According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 272,000 in May, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.0 percent. Noteworthy job gains continued to trend up in several industries, led by health care; government; leisure and hospitality; and professional; scientific; and technical services. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported these findings based on two monthly surveys: the household survey, which assesses labor force status, including unemployment by demographic characteristics, and the establishment survey, which measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry.

Household Survey Data

In May, the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.0 percent, with 6.6 million unemployed individuals, compared to 3.7 percent and 6.1 million a year earlier. Unemployment rates among major worker groups, including adult men (3.8 percent), adult women (3.4 percent), teenagers (12.3 percent), Whites (3.5 percent), Blacks (6.1 percent), Asians (3.1 percent), and Hispanics (5.0 percent), showed little change. The number of long-term unemployed remained at 1.4 million, making up 20.7 percent of the unemployed. Both the labour force participation rate (62.5 percent) and the employment-population ratio (60.1 percent) also showed minimal change.

In May, the number of people employed part-time for economic reasons remained at 4.4 million, as they were unable to find full-time work or had their hours reduced. Additionally, 5.7 million people not in the labour force but wanting a job saw little change, as they were not actively seeking work in the past 4 weeks or were unavailable. Among these, 1.5 million were marginally attached to the labour force, having sought employment in the past 12 months but not in the last 4 weeks. The number of discouraged workers, those who believed no jobs were available for them, slightly increased to 462,000.

Establishment Survey Data

In May, total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 272,000, surpassing the average monthly gain of 232,000 over the past year. Employment increases were led by health care (+68,000), government (+43,000), leisure and hospitality (+42,000), and professional, scientific, and technical services (+32,000). Notable gains within these sectors included ambulatory health care services (+43,000), food services and drinking places (+25,000), and management, scientific, and technical consulting services (+14,000). Social assistance and retail trade also saw growth, while industries such as mining, construction, and manufacturing showed little change.

In May, average hourly earnings for all private nonfarm payroll employees increased by 14 cents (0.4 percent) to $34.91, reflecting a 4.1 percent rise over the past year. Earnings for private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees also rose by 14 cents (0.5 percent) to $29.99. The average workweek for all private nonfarm employees remained steady at 34.3 hours, with manufacturing unchanged at 40.1 hours and a slight increase in overtime to 3.0 hours. The workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees edged up by 0.1 hour to 33.8 hours.

Revisions to total nonfarm payroll employment figures for March and April resulted in a combined decrease of 15,000 jobs from previously reported numbers. March’s employment change was revised down by 5,000 (from +315,000 to +310,000) and April’s by 10,000 (from +175,000 to +165,000). These adjustments are due to additional reports from businesses and government agencies and recalculations of seasonal factors.

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