Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release — 2014-06-06

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 rose by 217,000 in May, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.3 percent. Employment rose in professional and business services, health care and social assistance, food services and drinking places, and transportation and warehousing. Incorporating the revisions for March and April, which decreased total nonfarm employment by 6,000 on net, monthly job gains have averaged 234,000 over the past 3 months. In the 12 months prior to May, employment growth averaged 197,000 per month. With the gains in May, payroll employment now exceeds its pre-recession level. Nonfarm payroll employment fell by 8.7 million from January 2008 through February 2010. Since then, employment has risen by 8.8 million.