June 5, 2000 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)
Drop in private-sector employment in May
Boosted by the
hiring of 357,000 temporary workers to assist with Census 2000, total
nonfarm payroll employment grew by 231,000 in May. However, private-sector
payroll employment declined by 116,000 over the month, following large
increases in March and April.
[Chart data—TXT]
Since the beginning of the year, private nonfarm employment growth has
averaged 182,000 a month, slightly below the average for all of 1999
(202,000). In May, job losses occurred throughout much of the private
sector, including construction, manufacturing, and retail trade.
Government employment rose by 347,000 in May. The federal government
hired 357,000 temporary workers for Census 2000, but employment declines
continued in other federal agencies. State and local governments showed
little change.
These data are a product of the BLS Current
Employment StatisticsProgram. Find
out more in "The
Employment Situation: May 2000,"
news release USDL 00-163.
Of interest
Spotlight on Statistics: National Hispanic Heritage Month
In this Spotlight, we take a look at the Hispanic labor force—including labor force participation, employment and unemployment, educational attainment, geographic location, country of birth, earnings, consumer expenditures, time use, workplace injuries, and employment projections.
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Read more »