For Immediate Release: May 18, For More Information, Contact: Beth Gargan/919.814.4610 North Carolina s April Employment Figures Released RALEIGH The state s seasonally adjusted April unemployment rate was 4.4 percent, decreasing 0.1 of a percentage point from March s revised rate. The national rate decreased 0.2 of a percentage point to 3.9 percent. North Carolina s April unemployment rate decreased 0.2 of a percentage point from a year ago. The number of people employed increased 6,958 over the month to 4,762,284 and increased 64,768 over the year. The number of people unemployed decreased 2,958 over the month to 219,559 and decreased 5,169 over the year. Seasonally adjusted Total Nonfarm industry employment, as gathered through the monthly establishment survey, increased 9,100 to 4,482,100 in April. The major industries with the largest over-the-month increases were Manufacturing at 2,900, followed by Professional & Business Services, 2,800; Construction, 1,200; Government, 1,100; Education & Health Services, 1,000; Information, 600; and Financial Activities, 500. Major industries experiencing decreases were Trade, Transportation & Utilities, 600; and Leisure & Hospitality Services, 400. Mining & Logging and Other Services employment remained unchanged over the month. Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rates since April Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr N.C. 4.6 4.5 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.4 U.S. 4.4 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.4 4.2 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.1 3.9 Please note: numbers have been annually revised Since April, Total Nonfarm jobs gained 84,100 with the Total Private sector growing by 77,200 and Government increasing by 6,900. The largest over-the-year increase among major industries was Professional & Business Services at 20,000, followed by Trade, Transportation & Utilities, 14,000; Leisure & Hospitality Services, 9,100; Education & Health Services, 8,400; Construction, 8,200; Financial Activities, 7,100; Government, 6,900; Manufacturing, 6,000; Information, 3,900; Other Services, 300; and Mining & Logging, 200. The next unemployment update is scheduled for Wednesday, May 30, when the county unemployment rates for April will be released. This information can be accessed on the Commerce website at http://www.nccommerce.com/lead
North Carolina data is embargoed until 10:00 A.M. Friday, May 18, April March April North Carolina (Local Area Unemployment Statistics) Numeric Month Ago Numeric Year Ago Smoothed Seasonally Adjusted Labor Force Employed Unemployed Unemployment Rate Not Seasonally Adjusted Labor Force Employed Unemployed Unemployment Rate 4,981,843 4,977,843 4,922,244 4,000 0.1 59,599 1.2 4,762,284 4,755,326 4,697,516 6,958 0.1 64,768 1.4 219,559 222,517 224,728-2,958-1.3-5,169-2.3 4.4 4.5 4.6-0.1 xxx -0.2 xxx 4,985,299 4,995,214 4,924,665-9,915-0.2 60,634 1.2 4,799,821 4,779,795 4,721,573 20,026 0.4 78,248 1.7 185,478 215,419 203,092-29,941-13.9-17,614-8.7 3.7 4.3 4.1-0.6 xxx -0.4 xxx United States (Current Population Survey) Seasonally Adjusted Labor Force Employed Unemployed Unemployment Rate Not Seasonally Adjusted Labor Force Employed Unemployed Unemployment Rate 161,527,000 161,763,000 160,181,000-236,000-0.1 xxx xxx 155,181,000 155,178,000 153,161,000 3,000 < 0.1 xxx xxx 6,346,000 6,585,000 7,021,000-239,000-3.6 xxx xxx 3.9 4.1 4.4-0.2 xxx xxx xxx 161,280,000 161,548,000 159,817,000-268,000-0.2 xxx xxx 155,348,000 154,877,000 153,262,000 471,000 0.3 xxx xxx 5,932,000 6,671,000 6,555,000-739,000-11.1 xxx xxx 3.7 4.0 4.1-0.3 xxx xxx xxx *Effective January, updated US population estimates are used in the national labor force estimates. The annual population adjustments affect the comparability of national labor force estimates over time. estimates for the current month are preliminary. Estimates for the previous month have undergone monthly revision. estimates have undergone annual revision.
