Home » U.S. adds 38,000 jobs in May; unemployment dips to 4.7 percent

U.S. adds 38,000 jobs in May; unemployment dips to 4.7 percent

The unemployment rate declined by 0.3 percentage point to 4.7 percent in May, and
nonfarm payroll employment changed little (+38,000), the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. Employment increased in health care. Mining continued
to lose jobs, and employment in information decreased due to a strike.

Household Survey Data

In May, the unemployment rate declined by 0.3 percentage point to 4.7 percent, and
the number of unemployed persons declined by 484,000 to 7.4 million. Both measures
had shown little movement from August to April.

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (4.3 percent),
adult women (4.2 percent), Whites (4.1 percent), and Hispanics (5.6 percent)
declined in May. The rates for teenagers (16.0 percent), Blacks (8.2 percent), and
Asians (4.1 percent) showed little or no change.

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) declined
by 178,000 to 1.9 million in May. These individuals accounted for 25.1 percent of
the unemployed. The number of persons unemployed less than 5 weeks decreased by
338,000 to 2.2 million.

The number of job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs declined by
282,000 over the month to 3.6 million.

In May, the civilian labor force participation rate decreased by 0.2 percentage
point to 62.6 percent. The rate has declined by 0.4 percentage point over the
past 2 months, offsetting gains in the first quarter. The employment-population
ratio, at 59.7 percent, was unchanged in May.

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (also referred to
as involuntary part-time workers) increased by 468,000 to 6.4 million in May,
after showing little movement since November. These individuals, who would have
preferred full-time employment, were working part time because their hours had
been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.

In May, 1.7 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, little
changed from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) These
individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and
had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as
unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the
survey.

Among the marginally attached, there were 538,000 discouraged workers in May,
essentially unchanged from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.)
Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they
believe no jobs are available for them. The remaining 1.2 million persons
marginally attached to the labor force in May had not searched for work for
reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities.

Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment changed little in May (+38,000). Job growth
occurred in health care. Mining continued to lose jobs, and a strike resulted
in job losses in information.

Health care added 46,000 jobs in May, with increases occurring in ambulatory
health care services (+24,000), hospitals (+17,000), and nursing care facilities
(+5,000). Over the year, health care employment has increased by 487,000.

In May, mining employment continued to decline (-10,000). Since reaching a
peak in September 2014, mining has lost 207,000 jobs. Support activities for
mining accounted for three-fourths of the jobs lost during this period, including
6,000 in May.

Employment in information declined by 34,000 in May. About 35,000 workers in the
telecommunications industry were on strike and not on company payrolls during
the survey reference period.

Within manufacturing, employment in durable goods declined by 18,000 in May,
with job losses of 7,000 in machinery and 3,000 in furniture and related products.

Employment in professional and business services changed little in May (+10,000),
after increasing by 55,000 in April. Within the industry, professional and
technical services added 26,000 jobs in May, in line with average monthly gains
over the prior 12 months. Employment in temporary help services was little changed
over the month (-21,000) but is down by 64,000 thus far this year.

Employment in other major industries, including construction, wholesale trade,
retail trade, transportation and warehousing, financial activities, leisure and
hospitality, and government, changed little over the month.

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged
at 34.4 hours in May. The manufacturing workweek increased by 0.1 hour to 40.8
hours, and manufacturing overtime was unchanged at 3.2 hours. The average workweek
for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls was
unchanged at 33.6 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)

In May, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls
increased by 5 cents to $25.59, following an increase of 9 cents in April. Over
the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.5 percent. Average hourly
earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees increased by
3 cents to $21.49 in May. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for March was revised from +208,000
to +186,000, and the change for April was revised from +160,000 to +123,000. With
these revisions, employment gains in March and April combined were 59,000 less
than previously reported. Over the past 3 months, job gains have averaged 116,000
per month.