Employment Situation Summary

Transmission of material in this release is embargoed                        USDL-13-1102
until 8:30 a.m. (EDT) Friday, June 7, 2013

Technical information:
 Household data:       (202) 691-6378  *  cpsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/cps
 Establishment data:   (202) 691-6555  *  cesinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/ces

Media contact:         (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


                          THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- MAY 2013


Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 175,000 in May, and the unemployment
rate was essentially unchanged at 7.6 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
reported today. Employment rose in professional and business services, food services
and drinking places, and retail trade.

Household Survey Data

Both the number of unemployed persons, at 11.8 million, and the unemployment rate, at
7.6 percent, were essentially unchanged in May. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (7.2 percent),
adult women (6.5 percent), teenagers (24.5 percent), whites (6.7 percent), blacks
(13.5 percent), and Hispanics (9.1 percent) showed little or no change in May. The
jobless rate for Asians was 4.3 percent (not seasonally adjusted), little changed from
a year earlier. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

In May, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was
unchanged at 4.4 million. These individuals accounted for 37.3 percent of the unemployed.
Over the past 12 months, the number of long-term unemployed has declined by 1.0 million.
(See table A-12.)

The civilian labor force rose by 420,000 to 155.7 million in May; however, the labor
force participation rate was little changed at 63.4 percent. Over the year, the labor
force participation rate has declined by 0.4 percentage point. The employment-population
ratio was unchanged in May at 58.6 percent and has shown little movement, on net, over 
the past year. (See table A-1.)

In May, the number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred
to as involuntary part-time workers) was unchanged at 7.9 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. (See table A-8.)

In May, 2.2 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, down from 2.4
million a year earlier. (These data are not seasonally adjusted.) 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. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not
searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. (See table A-16.)

Among the marginally attached, there were 780,000 discouraged workers in May, little
changed from a year earlier. (These data are not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged
workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are
available for them. The remaining 1.4 million persons marginally attached to the labor
force in May had not searched for work for reasons such as school attendance or family
responsibilities. (See table A-16.)

Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 175,000 in May, with gains in professional
and business services, food services and drinking places, and retail trade. Over the
prior 12 months, employment growth averaged 172,000 per month. (See table B-1.)

Professional and business services added 57,000 jobs in May. Within this industry,
employment continued to trend up in temporary help services (+26,000), computer systems
design and related services (+6,000), and architectural and engineering services (+5,000).
Employment in professional and business services has grown by 589,000 over the past year.

Within leisure and hospitality, employment in food services and drinking places continued
to expand, increasing by 38,000 in May and by 337,000 over the past year.

Retail trade employment increased by 28,000 in May. The industry added an average of
20,000 jobs per month over the prior 12 months. In May, general merchandise stores
continued to add jobs (+10,000).

Health care employment continued to trend up in May (+11,000). Job gains in home health
care services (+7,000) and outpatient care centers (+4,000) more than offset a loss in
hospitals (-6,000). Over the prior 12 months, job growth in health care averaged 24,000
per month.

Within government, federal government employment declined by 14,000 in May. Over the past
3 months, federal government employment has decreased by 45,000.

Employment in other major industries, including mining and logging, construction,
manufacturing, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, and financial activities,
showed little or no change over the month.

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged in
May at 34.5 hours. In manufacturing, the workweek increased by 0.1 hour to 40.8 hours,
and overtime was unchanged at 3.3 hours. The average workweek for production and
nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.1 hour to 33.8
hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)

In May, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls, at $23.89,
changed little (+1 cent). Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 46 cents, or
2.0 percent. In May, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory
employees, at $20.08, changed little (+1 cent). (See tables B-3 and B-8.)

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for March was revised from +138,000 to
+142,000, and the change for April was revised from +165,000 to +149,000. With these
revisions, employment gains in March and April combined were 12,000 less than previously
reported.

_____________
The Employment Situation for June is scheduled to be released on Friday, July 5, 2013,
at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).

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