United States employers added almost a quarter of a million jobs in May, extending a nine-month hiring spree and accommodating enough job seekers to hold the unemployment rate steady at 5,6% of the labour force.
Payrolls swelled by almost one million in the past three months alone, the US Department of Labour said on Friday. Employment figures for March and April were revised up to reflect the addition of 353 000 and 346 000 jobs respectively.
But because tens of thousands of jobless people are renewing their search for work in the wake of an improving labour market, the overall, seasonally adjusted civilian unemployment rate did not improve from April’s 5,6% figure.
Nevertheless, the snapshot of the US employment situation in May met the expectations of most private analysts and fuelled anticipation of an increase in interest rates when the Federal Reserve meets at the end of this month. The Fed’s main interest rate has been at a 46-year low of 1%, but analysts expect that to end with the jobs market steadily gaining steam.
Hiring last month was widespread, with businesses adding overall 248 000 new jobs across the economy. Industries that posted the biggest gains included construction, health care, professional and business services, and hotels and restaurants.
The struggling manufacturing sector also is reawakening, adding 32 000 new jobs last month. It was the fourth straight month of payroll increases after almost three years of continuous losses.
The payroll survey by the Bureau of Labour Statistics, reflecting the addition of those 248 000 new jobs to business payrolls, is separate from a survey of US households. It is that survey that determines the unemployment rate.
Friday’s report was good news for US President George Bush, who has been counting on continued employment growth to boost his re-election prospects. The economy was expected to be a major drag on his campaign, but that may prove otherwise.
Bush still is on track to be the first president since the Great Depression to have lost jobs during his watch — but those losses are shrinking. His administration was widely criticised for an overly optimistic forecast that 2,6-million new jobs would be created this year. But economists now say the chugging economy could approach that mark.
Still, the economy is far from the booming 1990s. Last month, 8,2-million people remained unemployed. While the overall jobless rate stayed at 5,6%, it was much higher among blacks, at 9,9%, and Hispanics, at 7%.
The average duration of unemployment rose to 20 weeks last month, up from 19,7 weeks in April. Almost 22% of all jobless workers have been without work for 27 weeks or more.
Construction employment rose by 32 000 in May, with 91 000 new jobs added since January. In services, professional and business services added 64 000 new jobs, fuelled by hiring increases in temporary employment firms. Hiring at such firms has grown by 14% since April 2003.
Hotels and restaurants added 33 000 jobs over the month, and financial services boosted payrolls by 15 000.
But some industries lost jobs, including telecommunications, which shed 5 000 positions last month. Also, there were fewer government jobs last month, as employment in that sector decreased by 27 000. — Sapa-AP