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June 04, 2021US EMPLOYMENT, MAY 2021 The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that US non-farm payroll employment increased 559,000 from April 2021 to May 2021. US employment fell by 22.4 million in March and April 2020 combined. The improvements in US labour market continued to reflect the continued resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In May 2021, employment increased the most in leisure and hospitality, public and private education, and health care and social assistance. Employment in construction and retail trade edged down in May 2021. Nonfarm employment in May 2021 was 5.0% (7.6 million) below its February 2020 level.
US unemployment rate declined 0.3 percentage points to 5.8% in May 2021, the unemployment rate is 9.0 percentage points lower than the recent high in April 2020. US unemployment was 9.3 million in May 2021. The US unemployment rate remains 2.3 percentage points higher and the number of unemployed persons increased by 3.6 million compared to February 2020.
US participation rate edged down 0.1 percentage point to 61.6% of the working age population in May 2021, this is 1.7 percentage points below its February 2020 level.
US employment to population ratio edged up 0.1 percentage points to 58.0% in May 2021 but is 3.1 percentage points lower than its February 2020 level.
Note: Canadian and US labour force statistics refer to different working-age cohorts.
Sources:
US Bureau of Labor Statistics news release, Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation
Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0287-01 Labour force characteristics, monthly, seasonally adjusted and trend-cycle
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