
        Some college or associate degree                                                                                                 
  Civilian labor force.........................   36,269    37,342    36,867    36,428    36,736    36,952    36,820    37,120    37,049 
      Participation rate.......................     72.0      72.1      71.7      72.3      71.6      71.8      71.5      71.6      72.0 
    Employed...................................   34,932    35,380    34,819    35,071    34,913    35,053    34,867    35,077    34,969 
      Employment-population ratio..............     69.3      68.3      67.7      69.6      68.0      68.1      67.7      67.7      68.0 
    Unemployed.................................    1,337     1,961     2,048     1,356     1,823     1,898     1,954     2,043     2,080 
      Unemployment rate........................      3.7       5.3       5.6       3.7       5.0       5.1       5.3       5.5       5.6 
                                                                                                                                         
        Bachelor's degree and higher (2)                                                                                                 
  Civilian labor force.........................   44,620    45,272    45,202    44,552    45,327    45,183    45,454    45,232    45,182 
      Participation rate.......................     78.2      77.8      77.9      78.1      77.4      77.6      77.7      77.7      77.9 
    Employed...................................   43,725    43,900    43,619    43,606    44,082    44,011    44,044    43,794    43,517 
      Employment-population ratio..............     76.6      75.4      75.2      76.4      75.3      75.6      75.3      75.3      75.0 
    Unemployed.................................      895     1,372     1,583       946     1,244     1,172     1,410     1,438     1,665 
      Unemployment rate........................      2.0       3.0       3.5       2.1       2.7       2.6       3.1       3.2       3.7 

    1 Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent.
    2 Includes persons with bachelor's, master's, professional, and doctoral degrees. 
    NOTE:  Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.  Seasonally adjusted household data have
  been revised to reflect updated seasonal adjustment factors.






  HOUSEHOLD DATA                                                                                                           HOUSEHOLD DATA
  
  Table A-5.  Employed persons by class of worker and part-time status

  (In thousands)
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                                                   Not seasonally adjusted                        Seasonally adjusted                    
                                                                                                                                         
                    Category                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                         
                                                   Dec.      Nov.      Dec.      Dec.      Aug.     Sept.      Oct.      Nov.      Dec.  
                                                   2007      2008      2008      2007      2008     2008       2008      2008      2008  
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                 CLASS OF WORKER                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
  Agriculture and related industries...........    2,078     2,141     2,068     2,211     2,138     2,199     2,177     2,206     2,191 
    Wage and salary workers....................    1,235     1,198     1,162     1,350     1,292     1,323     1,313     1,267     1,264 
    Self-employed workers......................      825       920       883       866       822       824       827       915       925 
    Unpaid family workers......................       17        23        23     (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)   
                                                                                                                                         
  Nonagricultural industries...................  144,256   142,468   141,282   143,992   143,111   142,851   142,566   141,901   141,047 
    Wage and salary workers....................  135,125   133,697   132,518   134,659   133,727   133,582   133,694   132,983   132,082 
      Government...............................   20,836    21,613    21,415    20,807    21,257    21,183    21,539    21,431    21,395 
      Private industries.......................  114,289   112,084   111,103   113,846   112,489   112,407   112,170   111,542   110,684 
        Private households.....................      803       836       782     (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)   
        Other industries.......................  113,486   111,247   110,321   113,005   111,721   111,591   111,279   110,677   109,863 
    Self-employed workers......................    9,049     8,706     8,701     9,291     9,313     9,178     8,852     8,816     8,940 
    Unpaid family workers......................       81        65        62     (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)   
                                                                                                                                         
          PERSONS AT WORK PART TIME (2)                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                         
  All industries:                                                                                                                        
    Part time for economic reasons.............    4,750     7,135     8,250     4,638     5,879     6,292     6,848     7,323     8,038 
      Slack work or business conditions........    3,308     5,354     6,340     3,154     4,240     4,418     4,953     5,399     6,020 
      Could only find part-time work...........    1,172     1,509     1,562     1,223     1,412     1,514     1,514     1,585     1,617 
    Part time for noneconomic reasons..........   20,361    19,892    19,719    19,536    19,690    19,275    19,083    18,886    18,922 
                                                                                                                                         
  Nonagricultural industries:                                                                                                            
    Part time for economic reasons.............    4,639     7,001     8,110     4,548     5,802     6,167     6,742     7,209     7,932 
      Slack work or business conditions........    3,250     5,251     6,250     3,101     4,171     4,279     4,889     5,304     5,938 
      Could only find part-time work...........    1,153     1,497     1,553     1,206     1,385     1,541     1,499     1,579     1,619 
    Part time for noneconomic reasons..........   20,074    19,592    19,405    19,251    19,269    18,930    18,808    18,635    18,642 

    1 Data not available.
    2 Persons at work excludes employed persons who were absent from their jobs during the entire reference week for reasons such as
  vacation, illness, or industrial dispute.  Part time for noneconomic reasons excludes persons who usually work full time but worked
  only 1 to 34 hours during the reference week for reasons such as holidays, illness, and bad weather.
    NOTE:  Detail for the seasonally adjusted data shown in this table will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent
  seasonal adjustment of the various series.  Updated population controls are introduced annually with the  release of January data. 
  Seasonally adjusted household data have been revised to reflect updated seasonal adjustment factors.






  HOUSEHOLD DATA                                                                                                           HOUSEHOLD DATA
  
  Table A-6.  Selected employment indicators

  (In thousands)
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                                                   Not seasonally adjusted                        Seasonally adjusted                    
                                                                                                                                         
                 Characteristic                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                         
                                                   Dec.      Nov.      Dec.      Dec.      Aug.     Sept.      Oct.      Nov.      Dec.  
                                                   2007      2008      2008      2007      2008     2008       2008      2008      2008  
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                   AGE AND SEX                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                         
  Total, 16 years and over.....................  146,334   144,609   143,350   146,294   145,273   145,029   144,657   144,144   143,338 
    16 to 19 years.............................    5,679     5,008     5,058     5,822     5,533     5,518     5,390     5,196     5,194 
      16 to 17 years...........................    2,132     1,771     1,743     2,171     1,984     2,023     1,933     1,791     1,779 
      18 to 19 years...........................    3,547     3,237     3,314     3,646     3,549     3,525     3,469     3,408     3,413 
    20 years and over..........................  140,655   139,601   138,292   140,473   139,740   139,511   139,267   138,948   138,144 
      20 to 24 years...........................   13,682    13,446    13,320    13,731    13,649    13,625    13,528    13,443    13,374 
      25 years and over........................  126,973   126,155   124,972   126,737   126,140   125,950   125,833   125,422   124,748 
        25 to 54 years.........................  100,653    98,921    97,781   100,519    99,217    99,086    98,803    98,373    97,651 
          25 to 34 years.......................   31,672    31,298    30,885    31,652    31,425    31,352    31,122    31,070    30,864 
          35 to 44 years.......................   34,163    33,007    32,731    34,116    33,254    33,250    33,176    32,883    32,691 
          45 to 54 years.......................   34,818    34,616    34,165    34,751    34,538    34,485    34,505    34,420    34,097 
        55 years and over......................   26,320    27,233    27,191    26,218    26,923    26,863    27,029    27,049    27,096 
                                                                                                                                         
  Men, 16 years and over.......................   77,970    76,690    75,548    78,275    77,484    77,249    76,938    76,577    75,847 
    16 to 19 years.............................    2,674     2,406     2,460     2,779     2,748     2,746     2,646     2,531     2,562 
      16 to 17 years...........................      932       769       797       989       939       958       895       800       847 
      18 to 19 years...........................    1,742     1,638     1,663     1,787     1,818     1,797     1,751     1,728     1,712 
    20 years and over..........................   75,296    74,283    73,088    75,496    74,737    74,503    74,292    74,045    73,285 
      20 to 24 years...........................    7,180     6,939     6,760     7,279     7,134     7,153     6,974     6,965     6,863 
      25 years and over........................   68,116    67,344    66,328    68,258    67,653    67,365    67,372    67,039    66,456 
        25 to 54 years.........................   54,240    52,983    52,031    54,355    53,385    53,136    53,090    52,740    52,128 
          25 to 34 years.......................   17,430    17,076    16,784    17,442    17,195    17,112    17,064    16,979    16,789 
          35 to 44 years.......................   18,433    17,871    17,581    18,514    18,068    18,001    17,962    17,816    17,663 
          45 to 54 years.......................   18,377    18,036    17,666    18,399    18,121    18,023    18,065    17,944    17,676 
        55 years and over......................   13,876    14,361    14,297    13,902    14,268    14,230    14,282    14,299    14,328 
                                                                                                                                         
  Women, 16 years and over.....................   68,364    67,919    67,802    68,020    67,789    67,780    67,720    67,567    67,491 
    16 to 19 years.............................    3,005     2,602     2,598     3,043     2,785     2,772     2,744     2,665     2,632 
      16 to 17 years...........................    1,200     1,002       946     1,182     1,045     1,065     1,038       990       932 
      18 to 19 years...........................    1,805     1,600     1,651     1,860     1,731     1,728     1,718     1,680     1,701 
    20 years and over..........................   65,359    65,317    65,204    64,976    65,003    65,008    64,975    64,902    64,860 
      20 to 24 years...........................    6,502     6,507     6,560     6,452     6,514     6,472     6,553     6,478     6,510 
      25 years and over........................   58,857    58,810    58,644    58,480    58,487    58,585    58,460    58,383    58,292 
        25 to 54 years.........................   46,413    45,938    45,750    46,164    45,832    45,951    45,713    45,634    45,523 
          25 to 34 years.......................   14,242    14,223    14,101    14,210    14,230    14,240    14,058    14,091    14,075 
          35 to 44 years.......................   15,729    15,135    15,150    15,601    15,186    15,249    15,215    15,067    15,027 
          45 to 54 years.......................   16,441    16,580    16,499    16,353    16,417    16,462    16,440    16,476    16,421 
        55 years and over......................   12,444    12,872    12,894    12,316    12,655    12,634    12,747    12,750    12,769 
                                                                                                                                         
                 MARITAL STATUS                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                         
  Married men, spouse present..................   46,281    45,781    45,215    46,233    45,804    45,887    45,787    45,610    45,182 
  Married women, spouse present................   35,898    35,937    35,835    35,662    35,994    35,864    35,590    35,649    35,632 
  Women who maintain families..................    9,049     9,314     8,987     (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)   
                                                                                                                                         
            FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                         
  Full-time workers (2)........................  121,042   118,432   116,422   121,501   119,643   119,661   119,304   118,413   116,865 
  Part-time workers (3)........................   25,291    26,176    26,927    24,701    25,649    25,411    25,452    25,577    26,250 
                                                                                                                                         
               MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                         
  Total multiple jobholders....................    7,577     7,539     7,432     7,479     8,013     7,612     7,551     7,410     7,352 
      Percent of total employed................      5.2       5.2       5.2       5.1       5.5       5.2       5.2       5.1       5.1 

    1 Data not available.
    2 Employed full-time workers are persons who usually work 35 hours or more per week.
    3 Employed part-time workers are persons who usually work less than 35 hours per week.
    NOTE:  Detail for the seasonally adjusted data shown in this table will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent
  seasonal adjustment of the various series.  Updated population controls are introduced annually with the  release of January data. 
  Seasonally adjusted household data have been revised to reflect updated seasonal adjustment factors.






