Current Employment Statistics Highlights · Employment in financial activities fell by education (CES Highlights Release Date: May 8, 2020 services ( -797,000), in membership associations

April 2020

Release Date: May 8, 2020

Prepared by Analysts of the National Estimates Branch Current Employment Statistics Survey

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

202-691-6555 Email CES

Contents

Summary

Mining & Logging

Construction

Manufacturing

Wholesale Trade

Retail Trade

Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities

Information

Financial Activities

Professional & Business Services

Private Education & Health Services

Leisure & Hospitality

Other Services

Government

Current Employment Statistics Highlights

Detailed Industry Employment Analysis

Current Employment Statistics

Highlights

http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/forms/ces?/ces/home.htm

Current Employment Statistics Summary, April 2020

CES Highlights


-7,653,000 Leisure and Hospitality

Employment in leisure and hospitality

declined sharply by 7.7 million, or 47 percent,

in April, bringing employment to its lowest

level since August 1988. Within the industry,

employment fell by 5.5 million in food services

and drinking places, followed by losses of 1.1

million in amusements, gambling and

recreation and 839,000 in accommodation.

Nonfarm payroll employment fell by an

historic 20.5 million in April, after declining by

881,000 in March, bringing employment to its

lowest level since January 2011—over 9 years

ago. Job losses in April 2020 were widespread.

For private-sector industries, the diffusion

index over a 1-month period fell to 4.8 in April,

the lowest level in the series history, indicating

that far more industries lost jobs than added

them over the month. In April, employment

fell sharply in all major industry sectors, with a

particularly large job decline in leisure and

hospitality.

The employment change for February

revised down from 275,000 to 251,000, and

the change for March also revised down from

-701,000 to -881,000.

Average hourly earnings for all employees

on private, nonfarm payrolls rose by $1.34, or

4.7 percent, in April and were up 7.9 percent

over the year. The average workweek, at 34.2

hours, increased by 0.1 hour over the month.

NOTE: Details on the impacts of COVID-19 on

the March and April estimates from the CES

survey can be found on

https://www.bls.gov/ces/notices/2020/covid-

19-march-2020.htm.

120,000

125,000

130,000

135,000

140,000

145,000

150,000

155,000

160,000

Jan-02 Jan-04 Jan-06 Jan-08 Jan-10 Jan-12 Jan-14 Jan-16 Jan-18 Jan-20

Employment in total nonfarm

April 2020 Level: 131,045OTM Change: -20,537*

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, May 08, 2020.

Shaded area represents recession as denoted by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary. * denotes significance.

January 2002–April 2020Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Summary Mining & Logging

Construction Manufacturing Trade:

Wholesale Retail

Transp., Warehousing

& Utilities Information


Professional & Business

Services



Other Services

Government

https://www.bls.gov/ces/notices/2020/covid-19-march-2020.htm

https://www.bls.gov/ces/notices/2020/covid-19-march-2020.htm

CES Highlights


-2,544,000 Education and Health Services Employment in education and health

services fell by 2.5 million in April, a level not

seen since April 2015. Within the industry,

most of the jobs losses in health care occurred

in ambulatory health care services

(-1.2 million), including losses of 503,000 in

offices of dentists, 243,000 in offices of

physicians, and 205,000 in offices of other

health practitioners.

Employment in private education declined

by 457,000. Within social assistance,

employment in individual and family services

declined by 241,000, and child daycare

services lost 336,000 jobs.

-2,165,000 Professional and Business Services

Employment in professional and business

services fell to its lowest level since October

2014. Employment declines came in

temporary help services (-842,000),

professional and technical services (-546,000),

and services to buildings and dwellings

(-259,000).

-2,107,000 Retail Trade

Employment in retail trade fell by 2.1

million in April to its lowest level since July

1994. Within the industry, job losses were

widespread, including losses of 740,000 in

clothing and clothing accessories stores and

345,000 in motor vehicles and parts dealers.

