Few Private Sector Jobs Created in May
June 6, 2010
by Richard L. Connors
Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP
Copyright © 2010
Fueled largely by the hiring of 411,000 temporary employees to work on Census 2010, the unemployment rate edged down to 9.7% in May, according to a June 4, 2010 report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Private-sector employment, however, changed little – with only 41,000 jobs created.
Industry Sectors
- Manufacturing employment increased by 29,000 in May, and has risen by 126,000 over the past 5 months.
- Temporary Help services added 31,000 jobs in May, and have increased by 362,000 since September 2009.
- Health care employment was little changed last month (+8,000). "Over the prior 12 months, health care employment had increased by an average of 20,000 per month."
- "In May, employment in construction declined by 35,000, largely offsetting gains in the industry in the prior 2 months. May’s job loss was spread throughout the sector."
- "Employment in other private-sector industries, including wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, and leisure and hospitality showed little change in May."
- "Government employment rose by 390,000 in May. The Federal government hired 411,000 temporary workers for Census 2010, bringing total temporary census staffing during the payroll survey reference period to 564,000. Employment in state government excluding education decreased by 13,000."
Part-Time Workers – "The number of persons employed part-time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) declined by 343,000 in May to 8.8 million. These individuals were working part-time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job."
Average Workweek – In May, the average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees increased slightly to 33.5 hours.
Unemployment
15 Million are Unemployed – The number of unemployed person was 15.0 million in May.
Blacks, Hispanics and Teens have Higher Unemployment – The unemployment rate is higher for adult men (9.8%) that for adult women (8.1%) and teens (26.4%) have an unemployment rate that is nearly three times higher than adults. The unemployment rate is also higher for blacks (15.5%) and Hispanics (12.4%) than for whites (8.8%) and Asians (7.5%).
Long-Term Unemployed – "In May, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) was about unchanged at 6.8 million. These individuals made up 46.0% of unemployed persons, about the same as in April."
Marginally Attached to Labor Force – "About 2.2 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force in May, unchanged from a year earlier. 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."
Richard L. Connors is an attorney with Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP, one of the country's largest law firms with more than 300 attorneys in more than 45-industry-focused areas. Mr. Connors represents management exclusively in employment and labor law.
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