The Us Employment Situation: May 2007

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THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: MAY 2007

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.)