Table 2.  Hires levels(1) and rates(2) by industry and region, seasonally adjusted

                                                      Levels(3) (in thousands)                              Rates

           Industry and region              Dec.   July   Aug.   Sept.  Oct.   Nov.   Dec.   Dec.  July  Aug.  Sept. Oct.  Nov.  Dec.
                                            2010   2011   2011   2011   2011   2011   2011p  2010  2011  2011  2011  2011  2011  2011p

Total.................................     3,905  3,976  4,060  4,150  4,042  4,132  4,046    3.0   3.0   3.1   3.2   3.1   3.1   3.1

                INDUSTRY

 Total private(4)........................  3,631  3,733  3,785  3,885  3,785  3,853  3,765    3.4   3.4   3.5   3.6   3.5   3.5   3.4
  Construction...........................    356    334    309    367    339    304    289    6.5   6.0   5.6   6.6   6.1   5.5   5.2
  Manufacturing..........................    264    259    249    234    235    236    261    2.3   2.2   2.1   2.0   2.0   2.0   2.2
  Trade, transportation, and utilities(5)    756    767    779    778    816    800    803    3.1   3.1   3.1   3.1   3.3   3.2   3.2
   Retail trade..........................    476    552    526    547    550    559    534    3.3   3.8   3.6   3.8   3.8   3.8   3.6
  Professional and business services.....    780    819    863    895    846    845    787    4.6   4.8   5.0   5.2   4.9   4.9   4.5
  Education and health services..........    465    472    481    482    471    472    487    2.4   2.4   2.4   2.4   2.3   2.3   2.4
  Leisure and hospitality................    596    682    679    698    666    733    715    4.6   5.2   5.1   5.3   5.0   5.5   5.4
   Arts, entertainment, and recreation...     98     96    110    126    121    146    137    5.2   5.1   5.8   6.6   6.4   7.7   7.3
   Accommodation and food services.......    498    586    569    572    545    587    578    4.5   5.2   5.0   5.0   4.8   5.1   5.0
 Government(6).........................      274    243    275    264    257    278    282    1.2   1.1   1.2   1.2   1.2   1.3   1.3
  State and local government.............    242    219    247    237    228    247    250    1.2   1.1   1.3   1.2   1.2   1.3   1.3


                 REGION(7)

  Northeast...........................       680    675    604    662    667    666    630    2.7   2.7   2.4   2.6   2.7   2.6   2.5
  South...............................     1,513  1,488  1,526  1,592  1,577  1,568  1,545    3.2   3.1   3.2   3.3   3.3   3.3   3.2
  Midwest.............................       878    910    919    987    949    994    960    3.0   3.1   3.1   3.3   3.2   3.3   3.2
  West................................       806    893    868    969    904    914    880    2.8   3.1   3.0   3.4   3.1   3.2   3.0


  1 Hires are the number of hires during the entire month.
  2 The hires rate is the number of hires during the entire month as a percent of total employment. 
  3 Detail will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series and because not all series are shown.
  4 Includes mining and logging, information, financial activities, and other services, not shown separately.
  5 Includes wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities, not shown separately.
  6 Includes federal government, not shown separately.
  7 See footnote 7, table 1.
  p = Preliminary