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June 07, 2019US EMPLOYMENT, MAY 2019 The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports today that US non-farm payroll employment increased by 75,000 in May. There was a combined downward revision of 75,000 to the employment change over the previous two months. May's employment increase was below the average for the previous 12 months that saw average monthly increases of 212,000.
Employment gains were notable in professional and business services (+33,000) and health care (+16,000). Construction employment changed little in May (+4,000), following an increase of 30,000 in April. Employment was little changed for other major industries including mining, manufacturing, wholesale and retail, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, leisure and hospitality and government.
The US unemployment rate was 3.6 per cent, unchanged from April. The US unemployment rate remains at its lowest rate since December 1969. Unemployment rates across most advanced economies (including Canada and Nova Scotia) are at levels below long run averages.
The US participation rate was 62.8 per cent, unchanged from April. Unlike unemployment rates, the US participation rate has failed to return to pre-recession levels and has only increased modestly since bottoming out in 2015, with fluctuations around a narrow range since the start of 2016. Participation rates in Canada and Nova Scotia also declined in the years after the global financial crises. Canada's participation rate has been increasing in recent months, but edged down to 65.7 per cent in May.
The US employment to population ratio was unchanged at 60.6 per cent in May. The US employment rate has maintained a very gradual upward trend since the middle of 2013.
Employment rates in Canada trended up in 2016 and 2017 but remained below levels observed in 2008. Since the summer of 2018, the national employment rate has re-established an upward trend. In May, Canada's employment rate was 62.2 per cent. With an aging population and declining labour supply, Nova Scotia's employment rates trended down over the 2012 to 2016 period. Improvement since late 2017 and a sharp rise in recent months has left Nova Scotia’s employment rate at 58.2 per cent in May.
Note: Canadian and US labour force statistics refer to different working-age cohorts.
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Statistics Canada Table 14-10-0287-02
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