August 26, 2020

Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 40 states and the District of Columbia, decreased in 1 state, and was essentially unchanged in 9 states in July 2020. Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment decreased in 49 states and the District and was essentially unchanged in 1 state.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is tracking the progress of Hurricane Laura. According to the Public Advisory issued by the NHC at 7:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, August 26, 2020, the eye of Hurricane Laura was located near latitude 26.4 North, longitude 91.4 West. Laura is moving toward the northwest near 15 mph (24 km/h) and this general motion should continue today, followed by a north-northwestward motion tonight. On the forecast track, Laura should approach the Upper Texas and southwest Louisiana coasts this evening and move inland near those areas tonight or Thursday morning. BLS maps and tables are available for areas in all of the states that may be affected by this event. For more information on hurricanes, see the National Hurricane Center.

The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program has created a set of maps and data for hurricane flood zones on the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts. Where permitted by State regulations, maps include dots...

Measuring the social, health, and economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, along with policy efforts to address those effects, is of critical national importance. Responding to this need, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is one of several federal agencies that developed questions for the rapid response Household Pulse Survey (HPS). The HPS is a collaboration between the U.S. Census Bureau, BLS, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the National Center for Education Statistics, the National Center for Health Statistics, and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service. BLS contributed questions related to the receipt and use of Economic Impact Payments (EIP), as well as sources of income being used to meet spending needs during the pandemic. In this article we refer to the EIPs as stimulus payments, as they are commonly termed in the literature. The HPS items complement stimulus-related questions that BLS included in the June 2020...

There was an upward trend in fatal occupational injuries to truck drivers during the 10-year period from 2009-18, with a high of 927 in 2017. Transportation incidents and contact with objects and equipment were the two leading events resulting in fatal occupational injuries to truck drivers in 2018. Multiple traumatic injuries and disorders was the most common nature of fatal occupational injuries to truck drivers in 2018. The incidence rate of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses involving days away from work was 262.1 cases per 10,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers among heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers and 233.0 cases per 10,000 FTE workers among light truck or delivery services drivers in 2018. The rate was 98.4 cases among all occupations.1

August 26, 2020

Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 40 states and the District of Columbia, decreased in 1 state, and was essentially unchanged in 9 states in July 2020. Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment decreased in 49 states and the District and was essentially unchanged in 1 state.

August 25, 2020

Employment increased in 202 of the 357 largest U.S. counties from March 2019 to March 2020, while 335 counties had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. St. Johns County, Florida, had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment, 3.7 percent. Ector County, Texas, experienced the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment, 5.5 percent. In March 2020, national employment increased to 147.1 million, a 0.4-percent increase over the year.

August 25, 2020

Employment increased in 202 of the 357 largest U.S. counties from March 2019 to March 2020, while 335 counties had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. St. Johns County, Florida, had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment, 3.7 percent. Ector County, Texas, experienced the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment, 5.5 percent. In March 2020, national employment increased to 147.1 million, a 0.4-percent increase over the year.

August 24, 2020

Youth employment grows sharply between April and July each year. During these months, many high school and college students take summer jobs, and graduates enter the labor market for permanent employment. In July 2020, there were 17.5 million employed 16- to 24-year-olds. Between April and July, the number of employed youth rose by 4.4 million, or 33.5 percent. This was the largest April to July employment change among youth since data began in 1948. The change, however, reflected both the seasonal pattern of youth finding jobs and some economic activity resuming after the deep job losses in March and April related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the employment increase, there were fewer youth employed in July than in February 2020, before the pandemic unfolded in many parts of the United States. The employment–population ratio for youth—the proportion of 16- to 24-year-olds with a job—was 46.7 percent in July 2020. That was down 9.5 percentage points...

August 24, 2020

Youth employment grows sharply between April and July each year. During these months, many high school and college students take summer jobs, and graduates enter the labor market for permanent employment. In July 2020, there were 17.5 million employed 16- to 24-year-olds. Between April and July, the number of employed youth rose by 4.4 million, or 33.5 percent. This was the largest April to July employment change among youth since data began in 1948. The change, however, reflected both the seasonal pattern of youth finding jobs and some economic activity resuming after the deep job losses in March and April related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the employment increase, there were fewer youth employed in July than in February 2020, before the pandemic unfolded in many parts of the United States. The employment–population ratio for youth—the proportion of 16- to 24-year-olds with a job—was 46.7 percent in July 2020. That was down 9.5 percentage points...

August 21, 2020

Manufacturing labor productivity decreased at a 15.5-percent annual rate in the second quarter of 2020, as output fell 47.0 percent and hours worked dropped 37.3 percent. These were the largest quarterly declines ever recorded (data begin in 1987). Total manufacturing productivity declined 4.1 percent over the last four quarters, as output decreased 15.8 percent and hours worked decreased 12.2 percent.

Multifactor Productivity Trends for Detailed IndustriesThursday, August 27, 2020 (10:00 AM)Worker DisplacementThursday, August 27, 2020 (10:00 AM)Employment Projections and Occupational Outlook HandbookTuesday, September 01, 2020 (10:00 AM)Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment (Monthly)Wednesday, September 02, 2020 (10:00 AM)Productivity and CostsThursday, September 03, 2020 (08:30 AM)Employment SituationFriday, September 04, 2020 (08:30 AM)

August 07, 2020

August 9 is National Book Lovers Day. More than 6,300 privately owned book stores operated in more than 1,300 U.S. counties (including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) a year ago, in August 2019. Los Angeles County, California, had the most book stores in August 2019, with 195. New York County, New York (Manhattan Borough), had the highest density of book stores by far. In August 2019, New York County had 3.6 book stores per square mile, which was over 2,000 times the U.S. average.

Yes. Data collection for the establishment survey was impacted by the pandemic. Approximately one-fifth of the establishments are assigned to four regional data collection centers for collection. Although these centers were closed during the collection period, interviewers at these centers worked remotely to collect data by telephone. Additionally, BLS encouraged businesses to report their data electronically. About one-quarter of the data that are typically collected by the data collection centers were instead collected by web this month. As a result, web collection represented 28 percent of July data, and Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) represented 15 percent.

August 06, 2020

In 2019, labor productivity rose 5.3 percent in retail trade and 0.4 percent in wholesale trade. Annual productivity growth for retail trade in 2019 was the highest since a 6.7-percent increase in 1999.