The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released today the May 2010 Employment Situation Report and it showed (even sans census) a horrible report for the month. The headline Establishment Survey jobs number was 431,000 (20,000 ex-census) and the Household Survey showed a LOSS of 35,000. The unemployment rate came in at 9.7% and the labor force SHRUNK by 322,000 (which is why the rate went down).
UPDATE: This is a very interesting jobs report, as U-6 fell by .5% and those not in the labor force, but want a job also fell. The unadjusted numbers are also worth noting, as the Establishment Srvey showed a gain of 1,090,000, while the Household Survey showed a gain of only 195,000 (obviously May has a fairly large negative adjustment, which was completely normal).
It does appear that the jobs gains have taken a step back, at least for a month.
Update 2: The much maligned birth/death adjustment for May was 215,000 jobs. Do with this as you choose.
