Transmission of material in this statement is embargoed until
8:30 a.m. (ET) Friday, June 3, 2022.
Statement of
William W. Beach
Commissioner
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Friday, June 3, 2022
Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 390,000 in May, and
the unemployment rate remained at 3.6 percent. Notable job gains
occurred in leisure and hospitality, in professional and
business services, and in transportation and warehousing.
Employment in retail trade declined.
Nonfarm employment is down by 822,000, or 0.5 percent, from
its February 2020 level before the onset of the coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic.
In May, employment growth continued in leisure and
hospitality (+84,000), with gains in food services and drinking
places (+46,000) and accommodation (+21,000). Employment in
leisure and hospitality is down by 1.3 million, or 7.9 percent,
from its February 2020 level.
Employment in professional and business services increased
by 75,000 in May and is 821,000 above its February 2020 level.
Job gains in May occurred in accounting and bookkeeping services
(+16,000), computer systems design and related services
(+13,000), and scientific research and development services
(+6,000).
Transportation and warehousing added 47,000 jobs in May,
with gains in warehousing and storage (+18,000), truck
transportation (+13,000), and air transportation (+6,000).
Employment in transportation and warehousing is 709,000 above
its February 2020 level.
Employment in construction increased by 36,000 in May, with
growth in specialty trade contractors (+17,000) and heavy and
civil engineering construction (+11,000). Construction
employment is 40,000 higher than in February 2020.
In May, employment increased by 36,000 in state government
education and by 33,000 in private education. Employment in
local government education was little changed (+14,000).
Compared with February 2020, employment in state government
education is up by 27,000, while employment in private education
has essentially recovered. Employment in local government
education is 308,000 lower than its February 2020 level.
Health care employment rose by 28,000 in May, with most of
the job growth in hospitals (+16,000). Employment in health care
is 223,000 below its February 2020 level.
Manufacturing employment continued to trend up in May
(+18,000). However, employment in the industry is slightly below
(-17,000) its February 2020 level.
Employment in wholesale trade rose by 14,000 in May but is
41,000 lower than in February 2020.
Mining employment increased by 6,000 in May. Since a recent
low in February 2021, mining employment has grown by 80,000.
Retail trade employment declined by 61,000 in May, with job
losses in general merchandise stores (-33,000), clothing and
clothing accessories stores (-9,000), food and beverage stores
(-8,000), building material and garden supply stores (-7,000),
and health and personal care stores (-5,000). Despite the
decrease in May, employment in retail trade is 159,000 higher
than in February 2020.
Employment showed little change over the month in other
major industries, including information, financial activities,
and other services.
The average workweek for all private sector workers
remained unchanged at 34.6 hours in May. The average workweek
for manufacturing was little changed at 40.4 hours.
Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm
payrolls increased by 10 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $31.95 in
May. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have
increased by 5.2 percent.
Turning to the labor market indicators from the household
survey, the unemployment rate was 3.6 percent in May for the
third month in a row, and the number of unemployed people was
essentially unchanged at 6.0 million. Both measures are little
different than their February 2020 levels (3.5 percent and 5.7
million, respectively).
In May, the unemployment rate for Asians decreased to 2.4
percent. The jobless rates for adult men (3.4 percent), adult
women (3.4 percent), teenagers (10.4 percent), Whites (3.2
percent), Blacks (6.2 percent), and Hispanics (4.3 percent)
showed little or no change.
Among the unemployed, the number of permanent job losers
was unchanged at 1.4 million in May. This measure is little
different from its February 2020 level. The number of people on
temporary layoff (810,000) changed little in May and is also
little different from its February 2020 level.
In May, the number of people unemployed for 27 weeks or
more (often referred to as the long-term unemployed) edged down
to 1.4 million. This measure is 235,000 above its February 2020
level. The long-term unemployed accounted for 23.2 percent of
all unemployed people in May.
The labor force participation rate, at 62.3 percent, and
the employment-population ratio, at 60.1 percent, changed little
in May. Both measures are 1.1 percentage points below their
February 2020 levels.
In May, the number of people working part time for economic
reasons rose by 295,000 to 4.3 million, reflecting an increase
in the number of people whose hours were cut due to slack work
or business conditions. The number of people working part time
for economic reasons is little different from its February 2020
level.
The number of people not in the labor force who currently
want a job was little changed at 5.7 million in May. This
measure remains above its February 2020 level of 5.0 million.
Among those who were not in the labor force but wanted a
job, the number of people marginally attached to the labor
force, at 1.5 million, changed little in May. (People who are
marginally attached to the labor force had not actively looked
for work in the 4 weeks prior to the survey but wanted a job,
were available for work, and had looked for a job within the
last 12 months.) The number of discouraged workers, a subset of
the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available
for them, also changed little at 415,000 in May.
Looking at the supplemental pandemic-related measures from
the household survey (these supplemental data are not seasonally
adjusted), the share of employed people who teleworked because
of the pandemic decreased to 7.4 percent in May. These data
refer only to employed people who teleworked or worked at home
for pay at some point in the last 4 weeks specifically because
of the pandemic; they do not include all instances of telework.
In May, the number of people who reported that they had
been unable to work because their employer closed or lost
business due to the pandemic was 1.8 million, little changed
from the prior month. (These individuals did not work at all or
worked fewer hours at some point in the last 4 weeks due to the
pandemic.) Among those who reported in May that they were unable
to work because of pandemic-related closures or lost business,
19.9 percent received at least some pay from their employer for
the hours not worked, also little changed from April.
Among those not in the labor force in May, 455,000 people
were prevented from looking for work due to the pandemic, down
from April. (To be counted as unemployed, by definition,
individuals must either be actively searching for work or on
temporary layoff.)
In summary, nonfarm payroll employment increased by 390,000
in May, and the unemployment rate held at 3.6 percent.
United States Department of Labor
