Employment declined again in May although the situation was revised up for March and April. Most of the weakness is concentrated in manufacturing. Manufacturing continues to weigh on the economy. Since the beginning of the year manufacturers have shed 470,000 jobs. Moreover, the manufacturing workweek fell two- tenths of an hour in May to 40.8 hours.
Business services continue to weaken as well.
Retail payrolls also contracted in May following a large gain in April. This Week in Stocks AKA Dimgroup Weekly is updated prior to the opening every Monday morning. An e-mail version is sent every Friday to dimgroup subscribers. Subscribers have the advantage of reading the report during the weekend in an e-mail format. Subscribe to our newsletter to get your free weekly copy.