  HOUSEHOLD DATA                                                                                                           HOUSEHOLD DATA
  
  Table A-7.  Selected unemployment indicators, seasonally adjusted
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                                                          Number of                                                                      
                                                      unemployed persons                         Unemployment rates (1)                  
                                                        (in thousands)                                                                   
                 Characteristic                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                                                   Dec.      Nov.      Dec.      Dec.      Aug.     Sept.      Oct.      Nov.      Dec.  
                                                   2007      2008      2008      2007      2008     2008       2008      2008      2008  
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                   AGE AND SEX                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                         
  Total, 16 years and over.....................    7,541    10,476    11,108      4.9       6.2       6.2       6.6       6.8       7.2  
    16 to 19 years.............................    1,183     1,335     1,363     16.9      19.2      19.4      20.7      20.4      20.8  
      16 to 17 years...........................      535       567       564     19.8      22.2      21.7      23.1      24.1      24.1  
      18 to 19 years...........................      654       765       806     15.2      17.4      17.8      18.4      18.3      19.1  
    20 years and over..........................    6,358     9,141     9,745      4.3       5.6       5.6       6.0       6.2       6.6  
      20 to 24 years...........................    1,391     1,684     1,843      9.2      10.7      10.8      10.6      11.1      12.1  
      25 years and over........................    4,981     7,421     7,903      3.8       5.0       5.0       5.3       5.6       6.0  
        25 to 54 years.........................    4,159     6,074     6,526      4.0       5.2       5.3       5.5       5.8       6.3  
          25 to 34 years.......................    1,601     2,341     2,490      4.8       6.3       6.2       6.7       7.0       7.5  
          35 to 44 years.......................    1,314     1,874     2,041      3.7       5.0       5.2       5.4       5.4       5.9  
          45 to 54 years.......................    1,245     1,859     1,995      3.5       4.4       4.5       4.6       5.1       5.5  
        55 years and over......................      843     1,350     1,409      3.1       4.1       4.2       4.6       4.8       4.9  
                                                                                                                                         
  Men, 16 years and over.......................    4,123     6,089     6,491      5.0       6.4       6.8       7.2       7.4       7.9  
    16 to 19 years.............................      677       799       777     19.6      21.1      21.4      24.7      24.0      23.3  
      16 to 17 years...........................      282       324       313     22.2      24.5      23.2      27.3      28.8      27.0  
      18 to 19 years...........................      398       466       468     18.2      19.0      20.4      21.7      21.2      21.5  
    20 years and over..........................    3,446     5,290     5,714      4.4       5.8       6.2       6.4       6.7       7.2  
      20 to 24 years...........................      780     1,027     1,137      9.7      11.7      11.9      12.9      12.9      14.2  
      25 years and over........................    2,659     4,218     4,545      3.7       5.1       5.5       5.6       5.9       6.4  
        25 to 54 years.........................    2,212     3,448     3,770      3.9       5.3       5.8       5.8       6.1       6.7  
          25 to 34 years.......................      902     1,373     1,510      4.9       6.5       6.9       7.1       7.5       8.3  
          35 to 44 years.......................      682     1,008     1,117      3.6       5.0       5.6       5.6       5.4       5.9  
          45 to 54 years.......................      627     1,068     1,144      3.3       4.5       5.0       4.8       5.6       6.1  
        55 years and over......................      447       770       775      3.1       4.3       4.5       4.7       5.1       5.1  
                                                                                                                                         
  Women, 16 years and over.....................    3,418     4,387     4,618      4.8       5.9       5.5       5.9       6.1       6.4  
    16 to 19 years.............................      506       536       587     14.3      17.3      17.3      16.5      16.7      18.2  
      16 to 17 years...........................      253       243       251     17.6      20.1      20.3      19.2      19.7      21.2  
      18 to 19 years...........................      256       299       339     12.1      15.6      14.9      14.7      15.1      16.6  
    20 years and over..........................    2,912     3,851     4,031      4.3       5.3       4.9       5.4       5.6       5.9  
      20 to 24 years...........................      611       657       707      8.6       9.5       9.4       8.1       9.2       9.8  
      25 years and over........................    2,322     3,202     3,358      3.8       4.9       4.4       5.1       5.2       5.4  
        25 to 54 years.........................    1,947     2,625     2,756      4.0       5.1       4.6       5.2       5.4       5.7  
          25 to 34 years.......................      698       968       981      4.7       6.0       5.3       6.3       6.4       6.5  
          35 to 44 years.......................      631       866       924      3.9       5.0       4.8       5.2       5.4       5.8  
          45 to 54 years.......................      617       791       852      3.6       4.3       3.8       4.4       4.6       4.9  
        55 years and over (2)..................      366       577       583      2.9       4.5       3.9       4.3       4.3       4.3  
                                                                                                                                         
                 MARITAL STATUS                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                         
  Married men, spouse present..................    1,255     2,003     2,077      2.6       3.7       3.9       4.1       4.2       4.4  
  Married women, spouse present................    1,105     1,590     1,672      3.0       3.7       3.5       4.2       4.3       4.5  
  Women who maintain families (2)..............      669       953       948      6.9       9.6       8.2       8.8       9.3       9.5  
                                                                                                                                         
            FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                         
  Full-time workers (3)........................    6,147     8,940     9,537      4.8       6.3       6.3       6.8       7.0       7.5  
  Part-time workers (4)........................    1,429     1,566     1,632      5.5       5.7       5.9       5.7       5.8       5.9  

    1 Unemployment as a percent of the civilian labor force.
    2 Not seasonally adjusted.
    3 Full-time workers are unemployed persons who have expressed a desire to work full time (35 hours or more per week) or are on layoff
  from full-time jobs.
    4 Part-time workers are unemployed persons who have expressed a desire to work part time (less than 35 hours per week) or are on
  layoff from part-time jobs.
    NOTE:  Detail for the seasonally adjusted data shown in this table will not  necessarily add to totals because of the independent
  seasonal adjustment of the  various series.  Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. 
  Data have been revised to reflect updated seasonal adjustment factors.






  HOUSEHOLD DATA                                                                                                           HOUSEHOLD DATA
  
  Table A-8.  Unemployed persons by reason for unemployment

  (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                                                   Not seasonally adjusted                        Seasonally adjusted                    
                                                                                                                                         
                     Reason                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                         
                                                   Dec.      Nov.      Dec.      Dec.      Aug.     Sept.      Oct.      Nov.      Dec.  
                                                   2007      2008      2008      2007      2008     2008       2008      2008      2008  
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
              NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                         
  Job losers and persons who completed                                                                                                   
   temporary jobs..............................    4,013     5,746     6,878     3,785     4,994     5,348     5,811     6,156     6,471 
    On temporary layoff........................    1,061     1,166     1,675       966     1,279     1,396     1,367     1,413     1,524 
    Not on temporary layoff....................    2,952     4,580     5,203     2,820     3,715     3,952     4,443     4,744     4,946 
      Permanent job losers.....................    2,066     3,520     4,034     (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)   
      Persons who completed temporary jobs.....      887     1,060     1,169     (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)       (1)   
  Job leavers..................................      724       916       928       787       999       982       946       940     1,007 
  Reentrants...................................    2,078     2,659     2,523     2,302     2,678     2,587     2,650     2,655     2,777 
  New entrants.................................      556       694       670       693       829       822       825       760       829 
                                                                                                                                         
              PERCENT DISTRIBUTION                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                         
  Total unemployed.............................    100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0 
   Job losers and persons who completed                                                                                                  
    temporary jobs.............................     54.4      57.4      62.5      50.0      52.6      54.9      56.8      58.6      58.4 
     On temporary layoff.......................     14.4      11.6      15.2      12.8      13.5      14.3      13.4      13.4      13.8 
     Not on temporary layoff...................     40.1      45.7      47.3      37.3      39.1      40.6      43.4      45.1      44.6 
   Job leavers.................................      9.8       9.1       8.4      10.4      10.5      10.1       9.2       8.9       9.1 
   Reentrants..................................     28.2      26.6      22.9      30.4      28.2      26.6      25.9      25.3      25.1 
   New entrants................................      7.5       6.9       6.1       9.2       8.7       8.4       8.1       7.2       7.5 
                                                                                                                                         
         UNEMPLOYED AS A PERCENT OF THE                                                                                                  
                 CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                         
   Job losers and persons who completed                                                                                                  
    temporary jobs.............................      2.6       3.7       4.5       2.5       3.2       3.5       3.8       4.0       4.2 
   Job leavers.................................       .5        .6        .6        .5        .6        .6        .6        .6        .7 
   Reentrants..................................      1.4       1.7       1.6       1.5       1.7       1.7       1.7       1.7       1.8 
   New entrants................................       .4        .4        .4        .5        .5        .5        .5        .5        .5 

    1 Data not available.
    NOTE:  Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.  Seasonally adjusted household data have
  been revised to reflect updated seasonal adjustment factors.






   HOUSEHOLD DATA                                                                                                                     HOUSEHOLD DATA
  
  Table A-9.  Unemployed persons by duration of unemployment

  (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                   
                                                             Not seasonally adjusted                        Seasonally adjusted                    
                                                                                                                                                   
                         Duration                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                   
                                                             Dec.      Nov.      Dec.      Dec.      Aug.     Sept.      Oct.      Nov.      Dec.  
                                                             2007      2008      2008      2007      2008     2008       2008      2008      2008  
                                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                   
                   NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                   
  Less than 5 weeks......................................    2,666     3,079     3,227     2,718     3,242     2,864     3,108     3,255     3,267 
  5 to 14 weeks..........................................    2,302     3,130     3,390     2,314     2,874     3,083     3,055     3,141     3,398 
  15 weeks and over......................................    2,403     3,806     4,381     2,484     3,447     3,662     4,109     3,964     4,517 
     15 to 26 weeks......................................    1,128     1,614     1,869     1,169     1,568     1,621     1,834     1,757     1,927 
     27 weeks and over...................................    1,275     2,192     2,512     1,315     1,878     2,041     2,275     2,207     2,591 
                                                                                                                                                   
  Average (mean) duration, in weeks......................     16.4      19.2      19.5      16.5      17.6      18.7      19.8      18.9      19.7 
  Median duration, in weeks..............................      8.3       9.9      10.5       8.4       9.3      10.3      10.6      10.0      10.6 
                                                                                                                                                   
                   PERCENT DISTRIBUTION                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                   
  Total unemployed.......................................    100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0 
    Less than 5 weeks....................................     36.2      30.7      29.3      36.2      33.9      29.8      30.3      31.4      29.2 
    5 to 14 weeks........................................     31.2      31.3      30.8      30.8      30.1      32.1      29.7      30.3      30.4 
    15 weeks and over....................................     32.6      38.0      39.8      33.1      36.0      38.1      40.0      38.3      40.4 
      15 to 26 weeks.....................................     15.3      16.1      17.0      15.6      16.4      16.9      17.9      17.0      17.2 
      27 weeks and over..................................     17.3      21.9      22.8      17.5      19.6      21.2      22.1      21.3      23.2 

    NOTE:  Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.  Seasonally adjusted household data have been
  revised to reflect updated seasonal adjustment factors.






