Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: May 2019 Report Edition

Earlier this morning, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of May. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth staff highlighting important trends in the data.

1.

The prime-age employment rate held steady at 79.7%, recovered from the Great Recession but still slightly below its pre-recession heights.

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2.

The Black unemployment rate decreased to 6.2%, offsetting the recent upward trend, but remains significantly higher than the White unemployment rate.

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3.

The U-6 employment rate, which includes marginally attached workers, trended downward while the U-3 unemployment rate held steady.

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4.

Employment in service sector jobs like health care and leisure and hospitality continues to have strong growth, while employment in construction and manufacturing has plateaued in recent months.

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5.

The year-over-year rate of wage growth slowed to 3.1% in May, and remains below the target of 3.5% for a healthy labor market expansion.

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