North Carolina (Current Employment Statistics) Seasonally Adjusted April March April Numeric Numeric Total Nonfarm 4,482,100 4,473,000 4,398,000 9,100 0.2 84,100 1.9 Total Private 3,744,900 3,736,900 3,667,700 8,000 0.2 77,200 2.1 Mining & Logging 5,800 5,800 5,600 0 0.0 200 3.6 Construction 215,600 214,400 207,400 1,200 0.6 8,200 4.0 Manufacturing 473,000 470,100 467,000 2,900 0.6 6,000 1.3 Trade, Transportation & Utilities 838,200 838,800 824,200-600 -0.1 14,000 1.7 Information 82,800 82,200 78,900 600 0.7 3,900 4.9 Financial Activities 238,700 238,200 231,600 500 0.2 7,100 3.1 Professional & Business Services 633,300 630,500 613,300 2,800 0.4 20,000 3.3 Education & Health Services 605,800 604,800 597,400 1,000 0.2 8,400 1.4 Leisure & Hospitality Services 500,000 500,400 490,900-400 -0.1 9,100 1.9 Other Services 151,700 151,700 151,400 0 0.0 300 0.2 Government 737,200 736,100 730,300 1,100 0.1 6,900 0.9 North Carolina (Current Employment Statistics) Not Seasonally Adjusted North Carolina data is embargoed until 10:00 A.M., Friday, May 18, Month Ago Year Ago Total Nonfarm 4,485,500 4,459,300 4,402,300 26,200 0.6 83,200 1.9 Total Private 3,731,100 3,706,000 3,654,900 25,100 0.7 76,200 2.1 Mining & Logging 5,800 5,800 5,600 0 0.0 200 3.6 Construction 214,800 212,800 206,900 2,000 0.9 7,900 3.8 Manufacturing 469,700 468,000 464,800 1,700 0.4 4,900 1.1 Trade, Transportation & Utilities 833,400 832,800 817,300 600 0.1 16,100 2.0 Information 82,200 81,900 78,700 300 0.4 3,500 4.4 Financial Activities 237,300 236,500 230,300 800 0.3 7,000 3.0 Professional & Business Services 632,900 625,300 611,900 7,600 1.2 21,000 3.4 Education & Health Services 606,600 607,200 598,500-600 -0.1 8,100 1.4 Leisure & Hospitality Services 497,600 484,700 489,800 12,900 2.7 7,800 1.6 Other Services 150,800 151,000 151,100-200 -0.1-300 -0.2 Government 754,400 753,300 747,400 1,100 0.1 7,000 0.9 All Labor Force and CES data for the current month are preliminary. All Labor Force and CES estimates have been benchmarked. Estimates may not add to totals due to rounding.
Technical Notes This release presents labor force and unemployment estimates from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program. Also presented are nonfarm payroll employment estimates the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program. The LAUS and CES programs are both federal-state cooperative endeavors. Labor force and unemployment--from the LAUS program Definitions. The labor force and unemployment estimates are based on the same concepts and definitions as those used for the official national estimates obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a sample survey of households that is conducted for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by the U.S. Census Bureau. The LAUS program measures employment and unemployment on a place-of-residence basis. The universe for each is the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years of age and over. Employed persons are those who did any work at all for pay or profit in the reference week (the week including the 12th of the month) or worked 15 hours or more without pay in a family business or farm, plus those not working who had a job from which they were temporarily absent, whether or not paid, for such reasons as bad weather, labor-management dispute, illness, or vacation. Unemployed persons are those who were not employed during the reference week (based on the definition above), had actively looked for a job sometime in the 4-week period ending with the reference week, and were currently available for work; persons on lay-off expecting recall need not be looking for work to be counted as unemployed. The labor force is the sum of employed and unemployed persons. The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed as a percent of the labor force. Method of estimation. Statewide estimates are produced using an estimation algorithm administered by the BLS. This method, which underwent substantial enhancement at the beginning of 2015, utilizes data from several sources, including the CPS, the CES, and state unemployment insurance (UI) programs. Each month, census division estimates are controlled to national totals, and state estimates are then controlled to their respective division totals. Substate estimates are controlled to their respective state totals. For more information about LAUS estimation procedures, see the BLS website at www.bls.gov/lau/laumthd.htm Revisions. Labor force and unemployment data for the previous month reflect adjustments made in each subsequent month, while data for prior years reflect adjustments made at the end of each year. The monthly revisions incorporate updated model inputs, while the annually revised estimates reflect updated population data from the U.S. Census Bureau, any revisions in the other data sources, and model reestimation. In most years, historical data for the most recent five years (both seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted) are revised near the beginning of each calendar year, prior to the release of January estimates. Seasonal adjustment. The LAUS program introduced smoothed seasonally adjusted (SSA) estimates in January 2010. These are seasonally-adjusted data that have incorporated a longrun trend smoothing procedure, resulting in estimates that are less volatile than those previously produced. The estimates are smoothed using a filtering procedure, based on moving averages, to remove the irregular fluctuations from the seasonally-adjusted series, leaving the trend. The same process is used on both historical and current year estimates. For more information about the smoothing technique, see the BLS website at www.bls.gov/lau/lassaqa.htm.