-1,330,000 Manufacturing

Manufacturing employment declined by 1.3

million in April, including declines of 421,000

in transportation equipment and 109,000 in

-980

-1,267

-7,653

-2,544

-2,165

-262

-254

-3

-584

-2,107

-363

-1,330

-975

-50

-10,000 -8,000 -6,000 -4,000 -2,000 0 2,000

Government*

Other services*

Leisure and hospitality*

Education and health services*

Professional and business services*

Financial activities*

Information*

Utilities*

Transportation and warehousing*

Retail trade*

Wholesale trade*

Manufacturing*

Construction*

Mining and logging*

Employment in total nonfarm

April 2020 Prior 12-month average

Over-the-month change, April 2020Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Total nonfarm:-20,537*


Data are preliminary.

* denotes significance

Current Employment Statistics Survey Summary, April 2020



Wholesale Retail





Services



Other Services

Government

fabricated metal products. Manufacturing

employment fell to its lowest level since

March 2010.

-1,267,000 Other Services

Employment in other services fell by 1.3

million in April. Within the industry,

employment declined in personal and laundry

CES Highlights


services (-797,000), in membership

associations (-250,000), and in repair and

maintenance (-220,000). Employment in other

services is at its lowest level since July 1994.

-975,000 Construction

Employment in construction fell by 975,000

in April to its lowest level since January 2016.

Seventy-one percent of the job loss came in

specialty trade contractors, which lost 691,000

jobs, split between residential (-297,000) and

nonresidential (-393,000) components.

Construction of buildings (-206,000) and heavy

and civil engineering construction also lost

jobs (-79,000).

-980,000 Government

Government employment fell by 980,000 in

April. Local government accounted for 801,000

of the decline, with losses split between local

education (-469,000) and local, excluding

education (-332,000). State government also

lost jobs over the month, mostly in state

government education (-176,000). Federal

government employment changed little over

the month. Government employment is now

at its lowest level since January 2005.

-584,000 Transportation and Warehousing

Employment in transportation and

warehousing fell by 584,000 in April to the

lowest level since January 2017. Within the

industry, job declines were widespread,

including in transit and ground transportation

(-185,000), air transportation (-141,000), truck

transportation (-88,000), and warehousing and

storage (-74,000).

-363,000 Wholesale Trade

In April, wholesale trade employment fell to

its lowest level since February 2012.

Employment declined in durable goods

(-185,000), in nondurable goods (-148,000), and

in electronic markets and agents and brokers

(-30,000) over the month.

-262,000 Financial Activities

Employment in financial activities fell by

262,000 in April to the lowest level since May

2018. Most of the jobs lost in April came from

real estate (-101,000) and rental and leasing

services (-120,000).

-254,000 Information

Within information, motion picture and

sound recording industries lost 217,000 jobs.

Information employment is at its lowest level

since August 2011, when a large strike

impacted the industry.

Current Employment Statistics Survey Summary, April 2020



Wholesale Retail





Services



Other Services

Government

Mining employment declined by 46,000 in

April. All major mining components

experienced significant declines over the

month, with the majority of the job loss

occurring in support activities for mining

(-33,000).

Mining employment losses are consistent

with April indicator data, which showed

large declines in the North American rotary

rig count and in the price of West Texas

Intermediate oil.

Logging employment fell by 5,000 in April.

500

550

600

650

700

750

800

850

900

950

Jan-10 Jan-12 Jan-14 Jan-16 Jan-18 Jan-20

Employment in mining

April 2020 Level: 607OTM Change: -46*





Mining and Logging



Wholesale Retail





Services



Other Services

Government

CES Highlights


https://bakerhughesrigcount.gcs-web.com/rig-count-overview?c=79687&p=irol-rigcountsoverview

https://bakerhughesrigcount.gcs-web.com/rig-count-overview?c=79687&p=irol-rigcountsoverview

https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=RWTC&f=W

https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=RWTC&f=W

Construction employment decreased by

975,000 in April. Weakness in specialty trade

contractors (-691,000) and in construction of

buildings (-206,000) combined for most of

the job loss, followed by heavy and civil

engineering construction (-79,000).

While the job loss in construction follows

weakness in residential building permits and

new home sales in March, the losses were

most likely a response to the coronavirus

pandemic as worksites shuttered or

significantly reduced employment across all

regions of the United States.

