May 2007 Employment Situation

Historical release narrative reproduced from the official public-domain source. Statistical tables, standard technical appendices, administrative material and attendance rosters are omitted; formatting is adapted for reading. Figures retain the release's historical context and may have been revised. Consult the linked source for the complete document.

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 157,000 in May, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.5 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Health care and food services added jobs, while employment declined in manufacturing. Average hourly earnings rose by 6 cents, or 0.3 percent, over the month.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons (6.8 million) and the unemployment rate (4.5 percent) were unchanged in May. The jobless rate has ranged from 4.4 to 4.6 percent since September 2006. Over the month, the jobless rates for the major worker groups--adult men (4.0 percent), adult women (3.8 percent), teen- agers (15.7 percent), whites (3.9 percent), blacks (8.5 percent), and Hispanics (5.8 percent)--showed little or no change. The unemployment rate for Asians was 2.9 percent, not seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

In May, total employment was about unchanged at 145.9 million, and the em- ployment-population ratio held at 63.0 percent. The civilian labor force also was about unchanged at 152.8 million, and the labor force participation rate remained at 66.0 percent. Both the employment-population ratio and labor force participation rate were down by 0.4 percentage point from December. (See table A-1.)

The number of persons who worked part time for economic reasons, at 4.5 million, was little changed in May but was up by 332,000 over the year. This category includes persons who indicated that they would like to work full time but were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find full-time jobs. (See table A-5.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

In May, 1.4 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached to the labor force, about the same as a year earlier. These individuals wanted and were available to work and had looked for a job sometime during 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 368,000 discouraged workers in May, about the same as a year earlier. Discouraged workers were not currently looking for work specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them. The remaining 1.0 million persons marginally attached to the labor force in May had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school attendance and family responsibilities. (See table A-13.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 157,000 in May to 137.8 million (sea- sonally adjusted). Thus far in 2007, payroll employment gains have averaged 133,000 per month compared with average increases of 189,000 per month in 2006. In May, job growth continued in a number of service-providing industries, in- cluding health care and food services. Manufacturing employment continued to decline. (See table B-1.)

Employment in the health care industry continued to grow in May (+25,000), with gains in ambulatory health care services and hospitals. Over the year, health care added 363,000 jobs. Employment in social assistance continued to trend up in May; the industry added 11,000 jobs over the month and 72,000 over the year.

In the leisure and hospitality sector, employment in food services and drinking places rose by 35,000 in May. This industry has added 361,000 jobs over the year.

Within professional and business services, job gains continued over the month in computer systems design (+8,000) and in architectural and engineering services (+7,000). Employment in temporary help services was little changed over the month and has shown little movement since its recent peak in December 2005.

In financial activities, employment rose in securities, commodity contracts, and investments (+6,000) and in commercial banking (+4,000) in May. These gains were largely offset by small declines in other components of the sector.

Elsewhere in the service-providing sector, employment in private education, information, and wholesale trade continued to trend up over the month. Retail trade employment changed little in May and has shown no net increase since March 2006.

Employment in construction was unchanged in May, with no significant move- ments among the component industries. Since its recent peak in September, con- struction employment has decreased by 54,000.

Manufacturing employment continued to decline in May (-19,000). About half of the decline occurred in motor vehicles and parts manufacturing, which lost 10,000 jobs over the month. Over the year, factory employment decreased by 164,000, with motor vehicles and parts accounting for nearly half of the loss.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

In May, the average workweek for production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.1 hour to 33.9 hours, seasonally ad- justed. The manufacturing workweek and factory overtime each fell by 0.1 hour to 41.0 and 4.1 hours, respectively. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 0.5 percent in May to 107.5 (2002=100). The manufacturing index fell by 0.3 percent over the month to 94.9. (See table B-5.)

Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)

Average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 6 cents, or 0.3 percent, in May to $17.30, season- ally adjusted. Average weekly earnings grew by 0.6 percent over the month to $586.47. Over the year, average hourly and weekly earnings rose by 3.8 and 4.1 percent, respectively. (See table B-3.)