Statement by Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis on May employment numbers

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement on the May 2012 Employment Situation report released today:

"Our nation's labor market added 82,000 private sector jobs in the month of May, while the unemployment rate ticked up to 8.2 percent.

"Our labor market continues to recover. We continue to add jobs to an economy that was once bleeding 800,000 a month under the previous administration. Over the last 27 months, we have added more than 4 million private sector jobs. And for each of the past five months, we have created an average of 169,000 jobs. Additionally, the number of people who have been unemployed for six months or more has decreased by 800,000 over the last year.

"Across the board, industry sectors are growing. This month we saw strong growth in health care, transportation and warehousing, and wholesale trade. Also, growth in manufacturing continues to trend up, with nearly 500,000 jobs added over the last 28 months – the strongest growth in manufacturing since April 1995.

"This is a critical moment, and more must be done to put Americans back to work. This administration has put forward a number of efforts to support the unemployed and spur more economic growth. Specifically, President Obama has sent Congress a to do list that includes rewarding companies that bring jobs back home from overseas, investing in tax credits for small businesses, creating good jobs for veterans, investing in clean energy manufacturing and expanding refinancing for responsible homeowners.

"These are bipartisan initiatives that will create jobs, help restore security for the middle class and further the progress of our economic recovery. Every day Congress doesn't act is another day our communities suffer, another day middle class families struggle and another day our children lose out on a better future."