May Jobs Report: Labor Force Participation Drops from April
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its jobs report for May 2024, which showed 272,000 new jobs were created in May, the labor participation rate dropping slightly from 62.7 percent in April to 62.5 percent, and the unemployment rate ticking up slightly from 3.9 percent in April to 4.0 percent. Furthermore, nearly half of all job growth since October can be attributed to various immigrant groups, including illegal immigrants, showing a far weaker economy than suggested.
Chairman Arrington Statement on May Jobs Report:
House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) responds to the May jobs numbers:
"In May, the unemployment rate grew to 4 percent and the labor participation rate dropped again, setting us even further back from pre-pandemic levels. President Biden's policies have failed miserably to stabilize and grow the economy and disincentivized Americans from entering the workforce.
Furthermore, the job growth numbers under Biden are misleading. Reports show that upwards of half the job gains under Biden have come from illegal immigrants, which belies a far weaker economy than Democrats want you to believe. Biden's illegal immigrant crisis has conveniently served as a "two-for" - shoring up his vote tally and padding his dismal unemployment numbers."
What Today's Report Showed:
- 272,000 jobs added in May up 97,000 from April.
- The labor force participation rate declined to 62.5 percent compared to 62.7 percent for April. The pre-pandemic level was 63.3 percent.
- The unemployment rate rose to 4.0 percent, with 6.6 million people unemployed. This is up from a 3.9 percent unemployment rate in April with 6.5 million people unemployed.
The Bottom Line:
Under the Biden Administration, unbridled spending and failed economic policies have created slow growth conditions. In May, consumer fears of a recession rose for the second month in a row. Combined with last week’s GDP report, which reported a meager 1.3 percent growth in Q1 of this year, 0.3 percentage points lower than forecasted last month, the current economic outlook is bleak.
Reports show that nearly half of all job growth since October can be attributed to immigrant groups, including illegal immigrants. There have been a total of 1,529,502 illegal immigrant encounters at our Southwest border since October 2023 alone. Due to Biden’s bad border policies, jobs are being taken over by those crossing his wide-open borders.
In April, inflation grew at an annual rate of 3.4 percent, meaning prices have risen a total of 19.3 percent since President Biden took office. The Biden Administration’s reckless tax and spending spree is directly to blame for stubborn inflation, which acts as a stealth tax on American families, eroding their hard-earned income and hindering their ability to save for the future. This isn’t just poor fiscal policy—it’s fiscal irresponsibility on an epic scale.
The House Budget Committee is sounding the alarm on the dire economic indicators flashing under the current Administration, which illustrate the failure of its fiscal policies. Both House Budget Committee members and taxpayers are deeply concerned by the troubling trends in consumer confidence, stubbornly high inflation, and sluggish GDP growth, signaling a clear mismanagement of the economic stewardship of our country.
More on the Economy from the House Budget Committee:
- Read Chairman Arrington’s statement on the April inflation rate coming in at 3.4 percent HERE.
- Read Chairman Arrington’s statement on GDP rising by 1.3 percent for Q1 of 2024 HERE.
- Read Chairman Arrington’s statement on consumer fears of a recession growing in May HERE.
