Welcome to the Business Journal Archives
Search for articles below, or continue to the all new BusinessJournalDaily.com now.
Search
"Labor Department Reports 248,000 Jobs Created in May"
"WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Friday that 248,000 non-farm jobs were created in May. As a result, the national unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.6%, the government reported."May's increase of 248,000 payroll jobs exceeds market expectations and is the ninth straight month of job creation," said Elaine L. Chao, secretary of the U.S. Labor Department. "The job market continues to gain strength with 1.4 million jobs created since August 2003."Republicans hailed the numbers as vindication of the Bush Administration's economic policies while Democrats downplayed the importance of the statistics."The policies in place are working, the entrepreneurial spirit is strong and the small business sector of the economy is vibrant," said President George W. Bush when questioned by reporters covering his visit Friday to Rome."What a difference a year makes," added Commerce Secretary Donald Evans. "A wakeup call has been sent that the United States economy is back." The increase in payroll employment during the month of May follows gains of 346,000 jobs created in April and 353,000 jobs created in March. The employment gains were widespread across nearly all sectors, Chao noted. "In the last 4 months, 91,000 manufacturing jobs have been created, reversing a 42 month job decline in manufacturing employment," the labor secretary said.But a spokeman for John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee, said the overall picture remains bleak. "Any step forward in the job market is good news for workers," said Allison Dobson, "but America is still in the worst job recovery since the Great Depression, with 1.9 million private-sector jobs lost in the Bush presidency."The number of unemployed persons in May was essentially unchanged at 8.2 million, according to Friday's report. Total employment was 138.8 million in May and the employment-population ratio -- the proportion of the population age 16 and over with jobs --remained at 62.2%. The unemployment rate for adult men was 5.2%; for adult women 4.8%; teenagers 17.2%; whites 5%; blacks 9.9%; and Hispanics 7%. Breakdowns by state and county were not immediately available.Construction employment increased by 37,000 jobs in May, with most of the gains occurring in specialty trade contracting and building construction. Since March 2003, the construction industry has added about 250,000 jobs, the Labor Department said.In the service sector, professional and business services added 64,000 jobs in May. Employment in temporary help services rose to 31,000, and has grown by 299,000, or 14%, since April 2003. Strong employment increases in health care and social assistance continued in May with a gain of 36,000 jobs. Over the year, this industry has added 274,000 jobs, the Labor Department said. Hospitals and ambulatory health care services, such as outpatient care centers, accounted for two-thirds of May's employment gain. Within the leisure and hospitality industry, food services added 33,000 jobs over the month. Since the beginning of the year, employment in food services has increased by an average of 32,000 a month, more than double the average monthly increase in 2003. Employment in financial activities rose by 15,000 in May, reflecting continued increases in real estate and in credit intermediation, according to the government report. Retail employment continued to trend upward in May; with the industry adding142,000 jobs over 12 months. The downside to Friday's labor news came in the information sector, where telecommunications employment was down by 5,000 in May. Since its peak in March 2001, the telecommunications industry has shed 283,000 jobs, a fifth of its total."