Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation — 2006-06-02

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 75,000 in May, and the unemployment rate, at 4.6 percent, was essentially unchanged. From January through April of this year, payroll employment growth averaged 164,000 per month. Within the service-providing sector, health care employment continued to expand, rising by 19,000 in May. Within professional and business services, employment increased in computer systems design. Wholesale trade added 14,000 jobs in May; employment in this industry has grown by 108,000 in the past year. Over the month, employment continued to trend up in financial activities. Retail trade employment fell by 27,000 in May, following an even larger decline in April. Over the year, however, retail trade employment has changed little, on net.