Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation — 2005-06-03

Advance copies of this statement are made available to the press under lock-up conditions with the explicit understanding that the data are embargoed until 8:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Nonfarm payroll employment edged up by 78,000 in May, following an increase of 274,000 in April. The unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 5.1 percent. Payroll job growth averaged 176,000 over the past 2 months, in line with the average monthly increase for the 12-month period ending in March. In May, job growth continued in health care and construction. In the service-providing sector, health care employment rose by 26,000 in May, following an increase of similar magnitude in April. The job growth in each month was concentrated in doctors� offices and in hospitals. In May, employment in both financial activities and temporary help services was about unchanged. There has been very little employment growth in temporary help since last October. Employment was little changed in leisure and hospitality in May.