Unemployment rate at 5.8 percent in May
June 11, 2002
The number of unemployed persons (8.4 million) and the unemployment rate (5.8 percent) were little changed over the month. The May unemployment rate is 1.9 percentage points above its most recent low of 3.9 percent in October 2000, and the number of unemployed persons is 2.8 million higher.
[Chart data—TXT]
The number of long-term unemployed persons—those unemployed 27 weeks or longer—rose by 142,000 in May, following increases of similar size in March and April. This measure has increased by about 1 million persons over the past 12 months.
These data are a product of the Current Population Survey. The above figures are seasonally adjusted. Find out more in "The Employment Situation: May 2002," news release USDL 02-332.
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