  HOUSEHOLD DATA                                                                                                                     HOUSEHOLD DATA
  
  Table A-10.  Employed and unemployed persons by occupation, not seasonally adjusted

  (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                               Unemployment        
                                                                     Employed                     Unemployed                      rates            
                                                                                                                                                   
                        Occupation                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                   
                                                               Dec.           Dec.            Dec.           Dec.            Dec.           Dec.   
                                                               2007           2008            2007           2008            2007           2008   
                                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                   
       Total, 16 years and over (1)......................     146,334        143,350          7,371         10,999            4.8            7.1   
  Management, professional, and related occupations......      52,324         52,548          1,041          1,802            2.0            3.3   
    Management, business, and financial operations                                                                                                 
   occupations...........................................      21,699         21,928            461            888            2.1            3.9   
    Professional and related occupations.................      30,625         30,619            580            915            1.9            2.9   
  Service occupations....................................      23,551         24,371          1,571          2,057            6.3            7.8   
  Sales and office occupations...........................      36,467         34,987          1,717          2,448            4.5            6.5   
    Sales and related occupations........................      16,654         16,354            903          1,233            5.1            7.0   
    Office and administrative support occupations........      19,812         18,633            814          1,215            3.9            6.1   
  Natural resources, construction, and maintenance                                                                                                 
   occupations...........................................      15,459         14,202          1,286          2,063            7.7           12.7   
    Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations...........         931            901            101            201            9.8           18.3   
    Construction and extraction occupations..............       9,302          8,025            990          1,522            9.6           15.9   
    Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations....       5,226          5,276            195            339            3.6            6.0   
  Production, transportation, and material moving                                                                                                  
   occupations...........................................      18,533         17,242          1,174          1,928            6.0           10.1   
    Production occupations...............................       9,458          8,421            600            992            6.0           10.5   
    Transportation and material moving occupations.......       9,075          8,821            575            936            6.0            9.6   

    1 Persons with no previous work experience and persons whose last job was in the Armed Forces are included in the unemployed total.
    NOTE:  Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.






  HOUSEHOLD DATA                                                                                                                   HOUSEHOLD DATA
  
  Table A-11.  Unemployed persons by industry and class of worker, not seasonally adjusted
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                           Number of                                                             
                                                                           unemployed                                 Unemployment               
                                                                            persons                                      rates                   
               Industry and class of worker                              (in thousands)                                                          
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                   Dec.                  Dec.                   Dec.                  Dec.       
                                                                   2007                  2008                   2007                  2008       
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                 
         Total, 16 years and over (1)....................          7,371                10,999                   4.8                   7.1       
  Nonagricultural private wage and salary workers........          5,943                 9,030                   4.9                   7.5       
    Mining...............................................             24                    46                   3.4                   5.2       
    Construction.........................................            968                 1,438                   9.4                  15.3       
    Manufacturing........................................            772                 1,315                   4.6                   8.3       
      Durable goods......................................            459                   839                   4.3                   8.0       
      Nondurable goods...................................            313                   477                   5.1                   8.8       
    Wholesale and retail trade...........................          1,009                 1,535                   4.8                   7.2       
    Transportation and utilities.........................            210                   421                   3.4                   6.7       
    Information..........................................            125                   219                   3.7                   6.9       
    Financial activities.................................            315                   540                   3.2                   5.6       
    Professional and business services...................            803                 1,147                   5.7                   8.1       
    Education and health services........................            521                   791                   2.6                   3.8       
    Leisure and hospitality..............................            961                 1,210                   7.9                   9.5       
    Other services.......................................            235                   367                   3.9                   6.1       
  Agriculture and related private wage and salary workers             96                   229                   7.5                  17.0       
  Government workers.....................................            451                   511                   2.1                   2.3       
  Self employed and unpaid family workers................            326                   559                   3.2                   5.5       

    1 Persons with no previous work experience are included in the unemployed total.
    NOTE:  Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.






  HOUSEHOLD DATA                                                                                                            HOUSEHOLD DATA
  
  Table A-12.  Alternative measures of labor underutilization

  (Percent)
                                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                          
                                                            Not seasonally adjusted                   Seasonally adjusted                 
                                                                                                                                          
                          Measure                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                          
                                                            Dec.     Nov.     Dec.     Dec.     Aug.     Sept.    Oct.     Nov.     Dec.  
                                                            2007     2008     2008     2007     2008     2008     2008     2008     2008  
                                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                          
  U-1 Persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer, as a percent                                                                                 
       of the civilian labor force.......................    1.6      2.5      2.8      1.6      2.2      2.4      2.7      2.6      2.9  
                                                                                                                                          
  U-2 Job losers and persons who completed temporary                                                                                      
       jobs, as a percent of the civilian labor force....    2.6      3.7      4.5      2.5      3.2      3.5      3.8      4.0      4.2  
                                                                                                                                          
  U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian                                                                                      
       labor force (official unemployment rate)..........    4.8      6.5      7.1      4.9      6.2      6.2      6.6      6.8      7.2  
                                                                                                                                          
  U-4 Total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a                                                                                     
       percent of the civilian labor force plus                                                                                           
       discouraged workers...............................    5.0      6.8      7.5      5.1      6.4      6.5      6.9      7.1      7.6  
                                                                                                                                          
  U-5 Total unemployed, plus discouraged workers, plus                                                                                    
       all other marginally attached workers, as a                                                                                        
       percent of the civilian labor force plus all                                                                                       
       marginally attached workers.......................    5.6      7.6      8.3      5.7      7.2      7.2      7.6      7.9      8.3  
                                                                                                                                          
  U-6 Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached                                                                                      
       workers, plus total employed part time for                                                                                         
       economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian                                                                                     
       labor force plus all marginally attached workers..    8.7     12.2     13.5      8.7     10.9     11.2     12.0     12.6     13.5  

    NOTE:  Marginally attached workers are persons who currently are neither working nor looking for work but indicate that they want and
  are available for a job and have looked for work sometime in the recent past.  Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached,
  have given a job-market related reason for not looking currently for a job.  Persons employed part time for economic reasons are those
  who want and are available for full-time work but have had to settle for a part-time schedule.  For more information, see "BLS
  introduces new range of alternative unemployment measures," in the October 1995 issue of the Monthly Labor Review.  Updated population
  controls are introduced annually with the  release of January data. Seasonally adjusted household data have been revised to reflect
  updated seasonal adjustment factors.






  HOUSEHOLD DATA                                                                                                                     HOUSEHOLD DATA
  
  Table A-13.  Persons not in the labor force and multiple jobholders by sex, not seasonally adjusted

  (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                   
                                                                      Total                          Men                          Women            
                                                                                                                                                   
                         Category                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                   
                                                               Dec.           Dec.           Dec.           Dec.           Dec.           Dec.     
                                                               2007           2008           2007           2008           2007           2008     
                                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                   
                  NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                   
  Total not in the labor force...........................     79,451         80,686         30,680         31,543         48,771         49,143    
   Persons who currently want a job......................      4,398          5,180          2,039          2,432          2,359          2,748    
     Marginally attached to the labor force (1)..........      1,344          1,908            755          1,000            589            908    
       Reason not currently looking:                                                                                                               
         Discouragement over job prospects (2)...........        363            642            238            367            125            276    
         Reasons other than discouragement (3)...........        981          1,266            516            634            464            632    
                                                                                                                                                   
                    MULTIPLE JOBHOLDERS                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                   
  Total multiple jobholders (4)..........................      7,577          7,432          3,734          3,743          3,843          3,689    
      Percent of total employed..........................        5.2            5.2            4.8            5.0            5.6            5.4    
                                                                                                                                                   
      Primary job full time, secondary job part time.....      4,067          4,176          2,239          2,288          1,828          1,888    
      Primary and secondary jobs both part time..........      1,868          1,774            565            638          1,303          1,136    
      Primary and secondary jobs both full time..........        252            218            166            143             86             75    
      Hours vary on primary or secondary job.............      1,344          1,215            746            653            598            562    

    1 Data refer to persons who have searched for work sometime during the prior 12 months and were available to take a job during the reference
  week.
    2 Includes thinks no work available, could not find work, lacks schooling or training, employer thinks too young or old, and other types of
  discrimination.
    3 Includes those who did not actively look for work in the prior 4 weeks for such reasons as school or family responsibilities, ill health, and
  transportation problems, as well as a small number for which reason for nonparticipation was not determined.
    4 Includes persons who work part time on their primary job and full time on their secondary job(s), not shown separately.
    NOTE:  Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.






ESTABLISHMENT DATA                                                                                                ESTABLISHMENT DATA

Table B-1.  Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector and selected industry detail

(In thousands)


                                         Not seasonally adjusted                    Seasonally adjusted

                                                                                                                           Change
           Industry                Dec.     Oct.    Nov.     Dec.      Dec.     Aug.     Sept.    Oct.    Nov.     Dec.     from:
                                   2007     2008    2008p    2008p     2007     2008     2008     2008    2008p    2008p  Nov. 2008-
                                                                                                                          Dec. 2008p

          Total nonfarm......... 138,934  137,715  137,073  136,119  138,078  137,423  137,020  136,597  136,013  135,489     -524

        Total private........... 116,232  114,843  114,081  113,247  115,745  114,909  114,525  114,087  113,506  112,975     -531

    Goods-producing.............  21,875   21,363   21,024   20,485   21,976   21,367   21,250   21,049   20,867   20,616     -251

Natural resources and mining....     735      806      807      799      739      788      795      796      803      802       -1
   Logging......................    61.2     61.9     61.4     58.8     60.6     58.1     58.9     59.1     59.7     58.1     -1.6
 Mining.........................   674.0    743.6    746.0    739.8    677.9    729.6    736.2    737.3    743.0    744.2      1.2
  Oil and gas extraction........   152.6    166.3    167.2    168.5    153.1    164.1    165.8    166.2    167.4    168.8      1.4
  Mining, except oil and gas(1).   221.4    240.3    237.2    230.3    225.2    233.8    234.1    234.5    235.3    234.7      -.6
   Coal mining..................    78.5     85.7     86.6     86.7     78.3     83.5     84.4     85.2     86.1     86.3       .2
  Support activities for mining.   300.0    337.0    341.6    341.0    299.6    331.7    336.3    336.6    340.3    340.7       .4

