According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US unemployment rate jumped from 8.9 percent to 9.4 percent in May. On the surface that is not good news, but if you look closer you can find some positives that indicate that the economy might be set to recover before too long.
The unemployment rate increased because the labor force (the number of people actively employed or looking for work) increased by roughly 350,000 last month. This increase, coupled with a loss of 345,000 jobs nationwide, meant more people were looking for fewer jobs, thus the increase in the unemployment rate.
So, where is the positive news? May’s job loss of 345,000 is much lower than we have experienced in recent months. Monthly job loss peaked in January at over 700,000 and has trended downward ever since. No doubt the recession persists, but the slowing pace of job loss is at least a trend in the right direction.
Comparable local numbers will be available later this month but recently, we have been doing slightly better than the nation so far this year.
The unemployment rate increased because the labor force (the number of people actively employed or looking for work) increased by roughly 350,000 last month. This increase, coupled with a loss of 345,000 jobs nationwide, meant more people were looking for fewer jobs, thus the increase in the unemployment rate.
So, where is the positive news? May’s job loss of 345,000 is much lower than we have experienced in recent months. Monthly job loss peaked in January at over 700,000 and has trended downward ever since. No doubt the recession persists, but the slowing pace of job loss is at least a trend in the right direction.
Comparable local numbers will be available later this month but recently, we have been doing slightly better than the nation so far this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment