WASHINGTON – Non-farm payroll employment rose 69,000 in May and the unemployment rate increased to 8.2%, the Labor Department reported Friday.
The increase in May non-farm payroll employment was the result of gains in health care, transportation and warehousing and wholesale trade. Gains were partially offset by job losses in construction. Employment in most other industries was largely unchanged.
The 69,000 gain was well below the median 150,000 gain estimated by economists polled by Thomson Reuters, and the 8.2% unemployment rate surpassed the 8.1% they predicted.
The 69,000 non-farm payroll employment gain for May followed a revised 77,000 increase for April, originally reported as a gain of 115,000.
Total private payrolls were up 82,000 while government payrolls were down 13,000 in May.
Manufacturing employers added 12,000 jobs, after gaining a revised 9,000 jobs in April.
Average hourly earnings were $19.70 in May, down from $19.71 in April but 1.39% higher than the May 2011 figure of $19.43.
The workweek for all private workers was 33.7 hours, unchanged from April.
The Department of Labor said the nation added an average of 226,000 jobs per month during the first quarter of the year, and an average of 73,000 jobs monthly in April and May.