Construction....................   7,353    7,266    7,049    6,706    7,465    7,153    7,098    7,019    6,934    6,833     -101
  Construction of buildings..... 1,691.9  1,617.5  1,573.7  1,516.9  1,702.4  1,612.8  1,592.1  1,573.9  1,554.6  1,528.6    -26.0
   Residential building.........   899.5    833.5    813.2    778.0    902.0    831.9    823.3    809.7    800.8    781.6    -19.2
   Nonresidential building......   792.4    784.0    760.5    738.9    800.4    780.9    768.8    764.2    753.8    747.0     -6.8
  Heavy and civil engineering
   construction.................   960.6    996.1    954.3    872.3    993.8    952.8    943.6    932.6    920.1    907.5    -12.6
  Specialty trade contractors... 4,700.4  4,652.4  4,520.9  4,316.5  4,768.4  4,587.8  4,562.5  4,512.6  4,458.9  4,397.0    -61.9
   Residential specialty trade
    contractors................. 2,163.0  2,079.3  2,006.2  1,911.9  2,201.1  2,055.6  2,046.5  2,020.1  1,989.3  1,954.9    -34.4
   Nonresidential specialty
    trade contractors........... 2,537.4  2,573.1  2,514.7  2,404.6  2,567.3  2,532.2  2,516.0  2,492.5  2,469.6  2,442.1    -27.5

Manufacturing...................  13,787   13,291   13,168   12,980   13,772   13,426   13,357   13,234   13,130   12,981     -149
   Production workers...........   9,952    9,504    9,387    9,214    9,933    9,636    9,572    9,451    9,355    9,221     -134

 Durable goods..................   8,755    8,359    8,283    8,152    8,739    8,482    8,433    8,336    8,259    8,145     -114
   Production workers...........   6,240    5,855    5,783    5,662    6,220    5,980    5,930    5,834    5,765    5,659     -106

  Wood products.................   505.3    457.9    443.5    428.6    507.2    467.6    462.2    453.5    443.2    431.4    -11.8
  Nonmetallic mineral products..   490.9    477.4    465.7    445.6    496.4    475.8    471.0    468.6    459.4    451.5     -7.9
  Primary metals................   451.8    441.0    434.6    427.0    452.2    443.0    442.7    440.6    434.4    427.7     -6.7
  Fabricated metal products..... 1,565.6  1,515.2  1,495.3  1,463.0  1,562.7  1,534.3  1,524.2  1,507.6  1,488.9  1,460.6    -28.3
  Machinery..................... 1,191.2  1,182.0  1,171.0  1,163.7  1,191.0  1,193.0  1,187.2  1,182.8  1,171.4  1,164.5     -6.9
  Computer and electronic
   products(1).................. 1,260.3  1,238.3  1,232.4  1,225.1  1,257.6  1,247.4  1,245.5  1,239.3  1,231.3  1,223.1     -8.2
   Computer and peripheral
    equipment...................   186.0    184.8    184.2    183.8    185.4    185.4    185.3    185.0    184.0    183.3      -.7
   Communications equipment.....   129.7    132.1    129.3    127.9    129.0    131.2    131.7    131.3    129.0    127.3     -1.7
   Semiconductors and electronic
    components..................   435.1    417.9    416.3    411.5    434.9    423.4    422.1    419.1    415.9    411.2     -4.7
   Electronic instruments.......   444.2    441.7    441.2    440.9    443.7    444.7    444.5    442.6    441.5    440.8      -.7
  Electrical equipment and
   appliances...................   424.3    416.7    411.9    406.6    423.8    419.4    416.8    415.8    411.2    406.5     -4.7
  Transportation equipment(1)... 1,698.0  1,526.3  1,539.6  1,520.6  1,684.7  1,584.0  1,572.2  1,529.3  1,534.8  1,510.5    -24.3
   Motor vehicles and parts(2)..   974.1    834.2    825.7    808.7    962.6    866.2    850.1    838.3    822.5    801.1    -21.4
  Furniture and related products   524.1    471.5    461.6    451.8    523.8    487.4    482.4    470.9    461.9    452.6     -9.3
  Miscellaneous manufacturing...   643.5    632.5    627.0    619.6    639.9    630.1    628.9    627.9    622.1    617.0     -5.1

 Nondurable goods...............   5,032    4,932    4,885    4,828    5,033    4,944    4,924    4,898    4,871    4,836      -35
   Production workers...........   3,712    3,649    3,604    3,552    3,713    3,656    3,642    3,617    3,590    3,562      -28

  Food manufacturing............ 1,488.8  1,500.1  1,494.1  1,473.9  1,486.3  1,474.0  1,476.7  1,477.7  1,481.0  1,472.7     -8.3
  Beverages and tobacco products   189.2    193.3    189.4    186.8    192.0    191.3    191.3    189.1    189.9    190.0       .1
  Textile mills.................   162.4    147.5    141.6    138.0    163.0    150.6    148.3    146.5    141.7    138.8     -2.9
  Textile product mills.........   155.8    147.3    145.5    143.1    155.7    147.9    147.9    146.7    145.2    143.5     -1.7
  Apparel.......................   203.6    190.0    188.2    184.1    204.8    196.1    193.1    189.5    188.1    185.3     -2.8
  Leather and allied products...    33.9     34.6     34.4     34.0     33.7     35.1     35.0     34.4     34.1     34.0      -.1
  Paper and paper products......   460.2    447.5    444.0    442.1    460.3    453.4    449.8    447.5    444.7    442.7     -2.0
  Printing and related support
   activities...................   622.8    590.8    586.2    577.6    619.5    599.2    595.2    588.9    582.5    576.1     -6.4
  Petroleum and coal products...   109.2    115.2    114.4    111.4    111.7    114.1    114.2    114.0    114.6    114.3      -.3
  Chemicals.....................   862.7    849.8    847.9    846.5    862.0    855.4    852.5    851.6    849.8    847.0     -2.8
  Plastics and rubber products..   743.3    715.7    699.5    690.1    744.2    726.4    720.0    711.7    699.4    692.0     -7.4

    Service-providing........... 117,059  116,352  116,049  115,634  116,102  116,056  115,770  115,548  115,146  114,873     -273

     Private service-providing..  94,357   93,480   93,057   92,762   93,769   93,542   93,275   93,038   92,639   92,359     -280

Trade, transportation, and
 utilities......................  27,328   26,229   26,360   26,435   26,658   26,346   26,225   26,118   25,954   25,833     -121

 Wholesale trade................ 6,085.1  5,987.4  5,950.7  5,917.7  6,072.9  6,007.1  5,999.5  5,972.2  5,939.4  5,909.4    -30.0
  Durable goods................. 3,150.6  3,064.1  3,038.1  3,019.5  3,145.0  3,084.9  3,080.1  3,058.9  3,036.4  3,015.4    -21.0
  Nondurable goods.............. 2,094.3  2,076.6  2,068.3  2,054.6  2,089.3  2,075.2  2,070.0  2,066.6  2,058.9  2,052.4     -6.5
  Electronic markets and agents
   and brokers..................   840.2    846.7    844.3    843.6    838.6    847.0    849.4    846.7    844.1    841.6     -2.5

 Retail trade...................16,085.9 15,179.2 15,387.6 15,506.9 15,487.8 15,274.7 15,199.1 15,132.1 15,032.1 14,965.5    -66.6
  Motor vehicle and parts
   dealers(1)................... 1,898.9  1,823.3  1,774.7  1,739.5  1,909.3  1,853.2  1,837.4  1,809.8  1,779.7  1,754.7    -25.0
   Automobile dealers........... 1,240.8  1,162.0  1,126.0  1,100.2  1,244.6  1,189.6  1,177.1  1,152.9  1,127.1  1,105.6    -21.5
  Furniture and home furnishings
   stores.......................   612.0    560.7    560.5    560.9    584.5    566.4    561.7    555.5    545.6    537.6     -8.0
  Electronics and appliance
   stores.......................   564.8    532.1    541.5    538.8    540.4    535.3    530.3    527.3    522.9    517.5     -5.4
  Building material and garden
   supply stores................ 1,237.3  1,228.1  1,206.6  1,190.0  1,271.6  1,237.0  1,235.9  1,233.8  1,225.6  1,221.0     -4.6
  Food and beverage stores...... 2,907.7  2,860.4  2,885.0  2,880.2  2,871.9  2,871.5  2,863.2  2,864.6  2,856.7  2,848.4     -8.3
  Health and personal care
   stores....................... 1,016.2    981.7    987.9    999.3    999.9    985.1    984.4    983.0    978.0    982.3      4.3
  Gasoline stations.............   848.1    834.3    832.1    830.5    850.5    839.8    834.2    834.7    834.1    832.8     -1.3
  Clothing and clothing
   accessories stores........... 1,674.4  1,484.2  1,536.2  1,595.4  1,508.6  1,495.8  1,482.9  1,478.2  1,457.2  1,453.2     -4.0
  Sporting goods, hobby, book,
   and music stores.............   721.4    656.6    667.8    681.0    661.6    659.5    650.1    648.1    635.5    629.2     -6.3
  General merchandise stores(1). 3,223.4  2,910.4  3,068.8  3,159.5  2,976.7  2,941.1  2,929.8  2,911.7  2,919.1  2,922.1      3.0
   Department stores............ 1,756.0  1,481.5  1,591.0  1,648.8  1,568.4  1,507.0  1,494.2  1,477.6  1,475.0  1,472.6     -2.4
  Miscellaneous store retailers.   895.7    865.2    862.7    861.9    866.3    856.4    855.5    854.5    846.5    835.7    -10.8
  Nonstore retailers............   486.0    442.2    463.8    469.9    446.5    433.6    433.7    430.9    431.2    431.0      -.2

 Transportation and warehousing. 4,600.9  4,499.4  4,457.8  4,445.7  4,539.9  4,505.1  4,465.9  4,450.2  4,417.7  4,393.8    -23.9
  Air transportation............   500.8    483.2    482.2    477.8    502.1    490.9    487.4    484.3    483.0    479.2     -3.8
  Rail transportation...........   232.4    232.2    232.2    232.2    232.5    230.6    229.2    231.3    232.0    232.0       .0
  Water transportation..........    63.4     60.9     58.5     57.0     64.4     60.7     60.3     59.7     58.9     57.9     -1.0
  Truck transportation.......... 1,424.6  1,399.1  1,374.7  1,349.8  1,423.1  1,400.1  1,387.3  1,379.0  1,366.4  1,350.8    -15.6
  Transit and ground passenger
   transportation...............   427.9    421.7    420.5    417.1    411.8    416.5    408.2    406.6    405.2    402.8     -2.4
  Pipeline transportation.......    40.9     43.3     44.1     44.2     40.8     43.0     43.7     43.8     44.1     44.2       .1
  Scenic and sightseeing
   transportation...............    27.0     31.4     26.0     24.6     31.3     30.9     29.5     30.2     29.2     28.7      -.5
  Support activities for
   transportation...............   589.2    591.0    578.2    575.6    587.1    590.8    587.2    585.8    577.6    574.9     -2.7
  Couriers and messengers.......   625.1    576.4    579.1    610.6    588.1    585.8    580.2    578.6    572.6    575.8      3.2
  Warehousing and storage.......   669.6    660.2    662.3    656.8    658.7    655.8    652.9    650.9    648.7    647.5     -1.2

 Utilities......................   556.3    562.7    564.1    564.4    557.1    559.2    560.8    563.2    564.5    564.4      -.1

