US employers add 175K jobs in May, unemployment rate rises to 7.6 pct. as more seek jobs

AP via Brandon Sun ^ | June 7, 2013 | Christopher S. Rugaber

[John W]

WASHINGTON - U.S. employers added 175,000 jobs in May, steady hiring but below the more robust pace that took place during the fall and winter.

The Labor Department says the unemployment rate rose to 7.6 per cent from 7.5 per cent in April. The increase occurred because more people began looking for work, a good sign.

The government said the economy added 12,000 fewer jobs in April and March.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

LOL. This really takes the cake. When unemployment fell for the past two years because people were so depressed that they stopped looking for work, the AP cheerfully reported that unemployment was falling. Now that its rising, the AP is careful to note that its because more people are looking for jobs. Goebbels would be proud.

[Wyatt's Torch]

FactSet consensus was +170K and 7.5% so this was an in-line report.

Participation rate ticked up as well.

[SoFloFreeper]

Unemployment goes UP, Obama buttlicking media says it is GOOD NEWS.

[dan on the right]

How funny.

When the employment rate dropped ONLY because people stopped looking for jobs, no one noticed. They just heralded the drop in unemployment.

Now when the unemployment rate goes up, they say because more people are looking for jobs, a good thing!! Just unbelievable.

[C210N]

Guess the AP is quick to forgive the government for all the phone spying. That shouldn’t keep comrades from still being friends.

[rdcbn]

So the unemployment rate rises because people look for jobs?

[John W]

Congratulate Chris on his excellent PR work for Obama.

@ChrisRugaber

[rdcbn]

How funny.
When the employment rate dropped ONLY because people stopped looking for jobs, no one noticed. They just heralded the drop in unemployment.

Now when the unemployment rate goes up, they say because more people are looking for jobs, a good thing!! Just unbelievable.

---

The really funny thing is that everyone stopped looking for work just before the election so the unemployment rate magically went down a percent or so, but now they are looking for jobs and the rate will go up higher than it has been yet.

[concerned about politics]

a good sign.

Excuse me? People were out of work and not counted. Now they're still out of work but counted. What's the good sign? They're still unemployed!

[JLAGRAYFOX]

Until Obama & the Democrats are removed from office....this “Obama” economy is going nowhere!!! Never will!!! Whatever Obama touches, it fails from either incompetence or criminal activity. It’s called either the “Chicago Way” or, “Facism At Work”. Take your choice!!! Welcome to the Obama “Banana Republic, America”!!!

[jiggyboy]

It’s the other side of the coin mentioned in earlier posts. One of the statistical lies in the unemployment rate is that if you are a “discouraged worker” not looking for a job, you aren’t counted in the unemployment calculation.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

You are right, its only a good sign if more jobs are being created and thus, people who weren’t looking start looking. If no jobs are created and more people start looking because they are out of money, that’s a very bad sign — its a sign of complete economic collapse.

[Wyatt's Torch]

The broadest view of unemployment U6 - (Total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force) declined from 13.9% in April to 13.8% in May.

[John W]

But, as someone pointed out in another post, those additional participators are still unemployed, correct?

[AppyPappy]

Did full-time employment go up?

[Wyatt's Torch]

From Bill McBride at Calculated Risk:

May Employment Report: 175,000 Jobs, 7.6% Unemployment Rate

by Bill McBride on 6/07/2013 08:30:00 AM

From the BLS:

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. ... ...

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for March was revised from +138,000 to +142,000, and the change for April was revised from +165,000 to +149,000. With these revisions, employment gains in March and April combined were 12,000 less than previously reported.

The headline number was slightly above expectations of 167,000 payroll jobs added. Employment for March and April combined was revised slightly lower.

Payroll jobs added per month Click on graph for larger image.

NOTE: This graph is ex-Census meaning the impact of the decennial Census temporary hires and layoffs is removed to show the underlying payroll changes.

The second graph shows the unemployment rate.

The unemployment rate increased to 7.6% in May from 7.5% in April.

unemployment rateThe unemployment rate is from the household report and the household report showed a sharp increase in employment, and that meant a lower unemployment rate.

The third graph shows the employment population ratio and the participation rate.

The Labor Force Participation Rate was increased to 63.4% in May (blue line) from 63.3% in April. This is the percentage of the working age population in the labor force.

Employment Pop Ratio, participation and unemployment ratesThe participation rate is well below the 66% to 67% rate that was normal over the last 20 years, although a significant portion of the recent decline is due to demographics.

The Employment-Population ratio was unchanged at 58.6% in May (black line). I'll post the 25 to 54 age group employment-population ratio graph later.

Percent Job Losses During Recessions The fourth graph shows the job losses from the start of the employment recession, in percentage terms, compared to previous post WWII recessions. The dotted line is ex-Census hiring.

This shows the depth of the recent employment recession - worse than any other post-war recession - and the relatively slow recovery due to the lingering effects of the housing bust and financial crisis.

This was at expectations - of course expectations are fairly low. I'll have much more later ...

[TMA62]

To be honest, I am surprised that it went up. First, I think these numbers are all political and Hussien has manipulated them in the past to help him. The last couple of weeks have been disasterous to him, especilly this last week. With that, I was expecting the number to fall to 7.4 or 7.3 to get peoples/ MSM attention off of the scandals.

[Wyatt's Torch]

Yes. But when people feel encouraged about the potential for getting a job and rejoin the search instead of giving up, that can be seen as a positive sign.

[grania]

Logic says that adding only 175,000 jobs in May is terrible. The economy has yet another year of graduates entering the job force, and numbers like that don’t absorb them. They aren’t counted as umemployed and they’re showing up no where statistically.