Nonfarm payroll employment down 701,000 in March 2020

Total nonfarm payroll employment fell sharply in the month ending during the second week of March 2020 (−701,000), reflecting the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and efforts to contain it. About two-thirds of the drop occurred in leisure and hospitality. Notable employment declines also occurred in health care and social assistance, professional and business services, retail trade, and construction. In the prior 12 months, nonfarm employment growth had averaged 196,000 per month.

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Chart Data Monthly employment level changes by industry, seasonally adjusted Month Total nonfarm Total private Mining and logging Construction Manufacturing Wholesale trade Retail trade Transportation and warehousing Utilities Mar 2015 71,000 79,000 -16,000 -27,000 11,000 1,800 12,600 13,000 300 Apr 2015 284,000 249,000 -16,000 58,000 6,000 -3,600 19,200 6,900 300 May 2015 331,000 324,000 -23,000 35,000 15,000 7,500 29,000 22,200 1,400 Jun 2015 174,000 171,000 -4,000 14,000 1,000 -2,300 22,800 27,100 -1,000 Jul 2015 302,000 267,000 -11,000 31,000 15,000 500 20,300 23,400 1,500 Aug 2015 125,000 115,000 -11,000 18,000 -4,000 400 -1,300 10,800 1,100 Sep 2015 155,000 175,000 -15,000 18,000 9,000 -9,600 5,200 9,000 -1,000 Oct 2015 306,000 290,000 -8,000 39,000 8,000 1,500 32,500 400 -300 Nov 2015 237,000 212,000 -15,000 51,000 -5,000 900 19,600 15,900 100 Dec 2015 273,000 257,000 -10,000 32,000 5,000 -1,700 4,000 31,300 -600 Jan 2016 73,000 52,000 -15,000 -10,000 17,000 600 25,700 -27,700 -300 Feb 2016 263,000 237,000 -20,000 30,000 -12,000 -1,700 47,200 13,500 1,300 Mar 2016 229,000 193,000 -20,000 30,000 -22,000 4,200 38,100 16,500 -1,700 Apr 2016 187,000 181,000 -13,000 21,000 4,000 5,200 3,600 15,400 100 May 2016 42,000 31,000 -12,000 -10,000 -17,000 -1,300 -500 16,900 -1,000 Jun 2016 267,000 280,000 -10,000 11,000 19,000 -3,600 30,500 3,500 1,400 Jul 2016 354,000 253,000 -4,000 34,000 18,000 1,400 15,600 23,900 600 Aug 2016 135,000 152,000 -5,000 1,000 -21,000 3,400 17,400 28,000 -300 Sep 2016 269,000 234,000 0 31,000 -1,000 11,900 8,800 -5,500 500 Oct 2016 145,000 156,000 -3,000 30,000 0 900 2,400 15,900 0 Nov 2016 151,000 153,000 3,000 21,000 -5,000 2,400 -25,500 18,000 400 Dec 2016 230,000 212,000 1,000 2,000 14,000 -3,400 30,100 39,400 400 Jan 2017 185,000 191,000 1,000 26,000 13,000 5,600 28,000 -25,800 -600 Feb 2017 188,000 171,000 6,000 42,000 15,000 1,700 -40,000 23,700 -800 Mar 2017 129,000 123,000 5,000 20,000 11,000 2,900 -18,200 13,000 -300 Apr 2017 197,000 192,000 9,000 7,000 5,000 4,600 -8,100 16,000 -300 May 2017 155,000 153,000 4,000 12,000 6,000 -4,900 -29,300 22,600 -1,000 Jun 2017 216,000 202,000 4,000 27,000 12,000 7,100 6,600 12,900 600 Jul 2017 215,000 202,000 2,000 5,000 -1,000 900 -8,300 9,700 -600 Aug 2017 184,000 186,000 5,000 30,000 44,000 -800 -200 17,400 200 Sep 2017 18,000 9,000 3,000 14,000 9,000 2,800 -7,700 29,700 700 