Shocking Unemployment Report
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the May Employment Situation Summary on Friday. Most predicted that the unemployment rate would increase to 20% from the 14.7% announced last month.
The results were shocking.
The Wall Street Journal said:
“The May U.S. jobless rate fell to 13.3% and employers added 2.5 million jobs, blowing Wall Street expectations out of the water: Economists had forecast a loss of 8.3 million jobs and a 19.5% unemployment rate.”
In addition, CNBC stated:
“The May gain was by far the biggest one-month jobs surge in U.S. history since at least 1939.”
Here is a list of the job increases broken down by sector:
- Food Service and Bartenders – 1,400,000
- Construction – 464,000
- Education and Health Services – 424,000
- Retail – 368,000
- Other Services – 272,000
- Manufacturing – 225,000
- Professional Services – 127,000
Last month there were 23 million people unemployed. This month there are 21 million Americans unemployed. 73% believe that their layoff is temporary. The Federal Resever Bank stated that employers also feel that 75% of job losses are temporary.
There is still a long was to go but the Employment Situation Summary was a nice surprise. It showed that the economy is turning around. Keep in mind that Summary is based on a survey conducted in Mid-May. Most American businesses didn’t start reopening until the end of May. For this reason most believe the July report will be much better.
Bottom Line
The economy is headed in the right direction and recovering more quickly than even experts saw coming. If you are thinking of buying or selling contact South Florida Real Estate Experts at Prestige Waterfront Realty by calling 954-830-7000.
