Key jobs statistics for the month from The Bureau of Labor Statistics
1. 175,000 (+10,000) non-farm jobs added in May. As a result, there were 340,000 new jobs added in the last 2 months!
2. 21.9 million ( Same as April)= 11.8 (+ 100,000) mil. Unemployed + 7.9 mil. (Same) Involuntarily working part-time + 2.2 (-100,000) mil. who are not even counted = 21.9 million workers who are either unemployed or underemployed or 16% of all workers! = 1 in 6 workers still unemployed or underemployed in the May BLS figures!
3. BLS said that the National Unemployment rate rose .1% to 7.6% in May.
4. Illinois unemployment rate was 9.3% in April.
5. The gains were across the board: a) Professional and Business Services added 57,000 (-16,000) jobs in May (added 589,000 over the past year) b) Health Care continues to add jobs and rose by 11,000 (-8,000) in May (has averaged 24,000 new jobs per month over the last 12 months) c) Retail Trade rose by 28,000 (-1,000) in May (has averaged 20,000 new jobs per month over the last 12 months) and d) Leisure & Hospitality added 38,000 (same) jobs in May (has added 337,000 jobs over the last yaer)!
6. Employment stayed the same in most other industries including construction
7. How bad is it? With only 175,000 new jobs created, it will take 7-10 years to get back to pre-recession levels!
