On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the May jobs report, the latest snapshot of the US labor market. The report contains reason for optimism in the face of the crippling pandemic and reveals how much more support is needed to ensure a return to full employment.The big headline was what would be in any other circumstance a massive surge in employment: the monthly employer survey showed 2.
But survey-based approach of the BLS showed what is, on the face of it, a much brighter picture. There are, however, some caveats. In the report, the BLS emphasized that responses to its surveys appeared to be making things look a bit better than they otherwise would. BLS economists estimated that the 13.3% unemployment rate was about 3 percentage points lower than it would be if not for irregularities in survey response patterns.
That implies rising layoffs that are more permanent, and more damaging long-term; these aren't jobs that are temporarily off the table because of COVID-19 business closures, but are being eliminated entirely. 2.3 million workers were reported as unemployed due to permanent job loss in the month of May, an 80% increase versus February.
That metric reached the highest level since June of 2001 in February, with 80.6% of prime age workers employed. In April, it plunged to 69.7%, the lowest since 1975, and it sits at 71.4% in May, lower than any period other than April since the Jimmy Carter administration.Further, more than 10 million Americans report they are working part-time for economic reasons, a record number.
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