Men on U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls

## What this measures

Nonfarm payroll jobs held by men: total nonfarm payrolls (PAYEMS) less payroll jobs held by women (CES0000000010). BLS publishes the women series; every other payroll job is held by a man, so the difference is exact, not an estimate. Thousands, seasonally adjusted, monthly since January 1964.

## Why it matters

With the women series it shows how job gains and losses split between men and women; recessions led by construction and manufacturing hit men first, those led by services hit women.

## How to read it

Compare cumulative changes since the same month (the charts use February 2020, the last month before the pandemic) rather than levels: men hold slightly more payroll jobs than women, so equal percentage moves are different job counts.

## What it does not say

Both inputs are seasonally adjusted separately, so the difference carries both sets of revisions. It counts jobs, not people. The household survey counts employed men (fred_lns12000001).

## Source

Palanor calculation from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics payroll data (PAYEMS, CES0000000010), via FRED. Public domain.