US Unemployment Rate Rises To 8.2% In May, Only 69,000 Jobs Added

By Moran Zhang | June 01 2012 8:41 AM

Nonfarm payrolls rose by a paltry 69,000 in May, the weakest in a year, while the unemployment rate ticked back up to 8.2 percent as the labor participation rate edged up 0.2 percent to 63.8, the Labor Department said Friday. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had called for a total gain of 150,000 jobs.

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Private-sector employers added 82,000 jobs in May, however, government payrolls dropped by 13,000. Payroll data for March were revised downward from the initial estimates by a combined 49,000.

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls declined by 0.1 hour to 34.4 hours in May, while average hourly earnings edged up by 2 cents to $23.41.