Area definitions. The substate area data published in this release reflect the delineations that were issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget on July 15, 2015. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available online at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm. Employment--from the CES program Definitions. Employment data refer to persons on establishment payrolls who receive pay for any part of the pay period that includes the 12th of the month. Persons are counted at their place of work rather than at their place of residence; those appearing on more than one payroll are counted on each payroll. Industries are classified on the basis of their principal activity in accordance with the 2012 version of the North American Industry Classification System. Method of estimation. CES State and Area employment data are produced using several estimation procedures. Where possible these data are produced using a "weighted link relative" estimation technique in which a ratio of current-month weighted employment to that of the previousmonth weighted employment is computed from a sample of establishments reporting for both months. The estimates of employment for the current month are then obtained by multiplying these ratios by the previous month s employment estimates. The weighted link relative technique is utilized for data series where the sample size meets certain statistical criteria. For some employment series, relatively small sample sizes limit the reliability of the weighted linkrelative estimates. In these cases, BLS uses the CES small domain model (SDM) to generate employment estimates. The SDM combines the direct sample estimates (described above) and forecasts of historical (benchmarked) data to decrease the volatility of the estimates. For more detailed information about the CES small domain model, refer to the BLS Handbook of Methods. Annual revisions. Employment estimates are adjusted annually to a complete count of jobs, called benchmarks, derived principally from tax reports that are submitted by employers who are covered under state unemployment insurance (UI) laws. The benchmark information is used to adjust the monthly estimates between the new benchmark and the preceding one and also to establish the level of employment for the new benchmark month. Thus, the benchmarking process establishes the level of employment, and the sample is used to measure the month-to-month changes in the level for the subsequent months. Information on recent benchmark revisions is available online at www.bls.gov/sae/benchmark.pdf. Seasonal adjustment. Payroll employment data are seasonally adjusted at the statewide supersector level. In some states, the seasonally adjusted payroll employment total is computed by aggregating the independently adjusted supersector series. In other states, the seasonally adjusted payroll employment total is independently adjusted. Revisions of historical data for the most recent 5 years are made once a year, coincident with annual benchmark adjustments. Reliability of the estimates The estimates presented in this release are based on sample surveys, administrative data, and modeling and, thus, are subject to sampling and other types of errors. Sampling error is a measure of sampling variability that is, variation that occurs by chance because a sample rather than the entire population is surveyed. Survey data also are subject to nonsampling errors, such as those which can be introduced into the data collection and processing operations. Estimates not directly derived from sample surveys are subject to additional errors resulting from the specific estimation processes used.
Model-based error measures for seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted data and for overthe-month and over-the-year changes to LAUS estimates are available online at www.bls.gov/lau/lastderr.htm. Measures of sampling error for state CES data at the total nonfarm and supersector levels are available online at www.bls.gov/sae/790stderr.htm. Release Dates The next unemployment update is scheduled for Wednesday, May 30, when the county unemployment rates for April will be released. The complete data release schedule can be accessed at: http://www.nccommerce.com/lead/research-publications/schedule-of-release-dates
North Carolina Labor Market Conditions April United States/North Carolina Unemployment Rates April April (Smoothed Seasonally Adjusted**) 6.0 5.0 The North Carolina smoothed seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.4 percent in April, decreasing 0.1 of a percentage point from the previous month and falling 0.2 of a percentage point from April. Over the month, the number of persons unemployed fell by 2,958 (1.3%). The civilian labor force increased by 4,000 (0.1%) to 4,981,843. 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 4.6 4.4 4.5 4.3 4.34.44.34.44.44.4 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.4 4.2 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.1 3.9 April May June **US data are not smoothed. In Thousands North Carolina Total Nonfarm Employment April April (Seasonally Adjusted) 4,500 4,400 4,300 4,200 April May June July July Aug. United States Aug. Oct. Oct. Nov. Dec. North Carolina Nov. s in Employment by NAICS Industries April Compared to April (Seasonally Adjusted) Dec. Jan. Jan. Feb. March April Feb. March April Nationally, April s unemployment rate was 3.9 percent. The number of persons unemployed was 6,346,000, while the civilian labor force was 161,527,000. Seasonally adjusted Total Nonfarm industry employment (4,482,100) increased 9,100 (0.2%) since March and 84,100 (1.9%) since April. 