June 07, 2005 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Unemployment rate in May 2005

Both the number of unemployed persons, 7.6 million, and the unemployment rate, 5.1 percent, were essentially unchanged in May.

[Chart data—TXT]

The jobless rate was down from 5.6 percent a year earlier.

Over the month, the unemployment rates for adult men (4.4 percent), adult women (4.6 percent), teenagers (17.9 percent), whites (4.4 percent), blacks (10.1 percent), and Hispanics or Latinos (6.0 percent) showed little of no change.

The number of long-term unemployed—those unemployed 27 weeks and over—was little changed over the month. This group continued to account for about 1 in 5 unemployed persons.

These data are from the Current Population Survey and are seasonally adjusted. For more information, see "The Employment Situation: May 2005" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 05-965.