The jobs report

Lesson 2 of 4

The household survey and the unemployment rate

The household survey, the Current Population Survey, is run by the Census Bureau for BLS. It covers about 60,000 households a month and asks about each person's activity in the week that includes the 12th. Source 4

It produces the unemployment rate and the labor force participation rate. Source 4 Source 5

To count as unemployed, a person must have no job, have actively looked for work in the past four weeks, and be available to work. People on temporary layoff waiting to be recalled count as unemployed without searching. Source 4

The unemployment rate is the unemployed as a share of the labor force: everyone working plus everyone unemployed. Source 5

It counts people, not jobs, so someone with two jobs counts once. It also includes the self-employed. Source 3

Lesson 3 of 4

The establishment survey and payroll jobs

The establishment survey, Current Employment Statistics, covers about 119,000 businesses and government agencies at about 622,000 worksites. Source 6

It produces nonfarm payrolls, the headline jobs number, along with hours and earnings by industry. Source 1 Source 6

It counts jobs, not people, so someone with two jobs counts twice, and it leaves out the self-employed. Source 3

Lesson 4 of 4

Revisions

A month's payroll number is a first estimate. The next two releases revise it as more employers report and seasonal factors are recalculated, sometimes by tens of thousands of jobs. Source 1

Once a year, BLS re-anchors the payroll series to near-complete counts from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. That benchmark revision is published with the January report, in February. Source 7

Snoki's Macro Desk reports the revisions along with each new number.

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