The unemployment numbers are in for May 2013 and they don't look good.
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 175,000 in May, and the unemployment
rate was essentially unchanged at 7.6 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
reported today. Employment rose in professional and business services, food services
and drinking places, and retail trade.
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (7.2 percent),
adult women (6.5 percent), teenagers (24.5 percent), whites (6.7 percent), blacks
(13.5 percent), and Hispanics (9.1 percent) showed little or no change in May. The
jobless rate for Asians was 4.3 percent (not seasonally adjusted), little changed from
a year earlier. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)
The most interesting and alarming number here is teen unemployment as we head into the summer months when teens are looking for jobs. A recent Rasmussen Report showed the overwhelming majority believe it will be difficult for this age demographic to find summer work.
UPDATE:
11.4%: What the US unemployment rate would be if labor force participation were back to January 2008 levels
— James Pethokoukis (@JimPethokoukis) June 7, 2013
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