4,500

5,000

5,500

6,000

6,500

7,000

7,500

8,000

8,500


Employment in construction

April 2020 Level: 6,631OTM Change: -975*





Construction



Wholesale Retail





Services



Other Services

Government

CES Highlights


https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/pdf/newresconst.pdf

https://www.census.gov/construction/nrs/pdf/newressales.pdf

Employment in manufacturing declined by 1,330,000 in April and has

not been this low since March 2010. The decrease was led by durable

goods, which shed 914,000 jobs and included a loss of 421,000 in

transportation equipment.

The manufacturing 1-month diffusion index plummeted by 23.7 points

to 2.6 in April, indicating that far more manufacturing industries lost jobs

than added them over the month. This is the second consecutive month

the index has fallen by 20 or more points and is the lowest level in the

history of the index, which began in 1991.

In April, average weekly hours for all employees in manufacturing

tumbled 2.1 hours to 38.3 hours, the lowest level and the largest drop

since the series began in 2006. The average workweek of production

workers decreased 2.6 hours to 38.7 hours, the lowest level since January

1982.

Average weekly overtime hours for all employees in manufacturing fell

by 0.9 hour to 2.1 hours, matching its lowest level in May 2009. Average

weekly overtime hours for production workers fell 1.2 hours to 2.7 hours,

matching its lowest level since April 2009.

Average hourly earnings for all employees stood at $29.11, an increase

of 78 cents. Production and nonsupervisory workers hourly earnings

increased by 19 cents to $22.76.

11,000

11,200

11,400

11,600

11,800

12,000

12,200

12,400

12,600

12,800

13,000

13,200


Employment in manufacturing






38.0

38.5

39.0

39.5

40.0

40.5

41.0

41.5

42.0

42.5

Jan-07 Jan-09 Jan-11 Jan-13 Jan-15 Jan-17 Jan-19

Average weekly hours, manufacturing



Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

January 2007–April 2020

Seasonally adjusted

Production employeesLevel: 38.7

Change: -2.6

All employeesLevel: 38.3

Change: -2.1

Manufacturing

CES Highlights




Wholesale Retail





Services



Other Services

Government

Employment in wholesale trade fell by 363,000 in April, a decline of

6.1 percent. Durable goods shed 185,000 jobs, nondurable goods lost

148,000, and employment in electronic markets and agents and

brokers declined by 30,000. The employment declines in April

represent the largest ever monthly job changes in wholesale trade and

its 3 components.

5,200

5,400

5,600

5,800

6,000

6,200


Employment in wholesale trade






-200 -150 -100 -50 0

Electonic markets and agents and brokers *

Nondurable goods *

Durable goods *

Employment in wholesale tradeOver-the-month change, April 2020Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

April OTMC Prior 12-month average




Wholesale Trade



Wholesale Retail





Services



Other Services

Government

CES Highlights


In April, employment in retail trade

declined by 2.1 million, the largest

monthly drop in the history of the series,

which began in 1939. Since reaching a

peak in January 2017, industry

employment declined by 2.4 million.

Within retail trade, employment

declines were pervasive. Clothing and

clothing accessories stores lost 740,000

jobs, and employment in motor vehicle

and parts dealers fell by 345,000.

In line with employment, recent retail-

related economic indicators are mostly

negative. Retail Sales were down in

March. Both Auto Sales and the

Consumer Confidence Index declined

sharply in April.

12,500

13,000

13,500

14,000

14,500

15,000

15,500

16,000

16,500

Jan-90 Jan-95 Jan-00 Jan-05 Jan-10 Jan-15 Jan-20

Employment in retail tradeApril 2020 Level: 13,520OTM Change: -2,107*





Retail trade



Wholesale Retail





Services



Other Services

Government

CES Highlights


https://www.census.gov/retail/index.html

https://blog.nada.org/2020/05/05/april-2020-saar-falls-to-8-6-million-units/

https://www.conference-board.org/data/consumerconfidence.cfm

Employment in transportation and warehousing decreased by 584,000

in April, erasing essentially all of the gains made in the industry since

January 2017.

Within transportation and warehousing, transit and ground passenger

transportation (-185,000), and air transportation (-141,000) accounted for

56 percent of the losses in April. The losses in these component industries

follow declines in transit ridership and air travel amidst the COVID-19

pandemic.

