The Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers for May show the national unemployment rate reaching a 26 year high to 9.4% up from 8.9% in April. The number of unemployed persons increased by 787,000 to 14.5 million. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons has risen by 7.0 million, and the unemployment rate has grown by 4.5 percentage points.
Unemployment rates rose in May for adult men (9.8%), adult women (7.5%), whites (8.6%), and Hispanics (12.7%). The jobless rates for teenagers (22.7%) and blacks (14.9%) were little changed over the month. The unemployment rate for Asians was 6.7% in May, not seasonally adjusted, up from 3.8 percent a year earlier.
The BLS statistics by job class and sector continue to show weakness in the construction, manufacturing, wholesale/retail and leisure/hospitality sectors. All sectors are as follows:
|
Sector of the Economy |
Unemployment Rate for May 2009 |
Unemployment Rate for April 2009 |
|
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction |
13.3% |
16.1% |
|
Construction |
19.2% |
18.7% |
|
Manufacturing |
12.6% |
12.4% |
|
Durable goods |
13.2% |
12.8% |
|
Nondurable goods |
9.0% |
11.8% |
|
Wholesale and retail trade |
11.9% |
9.0% |
|
Transportation and utilities |
8.5% |
9.0% |
|
Information |
9.5% |
10.1% |
|
Financial activities |
5.7% |
6.0% |
|
Professional and business services |
10.9% |
10.4% |
|
Education and health services |
4.9% |
4.6% |
|
Leisure and hospitality |
11.9% |
10.2% |
|
Government workers |
3.1% |
2.6% |