Oct 2017 267,000 264,000 0 23,000 22,000 4,700 -4,300 24,300 -100 Nov 2017 225,000 201,000 6,000 39,000 22,000 100 5,200 9,200 -100 Dec 2017 130,000 142,000 -1,000 27,000 27,000 5,800 -13,900 24,200 300 Jan 2018 121,000 147,000 7,000 21,000 17,000 -5,000 -16,700 5,400 -1,600 Feb 2018 406,000 355,000 7,000 86,000 30,000 1,400 35,500 37,700 2,400 Mar 2018 176,000 178,000 8,000 5,000 23,000 12,500 12,000 29,200 -600 Apr 2018 137,000 127,000 8,000 18,000 21,000 -19,300 -900 14,400 1,700 May 2018 278,000 261,000 2,000 43,000 26,000 2,700 4,300 23,300 -2,200 Jun 2018 219,000 191,000 5,000 16,000 29,000 6,600 -38,900 20,800 -1,000 Jul 2018 136,000 133,000 0 22,000 19,000 11,700 -12,100 12,500 -3,600 Aug 2018 244,000 216,000 8,000 31,000 13,000 19,200 2,700 36,600 500 Sep 2018 80,000 81,000 2,000 20,000 21,000 -2,600 -46,500 28,600 100 Oct 2018 201,000 205,000 3,000 23,000 24,000 2,900 -39,100 32,500 900 Nov 2018 134,000 133,000 -5,000 -2,000 20,000 7,100 27,100 23,500 0 Dec 2018 182,000 173,000 4,000 26,000 21,000 8,400 -25,200 -7,700 -600 Jan 2019 269,000 258,000 5,000 50,000 20,000 6,300 -7,900 46,800 100 Feb 2019 1,000 -6,000 -5,000 -29,000 5,000 5,800 -29,300 1,600 -1,500 Mar 2019 147,000 132,000 0 20,000 -3,000 -4,400 -24,300 5,700 500 Apr 2019 210,000 185,000 0 26,000 2,000 13,400 -11,800 7,000 -2,600 May 2019 85,000 87,000 2,000 9,000 0 4,000 -12,300 3,000 1,000 Jun 2019 182,000 180,000 -2,000 19,000 9,000 1,200 -5,400 21,100 1,500 Jul 2019 194,000 160,000 -5,000 7,000 7,000 7,300 1,000 -500 -900 Aug 2019 207,000 157,000 -5,000 4,000 3,000 600 -600 -4,100 -700 Sep 2019 208,000 195,000 0 16,000 3,000 6,400 9,000 10,500 -1,400 Oct 2019 185,000 190,000 4,000 17,000 -41,000 10,100 21,900 6,800 -1,300 Nov 2019 261,000 247,000 -11,000 -2,000 58,000 3,000 -13,900 22,600 1,000 Dec 2019 184,000 164,000 -9,000 16,000 -2,000 6,900 41,400 -2,100 700 Jan 2020 214,000 179,000 -3,000 38,000 -22,000 4,300 -3,200 22,600 -1,000 Feb 2020 275,000 242,000 3,000 41,000 13,000 -1,900 1,200 -1,200 200 Mar 2020 -701,000 -713,000 -7,000 -29,000 -18,000 900 -46,200 -4,900 800 Monthly employment level changes by industry, seasonally adjusted (continued) Month Information Financial activities Professional and business services Education and health services Leisure and hospitality Other services Government Federal government Mar 2015 -5,000 9,000 26,000 43,000 9,000 2,000 -8,000 1,000 Apr 2015 4,000 7,000 44,000 74,000 42,000 7,000 35,000 15,000 May 2015 8,000 7,000 81,000 52,000 80,000 9,000 7,000 -10,000 Jun 2015 1,000 22,000 51,000 40,000 5,000 -6,000 3,000 1,000 Jul 2015 3,000 20,000 37,000 55,000 60,000 12,000 35,000 2,000 Aug 2015 1,000 6,000 29,000 41,000 33,000 -9,000 10,000 4,000 Sep 2015 10,000 10,000 23,000 37,000 78,000 1,000 -20,000 -1,000 Oct 2015 -1,000 15,000 73,000 84,000 37,000 9,000 16,000 0 Nov 2015 -13,000 12,000 34,000 45,000 58,000 8,000 25,000 7,000 Dec 2015 9,000 8,000 70,000 63,000 32,000 15,000 16,000 10,000 Jan 2016 4,000 15,000 -2,000 14,000 35,000 -4,000 