If you were one of the many voters that didn't pay attention to much of what ...

... what is going on in our country you might think, Oh good. This head line means the jobless rate is improving.


U.S. Added 175,000 Jobs in May; Jobless Rate Rises to 7.6%

NYtimes



The economy added a solid 175,000 jobs last month, according to new government data released this morning, but the gains were not enough to make a dent in the nation’s unemployment rate.

The Labor Department reported that the jobless rate was essentially unchanged at 7.6 percent. The number is one of the most closely watched indicators of the economy’s health and has inched down to the lowest level since October 2009, when it peaked at 10 percent.

The pace of the decline has remained frustratingly slow. But businesses have brought on an average of about 200,000 workers on net over the past six months, and Friday’s report suggested that the recovery has not lost steam despite headwinds from Washington.

Economists had begun to doubt the recovery’s momentum following a mixed bag of economic data. Though fewer people filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week, a private estimate of hiring by consulting firm ADP that was released Wednesday was weaker than many analysts expected.

“It’s not like we’re falling off a cliff,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, which calculates the report for ADP. “It just feels like we’re throttling back a little bit.”

For many Americans, however, the recession still feels in full swing. Nearly 60 percent have trouble covering their monthly expenses, according to a recent survey by FINRA Foundation, the education arm of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. It also found that 29 percent of Americans had a large and unexpected drop in income over the past year.

The economy added 175,000 jobs in May and the unemployment rate ticked up from 7.5 to 7.6 percent as April's number was revised down, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics.

The participation rate ticked up one tenth of one percentage point, rising to 63.4 percent as the federal government shed 14,000 jobs and 8,000 were lost in manufacturing, department statistics showed.

The job gains were in professional and business services -- temporary help added 26,000 jobs -- food services and drinking places, and retail trade, figures show. Health care added 11,000 jobs.

The average workweek and salary were basically unchanged.

The labor force increased by 420,000 in May. The number of long-term unemployed remained 4.4 million. The number of people marginally connected to the workforce -- people who are ready and able to work and have looked for a job in the last 12 months but not in the last four weeks -- decreased from 2.4 million to 2.2 million.

The government reported on May 3 that 165,000 jobs were added in April, dropping the unemployment rate to a four-year low of 7.5 percent. Unemployment rates in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and the Lehigh Valley have been dropping as well.

The April federal number was downgraded today to 149,000 jobs, while March's was increased 4,000 to 142,000.

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/breaking-news/index.ssf/2013/06/economy_adds_175000_jobs_unemp.html