May's Unemployment Rate Climbs Slightly To 3.7%

The Labor Department has released the unemployment report for the months of May. It shows that a healthy 339,000 jobs were created in the month. Due to a rise in the civilian work force, the unemployment rate rose by 0.3 points -- to 3.7%. 

Here are the relevant statistics for May.

SIZE OF THE CIVILIAN WORK FORCE:

166,818,000

OFFICIAL NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS:

6,097,000

OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

3.7%

DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN OF OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT:

Adult men...............3.5%

Adult women...............3.3%

Teens (16-19)...............10.3%

Whites...............3.3%

Blacks...............5.6%

Asians...............2.9%

Hispanics...............4.0%

No HS diploma...............5.7%

HS graduate...............3.9%

Some college...............3.2%

Bachelor's deg. or more...............2.1%

NUMBER OF MARGINALLY-ATTACHED WORKERS (unemployed but not counted):

1,508,000

MORE REALISTIC NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED (official + marginally-attached):

7,605,000

MORE REALISTIC UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

4.56%