Transportation and Warehousing

CES Highlights




Wholesale Retail





Services



Other Services

Government

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-17/mass-transit-may-never-recover-from-the-coronavirus-pandemic

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/business/coronavirus-airline-industry-collapse/

Employment in utilities declined by

3,000 in April, reaching its lowest level

since August 1971.

538

540

542

544

546

548

550

552

554

556

558

560

562


Employment in utilities

April 2020 Level: 543OTM Change: -3*





Utilities



Wholesale Retail





Services



Other Services

Government

CES Highlights


Information employment contracted by 254,000 to its lowest level

since August 2011. The only larger one-month decline in the series’

history—which dates to 1939—occurred in August 1983 and coincided

with a large telecommunications strike.

The impact of COVID-19 on the motion picture and sound recording

industries has been particularly acute. Most of the information jobs lost

in April are likely associated with film production and exhibition.

Employment in publishing industries, except internet (-17,000);

broadcasting, except internet (-12,000); and data processing, hosting and

related services (-7,000) shrank in April. Bucking recent trends,

employment in both telecommunications and other information services

was flat over the month.

2,550

2,600

2,650

2,700

2,750

2,800

2,850

2,900

2,950


Employment in information






Information

CES Highlights




Wholesale Retail





Services



Other Services

Government

https://www.cnet.com/news/coronavirus-movie-delays-2020-and-2021-blockbusters-new-release-dates/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2020/03/16/amc-theaters-limit-screenings-50-people-amid-coronavirus-pandemic/5061688002/

Employment in financial activities

declined by 262,000 in April. This is the

industry’s largest monthly decline in the

history of the series since 1939.

The April employment decline in real

estate and rental and leasing (-222,000)

coincided with a sharp decline in the

Consumer Confidence Index.

Employment in credit intermediation

and related activities also contracted in

April (-31,000).




Wholesale Retail





Services



Other Services

Government

CES Highlights

Release Date: May 8,2020

7,200

7,400

7,600

7,800

8,000

8,200

8,400

8,600

8,800

9,000

9,200


Employment in financial activities






https://www.conference-board.org/data/consumerconfidence.cfm

Employment in professional and business services decreased by

2.2 million in April, the largest decline in the history of the series,

beginning in 1939. Employment in professional and business

services is at its lowest level since October 2014.

Employment in administrative and support services decreased by

1.5 million in April. Within this component, temporary help services

lost 842,000 jobs, bringing its employment to the lowest level since

April 2010. Services to buildings and dwellings lost 259,000 jobs

also.

Both professional and technical services (-546,000) and

management of companies and enterprises (-82,000) incurred job

losses in April. Within professional and technical services, all of the

components experienced job losses, including -93,000 in computer

systems design and related services, and -85,000 in architectural

and engineering services.

14,000

16,000

18,000

20,000

22,000

24,000

Jan-02 Jan-04 Jan-06 Jan-08 Jan-10 Jan-12 Jan-14 Jan-16 Jan-18 Jan-20

Employment in professional and business services






Professional and Business Services

CES Highlights




Wholesale Retail





Services



Other Services

Government

In April, employment in health care and social assistance declined by 2.1

million, while educational services shed 457,000 jobs. Within social

assistance, child day care services (-336,000), and individual and family

services (-241,000) lost jobs.

Ambulatory health care services lost 1.2 million jobs in April, with offices of dentists (-503,000) and offices of physicians (-243,000) accounting for almost two-thirds of the losses. Hospitals lost 135,000 jobs. In response to the coronavirus, several states ordered cancellation of elective procedures. The loss in health-care employment in April follows a decline in health care spending in the first quarter of 2020.

