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2ND LD: May U.S. jobless rate up to 5.5%, biggest monthly rise since 1986+
(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) WASHINGTON, June 6_(Kyodo) _ (EDS: ADDING DETAILS)
The U.S. jobless rate rocketed to 5.5 percent in May from a month earlier, hitting the highest level since October 2004 and increasing by the biggest margin since February 1986, with employers trimming 49,000 nonfarm jobs for a fifth straight month of decline, the Labor Department said Friday.
The fresh numbers are clear testimony that the real economy is suffering from the financial market turmoil stemming from the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis.
The unemployment rate increased to 5.5 percent in May from 5.0 percent the previous month after rising to 5.1 percent in March from 4.8 percent the month before.
The decline in nonfarm jobs matched the loss of 50,000 widely anticipated by analysts and market participants. The April payroll decline was revised upward to 28,000 from an initial 20,000, the department said in a preliminary report.
"The labor market continued to weaken in May," Philip Rones, deputy commissioner of the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, said in a statement.
"In May, employment declined in construction, manufacturing, retail trade, and temporary help services," he said, adding that job losses in the construction industry "continued to be widespread."
The department said the goods-producing sector cut 57,000 jobs in May, with construction employment falling by 34,000 jobs and the manufacturing sector eliminating 26,000 jobs for the 23rd straight month of decline.
The services sector, generally the engine of job creation in the United States, gained 8,000 jobs after adding a revised 72,000 jobs in April.
In the sector, retailers lost 27,100 jobs, compared with a revised fall of 38,700 in the previous month, while professional and business services, including providers of consulting, accounting and computer systems, shed 39,000 jobs.
Education and health services added 54,000 jobs, while the government sector gained 17,000 jobs.
The department said average hourly earnings, a key gauge of inflation, rose 5 cents to $17.94 in May.
The manufacturing sector's average workweek came to 41.0 hours, unchanged from the preceding month.
Copyright ? 2008 Kyodo News International, Inc.
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