May payroll employment changes little (+54,000); jobless rate essentially unchanged (9.1%)

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- MAY 2011

Nonfarm payroll employment changed little (+54,000) in May, and the unemployment
rate was essentially unchanged at 9.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
reported today. Job gains continued in professional and business services, health
care, and mining. Employment levels in other major private-sector industries were
little changed, and local government employment continued to decline.

Household Survey Data

The number of unemployed persons (13.9 million) and the unemployment rate (9.1
percent) were essentially unchanged in May. The labor force, at 153.7 million, was
little changed over the month. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (8.9 percent),
adult women (8.0 percent), teenagers (24.2 percent), whites (8.0 percent), blacks
(16.2 percent), and Hispanics (11.9 percent) showed little or no change in May. The
jobless rate for Asians was 7.0 percent, not seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1,
A-2, and A-3.)

In May, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over)
increased by 361,000 to 6.2 million; their share of unemployment increased to 45.1
percent. (See table A-12.)

Read more: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

---

The large print giveth, and the fine print taketh away.

A Du'er pointed out a few months back that, if I'm going to post the link to the press release, I should include the link to all the tables that provide additional ways of examining the data. Specifically, I should post a link to "Table A-15. Alternative measures of labor underutilization." Table A-15 includes those who are not considered unemployed, on the grounds that they have become discouraged about the prospects of finding a job and have given up looking. Here are those links.

Employment Situation

Table A-15. Alternative measures of labor underutilization

[Pale Blue Dot]

1. There's no way to spin this. This is a terrible report. nt

[rfranklin]

2. Unfortunately, this will be used in electioneering against Obama...

but it is still the result of thirty years of Republican class warfare.

[Mayflower1]

3. Very disappointing.

If you're looking for a job - this is just so discouraging. What's going on?

[OhioChick]

4. Already spinning it on CNBC

Sec. Solis: "We're on the right track with jobs."


:wtf:

[Fuddnik]

5. Reality check. Birth/Death Adjustment.

6/3/11
Take away the Birth/Death adjustment of 206,000 and the Real NFP is: -150,000.

This is the biggest monthly B/D adjustment in over a year. And if as all the pundits claimed last month, demanding the McDonalds addition of 62,000 janitorial, part-time jobs be added to the May number, the economy really lost over 200,000 in May.

Time to price in QE 666.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/birthdeath-adjustment-206000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Somebody said a few days ago to expect a whopper of a BD/A. I guess they were right.

edit to fix link

[pinqy]

13. Nope, they're comparing the wrong numbers

The Birth/Death adjustment is NOT seasonally adjusted, so you can't just remove it like that from the Seasonally adjusted change.

The not seasonally adjusted change was +682,000 including the B/D adjustment. So removing the B/D adjustment gives us +476,000

I'm way too lazy to look up the seasonal adjustments to see what the seasonally adjusted numbers would be without the B/D model.

[bemildred]

6. May unemployment rate up to 9.1%; employers add just 54,000 to payrolls

Source: LAT

The nation's job market took a turn for the worse last month as employers sharply pulled back their hiring and the unemployment rate edged up to 9.1%, the Labor Department said Friday.

The discouraging report provided the latest and strongest evidence of a sputtering economic recovery. In recent days, various data have pointed to a slowdown in manufacturing and consumer spending, as well as persistent weakness in the depressed housing market.

Employers in May added just 54,000 to their payrolls, less than half of what’s needed just to keep pace with the expanding working-age population. The measly job growth came after three straight months of solid job increases that averaged 220,000 a month.

Manufacturing, which had been leading the recovery, fell back in May, losing 5,000 jobs. Apart from healthcare and some professional services, notably accounting and computer systems work, there was little or no net job gain in other service-producing sectors of the economy. And local government continued to be a drag on the economy, shedding 28,000 jobs.

Read more: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/06/may-unemployment-rate-up-to-91.html

[msongs]

7. the good news is that "our" wars rage on unabated nt

[Mayflower1]

14. +100

[Coyote_Bandit]

8. Too bad the dumbshits in Washington

are too stupid to stimulate the economy by throwing a few pennies at the struggling masses who are just trying to survive. They wouldn't hoarde it. They'd use it for necessities or to pay off bills or maybe to start their own small little microbusiness.

But then I forget that our dear leaders of all stripes and persuasions (with a few notable exceptions of course) really don't give a shit about Main Street Amerikkkans.

Apparently voodoo trickle down economics is stil in style.

[KeyserSoze87]

9. The president needs to do something about this.

He should pass a new stimulus package or something, because we cannot afford to have the economy continuing to be like this. The only good thing I can say about this dismal jobs report is that we didn't lose any payrolls during the month. But of course, that is not saying much at all.

