Statement by US Secretary of Labor Walsh on May Jobs Report

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh issued the following statement on the May 2022 Employment Situation Report:

“Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the American economy added 390,000 jobs in the month of May, and the unemployment rate was 3.6 percent, unchanged from April and March. With an average of 408,000 jobs created each month over the last three months, and a sustained low unemployment rate, the historic economic recovery under this administration has begun to transition into steady, stable growth that continues to provide widespread opportunity to America’s workers.

“We remain focused on empowering all workers to seize these opportunities in a growing economy by working to improve job quality and job access all across the country. At the Department of Labor, through the Good Jobs Initiative we are ensuring that investments under the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law create good, union and middle-class jobs with access for all. As the Administration continues to act to lower prices and achieve historic reductions in the federal deficit, we are investing in job training and apprenticeship programs that both increase wages for working families and strengthen our supply chains. Congress has the opportunity to further this progress by investing in domestic manufacturing through the Bipartisan Innovation Act and advancing the President’s plans to lower healthcare and energy costs for working families.

“Equity in our economy remains a top priority. While the unemployment rate held steady for most groups, the rate for Black workers remains nearly double that of white workers and ticked upward in May as more Black women reentered the labor force and looked for jobs. We continue to implement the Department’s Equity Action Plan, in partnership with agencies across the government and in line with the President’s Executive Order Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities, to ensure that everything we do removes the barriers facing those who have been underserved by our economy in the past.”