June 09, 2003 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

New classifications of payroll employment

Total nonfarm payroll employment was little changed (-17,000) in May at 130.1 million. There were job gains in temporary help services and construction, while losses continued in manufacturing.

Employment by domain and ownership, May 2003
[Chart data—TXT]

Several major changes affected the establishment survey data, including the conversion from the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).

Under NAICS, "domains" and "supersectors" replace the old "major industry divisions" and had the following employment levels in May 2003:

Domain or supersector Employment 
(in thousands)
Goods-producing domain   22,075
Natural resources and mining        561
Construction     6,783
Manufacturing   14,731
Service-providing domain 107,992
Trade, transportation, and utilities   25,307
Information     3,301
Financial activities     7,965
Professional and business services   16,029
Education and health services   16,516
Leisure and hospitality   12,034
Other services     5,320
Government   21,520

The data in this report are from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program.  The NAICS conversion has resulted in major definitional changes to many of the previously published series.  CES historical time series have been reconstructed as part of the NAICS conversion process.  All published series now have a NAICS-based history extending back to at least 1990.  See "The Employment Situation: May 2003" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 03- 281.

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