[onehandle]

10. Too late. The 'bipartisan' obsession for the first year set this up.

He should have been wielding a flaming sword and been calling out the Senate Republicans every night.

Republicans in the Senate successfully stopped Obama from repairing the economy and we got what we got.

[KeyserSoze87]

11. You do have a good point.

I don't really see how any stimulus bill could pass in the Republican/Teabagger-controlled House.

[andym]

19. Yup

stimulus should have been bigger, more job and small business-oriented.

Too late now.

[cppuddy]

12. I am sick and tired of the President getting blamed for everything.

I am sick and tired of the President getting blamed for everything. There are no jobs, gas prices are high, and the deficit is out of control, housing prices are dropping. It’s his entire fault. BULL#$% !! I guess the President controls all; NOT.

In January, Match, and April everything was great the recovery was on its way. Jobs were being created and consumer spending was up. Everything was hunky-dory. Then May it’s the end of the world; not enough jobs are being created. Why? Well let’s see: 1) Japan earthquake struck, and massive amounts of supply disruptions hit the entire world. So manufactures slowed down there production, and put people on furlough for several weeks. This also caused produces of products to not sell as many units.

2) Could it also be that gas prices went through the roof; people have a finite amount of money to spend every month. If food and fuel costs more; then they will not spend it on other things. If spending doesn’t increase, stores won’t stock more product, and higher sales reps. If they don’t need has much product, they will not buy as many units of as product. So the manufacturer won’t need as many people to make that product. It’s called supply and demand. It will go up and down. Its basic rule of economics. One job creates demand, which creates another job, etc...Etc...Etc….

3) Companies have also found ways to get people to produce more. People are doing the work of 2 or 3 people, just to keep the jobs they have. So until productivity falls off then companies will not hire.

We now have economists saying all the trend indicators are bad. Indicating that another down term is imitated. If their trend line is one or two months of data, then it will be inaccurate data. They need data from 12-15 months to really see what is going on. They should have known that this disappointing jobs number was going to happen. Are these the same economists that saw the Great Recession coming, or that mortgage backed securities were a good triple A rated investment. These economists have short attention spans like the American people.

Well you know what go ahead an elect all Republicans’ to Washington. See your SS, Medicare, VA, benefits go away. You know what they should do cut all entailments for everyone. Better yet eliminate all taxes. Eliminate everything .
Will that get rid of the deficit, NO! Then what will they cut. Oh no…nothing left to cut; what do we do. Who or what are do we blame now? ‘They will say.
Let’s tax the 99% of people that have no benefits, no income, no home, and no medical care. But they have nothing….’ This will be the revenue from the rest of us in 10..20..30..40 years ….. It will be a big fat $ 0.00 .

A nation should exist to help its people, not its corporations, military industrial complex and minority elected officials in and around government. If the Republicans’ don’t want Washington to be involved in anything; then there is no reason for the United States to exist. Each state should be allowed go their separate way. And we will see then what society will benefit its people, and which lets them wallow in a life of serfdom.

[mother earth]

15. I beg to differ with you on the prez being blamed. Given his

oratory gift and his knack for trying to pull people together on both sides, he ought to be on fire and going full out ninja on this. We need jobs, we need stimulus, fuck the debt right now. We need FDR thinking and ALL of our elected government officials on fire to do something about this situation. Instead we remain involved in two wars and we do nothing for what we need right here, right now. War and oil profiteers be damned.

Long story, short: this is what the election will be about, and that's why not a damn thing outside of the box will be done to reign it in. They just don't get it that action on this is what will truly win re-election. Just do something, anything at this point...it just seems status quo is all we ever really get.

[Mayflower1]

16. On the bright side,

his golf game is improving !

[scheming daemons]

17. Pizza for lunch!

[alp227]

18. The Guardian: US unemployment unacceptably high, White House advisers admit

The White House admitted on Friday that unemployment in the US was "uncomfortably high" after the latest set of figures for the American labour market showed only 54,000 new jobs were created by the world's biggest economy last month.

Amid signs that growth has slowed markedly during the first half of 2011, the closely watched figures for non-farm payrolls showed an across-the-board weakening in hiring during May.

The news led to an immediate sell-off in shares on Wall Street amid speculation that the Federal Reserve, the US central bank, would be forced into a third round of electronic money creation, known as quantitative easing, to bring down unemployment.

The report from the US labour department was the weakest since last September. Private-sector jobs grew by 83,000, the smallest rise since June 2010, while government payrolls fell by 29,000. Employment growth in March and April was revised down by a total of 39,000, while the jobless rate rose in May from 9% to 9.1%.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jun/03/us-nonfarm-payrolls-unemployment-white-house