May brings another round of job losses to the U.S. and a heightened unemployment rate
Well, fellow employment situation report enthusiasts, it seems as though 2008 is just not shaping up to be our year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its report for May this past Friday, and I’m sorry to say that the streak lives on: five months in a row that our country has posted a net loss in jobs. This past month the U.S. dropped 49,000 positions overall, and the cut in jobs was compounded by a 0.5 percent jump in the unemployment rate—which now stands at 5.5 percent.
Since the start of 2008, the nation’s employment industries have combined for a total loss of 324,000 jobs. In May specifically, the number of newly unemployed persons rose by 760,000 to reach 3.2 million. Job drop-offs in most sectors were typical, save for a larger loss (-39,000) in professional and business services than usual. The construction industry cut 34,000 positions over the past month, bringing the sector’s total loss in jobs since September of 2006 to 475,000. Manufacturing and retail trade employment both trended downward as well, losing 26,000 and 27,000 positions, respectively.
The health care industry miraculously added 34,000 jobs in May, with sizeable gains yet again coming in ambulatory health care services and hospitals. This sector’s growth helped to soften the collective blow of the job losses detailed above. Food services and drinking places also managed to add more than 11,000 positions in May, but this industry’s job creation has slowed substantially since November of 2007.
The average workweek for U.S. employees stagnated at 33.7 hours in May, while the average hourly earnings for workers rose by five cents. Average weekly earnings in this country now stand at $604.58.