Transmission of material in this release is embargoed USDL-12-1070
until 8:30 a.m. (EDT) Friday, June 1, 2012
Technical information:
Household data: (202) 691-6378 * cpsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/cps
Establishment data: (202) 691-6555 * cesinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/ces
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- MAY 2012
Nonfarm payroll employment changed little in May (+69,000), and the unemployment rate
was essentially unchanged at 8.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported
today. Employment increased in health care, transportation and warehousing, and wholesale
trade but declined in construction. Employment was little changed in most other major
industries.
Household Survey Data
Both the number of unemployed persons (12.7 million) and the unemployment rate (8.2
percent) changed little in May. (See table A-1.)
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (7.8 percent) and
Hispanics (11.0 percent) edged up in May, while the rates for adult women (7.4 percent),
teenagers (24.6 percent), whites (7.4 percent), and blacks (13.6 percent) showed little
or no change. The jobless rate for Asians was 5.2 percent in May (not seasonally
adjusted), down from 7.0 percent a year earlier. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) rose from 5.1
to 5.4 million in May. These individuals accounted for 42.8 percent of the unemployed.
(See table A-12.)
The civilian labor force participation rate increased in May by 0.2 percentage point
to 63.8 percent, offsetting a decline of the same amount in April. The employment-
population ratio edged up to 58.6 percent in May. (See table A-1.)
The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to
as involuntary part-time workers) edged up to 8.1 million over the month. These
individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because
they were unable to find a full-time job. (See table A-8.)
In May, 2.4 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, up from 2.2
million a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were
not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job
sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had
not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. (See table A-16.)
Among the marginally attached, there were 830,000 discouraged workers in May, about the
same as a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are
persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for
them. The remaining 1.6 million persons marginally attached to the labor force in May
had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school
attendance or family responsibilities. (See table A-16.)
Establishment Survey Data
Total nonfarm payroll employment changed little in May (+69,000), following a similar
change in April (+77,000). In comparison, the average monthly gain was 226,000 in the
first quarter of the year. In May, employment rose in health care, transportation and
warehousing, and wholesale trade, while construction lost jobs. (See table B-1.)
Health care employment continued to increase in May (+33,000). Within the industry,
employment in ambulatory health care services, which includes offices of physicians
and outpatient care centers, rose by 23,000 over the month. Over the year, health care
employment has risen by 340,000.
Transportation and warehousing added 36,000 jobs over the month. Employment gains in
transit and ground passenger transportation (+20,000) and in couriers and messengers
(+5,000) followed job losses in those industries in April. Employment in both industries
has shown little net change over the year. In May, truck transportation added 7,000 jobs.
Employment in wholesale trade rose by 16,000 over the month. Since reaching an employment
low in May 2010, this industry has added 184,000 jobs.
Manufacturing employment continued to trend up in May (+12,000) following a similar
change in April (+9,000). Job gains averaged 41,000 per month in the first quarter of
this year. In May, employment rose in fabricated metal products (+6,000) and in primary
metals (+4,000). Since its most recent low in January 2010, manufacturing employment has
increased by 495,000.
Construction employment declined by 28,000 in May, with job losses occurring in specialty
trade contractors (-18,000) and in heavy and civil engineering construction (-11,000).
Since reaching a low in January 2011, employment in construction has shown little change
on net.
Employment in professional and business services was essentially unchanged in May. Since
the most recent low point in September 2009, employment in this industry has grown by
1.4 million. In May, job losses in accounting and bookkeeping services (-14,000) and in
services to buildings and dwellings (-14,000) were offset by small gains elsewhere in
the industry.
Employment in other major industries, including mining and logging, retail trade,
information, financial activities, leisure and hospitality, and government, changed
little in May.
The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 hour
to 34.4 hours in May. The manufacturing workweek declined by 0.3 hour to 40.5 hours, and
factory overtime declined by 0.1 hour to 3.2 hours. The average workweek for production
and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.7 hours.
(See tables B-2 and B-7.)
In May, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up
by 2 cents to $23.41. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased
by 1.7 percent. In May, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and
nonsupervisory employees edged down by 1 cent to $19.70. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for March was revised from +154,000 to
+143,000, and the change for April was revised from +115,000 to +77,000.
_____________
The Employment Situation for June is scheduled to be released on Friday, July 6, 2012,
at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).
Economic News Release
- Font:
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Friday declared an end to the Iraq war, one of the longest and most divisive conflicts in U.S. history, announcing that all U.S. troops would be withdrawn from the country by year's end.
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“As promised the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year. After nearly nine years, America's war in Iraq will be over,” Obama
said.
