In the wake of a newfound focus on revitalizing the Unites States’ manufacturing industry, a new report has emerged revealing the country’s unemployment rate hit a 16-year low in May.
According to a report published by the Labor Department, the country’s unemployment rate dropped from 4.3% to 4.4%. To put those numbers into perspective, that’s the lowest it’s been since May 2001 — more than 16 years ago.
It’s important to note, however, that fewer jobs were created than expected. In May, the U.S. economy added roughly 138,000 new jobs. Analysts believe this slow pace may continue well throughout the year. So, while the country’s unemployment rate has dropped to a 16-year low, there’s still a need for new jobs to be created.
When speaking about the report, Kevin Brady said the slow-growing economy is preventing many hardworking Americans from seeing an income increase in their paychecks. Therefore, they are working on tax reform to help employers create more jobs while allowing American workers to keep more of their paychecks.
“While jobs are being created, too many hardworking families are not seeing their paychecks increase because of a slow-growing economy,” said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady said in a statement. “As our committee has heard from business leaders over the past few weeks, permanent, pro-growth tax reform is the most important opportunity we have to help job creators hire more workers, increase paychecks and reinvest in our local communities.”
Granted, fewer jobs were created in May than expected, but the country is still doing fairly well in the job creation vertical. Reports indicate that the U.S. economy added more than 121,000 new jobs over the past three months. Only 80,000 new jobs are required to lower the unemployment rate, so it’s certainly trending in the right direction.
Some of the industries for which the most jobs were created include food service, construction, mining, manufacturing and healthcare.
Regardless of what happens in the other industries, we’ll likely see more jobs created in the manufacturing sector. President Trump has announced several initiatives to strengthen and grow the country’s manufacturing industry, including tax incentives for employers and manufacturing workshops (among other things). In any case, you can check back with our blog here for all of the latest news surrounding the country’s manufacturing industry.