Information.....................   3,032    2,960    2,955    2,942    3,018    2,984    2,978    2,972    2,953    2,933      -20
  Publishing industries, except
   Internet.....................   893.8    864.4    858.3    852.7    889.7    870.4    867.0    863.7    855.3    849.9     -5.4
  Motion picture and sound
   recording industries.........   381.7    374.0    376.3    374.1    376.3    379.4    379.4    383.1    378.2    371.1     -7.1
  Broadcasting, except Internet.   324.3    318.3    318.6    314.7    321.9    318.4    317.7    317.9    317.3    313.4     -3.9
  Telecommunications............ 1,029.6  1,004.4  1,003.6  1,002.0  1,026.8  1,016.0  1,014.4  1,008.0  1,003.7  1,000.2     -3.5
  Data processing, hosting and
   related services.............   273.7    266.4    265.6    267.1    273.5    268.0    267.4    267.3    266.0    266.5       .5
  Other information services....   128.8    132.8    132.5    131.7    129.3    131.7    131.7    132.3    132.5    132.1      -.4

Financial activities............   8,249    8,140    8,096    8,090    8,252    8,196    8,173    8,146    8,118    8,104      -14
 Finance and insurance.......... 6,113.4  6,036.1  6,015.5  6,009.8  6,111.2  6,075.1  6,062.2  6,044.9  6,024.7  6,015.1     -9.6
  Monetary authorities - central
   bank.........................    20.6     20.1     20.5     20.2     20.7     20.8     20.9     20.4     20.6     20.4      -.2
  Credit intermediation and
   related activities(1)........ 2,827.8  2,764.0  2,746.0  2,746.4  2,829.2  2,784.7  2,785.3  2,770.7  2,755.2  2,751.0     -4.2
   Depository credit
    intermediation(1)........... 1,824.7  1,804.3  1,796.2  1,797.8  1,824.6  1,813.2  1,808.9  1,805.2  1,800.9  1,799.6     -1.3
    Commercial banking.......... 1,345.2  1,332.9  1,327.8  1,328.3  1,345.9  1,339.4  1,337.2  1,334.3  1,331.5  1,330.2     -1.3
  Securities, commodity
   contracts, investments.......   855.7    847.0    844.3    842.6    856.7    860.9    851.5    847.5    845.7    845.9       .2
  Insurance carriers and related
   activities................... 2,320.9  2,316.4  2,316.4  2,311.7  2,316.8  2,320.3  2,316.2  2,317.5  2,314.7  2,309.5     -5.2
  Funds, trusts, and other
   financial vehicles...........    88.4     88.6     88.3     88.9     87.8     88.4     88.3     88.8     88.5     88.3      -.2
 Real estate and rental and
  leasing....................... 2,135.6  2,103.6  2,080.3  2,080.0  2,140.6  2,121.3  2,110.7  2,100.6  2,093.0  2,088.7     -4.3
  Real estate................... 1,476.3  1,457.2  1,446.3  1,450.7  1,476.4  1,465.6  1,457.9  1,454.9  1,452.6  1,451.6     -1.0
  Rental and leasing services...   628.5    614.8    602.4    596.9    633.6    623.8    620.6    613.8    608.5    604.8     -3.7
  Lessors of nonfinancial
   intangible assets............    30.8     31.6     31.6     32.4     30.6     31.9     32.2     31.9     31.9     32.3       .4

Professional and business
 services.......................  18,163   17,929   17,664   17,438   18,131   17,854   17,789   17,708   17,563   17,450     -113
 Professional and technical
  services(1)................... 7,845.9  7,841.1  7,828.6  7,847.8  7,820.5  7,859.5  7,860.8  7,864.4  7,845.9  7,827.8    -18.1
   Legal services............... 1,176.0  1,167.8  1,165.6  1,169.0  1,173.9  1,166.6  1,166.2  1,166.9  1,165.8  1,167.1      1.3
   Accounting and bookkeeping
    services.................... 1,003.3    906.1    915.4    974.1    993.3    977.7    975.3    971.3    968.3    964.9     -3.4
   Architectural and engineering
    services.................... 1,456.1  1,465.0  1,453.1  1,435.1  1,460.4  1,464.2  1,457.0  1,454.1  1,447.3  1,440.6     -6.7
   Computer systems design and
    related services............ 1,397.4  1,436.9  1,439.3  1,434.8  1,391.4  1,424.5  1,427.4  1,430.4  1,431.4  1,428.5     -2.9
   Management and technical
    consulting services......... 1,004.3  1,036.4  1,039.0  1,035.4    994.3  1,019.8  1,029.6  1,028.9  1,027.8  1,026.0     -1.8
 Management of companies and
  enterprises................... 1,860.8  1,822.8  1,808.8  1,800.6  1,847.8  1,832.1  1,823.7  1,818.3  1,805.6  1,797.2     -8.4
 Administrative and waste
  services...................... 8,456.3  8,264.6  8,026.6  7,789.4  8,462.8  8,162.7  8,104.6  8,025.3  7,911.4  7,824.6    -86.8
  Administrative and support
   services(1).................. 8,094.1  7,891.6  7,657.2  7,425.3  8,099.3  7,793.5  7,735.8  7,654.8  7,542.3  7,459.0    -83.3
   Employment services(1)....... 3,634.1  3,334.4  3,177.2  3,031.1  3,566.9  3,285.8  3,236.2  3,168.2  3,068.1  2,987.5    -80.6
    Temporary help services..... 2,640.3  2,387.4  2,254.4  2,114.1  2,578.5  2,353.5  2,308.6  2,255.1  2,169.4  2,088.5    -80.9
   Business support services....   817.7    793.0    797.4    797.9    803.7    785.6    787.7    786.8    788.9    783.6     -5.3
   Services to buildings and
    dwellings................... 1,788.9  1,897.8  1,842.0  1,757.2  1,872.0  1,861.8  1,855.9  1,849.1  1,839.9  1,842.3      2.4
  Waste management and
   remediation services.........   362.2    373.0    369.4    364.1    363.5    369.2    368.8    370.5    369.1    365.6     -3.5

Education and health services...  18,741   19,207   19,281   19,265   18,568   18,997   18,993   19,012   19,059   19,104       45
 Educational services........... 3,124.9  3,236.2  3,262.0  3,209.3  2,984.5  3,126.6  3,082.3  3,066.9  3,074.1  3,081.1      7.0
 Health care and social
  assistance....................15,616.5 15,971.2 16,018.8 16,055.3 15,583.2 15,870.8 15,910.5 15,945.4 15,985.2 16,022.7     37.5
  Health care(3)................13,133.9 13,438.0 13,470.7 13,503.7 13,109.6 13,363.4 13,388.0 13,417.1 13,449.6 13,481.2     31.6
   Ambulatory health care
    services(1)................. 5,583.3  5,748.4  5,761.3  5,775.6  5,566.0  5,703.8  5,721.1  5,732.4  5,746.9  5,761.1     14.2
    Offices of physicians....... 2,246.2  2,302.6  2,309.6  2,319.0  2,235.6  2,282.7  2,289.7  2,295.2  2,301.5  2,307.1      5.6
    Outpatient care centers.....   513.9    521.6    524.2    522.0    513.0    522.2    519.9    521.5    522.8    521.7     -1.1
    Home health care services...   933.2    975.6    980.5    983.8    930.9    963.4    967.0    972.0    977.7    982.7      5.0
   Hospitals.................... 4,574.5  4,694.5  4,702.6  4,713.6  4,572.4  4,669.1  4,677.0  4,689.7  4,699.4  4,711.3     11.9
   Nursing and residential care
    facilities(1)............... 2,976.1  2,995.1  3,006.8  3,014.5  2,971.2  2,990.5  2,989.9  2,995.0  3,003.3  3,008.8      5.5
    Nursing care facilities..... 1,611.3  1,607.1  1,610.4  1,614.9  1,608.2  1,607.4  1,603.5  1,606.1  1,607.9  1,611.1      3.2
  Social assistance(1).......... 2,482.6  2,533.2  2,548.1  2,551.6  2,473.6  2,507.4  2,522.5  2,528.3  2,535.6  2,541.5      5.9
   Child day care services......   867.7    871.2    875.3    873.6    857.1    850.5    861.5    860.1    862.1    862.6       .5

Leisure and hospitality.........  13,358   13,490   13,213   13,151   13,635   13,639   13,587   13,557   13,490   13,468      -22
 Arts, entertainment, and
  recreation.................... 1,860.7  1,946.8  1,834.4  1,827.1  2,010.3  2,004.0  1,988.7  1,993.3  1,982.0  1,979.1     -2.9
  Performing arts and spectator
   sports.......................   416.7    425.8    410.7    404.7    429.9    432.9    427.6    429.3    422.4    420.5     -1.9
  Museums, historical sites,
   zoos, and parks..............   125.3    130.0    125.2    122.2    131.5    131.7    130.3    129.5    129.5    129.3      -.2
  Amusements, gambling, and
   recreation................... 1,318.7  1,391.0  1,298.5  1,300.2  1,448.9  1,439.4  1,430.8  1,434.5  1,430.1  1,429.3      -.8
 Accommodation and food services11,496.9 11,543.6 11,378.8 11,324.2 11,624.7 11,634.6 11,598.3 11,564.1 11,507.9 11,488.7    -19.2
  Accommodation................. 1,803.0  1,800.8  1,706.7  1,707.1  1,858.1  1,824.9  1,810.6  1,802.9  1,767.7  1,768.9      1.2
  Food services and drinking
   places....................... 9,693.9  9,742.8  9,672.1  9,617.1  9,766.6  9,809.7  9,787.7  9,761.2  9,740.2  9,719.8    -20.4

Other services..................   5,486    5,525    5,488    5,441    5,507    5,526    5,530    5,525    5,502    5,467      -35
  Repair and maintenance........ 1,246.5  1,228.8  1,208.6  1,196.1  1,255.5  1,233.9  1,232.7  1,228.0  1,217.1  1,208.1     -9.0
  Personal and laundry services. 1,304.3  1,315.2  1,304.6  1,306.4  1,306.9  1,318.5  1,319.4  1,315.1  1,310.4  1,310.7       .3
  Membership associations and
   organizations................ 2,935.2  2,981.2  2,974.9  2,938.1  2,944.4  2,973.6  2,977.5  2,982.2  2,974.8  2,947.7    -27.1

Government......................  22,702   22,872   22,992   22,872   22,333   22,514   22,495   22,510   22,507   22,514        7
 Federal........................   2,740    2,767    2,758    2,763    2,735    2,748    2,750    2,758    2,757    2,755       -2
  Federal, except U.S. Postal
   Service...................... 1,960.8  2,043.8  2,045.7  2,047.5  1,972.3  2,025.2  2,033.6  2,045.3  2,052.7  2,056.7      4.0
  U.S. Postal Service...........   779.1    723.3    712.1    715.7    763.1    722.4    716.8    712.8    704.3    698.4     -5.9
 State government...............   5,250    5,350    5,379    5,323    5,153    5,210    5,206    5,208    5,215    5,221        6
  State government education.... 2,447.5  2,535.6  2,564.1  2,509.4  2,332.5  2,378.8  2,378.8  2,378.4  2,384.9  2,389.4      4.5
  State government, excluding
   education.................... 2,802.6  2,814.6  2,815.1  2,813.8  2,820.9  2,831.2  2,826.7  2,829.2  2,829.9  2,831.6      1.7
 Local government...............  14,712   14,755   14,855   14,786   14,445   14,556   14,539   14,544   14,535   14,538        3
  Local government education.... 8,360.4  8,302.2  8,393.8  8,371.7  8,016.5  8,058.6  8,043.7  8,052.6  8,044.1  8,041.9     -2.2
  Local government, excluding
   education.................... 6,351.9  6,453.2  6,461.3  6,414.3  6,428.2  6,497.4  6,495.1  6,491.8  6,490.7  6,496.3      5.6


  1 Includes other industries, not shown separately.
  2 Includes motor vehicles, motor vehicle bodies and trailers, and motor vehicle parts.
  3 Includes ambulatory health care services, hospitals, and nursing and residential care facilities.
  p = preliminary.
  NOTE:  Data reflect the conversion to the 2007 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
as the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry, replacing NAICS 2002.
See http://www.bls.gov/ces/cesnaics07.htm for more details.






