The Employment Situation: May 1994 — 1994-06-03

Unemployment fell in May and employment increased further, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The nation's jobless rate was 6.0 percent, down from 6.4 percent in April. The number of nonfarm payroll jobs, as measured by the survey of employers, was up by 191,000 in May. About 70,000 of this modest increase stemmed from a return of workers who had been on strike. Monthly job growth had averaged about 260,000 in the previous 4 months. Total employment, as measured by the household survey, showed an increase of 534,000 in May. This strong gain followed slower growth in the prior 3 months and brings the average monthly increase since January to 225,000. Both the number unemployed and the unemployment rate fell in May. At 7.9 million, about 500,000 fewer persons were jobless than in the previous month. The unemployment rate--6.0 percent--was 0.4 percentage point lower than in April and down 0.7 point from January.