June 2nd, 2017

138,000 Jobs Added in May

by Ajilon | Uncategorized

The latest From the BLS Employment Report:

The U.S. economy added 138,000 jobs last month.  With the release of this month’s jobs report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment situation shows a recovery continuing to chug along. Unemployment has now reached a 16-year low. The rate dropped to 4.3% in May — its lowest level since May 2001. So far this year, the U.S. has added 810,000 jobs. Since February, the first jobs report under President Trump, the U.S. has gained 594,000 jobs.

Economists’ predictions

Ahead of this month’s report, economists predicted a bump of 185,000 jobs. While slightly below this number at 138,000, the number of jobs added positively contributed to the overall employment rate. Federal Reserve officials indicated last week a rate hike would be likely if the economy stayed on track. And as the rate drop exceeded expectations, the jobs numbers likely clear the path for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates later this month.

This months report

Let’s break down the numbers from this month’s report.

In May, hourly wages increased by $0.03 to $26 per hour, following a 6 cent decrease in April. This brings the year-over-year wage percentage increase to 2.5 percent. The unemployment rate saw a slight uptick to 4.3 percent.

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Wages

  • $26.22 May
    • 0.04 month-over-month
    • 2.5% year-over-year
  • $26.18 April

Unemployment

  • 4.3% May
    • -0.1% month-over-month
  • 4.4% April

In-Depth Look: Our Industries

Let’s dive right into a look at how our industries compare to the national numbers:

Manufacturing

  • Month-over-month change: -1,000
  • 63,000 jobs added year-over-year

Administrative and support services

  • Month-over-month change: 24,400
  • 289,200 jobs added year-over-year

Hospitals

  • Month-over-month change: 7,400
  • 95,500 jobs added year-over-year

Construction

  • Month-over-month change: 11,000
  • 191,000 jobs added year-over-year

Professional and business services

  • Month-over-month change: 38,000
  • 622,000 jobs added year-over-year

Transportation and warehousing

  • Month-over-month change: 3,600
  • 74,300 jobs added year-over-year

Office administrative services

  • Month-over-month change: 3,200
  • 31,600 jobs added year-over-year

Health care

  • Month-over-month change: 24,300
  • 329,100 jobs added year-over-year

The market remains hot for job seekers looking for top HR, non-clinical healthcare and supply chain and logistics positions; therefore employers will need to stay competitive. Make sure you’re paying your people the right salary and doing everything you can to recruit and retain the best talent – check out our 2017 Salary Guide.

Author

Ajilon

You've got a very specific area of expertise. So do we. Our recruiters and staffing specialists work with only the best administrative, healthcare, human resources, and supply chain and logistics professionals in the country. That's all we do. Every single day.