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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 219-8211 x115
As our nation gets ready to celebrate a historic day, our
economy continues at a historic pace. Growth remains steady, strong and solid.
Last month's unemployment rate edged up to 4.5 percent. But
overall payroll employment grew by 205,000 in May. Job growth continued to be
strong in engineering and management services; finance and insurance; and
health services. Employment in the construction industry grew by 20,000. Jobs
in retail trade increased by 53,000.
I am particularly pleased that unemployment for
African-American teens hit its lowest level since we began collecting this data
over 25 years ago. But that jobless rate still remains over 20%. Clearly, this
is not a time to cut investments in summer jobs and other opportunities for our
young people. We need to make sure they have a chance for a better future.
This month's data once again shows that unemployment was
disproportionately concentrated among those with less than a college degree.
This points to the strong correlation between learning and earning.
Our economy is the strongest in a generation but this
didn't happen by accident. We need to stay focused on President Clinton's
economic strategy of targeted investments, opening new markets and balancing
the budget. By staying on that course, our economy will stay strong and
balanced.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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