Live vote: Was Iraq war worth the human, financial costs?"Today I can say that troops in Iraq will be home for the holidays."
U.S. soldiers take a rest in the shade of armoured vehicles at a courtyard at Camp Liberty in Baghdad. U.S troops are scheduled to pull out of the country by the end of this year, according to President Barack Obama.
The president made the announcement at a White House briefing following a private video conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki . Obama said the two were in full agreement about how to move forward.
The withdrawal of American troops marks a major milestone in the war that started in 2003 and resulted in the removal of Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq. More than 4,400 American military members have been killed, and another 2,000 wounded since the U.S. invasion.
"Over the next two months, our troops in Iraq, tens of thousands of them, will pack up their gear and board convoys for the journey home,'' Obama said.
Republicans criticize Obama over Iraq withdrawal"The last American soldier will cross the border out of Iraq with their heads held high, proud of their success, and knowing that the American people stand united in our support for our troops,'' Obama said. "That is how America's military efforts in Iraq will end.''
The U.S. military role in Iraq has been mostly reduced to advising the security forces in a country where levels of violence had declined sharply from a peak of sectarian strife in 2006-2007, but attacks remain a daily occurrence.
The U.S. has been withdrawing about 520 military personnel every day in accordance with the mission set by Obama in early 2009, sources told NBC News.
Denis McDonough, the White House's deputy national security adviser, said that in addition to the standard Marine security detail, the U.S. will also have 4,000 to 5,000 contractors to provide security for U.S. diplomats, including at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and U.S. consulates in Basra and Erbil.
US troops in Iraq
- WAR PRICE TAG FOR U.S. (as of Oct. 1, 2011) Iraq cost to date: $712.2 billion
(Current cost: $3.8 billion per month)TOTAL TROOPS DEPLOYED TODAY
Iraq: About 39,000 U.S.troops CASUALTIES Total U.S. military killed in Iraq: 4,469
U.S. military killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom: 4,408
U.S. military killed in Operation New Dawn: 61
Total U.S. military wounded in Iraq: 32,213
U.S. military wounded in Operation Iraqi Freedom: 31,921
U.S. military killed in Operation New Dawn: 292AMPUTEES (as of August 2011):
Iraq: 1,146Source: NBC News
The American withdrawal by the end of 2011 was sealed in a deal between the two countries when George W. Bush was president. Obama declared the end of the combat mission earlier this year. The main sticking point has been legal immunity for any U.S. forces that remain.
Negotiations on troop status In recent months, Washington had been discussing with Iraqi leaders the possibility of several thousand American troops remaining to continue training Iraqi security forces.
Slideshow: US troops leave Iraq (on this page)Throughout the discussions, Iraqi leaders refused to give U.S. troops immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts, and the Americans refused to stay without that guarantee.
Moreover, Iraq's leadership has been split on whether it wanted American forces to stay.
Senior Iraqis say in private they would like a U.S. troop presence to keep the peace between Iraqi Arabs and Kurds in a dispute over who controls oil-rich areas in the north of Iraq.
Obama keeps campaign promise with IraqWhen the 2008 agreement requiring all U.S. forces to leave Iraq was passed, many U.S. officials assumed it would inevitably be renegotiated so that Americans could stay longer.
The U.S. said repeatedly this year it would entertain an offer from the Iraqis to have a small force stay behind, and the Iraqis said they would like American military help. But as the year wore on and the number of American troops that Washington was suggesting could stay behind dropped, it became increasingly clear that a U.S. troop presence was not a sure thing.
The issue of legal protection for the Americans was the deal-breaker.
But administration officials said they feel confident that the Iraqi security forces are well prepared to take the lead in their country. McDonough said assessment after assessment of the preparedness of Iraqi forces concluded that "these guys are ready; these guys are capable; these guys are proven; importantly, they're proven because they've been tested in a lot of the kinds of threats that they're going to see going forward.
"So we feel very good about that."
Video: End of an era as US troops withdraw from Iraq (on this page)Pulling troops out by the end of this year allows both al-Maliki and Obama to claim victory.
Obama kept a campaign promise to end the war, and al-Maliki will have ended the American presence and restored Iraqi sovereignty.
The president used the war statement to once again turn attention back to the economy, the domestic concern that is expected to determine whether he wins re-election next year.
"After a decade of war the nation that we need to build and the nation that we will build is our own, an America that sees its economic strength restored just as we've restored our leadership around the globe."
NBC's Chuck Todd, Kristin Welker, and Jim Miklaszewski along with the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Discuss: Obama: All US troops out of Iraq by end of year
‘Today I can say that troops in Iraq will be home for the holidays,’ president says
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