The Employment Situation: May 2004 — 2004-06-04

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 248,000 in May, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.6 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The May increase in payroll employment follows gains of 346,000 in April and 353,000 in March (as revised). Job growth in May again was widespread, as increases continued in construction, manufacturing, and several service-providing industries. The number of unemployed persons was essentially unchanged at 8.2 million in May, and the unemployment rate held at 5.6 percent. The unemployment rate has been either 5.6 or 5.7 percent in each month since December 2003. The unemployment rates for the major worker groups--adult men (5.2 percent), adult women (4.8 percent), teenagers (17.2 percent), whites (5.0 percent), blacks (9.9 percent), and Hispanics or Latinos (7.0 percent)--were little changed in May. The unemployment rate for Asians was 4.2 percent, not seasonally ad- justed.