21,000 -4,000 Feb 2016 15,000 8,000 15,000 68,000 56,000 17,000 26,000 6,000 Mar 2016 7,000 15,000 30,000 47,000 41,000 8,000 36,000 5,000 Apr 2016 4,000 23,000 32,000 58,000 23,000 4,000 6,000 2,000 May 2016 -36,000 14,000 8,000 57,000 21,000 -8,000 11,000 7,000 Jun 2016 45,000 17,000 43,000 57,000 55,000 11,000 -13,000 5,000 Jul 2016 1,000 22,000 44,000 44,000 47,000 6,000 101,000 2,000 Aug 2016 6,000 15,000 6,000 46,000 40,000 15,000 -17,000 4,000 Sep 2016 7,000 8,000 67,000 59,000 37,000 11,000 35,000 4,000 Oct 2016 2,000 6,000 18,000 61,000 18,000 5,000 -11,000 -3,000 Nov 2016 -5,000 11,000 37,000 34,000 50,000 11,000 -2,000 -5,000 Dec 2016 3,000 27,000 35,000 61,000 17,000 -14,000 18,000 18,000 Jan 2017 7,000 30,000 50,000 9,000 32,000 16,000 -6,000 -2,000 Feb 2017 -5,000 2,000 9,000 74,000 32,000 11,000 17,000 -2,000 Mar 2017 -1,000 8,000 29,000 39,000 12,000 3,000 6,000 -2,000 Apr 2017 -4,000 15,000 30,000 50,000 64,000 3,000 5,000 -11,000 May 2017 -5,000 8,000 57,000 38,000 35,000 11,000 2,000 8,000 Jun 2017 3,000 16,000 35,000 28,000 42,000 8,000 14,000 -2,000 Jul 2017 2,000 12,000 42,000 60,000 71,000 7,000 13,000 -1,000 Aug 2017 6,000 9,000 28,000 37,000 4,000 6,000 -2,000 -3,000 Sep 2017 -4,000 8,000 3,000 31,000 -73,000 -7,000 9,000 0 Oct 2017 1,000 5,000 48,000 27,000 91,000 22,000 3,000 1,000 Nov 2017 1,000 12,000 30,000 52,000 14,000 11,000 24,000 -11,000 Dec 2017 6,000 4,000 34,000 9,000 20,000 0 -12,000 2,000 Jan 2018 -4,000 6,000 55,000 54,000 3,000 5,000 -26,000 7,000 Feb 2018 0 29,000 43,000 54,000 25,000 4,000 51,000 -8,000 Mar 2018 11,000 5,000 42,000 32,000 2,000 -3,000 -2,000 0 Apr 2018 13,000 7,000 45,000 15,000 -3,000 7,000 10,000 2,000 May 2018 -2,000 22,000 46,000 38,000 46,000 12,000 17,000 -3,000 Jun 2018 0 19,000 34,000 41,000 47,000 13,000 28,000 4,000 Jul 2018 4,000 8,000 20,000 27,000 39,000 -15,000 3,000 2,000 Aug 2018 0 13,000 41,000 47,000 1,000 3,000 28,000 3,000 Sep 2018 -2,000 22,000 33,000 25,000 -24,000 5,000 -1,000 3,000 Oct 2018 12,000 18,000 37,000 51,000 32,000 8,000 -4,000 1,000 Nov 2018 -1,000 10,000 23,000 23,000 10,000 -3,000 1,000 6,000 Dec 2018 4,000 8,000 26,000 54,000 47,000 8,000 9,000 -2,000 Jan 2019 -11,000 11,000 -2,000 56,000 81,000 3,000 11,000 2,000 Feb 2019 -2,000 14,000 38,000 18,000 -23,000 1,000 7,000 3,000 Mar 2019 10,000 17,000 12,000 63,000 21,000 15,000 15,000 1,000 Apr 2019 -6,000 14,000 50,000 65,000 13,000 15,000 25,000 8,000 May 2019 8,000 6,000 27,000 30,000 12,000 -3,000 -2,000 3,000 Jun 2019 12,000 5,000 41,000 55,000 7,000 15,000 2,000 3,000 Jul 2019 -3,000 21,000 43,000 73,000 2,000 9,000 34,000 2,000 Aug 2019 -1,000 15,000 40,000 58,000 42,000 5,000 50,000 26,000 Sep 2019 5,000 3,000 25,000 61,000 61,000 -3,000 13,000 0 Oct 2019 -1,000 21,000 42,000 40,000 70,000 0 -5,000 -13,000 Nov 2019 9,000 12,000 37,000 73,000 43,000 16,000 14,000 6,000 Dec 2019 9,000 10,000 22,000 29,000 40,000 2,000 20,000 -3,000 Jan 2020 11,000 9,000 20,000 69,000 24,000 10,000 35,000 8,000 Feb 2020 3,000 31,000 36,000 65,000 44,000 8,000 33,000 8,000 Mar 2020 2,000 -1,000 -52,000 -76,000 -459,000 -24,000 12,000 18,000 Monthly employment level changes by industry, seasonally adjusted Month State government Local government Mar 2015 -4,000 -5,000 Apr 2015 3,000 17,000 May 2015 4,000 13,000 Jun 2015 -1,000 3,000 Jul 2015 0 33,000 Aug 2015 4,000 2,000 Sep 2015 6,000 -25,000 Oct 2015 1,000 15,000 Nov 2015 6,000 12,000 Dec 2015 -2,000 8,000 Jan 2016 1,000 24,000 Feb 2016 -3,000 23,000 Mar 2016 7,000 24,000 Apr 2016 5,000 -1,000 May 2016 -5,000 9,000 Jun 2016 14,000 -32,000 Jul 2016 9,000 90,000 Aug 2016 -3,000 -18,000 Sep 2016 34,000 -3,000 Oct 2016 -13,000 5,000 Nov 2016 5,000 -2,000 Dec 2016 2,000 -2,000 Jan 2017 10,000 -14,000 Feb 2017 9,000 10,000 Mar 2017 3,000 5,000 Apr 2017 3,000 13,000 May 2017 8,000 -14,000 Jun 2017 -4,000 20,000 Jul 2017 3,000 11,000 Aug 2017 -6,000 7,000 Sep 2017 -7,000 16,000 Oct 2017 -5,000 7,000 Nov 2017 16,000 19,000 Dec 2017 -12,000 -2,000 Jan 2018 -12,000 -21,000 Feb 2018 4,000 55,000 Mar 2018 3,000 -5,000 Apr 2018 13,000 -5,000 May 2018 7,000 13,000 Jun 2018 6,000 18,000 Jul 2018 -2,000 3,000 Aug 2018 5,000 20,000 Sep 2018 10,000 -14,000 Oct 2018 -9,000 4,000 Nov 2018 -11,000 6,000 Dec 2018 0 11,000 Jan 2019 -3,000 12,000 Feb 2019 5,000 -1,000 Mar 2019 0 14,000 Apr 2019 -6,000 23,000 May 2019 -11,000 6,000 Jun 2019 -1,000 0 Jul 2019 11,000 21,000 Aug 2019 16,000 8,000 Sep 2019 -3,000 16,000 Oct 2019 3,000 5,000 Nov 2019 -3,000 11,000 Dec 2019 3,000 20,000 Jan 2020 6,000 21,000 Feb 2020 8,000 17,000 Mar 2020 -14,000 8,000

In March, employment in leisure and hospitality fell by 459,000. Most of the decline occurred in food services and drinking places (−417,000); this employment decline nearly offset gains over the previous 2 years. Employment in the accommodation industry also declined in March (−29,000).

Employment in health care and social assistance fell by 61,000 in March. Health care employment declined by 43,000, with job losses in offices of dentists (−17,000), offices of physicians (−12,000), and offices of other health care practitioners (−7,000). Over the prior 12 months, health care employment had grown by 374,000. In March, social assistance saw an employment decline of 19,000, reflecting a job loss in child day care services (−19,000). Over the prior 12 months, social assistance added 193,000 jobs.

These data are from the Current Employment Statistics program. Data for the most recent 2 months are preliminary. Note that the March survey reference period predated many coronavirus-related business and school closures that occurred in the second half of the month. See these questions and answers for more information on the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on The Employment Situation. To learn more, see "The Employment Situation — March 2020." Also see more charts showing nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings data.

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