The Latest From the BLS Employment Report: 38,000 Jobs Added in May

All eyes were on this morning’s jobs report as Federal Reserve officials are expected to discuss raising the key U.S. interest rate in June. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ jobs report provides economic data that the Fed uses as key indicators in deciding an interest rate hike, which could happen at their meeting this month.

Economists predictions

Economists predicted 160,000+ job additions ahead of this morning’s jobs report and the report fell very short. Only 38,000 jobs were added this month which is well below the recent 200,000-plus average. Experts point to the now settled Verizon strike that left about 40,000 union workers unemployed as a possible factor. Generally, the economy is considered healthy if 200,000 jobs are added each month.

Let’s break down the national numbers from this month’s report:

•  Wages:
  • $25.59 May
  • $25.54 April
    • + 5 cents month-over-month
    • +2.5% year-over-year

• Unemployment:
  • 4.7% May
  • 5.0% April
    • -0.3% month-over-month
    • -0.8% year-over-year

In May, hourly wages rose $0.5 to $25.59 per hour, bringing the year-over-year wage percentage increase to 2.5%. The unemployment rate now sits at 4.7%, the lowest rate since November of 2007. What does this mean for the accounting and finance industry? Our in-depth analysis is below:

In-Depth Look: Accounting and Finance

Let’s take a look at how the Accounting and Finance industry is performing. Overall, industry subsectors saw job additions month-over-month. Here are some of the highlights:

• Financial activities:
  • Month-over-month change: +8,000
  •  Year-over-year change: +157,000
• Finance and Insurance:
  • Month-over-month change: +2,900
  • Year-over-year change: +713,300
• Accounting and bookkeeping services:
  • Month-over-month change: +5,400 jobs
  • Year-over-year change: +48,600

The unemployment rate for financial services decreased significantly last month and now sits at 1.8% (-0.9%). This means, for businesses looking to bring on legal and finance professionals, the market remains extremely competitive. The dip in the unemployment rate is promising news for accounting and finance job seekers, but for employers it might mean hiring top talent is more competitive than ever. For help overcoming the talent shortage in the finance and accounting sector, check out our white paper.