United States yearbook - 1982 (1)

Section 13
Labor Force,
Employment,
and Earnings
This section presents data on the labor force; its distribution by occupation and industry affiliation;
and the supply of, demand for, and conditions of labor. The chief sources of these data are
the Current Population Survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census; and the monthly Employment
and Earnings, the Monthly Labor Review, the Handbook of Labor Statistics, and the periodic
Special Labor Force Reports, published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Detailed data
on the labor force are also available from the Census Bureau's decennial census o f population.
T ypes o f data.— M ost statistics in this section are obtained by two methods; household interviews
or questionnaires, and reports of establishment payroll records. Each method provides data
which the other cannot suitably supply. Population characteristics, for example, are readily obtainable
only from the household survey, while detailed Industrial classification can be readily derived
only from establishment records.
Data based on households are obtained from a monthly sample survey of the population. The
Current Population Survey (CPS) Is used to gather data for the week including the 12th of the
month, and provides current comprehensive data on the labor force (see text, p. 1). CPS provides
information on the work status of the population without duplication since each person is classified
as employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force. Employed persons holding more than one job
are counted only once, according to the job at which they work the m ost hours during the survey
week.
M onthly data from CPS are published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in Employment and
Earnings and the related reports mentioned above. Data presented include national totals by sex,
race, and age, of the number of persons in the civilian labor force; the number employed, hours of
work; industry and occupational groups; and the number unemployed, reasons for, and duration of,
unemployment. Annual data shown in this section are averages of monthly figures fo r each calendar
year, unless otherwise specified.
In addition to m onthly national data, CPS also produces annual estimates of employment and
unemploym ent fo r each State and the 30 largest standard metropolitan statistical areas (SMSA's).
These estimates are published by BLS in its annual Geographic Profile of Employment and Unemployment.
More detailed geographic data (e.g., fo r counties and cities) are provided by the decennial
population censuses.
Data based on establishment records are compiled by BLS and cooperating State agencies as
part o f an ongoing Current Employment Statistics Program. Data, gathered from a sample of em ­
ployers who voluntarily complete mail questionnaires monthly, are supplemented by data from other
governm ent agencies and adjusted at intervals to data from government social insurance program
reports. The estim ates exclude proprietors of unincorporated firms, self-employed persons, private
household workers, unpaid family workers, agricultural workers, and the Armed Forces. In M arch
1981, reporting establishments employed 11 million manufacturing workers (5S percent of the total
m anufacturing em ploym ent at the time), 13 million workers in nonmanufacturing industries (25 perce
n t of the total in nonmanufacturing), and 11 million Federal, State, and local government employees
(69 percent o f total government).
The establishment survey counts workers each tim e they appear on a payroll during the reference
week (as with CPS, the week including the 12th o f the month). Thus, unlike CPS, a person
w ith two jobs is counted twice.
T he establishment survey is designed to provide detailed industry information fo r the Nation,
States, and metropolitan areas on nonagricultural wage and salary employment, average weekly
hours, average hourly and weekly earnings, and labor turnover. However, with the release o f 1981
annual data, the labor turnover series was discontinued. Establishment survey data are published in
Employment and Earnings and Monthly Labor Review, cited above. Historical data, in geographic
detail, are shown in BLS Bulletin No. 1370-13, Employment and Earnings, States and Areas, 1939-
78; BLS Bulletin No. 1370-15 Supplement to Employment and Earnings, States and Areas, Data for
1977-1980; and in the Handbook of Labor Statistics.
371