Increase in Service Sector Holds U.S. Joblessness at 6.3%
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WASHINGTON — Service industries created enough jobs to keep pace with an upsurge in the work force and held the unemployment rate at 6.3% in May, the lowest level since March, 1980, the Labor Department said today.
The jobless rate first dipped to 6.3% in April from 6.6%.
The number of unemployed people in May was 7.5 million, unchanged from April.
The finance, insurance and real estate industries continued their long-term gains in May with 15,000 more jobs, as virtually all of the improvement in employment was in the low-paying service-producing sector, which added 95,000 jobs.
“The figures indicate an economy that’s still sluggish,” said Lawrence Chimerine of the Wharton Econometrics forecasting firm.
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