Unemployment Rate & Jobs Added/Lost in the US for Month Ending May 2017

138,000 jobswere created in May, falling well below the expectations, while the unemployment rate fell to 4.3%, its lowest mark since 2001. The U6 rate fell to 8.4%, a number that includes those not actively looking for jobs as well as those working part-time. That is it's lowest since 2007. The labor participation rate is down at 62.7% which means that workers that were sidelined did not return to the labor force. Looking at the adjusted numbers for March and April, average growth is about 130k jobs per month, well short of the 1 million jobs that President Trump has attempted to take credit for this year.

Wage growth also disappointed, with average hourly earnings rising at a 2.5 percent. The average work week was unchanged at 34.4 hours. As the economy continues to expand and comes closer to "full employment" wages should rise as companies stretch to attract new workers, yet this rapid wage growth is not taking place.

Despite some of the "soft" numbers on this report, economists agree that May tends to be a little quirky and seasonal so it tends to come in low. Still, many consider this report as the last hurdle cleard on the Fed's way to raising rates when they meet this month. Effectively, the trend of steady jobs reports is an indicator that the economy is strong enough to support a rate hike.

Employers should still be taking this opportunity to make sure that they are staying on top their unemployment costs. While the climate is good, the time is right for companies to shop around to find the best software and most efficient processes to protect themelves from those inevitable changes in the employment landscape. Contact Unemployment Tracker for more information on effective UI cost management.