Industry refers to the general nature of the business carried out by the employer for whom the respondent works (main job only). If the individual did not have a job during the reference week, the data relate to the previous job, if that job was held in the past year. Those unemployed persons who have never worked before and those persons who last worked more than 1 year ago make up the "unclassified" category in this table.

In January 1999, the industry classification switched from Standard Industrial Classification (SIC 1980) to North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS), which was quite different. For this reason, detailed historical data based on NAICS is provided going back to January 1987. In addition, data from 1976 to 1986 is provided at a less detailed level than the more recent data. Historical data have been created by imputation. From 1976 to 1986, estimates are based on 2002 NAICS. From 1987 onwards, industry estimates are based on the 2022 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).