9 74 39 50 38 28 60 37 31 27 52 9 54 54 32 15 38 41 27 47 25 51 23 54 56 18 63 65 30 55 73 58 61 40 73 29 69 52

-101

-2,5

44

-3,500

-3,000

-2,500

-2,000

-1,500

-1,000

-500

0

500

1,000

Jan-17 Jul-17 Jan-18 Jul-18 Jan-19 Jul-19 Jan-20

Employment in education and health services

Over-the-month change, January 2017–April 2020Seasonally adjusted, in thousands



Private Education and Health Services

CES Highlights




Wholesale Retail





Services



Other Services

Government

https://www.acr.org/-/media/ACR/Files/COVID19/States-With-Elective-Medical-Procedures-Guidance-in-Effect.pdf?la=en

https://apps.bea.gov/iTable/iTable.cfm?reqid=19&step=3&isuri=1&nipa_table_list=31&categories=survey

https://apps.bea.gov/iTable/iTable.cfm?reqid=19&step=3&isuri=1&nipa_table_list=31&categories=survey

Employment in leisure and hospitality fell sharply by nearly 7.7 million

jobs in April, after an historically large job loss of 499,000 in March.

Before the March losses, the largest one-month employment decrease in

this industry occurred in August 1989 (-83,000). The April loss constitutes

a 47-percent drop in employment.

Employment in arts, entertainment, and recreation dropped by 1.3

million or 54 percent in April.

As COVID-19 continues to depress demand for hotel accommodations,

historically low occupancy rates pushed revenue per available room

down significantly during the April reference period.

Food services and drinking places lost 5.5 million jobs—a 46 percent

decline. A marked decrease in restaurant sales during March preceded

the April employment loss.

Average hourly earnings for all leisure and hospitality workers rose

$1.14 in April to $18.00 as lower-earning workers were removed from

payrolls. Average weekly hours for nonsupervisory employees fell an

additional 0.4 hour to 22.4 hours in April after a 1.9-hour reduction in

March.

-5,491

-839

-1,323

-8,000 -6,000 -4,000 -2,000 0 2,000

Food services and drinking places*

Accommodation*

Arts, entertainment, and recreation*

Employment in leisure and hospitality



Leisure and hospitality:

-7,653*




4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

Employment in food services and drinking places


Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, May 08, 2020.Shaded area represents recession as denoted by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary. * denotes significance.


Leisure and Hospitality

CES Highlights




Wholesale Retail





Services



Other Services

Government

http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles/302395/STR-US-hotel-results-for-week-ending-18-April

https://www.census.gov/retail/marts/www/marts_current.pdf

Employment in other services fell by 1.3 million in April, by far the industry’s largest 1-month decline since the series began in 1939.

All component industries experienced sharp declines. The largest drop came in personal and laundry services, which lost 797,000 jobs. This industry includes personal care establishments, such as barbershops and hair and nail salons. According to a media report, 46 states had shut down nonessential businesses by early April. Although the definition of essential businesses varied by state, the report states that “personal care retailers like spas, nail and hair salons, tend to fall in the nonessential businesses category.”

4,200

4,400

4,600

4,800

5,000

5,200

5,400

5,600

5,800

6,000

6,200

6,400


Employment in other services






Other Services



Wholesale Retail





Services



Other Services

Government

CES Highlights


https://abcnews.go.com/Health/states-shut-essential-businesses-map/story?id=69770806

Government employment decreased by

980,000 in April, with local government

accounting for 82 percent of the loss. Hiring

for Census 2020 was negligible (+4,000).

-332

-469

-4

-176

1

1

-600 -500 -400 -300 -200 -100 0 100 200

Local government, excluding education*

Local government education*

State government, excluding education

State government education*

U.S. Postal Service*

Federal, except U.S. Postal Service*

Employment in selected government



Government:-980*




Government



Wholesale Retail





Services



Other Services

Government

CES Highlights


Prepared by Staff of the National Estimates Branch Current Employment Statistics Survey U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 202-691-6555 Email CES

CES Analysts

Osman Alhassan

Ryan Ansell

Hyun Choi

Steve Crestol

Tyler Downing

Katelynn Harris

Mike McCall

John Mullins

Michael Osifalujo

Rhiannon Sneeringer

Carson Wilson

Current Employment Statistics Highlights

Detailed Industry Employment Analysis

http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/forms/ces?/ces/home.htm

Documents

Current Employment Statistics Highlights · Employment in financial activities fell by education (CES Highlights Release Date: May 8, 2020 services ( -797,000), in membership associations