ESTABLISHMENT DATA                                                                                              ESTABLISHMENT DATA

Table B-2.  Average weekly hours of production and nonsupervisory workers(1) on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector
and selected industry detail


                                                   Not seasonally adjusted              Seasonally adjusted

                                                                                                                         Change
                  Industry                       Dec.   Oct.   Nov.   Dec.    Dec.   Aug.   Sept.  Oct.   Nov.   Dec.     from:
                                                 2007   2008   2008p  2008p   2007   2008   2008   2008   2008p  2008p  Nov. 2008-
                                                                                                                        Dec. 2008p


        Total private.........................   34.1   33.6   33.7   33.3    33.8   33.7   33.6   33.5   33.5   33.3      -0.2

    Goods-producing...........................   40.7   40.2   39.8   39.5    40.5   40.3   39.9   39.8   39.6   39.3       -.3

Natural resources and mining..................   45.8   45.2   44.9   44.0    45.8   45.3   44.5   44.6   44.5   44.0       -.5

Construction..................................   38.6   38.8   37.8   37.3    39.0   38.7   38.4   38.1   37.8   37.8        .0

Manufacturing.................................   41.6   40.7   40.5   40.3    41.1   40.9   40.5   40.4   40.3   39.9       -.4
   Overtime hours.............................    4.3    3.6    3.4    3.2     4.0    3.7    3.5    3.5    3.3    3.0       -.3

 Durable goods................................   41.8   40.8   40.6   40.5    41.3   41.2   40.7   40.6   40.4   40.0       -.4
   Overtime hours.............................    4.4    3.5    3.2    3.1     4.0    3.7    3.5    3.4    3.1    2.9       -.2

  Wood products...............................   39.4   38.2   38.3   37.5    39.2   38.9   38.4   38.1   38.0   37.4       -.6
  Nonmetallic mineral products................   41.1   42.5   41.4   41.0    41.5   42.3   42.0   41.9   41.5   41.6        .1
  Primary metals..............................   42.8   41.6   40.8   40.2    42.2   42.7   42.1   41.4   40.6   39.9       -.7
  Fabricated metal products...................   42.1   41.1   40.8   40.4    41.6   41.3   41.0   40.7   40.5   40.0       -.5
  Machinery...................................   43.5   42.1   41.8   41.5    42.9   42.7   42.2   41.9   41.5   41.0       -.5
  Computer and electronic products............   41.4   40.9   41.5   41.3    40.5   41.0   40.9   40.8   41.1   40.5       -.6
  Electrical equipment and appliances.........   42.7   40.8   40.8   41.0    41.6   41.0   41.0   40.5   40.3   40.0       -.3
  Transportation equipment....................   42.9   41.6   40.9   41.5    42.1   41.8   40.8   41.3   40.9   40.8       -.1
   Motor vehicles and parts(2)................   42.3   40.7   40.0   40.5    41.6   40.4   40.9   40.6   40.2   39.9       -.3
  Furniture and related products..............   39.9   37.3   37.2   37.8    39.1   38.1   37.5   37.4   37.3   37.2       -.1
  Miscellaneous manufacturing.................   39.3   38.7   38.8   39.1    38.8   39.5   38.8   38.8   38.8   38.8        .0

 Nondurable goods.............................   41.3   40.4   40.5   40.1    40.8   40.4   40.2   40.2   40.1   39.7       -.4
   Overtime hours.............................    4.2    3.8    3.7    3.3     4.0    3.7    3.6    3.6    3.5    3.2       -.3

  Food manufacturing..........................   41.0   40.8   40.9   40.0    40.4   40.5   40.4   40.4   40.3   39.5       -.8
  Beverages and tobacco products..............   40.3   37.6   38.4   37.3    40.8   38.2   38.2   38.0   38.1   37.6       -.5
  Textile mills...............................   41.1   38.3   38.3   37.5    40.2   39.5   39.0   38.2   37.9   36.8      -1.1
  Textile product mills.......................   40.7   37.7   37.9   37.7    39.9   38.8   38.2   37.9   37.8   37.2       -.6
  Apparel.....................................   37.5   36.2   37.1   37.2    37.5   36.4   36.0   36.2   36.8   37.0        .2
  Leather and allied products.................   40.0   36.9   36.0   37.2    39.1   37.6   37.5   37.0   36.2   36.5        .3
  Paper and paper products....................   44.6   42.5   42.0   41.9    44.0   43.0   42.4   42.2   41.7   41.3       -.4
  Printing and related support activities.....   39.3   38.9   38.8   38.8    38.8   38.3   38.3   38.5   38.4   38.3       -.1
  Petroleum and coal products.................   43.1   46.1   45.2   44.5    44.0   45.5   45.3   45.3   44.6   45.2        .6
  Chemicals...................................   41.8   41.4   41.6   41.5    41.5   41.5   41.3   41.5   41.3   41.2       -.1
  Plastics and rubber products................   42.0   40.7   40.7   40.7    41.4   41.0   40.8   40.6   40.5   40.2       -.3

     Private service-providing................   32.7   32.2   32.5   32.1    32.4   32.4   32.3   32.3   32.3   32.2       -.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities..........   33.7   33.0   33.0   33.0    33.3   33.2   33.2   33.1   33.0   32.9       -.1

 Wholesale trade..............................   38.8   38.2   38.5   37.9    38.3   38.3   38.1   38.2   38.1   38.0       -.1

 Retail trade.................................   30.5   29.8   29.7   29.9    30.1   30.0   30.1   29.9   29.8   29.7       -.1

 Transportation and warehousing...............   37.6   36.2   36.3   36.5    36.8   36.4   36.3   36.3   36.0   36.3        .3

 Utilities....................................   42.7   42.6   42.9   42.7    42.8   42.2   42.6   42.5   42.5   42.8        .3

Information...................................   36.7   36.9   37.4   36.8    36.3   36.8   36.9   36.9   37.0   37.0        .0

Financial activities..........................   36.4   35.7   36.6   35.7    35.8   36.1   36.0   35.9   36.0   35.9       -.1

Professional and business services............   35.2   35.0   35.3   34.6    34.8   34.9   34.8   34.9   35.0   34.7       -.3

Education and health services.................   32.8   32.4   32.7   32.3    32.6   32.6   32.5   32.5   32.5   32.4       -.1

Leisure and hospitality.......................   25.3   25.0   25.0   24.6    25.3   25.2   25.2   25.1   25.1   25.0       -.1

Other services................................   31.0   30.7   30.9   30.5    30.8   30.9   30.8   30.7   30.7   30.6       -.1


  1 Data relate to production workers in natural resources and mining and manufacturing, construction workers in construction,
and nonsupervisory workers in the service-providing industries.  These groups account for approximately four-fifths of the
total employment on private nonfarm payrolls.
  2 Includes motor vehicles, motor vehicle bodies and trailers, and motor vehicle parts.
  p = preliminary.
  NOTE:  Data reflect the conversion to the 2007 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
as the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry, replacing NAICS 2002.
See http://www.bls.gov/ces/cesnaics07.htm for more details.






ESTABLISHMENT DATA                                                                                          ESTABLISHMENT DATA

Table B-3.  Average hourly and weekly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers(1) on private nonfarm payrolls
by industry sector and selected industry detail


                                                       Average hourly earnings                  Average weekly earnings

                  Industry                         Dec.      Oct.     Nov.      Dec.       Dec.      Oct.     Nov.      Dec.
                                                   2007      2008     2008p     2008p      2007      2008     2008p     2008p

        Total private........................... $17.75    $18.23    $18.38    $18.37    $605.28   $612.53   $619.41   $611.72
         Seasonally adjusted....................  17.70     18.23     18.31     18.36     598.26    610.71    613.39    611.39

    Goods-producing.............................  18.96     19.59     19.64     19.69     771.67    787.52    781.67    777.76

Natural resources and mining....................  21.68     22.96     23.08     22.99     992.94   1037.79   1036.29   1011.56

Construction....................................  21.38     22.27     22.32     22.48     825.27    864.08    843.70    838.50

Manufacturing...................................  17.51     17.84     17.94     18.03     728.42    726.09    726.57    726.61

 Durable goods..................................  18.46     18.78     18.90     19.01     771.63    766.22    767.34    769.91
  Wood products.................................  13.88     14.41     14.45     14.58     546.87    550.46    553.44    546.75
  Nonmetallic mineral products..................  16.94     16.93     16.74     16.58     696.23    719.53    693.04    679.78
  Primary metals................................  19.73     20.00     20.05     20.08     844.44    832.00    818.04    807.22
  Fabricated metal products.....................  16.82     17.18     17.22     17.38     708.12    706.10    702.58    702.15
  Machinery.....................................  17.95     18.09     18.21     18.29     780.83    761.59    761.18    759.04
  Computer and electronic products..............  20.33     21.46     21.54     21.58     841.66    877.71    893.91    891.25
  Electrical equipment and appliances...........  15.73     15.85     15.83     15.98     671.67    646.68    645.86    655.18
  Transportation equipment......................  23.46     24.01     24.26     24.37    1006.43    998.82    992.23   1011.36
  Furniture and related products................  14.50     14.55     14.58     14.63     578.55    542.72    542.38    553.01
  Miscellaneous manufacturing...................  15.00     15.33     15.44     15.56     589.50    593.27    599.07    608.40

