Economy Kicks Into High Gear

248,000 Jobs Created In May; Nearly 1 Million In Last 3 Months

(CBS MarketWatch)  The U.S. economy has kicked in to high gear, creating another 248,000 payroll jobs in May, the Labor Department estimated Friday.

The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.6 percent. That's because tens of thousands of jobless are renewing their search for work in the wake of an improving labor market.

Economists were expecting payroll growth of about 220,000 jobs, according to a survey conducted by CBS MarketWatch. The jobless rate was expected to stay at 5.6 percent.

Payroll growth in April and March was revised higher by a total of 74,000 jobs. In the past three months, the economy has created 947,000 jobs, the best three-month gain since the summer of 2000.

So far in 2004, the U.S. economy has created 1.2 million jobs, an average of 238,000 jobs a month, after shedding 2.7 million between March 2001 and August 2003.

According to a survey of 400,000 business establishments, job growth was widespread across industries. Over the past three months, 75.4 percent of 278 industries have added workers.

The average workweek stayed at 33.8 hours for the fifth month in a row in May. Total hours worked in the economy increased by 0.3 percent.

Average hourly pay rose 5 cents or 0.3 percent to $15.64. Real wages are up 2.2 percent in the past year.

Goods-producing industries added 72,000 jobs in May, including 32,000 in manufacturing, the third increase in a row. Construction added 37,000 jobs.

The factory workweek increased by 0.4 hours to 41.1 hours, while factory overtime rose by 0.1 hours to 4.7 hours. In manufacturing, 70.2 percent of 84 industries have added workers over the past three months.

In May, durable-goods manufacturers added 26,000 jobs.

Services-producing industries added 176,000 payroll jobs, including 19,000 in retail and 36,000 in health care. About half of the 64,000 jobs added in professional and business services were temporary help jobs.

In the separate survey of 60,000 households, the Labor Department found employment rose by 196,000 while the workforce rose by 233,000, leaving 39,000 more people listed as unemployed.

A total of 8.2 million Americans were unable to find work in May. The jobless rate ticked higher for teenagers and blacks and fell for Hispanics.

Of the 8.2 million jobless Americans, 1.79 million had been out of work longer than six months. The average duration of unemployment rose to 20 weeks from 19.7 weeks, while the median duration rose to 10 weeks from 9.5.