Home Improvement, Maintenance Jobs Rise

Although a disappointing result for May, 783,000 jobs have been added since the beginning of 2011 at an average rate of 156,600 per month. Courtesy of Bureau of Labor Statistics

The rate of employment growth slowed considerably in May, with the Employment Situation report showing a meager 54,000 increase in total non-farm payroll employment. This is a marked decrease from the average employment growth of 220,000 per month over the past three months. The report also included downward revisions to the gains registered in March (down to 194,000 from 221,000 previously) and April (down to 232,000 from 244,000 previously).

The unemployment rate continued to edge up in May, rising to to 9.1 percent, from 9 percent in April and 8.8 percent in March. However, this was due mainly to an increase in participation rate, with the labor force increasing 272,000 to 153.7 million due to an increase in discouraged workers returning to the workforce.

The private sector has contributed a net gain of 908,000 jobs (an average rate of 181,600), but the public sector has shed 125,000 jobs to date in 2011. This marks a notable improvement over the average rate of employment growth of 97,750 jobs per month in 2010.

- Courtesy of NAHB