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THE ECONOMICS DAILY
From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
06-05-2026 - Solar electric power generation employment projected to grow 180.2 percent from 2024 to 2034 - June 05, 2026 - The four industries that are projected to have the fastest growth in employment from 2024 to 2034 are tied to renewable energy generation. These industries include solar electric power generation, which is projected to grow 180.2 percent (30,400 jobs), and wind electric power generation, which is projected to grow 81.4 percent (9,200 jobs). An aging population will fuel demand for workers in 3 of the 15 fastest growing industries; namely, offices of physical, occupational and speech therapists, and audiologists (23.3 percent or 114,800 jobs); services for the elderly and persons with disabilities (21.0 percent or 528,500 jobs); and home healthcare services (18.6 percent or 325,800 jobs). Employment growth is also projected to be strong in industries serving those with chronic disease or behavioral health disorders. These industries include offices of mental health practitioners (except physicians), which is projected to grow 26.4 percent (65,500 jobs) from 2024 to 2034. Also among the 15 industries projected to grow the fastest from 2024–34 are computing infrastructure providers, data processing, web hosting, and related services (20.3 percent or 97,900 jobs) and software publishers (19.3 percent or 124,600 jobs). These industries are projected to experience rapid employment growth because of strong and growing demand for information technology (IT) products and services, such as software, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence (AI) systems. These data are from the Employment Projections program.
06-05-2026 - Employment Situation Summary - May 2026
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 172,000 in May, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, local government, and health care. Employment in financial activities declined.
This news release presents statistics from two monthly surveys. The household survey measures labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The establishment survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. For more information about the concepts and statistical methodology used in these two surveys, see the Technical Note.
Household Survey Data
The major labor market indicators from the survey of households continued to show little or no change in May. The unemployment rate held at 4.3 percent and has remained in a narrow range of 4.3 percent to 4.5 percent since July 2025. The number of unemployed people, at 7.3 million, changed little over the month.
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates showed little or no change in May for adult men (4.0 percent), adult women (3.8 percent), teenagers (14.7 percent), and people who are White (3.8 percent), Black (6.6 percent), Asian (3.8 percent), or Hispanic (5.0 percent).
The number of people jobless less than 5 weeks declined by 286,000 to 2.2 million in May, largely offsetting an increase in the prior month. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed over the month at 2.0 million but is up by 524,000 over the year. The long-term unemployed accounted for 27.5 percent of all unemployed people in May.
The labor force participation rate held at 61.8 percent in May, and the employment-population ratio changed little at 59.2 percent. These measures showed little change over the year, after accounting for annual population control adjustments.
The number of people employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.8 million, changed little in May. These individuals would have preferred full-time employment but were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs.
In May, the number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job changed little at 6.2 million. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job.
Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of people marginally attached to the labor force changed little at 1.7 million in May. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, was 486,000 in May, essentially unchanged from the previous month.
Establishment Survey Data
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 172,000 in May, similar to the gain of 179,000 in April. In May, job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, local government, and health care. Employment in financial activities declined.
Leisure and hospitality added 70,000 jobs in May, well above the average monthly gain of 14,000 over the prior 12 months. Over the month, food services and drinking places added 48,000 jobs.
In May, employment in local government rose by 55,000, largely reflecting a gain in local government, excluding education (+44,000).
Health care added 35,000 jobs in May, in line with the average monthly gain of 38,000 over the prior 12 months. Over the month, ambulatory health care services added 26,000 jobs, including a gain of 11,000 in home health care services. Employment continued to trend up in hospitals (+6,000).
Social assistance employment continued to trend up in May (+12,000), mostly in individual and family services (+10,000). Over the prior 12 months, social assistance had added an average of 17,000 jobs per month.
Employment in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction increased by 5,000 in May and is up by 10,000 since February.
Financial activities employment declined by 22,000 in May and is down by 107,000 since a recent peak in May 2025. Over the month, job losses occurred in insurance carriers and related activities (-11,000) and commercial banking (-3,000).
Employment in transportation and warehousing was essentially unchanged in May (+1,000) but is down by 92,000 since reaching a peak in February 2025. Over the month, transit and ground passenger transportation (+9,000) and warehousing and storage (+6,000) added jobs. Air transportation lost 9,000 jobs, largely reflecting a business closure.
Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, information, professional and business services, and other services.
In May, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 12 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $37.53. Over the year, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.4 percent. In May, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 8 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $32.31.
The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 34.3 hours in May. In manufacturing, the average workweek was unchanged at 40.4 hours, and overtime edged up to 3.1 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls remained at 33.8 hours.
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for March was revised up by 29,000, from +185,000 to +214,000, and the change for April was revised up by 64,000, from +115,000 to +179,000. With these revisions, employment in March and April combined is 93,000 higher than previously reported. (Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.)