 Nondurable goods...............................  15.90     16.31     16.39     16.44     656.67    658.92    663.80    659.24
  Food manufacturing............................  13.70     14.09     14.21     14.26     561.70    574.87    581.19    570.40
  Beverages and tobacco products................  19.69     19.24     19.72     19.67     793.51    723.42    757.25    733.69
  Textile mills.................................  13.13     13.72     13.88     13.89     539.64    525.48    531.60    520.88
  Textile product mills.........................  11.75     11.62     11.63     11.83     478.23    438.07    440.78    445.99
  Apparel.......................................  11.28     11.38     11.42     11.38     423.00    411.96    423.68    423.34
  Leather and allied products...................  12.12     13.14     13.26     13.30     484.80    484.87    477.36    494.76
  Paper and paper products......................  18.71     19.06     18.94     19.13     834.47    810.05    795.48    801.55
  Printing and related support activities.......  16.65     17.00     17.01     17.17     654.35    661.30    659.99    666.20
  Petroleum and coal products...................  25.52     28.86     28.53     28.13    1099.91   1330.45   1289.56   1251.79
  Chemicals.....................................  19.57     19.71     20.02     19.86     818.03    815.99    832.83    824.19
  Plastics and rubber products..................  15.65     16.01     16.03     16.10     657.30    651.61    652.42    655.27

     Private service-providing..................  17.45     17.89     18.07     18.06     570.62    576.06    587.28    579.73

Trade, transportation, and utilities............  15.89     16.26     16.30     16.17     535.49    536.58    537.90    533.61

 Wholesale trade................................  20.10     20.21     20.40     20.27     779.88    772.02    785.40    768.23

 Retail trade...................................  12.64     12.91     12.92     12.83     385.52    384.72    383.72    383.62

 Transportation and warehousing.................  18.04     18.53     18.56     18.55     678.30    670.79    673.73    677.08

 Utilities......................................  28.61     29.00     29.15     29.23    1221.65   1235.40   1250.54   1248.12

Information.....................................  24.34     25.01     25.14     24.96     893.28    922.87    940.24    918.53

Financial activities............................  19.97     20.42     20.54     20.51     726.91    728.99    751.76    732.21

Professional and business services..............  20.67     21.39     22.00     22.09     727.58    748.65    776.60    764.31

Education and health services...................  18.51     18.92     18.96     19.08     607.13    613.01    619.99    616.28

Leisure and hospitality.........................  10.77     10.92     10.93     11.04     272.48    273.00    273.25    271.58

Other services..................................  15.75     15.91     15.97     16.02     488.25    488.44    493.47    488.61


  1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
  p = preliminary.
  NOTE:  Data reflect the conversion to the 2007 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
as the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry, replacing NAICS 2002.
See http://www.bls.gov/ces/cesnaics07.htm for more details.






ESTABLISHMENT DATA                                                                             ESTABLISHMENT DATA

Table B-4.  Average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers(1) on private nonfarm payrolls
by industry sector and selected industry detail, seasonally adjusted


                                                                                                       Percent
                  Industry                         Dec.     Aug.     Sept.    Oct.    Nov.     Dec.  change from:
                                                   2007     2008     2008     2008    2008p    2008p  Nov. 2008-
                                                                                                      Dec. 2008p
        Total private:
         Current dollars........................ $17.70   $18.14   $18.17   $18.23   $18.31   $18.36      0.3
         Constant (1982) dollars(2).............   8.27     8.17     8.19     8.32     8.54     N.A.      (3)

    Goods-producing.............................  18.90    19.41    19.47    19.52    19.60    19.63       .2

Natural resources and mining....................  21.54    23.02    23.17    23.06    23.05    22.85      -.9

Construction....................................  21.30    22.01    22.09    22.15    22.27    22.37       .4

Manufacturing...................................  17.41    17.76    17.79    17.86    17.94    17.92      -.1
   Excluding overtime(4)........................  16.60    16.99    17.05    17.12    17.23    17.27       .2

 Durable goods..................................  18.33    18.70    18.72    18.80    18.89    18.88      -.1

 Nondurable goods...............................  15.86    16.18    16.27    16.34    16.39    16.39       .0

     Private service-providing..................  17.39    17.82    17.85    17.92    18.00    18.06       .3

Trade, transportation, and utilities............  16.00    16.26    16.23    16.27    16.31    16.33       .1

 Wholesale trade................................  19.93    20.29    20.23    20.23    20.25    20.22      -.1

 Retail trade...................................  12.81    12.93    12.93    12.92    12.98    13.00       .2

 Transportation and warehousing.................  18.07    18.47    18.45    18.55    18.56    18.59       .2

 Utilities......................................  28.52    28.88    28.84    28.92    29.00    29.12       .4

Information.....................................  24.18    24.91    24.86    24.95    25.06    25.00      -.2

Financial activities............................  19.91    20.38    20.42    20.44    20.42    20.55       .6

Professional and business services..............  20.46    21.30    21.40    21.56    21.83    22.03       .9

Education and health services...................  18.48    18.85    18.91    18.95    18.99    19.04       .3

Leisure and hospitality.........................  10.65    10.89    10.89    10.91    10.90    10.92       .2

Other services..................................  15.71    15.92    15.93    15.95    15.97    16.00       .2


  1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
  2 The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) is used to deflate this series.
  3 Change was 2.6 percent from Oct. 2008 to Nov. 2008, the latest month available.
  4 Derived by assuming that overtime hours are paid at the rate of time and one-half.
  N.A. = not available.
  p = preliminary.
  NOTE:  Data reflect the conversion to the 2007 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
as the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry, replacing NAICS 2002.
See http://www.bls.gov/ces/cesnaics07.htm for more details.






ESTABLISHMENT DATA                                                                                               ESTABLISHMENT DATA

Table B-5.  Indexes of aggregate weekly hours of production and nonsupervisory workers(1) on private nonfarm payrolls
by industry sector and selected industry detail

(2002=100)


                                                   Not seasonally adjusted              Seasonally adjusted

                                                                                                                         Percent
                  Industry                      Dec.   Oct.   Nov.   Dec.    Dec.   Aug.   Sept.  Oct.   Nov.   Dec.   change from:
                                                2007   2008   2008p  2008p   2007   2008   2008   2008   2008p  2008p   Nov. 2008-
                                                                                                                        Dec. 2008p

        Total private.........................  109.2  106.4  106.0  103.8   107.8  106.8  106.1  105.3  104.7  103.5      -1.1

    Goods-producing...........................  100.6   96.6   93.8   90.0   100.6   96.9   95.3   93.9   92.4   90.3      -2.3

Natural resources and mining..................  135.1  145.8  144.6  139.4   135.6  143.0  141.9  141.5  142.1  139.8      -1.6

Construction..................................  109.4  109.2  102.8   95.3   112.7  106.8  104.9  102.8  100.5   98.9      -1.6

Manufacturing.................................   95.0   88.8   87.3   85.2    93.7   90.5   89.0   87.6   86.5   84.4      -2.4

 Durable goods................................   98.0   89.7   88.2   86.1    96.5   92.6   90.7   89.0   87.5   85.0      -2.9
  Wood products...............................   86.9   76.2   73.9   69.7    86.9   79.4   77.4   75.2   73.4   70.1      -4.5
  Nonmetallic mineral products................   92.4   95.4   89.8   84.6    94.4   94.3   92.4   92.0   89.2   87.6      -1.8
  Primary metals..............................   90.9   85.8   82.4   78.9    89.6   88.7   87.2   85.2   81.9   78.4      -4.3
  Fabricated metal products...................  106.3   99.4   97.1   94.0   104.8  101.6  100.0   97.9   95.9   92.8      -3.2
  Machinery...................................  106.7  100.7   98.1   96.7   105.0  103.7  101.4  100.1   97.4   95.6      -1.8
  Computer and electronic products............  104.3   99.5  100.1   98.2   101.7  101.3  100.2   99.1   98.8   96.0      -2.8
  Electrical equipment and appliances.........   92.0   87.3   86.2   85.1    89.2   88.0   87.5   86.3   84.8   83.0      -2.1
  Transportation equipment....................   98.0   81.3   81.4   80.9    95.2   86.4   83.5   81.1   81.0   78.9      -2.6
   Motor vehicles and parts(2)................   84.1   66.5   64.9   63.7    81.6   69.2   68.8   66.8   64.8   62.0      -4.3
  Furniture and related products..............   86.2   71.6   69.0   68.4    84.2   75.5   73.9   71.6   69.6   67.8      -2.6
  Miscellaneous manufacturing.................   92.7   89.1   88.1   87.8    91.0   90.9   89.0   88.7   87.4   86.9       -.6

 Nondurable goods.............................   90.3   86.9   86.0   83.9    89.3   87.0   86.3   85.7   84.8   83.3      -1.8
  Food manufacturing..........................  102.7  103.0  102.7   98.9   101.0  100.2  100.2  100.2   99.9   97.5      -2.4
  Beverages and tobacco products..............   89.1   89.8   89.9   86.3    92.3   87.6   87.8   87.6   88.9   88.7       -.2
  Textile mills...............................   54.8   46.1   43.7   41.6    53.8   48.9   47.3   45.5   43.4   41.2      -5.1
  Textile product mills.......................   77.7   69.1   67.7   65.8    76.4   70.9   70.2   69.0   67.6   65.5      -3.1
  Apparel.....................................   59.7   54.2   54.9   53.7    60.3   56.3   54.7   54.0   54.3   53.9       -.7
  Leather and allied products.................   74.0   71.5   68.5   69.8    71.5   74.3   73.4   70.9   68.4   68.5        .1
  Paper and paper products....................   89.0   83.5   81.9   81.4    87.9   85.3   83.7   83.1   81.6   80.4      -1.5
  Printing and related support activities.....   92.4   86.6   85.8   84.2    90.6   86.6   86.3   85.3   84.2   82.8      -1.7
  Petroleum and coal products.................   90.3  103.2   99.0   92.6    95.1  102.4  102.0   99.8   97.9   97.9        .0
  Chemicals...................................   96.2   94.3   94.3   93.7    95.6   95.5   94.6   95.0   94.3   93.3      -1.1
  Plastics and rubber products................   91.2   84.6   82.5   81.2    90.1   87.1   85.7   84.0   82.2   80.6      -1.9

    Private service-providing.................  111.4  108.9  109.3  107.6   109.7  109.6  108.9  108.6  108.1  107.4       -.6

Trade, transportation, and utilities..........  109.4  102.5  103.1  103.5   105.1  103.6  103.1  102.3  101.2  100.4       -.8

 Wholesale trade..............................  112.8  109.3  109.4  107.0   111.1  110.0  109.1  108.9  108.0  107.1       -.8

 Retail trade.................................  107.2   98.3   99.6  101.2   101.4   99.7   99.5   98.3   97.1   96.4       -.7

 Transportation and warehousing...............  113.6  107.4  106.4  106.7   109.5  107.7  106.7  106.3  104.3  104.6        .3

 Utilities....................................   97.1   99.1   99.8   99.2    97.5   97.4   98.8   98.9   98.9   99.8        .9

Information...................................  101.3   99.8  101.1   99.4    99.7  100.2  100.3  100.4  100.0   99.5       -.5

Financial activities..........................  110.0  107.5  109.5  106.6   108.2  109.2  108.6  108.1  108.0  107.4       -.6

Professional and business services............  118.1  115.9  114.8  110.8   116.7  115.0  114.2  113.9  113.0  111.2      -1.6

Education and health services.................  115.8  117.5  119.0  117.5   114.1  116.9  116.6  116.7  116.9  116.9        .0

Leisure and hospitality.......................  109.2  109.3  106.9  104.7   111.6  111.4  111.0  110.3  109.8  109.1       -.6

Other services................................   99.3   99.5   99.4   97.1    99.2  100.0   99.8   99.5   99.0   98.1       -.9


  1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
  2 Includes motor vehicles, motor vehicle bodies and trailers, and motor vehicle parts.
  p = preliminary.
  NOTE:  The indexes of aggregate weekly hours are calculated by dividing the current month's estimates of aggregate hours
by the corresponding 2002 annual average levels.  Aggregate hours estimates are the product of estimates of average
weekly hours and production and nonsupervisory worker employment.
  Data reflect the conversion to the 2007 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
as the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry, replacing NAICS 2002.
See http://www.bls.gov/ces/cesnaics07.htm for more details.






