What is Non-Farm Payroll?
The nonfarm payroll measures the number of workers in the U.S. includes 80% of US workers. The figures exclude farm workers (Nonfarm) and workers in several other job classifications such as military and non-profit employees.
Data on nonfarm payrolls is collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and it is included in the monthly Employment Situation report (the “Employment Report”) which includes two surveys, the Household Survey, and the Establishment Survey. Nonfarm Payroll is included in the latter the Establishment Survey.
The Establishment Survey gathers data from approximately 122,000 nonfarm businesses and government agencies for some 666,000 work sites and about one-third of all payroll workers. Anyone on the payroll of a surveyed business during that reference week, including part-time workers and those on paid leave, is included in the count used to produce an estimate of total U.S. nonfarm payrolls
The Full Employment Report is released by the BLS on the first Friday of each month at 8:30 AM ET and reflects the previous month's data.