The Latest Jobs Report Is In…
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June 2, 2017The latest jobs report from the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics is in, and there are a few key things to note.
Overall, the economy added about 138,000 jobs, and the general unemployment rate dropped to 4.3 percent. Sounds good, right? Not so fast. As always, it’s important to look at the number of Americans not participating in the labor force, as that factor alone can influence the unemployment rate and make it look better than it actually is. In May, the number of Americans not participating in the labor force increased by 608,000, bringing the number to 94,983,000. As CNS notes, that number is inching near the all time high, which was set in December 2016. At that time, 95,102,000 were not participating in the labor force.
#BreakingNews: 138,000 jobs added in May, Unemployment rate at 4.3% #JobsReport https://t.co/wYVN8JGad6 pic.twitter.com/zUheYwNO1H
— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) June 2, 2017
The nation’s labor force participation rate – the percentage of the 16-and-older civilian non-institutionalized population that is either employed or actively seeking work – dropped two-tenths of a point to 62.7 percent in May.
The higher the percentage, the better, since people who participate in the labor force contribute the payroll and other taxes that help support many of those who do not work. The participation rate hit a record high of 67.3 percent in early 2000, plunging to a 38-year low of 62.4 percent in September 2015.
Some more stats from Jamie Dupree:
138,000 jobs created in May as jobless rate ticks down to 4.3%
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) June 2, 2017
Jobs numbers were revised down in March from 79k to 50k, April also revised down from 211k to 174k
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) June 2, 2017
The U6 rate – considered the broadest measure of unemployment – dropped to 8.4% in May, lowest since Nov 2007
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) June 2, 2017
The Labor Force Participation rate dropped in May to 62.7%. It was at 63.0% in February & March
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) June 2, 2017
The size of the labor force dropped by 429 thousand in May, the largest drop since a 428k decline in May 2016
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) June 2, 2017
The main reason the jobless rate dropped to 4.3% in May was probably because the labor force shrank by 429,000
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) June 2, 2017
Also from today’s jobs report – the number of people reporting they had a job dropped 233k in May
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) June 2, 2017
The number of people reporting they were working multiple jobs dropped 94,000 in May
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) June 2, 2017
The number of people reporting they worked part-time because they couldn’t get a full time job dropped 53k in May
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) June 2, 2017
And so on.
This report doesn’t really give us a reason to celebrate. Let’s be honest with ourselves. There’s definitely room for improvement.
