Employment Blog June 2017

By Stephen Singer, June 20, 2017

This Employment Blog is taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U S Labor Department. Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 138,000 in May, and the unemployment rate, at 4.3 percent, was little changed. Job gains occurred in health care and mining. Over the prior 12 months, payroll employment growth had averaged 181,000 per month. Incorporating revisions for March and April, which decreased nonfarm payroll employment by 66,000, monthly job gains have averaged 121,000 over the past 3 months. Trends in employment and unemployment national rates are detailed in Charts 1 and 2 below. Variations in unemployment rates by states are detailed in Chart 3.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In May, employment in health care rose by 24,000. Hospitals added 7,000 jobs over the month, and employment in ambulatory health care services continued to trend up (+13,000). Job growth in health care has averaged 22,000 per month thus far in 2017, compared with an average monthly gain of 32,000 in 2016.

Mining employment increased by 7,000 in May. Since a recent low point last October, mining has added 47,000 jobs, with most of the gain in support activities for mining.

Employment in professional and business services continued to trend up in May(+38,000). Job gains have averaged 46,000 per month thus far this year, in line with the average monthly job gain in 2016.

Employment in food services and drinking places also continued to trend up over the month (+30,000) and has increased by 267,000 over the year.

Employment in other major industries–construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, and government–showed little change over the month.

Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 4 cents to $26.22in May. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.5 percent. From April 2016 to April 2017, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased by 2.2percent (on a seasonally adjusted basis).

, and the unemployment rate was little changed at  4.3 percent.