May Jobs Report: Continued Low Unemployment

Posted by Olivia Grady on Monday, June 10th, 2019 at 1:42 am - Permalink

On Friday, June 7, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Employment Situation Summary for May 2019. There was little change from last month.

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 75,000 jobs in May. The increase was mostly in the professional and business services and in health care.

The unemployment rate remained at a low 3.6%, and the number of unemployed people is 5.9 million.

There was also little change among the major worker groups. The unemployment rate for adult men is 3.3%, while the unemployment rate for adult women is 3.2%. Teenagers have an unemployment rate of 12.7%. Whites have a 3.3% unemployment rate, and Blacks have a 6.2% unemployment rate. Asians have a 2.5% unemployment rate, while Hispanics have a 4.2% unemployment rate.

The labor force participation rate also remained unchanged at 62.8%.

However, the number of people who wanted full time employment, but could only get part time employment decreased by almost 300,000 in May.

In addition, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 6 cents to $27.83. Average hourly earnings over the year have increased by 3.1%.

Overall, American workers continued to experience more job opportunities, higher salaries and low unemployment in May.

For 10 straight months, wage growth has been at or above 3%. For 15 months, the unemployment rate has been at or below 4%, and May’s unemployment rate was the lowest since 1969.

Further, Americans with disabilities have the lowest unemployment rate ever at 6.3%, and the unemployment rate for Hispanic Americans is also the lowest ever at 4.2%.

Simply put, the Trump Administration’s policies of lower taxes and fewer regulations are working for all Americans.

To read Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta’s statement on the May Jobs Report, please click here.