EMPLOYMENT SITUATION. DO YOU HAVE A BACKUP PLAN?

THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: MAY 2009

Nonfarm payroll employment fell by 345,000 in May, about half theaverage monthly decline for the prior 6 months, the Bureau of LaborStatistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The unem-ployment rate continued to rise, increasing from 8.9 to 9.4 percent.Steep job losses continued in manufacturing, while declines moderated in construction and several service-providing industries.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons increased by 787,000 to 14.5 millionin May, and the unemployment rate rose to 9.4 percent. Since the startof the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons hasrisen by 7.0 million, and the unemployment rate has grown by 4.5 percent-age points.

Unemployment rates rose in May for adult men (9.8 percent), adultwomen (7.5 percent), whites (8.6 percent), and Hispanics (12.7 percent).The jobless rates for teenagers (22.7 percent) and blacks (14.9 percent)were little changed over the month. The unemployment rate for Asians was6.7 percent in May, not seasonally adjusted, up from 3.8 percent a yearearlier.

Among the unemployed, the number of job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs rose by 732,000 in May to 9.5 million. This group has in-creased by 5.8 million since the start of the recession.

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) increased by 268,000 over the month to 3.9 million and has tripled since the start of the recession.