Unemployment Rate Continues to Rise

Washington, D.C. — The U.S. unemployment rate continued to rise in May, increasing from 8.9 to 9.4 percent.

Nonfarm payroll employment fell by 345,000 in May, about half the average monthly decline for the prior 6 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor recently reported. The
unemployment rate continued to rise, increasing from 8.9 to 9.4 percent. Steep job losses continued in manufacturing, while declines moderated in construction and several service-providing industries.

The number of unemployed persons increased by 787,000 to 14.5 million in May, and the unemployment rate rose to 9.4 percent. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons has risen by 7 million, and the unemployment rate has grown by 4.5 percentage points. Unemployment rates rose in May for adult men (9.8 percent), adult women (7.5 percent), whites (8.6 percent) and Hispanics (12.7 percent). The jobless rates for teenagers (22.7 percent) and blacks (14.9 percent) were little changed over the month. The unemployment rate for Asians was 6.7 percent in May, not seasonally adjusted, up from 3.8 percent a year earlier.

For more information, visit http://www.bls.gov/cps/.