Source: Sharecast
Short‑term unemployment fell back, with the number of people jobless for fewer than five weeks dropping by 286,000 to 2.2m, reversing the prior month's increase, while long‑term unemployment was little changed at 2.0m but has risen by 524,000 over the past twelve months, accounting for 27.5% of all unemployed people.
Labour force participation was unchanged at 61.8%, while the employment‑population ratio held at 59.2%. Those not in the labour force who said they wanted a job came in at 6.2m, little changed on the month.
Leisure and hospitality led the month with 70,000 new jobs, well above its recent trend, including 48,000 in food services and drinking places, while local government employment rose by 55,000, driven by a 44,000 increase outside education, and health care added 35,000 jobs, in line with its recent average, with ambulatory services and home health care continuing to see steady growth.
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for March was revised up by 29,000 to 214,000, and the change for April was revised up by 64,000 to 179,000.
Economists were expecting to see just 85,000 jobs being added last month.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
