Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 272,000 in May, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.0 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment continued to trend up in several industries, led by health care; government; leisure and hospitality; and professional, scientific, and technical services....

Both the labor force participation rate, at 62.5 percent, and the employment-population ratio, at 60.1 percent, were little changed in May. These measures showed little change over the year. (See table A-1.) ...

In May, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 14 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $34.91. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 4.1 percent. In May, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees increased by 14 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $29.99. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls remained at 34.3 hours in May. In manufacturing, the average workweek was unchanged at 40.1 hours, while overtime edged up to 3.0 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1 hour to 33.8 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)