Descriptions of News Releases and Notifications

NEWS RELEASES:

The Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation (JEC) is issued monthly on the same day as the Employment Situation. It contains testimony prepared by the Commissioner to provide additional context and background to the employment and unemployment report.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a fixed marketbasket of goods and services. The CPI is based on the prices of food, clothing, shelter, fuel, drugs, transportation fares, doctors' and dentists' fees, and other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. This release is issued monthly. For more information, visit the Consumer Price Indexes home page at http://www.bls.gov/cpi/

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC) measures the average cost per employee hour worked that employers pay for wages and salaries and benefits. This release is issued quarterly. For more information, visit the Employment Cost Trends home page at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/

The Employment Cost Index (ECI) measures the change in the cost of labor, free from the influence of employment shifts among occupations and industries. The compensation series includes changes in wages and salaries and employer costs for employee benefits. The wage and salary series and the benefit cost series provide the change for the two components of compensation. This release is issued quarterly. For more information, visit the Employment Cost Trends home page at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/

The Employment Situation (EMPSIT) release contains data from two employment surveys. The Current Employment Statistics program surveys payroll records of over 300,000 businesses on a monthly basis and provides detailed industry data on employment, hours, and earnings of workers on nonfarm payrolls. The Current Population Survey is a monthly survey of about 60,000 households and provides a comprehensive body of data on the labor force, employment, unemployment, and persons not in the labor force. This release is issued monthly.  For more information, visit the Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey home page at http://www.bls.gov/cps/ and the Nonfarm Payroll Statistics from the Current Employment Statistics (National) home page at http://www.bls.gov/ces/

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) release presents data on job openings, hires, and separations. This release is issued monthly. For more information, visit the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey home page at http://www.bls.gov/jlt/

The Mass Layoffs (MMLS) release provides data on actions involving of 50 or more persons from an establishment beginning in a given month, regardless of the duration of the layoffs. BLS reports on the number of layoff events and the number of initial claimants for unemployment insurance by month, by industry, by region of the country, and by State. The data are released monthly. Subcribers to this list also receive the quarterly extended mass layoffs news release—the extended mass layoffs news release reports on mass layoffs of at least 31 days duration. For more information, visit the Mass Layoffs Statistics home page at http://www.bls.gov/mls/

The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment (METRO) release uses Current Employment Statistics survey data of employment for States and metropolitan areas. The release also contains Local Area Employment Statistics estimates of unemployment rates and of the civilian labor force for States and metropolitan areas. This report is issued monthly.  For more information, visit the Local Area Unemployment Statistics home page at http://www.bls.gov/lau/ and the Nonfarm Payroll Statistics from the Current Employment Statistics (State & Area) home page at http://www.bls.gov/sae/

Producer Price Indexes (PPI) measure average price change over time in the selling prices received by domestic producers of goods and services. Producer price indexes measure price change from the perspective of the seller. The output of all industries in the goods-producing sector of the economy — agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, and manufacturing — are included in the PPI, and service sector coverage is expanding. Imports are not part of the PPI universe. This release is issued monthly.  For more information, visit the Producer Price Indexes home page at http://www.bls.gov/ppi/

The Productivity and Costs (PROD2) release presents data on labor productivity and unit labor costs. Labor productivity describes the relationship between output and the labor time involved in production. Unit labor costs relate total labor costs to total output. This release is issued 8 times per year; preliminary and revised versions are released for each quarter.  For more information, visit the Quarterly Labor Productivity home page at http://www.bls.gov/lpc/

The Business Employment Dynamics (CEWBD) release presents, for the private sector, the number of job gains from opening establishments and from expanding establishments and the number of job losses from closing establishments and from contracting establishments. These numbers are available by industry, by firm size, and by State. This release is issued quarterly. For more information, visit the Business Employment Dynamics home page at http://www.bls.gov/bdm/

The Real Earnings (REALER) data presented in this release are derived from the Current Employment Statistics survey, a monthly establishment survey of employment, payroll, and hours. The deflator used for constant-dollar earnings series presented in this release is derived from the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). For more information, visit the Nonfarm Payroll Statistics from the Current Employment Statistics (National) home page at http://www.bls.gov/ces/

The Regional and State Employment and Unemployment (LAUS) release provides estimates for labor force and unemployment for census regions and divisions, States, and selected metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). The release also contains Current Employment Statistics program estimates of employment by State and industry division. This report is issued monthly.  For more information, visit the Local Area Unemployment Statistics home page at http://www.bls.gov/lau/ and the Nonfarm Payroll Statistics from the Current Employment Statistics (State & Area) home page at http://www.bls.gov/sae/

U.S. Import and Export Indexes (XIMPIM) measure change in the prices of exported and imported nonmilitary goods traded between the United States and the rest of the world. Product groups covered account for nearly 100 percent of U.S. commodity imports and exports by value. Excluded are works of art and selected miscellaneous exports. This release is issued monthly.  For more information, visit the International Price Indexes home page at http://www.bls.gov/mxp/

Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers (WKYENG) release presents data from the Current Population Survey on the usual weekly earnings of wage and salary workers. The earnings data are available by age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, occupation, and educational attainment. The release is issued quarterly. The Current Population Survey is a monthly survey of about 60,000 households and provides a comprehensive body of data on the labor force, employment, unemployment, and persons not in the labor force. For more information, visit the Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey home page at http://www.bls.gov/cps/

The County Employment and Wages (CEWQTR) release presents the average weekly wages by quarter of all workers covered by State and federal unemployment insurance (UI) programs. Average monthly employment for these workers is also reported. Wages and employment are presented by county and by State. This release is issued quarterly. For more information, visit the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages home page at http://www.bls.gov/cew/

NOTIFICATIONS:

NEW Subscribers to the NLS Update (NLSUPDT) list receive a message every two months (on average) when information at http://www.bls.gov/nls/update.htm is updated — this page will provide links to new items like the quarterly NLS News newsletter, data and documentation updates, annual news releases, and information about NLS User Conferences.

Subscribers to the New England CPI Summary (Boston) (RO1BLUE) list receive a monthly notification when the information at http://www.bls.gov/xg_shells/ro1xg01a.htm is updated — this page contains the most recent monthly Consumer Price Indexes for the Northeast Region and the U.S.; the most recent bimonthly indexes for the Boston area are also included. For information on how Consumer Price Indexes are measured, visit the Consumer Price Indexes home page at http://www.bls.gov/cpi/

Subscribers to the New York-New Jersey CPI Summary (RO2BLUE) list receive a monthly notification when the information at http://www.bls.gov/ro2/bluecard.htm is updated — this page contains the most recent monthly Consumer Price Indexes for the New York-Northeastern New Jersey area and selected metropolitan areas. For information on how Consumer Price Indexes are measured, visit the Consumer Price Indexes home page at http://www.bls.gov/cpi/

Subscribers to the Mid-Atlantic CPI Summary (Philadelphia Blue Card) (RO3BLUE) list receive a monthly notification when the information at http://www.bls.gov/xg_shells/ro3xg01a.htm is updated — this page contains the most recent monthly Consumer Price Indexes for the Northeast and South Regions and the U.S.; bimonthly indexes for the Philadelphia area and the Washington-Baltimore area; and semiannual indexes for the Pittsburgh area. For information on how Consumer Price Indexes are measured, visit the Consumer Price Indexes home page at http://www.bls.gov/cpi/

Subscribers to the South CPI Summary (Atlanta Blue Card) (RO4BLUE) list receive a monthly notification when the information at http://www.bls.gov/xg_shells/ro4xg01a.htm is updated — this page contains the most recent monthly Consumer Price Indexes for the South Region and the U.S., and bimonthly indexes for the Atlanta area and Miami-Fort Lauderdale area. For information on how Consumer Price Indexes are measured, visit the Consumer Price Indexes home page at http://www.bls.gov/cpi/

Subscribers to the Midwest CPI Summary (Chicago) (RO5BLUE) list receive a monthly notification when the information at http://www.bls.gov/ro5/ro5cpi08.pdf is updated — this PDF contains the most recent monthly Consumer Price Indexes for the U.S., Midwest Region, and Chicago area; bimonthly indexes for the Cleveland area and the Detroit area; and semi-annual indexes for the Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis areas. For information on how Consumer Price Indexes are measured, visit the Consumer Price Indexes home page at http://www.bls.gov/cpi/

Subscribers to the Southwest CPI Summary (Dallas Blue Card) (RO6BLUE) list receive a monthly notification when the information at http://www.bls.gov/ro6/fax/cpinewtb.pdf is updated — this PDF contains the most recent monthly Consumer Price Indexes for the U.S., and bimonthly indexes for the Dallas area and the Houston area. For information on how Consumer Price Indexes are measured, visit the Consumer Price Indexes home page at http://www.bls.gov/cpi/

Subscribers to the Mountain-Plains CPI Summary (Kansas City Blue Card) (RO7BLUE) list receive a monthly notification when the information at http://www.bls.gov/xg_shells/ro7xg01a.htm is updated — this page contains the most recent monthly Consumer Price Indexes for the Midwest and West Regions and the U.S. For information on how Consumer Price Indexes are measured, visit the Consumer Price Indexes home page at http://www.bls.gov/cpi/

Subscribers to the Pacific Cities CPI Summary (San Francisco) (RO9PAC) list receive a monthly notification when the information at http://www.bls.gov/xg_shells/ro9xg01a.htm is updated — this page contains the most recent monthly Consumer Price Indexes for the Los Angeles area, the West Region, and the U.S., and bimonthly indexes for the San Francisco area and the Seattle area. For information on how Consumer Price Indexes are measured, visit the Consumer Price Indexes home page at http://www.bls.gov/cpi/

Subscribers to the BLS Update of Publications (BLSUPDT) list receive a weekly notification when the information at http://www.bls.gov/opub/update.htm is updated — this page contains a listing of the latest publications from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For more information on BLS publications, see the Publications and Research Papers home page at http://www.bls.gov/opub/

 

Last Modified Date: Septmeber 9, 2008