ESTABLISHMENT DATA                                                                                               ESTABLISHMENT DATA

Table B-6.  Indexes of aggregate weekly payrolls of production and nonsupervisory workers(1) on private nonfarm payrolls
by industry sector and selected industry detail

(2002=100)


                                                   Not seasonally adjusted              Seasonally adjusted

                                                                                                                         Percent
                  Industry                      Dec.   Oct.   Nov.   Dec.    Dec.   Aug.   Sept.  Oct.   Nov.   Dec.   change from:
                                                2007   2008   2008p  2008p   2007   2008   2008   2008   2008p  2008p   Nov. 2008-
                                                                                                                        Dec. 2008p

        Total private.........................  129.6  129.6  130.1  127.5   127.5  129.4  128.8  128.3  128.1  127.0      -0.9

    Goods-producing...........................  116.8  115.9  112.8  108.6   116.5  115.2  113.6  112.2  110.9  108.6      -2.1

Natural resources and mining..................  170.3  194.7  194.1  186.3   169.8  191.4  191.2  189.8  190.5  185.8      -2.5

Construction..................................  126.3  131.3  123.9  115.7   129.6  126.9  125.1  123.0  120.9  119.4      -1.2

Manufacturing.................................  108.8  103.6  102.4  100.5   106.7  105.1  103.5  102.4  101.5   99.0      -2.5

 Durable goods................................  112.9  105.2  104.1  102.2   110.4  108.1  106.0  104.4  103.2  100.2      -2.9

 Nondurable goods.............................  101.5  100.1   99.6   97.5   100.0   99.5   99.2   98.9   98.2   96.5      -1.7

    Private service-providing.................  133.3  133.5  135.5  133.3   130.8  133.9  133.3  133.5  133.4  133.0       -.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities..........  124.0  118.9  119.9  119.4   119.9  120.2  119.4  118.7  117.7  117.0       -.6

 Wholesale trade..............................  133.6  130.1  131.5  127.8   130.4  131.5  130.0  129.8  128.8  127.6       -.9

 Retail trade.................................  116.2  108.8  110.3  111.2   111.3  110.5  110.3  108.8  108.1  107.4       -.6

 Transportation and warehousing...............  130.0  126.3  125.3  125.6   125.5  126.2  124.9  125.0  122.9  123.4        .4

 Utilities....................................  115.9  119.9  121.4  121.1   116.1  117.5  119.0  119.4  119.7  121.3       1.3

Information...................................  122.1  123.6  125.9  122.9   119.4  123.6  123.5  124.0  124.0  123.2       -.6

Financial activities..........................  135.8  135.7  139.1  135.2   133.2  137.6  137.1  136.6  136.4  136.4        .0

Professional and business services............  145.3  147.5  150.3  145.7   142.1  145.7  145.5  146.1  146.8  145.7       -.7

Education and health services.................  141.0  146.1  148.3  147.4   138.6  144.9  144.9  145.3  146.0  146.3        .2

Leisure and hospitality.......................  133.6  135.6  132.7  131.3   135.0  137.8  137.3  136.6  135.9  135.3       -.4

Other services................................  114.0  115.3  115.6  113.4   113.6  116.0  115.8  115.6  115.2  114.4       -.7


  1 See footnote 1, table B-2.
  p = preliminary.
  NOTE:  The indexes of aggregate weekly payrolls are calculated by dividing the current month's estimates of aggregate
payrolls by the corresponding 2002 annual average levels.  Aggregate payroll estimates are the product of estimates of
average hourly earnings, average weekly hours, and production and nonsupervisory worker employment.
  Data reflect the conversion to the 2007 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
as the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry, replacing NAICS 2002.
See http://www.bls.gov/ces/cesnaics07.htm for more details.






ESTABLISHMENT DATA                                                                                              ESTABLISHMENT DATA

Table B-7.  Diffusion indexes of employment change

(Percent)


       Time span           Jan.     Feb.     Mar.     Apr.      May     June     July     Aug.    Sept.     Oct.     Nov.     Dec.

                                                        Private nonfarm payrolls, 274 industries(1)


Over 1-month span:
     2004 ..............   50.5     50.5     64.1     62.6     61.7     58.9     56.0     50.0     56.9     56.9     51.3     51.8
     2005 ..............   52.2     60.6     54.2     58.2     55.8     58.2     58.0     61.3     54.7     53.6     62.4     54.7
     2006 ..............   65.1     60.9     64.4     59.3     53.3     52.7     60.4     58.9     53.5     55.8     57.1     56.0
     2007 ..............   51.6     51.8     52.7     51.1     56.6     50.4     52.2     51.6     56.4     54.6     48.2     48.5
     2008 ..............   45.4     41.4     47.4     45.6     46.4     42.3     38.3     46.2     35.9     34.1    p27.2    p25.4


Over 3-month span:
     2004 ..............   54.4     52.9     57.3     63.5     68.8     66.6     61.3     56.4     57.7     59.5     61.9     54.6
     2005 ..............   52.2     55.5     57.5     60.8     58.9     61.9     60.4     63.9     61.1     54.4     54.9     61.3
     2006 ..............   67.2     66.2     66.6     65.5     60.6     58.2     56.0     58.9     55.7     56.4     57.1     58.4
     2007 ..............   58.4     54.7     55.3     54.7     56.2     53.3     53.1     54.7     58.4     56.8     54.7     52.4
     2008 ..............   46.7     42.7     42.3     44.0     43.1     44.0     36.3     37.4     34.1     33.0    p28.3    p24.1


Over 6-month span:
     2004 ..............   50.0     51.6     55.3     60.9     63.7     65.1     65.1     63.9     60.4     61.7     58.2     56.0
     2005 ..............   54.6     57.3     56.8     57.5     57.5     58.2     64.4     62.8     62.0     59.3     61.5     62.0
     2006 ..............   63.1     64.4     67.2     67.0     64.4     66.4     61.5     61.7     60.4     59.7     60.8     56.0
     2007 ..............   59.1     56.4     57.5     56.8     58.8     58.2     56.2     58.0     58.2     57.1     54.6     53.8
     2008 ..............   51.5     49.8     44.7     46.5     43.6     39.1     37.6     39.1     33.6     31.6    p28.3    p26.8


Over 12-month span:
     2004 ..............   40.5     42.3     45.1     48.9     51.3     58.2     57.5     55.7     57.3     58.8     60.6     60.8
     2005 ..............   60.6     60.8     59.7     58.9     58.0     60.0     60.9     63.3     60.4     58.9     59.5     61.7
     2006 ..............   67.2     65.1     65.5     62.6     64.8     66.4     64.4     64.4     66.2     65.1     64.4     65.5
     2007 ..............   62.6     59.1     60.4     58.9     59.5     58.4     57.5     58.8     61.7     60.4     59.9     57.7
     2008 ..............   53.8     54.6     52.6     50.4     49.3     45.8     44.7     42.5     41.4     38.0    p31.8    p30.5

                                                        Manufacturing payrolls, 84 industries(1)


Over 1-month span:
     2004 ..............   43.5     47.6     47.0     63.7     50.6     51.2     58.3     42.9     42.9     48.2     42.3     39.9
     2005 ..............   36.3     48.8     42.9     44.6     42.3     35.1     38.1     47.0     45.8     46.4     47.0     47.0
     2006 ..............   57.7     45.8     54.8     48.8     38.1     53.0     50.6     44.0     36.3     40.5     38.1     39.3
     2007 ..............   47.6     35.7     30.4     29.8     37.5     39.3     41.7     33.3     40.5     45.2     44.6     36.3
     2008 ..............   40.5     28.6     38.1     35.1     44.6     30.4     26.8     37.5     25.0     18.5    p18.5    p11.3


Over 3-month span:
     2004 ..............   41.1     40.5     43.5     56.5     58.9     61.3     57.7     47.0     46.4     41.7     44.6     38.7
     2005 ..............   38.1     39.3     42.3     44.6     36.3     37.5     33.3     39.9     45.8     41.7     38.7     49.4
     2006 ..............   54.8     52.4     47.6     48.8     44.6     50.6     42.9     47.6     36.3     37.5     32.1     34.5
     2007 ..............   33.9     28.6     32.1     27.4     29.8     32.7     31.0     34.5     32.1     39.3     44.0     41.7
     2008 ..............   35.7     27.4     26.8     29.2     29.8     35.7     24.4     22.6     21.4     22.6    p18.5    p14.3


Over 6-month span:
     2004 ..............   29.2     31.5     32.7     44.6     49.4     54.8     59.5     56.0     51.2     51.8     44.0     38.7
     2005 ..............   33.9     38.1     35.1     36.9     32.1     32.1     41.7     35.7     36.3     36.9     37.5     42.3
     2006 ..............   42.9     45.2     50.6     47.6     48.2     47.6     46.4     48.8     43.5     41.7     38.7     29.8
     2007 ..............   34.5     27.4     23.8     27.4     31.5     34.5     33.3     31.0     29.2     35.1     34.5     32.7
     2008 ..............   34.5     33.9     32.1     28.0     26.8     20.8     19.6     24.4     17.3     17.9    p15.5    p15.5


Over 12-month span:
     2004 ..............   13.1     14.3     13.1     20.2     23.2     35.7     36.9     38.1     36.9     44.0     44.6     44.6
     2005 ..............   44.6     43.5     41.7     40.5     36.3     35.1     32.1     33.9     32.7     33.3     33.3     38.1
     2006 ..............   44.6     40.5     40.5     39.3     39.3     44.6     41.7     42.3     46.4     48.2     45.2     44.0
     2007 ..............   39.3     36.3     36.9     28.6     29.8     26.2     26.8     29.2     30.4     29.8     33.3     33.9
     2008 ..............   29.8     29.8     29.8     24.4     27.4     24.4     23.8     21.4     22.6     20.2    p17.9    p17.9


  1 Based on seasonally adjusted data for 1-, 3-, 6-month spans and unadjusted data for the 12-month span.
  p = preliminary.
  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 decreasing
employment.
  Data reflect the conversion to the 2007 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
as the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry, replacing NAICS 2002.
See http://www.bls.gov/ces/cesnaics07.htm for more details.






Last Modified Date: January 09, 2009