1 Private sector employment grew over the month by 8,000 (0.2%) and 77,200 (2.1%) over the year. Of the major industries for which payroll data are seasonally adjusted, Manufacturing (2,900; 0.6%) had the largest overthe-month gain in jobs, followed by Professional & Business Services (2,800; 0.4%), Construction (1,200; 0.6%), Government (1,100; 0.1%), Education & Health Services (1,000; 0.2%), Information (600; 0.7%), and Financial Activities (500; 0.2%). Trade, Transportation & Utilities (600; 0.1%) reported the largest over-the-month decrease, followed by Leisure & Hospitality Services (400; 0.1%). Mining & Logging and Other Services remained unchanged. Since April, Professional & Business Services added the largest number of jobs (20,000; 3.3%), followed by Trade, Transportation & Utilities (14,000; 1.7%), Leisure & Hospitality Services (9,100; 1.9%), Education & Health Services (8,400; 1.4%), Construction (8,200; 4.0%), Financial Activities (7,100; 3.1%), Government (6,900; 0.9%), Manufacturing (6,000; 1.3%), Information (3,900; 4.9%), Other Services (300; 0.2%), and Mining & Logging (200; 3.6%). 1 It is important to note that industry employment estimates are subject to large seasonal patterns. Seasonal adjustment factors are applied to the data. However, these factors may not be fully capturing the seasonal trend. Therefore, when interpreting the changes in industry employment, it is advisable to focus on over-theyear changes in both the seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted series. In Thousands 1,000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 +8.2 +6.0 +14.0 Construction Manufacturing Trade, Transportation & Utilities +3.9 Information +7.1 Financial Activities +20.0 Professional & Business Services +8.4 Education & Health Services +9.1 Leisure & Hospitality Services +0.3 Other Services *N.C. current month data are preliminary, while all other seasonally adjusted data have undergone annual revision. U.S. data have undergone annual revision. Apr-17 Apr-18 +6.9 Government Labor & Economic Analysis North Carolina Department of Commerce 1 of 2
North Carolina Labor Market Conditions The April not seasonally adjusted Total Nonfarm employment level of 4,485,500 was 26,200 (0.6%) less than the March revised employment level of 4,459,300. Among the major industries in North Carolina, Leisure & Hospitality Services had the largest over-the-month increase in employment at 12,900 (2.7%), followed by Professional & Business Services (7,600; 1.2%), Construction (2,000; 0.9%), Manufacturing (1,700; 0.4%), Government (1,100; 0.2%), Financial Activities (800; 0.3%), Trade, Transportation & Utilities (600; 0.1%), and Information (300; 0.4%). Education & Health Services reported the largest employment decrease of 600 (0.1%), followed by Other Services (200, 0.1%). Over the year, the Service Providing sector (all industries except Mining & Logging, Construction, and Manufacturing) showed an increase of 70,200 (1.9%) jobs. Professional & Business Services experienced the largest employment increase at 21,000 (3.4%), followed by Trade, Transportation & Utilities (16,100; 2.0%), Education & Health Services (8,100; 1.4%), Leisure & Hospitality Services (7,800; 1.6%), Government (7,000; 0.9%), Financial Activities (7,000; 3.0%), and Information (3,500; 4.5%). Other Services (300; 0.2%) reported the only decrease. Selected Manufacturing Industries With Job Gains April April (Not Seasonally Adjusted) In Thousands 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 Selected Service Industries With Job Gains April April (Not Seasonally Adjusted) 15.0 2.0 Fabricated Metal Product 13.4 1.3 Food 1.0 Computer & Electronic Product 0.4 Machinery 0.3 Electrical Equipment The Goods Producing sector grew by 13,000 (1.9%) jobs over the year. Construction had the largest increase with 7,900 (3.8%), followed by Manufacturing (4,900; 1.1%), and Mining & Logging (200; 3.6%). In Thousands 10.0 5.0 6.6 6.5 5.9 5.8 Amongst manufacturing industries, Fabricated Metal Product had the largest net over-the-year increase at 2,000. Other manufacturing industries with gains were: Food, 1,300; Computer & Electronic Product, 1,000; Machinery, 400; Electrical Equipment, 300; Beverage & Tobacco Product, 300; Plastics & Rubber Products, 200; Wood Product, 100; Transportation Equipment, 100; and Chemical, 100. 0.0 Administrative & Waste Mgmt. Health Care & Social Assistance Total Private Average Weekly Wage April 2015 April (Not Seasonally Adjusted) Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities Finance & Insurance Wholesale Trade Furniture & Related Product had the largest net over-the-year decrease at 900 in April. Other industries with decreases were: Textile Mills, 500; and Apparel, 400. 900 850 Over the month, Average Weekly Hours for total private workers in April increased 42 minutes from March s revised rate of 34.5. Average Hourly Earnings grew by $0.21 to $25.01, as Average Weekly Earnings increased by $24.75 to $880.35. Over the year, Average Weekly Hours for total private workers in April increased 30 minutes from the revised rate of 34.7 in April. Average Hourly Earnings grew by $0.68 and Average Weekly Earnings increased $36.10. In Dollars 800 750 700 March 2015 June 2015 2015 Dec. March June 2015 2016 2016 2016 Dec. March June 2016 Dec. March Labor & Economic Analysis North Carolina Department of Commerce 2 of 2