C17 · WHITE-COLLAR COMPOSITION OF EMPLOYMENT

White-collar payroll share (professional & business services)

16.57

CALM ROBUST z -0.96 DRS 95 monthly as of 2026-05-01

Where it sits: lower than ~89% of its last decade.

The full history

1939 high 17.39 · low 6.93 · now 16.57 · 13 recessions shaded 2026

What it measures: white-collar composition of employment
Where it sits: lower than ~89% of its last decade — at the 11th percentile of its last decade.
z vs. its window: -0.96 (strain side: down). 119 observations in the window.
State rule: z < 1 CALM · 1 ≤ z < 2 WATCH · z ≥ 2 EXTREME, measured only toward the declared strain side.
Confidence: ROBUST — a primary official series, mechanically reported.
Reliability (DRS): DRS 95 — 100 × professional & business services employment (USPBS) ÷ total private payrolls (USPRIV), BLS supersector — ROBUST. The supersector includes temp-help and admin/waste services; the narrower Professional/Scientific/Technical cut (CES6054000001, input C17c) is carried as a disclosed secondary lens. A composition / K-shape signal beside job breadth (D5); a falling share is the strain side. Trend-dominated → decade-relative scoring. BLS-produced; subject to the integrity-events DRS factor.

DERIVED ↗ Every number on this site is reproducible from this primary source.