The already slow economic recovery is now at a virtual standstill, with the economy gaining few jobs and unemployment changing little during the month of May, according to a federal jobs report released Friday.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) found that while the economy is improving, growth has been even slower than in previous months. The latest jobs report shows the economy only gained 38,000 new jobs, while unemployment dropped slightly to 4.7 percent. In comparison, the economy gained 160,000 during the month of April.
“In May, the unemployment rate declined by 0.3 percentage point to 4.7 percent, and the number of unemployed persons declined by 484,000 to 7.4 million,” the report stated. “Both measures had shown little movement from August to April.”
The economy also showed troubling signs for those suffering long-term unemployment. The labor force participation rate decreased by only 0.2 percentage percent and now sits at 62.6 percent. The participation rate tracks the number of employed as a percentage of the population including people who are no longer seeking work or suffering long-term unemployment.
“This jobs report is troubling news,” Republican Rep. Kevin Brady said in a statement. “With job growth slowing, involuntary part time work rising, and the labor force shrinking, this proves that our economy isn’t creating opportunity for all Americans. After seven years of the Obama Administration’s slow-growth policies, our economy is at a standstill.”
Average wages only increased by five cents and now sits at $25.59 in the month of May. Wages in recent months have shown slow, yet positive growth.
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